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Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

A section for posts relating to applications for Naturalisation or Registration as a British Citizen. Naturalisation

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rayyfar
Junior Member
Posts: 80
Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2019 9:45 pm
United Kingdom

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by rayyfar » Tue Oct 27, 2020 11:07 am

no letter for me today either. Approved 23rd of July

Frou01
Member of Standing
Posts: 382
Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2020 10:29 pm
Mood:
Finland

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by Frou01 » Tue Oct 27, 2020 11:44 am

I have emailed my council and wanted to know if they have received certificates again.

However the answer was they don’t have my certificate and they are receiving June certificates.

They don’t really answer the question if they have have received these June certificates this week as exactly this council said a week ago to someone on here they haven’t received certificates since 6 October.

Then there’s a link to HO citizenship departments email to ask them. Which doesn’t help as exactly this ceremony department answers emails after 4-6 weeks!

It’s frustrating.

rayyfar
Junior Member
Posts: 80
Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2019 9:45 pm
United Kingdom

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by rayyfar » Tue Oct 27, 2020 11:52 am

Frou01 wrote:
Tue Oct 27, 2020 11:44 am
I have emailed my council and wanted to know if they have received certificates again.

However the answer was they don’t have my certificate and they are receiving June certificates.

They don’t really answer the question if they have have received these June certificates this week as exactly this council said a week ago to someone on here they haven’t received certificates since 6 October.

Then there’s a link to HO citizenship departments email to ask them. Which doesn’t help as exactly this ceremony department answers emails after 4-6 weeks!

It’s frustrating.
Heyy yea they told me that

I just called the home office number
I asked will you send it bu end of this week or will we receive it
They replied you will receive it by end of this week
I hope they keep to their words

lmannova
Newbie
Posts: 41
Joined: Fri Sep 25, 2020 5:18 pm
United Kingdom

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by lmannova » Tue Oct 27, 2020 12:00 pm

rayyfar wrote:
Tue Oct 27, 2020 11:52 am
Frou01 wrote:
Tue Oct 27, 2020 11:44 am
I have emailed my council and wanted to know if they have received certificates again.

However the answer was they don’t have my certificate and they are receiving June certificates.

They don’t really answer the question if they have have received these June certificates this week as exactly this council said a week ago to someone on here they haven’t received certificates since 6 October.

Then there’s a link to HO citizenship departments email to ask them. Which doesn’t help as exactly this ceremony department answers emails after 4-6 weeks!

It’s frustrating.
Heyy yea they told me that

I just called the home office number
I asked will you send it bu end of this week or will we receive it
They replied you will receive it by end of this week
I hope they keep to their words
Wow, that's interesting. I was told the same last week when I called them.. I hope they stick to what they promised otherwise I don't know what they are planning. I just hope they won't send out all the invites this week but the certificates a month later..

I called my council in Greenwich yesterday and the guy didn't really answer any of my questions but he confirmed they don't have my certificate yet. He also confirmed they are receiving them but couldn't tell me when was the last batch as he had no access to this information in the system.

Frou01
Member of Standing
Posts: 382
Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2020 10:29 pm
Mood:
Finland

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by Frou01 » Tue Oct 27, 2020 12:06 pm

lmannova wrote:
Tue Oct 27, 2020 12:00 pm
rayyfar wrote:
Tue Oct 27, 2020 11:52 am
Frou01 wrote:
Tue Oct 27, 2020 11:44 am
I have emailed my council and wanted to know if they have received certificates again.

However the answer was they don’t have my certificate and they are receiving June certificates.

They don’t really answer the question if they have have received these June certificates this week as exactly this council said a week ago to someone on here they haven’t received certificates since 6 October.

Then there’s a link to HO citizenship departments email to ask them. Which doesn’t help as exactly this ceremony department answers emails after 4-6 weeks!

It’s frustrating.
Heyy yea they told me that

I just called the home office number
I asked will you send it bu end of this week or will we receive it
They replied you will receive it by end of this week
I hope they keep to their words
Wow, that's interesting. I was told the same last week when I called them.. I hope they stick to what they promised otherwise I don't know what they are planning. I just hope they won't send out all the invites this week but the certificates a month later..

I called my council in Greenwich yesterday and the guy didn't really answer any of my questions but he confirmed they don't have my certificate yet. He also confirmed they are receiving them but couldn't tell me when was the last batch as he had no access to this information in the system.
It was quite obvious that the lady was very vague answering my straightforward question if they have received certificates again after it has been stopped.

The way the answer us it’s likely HO or they don’t really want to let us know what is going on.

And no one clarified what has caused that break.
There was no confirmation it was caused by new lockdown restrictions right?

Tirinti
Junior Member
Posts: 57
Joined: Wed Aug 19, 2020 11:49 pm
Mood:
United Kingdom

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by Tirinti » Tue Oct 27, 2020 12:51 pm

Frou01 wrote:
Tue Oct 27, 2020 12:06 pm
lmannova wrote:
Tue Oct 27, 2020 12:00 pm
rayyfar wrote:
Tue Oct 27, 2020 11:52 am
Frou01 wrote:
Tue Oct 27, 2020 11:44 am
I have emailed my council and wanted to know if they have received certificates again.

However the answer was they don’t have my certificate and they are receiving June certificates.

They don’t really answer the question if they have have received these June certificates this week as exactly this council said a week ago to someone on here they haven’t received certificates since 6 October.

Then there’s a link to HO citizenship departments email to ask them. Which doesn’t help as exactly this ceremony department answers emails after 4-6 weeks!

It’s frustrating.
Heyy yea they told me that

I just called the home office number
I asked will you send it bu end of this week or will we receive it
They replied you will receive it by end of this week
I hope they keep to their words
Wow, that's interesting. I was told the same last week when I called them.. I hope they stick to what they promised otherwise I don't know what they are planning. I just hope they won't send out all the invites this week but the certificates a month later..

I called my council in Greenwich yesterday and the guy didn't really answer any of my questions but he confirmed they don't have my certificate yet. He also confirmed they are receiving them but couldn't tell me when was the last batch as he had no access to this information in the system.
It was quite obvious that the lady was very vague answering my straightforward question if they have received certificates again after it has been stopped.

The way the answer us it’s likely HO or they don’t really want to let us know what is going on.

And no one clarified what has caused that break.
There was no confirmation it was caused by new lockdown restrictions right?
I suspect they expect UKwide circutbreaker lockdown to be announced in a few days and then they will blame their delay on that. I wonder if ceremonies are allowed in Wales and Northern Ireland at the moment.

Frou01
Member of Standing
Posts: 382
Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2020 10:29 pm
Mood:
Finland

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by Frou01 » Tue Oct 27, 2020 1:39 pm

I went once more through my responses from HO and they clearly state out there it takes up to 12 weeks to receive the invitation.
It’s not said they also print the certificates and send them to the council at the same day.

I really believe it will simply be the invitations to be dispatched this week as there’s no way councils especially the busy ones in Birmingham and London will be able to give everyone a ceremony date once we all approved from June to end August receive our invitation at the same time.

From what I can see people who had their ceremony previously they all have waited in total 4+ months to attend a ceremony and it’s likely still the same amount of time all of us will face no matter if we were approved in June, July, August...

In the response of my council today it was still highlighted they work off the backlog by the date approved.
So even if approved end July, August and we would receive the invitation this week it might be at least another month of wait to attend a ceremony.

To receive the letter will be nice, but at this stage certainly not the end of the journey...

Tirinti
Junior Member
Posts: 57
Joined: Wed Aug 19, 2020 11:49 pm
Mood:
United Kingdom

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by Tirinti » Tue Oct 27, 2020 2:08 pm

Frou01 wrote:
Tue Oct 27, 2020 1:39 pm
I went once more through my responses from HO and they clearly state out there it takes up to 12 weeks to receive the invitation.
It’s not said they also print the certificates and send them to the council at the same day.

I really believe it will simply be the invitations to be dispatched this week as there’s no way councils especially the busy ones in Birmingham and London will be able to give everyone a ceremony date once we all approved from June to end August receive our invitation at the same time.

From what I can see people who had their ceremony previously they all have waited in total 4+ months to attend a ceremony and it’s likely still the same amount of time all of us will face no matter if we were approved in June, July, August...

In the response of my council today it was still highlighted they work off the backlog by the date approved.
So even if approved end July, August and we would receive the invitation this week it might be at least another month of wait to attend a ceremony.

To receive the letter will be nice, but at this stage certainly not the end of the journey...
I think the worst in the current situation is that we have no idea when the letter will arrive. I we will be able to book the ceremony, even if it will be a few weeks later we will know the date and we won't be anxious every day.

Jil20
Newly Registered
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2020 10:37 am
United Kingdom

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by Jil20 » Tue Oct 27, 2020 2:14 pm

jayzone1 wrote:
Mon Oct 26, 2020 1:12 pm
rayyfar wrote:
Mon Oct 26, 2020 11:17 am
My post man has been no news for me :?:
Approved 23rd of july
Approval 7th of July.
No Ceremony letter either, this is painful and to imagine I first applied 28 June 2019. 15 very long stressful months
I have the same approval date as you 7th July. I haven't received the invitation letter yet. Nothing we can do, except waiting.

Frou01
Member of Standing
Posts: 382
Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2020 10:29 pm
Mood:
Finland

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by Frou01 » Tue Oct 27, 2020 2:18 pm

Tirinti wrote:
Tue Oct 27, 2020 2:08 pm
Frou01 wrote:
Tue Oct 27, 2020 1:39 pm
I went once more through my responses from HO and they clearly state out there it takes up to 12 weeks to receive the invitation.
It’s not said they also print the certificates and send them to the council at the same day.

I really believe it will simply be the invitations to be dispatched this week as there’s no way councils especially the busy ones in Birmingham and London will be able to give everyone a ceremony date once we all approved from June to end August receive our invitation at the same time.

From what I can see people who had their ceremony previously they all have waited in total 4+ months to attend a ceremony and it’s likely still the same amount of time all of us will face no matter if we were approved in June, July, August...

In the response of my council today it was still highlighted they work off the backlog by the date approved.
So even if approved end July, August and we would receive the invitation this week it might be at least another month of wait to attend a ceremony.

To receive the letter will be nice, but at this stage certainly not the end of the journey...
I think the worst in the current situation is that we have no idea when the letter will arrive. I we will be able to book the ceremony, even if it will be a few weeks later we will know the date and we won't be anxious every day.
That’s true.
Also an official letter in our hands is good too for a start.

Soo123
Junior Member
Posts: 52
Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2020 1:23 pm
Pakistan

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by Soo123 » Tue Oct 27, 2020 2:54 pm

Hi
I doubt we will receive the letter by end of this week.
U.K.B.A.s helpline is outsourced and I’m sure by next week they will get updated information to tell people to wait till end of November.

The problem is ukba is not printing the certificates at this moment.
Fingers crossed

Emeliajayne88
Newly Registered
Posts: 21
Joined: Fri Jan 04, 2019 3:24 pm
Australia

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by Emeliajayne88 » Tue Oct 27, 2020 3:04 pm

Update:

Approval letter via email in mid-June 2020. Still no ceremony invitation letter. No response from council. No response from MP. No response from HM citizenship email addresses.

and yeah yeah, COVID... but it's been around since March now. Plenty of time for the Government to implement a virtual process to keep things moving and to keep us all safe. Absolute joke.

lmannova
Newbie
Posts: 41
Joined: Fri Sep 25, 2020 5:18 pm
United Kingdom

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by lmannova » Tue Oct 27, 2020 3:07 pm

Soo123 wrote:
Tue Oct 27, 2020 2:54 pm
Hi
I doubt we will receive the letter by end of this week.
U.K.B.A.s helpline is outsourced and I’m sure by next week they will get updated information to tell people to wait till end of November.

The problem is ukba is not printing the certificates at this moment.
Fingers crossed
Yeah, I don't think we'll all get it by end of this week.

What I don't understand is why are they not honest with us. They were clearly told to be telling us "you will get it by the end of October".

Frou01
Member of Standing
Posts: 382
Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2020 10:29 pm
Mood:
Finland

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by Frou01 » Tue Oct 27, 2020 3:12 pm

If that was all a joke we get it till end of this week I will send in a complaint here as letter (not email) and there’s a phone number too.

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisat ... hGQr_UkBnA

TheTraveller
- thin ice -
Posts: 49
Joined: Sun Feb 02, 2020 5:19 pm
United Kingdom

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by TheTraveller » Tue Oct 27, 2020 3:48 pm

*** Important Update ***


I just called the local council and the citizenship ceremony office told me that, they just received an email from the Home Office telling them that, all July certificates has been dispatched and it might be with the Council from tomorrow hopefully!

Let us have some hope guys :) I really wish the best for all of us xx


God bless

Jil20
Newly Registered
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2020 10:37 am
United Kingdom

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by Jil20 » Tue Oct 27, 2020 3:54 pm

Ailed wrote:
Fri Oct 23, 2020 12:32 pm
TheTraveller wrote:
Fri Oct 23, 2020 11:15 am
Is there anyone here received anything at all this week (July Approvals )?
Hi,

I’m July 2nd approved and still waiting. :roll:
Still nothing

Jil20
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Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2020 10:37 am
United Kingdom

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by Jil20 » Tue Oct 27, 2020 3:55 pm

TheTraveller wrote:
Tue Oct 27, 2020 3:48 pm
*** Important Update ***


I just called the local council and the citizenship ceremony office told me that, they just received an email from the Home Office telling them that, all July certificates has been dispatched and it might be with the Council from tomorrow hopefully!

Let us have some hope guys :) I really wish the best for all of us xx


God bless
Fingers crossed :)

nnn15
Member
Posts: 193
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2020 12:55 pm
United Kingdom

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by nnn15 » Tue Oct 27, 2020 4:03 pm

Frou01 wrote:
Tue Oct 27, 2020 3:12 pm
If that was all a joke we get it till end of this week I will send in a complaint here as letter (not email) and there’s a phone number too.

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisat ... hGQr_UkBnA
I submitted a complaint there in September as my application was processed in April and back then they said I would get a letter "shortly" (I'm still waiting). The complaint response was quite generic, didn't contain any case-specific information and said they were working with local authorities to resume the ceremonies. It clearly said though that I should receive a letter in 8-12 weeks which would expire in the end of November. If I don't receive a letter until then I'm planning to request case-specific information as I have in writing that all previously communicated timelines have already passed and I still haven't heard anything from the HO.

lmannova
Newbie
Posts: 41
Joined: Fri Sep 25, 2020 5:18 pm
United Kingdom

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by lmannova » Tue Oct 27, 2020 4:13 pm

TheTraveller wrote:
Tue Oct 27, 2020 3:48 pm
*** Important Update ***


I just called the local council and the citizenship ceremony office told me that, they just received an email from the Home Office telling them that, all July certificates has been dispatched and it might be with the Council from tomorrow hopefully!

Let us have some hope guys :) I really wish the best for all of us xx


God bless
Whaaaaat? So there is still hope? :D

Fingers crossed we'll all get it this week, please!

raij
Junior Member
Posts: 78
Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2020 5:32 pm
Poland

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by raij » Tue Oct 27, 2020 4:13 pm

TheTraveller wrote:
Tue Oct 27, 2020 3:48 pm
*** Important Update ***


I just called the local council and the citizenship ceremony office told me that, they just received an email from the Home Office telling them that, all July certificates has been dispatched and it might be with the Council from tomorrow hopefully!

Let us have some hope guys :) I really wish the best for all of us xx


God bless
which council was that if you dont mind please? i am start of june approval and still awaiting my letter ;)

AsPa
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Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Sep 22, 2020 3:35 pm
United Kingdom

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by AsPa » Tue Oct 27, 2020 4:14 pm

TheTraveller wrote:
Tue Oct 27, 2020 3:48 pm
*** Important Update ***


I just called the local council and the citizenship ceremony office told me that, they just received an email from the Home Office telling them that, all July certificates has been dispatched and it might be with the Council from tomorrow hopefully!

Let us have some hope guys :) I really wish the best for all of us xx


God bless
Which Council is this if i may ask?

Frou01
Member of Standing
Posts: 382
Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2020 10:29 pm
Mood:
Finland

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by Frou01 » Tue Oct 27, 2020 4:21 pm

nnn15 wrote:
Tue Oct 27, 2020 4:03 pm
Frou01 wrote:
Tue Oct 27, 2020 3:12 pm
If that was all a joke we get it till end of this week I will send in a complaint here as letter (not email) and there’s a phone number too.

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisat ... hGQr_UkBnA
I submitted a complaint there in September as my application was processed in April and back then they said I would get a letter "shortly" (I'm still waiting). The complaint response was quite generic, didn't contain any case-specific information and said they were working with local authorities to resume the ceremonies. It clearly said though that I should receive a letter in 8-12 weeks which would expire in the end of November. If I don't receive a letter until then I'm planning to request case-specific information as I have in writing that all previously communicated timelines have already passed and I still haven't heard anything from the HO.
:( so sorry.

024601
Newbie
Posts: 37
Joined: Fri Sep 11, 2020 3:29 pm
Bulgaria

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by 024601 » Tue Oct 27, 2020 5:40 pm

TheTraveller wrote:
Tue Oct 27, 2020 3:48 pm
*** Important Update ***


I just called the local council and the citizenship ceremony office told me that, they just received an email from the Home Office telling them that, all July certificates has been dispatched and it might be with the Council from tomorrow hopefully!

Let us have some hope guys :) I really wish the best for all of us xx


God bless
This is definitely good news, hopefully this applies to all councils! Even if we still have to wait to get to the ceremonies in our councils, at least we'd know that we're half way there and all we need to do is get to the ceremony. But now we're all just sat in the dark, speculating and hanging on to any rumor.

We've all paid about £1500-£2000 and so far we've had service worth of £50, I'd say.

russn
Newly Registered
Posts: 27
Joined: Mon Aug 24, 2020 8:53 am
Hong Kong

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by russn » Tue Oct 27, 2020 8:54 pm

Is anyone here with Ealing Council ?

Tina22london
Newly Registered
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Oct 28, 2020 9:30 am
United Kingdom

Re: Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

Post by Tina22london » Wed Oct 28, 2020 9:45 am

Hello,
I applied for citizenship in June
had my biometrics on 11 August
Citizenship approval 14 August
Now I'm waiting for my invitation letter to attend the ceremony in London, Westminster.
Anyone in a similar situation or have an indication/prediction when we will receive the letter?
Many thanks for your advice!

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