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I've received a ceremony invite from the council but I never had an approval letter from the HO? What do I do now? On the letter it says I can't go to the ceremony (next week) without it

What date did you receive invite letter?

Letter is dated 30 January 2017, received it today.

And it is definitely not one of the combined approval/ceremony letters?

If not, approval letter might be on its way and with you in a couple of days.

Hopefully! it's definitely not a joint letter. Just an invite and it says at the back I need this letter and another letter of approval from Home Office.

If it did get lost though how do I get in touch with home office to get it re-sent? Can the council issue a copy (I assume they would have all the information?)

No, the council can't issue a copy. It is an HO letter.

Hi I am also in the same situation. My council letter has arrived today dated as yesterday. No HO communication yet but the ceremony is on 17th . How was your experience or how did you got around it? Thanks

Hello,

I am in the same situation, I have received a letter from my local Council inviting me to the Ceremony, but I did not receive a letter from the Home Office. My wife applied at the same time as I did, and she has received both letters (we got the invitation letters from the Council at the same time).

How did you sort out this problem?

I have contacted the Council, they told me they received a communication from the Home Office (and have my certificate), but that I need the letter from the HO, otherwise they won't let me in the Ceremony.

I have called the HO a few times at their 0300 number, and the only answer I got was to send an email to citizenship.support@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk. I sent the email a few days ago but I haven't received an answer. My Citizenship Ceremony is booked in less than 2 weeks, and I have no idea who else I can contact. I am worried because I have read about the 3-month limit to attend the Ceremony after your application has been approved.

CR001 wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 02, 2017 9:33 am

No, the council can't issue a copy. It is an HO letter.

Didn't a few people get their approval letter sent by email? I remember this problem before on here and the posters commenting that they printed it on better quality paper than standard HO paper. They received letter eventually, but it got over the problems of missing a ceremony.

Hi Guys,

You can easily try sending an e-mail to the below address briefly summarizing the situation:

NationalitySupportTeamFMT@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

They are the fastest responders within Home Office and I hope they can help.

calavera99 wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 12, 2018 8:38 pm

Hi Guys,

You can easily try sending an e-mail to the below address briefly summarizing the situation:

NationalitySupportTeamFMT@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

They are the fastest responders within Home Office and I hope they can help.

Hopefully we never got a reply from them!

mrgs1 wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 12, 2018 7:41 pm

CR001 wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 02, 2017 9:33 am

No, the council can't issue a copy. It is an HO letter.

Didn't a few people get their approval letter sent by email? I remember this problem before on here and the posters commenting that they printed it on better quality paper than standard HO paper. They received letter eventually, but it got over the problems of missing a ceremony.

You are quoting a response I post more than a year ago, before some members started getting emails!!

CR001 wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 13, 2018 7:40 am

mrgs1 wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 12, 2018 7:41 pm

CR001 wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 02, 2017 9:33 am

No, the council can't issue a copy. It is an HO letter.

Didn't a few people get their approval letter sent by email? I remember this problem before on here and the posters commenting that they printed it on better quality paper than standard HO paper. They received letter eventually, but it got over the problems of missing a ceremony.

You are quoting a response I post more than a year ago, before some members started getting emails!!

No it was between August and December last year on the locked thread " Check the status of your application online" They sent him an email because of mislaid letter, which he could book ceremony with and attended, Home office later sent again came later, unless they were lying.

mrgs1 wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 13, 2018 9:29 am

CR001 wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 13, 2018 7:40 am

mrgs1 wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 12, 2018 7:41 pm

CR001 wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 02, 2017 9:33 am

No, the council can't issue a copy. It is an HO letter.

Didn't a few people get their approval letter sent by email? I remember this problem before on here and the posters commenting that they printed it on better quality paper than standard HO paper. They received letter eventually, but it got over the problems of missing a ceremony.

You are quoting a response I post more than a year ago, before some members started getting emails!!

No it was between August and December last year on the locked thread " Check the status of your application online" They sent him an email because of mislaid letter, which he could book ceremony with and attended, Home office later sent again came later, unless they were lying.

You quoted a post that I made on 2nd February 2017, that is what I was responding to when you posted.

Thank you for your help so far.

I have emailed NationalitySupportTeamFMT@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk as well, still no answer. I've called the HO helpline a handful of times already, and they just tell me to email a department that does not answer in an acceptable timeframe. I was thinking about using the contact number or email for applying outside of the UK (hoping that by charging a lot for it they would provide better service), but you have to specify the UKVI office abroad through which you are applying, so that's not an option.

Are there any other options? Isn't there an Office in charge of auditing the UKVI service?

mamapitufo wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 13, 2018 1:03 pm

Thank you for your help so far.

I have emailed NationalitySupportTeamFMT@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk as well, still no answer. I've called the HO helpline a handful of times already, and they just tell me to email a department that does not answer in an acceptable timeframe. I was thinking about using the contact number or email for applying outside of the UK (hoping that by charging a lot for it they would provide better service), but you have to specify the UKVI office abroad through which you are applying, so that's not an option.

Are there any other options? Isn't there an Office in charge of auditing the UKVI service?

You are of course assuming it is an HO issue when it could also be a Royal Mail issue.

[quote=CR001 post_id=1608753 time=1520946566 user_id=70994]
You are of course assuming it is an HO issue when it could also be a Royal Mail issue.
[/quote]

Oh, it was probably mailed and then it was lost (or is in a very roundabout transit) in the mail... I don't mind that a letter was lost, I am frustrated that it is so difficult to contact them to send another one. Even after charging handsomely for a citizenship application they send this document, which is a requirement for obtaining the citizenship, via 2nd Class post! I wouldn't mind paying a fiver on top to get the letter via registered post. They could send an invitation email to the applicant, as well.

I also think that their customer service, at least in this particular case, has been bad. Their helpline hasn't helped in resolving this problem. This adds stress to an already stressful situation. Sorry if I sound very frustrated.

Hopefully, these problems will be addressed in the future.

thanks again!

Hello again, I wanted to report back.

I have received a response to my first email to citizenship.support@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk, sent 7 days ago. They sent me a copy of the letter, so my issue is finally resolved!

I guess what I can say if someone has this problem in the future: a wait of a week or so without hearing back from this HO email is not unusual.

thanks again!