Citizenship Ceremony cancelled due to Covid-19

[Finddd]

Did anyone from Camden Council have their ceremony lately? Or did anyone receive their invitation letter? I would appreciate any information about the council.

[uuee6543]

Did anyone from Camden Council have their ceremony lately? Or did anyone receive their invitation letter? I would appreciate any information about the council.

I am still waiting for a letter for a ceremony with them. Approved in early June. They restarted group and private ceremonies on the 18th August, not planning to ever offer virtual ceremonies.

I tried emailing their CRS email address and calling countless times now but they are not being helpful and refuse to tell me how often they receive certificates and for which approval dates. They also seem to be very badly informed. Each time you call you need to explain to them that you already got approved and only waiting for an invitation. Every time they seem to be surprised and almost doubt you as if you are lying. I often have to explain the approval/certificate/invitation situation to the same person I spoke to before already... Camden is one of the worst councils in London.

Edit: also worth adding, over email one of their registration managers told me to avoid calling and instead check using their website. You need to state that you already have the letter to be able to check, which is fine according to them. But do not book a ceremony if it turns out they have your letter and you don’t have an invitation yet. They are adamant that they wouldn’t let you have a ceremony without the invitation letter.

[Jojo19]

Is there anyone here from Greenwich council?
If so any updates from them?

Been waiting since June. Applied in Mar approved in June and still waiting for my invitation letter

[Tamera]

Hi,

I am also an early Sep approval applicant. My council is Maidstone. Still waiting for ceremony invite letter.

Could anyone pls advise me the H.O Citizenship and Nationalities phone number? so that I can contact them for an update. Thanks.

[apostrophe]

Got my invitation letter today too! Approved in May, the date on the letter is September 10. So happy, I can finally book my ceremony (my council emailed me today too, confirming receipt of my certificate). Good luck everyone, they are definitely working on this backlog.

Can you please post the name of your council? Did you find any early availabilities for the ceremony? Thank you

Hi, it's Central Bedfordshire Council, I've just been booked in for 9 October They are so helpful there, god bless them.

[saaji93]

Unbelievable news from Newham
Just right now the postman brought me the brown envelope! Yes! the wait is over!
Applied 30/01/2020 approval email 20/05/2020 Invitation Letter received on 25/09 dated 08/09/2020!!!
Hence, received 25 Sep, group ceremony booked for 29 Sept!!!
Thank you, guys! This forum was of enormous help and support for all of us!
See you all later in Passport application threat ))
XOXO from Newham

Hi Anatol

Did you book the citizenship ceremony via online or telephone ?
I can't able to get space until 27th Oct 20.

Hi saaji93,
Yes, I have booked it online once the envelope was delivered, the postman literally was at the next door when I have booked my ceremony. I knew that the places are going to go fast, that's why the hurry.
I just checked out of curiosity what's the situation after few hours and yes, next appointments were in late October. When I was booking, there were plenty of slots though, and certainly I took the earliest. I gues do not be upset about this as they may contact you for an earlier occasion, people cancel etc...
Do not worry, at least you are one step closer

Hi Anatol
Thanks for your reply .
I have rebooked today for 6th Oct .
Regards
Saaji

[amitsainisharp]

Hi,

Has anyone heard from Brent Council, North-West London? i got my approval email in the last week of May and still nothing in my mailbox. Starting to worry a little bit.

Thanks in advance!

[Zigzag1100]

I got my approval through email on the 3rd of July and dated the 3rd aswell. I called the council and emailed couple times since and no update. Last contact I made was on the 20th of august. since everyone been saying 7-12 weeks. This week is my 12th week. Fingers cross I hear something this week or next week. My council is Nottingham city council. anyone from heard from Nottingham council as to if they have been receiving certificate and if they have cleared their back log

Just sent another email, I sent a list of questions and I got a reply, this is only specific to Nottingham council.

Will there be virtual ceremony like other council are doing? No, we are still holding group ceremonies with restricted numbers.

Has the backlog been cleared? If not, what’s the latest month of approval received? Not yet, we are currently receiving certificates for those who were granted citizenship in May.

Have you been receiving a weekly certificates from home office or has that stopped due to current restrictions? Varies from week to week. Usually a batch arrives every 4 weeks

Could you also check if my certificate is in the batch received this week? Good news…..Your certificate has just arrived…..we will be in touch in due course to book you in. Please provide a telephone number and home address.

I look forward to hearing from you. I appreciate your help and thank you advance.

I am really excited just small step closer, I still haven't received invitation letter so I don't know how that will affect me booking the ceremony. brief timeline is for those who don't have account, application sent on 23 dec 2019 and approved 3rd July 2020 by email.

Congrats! I am also Notts City. Just got my approval email 18 Sept so it could be a while still. Please let me know how it goes. Thank you

Thank you. Just quick update, my invitation letter has been sent today, dated the 1st of sep. I did my application through solicitor so it went to them instead of me.(it's in different city so they probably need to send me it through a first class). I have been checking the mail everyday for no reason ahaha. I also spoke to the council, the lady who does ceremony booking is out of the office this week so they said she will give me a call when she is back next week. I hope I am able to do my ceremony next week. fingers cross!

Hi, have you heard anything from notts council yet? Or have you got your ceremony date?

[Anatol]

Unbelievable news from Newham
Just right now the postman brought me the brown envelope! Yes! the wait is over!
Applied 30/01/2020 approval email 20/05/2020 Invitation Letter received on 25/09 dated 08/09/2020!!!
Hence, received 25 Sep, group ceremony booked for 29 Sept!!!
Thank you, guys! This forum was of enormous help and support for all of us!
See you all later in Passport application threat ))
XOXO from Newham

Hi Anatol

Did you book the citizenship ceremony via online or telephone ?
I can't able to get space until 27th Oct 20.

Hi saaji93,
Just came back from my ceremony at Newham, They are holding these ceremonies in groups of 6, just a heads up

[Mayo101]

Received invitation letter on the 25th sept but my celebration was short-lived as Leeds city council just confirmed to me that they have not received my certificate. The shit show continues....

[N1234]

Just sent another email, I sent a list of questions and I got a reply, this is only specific to Nottingham council.

Will there be virtual ceremony like other council are doing? No, we are still holding group ceremonies with restricted numbers.

Has the backlog been cleared? If not, what’s the latest month of approval received? Not yet, we are currently receiving certificates for those who were granted citizenship in May.

Have you been receiving a weekly certificates from home office or has that stopped due to current restrictions? Varies from week to week. Usually a batch arrives every 4 weeks

Could you also check if my certificate is in the batch received this week? Good news…..Your certificate has just arrived…..we will be in touch in due course to book you in. Please provide a telephone number and home address.

I look forward to hearing from you. I appreciate your help and thank you advance.

I am really excited just small step closer, I still haven't received invitation letter so I don't know how that will affect me booking the ceremony. brief timeline is for those who don't have account, application sent on 23 dec 2019 and approved 3rd July 2020 by email.

Congrats! I am also Notts City. Just got my approval email 18 Sept so it could be a while still. Please let me know how it goes. Thank you

Thank you. Just quick update, my invitation letter has been sent today, dated the 1st of sep. I did my application through solicitor so it went to them instead of me.(it's in different city so they probably need to send me it through a first class). I have been checking the mail everyday for no reason ahaha. I also spoke to the council, the lady who does ceremony booking is out of the office this week so they said she will give me a call when she is back next week. I hope I am able to do my ceremony next week. fingers cross!

Hi, have you heard anything from notts council yet? Or have you got your ceremony date?

I called them on Monday, they said they will call me back next week to book me in. They are only doing group ceremonies at the moment (15 people at a time). They didn’t say how often, maybe give them a call and see if they can tell you more information. I wish they did private ceremonies, would of been done with it quickly... so annoying. Could be weeks from now, especially with the students back to uni. I am hoping we don’t go into local lockdown.

[baybars1]

I've been advised by the Home Office helpline this morning that there does not seem to be a particular order in which they are clearing the backlog of ceremony invitations.

One of the issues with this is that the date on the ceremony invitation letter could be too far into the past once the letter has finally been received. This can happen if a ceremony invite letter is prepared by the Home Office long before it is sent.

[gbalague123]

Received invitation letter on the 25th sept but my celebration was short-lived as Leeds city council just confirmed to me that they have not received my certificate. The shit show continues....

Same here. Very frustrating! Let me know when yours arrive....

[Learning18]

Hi,

Has anyone heard from Brent Council, North-West London? i got my approval email in the last week of May and still nothing in my mailbox. Starting to worry a little bit.

Thanks in advance!
Our approval dates are close to each other. Mine is on the 3rd of June and I am with Brent. They don't have my certificate and I haven't recieved any letter.

You should give them a call and ask. They usually get certificates every Tuesday.

[user5877]

Status update: I just received invitation letter through my letterbox.

I've made my application on 9th March 2020, was approved on 27th of May, and received ceremony invitation letter today, 29th September 2020. The date on the letter is 9th September 2020, so it took them 20 days to deliver with 2nd class standard letter

Now I wish my council would pick up the phone...

[Humble123]

Received invitation letter on the 25th sept but my celebration was short-lived as Leeds city council just confirmed to me that they have not received my certificate. The shit show continues....

Hi Mayo101

Don’t listen to the person you spoke to, they have no clue about ceremonies, I received my invitation letter from HO on Friday day 25th September and called them, I was told that they do not have my certificate from HO over the phone yet, again I emailed them and got a response on Saturday 26th saying that they do not have my certificate as well but I received an invitation from Leeds City Council yesterday Monday 28th inviting me to attend ceremony next week.

It’s crazy!

[Mayo101]

Received invitation letter on the 25th sept but my celebration was short-lived as Leeds city council just confirmed to me that they have not received my certificate. The shit show continues....

Many thanks for this info. I really don't know what to do now. Called and emailed them. Will just have to wait .

Hi Mayo101

Don’t listen to the person you spoke to, they have no clue about ceremonies, I received my invitation letter from HO on Friday day 25th September and called them, I was told that they do not have my certificate from HO over the phone yet, again I emailed them and got a response on Saturday 26th saying that they do not have my certificate as well but I received an invitation from Leeds City Council yesterday Monday 28th inviting me to attend ceremony next week.

It’s crazy!

[Finddd]

Did anyone from Camden Council have their ceremony lately? Or did anyone receive their invitation letter? I would appreciate any information about the council.

I am still waiting for a letter for a ceremony with them. Approved in early June. They restarted group and private ceremonies on the 18th August, not planning to ever offer virtual ceremonies.

I tried emailing their CRS email address and calling countless times now but they are not being helpful and refuse to tell me how often they receive certificates and for which approval dates. They also seem to be very badly informed. Each time you call you need to explain to them that you already got approved and only waiting for an invitation. Every time they seem to be surprised and almost doubt you as if you are lying. I often have to explain the approval/certificate/invitation situation to the same person I spoke to before already... Camden is one of the worst councils in London.

Edit: also worth adding, over email one of their registration managers told me to avoid calling and instead check using their website. You need to state that you already have the letter to be able to check, which is fine according to them. But do not book a ceremony if it turns out they have your letter and you don’t have an invitation yet. They are adamant that they wouldn’t let you have a ceremony without the invitation letter.

Thank you for your answer. I have also emailed the council and they said I must wait for the invitation letter as I need to have it with me when I book the ceremony. It's a bit frustrating that they don't give any information about the certificates they have received, or where they are with the ceremonies. Hopefully you'll receive your invitation soon, please keep me updated. I have applied at the end of March and received my approval at the beginning of July.

I have tried checking on their website but I reach a point where, after filling in the Home Office reference number and my full name, there is a submit button. I didn't press submit as I wasn't sure if it's going to complicate things or not. Have you done that? Have you tried checking this way if they have your certificate?

[axeman85]

Hi,

I am also an early Sep approval applicant. My council is Maidstone. Still waiting for ceremony invite letter.

Could anyone pls advise me the H.O Citizenship and Nationalities phone number? so that I can contact them for an update. Thanks.

You need to be patient mate... there are people who got approved in June, July and even August who haven't received invite.

Yours is just September so yoh are in for a long wait..

[Mayo101]

Received invitation letter on the 25th sept but my celebration was short-lived as Leeds city council just confirmed to me that they have not received my certificate. The shit show continues....

Many thanks for this info. I really don't know what to do now. Called and emailed them. Will just have to wait .

Hi Mayo101

Don’t listen to the person you spoke to, they have no clue about ceremonies, I received my invitation letter from HO on Friday day 25th September and called them, I was told that they do not have my certificate from HO over the phone yet, again I emailed them and got a response on Saturday 26th saying that they do not have my certificate as well but I received an invitation from Leeds City Council yesterday Monday 28th inviting me to attend ceremony next week.

It’s crazy!

Oh well, You we right, I received letter from the council today and booked for next week!!

[adubeys2020]

Finally. Received the invitation from council.

Approval - 9th June
invitation received today. letter dated 20th Sept
Ceremony booked - 3rd Nov
Council - Bucks

[axeman85]

Finally. Received the invitation from council.

Approval - 9th June
invitation received today. letter dated 20th Sept
Ceremony booked - 3rd Nov
Council - Bucks

Congratulations. Looks like June approvals are now receiving invites then...

[uuee6543]

Thank you for your answer. I have also emailed the council and they said I must wait for the invitation letter as I need to have it with me when I book the ceremony. It's a bit frustrating that they don't give any information about the certificates they have received, or where they are with the ceremonies. Hopefully you'll receive your invitation soon, please keep me updated. I have applied at the end of March and received my approval at the beginning of July.

I have tried checking on their website but I reach a point where, after filling in the Home Office reference number and my full name, there is a submit button. I didn't press submit as I wasn't sure if it's going to complicate things or not. Have you done that? Have you tried checking this way if they have your certificate?

Yes after you press the submit button it does a check of your surname and the home office reference number. You will likely get an alert popup which says ‘Your record cannot be retrieved blah blah...’ and it will say ‘We are unable to find your record’. Otherwise if it does find your record I don’t exactly know what will happen but given they told me to try and do it every day I think you will get presented with an option to book a ceremony.

[baybars1]

Hi,

I am also an early Sep approval applicant. My council is Maidstone. Still waiting for ceremony invite letter.

Could anyone pls advise me the H.O Citizenship and Nationalities phone number? so that I can contact them for an update. Thanks.

The phone number on which I have been reaching out to them is 0300 123 2253, but do not hold your breath. They would say that you should receive your invitation by the end of October, but not much more than that.

Also, if it is true that they are not necessarily sending invites in the chronological order with respect to the approval date, your wait time could be anything between a day and a few months from now. I know, pretty useless, but there we are.

[Tamera]

[quote=Tamera post_id=<a href="tel:1942355">1942355</a> time=<a href="tel:1601365046">1601365046</a> user_id=238575]
Hi,

I am also an early Sep approval applicant. My council is Maidstone. Still waiting for ceremony invite letter.

Could anyone pls advise me the H.O Citizenship and Nationalities phone number? so that I can contact them for an update. Thanks.

You need to be patient mate... there are people who got approved in June, July and even August who haven't received invite.

Yours is just September so yoh are in for a long wait..
[/quote]

Hey, no need to be rude and unkind here, mate! If everyone needs to be patient the way you advise here, what is the purpose for everyone to be here. Think!

I’m asking for H.O number for an update, not for your advise to be patient! Submitted in March, approved in Sep, thats patience enough!