Alternative method of taking an oath for Citizenship

[StruggleisReal]

Hi all,

With the help of members of this forum I managed to apply for British Citizenship for someone with medical conditions and used the waiver form for exemption of the English Language test.

I am pleased to let you know that their application has been approved not long ago and they are yet to attend their ceremony.

I wanted to let you all know of the outcome once the citizenship process was fully completed, but I am here before then as I needed some guidance.

After the approval of application I requested the council if it was possible to take the oath in a written format since verbally is not an option but I was advised that the oath needs to be said out loud. If this is not possible due to medical conditions I need to contact the Home Office at citizenship.support@homeoffice.gov.uk

I also called the Home Office and was told to send an email to the same email address explaining the situation and including supporting evidence.


I have emailed the Home Office a week ago but have not had any reply yet, not even an acknowledgement of the email I sent.

Does anyone know how long do they take to reply? Or how soon shall I chase them up please?

[secret.simon]

To the best of my knowledge, there is only one way to take the oath/affirmation; by reading it out aloud in front of an authorised official.

The requirement to take the oath can be waived, but it is not routine and will almost certainly be escalated to a senior caseworker/other teams and so the local council will take a while to get back to you.

5.4 Waiving the oath and pledge
Where the requirement to be ‘of full capacity’ has already been waived, it will be usual to also waive the requirements to make the oath and pledge and to do so at a citizenship ceremony. However, you must invite the views of any professionals or family responsible for the individual’s care. Where there is a desire for the applicant to attend a citizenship ceremony, such as where they are part of a family group of applicants, it should be possible to accommodate this. Such requests will, in most instances, be dealt with by the Citizenship Ceremonies Support team following discussion with the relevant local authority.

[contorted_svy]

This request should be accommodated as the requirement of full capacity was waived for the application (congratulations by the way, I remember your case). You need to contact the citizenship team, as said above - and they should instruct the council or request further evidence for you to show the council to obtain the waiver. You can perhaps start by showing them the evidence you already collated for the application.

[secret.simon]

This request should be accommodated as the requirement of full capacity was waived for the application

This earlier thread suggests that the OP had applied for a waiver of the English language and KOLL requirements.

That is not the same as a waiver of the requirement for full capacity.

The OP may have to provide further evidence of the applicant's state of mind and their lack of full capacity to get a waiver for the taking of the oath.

[StruggleisReal]

Thank you both.

I have sent an email to CS along with the supporting evidence I also provided with the application.

How long should I wait for a reply or should I also send the email to other email addresses mentioned in this forums?

The applicant is of sound mind and happy to attend the ceremony, it’s just saying the oath verbally is not an option so I have requested the Home Office to make reasonable adjustments for the applicant to complete the oath. I also made this request during the application in a cover letter but it seems to have been overlooked.

The ceremony needs to be completed in 3 months and I am just worried the Home Office will take their time and I don’t want to stress about the situation so want to do everything I can to resolve the matter soon.

[contorted_svy]

I would send an email with the cover letter, the medical docs, and the details of your request to all email addresses reported on the forum.