NO NEED TO WAIT FOR CITIZENSHIP INVITATION LETTER

polandcalling · Post by **polandcalling** » Wed Oct 09, 2013 11:01 pm

Hi to all. I just wanted to let people know that I got my naturalisation approval letter last week and it states "you will shortly receive a letter inviting you to attend a citizenship ceremony. You should not contact your Local Authority until you have received your invitation from them"

Anyway, thanks to Jambo's advice I rang my local council today to book my ceremony citizenship but I did tell them that I had not yet received the invitation letter. The council adviser said that the wording in the approval letter is WRONG and that we should first call the council to book the ceremony citizenship and after expect the invitation letter from them with all details and not the other way around.

I gave her the reference number of the approval letter and she was able to book me the ceremony which will take place in 2 weeks time. Also she emailed me all the ceremony details but will send a letter out to me anyway within the next few days.

So please if you have got the naturalisation approval letter, just ring your local council (registration department) and book your ceremony and do not waste your time waiting and waiting.

Again thanks to our great Guru Jambo for such a great piece of advice.

Post by **Jambo** » Wed Oct 09, 2013 11:16 pm

Great to hear this worked for you. To be honest, I think it varies from council to council but for the price of phone call, it's definitely worth a try.

So would your wife be able to apply as a spouse of BC before the new English requirements kick in?

sokrates99 · Post by **sokrates99** » Wed Oct 09, 2013 11:27 pm

polandcalling wrote:The council adviser said that the wording in the approval letter is WRONG and that we should first call the council to book the ceremony

Hi, it didn't work for me in Cambridge. They refused to check if they had already received my certificate, told me to wait for the second letter from home office and then ring.

polandcalling · Post by **polandcalling** » Wed Oct 09, 2013 11:30 pm

Jambo I actually called the council yesterday for the first time to book the ceremony and because they had not received confirmation from the HO that my application was successful, the adviser just "reserved" a date for the ceremony which was supposed to be before the 24th October.

She advised me to try again today so when I rang her this morning she said she had actually emailed the HO with the approval letter reference number I gave her and she got a positive reply straightaway so as she was trying to book me for the date she reserved yesterday someone else took it and now she has given me the ceremony date for November.

By then the new koll requirement will come into effect. very unfortunate!

polandcalling · Post by **polandcalling** » Wed Oct 09, 2013 11:33 pm

Sokrates 99 if I was you, I'd ring them again and perhaps this time someone else will answer the phone. Just tell them your application for BC has been successful and give the letter reference number and they will check and if they have your details already, they should be able to book you the ceremony like they did with me. Try again and update us.

sokrates99 · Post by **sokrates99** » Wed Oct 09, 2013 11:35 pm

polandcalling wrote: she has given me the ceremony date for November.

By then the new koll requirement will come into effect. very unfortunate!

Do you know how much they charge for private ceremonies? In Cambridge they ask £110. The price varies but it might be worth it if you are trying to avoid the new rules for your missus.

sokrates99 · Post by **sokrates99** » Wed Oct 09, 2013 11:37 pm

polandcalling wrote:Sokrates 99 if I was you, I'd ring them again and perhaps this time someone else will answer the phone. Just tell them your application for BC has been successful and give the letter reference number and they will check and if they have your details already, they should be able to book you the ceremony like they did with me. Try again and update us.

I am actually referring to something that happened to me a few weeks ago. I am all done and have already sent my wife's application.

polandcalling · Post by **polandcalling** » Wed Oct 09, 2013 11:43 pm

when I booked the ceremony today I was not asked to pay anything by the adviser. She has already sent me the ceremony citizenship details by email. So how and when did you pay for it? I am a bit worried now.

sokrates99 · Post by **sokrates99** » Wed Oct 09, 2013 11:54 pm

polandcalling wrote:when I booked the ceremony today I was not asked to pay anything by the adviser. She has already sent me the ceremony citizenship details by email. So how and when did you pay for it? I am a bit worried now.

The fee for a public ceremony is included in the nearly £900 you pay to UKBA. Im talking about a private one that they could do especially for you. I didn't have to resort to this but i asked about it and they said i could have it done within 2-3 days of getting my invitation letter.

polandcalling · Post by **polandcalling** » Thu Oct 10, 2013 12:32 am

Oh I c. Tomorrow I will call them again and if possible book it privately before 24th October, no matter how much it is. I received the approval letter last week but I have not received yet the invitation letter, Do I need this for the ceremony? Council adviser has booked me in already for ceremony without it just with the approval letter ref number over the phone. I am a bit worried now. What should I do? and thanks for the suggestion sokrates.

sokrates99 · Post by **sokrates99** » Thu Oct 10, 2013 6:44 am

polandcalling wrote:Oh I c. Tomorrow I will call them again and if possible book it privately before 24th October, no matter how much it is. I received the approval letter last week but I have not received yet the invitation letter, Do I need this for the ceremony? Council adviser has booked me in already for ceremony without it just with the approval letter ref number over the phone. I am a bit worried now. What should I do? and thanks for the suggestion sokrates.

If they play by the book then they will say you need to have the invitation from home office. However, it looks like your council is rather relaxed so its worth asking. Im sure you will get the 2nd letter any day now (my came within 10 days) which gives you plenty of time. I would phone the council today and find out what is the procedure for booking private ceremonies and what could be the waiting time from the day you have your invitation letter or perhaps they let you do it without it. I guess it depends if they have already received your certificate. they can't do anything without it. Good luck!

VR · Post by VR » Fri Oct 11, 2013 4:35 am

Folks,

The practices of each Registry Office are different. Some refuse to discuss until they actually receive the Certificate from the Border Agency and they do not give appointments until they send out the invitation letter and ask the person to call after this.

Again the price for Private Ceremonies varies from council to council with a slightly higher fee for Saturday Service.

Also the 0300 numbers mostly go into a automated message which end up with an automated response ''We will contact you in the next 48 hrs''.

cheers
vr

jaweb · Post by **jaweb** » Fri Dec 12, 2014 9:08 pm

Hi All,

I can see no one has written here for a while.

I got the same letter and also called my council but they refused me. The lady said the HO sends out the letter with my certificate. So they cannot do the ceremony without the letter.
My letter was dated on 2/12/2014 and received a week later but I couldn't wait longer and wrote an email to HO.
Will see what's happening

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NO NEED TO WAIT FOR CITIZENSHIP INVITATION LETTER

NO NEED TO WAIT FOR CITIZENSHIP INVITATION LETTER

Re: NO NEED TO WAIT FOR CITIZENSHIP INVITATION LETTER

There is no hard and fast rule

Re: NO NEED TO WAIT FOR CITIZENSHIP INVITATION LETTER