Immigration Corner | How to arrange your British citizenship ceremony

Dear Mr Bassie,

I am applying for British citizenship, and I am advised that I may need to attend a citizenship ceremony. Please advise if this is so.

RS

Dear RS,

Persons need to attend a citizenship ceremony if they are 18 years old or over and have successfully applied to become a British citizen. The successful applicants must attend a citizenship ceremony within three months of receiving their invitation from the Home Office.

If persons become British citizens under the Windrush scheme, they can choose if they want to attend a citizenship ceremony. Those persons will not have to pay the fee.

With respect to booking the ceremony, the applicant’s local authority will organise the citizenship ceremony, and it should be booked through them. The ceremonies are usually done in groups, but persons can request a private ceremony if they prefer. Persons must take the invitation when they go to their ceremony, and they are usually allowed to take two guests.

The cost of the ceremony is included in the application fee. However, persons may need to pay more for a private ceremony. Applicants are advised to check what the cost of a private ceremony would be with their local authority.

Persons who are not living in the United Kingdom (UK) can ask the embassy or consulate in the country where they reside if they can have the ceremony there instead.

If persons are only abroad for a short time, they may be asked to postpone the ceremony until they return to the UK. They must still book their ceremony within three months of getting an invitation.

Please be advised that persons may have to prove that they are planning to live in the UK permanently if they are going to be abroad for more than a few months. It should be noted that if they applied for citizenship in the UK, they cannot have their ceremony abroad.

DURING THE CEREMONY

Please note that persons will have to make an oath of allegiance or an affirmation and a pledge if they prefer not to swear by God. This means that they promise to respect the rights, freedoms, and laws of the UK.

At the end of the ceremony, persons will be presented with their certificate of British citizenship and a welcome pack. Some local authorities sell photographs or videos of the event.

Just for completeness, please be advised that persons will not need to attend a citizenship ceremony if they are registering to become a:

• British overseas territories citizen.

• British overseas citizen.

• British subject.

However, they will still need to make an oath or affirmation of allegiance. Those persons will be sent details of how to do this at the appropriate time.

All the best.

John S. Bassie is a barrister/attorney-at-law who practises law in Jamaica. He is a justice of the peace, a Supreme Court-appointed mediator, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a chartered arbitrator, the past global president of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a member of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association (UK). Email: lawbassie@yahoo.com