Citizenship ceremonies

You are considered a British citizen once you have attended a citizenship ceremony and have received your naturalisation certificate.

You cannot apply for your British passport beforehand.

Once your citizenship ceremony has taken place you will be able to apply for your first British passport on gov.uk.

Alternatively, you can apply by post using a paper form but it costs more.

Please allow up to 10 weeks to receive your new passport.

It can take up to 10 weeks for your first adult British passport to arrive after applying. So you should bear this in mind when booking any travel near the date of your ceremony.

If you have already booked to travel soon after your citizenship ceremony then you should either delay your travel so you have enough time to get your British passport or rearrange the date to attend the ceremony so you can travel first.

New citizens receive an email from the Home Office telling you the decision of your application and how to arrange your ceremony with us. This will be your Citizenship Ceremony Invitation.

The Home Office will also send your certificate to Hackney Register Office if you live in Hackney or stated in your application form that you wished to have your citizenship ceremony in Hackney .

It can take up to 10 working days after you receive your Citizenship Ceremony Invitation for us to receive your naturalisation certificate and notify you of your ceremony date.

Once we receive your naturalisation certificate we invite you to the next available group ceremony.

Our ceremony invites are usually sent by email. It contains important information about what to expect at your citizenship ceremony. It also contains the date, time and location of the ceremony.

If you would prefer to have a private ceremony instead, we can arrange one for you for an extra fee.

See below for more information.

Group citizenship ceremonies are usually held on the first and third Wednesday of each month.

Once we receive your certificate from the Home Office, we will automatically invite you to the next available ceremony.

A maximum of 40 new citizens can attend each ceremony.

Email us at citizenship@hackney.gov.uk so that we can do this for you.

In order to help us assist you, make sure that you include your full name, Home Office reference number and the date and time of the ceremony you are currently booked on.

To be fair to all citizens and also due to the room capacity, we allow each citizen to attend with one guest. If you attend with more than one guest, we will only allow one of your guests entry to the ceremony.

Your guest can be an adult or a child over 7 years of age as the ceremony is not suitable for young children. You are not required to provide us with your guest’s name or contact information in advance.

No. Council policy is that pets are not allowed into any of our buildings, unless they are guide dogs.

The Home Office refers to children under 18 years as minors.

We ask adult new citizens to collect their minor’s naturalisation certificate on their behalf as they are not legally required to attend the ceremony. However, if you would like your minor to attend, let us know by emailing citizenship@hackney.gov.uk at least 24 hours before your ceremony.

Ensure that you or your child brings their Home Office invitation letter and photo ID on the day of the ceremony otherwise we will be unable to hand over their naturalisation certificate.

You will need to bring the following 2 documents to your ceremony:

• your Home Office citizenship invitation letter (either printed or on your electronic device such as your mobile phone / tablet)
• original photo identification (for example a passport or driving licence)

Unfortunately, if you don’t bring these documents with you, you won’t be able to attend your ceremony.

No.

The cost of the group ceremony is already included in the Home Office’s citizenship application fee.

At the ceremony you will take an oath or affirmation of allegiance to His Majesty the King, and make a pledge of loyalty to the United Kingdom.

Once the required words have been said by each citizen, they will be presented with the certificate of British citizenship.

You can choose to take an oath or affirmation. The difference is that in the oath you swear to God, in the affirmation you do not. Some people like to practise the wording before they come to their ceremony. Here is what you have to say:

The oath: “I (your full name) swear by Almighty God that on becoming a British citizen, I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles the Third, his Heirs and Successors according to law.”

The affirmation: “I (your full name) do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm that on becoming a British citizen, I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles the Third, his Heirs and Successors according to law.”

Everyone present then has to make the below pledge:

The pledge: “I will give my loyalty to the United Kingdom and respect its rights and freedoms. I will uphold its democratic values. I will observe its laws faithfully and fulfil my duties and obligations as a British citizen.”

Hackney is a very diverse borough and we respect and appreciate the individuality of each of our citizens.

We don’t have a formal dress code for our ceremonies so please feel free to come dressed in whatever makes you comfortable.

If you want to celebrate obtaining British citizenship in a more personal way, or can’t attend a group ceremony, we can arrange a private ceremony for you for an additional fee.

It’s not compulsory for children to attend a citizenship ceremony, so this fee only applies to adult citizens.

Cost

£150 per adult.

We currently offer Private citizenship ceremonies on select Mondays at 3pm, 3.30pm and 4pm.

Book

To book a private citizenship ceremony, contact us at
citizenship@hackney.gov.uk with your preferred ceremony date and time (for example, Monday 10 May 2.30pm). Without this information, we’ll be unable to assist you.

Ensure that you include your telephone number in your email.

You’ll be contacted by a member of the team to confirm your ceremony and take the payment over the telephone. We can’t accept American Express cards.

When you receive your certificate of British citizenship any Biometric Residence Permit (BRP card) you have will no longer be valid and cannot be used as evidence of your status.

If you have a BRP card you should return it for secure destruction. You may have to pay a penalty of up to £1,000 if you fail to return an invalid BRP.

Your BRP card should be cut in half and posted (in a windowless plain envelope) to Biometric Product Returns, IFB, 5th floor Lunar House, 40 Wellesley Road, Croydon, CR9 2BY. The postage is not refundable.

Citizens have 3 months in which to attend a citizenship ceremony.

We may be able to postpone your ceremony to a later date, however you will need to attend a ceremony before your certificate expires. You can find your certificate expiry date on the ceremony invite you received from us.

Alternatively, it may be possible for you to attend a citizenship ceremony at the British consulate or embassy in the country you are currently in.

Do not contact us if you would like to have your ceremony abroad. You need to contact the Home Office directly at citizenship.support@homeoffice.gov.uk with your request.

If the Home Office approves your request, we will be instructed by them to return your naturalisation certificate.

You are notified of the date that you are required to have your ceremony by in your invitation from us detailing the date and time of your citizenship ceremony.

If you do not attend the ceremony by the ceremony required by date, we have a legal obligation to return your naturalisation certificate to the Home Office.

If you still wish to attend a ceremony after your certificate has been returned, you will need to contact the Home Office directly to request an extension.

Do not email us as we will be unable to assist you further.

Please contact the Home Office by email at citizenship.support@homeoffice.gov.uk.

Do not forget to include your full name, your Home Office reference number and an explanation as to why you did not attend the ceremony within the legal timeframe.

You need to notify the Home Office of your change of address via email at citizenship.support@hackney.gov.uk or by using the UKVI Change of Address form. 

We are unable to amend a citizen’s address without being instructed to do so by the Home Office. Once the Home Office has updated their records with your new address, they will advise us accordingly.

If you’ve changed address within Hackney, you still need to notify the Home Office using the contact details above. 

If you’ve moved from an address outside of Hackney, they may also arrange for your naturalisation certificate to be transferred to us.

You need to notify the Home Office directly of your change of address if you have moved outside of the borough.

They have advised that you do this by completing the UKVI change of address form as well as emailing them at citizenship.support@homeoffice.gov.uk.

You do not need to notify us as the Home Office will provide us with further instructions once they have updated their records.

If you have received your Home Office decision and information email a while ago, the first thing you should do is double check which borough the Home Office sent your naturalisation certificate to.

You’ll find this information under the heading “What you must do now”. If the email advises you to contact us, email citizenship@hackney.gov.uk.

All British citizens have the right of abode in the United Kingdom.

If, as a British citizen, you wish to travel on a non-British passport it must be endorsed to show that you have the right of abode.

Otherwise, you might experience difficulty proving your right to be readmitted to the United Kingdom.

Certificates of entitlement to the right of abode are issued by the Home Office to applicants in the United Kingdom and by the appropriate British representative to applicants abroad. A fee is payable in both cases.

Further information can be found on GOV.UK.

No.

All naturalisation certificates are provided by the Home Office.

If you have lost the certificate we presented you with at your citizenship ceremony, you will need to contact them for a new one.

It currently costs £250 to replace a lost or damaged naturalisation certificate.