Ceremonies for British Citizenship that were cancelled due to COVID-19 have stopped many successful applicants taking up their citizenship rights, and caused a backlog in the system.
Normally, applicants over 18 must attend a ‘British citizenship ceremony’ to become formally recognised as a British citizen. The ceremony is held in the applicant’s local authority and a registrar administers it. An oath or pledge of allegiance is made to the UK in the ceremony. Face-to- citizenship ceremonies were cancelled in March due to COVID-19. In recent weeks they have been allowed to restart, but this has done little to avert the growing backlog. The Home Office has been urged to temporarily suspend the requirement for a ceremony to prevent thousands of people being left in limbo.
A joint letter from Amnesty International and the Project for the Registration of Children as British Citizens (PRCBC) has been sent to the Home Office, asking the Home Secretary to introduce a temporary suspension of the need to attend a citizenship ceremony. The letter says that citizenship not only gives an individual’s right of abode and voting rights but that it is of “particular significance” to a sense of security, identity and belonging.
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