LONDON: More than 100,000 people became British citizens last year after swearing allegiance to the Queen at special citizenship ceremonies, figures have revealed.
However, with ceremonies indefinitely suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, migrant rights campaigners say applicants are stuck “in limbo”.Home Office figures show 109,943 people attended citizenship ceremonies across the UK in 2019. The events, organised by local authorities throughout the country, are the final step in the process to full citizenship and being able to obtain a British passport.
A further 3,358 people attended citizenship ceremonies at a British consulate abroad, with more than a third taking place at the Cape Town consulate in South Africa.
A total of 1.2 million immigrants have gained citizenship over the last decade, although the number fell by 23 per cent to 113,301 between 2010 and 2019.
Participants are asked to make an oath of allegiance to the Queen and pledge to respect the rights, freedoms and laws of the UK. They are then presented with a certificate of
British citizenship and a welcome pack. Jill Rutter, director of strategy at the thinktank British Future, said citizenship is important for integration and a shared sense of identity. She said: “Citizenship ceremonies do really matter to new Britons. They mark the end of a long and expensive process and the start of an enhanced feeling of belonging to the country people have chosen to call home. We should restart citizenship ceremonies as soon as it is safe to do so.”
An independent inquiry into citizenship policy, co-ordinated by the group, is also paused due to Covid-19. In the longer term, British Future wants the UK to review its approach to citizenship by reducing the “highest fees in the western world” and cutting red tape.
The highest number of citizenship ceremonies last year took place in Birmingham, where 2,699 people gained citizenship. This was followed by Westminster, with 2,519, and Surrey, which saw 2,505.
Maike Bohn, co-founder of think tank the3million, which represents the rights of EU citizens, said the pandemic has caused “huge delays” for anyone wishing to become British – with appointments to provide details at biometric centres also suspended.
Romanian national Alexandra Bulat, a project manager at the think tank, says she has paid more than £1,300 in application fees for her British citizenship but is still waiting for her ceremony to take place.
A Home Office spokeswoman said: “Like applicants, we know how much citizenship ceremonies mean to people and we are actively looking at alternative, safe ways to reinstate such important occasions.”
The top 10 council areas for the number of citizenship ceremonies last year were: Birmingham (2,699); Westminster (2,519); Surrey (2,505); Hertfordshire (2,420); Ealing (2,367); Tower Hamlets (2,302); Barnet (2,283); Newham (2, 282); Brent (2,277); and Wandsworth (2,057).