Home Office to remove the need for ceremony for citizenship completion, during Covid-19.

Home Office to remove the need for ceremony for citizenship completion, during Covid-19.

Started
24 March 2020
Signatures: 60Next Goal: 100
Support now

Why this petition matters

Started by freedom fighter

The process of becoming a British citizen is not legally complete until the person has attended a citizenship ceremony: section 42 of the British Nationality Act 1981.


Due to Covid-19, ceremonies have been cancelled as they are mass gatherings, and rightly so- but this should not grind to a halt people being naturalised and becoming British Citizens.
 
This is a request for the legislation to be temporarily amended, so that people who have been waiting for a long time, are not prevented from becoming a citizen based on the mere fact they are unable to attend a ceremony. Whilst the ceremony is an important aspect under normal circumstances, in these unprecedented times, it should not be the determinant factor of such an important process.
Those that have applied for Citizenship have already been through numerous challenging tests and spent significant amounts of money in the £000s. They have also waited months, if not years to reach this stage. Please also remember that for many, the citizenship is much more than a passport. It is a sense of identity and entitlement to basic rights, such as voting or being able to buy a home, in the country that they have contributed to building in the past years.

Please sign even if this doesn't affect you, as it significantly impacts some people…and please share. 

Support now
Signatures: 60Next Goal: 100
Support now
Share this petition in person or use the QR code for your own material.Download QR Code