Citizenship > ceremony > passport

Hi,

So I had my citizenship biometrics appointment on July 19th and have been mostly patiently waiting for a decision.  I know it can take a while and I probably have many weeks (possibly months) to go before I hear something.  But just thinking ahead for a minute...

Once I (presumably) get approved, I'll have to do my ceremony, correct?  How long does it typically take between approval and being able to attend a ceremony?  And another question - is it possible to apply for my UK passport before the ceremony?  Or is it not official until the ceremony and therefore applying for a passport isn't possible?

Thanks!

What I've seen on FB naturalisation groups is a very quick turnaround between approval and ceremony, but that depends on the local authority.

You aren't a citizen until the ceremony, so you can't apply for a passport until you receive your certificate of naturalisation. You'll also need to send in your current passport so you won't be able to travel out of the country until your passport is in hand.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

Don't forget that there will be a time after your ceremony where you will be a UK citizen and you haven't applied for a UK passport.  During that time there is a question about whether you can still travel on your non-uk passport and enter the UK again on your non-uk passport.   This is further complicated by the fact that you must turn in your BRP card within 5 days of the ceremony, so can't use that anymore. 

In my case, I was able to travel during that period without any problem and entered the UK on my US passport after my citizenship ceremony.   There's a bunch of advice on the internet that says differently though.