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Citizenship ceremony

01 May 2003

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From 24 April 2004 a citizenship oath and pledge of loyalty will become compulsory for the 100,000 adult immigrants applying for naturalisation or registration as a British citizen each year. Under the current system immigrants can apply for British citizenship after living in the UK legally for five years (three years) if their spouse is British. The application can be made by post after a doctor or solicitor has verified details. Now the Government plans, announced in a Home Office Consultation paper on 25 July, anticipate applicants undergoing British language and citizenship education culminating in a “citizenship ceremony”. During this ceremony immigrants will take an oath of “true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, her Heirs and Successors according to law”. They will pledge their “loyalty to the United Kingdom” and “respect” for its “rights and freedoms”. As a British citizen they will promise to “uphold its democratic values”, “observe its laws faithfully” and fulfil their “duties and obligations”.

The ceremonies will be adapted to give them a local flavour and it is suggested that they end with the singing of the “National Anthem”. Home Officer Beverley Hughes said the new plans will make a “celebration” out of becoming a British citizen as well as underlining the “rights and responsibilities” inherent with citizenship.

See: www.statewatch.org/news/2003/jul/29cele.htm

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