Citizenship Ceremonies

"Please note that changes to the way people will become British citizens currently under discussion, which will involve earned (or active) citizenship, will not be introduced until the late 2010. Until then existing arrangements for naturalisation will continue."

Citizenship Ceremonies are intended to celebrate the significance of becoming a British Citizen and to welcome the new citizens into their community.

The law requires that a ceremony takes place within three months of the applicant being informed that their application for citizenship has been successful.

Standard group or individual ceremonies will be held in local Registration Offices - see Schedule of Dates for Citizenship Ceremonies in Hampshire.

Alternatively, applicants may choose to have an individual ceremony ("Private Citizenship Ceremony") in a Registration Office for a fee of £100 (this includes a non-refundable booking fee of £25).  Private Citizenship Ceremonies can also take place at Approved Premises or another suitable venue, for which alternative ceremony fees apply for these non-standard ceremonies (£220 Monday - Friday, £280 Saturday or £320 Sunday).  In each case, please contact your local registration office to enquire about booking a ceremony

Citizenship Ceremonies may take place at any suitable registration office and the choice is made when the original application for British Citizenship is completed. Paperwork is then sent by the Home Office to the Local Authority where the ceremony is to take place. For Hampshire, this means that we hold the paperwork centrally until the applicant contacts us at Registration Headquarters. After discussion to find out which Hampshire Registration Office the applicant would like to attend for their ceremony we send the paperwork on to the relevant office. This has no connection with where the Nationality Checking has taken place although it could be the same office.

For further information, prospective citizens should contact the Home Office through the link on this website:

• British Citizenship - Home Office - Border & Immigration Agency

Citizenship - Schedule of Dates - 2008

	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Aldershot	14th	11th	9th	13th	11th
Alton	4th	1st	6th	3rd	1st
Andover	21st	18th	16th	20th	18th
Basingstoke	5th	2nd	7th	4th	2nd
Fareham	6th	3rd	1st	5th	3rd
Ringwood	19th	16th	21st	18th	16th
Petersfield	22th	26th	24th	28th	19th
Romsey	18th	22nd	27th	24th	15th
Winchester	20th	17th	15th	19th	17th

Citizenship/Nationality - Fees

Citizenship

Private ceremony - £100 (this includes a non-refundable booking fee of £25)

Public ceremonies held monthly for groups of new citizens at each Registration Office - Free of charge.  See Schedule of Dates

Nationality Checking Service (effective from 1 February 2007)

Single Applications - Fees are currently:

Adult - £50

Child - £50

Family Applications - Fees are currently:

Adult - £50 each

Children - £25 each if applied for at the same time as the parents to a maximum of £150 per family regardless of the number of children applying at the same time.

All fees inclusive of VAT.

Cheques should be made payable to 'Hampshire County Council'.

There is now a facility for payment by credit card. Please contact your local registration office for details.