How to attend your citizenship ceremony

Once you have received your Citizenship ceremony invitation from the Home Office, you need to attend a ceremony within 3 months.

Choose your citizenship ceremony venue

You can only book with us if your ceremony invitation email or letter states Bournemouth or Poole. If your letter states any other authority you will need to contact them directly.

Group ceremonies are held at The Guildhall in Poole and the BCP Civic Centre in Bournemouth.

You can choose to attend either of these venues.

The quickest and easiest way is to book a ceremony with us online.

If you have a problem booking onto a group ceremony online, contact us by email registrars.citizenship@bcpcouncil.gov.uk.

In your email include:

• your full name
• the home Office reference number
• your contact telephone number

We will respond within 10 working days.

Personal and private ceremonies

If you prefer, you can arrange for a private ceremony.

Private ceremonies are held Monday to Friday and cost of £165.

Private ceremonies can be held in either:

• Bournemouth Civic Centre
• The Guildhall Poole

To request a private ceremony email registrars.citizenship@bcpcouncil.gov.uk.

In your email include:

• your full name
• the home Office reference number
• your contact telephone number

We will respond to your request within 3 working days.

At the ceremony

Ceremonies are led by a Registrar from our registration service and last for approximately an 1 hour 30 minutes.

You will have the choice to either swear or affirm the oath of allegiance, then make a pledge to promise to respect the rights, freedoms and laws of the United Kingdom.

What you need to have ready

You will need to bring to the ceremony:

• the Home Office ceremony invitation email or letter clearly showing your name and home office reference number
• photo ID (either a current passport, residence permit or driving licence).

Attending a ceremony

It is important for you and your guests to arrive at the stated time in your invitation. Latecomers will not be admitted once the ceremony is underway.

The ceremony is not suitable for young children as they need to remain quiet for the duration of the ceremony.

Should you need to bring them, we ask that if they become agitated or noisy to arrange for one of your guests to please take them out of the room to avoid disturbance.

Contact our registration service

Contact us for more information about your citizenship ceremony.