Posting the picture of this block last week was quite appropriate as last weekend started with Curly Boys Citizenship Ceremony. Yup...he’s now a Brit!
(Well, kinda. He hasn’t given up his US citizenship so now he has dual nationality)
He has been here for 7 ½ years and has had Indefinite Leave to Remain for the last 6 (ish) years so would be able to stay here for as long as he wanted anyway, but he wanted to become a UK Citizen.
(Well, kinda. He hasn’t given up his US citizenship so now he has dual nationality)
He has been here for 7 ½ years and has had Indefinite Leave to Remain for the last 6 (ish) years so would be able to stay here for as long as he wanted anyway, but he wanted to become a UK Citizen.
As he says, all the previous immigration steps have been essential to allow him to move here in the first place and stay here with me. This one has been about him being allowed to vote (which is really important to him), and declaring that he is ‘home’.
The ceremony took place in the Leeds Civic Hall. After waiting and queuing for various things - I’m sure to test whether the new to-be UK citizens had mastered the British art of queuing - we all trooped into one of the beautiful oak panelled halls.
He first had to say the Affirmation of Allegiance (as he opted to have the non-religious one):
I (name) do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm that on becoming a British citizen, I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, her Heirs and Successors, according to law.
...and then the Pledge:
I will give my loyalty to the United Kingdom and respect its rights and freedoms. I will uphold its democratic values. I will observe its laws faithfully and fulfill my duties and obligations as a British citizen.
He was presented his certificate by the very jolly and uniformed Deputy Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire and a photographer took their picture along with a portrait of Queen Lizzie - looking rather marvelous in her Queenie finery.
He first had to say the Affirmation of Allegiance (as he opted to have the non-religious one):
I (name) do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm that on becoming a British citizen, I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, her Heirs and Successors, according to law.
...and then the Pledge:
I will give my loyalty to the United Kingdom and respect its rights and freedoms. I will uphold its democratic values. I will observe its laws faithfully and fulfill my duties and obligations as a British citizen.
He was presented his certificate by the very jolly and uniformed Deputy Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire and a photographer took their picture along with a portrait of Queen Lizzie - looking rather marvelous in her Queenie finery.
During the ceremony the Deputy Lord Lieutenant gave a lovely speech where he talked about everyone’s journeys. Curly Boys has been fairly easy but there will have been people amongst the group that the journeys won’t have been quite so easy. There were people from (amongst others) Somalia, Iran, Iraq and Zimbabwe and although i don’t know their stories i can probably hazard a guess that their journeys may not have been quite so easy. I wish them all the health, wealth and happiness in their new lives here.
Other than going for a lovely lunch and a wander around the German Christmas market, afterwards we celebrated by re-mortgaging the house for a box of American goodies.
Since then I’ve already inhaled 2 of the Zero bars and plan to bathe in the root beer once I’ve remembered to get some ice-cream from the shop!