Citizenship ceremony

Citizenship ceremonies are for adults whose application to become a British citizen has been accepted.

If your application is successful, it is a legal requirement that you take a citizenship pledge and an oath or allegiance at a citizenship ceremony, within 90 days of receiving your invitation.

If you don't attend a citizenship ceremony within this time, you might have to make a new application.

You should expect for your ceremony to be booked within 3 months of being sent an official invitation from the Home Office.

If you are successful in your application, the Home Office will send you a confirmation letter. The letter states that you must wait until you receive a formal invitation before you book your ceremony.

If you live in:

Kent - email citizen@kent.gov.uk or call 03000 41 40 04
Bexley - email BexleyRegistrationCitizenship@kent.gov.uk or call 03000 41 11 03.

If you have not yet received the official ceremony invitation please wait and do not contact us. Once we have received the notification from the Home Office, we will be able to book your ceremony.

Types of ceremony

In Kent, standard group citizenship ceremonies are held at Oakwood House, Oakwood Park, Maidstone, ME16 8AE.
In Bexley, they are held at Danson House, Danson Road, Bexleyheath DA6 8HL.
Only one guest is permitted with each new citizen
If you would like a private ceremony please contact the office using the contact details above to discuss further (there is an additional cost for this).

What to bring with you

When you attend your ceremony you will need to bring:

your approval letter from the Home Office
your invitation letter
a form of ID (a passport, travel document, driving licence, a current utility bill, medical card, bankcard or benefits book).

You have the option of swearing an oath in front of God or pledging an allegiance. If you would prefer to swear an oath you can bring your own holy book. You will receive a copy of the pledge and oath from the Home Office before the ceremony.

Note that the ceremony can take up to 1 hour and 30 minutes.