# Citizenship Ceremony - Blacktown City Council



## JK684 (Apr 2, 2015)

Hi all, Has anyone who attended citizenship test during January 2022 from Blacktown City council received their ceremony invite ?? Please let me know. Thanks.

Just starting this thread to understand the timelines.


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## JK684 (Apr 2, 2015)

Blacktown has only 491 pending ceremonies as of January 28, whereas Parramatta's number was 2727 (as of Jan 28). 









Citizenship ceremony waitlist - Greater Sydney - a Freedom of Information request to Department of Home Affairs


I would like to request the number of applications waiting to be allocated to the Citizenship ceremony (who have been approved but are now waiting to be allocated to a ceremony) in Greater Sydney area as of the latest reporting date and kindly present data based on the Council. Yours...




www.righttoknow.org.au


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## mitrkapil (Mar 6, 2016)

I am also waiting for ceremony. Received my approval first week of February 2022


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## Timo1012 (Sep 22, 2013)

Approved on January 24th 2022. Still waiting for the ceremony


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## Marzzz (Jan 9, 2017)

JK684 said:


> Hi all, Has anyone who attended citizenship test during January 2022 from Blacktown City council received their ceremony invite ?? Please let me know. Thanks.
> 
> Just starting this thread to understand the timelines.


I received my approval on 17/01/2022 and still waiting for ceremony at Blacktown City Council.


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## Marzzz (Jan 9, 2017)

JK684 said:


> Blacktown has only 491 pending ceremonies as of January 28, whereas Parramatta's number was 2727 (as of Jan 28).
> 
> 
> 
> ...


What does this mean? will they wait for more people to make a ceremony?


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## JK684 (Apr 2, 2015)

Marzzz said:


> What does this mean? will they wait for more people to make a ceremony?


No such thing I guess. They will do ceremonies every month with a certain number of people I guess. One virtual ceremony last year had 400+ people


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## JK684 (Apr 2, 2015)

Blacktown council website updated the next date for Citizenship Ceremony. Looks like it is not virtual this time  



https://www.blacktown.nsw.gov.au/About-Council/What-we-do/Australian-Citizenship-Ceremonies


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## mitrkapil (Mar 6, 2016)

Just one ceremony scheduled for 1 May that looks ominous!!


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## JK684 (Apr 2, 2015)

Looks like lot of approvals for Blacktown council between Jan 28 and March 4. New waiting count is 1394 (up by 903).



https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/8362/response/24670/attach/4/fa%20220200319%20document%20released.pdf?cookie_passthrough=1


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## NB (Mar 29, 2017)

JK684 said:


> Looks like lot of approvals for Blacktown council between Jan 28 and March 4. New waiting count is 1394 (up by 903).
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/8362/response/24670/attach/4/fa%20220200319%20document%20released.pdf?cookie_passthrough=1


Any such data available for VIC also?
Cheers


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## JK684 (Apr 2, 2015)

NB said:


> Any such data available for VIC also?
> Cheers


I can find one for Dandenong City Council here. 









Pending Citizenship Ceremonies at Greater Dandenong - a Freedom of Information request to Department of Home Affairs


Number of people who are still waiting for their citizenship ceremonies at Dandenong City Council in Victoria. Yours faithfully, shahzad khero




www.righttoknow.org.au


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## JK684 (Apr 2, 2015)

You can check for more under Public Authority "Department of Home Affairs" here. I see most of them are from NSW and some from QLD and SA. You could raise request for one of the Victorian councils or multiple Victorian councils. it cost around $ 20 per council it seems









Department of Home Affairs - view and make Freedom of Information requests







www.righttoknow.org.au


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## mitrkapil (Mar 6, 2016)

Just received Citizenship ceremony invite for 1st May. I think they have started sending invites now.


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## JK684 (Apr 2, 2015)

mitrkapil said:


> Just received Citizenship ceremony invite for 1st May. I think they have started sending invites now.


Cool  , I also got the invite for the Citizenship Ceremony on 1st May @ 12:30 pm , Blacktown Leisure Centre Stanhope


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## Marzzz (Jan 9, 2017)

mitrkapil said:


> Just received Citizenship ceremony invite for 1st May. I think they have started sending invites now.


Same here just 2 hours ago.


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## dbimmigrant84 (Nov 11, 2014)

Can you guys share your timeline?


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## JK684 (Apr 2, 2015)

dbimmigrant84 said:


> Can you guys share your timeline?


Here is mine

Date of application - *29/06/2021*
Test - *20/01/2022*
Test center - Parramatta, NSW
Council - Blacktown City Council
Application Approved - *14/02/2022* (approval was delayed due to the additional time taken for overseas PCC)
Ceremony invite for *May 1st, 2022* on 05/04/2022


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## Marzzz (Jan 9, 2017)

dbimmigrant84 said:


> Can you guys share your timeline?


I applied on 2/5/2021, did the test on 17/01/2022 and got approval the same Day. Test invite 1/5/2022


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## prvnrdy (9 mo ago)

Any idea on monthly cap for ceremony at Blacktown Council?
Approval received on 04.03.22, waiting for ceremony date.


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## Marzzz (Jan 9, 2017)

Marzzz said:


> I applied on 2/5/2021, did the test on 17/01/2022 and got approval the same Day. Test invite 1/5/2022


I meant ceremony invite on 1/5/2022


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## Marzzz (Jan 9, 2017)

prvnrdy said:


> Any idea on monthly cap for ceremony at Blacktown Council?
> Approval received on 04.03.22, waiting for ceremony date.


I am not sure, but the January approved batch is invited to May's ceremony. Your turn may be a few months away.


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## JK684 (Apr 2, 2015)

If your citizenship ceremony date is before the Federal election date, then you are eligible to vote. Just follow the instructions in the below link.

_There are special arrangements in place for people who will become Australian citizens after the announcement of the federal election which allows them to become provisional electors._









AEC redirection page







www.aec.gov.au


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## Sp4ni (9 mo ago)

JK684 said:


> Hi all, Has anyone who attended citizenship test during January 2022 from Blacktown City council received their ceremony invite ?? Please let me know. Thanks.
> 
> Just starting this thread to understand the timelines.


Hi I am also waiting , cleared test in Jan’22 and received approval letter. Still haven’t heard anything .
I can see their next ceremony is on may 1st but I didn’t get invite


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## JK684 (Apr 2, 2015)

Sp4ni said:


> Hi I am also waiting , cleared test in Jan’22 and received approval letter. Still haven’t heard anything .
> I can see their next ceremony is on may 1st but I didn’t get invite


I think you might get it in next ceremony. Mine was approved on 14th Feb and got ceremony for May 1st.


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## fed_phi (9 mo ago)

Hi everyone! Does anyone know when the next ceremony will be? Thanks


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## JK684 (Apr 2, 2015)

fed_phi said:


> Hi everyone! Does anyone know when the next ceremony will be? Thanks


it is not yet announced it seems, keep checking this link in Blacktown City Council's website - https://www.blacktown.nsw.gov.au/About-Council/What-we-do/Australian-Citizenship-Ceremonies


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## Sp4ni (9 mo ago)

JK684 said:


> I think you might get it in next ceremony. Mine was approved on 14th Feb and got ceremony for May 1st.


Thanks it was for my partner . Done on 1st may


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## John_231 (8 mo ago)

Do they hold 12 ceremonies per year? So the next round will be 01-Jun? the link that JK has shared is not updated yet!


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## JK684 (Apr 2, 2015)

Sp4ni said:


> Thanks it was for my partner . Done on 1st may


Yes they accommodated additional attendees later it seems, the printed flyer for the citizenship ceremony had only 800 names in that even though around 1200 people attended.


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## fed_phi (9 mo ago)

I emailed blacktown council and they said “there is no confirmed date yet. The venue they use is closed and under repair so they are working on an alternate venue and checking their availability”


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## uhafez12 (Aug 5, 2015)

fed_phi said:


> I emailed blacktown council and they said “there is no confirmed date yet. The venue they use is closed and under repair so they are working on an alternate venue and checking their availability”


That’s helpful. May I know when did u receive your approval? My test and approval was done on 22nd Feb and still waiting. Hoping to be included in upcoming ceremony whenever it happens.


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## uhafez12 (Aug 5, 2015)

fed_phi said:


> I emailed blacktown council and they said “there is no confirmed date yet. The venue they use is closed and under repair so they are working on an alternate venue and checking their availability”


That’s helpful. May I know when did u receive your approval? My test and approval was done on 22nd Feb and still waiting. Hoping to be included in upcoming ceremony whenever it happens.


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## RM1844 (8 mo ago)

mitrkapil said:


> Just received Citizenship ceremony invite for 1st May. I think they have started sending invites now.


congrats on your citizenship conferment. curious to know what are the next timelines to apply for passport and OCI card. i didnt make the cut for the May 1st ceremony. hopefully there will be one soon.


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## RM1844 (8 mo ago)

Marzzz said:


> Same here just 2 hours ago.


what is the email address that you received the ceremony invitation from? Congrats on your citizenship conferment.


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## fhar365 (8 mo ago)

Does anyone know how often Blacktown City Council holds online ceremonies ? I’ve gotten my approval 21/4/22 and still waiting, was hoping to catch the 1/5/22 ceremony but oh well. Any information would be of help. Blacktown City Council website only shows just 1 May as the dates for 2022 surely there can’t only be 1 day out of the whole year they hold a ceremony.


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## uhafez12 (Aug 5, 2015)

fhar365 said:


> Does anyone know how often Blacktown City Council holds online ceremonies ? I’ve gotten my approval 21/4/22 and still waiting, was hoping to catch the 1/5/22 ceremony but oh well. Any information would be of help. Blacktown City Council website only shows just 1 May as the dates for 2022 surely there can’t only be 1 day out of the whole year they hold a ceremony.


We got our citizenship approval on 22/02/2022, in Blacktown council, still waiting for ceremony invite.


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## ahmedali2007 (8 mo ago)

Hi Every one,
I got mine approval on Feb 26, 2022 and waiting for ceremony in Blacktown.

Any body has any clue when I can get invitation for ceremony in Blacktown Council?

Thanks


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## ahmedali2007 (8 mo ago)

Anybody has any clue for next ceremony in black town? I got approval on 22nd Feb 2022.


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## uhafez12 (Aug 5, 2015)

ahmedali2007 said:


> Anybody has any clue for next ceremony in black town? I got approval on 22nd Feb 2022.


We also got our citizenship approval on 22nd Feb 2022, in Blacktown council, still waiting for ceremony invite. Apparently no date has been announced yet by the Blacktown council due to non-availability of venue. How pathetic specially considering that these ceremonies are a regular thing and they could have manage these in a better way.


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## JK684 (Apr 2, 2015)

fhar365 said:


> Does anyone know how often Blacktown City Council holds online ceremonies ? I’ve gotten my approval 21/4/22 and still waiting, was hoping to catch the 1/5/22 ceremony but oh well. Any information would be of help. Blacktown City Council website only shows just 1 May as the dates for 2022 surely there can’t only be 1 day out of the whole year they hold a ceremony.


I think no online ceremonies planned as of now. I , for one, don’t like online ceremonies, you don’t feel like you became citizen, I prefer in person ones. Luckily I was in the May 1st in person ceremony. And you can e-mail the council contact and check about the next ceremony. I guess there will be one in June. Worst case if not in June, then July.


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## uhafez12 (Aug 5, 2015)

JK684 said:


> I think no online ceremonies planned as of now. I , for one, don’t like online ceremonies, you don’t feel like you became citizen, I prefer in person ones. Luckily I was in the May 1st in person ceremony. And you can e-mail the council contact and check about the next ceremony. I guess there will be one in June. Worst case if not in June, then July.


Can you plz share the council’s email address?


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## fed_phi (9 mo ago)

uhafez12 said:


> Can you plz share the council’s email address?


[email protected]

I emailed them last week and they responded that they were still looking for a venue


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## uhafez12 (Aug 5, 2015)

fed_phi said:


> [email protected]
> 
> I emailed them last week and they responded that they were still looking for a venue


ill planning on the part of Blacktown Council 🙄


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## fhar365 (8 mo ago)

I got a reply today , they’ve said they haven’t been able to confirm but they are looking to hold a ceremony early July. List hasn’t been confirmed yet so they can’t confirm if you’ve been allocated that ceremony but we will see.


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## JK684 (Apr 2, 2015)

fhar365 said:


> I got a reply today , they’ve said they haven’t been able to confirm but they are looking to hold a ceremony early July. List hasn’t been confirmed yet so they can’t confirm if you’ve been allocated that ceremony but we will see.


usually Councils wont say any thing about the list I guess as it is the responsibility of DHA


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## emboon (Feb 2, 2016)

JK684 said:


> I think no online ceremonies planned as of now. I , for one, don’t like online ceremonies, you don’t feel like you became citizen, I prefer in person ones. Luckily I was in the May 1st in person ceremony. And you can e-mail the council contact and check about the next ceremony. I guess there will be one in June. Worst case if not in June, then July.


May I ask when you were approved?

Seems Blacktown council only have ceremony every 2 months if its true that next one is July.


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## JK684 (Apr 2, 2015)

emboon said:


> May I ask when you were approved?
> 
> Seems Blacktown council only have ceremony every 2 months if its true that next one is July.


I was approved on February 14th


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## uhafez12 (Aug 5, 2015)

JK684 said:


> I was approved on February 14th


I was approved on February 22nd and still waiting. Hoping to be invited in next ceremony.


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## Mayur2016 (Jul 5, 2016)

JK684 said:


> I was approved on February 14th


Blacktown council sending invites for 23 Jun ceremony? 
Anyone received ?
My friend got invite and appeared for test and on 3rd week of Feb 2022.


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## ashiqcep (Aug 12, 2015)

Mayur2016 said:


> Blacktown council sending invites for 23 Jun ceremony?
> Anyone received ?
> My friend got invite and appeared for test and on 3rd week of Feb 2022.


My wife's citizenship approved on 6th December 2021. Still now no invitation for ceremony from BC. Don't know why so much delay for ceremony invitation.


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## uhafez12 (Aug 5, 2015)

Its such a mismanaged process. 
I wonder why don’t they get an oath signed by the Applicants as part of the application docs rather than having to attend a ceremony. Just a waste of time and resources.


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## ajitpandeyciti (8 mo ago)

Does anyone know or can confirm the next ceremony date? I missed the 1st may ceremony as I was overseas.


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## uhafez12 (Aug 5, 2015)

ajitpandeyciti said:


> Does anyone know or can confirm the next ceremony date? I missed the 1st may ceremony as I was overseas.


Someone mentioned above that their friend received an invite for 23rd June from Blacktown Council, and he appeared for his test in 3rd week of Feb. I appeared for my test on 22nd Feb but still haven’t received the invite. Next Ceremony date is also not yet updated on Blacktown Council website.


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## nirmalsai9 (Jan 5, 2016)

Hello, I just received email confirmation about the next ceremony date which is july 2nd.. Council website is getting updated shortly.

Thanks,
Nirmal


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## uhafez12 (Aug 5, 2015)

nirmalsai9 said:


> Hello, I just received email confirmation about the next ceremony date which is july 2nd.. Council website is getting updated shortly.
> 
> Thanks,
> Nirmal


Thanks for the update. Hoping to be invited in this round.


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## thisisram (Dec 17, 2015)

After ceremony, In how many days will Immi account change from “Approved “ to “finalised” .


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## uhafez12 (Aug 5, 2015)

thisisram said:


> After ceremony, In how many days will Immi account change from “Approved “ to “finalised” .
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Curious to know why does it matter after you attend the ceremony and get the citizenship certificate?


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## emboon (Feb 2, 2016)

So do we have a ceremony on Jun 23 and Jul 2?


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## ajitpandeyciti (8 mo ago)

emboon said:


> So do we have a ceremony on Jun 23 and Jul 2?


Its 2nd July only. The council website has been updated. So now lets hope the invitation comes through


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## ashiqcep (Aug 12, 2015)

ajitpandeyciti said:


> Its 2nd July only. The council website has been updated. So now lets hope the invitation comes through


Just now talked to Black town council's ceremony in charge Mary about the dissemination of email for the upcoming ceremony. According to her, due to change of government they wont send any invitation until next week. They need this week to re print all documents with new minister's signature and will be rolled out from next week.


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## emboon (Feb 2, 2016)

I wonder how many months of people will get invited. Do they usually cover around 2months? End of Jan to End of March?


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## nashal (9 mo ago)

ashiqcep said:


> Just now talked to Black town council's ceremony in charge Mary about the dissemination of email for the upcoming ceremony. According to her, due to change of government they wont send any invitation until next week. They need this week to re print all documents with new minister's signature and will be rolled out from next week.


Thanks for the update on the upcoming citizenship ceremony in Blacktown Council (2nd July'22). 

Just needed some help from you. Is there a way to check if we are part of the invite list for the upcoming ceremony? My family's interview/test/approval date is 6th April'22. Would you be able to tell how to get in touch with Mary (Ceremony incharge). She might be able to help. I need to make some travel decisions and would like to prioritize attending citizenship ceremony if we are planned to be invited for the upcoming ceremony on 2nd July'22.

Really appreciate your kind help.


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## JK684 (Apr 2, 2015)

thisisram said:


> After ceremony, In how many days will Immi account change from “Approved “ to “finalised” .
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


For me, it got updated after 10 calendar days.


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## ashiqcep (Aug 12, 2015)

nashal said:


> Thanks for the update on the upcoming citizenship ceremony in Blacktown Council (2nd July'22).
> 
> Just needed some help from you. Is there a way to check if we are part of the invite list for the upcoming ceremony? My family's interview/test/approval date is 6th April'22. Would you be able to tell how to get in touch with Mary (Ceremony incharge). She might be able to help. I need to make some travel decisions and would like to prioritize attending citizenship ceremony if we are planned to be invited for the upcoming ceremony on 2nd July'22.
> 
> Really appreciate your kind help.


Mary told me latest name list will be available in next week. Its best to check next week and call 0298396000 and press 2. Once Mary or somebody attend give your citizenship approval reference number to check whether you are included in this group.


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## nashal (9 mo ago)

ashiqcep said:


> Mary told me latest name list will be available in next week. Its best to check next week and call 0298396000 and press 2. Once Mary or somebody attend give your citizenship approval reference number to check whether you are included in this group.


Thats great. Thanks alot for your help Ashiq. Appreciate it.


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## fed_phi (9 mo ago)

Thank you for the updates. Has anyone received an invite for the July 2 ceremony? Thanks


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## nirmalsai9 (Jan 5, 2016)

Not yet, hopefully sometime next week.. As Ashiq suggested we can call council next week and ask for the list if its ready..


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## ajitpandeyciti (8 mo ago)

Hey Guys, 

Any updates?


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## uhafez12 (Aug 5, 2015)

ajitpandeyciti said:


> Hey Guys,
> 
> Any updates?


Just spoke to Mary. They have received a tentative list, but it isn’t final and she wasn’t willing to confirm if my name is in there as the list can be changed. However, she did mention thatvthe final invitations will be sent by the end of this week via emails, so we better wait for few more days.


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## fed_phi (9 mo ago)

Thanks Uhafez! Would be interesting to know how many will be invited… But lets just wait as you mentioned it will be known in a few days


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## fed_phi (9 mo ago)

I emailed blacktown council and they said 1400 recipients + dependents will be invited on July 2. Hopefully I make the cut. I got approved last April 19. Hope they send the invite soon….


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## uhafez12 (Aug 5, 2015)

fed_phi said:


> I emailed blacktown council and they said 1400 recipients + dependents will be invited on July 2. Hopefully I make the cut. I got approved last April 19. Hope they send the invite soon….


I just received the 2nd July ceremony invite few minutes ago. Our approval date was February 24th.


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## ashiqcep (Aug 12, 2015)

uhafez12 said:


> I just received the 2nd July ceremony invite few minutes ago. Our approval date was February 24th.


My wife also received ceremony invite around 3:30 pm today and her approval date was 6th December 2021.


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## fed_phi (9 mo ago)

Received the invite as well. My approval date is Apr 19. Thanks guys


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## nirmalsai9 (Jan 5, 2016)

Hello guys, we also received invitation for July 2..we were approved on 2nd March..


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## dbimmigrant84 (Nov 11, 2014)

This is good to hear guys. Looks like they are processing approved applications till April.


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## Madhan_M (Dec 20, 2015)

Got my and my wife ceremony letter today evening. We had our exam on21st and 24th March.


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## Fahad Mahafuz (8 mo ago)

I also got ceremony letter for 2nd July and got my approval 16 May 2022


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## dbimmigrant84 (Nov 11, 2014)

Wow 16 may, you are lucky to get the invite quickly.



Fahad Mahafuz said:


> I also got ceremony letter for 2nd July and got my approval 16 May 2022


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## dbimmigrant84 (Nov 11, 2014)

Hi, Does anyone when the Blacktown council will have the next ceremony?


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## nirmalsai9 (Jan 5, 2016)

dbimmigrant84 said:


> Hi, Does anyone when the Blacktown council will have the next ceremony?


July 2nd saturday is the next ceremony



https://www.blacktown.nsw.gov.au/About-Council/What-we-do/Australian-Citizenship-Ceremonies


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## dbimmigrant84 (Nov 11, 2014)

nirmalsai9 said:


> July 2nd saturday is the next ceremony
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.blacktown.nsw.gov.au/About-Council/What-we-do/Australian-Citizenship-Ceremonies


My bad, what i intended to ask is, after July 2nd. Does Blacktown conduct ceremonies every month or once in 2 months?


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## nirmalsai9 (Jan 5, 2016)

dbimmigrant84 said:


> My bad, what i intended to ask is, after July 2nd. Does Blacktown conduct ceremonies every month or once in 2 months?


Their intention is to do 12 ceremonies a year, but if you look at the last one, it was in May.. June one didn't happen due to unavailability of venue. So, hoping there will be one in August or September. You can email and ask about it.. They are very prompt with the responses.
[email protected]


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## RM1844 (8 mo ago)

emboon said:


> So do we have a ceremony on Jun 23 and Jul 2?


We have ceremony on 23rd jun


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## dbimmigrant84 (Nov 11, 2014)

RM1844 said:


> We have ceremony on 23rd jun


i am surprised, blacktown site says Jul 2


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## danish.saleem (Jan 27, 2015)

Look like there are 2K ppl still pending for ceremonies in Blacktown, do we know who gets the invites based on their approval dates?

I got approved in June but my wife got approved in March and we both have not received any invite yet.


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## dbimmigrant84 (Nov 11, 2014)

danish.saleem said:


> Look like there are 2K ppl still pending for ceremonies in Blacktown, do we know who gets the invites based on their approval dates?
> 
> I got approved in June but my wife got approved in March and we both have not received any invite yet.


are you guys linked to each other? that could be the reason why your wife didn't get ceremony invite.


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## danish.saleem (Jan 27, 2015)

dbimmigrant84 said:


> are you guys linked to each other? that could be the reason why your wife didn't get ceremony invite.


yes, we are.


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## malini.priya (7 mo ago)

is it possible to move my ceremony council to a different council where there is less waiting time?


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## dbimmigrant84 (Nov 11, 2014)

malini.priya said:


> is it possible to move my ceremony council to a different council where there is less waiting time?


No, you cannot. the council is decided based on your address and cannot be change until you move to that address


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## malini.priya (7 mo ago)

dbimmigrant84 said:


> No, you cannot. the council is decided based on your address and cannot be change until you move to that address


Thanks...


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## malini.priya (7 mo ago)

anybody in june 2022 got the invite for the ceremony?


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## rajaomerhassan (7 mo ago)

My time lines are I got approved in feb wife got approved june ,application linked so waiting for ceremony invite black town coucil.The current date is 2nd july we might get invite after that.The council is yet to announce dates as they are waiting for venue.


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## malini.priya (7 mo ago)

Not sure when is the next ceremony for blacktown council


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## dbimmigrant84 (Nov 11, 2014)

I hope everyone who attended the ceremony on 2nd July had a safe ceremony. It's raining cats and dogs. I hope there were no hiccups.


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## rajaomerhassan (7 mo ago)

dbimmigrant84 said:


> I hope everyone who attended the ceremony on 2nd July had a safe ceremony. It's raining cats and dogs. I hope there were no hiccups.


Few of my friends attended the ceremony on 2nd July,it was smooth.The good part is they got the certificates on the spot as earlier they were sending them through mail which took 4 to 5 weeks,so good that over all we all save that time in order to apply for the passports early.Hope to get some good news soon,guys keep on posting the updates please.


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## vsundarraman (Dec 11, 2017)

Quick question, may be this has already been answered elsewhere, I came in Jan 2019 on a PR, my wife and son came in Feb 2019, i will be eligible to apply for citizenship in Jan 2023, can i also include my wife and kid in JAN itself?


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## fed_phi (9 mo ago)

vsundarraman said:


> Quick question, may be this has already been answered elsewhere, I came in Jan 2019 on a PR, my wife and son came in Feb 2019, i will be eligible to apply for citizenship in Jan 2023, can i also include my wife and kid in JAN itself?


 Kid - yes as a dependent.
Spouse - no as it is always a separate application for adults


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## danish.saleem (Jan 27, 2015)

Does anyone know when is the next date for the ceremony?


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## thomassydney (6 mo ago)

danish.saleem said:


> Does anyone know when is the next date for the ceremony?


I got a reply from Blacktown council that they are looking for venue. The one they usually use is under repair. Date is still unknow.


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## dbimmigrant84 (Nov 11, 2014)

No news from Blacktown council yet. I hope they don't push the ceremony to September


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## siddharth782003 (Jun 13, 2013)

I am expecting it to be in September, hope they do not push beyond that.


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## danish.saleem (Jan 27, 2015)

siddharth782003 said:


> I am expecting it to be in September, hope they do not push beyond that.


yeah , I think the one in July happened after two months so I think they will do it in Septemeber


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## malini.priya (7 mo ago)

when did the last few ceremonies happen? There was one on July 2nd 2022. Any info on the previous ones?


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## danish.saleem (Jan 27, 2015)

Hi Guys, is anyone aware of any recent updates for the Blacktown Citizenship ceremony ?


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## MAG1234 (Feb 1, 2017)

danish.saleem said:


> Hi Guys, is anyone aware of any recent updates for the Blacktown Citizenship ceremony ?


No, i am looking for the same information. Do you have anything to share with group?


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## rajaomerhassan (7 mo ago)

danish.saleem said:


> Hi Guys, is anyone aware of any recent updates for the Blacktown Citizenship ceremony ?


Guys I called Black Town council last friday ,as usual they said no dates so far and asked to contact Home office.They said that the Home Office is supposed to send them the ceremony dates and email to us,so they are not sure on next dates.
As for questions asked earlier the ceremonies were held on 5 or 6th June,26 June and 2nd of July.In June they had 2 and only one in July.My personal thoughts are one may be held end August or early september.Reason being that emails arrive at least 3 to 4 weeks before the dates and no one got any email yet.
Guys please keep on posting the updates,specially if any one gets to talk to Home office helpline(if they attend the phone) do update as what they have to say


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## malini.priya (7 mo ago)

Blacktown council responded back saying the usual - their venue is under repair. She said mostly likely there will be one close to end of sept.


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## dbimmigrant84 (Nov 11, 2014)

End of September ? That's 2 months away.
Not even the end of August


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## MAG1234 (Feb 1, 2017)

dbimmigrant84 said:


> End of September ? That's 2 months away.
> Not even the end of August





dbimmigrant84 said:


> End of September ? That's 2 months away.
> Not even the end of August


Yeah. That's very late approximately in 3 months 1 ceremony.


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## danish.saleem (Jan 27, 2015)

MAG1234 said:


> Yeah. That's very late approximately in 3 months 1 ceremony.


not good indeed, I think they may be planning to do it on Citizenship day in September, lets hope all of us who are waiting for the ceremony invite get the invite.


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## MAG1234 (Feb 1, 2017)

danish.saleem said:


> not good indeed, I think they may be planning to do it on Citizenship day in September, lets hope all of us who are waiting for the ceremony invite get the invite.


Sure.. lets wait. I hope the invite should start popping into our email, since September 17 is not very far. They usually give a lead time of 30-45 days.


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## danish.saleem (Jan 27, 2015)

Hi Guys , two dates have now been added to the Blacktown City council website , 17th September and 23rd Septemeber , please do share the update here if you receive any invites , I have been approved on 16th June and my wife approved on 16th March and none of us have got any invite so far.


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## MAG1234 (Feb 1, 2017)

danish.saleem said:


> Hi Guys , two dates have now been added to the Blacktown City council website , 17th September and 23rd Septemeber , please do share the update here if you receive any invites , I have been approved on 16th June and my wife approved on 16th March and none of us have got any invite so far.


lets hope for best, i got approved on 7th July and my wife on 14th July.


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## MAG1234 (Feb 1, 2017)

danish.saleem said:


> Hi Guys , two dates have now been added to the Blacktown City council website , 17th September and 23rd Septemeber , please do share the update here if you receive any invites , I have been approved on 16th June and my wife approved on 16th March and none of us have got any invite so far.


Is there portal where we can see what was the last approved date, the ceremony letter was sent through?


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## dbimmigrant84 (Nov 11, 2014)

Interesting to see 2 back to back dates for ceremonies. My approval was on 26th May 2021, I hope everyone else before me got ceremony invite on 2nd July


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## MAG1234 (Feb 1, 2017)

dbimmigrant84 said:


> Interesting to see 2 back to back dates for ceremonies. My approval was on 26th May 2021, I hope everyone else before me got ceremony invite on 2nd July


Hopefully, I will get the invite too!!


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## danish.saleem (Jan 27, 2015)

MAG1234 said:


> Hopefully, I will get the invite too!!


These invites are quite random I have seen people approved Last December and got invite-only on the 2nd of July ceremony.


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## MAG1234 (Feb 1, 2017)

danish.saleem said:


> These invites are quite random I have seen people approved Last December and got invite-only on the 2nd of July ceremony.


Scary Situation then.Fingers Crossed.


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## cydd53 (5 mo ago)

I had interview on 26 Jan and got approval on 25 May. Hopefully, I will get invitation for 23 Sep, I would be more confident if ceremony will be held on 24 Sep… lol


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## Adeel84 (5 mo ago)

cydd53 said:


> I had interview on 26 Jan and got approval on 25 May. Hopefully, I will get invitation for 23 Sep, I would be more confident if ceremony will be held on 24 Sep… lol


Oh, that means it took almost 4 month to get approval. My wife is on same boat, she had interview on April 20, 2022 and we will waiting for approval at the moment. The way this whole thing works is hard to understand honestly. I had interview on April 19, 2022 got approval same day and ceremony done on July 2, 2022 however, she is 1 day behind but still waiting.


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## danish.saleem (Jan 27, 2015)

Adeel84 said:


> Oh, that means it took almost 4 month to get approval. My wife is on same boat, she had interview on April 20, 2022 and we will waiting for approval at the moment. The way this whole thing works is hard to understand honestly. I had interview on April 19, 2022 got approval same day and ceremony done on July 2, 2022 however, she is 1 day behind but still waiting.


Were you guys linked with each other ? I have got my approval after 3 months (16th June) but my wife got it in time (16th March) but she also didn’t get an invite for 2nd July , may I also asked when did you get an invite for 2nd July ? I mean how earlier before the ceremony? The department website says 4 weeks before the ceremony


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## Adeel84 (5 mo ago)

danish.saleem said:


> Were you guys linked with each other ? I have got my approval after 3 months (16th June) but my wife got it in time (16th March) but she also didn’t get an invite for 2nd July , may I also asked when did you get an invite for 2nd July ? I mean how earlier before the ceremony? The department website says 4 weeks before the ceremony


Yes Danish, I received ceremony invite exact on June 2, 2022. That's why I said "How this system works, I am still not able to understand. My interview/test was on April 19, 2022, got approval within 2 hours from test appearance date and ceremony invite on June 2, 2022. My wife had total opposite experience, her test was on April 20, 2022, it was cleared and now she been waiting for approval, it's almost 3.5 months till to date.


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## Adeel84 (5 mo ago)

danish.saleem said:


> Were you guys linked with each other ? I have got my approval after 3 months (16th June) but my wife got it in time (16th March) but she also didn’t get an invite for 2nd July , may I also asked when did you get an invite for 2nd July ? I mean how earlier before the ceremony? The department website says 4 weeks before the ceremony


I personally think, you will get ceremony invite this time along with your wife, if you have asked them to have combined ceremony. I told the lady in interview, I am not fuss on combined ceremony, whichever comes first.


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## cydd53 (5 mo ago)

Adeel84 said:


> Oh, that means it took almost 4 month to get approval. My wife is on same boat, she had interview on April 20, 2022 and we will waiting for approval at the moment. The way this whole thing works is hard to understand honestly. I had interview on April 19, 2022 got approval same day and ceremony done on July 2, 2022 however, she is 1 day behind but still waiting.


 Not necessarily, my friend and I had interview on the same day and he has received his passport last week. My another friend and his wife had interview on 8 June and their application got approved this week. It usually takes 2 months but in some case when they ask more for more information then they take around 4 months.


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## danish.saleem (Jan 27, 2015)

cydd53 said:


> Not necessarily, my friend and I had interview on the same day and he has received his passport last week. My another friend and his wife had interview on 8 June and their application got approved this week. It usually takes 2 months but in some case when they ask more for more information then they take around 4 months.


People generally get approval at the same day unless there are more checks required or officer asked for additional information, everyone has different experience they didn’t asked me anything but mine still took 3 months


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## Mate91 (5 mo ago)

Here is mine
Council - Blacktown City Council
Date of application - 10 Jan 2022
Test - 04 July 2022, Test centre - Parramatta, NSW
Application Approved - 4/8/2022 (approval was delayed due to additional checks made by officer - I was told at the interview that it will take some time)
Ceremony invite is yet to be received.


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## dbimmigrant84 (Nov 11, 2014)

How long before the ceremony does the Blacktown council send invites considering Sep 17 is more than a month away?


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## danish.saleem (Jan 27, 2015)

dbimmigrant84 said:


> How long before the ceremony does the Blacktown council send invites considering Sep 17 is more than a month away?


Should be this week or next i tried to call Blacktown council yesterday but no one picked up I will try again today


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## MAG1234 (Feb 1, 2017)

dbimmigrant84 said:


> How long before the ceremony does the Blacktown council send invites considering Sep 17 is more than a month away?


 I think 30 days before.


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## Mate91 (5 mo ago)

Does anyone know how many people are currently approved and waiting for ceremony in Blacktown? I heard that they cleared most of their backlog in their July's ceremony.


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## danish.saleem (Jan 27, 2015)

Mate91 said:


> Does anyone know how many people are currently approved and waiting for ceremony in Blacktown? I heard that they cleared most of their backlog in their July's ceremony.


this is the last list I have shows May 27th waiting list and shows 2K ppl already, and I think after May27th there was only one ceremony which was on July 2nd, and typically 1400 ppl attend, so my guess is that there are still 600 people left + all the other approval.


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## Mate91 (5 mo ago)

https://www.blacktown.nsw.gov.au/News-Media/Blacktown-City%E2%80%99s-citizenship-ceremonies-lead-the-way



In July, Mayor Tony Bleasdale OAM was honoured to welcome an extraordinary *1695 new citizens* across 2 super citizenship ceremonies at Blacktown Leisure Centre, Stanhope. 

I think Blacktown is now doing a great job so far. Lets see how many will get invited in September's ceremony!.


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## danish.saleem (Jan 27, 2015)

I tried to contact Blacktown council today and the lady over the phone told me that they don’t sent invite and it’s going to be from DHA, she also told me that sometimes DHA involve council for sending invites but they have not heard anything from DHA so far.

anyone tried contacting DHA for ceremony invites ?


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## NB (Mar 29, 2017)

danish.saleem said:


> I tried to contact Blacktown council today and the lady over the phone told me that they don’t sent invite and it’s going to be from DHA, she also told me that sometimes DHA involve council for sending invites but they have not heard anything from DHA so far.
> 
> anyone tried contacting DHA for ceremony invites ?


The council is correct 
They have no role in deciding who gets to attend the ceremony 
That’s the prerogative of DHA alone
DHA will not consider any request for faster ceremony unless it’s required for a jobs requiring citizenship or for HECS etc
So unless you can convince the DHA that you need a priority ceremony, you are just wasting your time 
Cheers


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## danish.saleem (Jan 27, 2015)

NB said:


> The council is correct
> They have no role in deciding who gets to attend the ceremony
> That’s the prerogative of DHA alone
> DHA will not consider any request for faster ceremony unless it’s required for a jobs requiring citizenship or for HECS etc
> So unless you can convince the DHA that you need a priority ceremony, you are just wasting your time





NB said:


> The council is correct
> They have no role in deciding who gets to attend the ceremony
> That’s the prerogative of DHA alone
> DHA will not consider any request for faster ceremony unless it’s required for a jobs requiring citizenship or for HECS etc
> ...


I understand that , my impression was that at least they will tell us when the invites will receive the invite , it’s hard to convince DHA for priority ceremonies, I recently failed to pass the initial screening interview for a Job because I am still not a citizen yet , I guess you won’t get a Job offer if you are not a citizen and would get rejected in pre qualification stage


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## RJae (5 mo ago)

Hi everyone,

I contacted the Blacktown council and Mary told me they've already sent out the invites for the 17 September ceremony and that they won't have the list for the 23Sept Ceremony until a couple of weeks from now. 

Got my citizenship approved on 05 July 2022 and still waiting for the invite.


Anyone here got the invite for the 17th?


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## Dhillon1 (5 mo ago)

Hi I haven’t got the invitation yet even my application was approved on 23 may 2022 .seriously don’t know what’s going on?


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## malini.priya (7 mo ago)

mine was approved on june 23 and still waiting for the invite


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## danish.saleem (Jan 27, 2015)

I also didn’t get any invite mine was approved on 16th June


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## Ryan H (Feb 3, 2021)

Hey guys, I live in Seven hills and was expecting a ceremony from Blacktown shire, but I just received my ceremony invitation from The Hills Shire Council for Saturday 17 September 2022. My application got approved on 09 Jun 2022.


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## Dhillon1 (5 mo ago)

It’s confusing mine got approved on 23 may 2022 and i haven’t heard anything back


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## danish.saleem (Jan 27, 2015)

Dhillon1 said:


> It’s confusing mine got approved on 23 may 2022 and i haven’t heard anything back


My wife got approved on 16th March but we didn’t hear anything


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## Dhillon1 (5 mo ago)

danish.saleem said:


> My wife got approved on 16th March but we didn’t hear anything


I called to department & council as well no one gave me specific answer just wait


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## danish.saleem (Jan 27, 2015)

Ryan H said:


> Hey guys, I live in Seven hills and was expecting a ceremony from Blacktown shire, but I just received my ceremony invitation from The Hills Shire Council for Saturday 17 September 2022. My application got approved on 09 Jun 2022.


may I know when did you receive your ceremony invite ?


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## malini.priya (7 mo ago)

Dhillon1 said:


> It’s confusing mine got approved on 23 may 2022 and i haven’t heard anything back


...


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## malini.priya (7 mo ago)

Ryan H said:


> Hey guys, I live in Seven hills and was expecting a ceremony from Blacktown shire, but I just received my ceremony invitation from The Hills Shire Council for Saturday 17 September 2022. My application got approved on 09 Jun 2022.


Congrats


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## Ryan H (Feb 3, 2021)

danish.saleem said:


> may I know when did you receive your ceremony invite ?


Today morning around 10 am.


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## MAG1234 (Feb 1, 2017)

danish.saleem said:


> may I know when did you receive your ceremony invite ?


Congrats, I haven't receive anything yet. My application was approved on 7th July.


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## dbimmigrant84 (Nov 11, 2014)

I didn't receive as well. My application is approved on 26th May


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## RJae (5 mo ago)

Hi All,

Can you let us know here if ever you receive an invite for the ceremony this September. Thanks.


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## danish.saleem (Jan 27, 2015)

RJae said:


> HiAll,
> 
> Can you let us know here if ever you receive an invite for the ceremony this September. Thanks.


Nothing from my side still waiting


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## malini.priya (7 mo ago)

Blacktown council responded to my email saying the invite for the Sept 17th has already been sent. Anybody received it?


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## dbimmigrant84 (Nov 11, 2014)

malini.priya said:


> Blacktown council responded to my email saying the invite for the Sept 17th has already been sent. Anybody received it?


I didn't recieve


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## danish.saleem (Jan 27, 2015)

dbimmigrant84 said:


> I didn't recieve


Same here I also didn’t receive it


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## MAG1234 (Feb 1, 2017)

danish.saleem said:


> Same here I also didn’t receive it


 Same, I didn't receive it ..


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## MAG1234 (Feb 1, 2017)

MAG1234 said:


> Same, I didn't receive it ..


Looking forward for 23rd September ceremony invite.


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## danish.saleem (Jan 27, 2015)

MAG1234 said:


> Looking forward for 23rd September ceremony invite.


It’s very annoying and sad that most of us didn’t get the invite , I guess the 17th September one would be a big ceremony because of citizenship day so not sure how big the 23rd one will be and it’s coming on Friday so a risk of cancellation is also there.


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## MAG1234 (Feb 1, 2017)

danish.saleem said:


> It’s very annoying and sad that most of us didn’t get the invite , I guess the 17th September one would be a big ceremony because of citizenship day so not sure how big the 23rd one will be and it’s coming on Friday so a risk of cancellation is also there.


I was expecting most of the people will get invite for 17th September. Seems not the case.


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## dbimmigrant84 (Nov 11, 2014)

MAG1234 said:


> I was expecting most of the people will get invite for 17th September. Seems not the case.


I was expecting the same. It's also possible that they might have got a small venue just for that day and hence only a small number of invites (speculating).

Also, if my understanding is right, most of the people who are approved till May-mid attended the ceremony on July 2


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## MAG1234 (Feb 1, 2017)

dbimmigrant84 said:


> I was expecting the same. It's also possible that they might have got a small venue just for that day and hence only a small number of invites (speculating).
> 
> Also, if my understanding is right, most of the people who are approved till May-mid attended the ceremony on July 2


Only the council knows what is happening. It has been frustrating.


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## malini.priya (7 mo ago)

I have asked the council for the number of people invited for the 17th Sept. Will let you all know once i receive a response.


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## cydd53g (5 mo ago)

Approved on 25th of May and haven’t received invitation so far.


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## dbimmigrant84 (Nov 11, 2014)

cydd53g said:


> Approved on 25th of May and haven’t received invitation so far.


 Same boat mate . Let's hope we hear something soon 🤞


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## MAG1234 (Feb 1, 2017)

Does anyone receive more invites?


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## MAG1234 (Feb 1, 2017)

which number did anyone try for Blacktown council for citizenship ceremony inquiry?


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## danish.saleem (Jan 27, 2015)

MAG1234 said:


> which number did anyone try for Blacktown council for citizenship ceremony inquiry?


02 98396000 and then you press 2 and wait for someone to pick up.

nothing so far for Sept 23rd


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## Mate91 (5 mo ago)

Hi All,

I managed to speak with the ceremony team. They are so lovely, however they were a bit limited in terms of the amount information they can provide to public. They said that ceremony invitations have already been sent out to applicants for both 17 & 23 via both email and post. If someone didn't receive an invitation, it means that they are not meant to attend the 17 and 23. They are unofficially planning for another ceremony in October 2022, pending approvals and venue.

I hope this helps


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## danish.saleem (Jan 27, 2015)

Mate91 said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I managed to speak with the ceremony team. They are so lovely, however they were a bit limited in terms of the amount information they can provide to public. They said that ceremony invitations have already been sent out to applicants for both 17 & 23 via both email and post. If someone didn't receive an invitation, it means that they are not meant to attend the 17 and 23. They are unofficially planning for another ceremony in October 2022, pending approvals and venue.
> 
> I hope this helps


I didn’t receive any


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## malini.priya (7 mo ago)

Mate91 said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I managed to speak with the ceremony team. They are so lovely, however they were a bit limited in terms of the amount information they can provide to public. They said that ceremony invitations have already been sent out to applicants for both 17 & 23 via both email and post. If someone didn't receive an invitation, it means that they are not meant to attend the 17 and 23. They are unofficially planning for another ceremony in October 2022, pending approvals and venue.
> 
> I hope this helps


wow...except one in this group, nobody else have received anything. So the next best hope is oct then


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## Dhillon1 (5 mo ago)

Actually i don’t understand to whom they are sending invitation’s because last time they told me they already invited people till 16 may 2022 for 2 July ceremony and mine was approved on 23 may 2022 then she told may be you will be invited for the next1 but still I haven’t got any response for these 17&23 September ceremonies.


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## dbimmigrant84 (Nov 11, 2014)

Mate91 said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I managed to speak with the ceremony team. They are so lovely, however they were a bit limited in terms of the amount information they can provide to public. They said that ceremony invitations have already been sent out to applicants for both 17 & 23 via both email and post. If someone didn't receive an invitation, it means that they are not meant to attend the 17 and 23. They are unofficially planning for another ceremony in October 2022, pending approvals and venue.
> 
> I hope this helps


For July 2 invite, council started to send invites after 1st week of June. Considering today is 17th August and next ceremonies are 17th and 23rd September. I would say they might have probably just shortlisted the people who might be called for ceremony within next week. Let's hope we are still in September ceremony.


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## danish.saleem (Jan 27, 2015)

dbimmigrant84 said:


> For July 2 invite, council started to send invites after 1st week of June. Considering today is 17th August and next ceremonies are 17th and 23rd September. I would say they might have probably just shortlisted the people who might be called for ceremony within next week. Let's hope we are still in September ceremony.


You might be right because my wife called the council today and they get very annoyed …lol probably because they might getting a lot of calls , the lady over the phone told my wife that we have nothing to do and we will get an invite from the department she even said that they don’t send the invites, so I think council is not sharing the right information regardless we will come to know in the coming days


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## malini.priya (7 mo ago)

danish.saleem said:


> You might be right because my wife called the council today and they get very annoyed …lol probably because they might getting a lot of calls , the lady over the phone told my wife that we have nothing to do and we will get an invite from the department she even said that they don’t send the invites, so I think council is not sharing the right information regardless we will come to know in the coming days


To me they said that my name is not on the 17th or 23rd list. So as you said not sure if they are sharing the right info. My approval was 23rd June


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## siddharth782003 (Jun 13, 2013)

Has anyone asked the council if there are two back to back ceremonies or will there be just one ?


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## cydd53g (5 mo ago)

Hope that some of us receive invitation next week.


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## rajaomerhassan (7 mo ago)

Guys I am still hope full that we will get the invitation in next few days as its not possible that so many people on this forum and none have received any invite.2nd July ceremony had 1500 people in it which covered almost all till May 15.So now we have 2 ceremonies and no one got invite ,it does not seem possible.I think the council may have one different department to send the invites ,email and letters and they may have finalized the lists ,thats why when ever we call they give us all the same answer.
Hope that we get the emails in next week.
Guys keep on posting as it gives hope.


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## sina1021 (5 mo ago)

dbimmigrant84 said:


> For July 2 invite, council started to send invites after 1st week of June. Considering today is 17th August and next ceremonies are 17th and 23rd September. I would say they might have probably just shortlisted the people who might be called for ceremony within next week. Let's hope we are still in September ceremony.


nope i got my invite on june 01 and was approved on the same day i did my test which was may 13th


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## malini.priya (7 mo ago)

sina1021 said:


> nope i got my invite on june 01 and was approved on the same day i did my test which was may 13th


Sorry did u mean that you have already attended the ceremony?


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## msksyd (5 mo ago)

sina1021 said:


> nope i got my invite on june 01 and was approved on the same day i did my test which was may 13th


Your test was on 13/May and ceremony was on 2/Jul. and invites were sent on 1st Jun. So you mean invites are sent before 4 weeks?

So 17th Sep invites must be already sent and we have just 4 more days ie before Friday for 23rd Sep.

not sure of venue and that determines the number of people getting invite.

so many factors…


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## sina1021 (5 mo ago)

msksyd said:


> Your test was on 13/May and ceremony was on 2/Jul. and invites were sent on 1st Jun. So you mean invites are sent before 4 weeks?
> 
> So 17th Sep invites must be already sent and we have just 4 more days ie before Friday for 23rd Sep.
> 
> ...


HI yes!! I attended the July 02 ceremony and I got my invitation letter on June 01 around 3pm and my mum also attended the may 1st ceremony and she got her letter exactly 4 weeks before the ceremony so I'm guessing it is 4 weeks before the ceremony. My older sister got approved on June 16th and she still hasn't been invited.


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## dbimmigrant84 (Nov 11, 2014)

If that's the case, then we should have gotten the ceremony invites for 23rd September either by today or tomorrow.


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## malini.priya (7 mo ago)

i dont think we will be getting one for sept. Best bet is oct i guess.


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## MAG1234 (Feb 1, 2017)

malini.priya said:


> i dont think we will be getting one for sept. Best bet is oct i guess.


Big Question is - Who all gets invites for September Ceremony? None of the people in this forum didn't get or either didn't update.


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## danish.saleem (Jan 27, 2015)

MAG1234 said:


> Big Question is - Who all gets invites for September Ceremony? None of the people in this forum didn't get or either didn't update.


This is actually a big question really 😄 I have asked in some other forums as well but no update


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## Mate91 (5 mo ago)

MAG1234 said:


> Big Question is - Who all gets invites for September Ceremony? None of the people in this forum didn't get or either didn't update.


Haha I had the same question in mind.
Maybe its a fake ceremony lol 😛


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## msksyd (5 mo ago)

Mate91 said:


> Haha I had the same question in mind.
> Maybe its a fake ceremony lol 😛


Might be both are very small ceremonies with just 100 each. 
As everyone says we can only wait until it happens.


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## expat347 (5 mo ago)

they should do one like Brisbane City Council has hosted two of Australia’s largest citizenship ceremonies this week, welcoming over 5,000 people across two citizenship Thousands of New Australians Officially Welcomed


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## danish.saleem (Jan 27, 2015)

expat347 said:


> they should do one like Brisbane City Council has hosted two of Australia’s largest citizenship ceremonies this week, welcoming over 5,000 people across two citizenship Thousands of New Australians Officially Welcomed


they do not have a backlog like Brisbane City council I have two friends who waited for almost a year before being called for a ceremony, similar story with Parramatta here but I think Parramatta did some large ceremonies as well.

I am still hoping that we get the ceremony invites as none of us get it so far


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## NB (Mar 29, 2017)

expat347 said:


> they should do one like Brisbane City Council has hosted two of Australia’s largest citizenship ceremonies this week, welcoming over 5,000 people across two citizenship Thousands of New Australians Officially Welcomed


The number of applicants waiting for ceremonies is not available anywhere
As soon as the applicant is approved, his application is removed from the DHA monthly data
As there are more then 500 local councils, it’s impossible for anyone to collect that data individually and collate it 
Cheers


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## MAG1234 (Feb 1, 2017)

msksyd said:


> Might be both are very small ceremonies with just 100 each.
> As everyone says we can only wait until it happens.


My friend from strathfield council got ceremony invite today for 17th September. Lets hope ..


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## malini.priya (7 mo ago)

MAG1234 said:


> My friend from strathfield council got ceremony invite today for 17th September. Lets hope ..


is it for strathfield council?


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## MAG1234 (Feb 1, 2017)

malini.priya said:


> is it for strathfield council?


Yes


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## rajkumarnes (Feb 11, 2016)

My application approved on 15th Aug, still waiting for ceremony invitation from Blacktown Council.


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## cydd53 (5 mo ago)

I wonder if these were fake ceremonies….lol…how come not a single person who is on this forum received invitation? I was here when so many people from this forum received invitations for the ceremony held on 2nd of July.


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## malini.priya (7 mo ago)

cydd53 said:


> I wonder if these were fake ceremonies….lol…how come not a single person who is on this forum received invitation? I was here when so many people from this forum received invitations for the ceremony held on 2nd of July.


May be just that people aren't updating their invite info here


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## rajaomerhassan (7 mo ago)

malini.priya said:


> May be just that people aren't updating their invite info here


Guys we will receive invites this week for the 23 rd cermony ,not sure about the 17th one.The invites come 3 weeks before ,the list has been finalized ,wait for your emails.


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## dbimmigrant84 (Nov 11, 2014)

rajaomerhassan said:


> Guys we will receive invites this week for the 23 rd cermony ,not sure about the 17th one.The invites come 3 weeks before ,the list has been finalized ,wait for your emails.


Congratulations, when did you get the email? Was it on Saturday/Sunday?


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## MAG1234 (Feb 1, 2017)

rajaomerhassan said:


> Guys we will receive invites this week for the 23 rd cermony ,not sure about the 17th one.The invites come 3 weeks before ,the list has been finalized ,wait for your emails.


Crom where we got this info? Can we see the name anywhere ?


----------



## MAG1234 (Feb 1, 2017)

dbimmigrant84 said:


> Congratulations, when did you get the email? Was it on Saturday/Sunday?


Did you recieve email today??


----------



## rajaomerhassan (7 mo ago)

dbimmigrant84 said:


> Congratulations, when did you get the email? Was it on Saturday/Sunday?


Did not receive any email yet,checked from Home office(help line) and they have confirmed that I am booked for 23 rd ceremony and will receive email shortly.So I would say this week.


MAG1234 said:


> Did you recieve email today??


Not yet ,I feel like I will get it on friday 2nd sept because thats exactly 3 weeks before the ceremony.


----------



## Mate91 (5 mo ago)

rajaomerhassan said:


> Guys we will receive invites this week for the 23 rd cermony ,not sure about the 17th one.The invites come 3 weeks before ,the list has been finalized ,wait for your emails.


Guys chill, the guy didn't yet receive an invitation, he is just predicting that it may happen this week. Not an accurate information, just a prediction.


----------



## Mate91 (5 mo ago)

rajaomerhassan said:


> Did not receive any email yet,checked from Home office(help line) and they have confirmed that I am booked for 23 rd ceremony and will receive email shortly.So I would say this week.
> 
> Not yet ,I feel like I will get it on friday 2nd sept because thats exactly 3 weeks before the ceremony.


I hope we all receive it soon 😊🙏
Thanks as well for confirming that DHA can provide information if ceremony is already booked for someone.


----------



## rajaomerhassan (7 mo ago)

Mate91 said:


> Guys chill, the guy didn't yet receive an invitation, he is just predicting that it may happen this week. Not an accurate information, just a prediction.


Yes you are right on in one way as I havent got email yet but home office has confirmed my date for 23 rd ceremony over the help line .So far no email and seeing the previous trends I guess it would be exactly 3 weeks before which happens to be 2nd sep friday.


----------



## Mate91 (5 mo ago)

rajaomerhassan said:


> Yes you are right on in one way as I havent got email yet but home office has confirmed my date for 23 rd ceremony over the help line .So far no email and seeing the previous trends I guess it would be exactly 3 weeks before which happens to be 2nd sep friday.


Will you please tell us what was your approval date?
Thanks again for confirming that you are booked for the 23rd.


----------



## MAG1234 (Feb 1, 2017)

rajaomerhassan said:


> Did not receive any email yet,checked from Home office(help line) and they have confirmed that I am booked for 23 rd ceremony and will receive email shortly.So I would say this week.
> 
> Not yet ,I feel like I will get it on friday 2nd sept because thats exactly 3 weeks before the ceremony.


Which number you called? What was the wait time?


----------



## rajaomerhassan (7 mo ago)

Mate91 said:


> Will you please tell us what was your approval date?
> Thanks again for confirming that you are booked for the 23rd.


My test and approval was feb 2022,got delayed beacuse of wifes application,she got approved in june(had opted for joint ceremony)


----------



## rajaomerhassan (7 mo ago)

MAG1234 said:


> Which number you called? What was the wait time?


Normal help line wait time is more than one hour called regular for 3 to 4 days to get thorough.


----------



## MAG1234 (Feb 1, 2017)

rajaomerhassan said:


> Normal help line wait time is more than one hour called regular for 3 to 4 days to get thorough.


you mean home affairs call line?


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## rajaomerhassan (7 mo ago)

MAG1234 said:


> you mean home affairs call line?


Yes home affairs help line.Wait time is alot just try holding the line.


----------



## MAG1234 (Feb 1, 2017)

Mate91 said:


> I hope we all receive it soon 😊🙏
> Thanks as well for confirming that DHA can provide information if ceremony is already booked for someone.


I trie calling them, they were not able to provide the information. Seems depends on agent to agent who handles the calls


----------



## thomassydney (6 mo ago)

We just received the invitation by email from home office for 23 Sept ceremony. It's at 7:30pm

Approval date: 27-May for myself and 2-June for my wife


----------



## dbimmigrant84 (Nov 11, 2014)

Woohoo!! just got the invite for 23rd September at 7:30PM


----------



## MAG1234 (Feb 1, 2017)

dbimmigrant84 said:


> Woohoo!! just got the invite for 23rd September at 7:30PM


Got the invite .. congratulations!!


----------



## cydd53 (5 mo ago)

Hi Guys, I received the invite for 23 Sep. Interview date was 26 Jan approved on 25 May. Hopefully you guys will also receive your invites in this week.


----------



## danish.saleem (Jan 27, 2015)

I also received just now approval date 16th June and wife approval data 16th March


----------



## MAG1234 (Feb 1, 2017)

cydd53 said:


> Hi Guys, I received the invite for 23 Sep. Interview date was 26 Jan approved on 25 May. Hopefully you guys will also receive your invites in this week.


Seems lot of invites popping up..


----------



## MAG1234 (Feb 1, 2017)

MAG1234 said:


> Seems lot of invites popping up..


Mine was 7th July and 14th July for my partner approved citizenship.


----------



## MAG1234 (Feb 1, 2017)

dbimmigrant84 said:


> Woohoo!! just got the invite for 23rd September at 7:30PM


What was your timeline?


----------



## dbimmigrant84 (Nov 11, 2014)

MAG1234 said:


> What was your timeline?


Citizenship Application - 5 Nov 2021 | Citizenship test invite and approval - 26 May 2022 | Ceremony (Blacktown Council): 23rd September


----------



## rajaomerhassan (7 mo ago)

Guys I also got invite just now for 23 rd 7 30 pm


----------



## RJae (5 mo ago)

I got an invite as well! 🤗


----------



## msksyd (5 mo ago)

RJae said:


> I got an invite as well! 🤗


What is your approval date??


----------



## RJae (5 mo ago)

msksyd said:


> What is your approval date??


Mine was 5th of July but I was linked with my sister and she got approved on 8th of July


----------



## rajkumarnes (Feb 11, 2016)

Same here I got my invite for the 23rd Sep.


----------



## msksyd (5 mo ago)

rajkumarnes said:


> Same here I got my invite for the 23rd Sep.


What is your approval date??


----------



## rajkumarnes (Feb 11, 2016)

msksyd said:


> What is your approval date??


15th Aug


----------



## msksyd (5 mo ago)

rajkumarnes said:


> 15th Aug


Congrats and All the best. That’s pretty quick. My approval was on 16th Aug. Should be in the next ceremony then..


----------



## siddharth782003 (Jun 13, 2013)

I also received


----------



## haroon426 (Mar 4, 2014)

I also got the ceremony invite email today for 23-Sep @7:30PM. Wondering if someone could answer following :


The invite says to arrive atleast 90-minutes before the ceremony time. Does it mean we have to be there at 6PM ?
It says to bring this letter. Does it mean we need to print this email ? or we can show this email on mobile ?


----------



## RJae (5 mo ago)

haroon426 said:


> I also got the ceremony invite email today for 23-Sep @7:30AM. Wondering if someone could answer following :
> 
> 
> The invite says to arrive atleast 90-minutes before the ceremony time. Does it mean we have to be there at 6AM ?
> It says to bring this letter. Does it mean we need to print this email ? or we can show this email on mobile ?


It's at 7.30 PM NOT in AM. 

I guess you just need to follow the instructions given. So YES to both of your questions.


----------



## malini.priya (7 mo ago)

Guys got my invite today @ 3pm for 23rd Sept. My approval was on 23rd June.


----------



## haroon426 (Mar 4, 2014)

RJae said:


> It's at 7.30 PM NOT in AM.
> 
> I guess you just need to follow the instructions given. So YES to both of your questions.


My bad  Correcting it

Thanks RJae


----------



## msksyd (5 mo ago)

Looks like lot of invites for Sep 23, so with a person confirming from Aug 15 approval date, I hope most of the backlog must have been cleared now. Though not all the application are similar and varies case by case, in general I assume that Aug 16 approval date should get invite for ceremony after Sep 23.

The question I have is - l misread the question, about ceremonies attracting media attention and I answered No, indeed I don’t have problem attending a ceremony with media attention, will this affect the ceremony date?? Do we have separate ceremonies for those who answered No for this question in application?


----------



## danish.saleem (Jan 27, 2015)

msksyd said:


> Looks like lot of invites for Sep 23, so with a person confirming from Aug 15 approval date, I hope most of the backlog must have been cleared now. Though not all the application are similar and varies case by case, in general I assume that Aug 16 approval date should get invite for ceremony after Sep 23.
> 
> The question I have is - l misread the question, about ceremonies attracting media attention and I answered No, indeed I don’t have problem attending a ceremony with media attention, will this affect the ceremony date?? Do we have separate ceremonies for those who answered No for this question in application?


Don’t worry about it unless you have ceremony on Australia Day I don’t think it’s a big issue , I also misread the question and answered No, so I don’t think they care too much about it in other forums someone mentioned that he also answered No but then in his ceremony media was also present so don’t worry and good luck for your ceremony invite


----------



## Pajay (5 mo ago)

Applied Oct 21 
Test - 11 Aug 22 
Approval- 11 Aug 22 
Ceremony- 23 Sept 22 
Blacktown council


----------



## Mate91 (5 mo ago)

My Timeline:
Citizenship Application - 10 Jan 2022 | Citizenship test - 6 July 2022 | Citizenship Approval - 6 August 2022 | Ceremony (Blacktown Council): 23 September 2022

Has anyone received anything from Blacktown Council regarding the ceremony on 23 September? I only received from DHA nothing from the council yet.

Those from the forum attending the 23 September, do you wanna have a group photo maybe after the ceremony 😊?


----------



## sazhar (Aug 25, 2008)

Hi, 

DId anyone approved on 25 Aug or later receive the ceremony invite for 23rd Sep. Does anyone know if there is a cutoff dt.

Cheers!


----------



## msksyd (5 mo ago)

sazhar said:


> Hi,
> 
> DId anyone approved on 25 Aug or later receive the ceremony invite for 23rd Sep. Does anyone know if there is a cutoff dt.
> 
> Cheers!


The latest approval date in this thread is 15th Aug.

So guessing backlog till 15th Aug is scheduled for Sep 23.


----------



## rahul7star (Mar 7, 2018)

I have applied today for citizenship , it has submitted stage. How long need to wait for the test date ?


----------



## rajkumarnes (Feb 11, 2016)

rahul7star said:


> I have applied today for citizenship , it has submitted stage. How long need to wait for the test date ?


You can expect around Jan/Feb.


----------



## sazhar (Aug 25, 2008)

msksyd said:


> The latest approval date in this thread is 15th Aug.
> 
> So guessing backlog till 15th Aug is scheduled for Sep 23.


Thanks mate


----------



## Mate91 (5 mo ago)

Did anyone receive any communication from the council regarding the ceremony on September 23rd whether by email or post? (I am not talking about the department invite)

Another question, do you think the queens death will have any effect on the ceremony?


----------



## danish.saleem (Jan 27, 2015)

Mate91 said:


> Did anyone receive any communication from the council regarding the ceremony on September 23rd whether by email or post? (I am not talking about the department invite)
> 
> Another question, do you think the queens death will have any effect on the ceremony?


No, you either receive an invite from Council or DHA, in our case we received invite from DHA , in fact when I was waiting for the invite I called the council and they said they had nothing to do with the invite, they also mentioned that sometimes DHA does involve them but not always.

I really hope that queens death have nothing to do with the ceremony


----------



## MAG1234 (Feb 1, 2017)

Hopefully nothing is impacted on the ceremony due to queens death


----------



## dbimmigrant84 (Nov 11, 2014)

MAG1234 said:


> Hopefully nothing is impacted on the ceremony due to queens death


22nd September is a public holiday.


----------



## MAG1234 (Feb 1, 2017)

Yeah. But ceremony is on 23rd September and unsure there is an impact.


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## malini.priya (7 mo ago)

Where and what time is the ceremony on the 17th Sept?


----------



## Mate91 (5 mo ago)

malini.priya said:


> Where and what time is the ceremony on the 17th Sept?


I dont think I saw any of the people here in this forum received an invite for September 17th. If you did, check your emails from DHA or council regarding ceremony information.


----------



## AminRayani (Dec 28, 2010)

Any Idea on next ceremony dates after 23 Sept ?


----------



## msksyd (5 mo ago)

Nothing at the moment. I emailed and council replied that not yet planned.



AminRayani said:


> Any Idea on next ceremony dates after 23 Sept ?


----------



## anupam4life (Jun 13, 2017)

AminRayani said:


> Any Idea on next ceremony dates after 23 Sept ?


Yes, just got invite for ceremony on 27th October. Citizenship was approved on 23-Aug-22


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## msksyd (5 mo ago)

Hi All, thanks for support and guidance. Council did not confirm a date after 23 Sep but DOHA sent the invite just now for 27th Oct 7:30 PM. My approval date was 16-Aug-2022. Me and my wife both got the invite.


----------



## anupam4life (Jun 13, 2017)

msksyd said:


> Hi All, thanks for support and guidance. Council did not confirm a date after 23 Sep but DOHA sent the invite just now for 27th Oct 7:30 PM. My approval date was 16-Aug-2022. Me and my wife both got the invite.


Same time as yours for both me and my wife


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## Mate91 (5 mo ago)

anupam4life said:


> Same time as yours for both me and my wife


Congratulations everyone, I am super happy of how our council is going with ceremonies. Zero backlog, which is amazing.
Well done Blacktown 🧡


----------



## AminRayani (Dec 28, 2010)

msksyd said:


> Hi All, thanks for support and guidance. Council did not confirm a date after 23 Sep but DOHA sent the invite just now for 27th Oct 7:30 PM. My approval date was 16-Aug-2022. Me and my wife both got the invite.


Approval dat for me is sept 9 but still no invite so fingers crossed. May be next one 😀


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## Imad.B (4 mo ago)

Our approval was on 23rd August
but no invite as yet


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## sazhar (Aug 25, 2008)

Got the ceremony invite for 27th Oct 22 this morning. Hope the ones waiting will have it soon.


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## MAG1234 (Feb 1, 2017)

Anyone received reminder sms for upcoming ceremony on 23rd September ?


----------



## rajkumarnes (Feb 11, 2016)

MAG1234 said:


> Anyone received reminder sms for upcoming ceremony on 23rd September ?


Not so far!


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## Mate91 (5 mo ago)

rajkumarnes said:


> Not so far!


neither did I!


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## rajkumarnes (Feb 11, 2016)

Almost 1200 people in one go!


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## danish.saleem (Jan 27, 2015)

rajkumarnes said:


> Almost 1200 people in one go!


1500 congrats everyone who attended last night ceremony


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## Imad.B (4 mo ago)

anyone else received an invite for the 27th Oct ceremony?
we are still waiting for an invite. Approval was on the 23rd August.


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## RJae (5 mo ago)

Has anyone here who attended last friday's ceremony already tried to apply for Passport?
If so, has your certificate been validated on the system? Because mine says, "We haven't been able to validate the document".

I know it is recommended to wait atleast 10days after the ceremony to apply for passport but just trying my luck. 

Cheers!


----------



## thomassydney (6 mo ago)

RJae said:


> Has anyone here who attended last friday's ceremony already tried to apply for Passport?
> If so, has your certificate been validated on the system? Because mine says, "We haven't been able to validate the document".
> 
> I know it is recommended to wait atleast 10days after the ceremony to apply for passport but just trying my luck.
> ...


I tried and got the same error. Let's wait for few more days


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## dbimmigrant84 (Nov 11, 2014)

thomassydney said:


> I tried and got the same error. Let's wait for few more days


Even if it says not valid you can still proceed with the application and submit it. I was able to submit online application, will go to post office and apply for priority on Wednesday.


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## danish.saleem (Jan 27, 2015)

dbimmigrant84 said:


> Even if it says not valid you can still proceed with the application and submit it. I was able to submit online application, will go to post office and apply for priority on Wednesday.


I did the same, no need to wait it also says that if you have put the correct information just proceed with your application.


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## bharatsyd (4 mo ago)

Approval received on 2nd Sept, yet to receive a date for ceremony - Blacktown council. Any updates on when can I expect the ceremony?


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## Mate91 (5 mo ago)

Can I ask those who had their Ceremony last Friday 23 Sept, did your immi account citizenship application status changed from Approved to Finalised yet?
Can you please check?

Thanks all.


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## danish.saleem (Jan 27, 2015)

Mate91 said:


> Can I ask those who had their Ceremony last Friday 23 Sept, did your immi account citizenship application status changed from Approved to Finalised yet?
> Can you please check?
> 
> Thanks all.


It still shows approve for me


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## RJae (5 mo ago)

Same for me. Still "Approved". 
Probably will change by nextweek.


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## rajkumarnes (Feb 11, 2016)

RJae said:


> Has anyone here who attended last friday's ceremony already tried to apply for Passport?
> If so, has your certificate been validated on the system? Because mine says, "We haven't been able to validate the document".
> 
> I know it is recommended to wait atleast 10days after the ceremony to apply for passport but just trying my luck.
> ...


Proceed with the application no need to wait for validation. I did applied on 26th Sep on priority (additional $225) and collected from passport office yesterday.

Good luck!


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## danish.saleem (Jan 27, 2015)

rajkumarnes said:


> Proceed with the application no need to wait for validation. I did applied on 26th Sep on priority (additional $225) and collected from passport office yesterday.
> 
> Good luck!


You went there in the morning ? What’s the best time to go ?


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## amsan (3 mo ago)

Imad.B said:


> anyone else received an invite for the 27th Oct ceremony?
> we are still waiting for an invite. Approval was on the 23rd August.


Is there a ceremony already scheduled for 27th Oct?


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## thomassydney (6 mo ago)

RJae said:


> Same for me. Still "Approved".
> Probably will change by nextweek.


Its been updated now to 'Finalized'


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## dbimmigrant84 (Nov 11, 2014)

thomassydney said:


> Its been updated now to 'Finalized'


Mine changed to Finalized on Tuesday, got email from aec and vevo doesn't show my visa or status. All happened same day


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## Imad.B (4 mo ago)

amsan said:


> Is there a ceremony already scheduled for 27th Oct?


looks like. Some of the members have received an invite for 27th October. Not sure if anyone else has?


----------



## RJae (5 mo ago)

Has anyone applied for australian passport without priority fee received their passport yet?

What's ur timeline?
Just wanna get a picture of the timeframe.


----------



## natasha.joseph (Apr 3, 2017)

Check out the 'Australian Passport Delay 2022' group on Facebook. It's a good place to figure out the timelines. Seems things have started to pick up pace now. Some people who applied in May/June are still waiting but some who applied in August and September have received theirs. So it's a bit erratic.


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## hassan2sheriff (Feb 14, 2019)

Hi All, 
I received my citizenship approval today (13-Oct). What happens from now?

I understand there is a citizenship ceremony I need to attend to qualify as a citizen followed by a passport application for overseas travel. 

Any idea when I can expect to receive the invite for the ceremony?


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## natasha.joseph (Apr 3, 2017)

The next ceremony is on October 27th, according to the Blacktown City Council website. So maybe the next ceremony either in November or December I guess.


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## gurisinghindia (Mar 2, 2018)

Hello Everyone,
Does anyone what is the current backlog for Blacktown council. Till which approval date has the council called for ceremony?
Thanks


----------



## Imad.B (4 mo ago)

my approval was on 23rd August but still waiting for the ceremony.


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## gurisinghindia (Mar 2, 2018)

Imad.B said:


> my approval was on 23rd August but still waiting for the ceremony.


Looks like the council updated the website and the next one is on 26Jan. Do you know till what approval date have people been invited for ceremony.

Thanks 

Sent from my CPH2293 using Tapatalk


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## amitksingla (Dec 24, 2016)

I had my application approved on 30 Sep and still waiting...not sure till what date they are inviting on 26 January one....


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## AminRayani (Dec 28, 2010)

Usually invitations are sent a month before the ceremony date. Expect somewhere after mid of December. My approval date is Sept 9 so fingers crossed


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## AminRayani (Dec 28, 2010)

amitksingla said:


> I had my application approved on 30 Sep and still waiting...not sure till what date they are inviting on 26 January one....


Should be a grand ceremony so lot of people will get invitation I assume.


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## Imad.B (4 mo ago)

the ceremony that happened on 27th Oct - i read here that someone who's citizenship was approved on 23rd Aug was invited - but this was not the case for us. 
The ceremony had close to 600 people attending.


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## amitksingla (Dec 24, 2016)

AminRayani said:


> Should be a grand ceremony so lot of people will get invitation I assume.


I really hope so....


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## AminRayani (Dec 28, 2010)

Imad.B said:


> invited


What is your date of approval


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## Imad.B (4 mo ago)

AminRayani said:


> What is your date of approval


23rd August


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## AminRayani (Dec 28, 2010)

Imad.B said:


> 23rd August


You might just have missed the cutoff or do you have other family member whose approval date is after this date.


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## Imad.B (4 mo ago)

AminRayani said:


> You might just have missed the cutoff or do you have other family member whose approval date is after this date.


nopes.. we both got approved on the same day / time. Yea looks like we missed the cutoff time if not the date. As someone from 23rd Aug did get an invite for the ceremony on 27th Oct. 
So now, i assume we just have to wait till January..


----------



## Piyali (Dec 16, 2017)

Hi Expats, came back to this forum after a year!

I submitted my application for citizenship today. Can someone please share timelines for citizenship test dates.
Cheers!


----------



## NB (Mar 29, 2017)

Piyali said:


> Hi Expats, came back to this forum after a year!
> 
> I submitted my application for citizenship today. Can someone please share timelines for citizenship test dates.
> Cheers!


Which council?
Cheers


----------



## Piyali (Dec 16, 2017)

NB said:


> Which council?
> Cheers


Blacktown. The preferred test center is Parramatta. 
Thanks NB


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## arnx (2 mo ago)

Are there any ceremonies in November or December?


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## leongeff (Mar 24, 2016)

arnx said:


> Are there any ceremonies in November or December?


No... Next one is on 26th Jan 2023


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## hannibalthegr8 (Feb 11, 2016)

I received my approval on 19th September, still haven't received the invitation for Ceremony. Waiting for the same. The Blacktown council shows next ceremony is on 26th Jan but it also says its for 2022 so not sure. 

*2022 scheduled Citizenship Ceremonies *

26 January
The above dates are subject to change, please continue to check this page for updates.

hannibalthegr8


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## gurisinghindia (Mar 2, 2018)

hannibalthegr8 said:


> I received my approval on 19th September, still haven't received the invitation for Ceremony. Waiting for the same. The Blacktown council shows next ceremony is on 26th Jan but it also says its for 2022 so not sure.
> 
> *2022 scheduled Citizenship Ceremonies *
> 
> ...


I called the council last month and that time the operator said it's 26th Jan 2023. They also said the ceremony is going to be a big one but I don't know what is the definition of big one. There are approximately 1200 applicants approved at the end of October, not sure how many applicants will they call in the big ceremony. 

Sent from my CPH2293 using Tapatalk


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## hannibalthegr8 (Feb 11, 2016)

Thanks, Bro, How did you know that there are 1200 approved applicants by the end of Oct? Is it something they informed or is there a place where we can track it. That said, mine got approved on 19th Sept, haven't got an invite yet, probably will get in the next couple of weeks.


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## gurisinghindia (Mar 2, 2018)

hannibalthegr8 said:


> Thanks, Bro, How did you know that there are 1200 approved applicants by the end of Oct? Is it something they informed or is there a place where we can track it. That said, mine got approved on 19th Sept, haven't got an invite yet, probably will get in the next couple of weeks.


I followed this website





Ceremony wait times


Ceremony wait times for new citizens to the Australian community.




immi.homeaffairs.gov.au





It's updated once a month, around mid month for previous month.

Thanks 










Sent from my CPH2293 using Tapatalk


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## mansawant (Oct 23, 2011)

gurisinghindia said:


> I called the council last month and that time the operator said it's 26th Jan 2023. They also said the ceremony is going to be a big one but I don't know what is the definition of big one. There are approximately 1200 applicants approved at the end of October, not sure how many applicants will they call in the big ceremony.
> 
> Sent from my CPH2293 using Tapatalk


The figure 1269 includes the applicants invited to a citizenship ceremony as at 31 October 2022 as per the website.


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## gurisinghindia (Mar 2, 2018)

mansawant said:


> The figure 1269 includes the applicants invited to a citizenship ceremony as at 31 October 2022 as per the website.
> 
> View attachment 102723


Yes, but the last ceremony in Blacktown was before 31st October (26 or 27 Oct, don't remember the exact date) and I think invites are not out for the 26th Jan ceremony yet. I may be wrong but based on this I interpret that most of the 1269 approved applicants are waiting for ceremony.

Sent from my CPH2293 using Tapatalk


----------



## hannibalthegr8 (Feb 11, 2016)

I can vouch that i haven't received my Ceremony invite yet, my citizenship was approved in Sept 2022, night get in the coming 2-3 weeks.

QQ: Has anyone received their Invitation yet..


----------



## Imad.B (4 mo ago)

hannibalthegr8 said:


> I can vouch that i haven't received my Ceremony invite yet, my citizenship was approved in Sept 2022, night get in the coming 2-3 weeks.
> 
> QQ: Has anyone received their Invitation yet..


nopes.. still waiting. Ours got approved on 23rd Aug and still waiting


----------



## vsundarraman (Dec 11, 2017)

Just curious to know, what is the timeline for an application to go to test stage. I am about to apply for citizenship in Jan.


----------



## ankititp (Aug 12, 2017)

Hi Guys,
I Have applied Citizenship application on Oct , and now i need to to india for 1 month in April 23 , so how to update about in immiaccount and also what is the expected time for interview /test , is it will be on Aprill ?


----------



## NB (Mar 29, 2017)

ankititp said:


> Hi Guys,
> I Have applied Citizenship application on Oct , and now i need to to india for 1 month in April 23 , so how to update about in immiaccount and also what is the expected time for interview /test , is it will be on Aprill ?


Which state ?
If NSW, then you will probably get the test invite before you leave or india
In case you don’t, you can just upload a word letter giving your itinerary 
Cheers


----------



## alianaa (29 d ago)

Any news from anyone receiving their invitation letter for the 26 Jan ceremony ? The immi website hasn’t been updated yet with Novembers numbers though there was a glitch earlier. Must be an issue with uploading the new data.


----------



## usmanaftab01 (Oct 20, 2013)

Has anyone received invite for Blacktown citizenceremony scheduled for 26th Jan 2023?


----------



## amitksingla (Dec 24, 2016)

I haven't heard of anyone yet...my application got approved on 30 Sept but I also know a few who got approved on 2 Sep and haven't received anything yet.


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## usmanaftab01 (Oct 20, 2013)

Okay...thanks for sharing. I think the November approved figures are getting uploaded on the immi ceremony wait times web link today, cant access data as of now:






Ceremony wait times


Ceremony wait times for new citizens to the Australian community.




immi.homeaffairs.gov.au


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## alianaa (29 d ago)

The stats have been updated. There are now 2045 applicants approved by Nov 30th. I wonder how big the ceremony is going to be.


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## usmanaftab01 (Oct 20, 2013)

alianaa said:


> The stats have been updated. There are now 2045 applicants approved by Nov 30th. I wonder how big the ceremony is going to be.


Yes exactly right, not sure if the venue can accommodation such a large number. Maybe there is going to be another ceremony soon after...


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## gurisinghindia (Mar 2, 2018)

usmanaftab01 said:


> Yes exactly right, not sure if the venue can accommodation such a large number. Maybe there is going to be another ceremony soon after...


In July they did two sessions and invited a total of ~1700 at Stanhope leisure center(note saying they will follow the same) Source: It was posted by Blacktown City mayor on his FB page.

So maybe and if they want they can do this big ceremony with multiple sessions or across two days.

Sent from my CPH2293 using Tapatalk


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## amitksingla (Dec 24, 2016)

The 4 weeks prior to 26 Jan would be 29 Dec...so probably another few days until we start seeing people getting the invites for ceremony.


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## usmanaftab01 (Oct 20, 2013)

amitksingla said:


> The 4 weeks prior to 26 Jan would be 29 Dec...so probably another few days until we start seeing people getting the invites for ceremony.


Yes that makes sense. Just wondering if all the approved are going to be invited or will there be a cut-off based on venue capacity etc. Already 2000+ awaiting ceremony as of November end in Blacktown as per last update


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## NB (Mar 29, 2017)

usmanaftab01 said:


> Yes that makes sense. Just wondering if all the approved are going to be invited or will there be a cut-off based on venue capacity etc. Already 2000+ awaiting ceremony as of November end in Blacktown as per last update


Hoping that all pending applicants would be invited in 1 ceremony is being over optimistic 
DHA Will decide on whom to invite based on the approval date and also when they applied for citizenship 
Cheers


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## usmanaftab01 (Oct 20, 2013)

NB said:


> Hoping that all pending applicants would be invited in 1 ceremony is being over optimistic
> DHA Will decide on whom to invite based on the approval date and also when they applied for citizenship
> Cheers


Yes makes sense. I applied on 25 March 2022 and the approval took longer than usual cz it took me over 2 months to get a PCC from overseas. Have been PR since 2015 and been waiting for a longer time


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## amitksingla (Dec 24, 2016)

I dont think they will bring the count down to zero, they will certainly have a cut-off...keeping my fingers crossed to be in that....


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## alianaa (29 d ago)

Ive just spoken to someone from Blacktown Council who has the list of all the 26/01 attendees and they mentioned I wasn’t on there (approved 7/10). But apparently there’s going to be two ceremonies for every month from Feb onwards and so the next one is 9/02 (they don’t have the list for that yet)


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## gurisinghindia (Mar 2, 2018)

alianaa said:


> Ive just spoken to someone from Blacktown Council who has the list of all the 26/01 attendees and they mentioned I wasn’t on there (approved 7/10). But apparently there’s going to be two ceremonies for every month from Feb onwards and so the next one is 9/02 (they don’t have the list for that yet)


Thank you for sharing this update. Are there other family members with you, who got approval on a later date?

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## amitksingla (Dec 24, 2016)

did you call on 53006000 number they have it on their website, and they just let you know the details on the same?


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## alianaa (29 d ago)

gurisinghindia said:


> Thank you for sharing this update. Are there other family members with you, who got approval on a later date?
> 
> Sent from my CPH2293 using Tapatalk


No I am a solo applicant - my family are already citizens.


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## alianaa (29 d ago)

amitksingla said:


> did you call on 53006000 number they have it on their website, and they just let you know the details on the same?


yes i called that number yesterday and they took my details down. The person organizing the ceremonies gave me a call back today to let me know that she didn’t see my name on the list.


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## usmanaftab01 (Oct 20, 2013)

alianaa said:


> yes i called that number yesterday and they took my details down. The person organizing the ceremonies gave me a call back today to let me know that she didn’t see my name on the list.


Great feedback - thanks for sharing. Did you call on 53006000 and pressed 2? I did the same but they are unable to provide any info...


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## amitksingla (Dec 24, 2016)

same with me....i called and a lady answered...she said you will get the invite as soon you are selected for the ceremony.


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## usmanaftab01 (Oct 20, 2013)

Has anyone tried calling 131880? Not sure how got this number 53006000?


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## alianaa (29 d ago)

amitksingla said:


> same with me....i called and a lady answered...she said you will get the invite as soon you are selected for the ceremony.


Nice! When were you approved ?


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## amitksingla (Dec 24, 2016)

alianaa said:


> Nice! When were you approved ?



approval on 30 Sep...but no invite yet.


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## alianaa (29 d ago)

usmanaftab01 said:


> Has anyone tried calling 131880? Not sure how got this number 53006000?


It’s the contact number for Blacktown Council


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## amitksingla (Dec 24, 2016)

usmanaftab01 said:


> Has anyone tried calling 131880? Not sure how got this number 53006000?


the number is on the Blacktown council website.


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## usmanaftab01 (Oct 20, 2013)

Got it...i just spoke to someone on 131880 and response is the same. Guess there is nothing much we can do but wait.


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## hannibalthegr8 (Feb 11, 2016)

I think they would be flooded with calls..


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## usmanaftab01 (Oct 20, 2013)

hannibalthegr8 said:


> I think they would be flooded with calls..


Yes that is probably right. Such a large pool of approved cases in our council, impending ceremony and Christmas shutdown around the corner, I am sure they would be flooded with calls


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## hannibalthegr8 (Feb 11, 2016)

usmanaftab01 said:


> Yes that is probably right. Such a large pool of approved cases in our council, impending ceremony and Christmas shutdown around the corner, I am sure they would be flooded with calls


Considering the Holiday week, They should have sent it this week.. a week's advance notice wouldn't have caused much issues... Next week more concerned customers will call and with low staffing.. its not going to be easy


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## usmanaftab01 (Oct 20, 2013)

hannibalthegr8 said:


> Considering the Holiday week, They should have sent it this week.. a week's advance notice wouldn't have caused much issues... Next week more concerned customers will call and with low staffing.. its not going to be easy


Exactly right mate. Let's keep each other informed on this platform whoever receives the invite first. Tbh this forum seems like a better source of info than calling up council.


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## amitksingla (Dec 24, 2016)

sent an email at [email protected] and got a reply that I am not on the list for 26 Jan 2023 ceremony. My approval date was 30 Sep, so not sure what is the cutoff for this ceremony.


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## usmanaftab01 (Oct 20, 2013)

amitksingla said:


> sent an email at [email protected] and got a reply that I am not on the list for 26 Jan 2023 ceremony. My approval date was 30 Sep, so not sure what is the cutoff for this ceremony.


I see...what is lead time to get a response for emails sent to this address?


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## amitksingla (Dec 24, 2016)

usmanaftab01 said:


> I see...what is lead time to get a response for emails sent to this address?


It's about an hour. But can contact Councils Events and Protocol Officer, Karen Marsh on 9839 6087. she is the one incharge of everything.


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## usmanaftab01 (Oct 20, 2013)

amitksingla said:


> It's about an hour. But can contact Councils Events and Protocol Officer, Karen Marsh on 9839 6087. she is the one incharge of everything.


No one is attending on this line. But thanks any way mate.


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## alianaa (29 d ago)

amitksingla said:


> approval on 30 Sep...but no invite yet.


oh right, sorry I misunderstood. I thought they told you that you’re on the list but waiting for an invite. 
fingers crossed we make it for the 9/02!


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## amitksingla (Dec 24, 2016)

usmanaftab01 said:


> No one is attending on this line. But thanks any way mate.



Might have left for day...but that was what it had in the email reply.


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## amitksingla (Dec 24, 2016)

alianaa said:


> oh right, sorry I misunderstood. I thought they told you that you’re on the list but waiting for an invite.
> 
> fingers crossed we make it for the 9/02!


Hope so...fingers crossed...


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## hannibalthegr8 (Feb 11, 2016)

I emailed [email protected], i received an email that I am not on the 26th Jan ceremony list. My citizenship was approved on 19th September. It might take more time for me


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## baig.imad (16 d ago)

Even I received the same reply from the council that I am not on the list. Our approval was on 23rd August.


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## AminRayani (Dec 28, 2010)

baig.imad said:


> Even I received the same reply from the council that I am not on the list. Our approval was on 23rd August.


Thats very strange because I remember last ceremony cutoff date was around 20th August. Guess they are sending standard response.


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## baig.imad (16 d ago)

AminRayani said:


> Thats very strange because I remember last ceremony cutoff date was around 20th August. Guess they are sending standard response.


Even I have a feeling that the response is standard. Who would go and check the list for individual names considering everyone must be calling / emailing them every now and then. Fingers crossed!


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## ahmedzanoun (10 d ago)

Hi guys, my timeline hereunder for reference!
I emailed the council yesterday and waiting for a feedback.
Application submitted: 25/03/2022
Interview & Test date: 19/08/2022
Citizenship Approval: 19/08/2022
Still awaiting for ceremony invitation!!
BLACKTOWN COUNCIL


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## baig.imad (16 d ago)

ahmedzanoun said:


> Hi guys, my timeline hereunder for reference! I emailed the council yesterday and waiting for a feedback. Application submitted: 25/03/2022 Interview & Test date: 19/08/2022 Citizenship Approval: 19/08/2022 Still awaiting for ceremony invitation!! BLACKTOWN COUNCIL


 My approval was 23rd Aug and still waiting. Glad i am not alone with an August approval and waiting. Let us know what reply Council sends you.


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## ahmedzanoun (10 d ago)

baig.imad said:


> My approval was 23rd Aug and still waiting. Glad i am not alone with an August approval and waiting. Let us know what reply Council sends you.


Just received council reply. They said I am not on the list of 26 January 2023, therefore they’re unable to advise when I will be allocated to a ceremony. They mentioned in their email that From February, Council will be conducting two ceremonies a month for the year of 2023.


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## amitksingla (Dec 24, 2016)

i guess it's very small one (if at all), the ceremony they are conducting on 26th Jan


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## asad_18pk (Jun 22, 2016)

Do we know Feb and March dates for ceremonies?
Are they doing remote ceremonies anymore i.e. on video call?


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## amitksingla (Dec 24, 2016)

asad_18pk said:


> Do we know Feb and March dates for ceremonies?
> Are they doing remote ceremonies anymore i.e. on video call?


I don't think they have any remote ceremonies anymore. 

Someone did mention that the next ceremony after 26 Jan would be on 9 Feb. Not sure after that.


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## gurisinghindia (Mar 2, 2018)

From the recent communication with council by other members it appears either the 26th Jan ceremony will be a small one or many applicants are still waiting prior to mid August. Regardless of who is being invited to the ceremony, shouldn't the invites be out by now given that less than 3 weeks are left.
Has anyone received any invite?

Thanks 

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## Imad.B (4 mo ago)

gurisinghindia said:


> From the recent communication with council by other members it appears either the 26th Jan ceremony will be a small one or many applicants are still waiting prior to mid August. Regardless of who is being invited to the ceremony, shouldn't the invites be out by now given that less than 3 weeks are left.
> Has anyone received any invite?
> 
> Thanks
> ...


I called the DHA to ask if they could tell me when I could expect my ceremony. They said, the department will send out the invite *1-2 weeks *before the ceremony - so if its' 9th Feb, in this case, maybe we can expect it towards the end of Jan.


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## ahmedzanoun (10 d ago)

Just received ceremony invitation for 9th February Blacktown council me and my wife. 
Application date 25/3/22
Citizenship approval 19/8/22


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## TestThrow (4 d ago)

Got invite for 9th Feb. Approved on 7th Sep


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## AminRayani (Dec 28, 2010)

Just for the information for those waiting for information, Just received invitation for ceremony on 9th Feb. Approval date is 9th September.


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## AminRayani (Dec 28, 2010)

ahmedzanoun said:


> Just received ceremony invitation for 9th February Blacktown council me and my wife.
> Application date 25/3/22
> Citizenship approval 19/8/22


Same here. Approval date September 9


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## amitksingla (Dec 24, 2016)

thats great...atleast now we know that 9th Feb has 9th Sep (or somewhere near that) as cut off....with that I believe I should be in for March ceremony with approval date on 30 Sept.


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## amitksingla (Dec 24, 2016)

somebody I know with approval date of 26/27 Sept got the invite too for 9 Feb.


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## campbelljeff907 (3 d ago)

_how did you get the invitation?_


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## campbelljeff907 (3 d ago)

TestThrow said:


> Got invite for 9th Feb. Approved on 7th Sep


How did you get the invitation?


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## usmanaftab01 (Oct 20, 2013)

I got approved on 15 Dec 22...Karen from Blacktown Council has shared that there is going to be two ceremonies each month starting March. Though I should share the info with the group here.


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## usmanaftab01 (Oct 20, 2013)

And congrats to all those starting to get invites


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## alianaa (29 d ago)




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## alianaa (29 d ago)

Someone posted that on Facebook. Thought I’d share


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## usmanaftab01 (Oct 20, 2013)

alianaa said:


> View attachment 102955





alianaa said:


> View attachment 102955


This is great info, thanks for sharing


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