May 7, 2014 11.11 am This story is over 118 months old

Lincolnshire celebrates a decade of citizenship ceremonies

Welcome to Lincolnshire: New British citizens took an oath to the Queen as Lincolnshire celebrated 10 years of citizenship ceremonies.

New British citizens took an oath to the Queen and pledged their loyalty to the United Kingdom as Lincolnshire celebrated 10 years of citizenship ceremonies.

The 14 new citizens and their friends and families were welcomed to celebrate the milestone by delegates from Lincolnshire County Council, including Chairman Ray Wootten and Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire Tony Worth.

The event, held at Lincoln Register Office on May 6, was the 406th ceremony of its kind to be held in the county.

Achieving the status were 12 adults and 2 children from countries including Canada, Spain, India, Cuba, Afghanistan and Nigeria.

In order to achieve registration, aspiring citizens must complete a ‘life in the UK’ test, which features questions about British history, traditions and customs.

Participants must achieve at least 75% in the allocated 45 minutes.

To test your own knowledge of life in the UK, you can take part in an online practice exam.

Since the council held the first citizenship ceremony a decade ago, they have welcomed 3,925 new citizens.

Scott Alexander White, from Canada, said: “I first came to this country thirteen years ago. To have a better access to Europe and to make things like my pension a lot easier I decided to go for citizenship.

“I actually teach science at a Lincolnshire school and am very much enjoying living in the county.

“I knew a lot of the answers to the ‘Life in the UK’ test because I have been living in the UK for so long, but I think if I had tried to take it after a year I would have failed.”

Pavel Rodionov, from Russia, said: “It feels great to have finally achieved this and I am overwhelmed by the celebrations.

“I have lived here for over three years and I came over here to be with my partner. We had a civil partnership here in Lincoln and I wanted to take the next step in making a home here.”

Executive Councillor Nick Worth said:

“With a population of over 700,000, Lincolnshire is becoming an increasingly multi-cultural county, with a huge diversity in education and work opportunities.

“These ceremonies are vital. If they are coming to this country and they want to learn our customs, there is no better way of doing it and welcoming them.

“It is also a culmination of the tremendous amount of work that they have had to put in.”

HM Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire Tony Worth added: “The rights that these new citizens have as individuals goes together with responsibility and I welcome them whole-heartedly to our country and our county.”