Today, we are celebrating Magda Grobelna, one of our Account Assistants, on obtaining her British Citizenship. Magda joined CCL in November 2019 and is a valued member of our Finance team. To celebrate Magda’s news, we discussed the process Magda went through to become a UK citizen – it’s a lot more difficult than we realised!
Magda has lived in the UK for 14 years and is originally from Czech Republic. When she realised her Czech passport was due to expire, she decided to apply for her British Citizenship. To begin the process, she was required to complete an exam in Manchester regarding ‘Life in the UK’, which included the UK’s history in quite extensive detail – wars, literature, sports, laws, politics, geography and so on. In total, it took Magda 4 months to study and she completed approximately 50 mock exams – she wanted to make sure she was prepared!
Following this exam, which she of course passed, she had to complete an English exam in Manchester. Once she passed this, Magda was about to apply for British Citizenship online. The application form was approximately 40 pages long and required proof of residence and work history over the past 5 years in the UK.
Once the application for British Citizenship was submitted, Magda was required to visit Manchester to have her fingerprints and photo taken and show proof of documents. Following this, she then had to wait 6 months for her results! When her British Citizenship was finally approved, she attended a virtual ceremony, where she pledged allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the second. At last, Magda received her certificate of British Naturalisation, and she is now able to apply for her British passport.
In total it took Magda a year to complete the process. On speaking to her, she said “It was a long journey and it cost me a lot of money and time, but it was definitely worth it. I am proud of myself for achieving it”.
We also discussed with Magda what she liked about living in the UK, she said “I like the standard of living in the UK, to live in quite a simple way, with no pressure and simple rules”.
Of course, we also asked her what she liked about working at CCL to which she replied “My favourite thing about working at CCL is the whole package. I feel I am doing something of value, and it is fulfilling. I work with a great team of people with positive attitudes, and it is a pleasant work environment”.
She added “I have realised how lucky I am that I am healthy, and I don’t take anything for granted, I enjoy every single minute and every little thing in my life”.
It was so lovely to hear Magda’s story and we are extremely grateful she shared it with us.
A huge thank you to Magda and congratulations on becoming a British Citizenship!
