Well, my Swedish citizenship has come through at last. No cost, no exam, no interview, no language test, no ceremony (unfortunately); and I have yet to apply to the Police for my passport. But – so far as I’m concerned (a bit selfish, I know) – Nigel, Boris, Jacob and the rest of the Crazy Gang can do their worst. I’m a European again! – Land of Hope and Glory fades into the background. New strains of Beethoven’s Ode to Joy fill the air…
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s…
Porter’s Pensées 
Just out of sheer idle curiosity, Bernard, how long did the process take? I moved permanently to Poland in Nov 2017 and started my application for Polish Citizenship (via a process of ‘Ancestral/Heritage Verification’) just over a year ago. I’ve been informed that a Decision one way or t’other will be made by April 19th at the latest. My biggest outlay – around 150 GBP – has been on official translations of pertinent personal and family documents. The galling thing is I could have done them myself… but I’m not an Accredited Translator!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nearly 3 years! I applied directly after Brexit, having already had a Swedish ID card since I moved here in 1995. I didn’t need translations – everyone here speaks English. Good luck with your application. I had a friend who married and moved there – Tony Buffery – but have lost touch now. He told me that he only got married there because his Polish girlfriend hadn’t taught him the Polish for ‘No’! (A joke, I think. He was in the Cambridge Footlights.)
LikeLike
Congratulations, if that’s the right word. But I regret the political use of ‘Ode to Joy’! As for ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ – great fun to sing (as are, e.g. ‘La Marseillaise’ and ‘Men of Harlech’, whose bloody words are totally objectionable) but entirely inappropriate as a 21st century national hymn.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I just listen to the music and block out the words! ‘Land of Hope…’ weren’t Elgar’s, of course.
LikeLike