THE COUNCIL received almost £90,000 from those who resettled in Bracknell and took part in citizenship ceremonies in the last five years.

Hundreds of migrants took part in 160 ceremonies celebrating their resettlement in the borough.

Cllr Paul Bettison, Executive Member for Council Strategy and Community Cohesion said: “Since the beginning of 2018, 230 new citizens have been welcomed to Bracknell Forest, through our citizenship ceremonies at South Hill Park.

"As part of the ceremony, citizens are given historical information about the borough, and are also encouraged to give back to the community through a variety of means such as supporting local charities and becoming involved in community events.

“Becoming a British citizen is a very long and at times emotional journey, and we’re grateful to all new citizens for everything they bring to Bracknell Forest.  We look forward to welcoming more new citizens into our community in 2019.”

An investigation by the News found Bracknell Forest Council paid out £61,000 to host the events.

Neighbouring authority Wokingham Borough Council (WBC) conducts an average of 13 ceremonies every year, which usually has 25 attendees each, including children.

This means WBC receives as much as £26,000 a year from approximately 325 people who mark their resettlement in the UK.

Attendees pay £80 for their participation in ceremonies and the cost to WBC for 13 events a year is approximately £2,183.

The fee covers town hall hire, refreshments a passport cover gift and each child also receives a flag.

Staffing costs are also included in the cost to the council as this process takes up 12-15 staff hours.

Council employees do a lot of work in the backgrounds before the ceremonies - they receive and ready certificates from the Home Office, allocate people for certain ceremonies, distribute invitation letters, and process responses.

Today is International Migrants Day - an event founded by the United Nations and celebrated around the world.

The total number of international migrants has increased from an estimated 175 million in 2000 to 244 million persons in 2015.

On 4 December 2000, the UN General Assembly proclaimed 18 December International Migrants Day after recognising the large and increasing number of migrants in the world.