Certified Copies and Statutory Declarations - Wise ones please help

[suzywong]

Ok, I know you can help me with this, it's dull, but I need to know

I am applying for my Australian Permanent Residency and the form is asking me to supply Certified Copies of passport, marriage certificate and all that kind of stuff.
Question: who can certify copies, the issuer, a JP?

I am also required to provide statements supporting the claim that I really am married to Australian DH, no problem just that these statements must be in the form of Statutory Declarations
Question: my friends and family have provided signed and dated letters supporting the claim, will this do or should they be in another format?

Told you it was dull but hope someone can help, please

TIA

[twiglett]

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[suzywong]

thanks twiglett,

[Tinker]

Hi suzywong. My daughter's dad had to make a Statutory Declaration in order that his name be put on the birth certificate (he couldn't be present). He did it through a solicitor.

[suzywong]

bump

[Tinker]

????????

[Sari]

There's an office somewhere in central London (St James's) where you go to get things certified. You can get it done by post as well. THere is a fee but it is small. They have all the signatures and details of everyone allowed to sign marriage certificates etc and they check yours against that. I've been there a couple of times and will have a look for the details. I reckon that's what they must mean.

[Sari]

Here you go. Can't do links but try this www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029391440

It costs 12.50 per document.

[suzywong]

no offence TinK
just wondered if there was another way

Thanks everyone

[prufrock]

You do need a solicitor for a certified copy of something. Basically you just have to take along the original, they take photocopies and then stamp and sign to say that it is a true copy of the original document. I had to do this recently and just got one of the lawyers at my workplace to do it - they just have to be a practicing solictor - do you know any?

[libb]

You could contact your local Magistrate Court - my colleague deals with booking Stat Decs for the court where we work and it costs £8 to book an appointment for the documentation to be signed in front of a Magistrate/Court Clerk.

I can't be sure that it is the same for your area but worth a try?

Best of luck

Libb

[Hulababy]

You need to see a solicitor to do this really. You need to do it in person there too. Most will charge you a small fee for each document. Unless you know a practising solicitor who will do it for you for free!

[suzywong]

Thanks all
Local solictor will charge me 100 quid plus vat to draw up the forms for 2 stat decs and certify copies of passport and marriage certifcate
Do you think that sounds reasonable? It is London pricing

[twiglett]

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[suzywong]

Yeah it does seem a bit steep, guess I'll shop around

[libb]

I've also signed some marriage docs in front of a solicitor for £5 - then she told me I could've had them done for free as I worked at the court. Doh!

Still might be worth asking your local court though? The Magistrates and we proles are considered Clerks to the Justices after all.

Your solicitor sounds a bit expensive but I guess it depends on what is involved with setting up of documentation - I can ask at work tomorrow if you like?

[twiglett]

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[suzywong]

Thanks but I wouldn't want to trouble you and you may have saved me 100 quid already.

I think I'll cancel that solicitor and try the courts, there and try the local magistrates for the certified copies then ask about stat decs while i'm at it

Thanks

[tanzie]

Ask the Aussies who they need to certify it, as they may require the Foreign Office to do it rather than a notary public. The bit of the Foreign Office that does it is near St James's tube - I went there with DD1's godmother who need to get her change of name certified to change it in her Swiss passport. Thye also have a helpline (recorded message) which is helpful, but I think your first port of call should be the Aussies, before you get bogged down with what may be unnecessary solicitor's fees.

[suzywong]

That is a good point tanzie
Aussie DH can bypass the recorded message with a special Aussie citizen's right to email the embassy direct.

(I am actually cacking it because we want to emigrate in August and the application takes at least 4 months and as usual in my life I may have left it too late. But that's another story.)

[bobthebaby]

I got my bank manager to certify the copies, but then my mum did work in a bank and they were kept in the safe there. I sent the original passport and they couriered it back.

I never bothered with the letters saying I was really married (after all why bother with the marriage certificate in that case) but I did send a copy of our joint mortgage statement and a bank statement for our joint account.

It all looked really scary but if you have been married a while I don't think they look into that deeply.

[suzywong]

Good point Bob, it was our 10th anniversay on Tuesday, so there is no reason they should delve too deeply. Did you emigrate here or there IYSWIM?

[kaz33]

Suzy - where are you ?

I am a solicitor and will certify documents if you want. I work in the city and live in Earls Court, would you be able to do either of those.

The statutory declarstions need to be made by the persons supporting your client. I am going to try and find a template. They can then fill it in and then sign it in front of a solicitor who will sign it as confirmation that it was signed by them. Again happy to be the solicitor.

I'll come back on the stat dec form

[kaz33]

Done it, Suzy - email me your email address and I will forward you a draft stat dec or send it to you in the post.

[eidsvold]

In the UK look for Notary public (one in the area where my dh worked did it) My dh used that when he applied for his spousal visa. (Same with our marriage certificate etc - the copies were all witnessed. He had to take along his UK passport as ID and cost about £50 for the lot - were a number as we had stuff for daughter also.

notary public in stratford ( we used him)
here

All statements need to be certified - they can be statements but most importantly need to be certified.

We downloaded a stat dec form from an aussie website that we used

here

any other questions just email me through contact another talker.

hope that helps.

[suzywong]

Thanks eidsvold
That's a great site.

You lot are amazing, there doesn't seem to be a single query MNers can't answer.