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Original poster

PASSPORT COUNTERSIGNING

170 replies

theconstantheadache · 14/06/2021 19:50

Help???

I don't know anybody to countersign my 18MO passport ???

Iv no idea who to ask as every person iv asked hasn't renewed their passport or can't sign as they don't have a profession listed...

OP posts:
christdoinghisunspecifiedhobby · 15/06/2021 16:11

@FinallyHere

I think the current requirement for ID is much better than the olden days when yes there was an element of class about who was allowed to sign.

And I'm old enough to remember the good old days when ....

You could take out a provisional driving licence in any.old.name, no cross checking required, pass your test and hey, you have a perfectly valid ID document.

I'm 40 (nearly 41) and from NI where we had photocards before they were implemented in England (which was in 1998 I think). I remember lots of my friends in the mid 90s sending off for a provisional licence with a fake name and date of birth and a passport photo and their granny's address and getting the fake provisional back which they then used as fake ID Grin there didn't seem to be any checks or controls around it. The pubs usually accepted the provisional as ID. Then a few years later they would apply for another provisional with their real name to get a legit licence when they actually did the test.
bellsbuss · 15/06/2021 15:47

OH signs loads , builder but Limited company.

Ozanj · 15/06/2021 15:47

Anyone who is ‘of good standing’ in the community ie doesn’t have a criminal record can sign it. It doesn’t have to be someone of a certain profession. I got my neighbour, who is a housewife, to sign my DS’.

Lockdownbear · 15/06/2021 15:44

Not sure about self employed but I'm sure a limited company director can sign. So depends on the tax status of the Hairdresser etc.

FinallyHere · 15/06/2021 15:43

Plumber, Electrition or hairdresser

So long as they were either a registered business owner or member of their trade association.

DameAlyson · 15/06/2021 15:42

Can it still be someone self employed? Do you use a regular plumber or electrician?

Hairdresser?

FinallyHere · 15/06/2021 15:42

I think the current requirement for ID is much better than the olden days when yes there was an element of class about who was allowed to sign.

And I'm old enough to remember the good old days when ....

You could take out a provisional driving licence in any.old.name, no cross checking required, pass your test and hey, you have a perfectly valid ID document.

Lockdownbear · 15/06/2021 15:41

@Boood

It’s a stupid, anachronistic rule based on outdated concepts of respectability and authority.
Its more that just a precieved respectability. Anyone who countersigns can basically be held to account by their professional body, and probably be struck off if they are found to have said they know someone when they don't, ie not acted with professional integrity.

OK a Ltd company owner, might not have a body they are signed up to. But they are putting their business name on something that could end up getting dragged through the court.

Even a publican could loose their licence for not being honest.

I'm amazed at the poster up thread who is prepared to put their name on the block for a complete stranger they know nothing about.
Remember if you sign a passport application and it turns out to be false information you could be up in court over it.

GreyhoundG1rl · 15/06/2021 15:36

@Boood

It’s a stupid, anachronistic rule based on outdated concepts of respectability and authority.
It really isn't.
FinallyHere · 15/06/2021 15:31

Why does it have to be someone in a certain profession????

@Mandalay246

It's not just a 'profession' it's anyone who has some kind of registration that they could be stripped of if they give misleading evidence. Trade body, professional registration, post office official etc.

Gilly12345 · 15/06/2021 15:28

Doctors I think will charge you, I asked a few years ago.

Last time I had my passport renewed I asked my neighbour as she is a Civil Servant.

Boood · 15/06/2021 15:26

It’s a stupid, anachronistic rule based on outdated concepts of respectability and authority.

DogInATent · 15/06/2021 15:19

@mustlovegin

And even if you are no longer recognisable from your previous photo, your iris scan and fingerprint shouldn't change as you age I believe
Not everyone with a UK passport has had to provide either an iris scan or fingerprints.

Didn't the UK abandon iris scan technology for immigration after the London Olympics? The biometric system currently used is facial recognition based.

Lockdownbear · 15/06/2021 15:15

@LakieLady

It's a ludicrous rule imo.

Last time I renewed mine, the landlady of my local did it. A few weeks later, I signed hers (I was a local government officer at the time).

This gets harder as you get older. Most of my friends are now retired, so don't have any profession.

But you only need it countersigned if you've changed dramatically in the last 10 years.

So gained or lost a shed load of weight, or had facial surgery or something. The vast majority of people are recognisable from their previous photo.

Gladimnotcampinginthisweather · 15/06/2021 15:14

Retired people can sign if they retired from one of the professions listed.
A retired teacher friend did DS'.
It clearly says they can check up on counter signatories. I have never had any checked but I know someone who has.
If you need a new photograph because your appearance has changed (eg you no longer look like your 16 year old self) the photo has to be countersigned.

JustLyra · 15/06/2021 15:14

@VestaTilley

Is the doctor an allowed signatory? Could your GP do it?
Only if they know the OP in a personal capacity
VestaTilley · 15/06/2021 15:13

Is the doctor an allowed signatory? Could your GP do it?

JustLyra · 15/06/2021 15:11

@LakieLady

It's a ludicrous rule imo.

Last time I renewed mine, the landlady of my local did it. A few weeks later, I signed hers (I was a local government officer at the time).

This gets harder as you get older. Most of my friends are now retired, so don't have any profession.

People who are retired can still do it based on their previous role.
JustLyra · 15/06/2021 15:09

@lydia93

MessAge your local MP, they will get someone on their team to! That's how I got mine Grin
Unless they’ve known you for 2+ years they really shouldn’t.
lydia93 · 15/06/2021 15:08

MessAge your local MP, they will get someone on their team to! That's how I got mine Grin

Lockdownbear · 15/06/2021 15:07

@mustlovegin

You don't need a countersignature each time

You do if you lose it or it gets damaged or stolen (which could happen very easily TBH)

I couldn't argue but they have your previous photo on file. I wonder if they are double checking that you aren't trying to get a passport fraudulently using someone else's details.

So the counter signature is a secondary check?.

LakieLady · 15/06/2021 15:03

It's a ludicrous rule imo.

Last time I renewed mine, the landlady of my local did it. A few weeks later, I signed hers (I was a local government officer at the time).

This gets harder as you get older. Most of my friends are now retired, so don't have any profession.

mustlovegin · 15/06/2021 14:57

And even if you are no longer recognisable from your previous photo, your iris scan and fingerprint shouldn't change as you age I believe

mustlovegin · 15/06/2021 14:56

It's a waste of everyone's time, especially as they already have the biometrics on file

mustlovegin · 15/06/2021 14:55

You don't need a countersignature each time

You do if you lose it or it gets damaged or stolen (which could happen very easily TBH)