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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

...to fake the passport application?

71 replies

passportissues123 · 07/03/2017 18:03

Sorry, posting here for traffic, I have no intention of faking the application but I'm stuck!

We moved abroad last summer, DD is about to turn 5 and her (UK) passport will expire. In order to renew it her photos need to be countersigned by someone who has known me for 2 years.... there is no one in this country that fits the bill! What do I do?!

It will expire before we are able to get back to the UK to sort it out, at which point she'll be stuck in this country with no valid travel documentation.

Any ideas? You used to be able to go to the embassy for passport renewals but I can't find any information on the website, only about online application forms....

OP posts:
MrsTwix · 07/03/2017 18:06

Post the form and photos to someone in the UK to sign it for you.

Allthebestnamesareused · 07/03/2017 18:06

Can you call the passport office and ask them?

Can you send the whole thing to someone who does meet the criteria who lives over here, ask them to do the necessary and ask them to send the application on to the passport office for you?

BikeRunSki · 07/03/2017 18:07

Can the consulate/embassy do it?

welshweasel · 07/03/2017 18:11

Agree you need to post it to the UK and get them to send it on. My sister has just done exactly that. Currently the passport office are contacting all countersignatories so make sure it's someone who will answer letters/phone calls or it might be delayed (I used a friend who was on maternity leave who obviously never got the letter sent to her work address which caused a considerable delay).

WaegukSaram · 07/03/2017 18:12

We had this problem and I did what MrsTwix suggested with no problems.

RustyBear · 07/03/2017 18:12

From the guide to online applications from abroad

"If you cannot comply with the countersignatory requirements your application may be delayed. You must provide a full explanation when you get to the ‘Additional information’ section of the online form and we will contact you to agree a way forward."

Longdistance · 07/03/2017 18:13

I had this problem in Oz as dd1 decided to destroy dd2's passport by drawing in it.

We saw a justice of the peace iirc to basically say dd2 was who she was. It was a free service at the local council. If you're in Perth WA?

Original poster
passportissues123 · 07/03/2017 18:14

I don't think the embassy do it anymore (except in certain countries and we're not in one of those).

I hadn't thought of posting the lot back to the UK and getting countersignature to send it on. It does rely on 'countersignature' being willing to be an admin service and on the ball to do it quickly (bit of an ask) otherwise the application will be delayed. My Xmas cards to the UK took nearly 2 weeks so I'd better try to find a more effective form of post.

We were away the week before last so couldn't send her existing passport off before now. I had wanted to leave this shit heap for Easter but that is now in severe doubt Sad

Just another reason to hate living abroad... don't do it peeps, stay with the home you know and love. Life will be so much easier!

OP posts:
PopcornBits · 07/03/2017 18:15

I didn't think renewals needed countersignatures? Mine didn't anyway.

Happyandhungry · 07/03/2017 18:17

Meh just get someone thats known you since the summer to say they've known you for two years (if they're comfortable doing that)

ProfYaffle · 07/03/2017 18:20

Kids renewals need a countersignatory - it's a right pita.

Hs2Issue · 07/03/2017 18:24

Just filling in DD's passport renewal now - I think it says the counter signatory for a child's passport has to know the person applying for it (the parent) for 2 years. We've moved house and schools so will be relying on a friend to do it.

honeylulu · 07/03/2017 18:24

It has to be someone with a valid UK passport (if you're applying for a UK passport). Posting might be the only way if no one fits the bill where you are.

Hs2Issue · 07/03/2017 18:27

Copy from passport page (as on it at them moment)

Who can sign your form and photo
Your countersignatory must:

have known the person applying (or the adult who signed the form if the passport is for a child under 16) for at least 2 years
be able to identify the person applying, eg they’re a friend, neighbour or colleague (not just someone who knows them professionally)
be ‘a person of good standing in their community’ or work in (or be retired from) a recognised profession
They can’t be closely-related to or involved with the person applying, eg:

related by birth or marriage
be in a relationship with or live at the same address as the person applying
If you’re applying in the UK

Your countersignatory must:

live in the UK
have a current British or Irish passport
If you’re applying outside the UK

Your countersignatory must have a current British, Irish or other EU, US or Commonwealth passport.

If they have a US, Commonwealth, or non-British or non-Irish EU passport, you must include with your application a colour photocopy of the page with their photograph on it.

Your application will be processed faster if they have a British or Irish passport.

MissMooMoo · 07/03/2017 18:27

Agree with posting it. I had to do this a few years ago with my Canadian passport.
Luckily I also have a british passport so wasn't without.

mollymaid16 · 07/03/2017 18:29

Just fake it

Janek · 07/03/2017 18:32

For future reference, a uk passport can be renewed up to 9 months in advance, without losing the original renewal date, so we renewed dd1's passport in August 2015 and her new passport expires May 2021 (the renewed passport would have expired May 2016).

findingmyfeet12 · 07/03/2017 18:35

Once you've sorted the admin that isn't the end of the nightmare. I just renewed mine and the renewal itself took a couple of days. The new passport was then stopped at Customs at Heathrow and not released until I emailed them a copy of a hospital letter showing my name and address.

It was a nightmare. DHL were handling the delivery and didn't even tell me it had been stopped or what I needed to do to have it released until I'd contacted them about 20 times.

londonfeather · 07/03/2017 18:40

Forge a signature with permission from the person you are forging?

hellokittymania · 07/03/2017 18:43

That sounds really annoying . My passport was stolen while I was living in Italy and I also faced the same problem but my Italian high school teacher signed it and the embassy didn't question it . I have had to have two new passports since living in southeast Asia and I don't ever remember being asked for a signature on the Photos . If they had asked though I wouldn't have been able to find somebody in both Thailand and Vietnam to sign . Passport renewals from abroad are very inconvenient though ! And no embassies don't do a lot of their renewals anymore . If you are in Vietnam or Thailand you have to apply from the UK and if you make a mistake on your form they won't do your passport .

Bluntness100 · 07/03/2017 18:43

The embassy system ended a few years ago, all applications are dealt with by the London passport office. I used to live abroad, and renewed mine from abroad, but never a child's, simply send them to someone in the uk who has known her for two years.

Allthebestnamesareused · 07/03/2017 18:49

Don't fake it.

The countersignatory needs to also add his or her passport number to the application form.

The passport office is checking more and more countersignatories these days.

Why would you risk your child's chance of having a valid passport?

Viviennemary · 07/03/2017 18:50

I don't think it's a good idea to fake signatures for passports. Or tell lies. Posting them to the UK is the way forward though I agree it's a bit of a pain.

EggysMom · 07/03/2017 18:52

Forge a signature with permission from the person you are forging?

Or better, forge a signature with permission ^and the passport number* from the person you are forging ...

Not that I am suggesting you fake this. Really I'm not. Wink

Obsidian77 · 07/03/2017 18:53

Don't fake it, the passport office does check up on this.
Post it to your countersignatory in the UK. Not complicated...