I cannot comment on visa applications, but I do have more information on passport applications since joebloggs posted the thread "Doctors ditched by Home Office" ( UK VISA/British Citizenship section, March 2011).
Tony Blair first announced ( to the Royal College of General Practitioners) over 10 years ago that "doctors are to be taken off the list of public servants who can countersign a passport application, because the job takes up too much of their time."
However, the current advice (www.direct.gov.uk.) is that countersignatories should:
* have known you for at least two years
* live in the UK.
They should not:
* be related to you by birth or marriage
* be in a personal relationship with you
* live at the same address as you
* work for the Identity and Passport Service.
They should be "a professional person or a person of good standing in the community".
While doctors are not in the list of "examples of the type of person that would be suitable", I have today had it confirmed by the IPS ( an executive agency of the Home Office responsible for issuing UK passports) that doctors ARE still ELIGIBLE to sign applications. ( www.ips.gov.uk ) (0300 222 0000).
The current fee for a new passport is 77.50 GBP. The application WILL be accepted for processing if it is correctly filled in, with a doctor as countersignatory.
It's true that GP's may refuse to sign because of work pressures, or request a fee if they do agree to sign. However, my advice is to confirm with your GP if he/she is willing to sign, saving problems finding some other suitable person.
Just for the record, ANY medical practitioner, not just a GP, may sign. I have done so, many times, for no fee, and the applications have never been refused.
