immigration and passport certification

[robbie bobby]

Hi. all.

Im looking for some help. I am about to send my supporting docs to philippines so my wife can apply for the uk spouse visa. One the FCO Website it says I need to send a copy of my passport which is fine but I have since heard it needs to be certified or notarised rather, is this true?

Again it does not say it needs to be certified on the government website.

Thanks in advance

Rob

[lordna]

Just take your passport or other documents to your local solicitor who will photocopy and certify the copy for you for normally a very small charge or donation to charity.

[robbie bobby]

thanks very much for that reply but what I want to know is does it really need to be certified? Why do it if its not needed?

[joebloggs]

years ago they did ask for it to be certified, but i suppose with many gov departments being integrated these days they can check online to see if a passport is genuine.

i think some people have just sent a photocopy page of their details page and any with entry\departure stamps. i cant recall anyone ever being refused for sending a UN-certified copy of their passport, but all other documents should be originals.

but if your worried do as Lordna says, go and see a solicitor who should charge you less than £5 a page.

[bhem_bhem]

i only sent photocopy of my passport and my husband's passport,, i never bothered to notarize it.

[robbie bobby]

thanks for your responses guys, much appreciated. i will not bother notarising it. i live in guernsey so the final destination wil lbe here but it will be the same uk visa as everyone else gets i hope

[robbie bobby]

thanks for that joe. I WISH it was only £5 a page, seems here in guernsey everything is that more expensive.i was quoted 60 per page and i have about 15 pages to send as i have entered and left philippines so many times

[stevie c]

Nope a photocopy of the bio page & all stamped pages will suffice

[joebloggs]

thanks for that joe.I WISH it was only £5 a page,seems here in guernseyeverything is that more expensive.i wasquoted 60 per page and i have about 15 pages to send as i have entred and left philippines so many times

a few years ago i paid £3 a page, they photocopied most of my passport , it cost less than £20, but like i said i cannot recall anyone ever been refused for not sending certified copies. (because i believe they can check your passport and travel history). you only have to be careful if your using online printed bank statements - which might need certifying by your bank , but that's another story

[lordna]

thanks for your responses guys,much appreciated.i will not bother notarising it.i live in guernsey so thefinaldestination willbe here but it will be the same uk visa as everyone else gets i hope

If they send your application back because your documents have not been certified, how much will it cost you? IMHO its a false economy NOT to get them certified, but just do what you think!

[Terpe]

Hi there Robby Bobbie, welcome aboard.

Yep, that UKBA website can often turns out to be rather tricky to navigate to all those important snippets that seem to bug us from time to time.

Personally I'm a bit of a 'stickler' when it comes to UKBA rules etc and always advise people to minimise any risks with a Visa Application.

If you check the UKBA webpage link called Documents required
you'll see that early on it states:-

This section describes the documents that you should send us to support your application to enter or remain in the UK as the husband, wife or civil partner of a British citizen or a person settled here.

All supporting documents must be originals, not copies.

If you do not send us all the documents we need when you make your application, we may refuse your application because of insufficient evidence, and your fee will not be refunded.

Personally I'd advise to follow that. Besides, I can't really think of any reasons or problems in not doing that.

The only exception I would see would be when it comes to passports.
Of course it goes without saying that the applicant must supply original passport. But the sponsor's original passport is not necessary, and not asked for.
In which case I would always suggest a certified copy of the Bio-data page from the sponsors passport. This document is important as proof of ID and settlement status.
If you also submit your birth certificate that will cover all eventualities relating to immigration status.

There's no need to certify any other pages. I agree that copies of stamped pages showing visits to Philippines can be helpful but not generally key to the visa application.
Some folks only visited once and others many times but all have been granted the Visa.

Getting your passport Bio-Data page certified need not be costly. Basically you can ask any professional person to certify documents.
Ask someone like a:-
Bank or building society official
Councillor
Dentist
Police officer
Solicitor
Teacher or Lecturer
etc.
Basically someone who could countersign your passport application photo.


Have your photocopied Bio-Data page and your passport together and ask the person to certify the photocopy copy by writing ‘Certified to be a true copy of the original seen by me’ on the document
They then sign it and date it, print their name under their signature, add their occupation, address and contact details. Done.

There's quite a big difference between the meanings of Notarised and Certified. I'll leave it to you to research that one.

There's plenty of anecdotal stories from people who just sent scanned or plain photocopies of documents and still received their visa.
There also plenty who have suffered refusals.
Basically, you can choose to do whatever. My advice is to always be fully compliant, then there's no surprises.

[joebloggs]

one person you know or can find on the Net Terpe who has had a refusal for not sending a certified copy of their passport, I've not come across one person who has.

I'm one for rules too, for a few quid i would get it certified, always have, but i don't know anyone who has been refused for not

[Terpe]

one person you know or can find on the Net Terpe who has had a refusal for not sending a certified copy of their passport, I've not come across one person who has.

I'm one for rules to, for a few quid i would get it certified, always have, but i don't know anyone who has been refused for not

Joe, I have no time available to do anything like that.
As far as I understand it, such refusals will usually indicate insufficient evidence in meeting immigration status or maybe deception or false documentation.
Additionally, UKBA would never refuse a visa solely due to the presentation style of sponsors Bio-Data page. There would be other reasons involved too, as you know.

Like I said, it's my opinion to follow the regulations and that's the only advice I will give.
UKBA clearly state what they want. All I say is follow it. It's not difficult and not a problem.

People can choose to do what they want.

[joebloggs]

always best to be cautious , you don't want to give an ECO a petty reason to refuse you.

[Janedan0913]

In order to be on the safe side, just go to a solicitor and let your passport be certified. It is better to be safe than sorry in the end. Just an honest advice.

[sars_notd_virus]

we submitted all originals documents except my husbands passport, i just asked him to scan all the stamp pages of his passport and send it through our email...yes we have opened an email account where we both know the password and its just exclusive for all the visa purposes documents.

[robbie bobby]

thanks for all the comments guys, really quite eye opening to see how much a little issue like this can be so confusing. of course the safest way would be to get it certified and that would be that but it also seems to me the embassy website can be a little mystifying into revealing complete peace of mind in the way of applying for a visa, i know of people who have spent thousands in applications to have it denied on the smallest of whims that passed into an officers mind at the time and the problem is that once it has been denied you have no way of resolving it unless you try again and spend more money. i just wanted to get it right the first time really but it still does not ring clear as to certified or non certified, there is some division amongst you on this little issue which really goes to show how vague the embassy website is. i called them in the end and still had no resolution as the voice on the other end did not know the answer to my question and basically said it would be better to get it certified "just in case" which does not give me much confidence in the british foreign office. i also went down to the guernsey immigration to speak to one of the officers who actually authorise the visa and lo and behold got exactly the same answer yet again "better safe than sorry" although they were a bit more empathetic saying that if it wasnt certified it would not be an issue for them as they would just call me in if they had any questions but they said that although guernsey is the final destination and all the documents would be forwrded to here for final approval and issuance of visa before being returned to manila, they could not comment for the officer who will check the docs in the embassy and if he/she is not entirely happy he/she will not even send them to guernsey but just issue a denial notice and the money is gone. what a bunch of lazy unknowledgable bunch of beauracratic b******s. whatever dept you go to either here or abroad

[Arjie]

hello robbie,

My fiance Chris.He just scanned his passport bio page and his travel stamp (arrival and departure in the Philippines) and he signed it, that's all. The Clearance Officer accepted it.