rikyuu

phew, thank you so much for that information.

hi all,

We were hoping someone could advise please; were in Australia and have to renew our children's UK passports for a trip back to the UK later this year. This is now done partly online and then the forms printed to be completed and sent to the UK with the old passports. One thing we're stuck on however is the counter signatories, which are required for children. It has to be someone in Australia, with a British passport, who is professional and has known us personally for 2 years. The passport office can check up and there are heavy penalties for lying.

Well, we just don't know anyone like that. I know 1 British person who I met twice and drives a truck. Has anyone else had this problem? Are we the only people without close, professional British friends? What happens if you've only been here 18 months, it would not be possible to have known someone here for 2 years!

Any advice would be most welcome. Thanks!

I think anything without aircon should be an immediate NO (apart from exceptional circumstances) unless you are comfortable sitting in a 50 degree oven in traffic. Even outside of peak summer, the strength of the sun alone through the windows heats the car rapidly.