judgemental Posted June 24, 2022 Share Posted June 24, 2022 My application to renew my UK passport from Australia has hit a problem. I sent in a photocopy of my Aussie passport exactly as required and now that's not good enough. They want an "official" copy, without defining what they mean by "official". Has anyone done this for HM passports? Does that mean every page ( 23!!) has to be certified? Also, does the declaration HAVE to be handwritten? EveryJotP and solicitor I know uses a stamp, then signs. I know I can phone them and will do so but any help here would be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted June 25, 2022 Share Posted June 25, 2022 (edited) 4 hours ago, judgemental said: My application to renew my UK passport from Australia has hit a problem. I sent in a photocopy of my Aussie passport exactly as required and now that's not good enough. They want an "official" copy, without defining what they mean by "official". Has anyone done this for HM passports? Does that mean every page ( 23!!) has to be certified? Also, does the declaration HAVE to be handwritten? EveryJotP and solicitor I know uses a stamp, then signs. I know I can phone them and will do so but any help here would be good. If they have told you what they want then i would provide what they have asked for. In the past i had to send them my original Australian passport which they then returned to me. Edited June 25, 2022 by Parley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judgemental Posted June 25, 2022 Author Share Posted June 25, 2022 As I said in my first a paragraph, they haven't said what they want, i.e what "official" means. It can different things in different countries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted June 25, 2022 Share Posted June 25, 2022 Just follow the instructions strictly as described for applying for a new passport on www.gov.uk. When I last did it instructed me to send the actual foreign passport in with the application (my Australian passport). I did that and they returned it within a month. I'm sure the instructions won't be vague at all on the official site. If you are following some 3 party site then I would not rely on that at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judgemental Posted June 25, 2022 Author Share Posted June 25, 2022 I followed the instructions on the Gov.UK website, which asked for a colour copy of any current passport, in my case Australian, which I did. They then said they wanted "official" copies, not what was required on the website, without saying what they meant by this. This is my question, has anyone had their copy certified and accepted by HM passport, and if so, by whom? As for sending the original of my Au passport, certainly not, I need it for travel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted June 25, 2022 Share Posted June 25, 2022 Well you can say certainly not, but when i applied in 2010 that was the rule. So i had to comply or no passport. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted June 25, 2022 Share Posted June 25, 2022 9 hours ago, judgemental said: My application to renew my UK passport from Australia has hit a problem. I sent in a photocopy of my Aussie passport exactly as required Was it a full colour copy? If it's full colour it shouldn't need to be certified. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judgemental Posted June 25, 2022 Author Share Posted June 25, 2022 Here's cut and paste from GovUK: What you need to send You must send original documents, unless we ask for a photocopy. Your application will be delayed if you don’t send everything we need. Applicant’s documents Send the following: old passport full colour copy (every page including blank pages) of any current or expired passports from other countries that haven’t been cancelled The old passport is the old UK one. As you can see, they don't ask for a certified copy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judgemental Posted June 25, 2022 Author Share Posted June 25, 2022 Yes, I sent a full colour copy. I can see why a copy should be certified, just wish they'd said so. I've carried out probate twice, once here, once in the UJK, so I'm all over the certification lark. A little clarity would be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted June 25, 2022 Share Posted June 25, 2022 50 minutes ago, judgemental said: Yes, I sent a full colour copy. I can see why a copy should be certified, just wish they'd said so. I've carried out probate twice, once here, once in the UJK, so I'm all over the certification lark. A little clarity would be good. However with a lot of things nowadays, if it’s colour there’s no need for certification so it doesn’t make sense Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rammygirl Posted June 26, 2022 Share Posted June 26, 2022 I did this recently in April. Sent a colour copy of every page of Aus passport plus my old UK passport as requested. Got my passport 5 weeks later, I think they have had problems so may have recruited new staff. Give them a call if you are not happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judgemental Posted June 26, 2022 Author Share Posted June 26, 2022 I see what you're saying and it's probably the case. I did ring and they said I had to re-send my Aussie passport, and have it certified. The person on the other end plainly had no idea what wording should be used so they weren't looking at passport guidance. Gits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judgemental Posted August 16, 2022 Author Share Posted August 16, 2022 I should have updated. I eventually got my UK passport. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.