Passport certification help for naturalisation

[marc9477]

Hi All,

I'm applying for naturalisation this week. I am unable to send my passport in with my applicaiton as I often travel for work. I have heard about having my passport certified(or notarised) by a solicitor, so I can effectively just send in photocopies of each page of my passport and have a solicitor certify each page.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Does it really work?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

thanks
Marc

[Christophe]

Why not use the Nationality Checking Service (see http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/applyi ... nality/ncs)?

In the words of the IND guide (http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/6353/1 ... idean1.pdf) that accompanies the naturalisation form:

The Nationality Checking service ...will also copy valuable documents and certify them as true copies, before returning the originals to you in person.

Certainly I have known people in the past who have sent in certified copies of their passport - as you say, a copy of each page, certified separately, but it can be expensive and if the Nationality Checking Service can do the copying and certifying for you, so much the better.

[tekaweni]

Agreed. I used NCS and my passport was only ever out of my hands long enough for them to photocopy it. The £35 or so is well worth it, not to mention the usually faster processing time that comes with using NCS.

[Dawie]

Also, and I found this interesting, the NCS only photocopy pages in your passport that have stamps and visas in them. They skip all blank facing pages. When I went to the NCS I had an old expired 32 page passport that was full and a brand new 64 page passport with stamps on 2 pages. I apologised to the guy beforehand because I knew photocopying a 64 page passport that only has stamps on 2 pages would be a bit of a mission. He told me there was no problem, he only has to photocopy the pages that have stamps and visas on them.

[davidm]

Certainly I have known people in the past who have sent in certified copies of their passport - as you say, a copy of each page, certified separately, but it can be expensive and if the Nationality Checking Service can do the copying and certifying for you, so much the better.

I appled before the Nationality Checking Service started- had 4 passports (2 of mine and two of my wife's) photocopied and certified by a solicitor in London who charged me GBP 10 per passport.

[virtual-writer]

I have heard that an MP can certify passport copies for the citizenship application, without charge... Has anyone here done that?

What other ways of certifying the passport copies are there? (Preferably as cheap as possible)

[virtual-writer]

Ok, I checked the NCS page, got the contact details for the closest NCS Office:

The phone number takes me to a voice mail service and the e-mail comes back as undeliverable (and I tried with both a hotmail address and another with a registered domain address... same result, their e-mail does not exist or is clogged up).

Now what

[marc9477]

I called around to a number of solicitors. I was quoted prices ranging from 5 pounds per document to 50 pounds per document.

It was definitely worth calling around first.

[Dawie]

I called around to a number of solicitors. I was quoted prices ranging from 5 pounds per document to 50 pounds per document.

It was definitely worth calling around first.

Considering that the average passport consists of 32 pages, that means you looking at certifying almost 16 photocopied pages per passport. That alone puts the costs of certifying documents at more than the cost for an NCS application (assuming the person doing the certifying considers each photocopied page a separate document to be certified).

If you've ever photocopied an entire passport you'll appreciate what a hassle it is!

[marc9477]

I scanned all of the stamped pages and the picture page of my passport, put the images in a word document, filling up 3 pages. The solicotor charged my 5 pounds for the whole thing.

[virtual-writer]

I scanned all of the stamped pages and the picture page of my passport, put the images in a word document, filling up 3 pages. The solicotor charged my 5 pounds for the whole thing.

That sounds like a good idea! I finally got through to the local NCS, after searching for alternative contact details on the net.

But the best they can do is 1st May........... after the fee changes, of course!

[tekaweni]

virtual-writer

You can use any NCS youre prepared to travel to, but I guess at this time most of them will be under pressure from applicants trying to beat the fee increase.

[virtual-writer]

You can use any NCS youre prepared to travel to, but I guess at this time most of them will be under pressure from applicants trying to beat the fee increase.

That's the thing. My husband (who is the one applying) is very busy already as it is, plus he's got me and the kids to think of (my health isn't the best at the mo).

I'm looking for a solicitor to notarise/certify scanned copies of the passport now, which looks like a very good option. They seem to all have £5 per signature or page.