Tass

An expat I know has asked me to sign photos for her babys passport. I haven't known her for 2 years but have known her and her baby since it was born , May this year. With all the hassell involved of trying to find someone else to do it for her , would you just sign them ? If I'm caught out what are the consequences involved for me ? I think I already know all the answers to this one and what I'm going to do but just wanted to know what others think and do.
Thanks guys,
All the best,
Tass.

Ceri

I'd sign them if she is a friend. I can't remember exactly what I needed signed years back when I had not been here for long . It needed to be an Au citizen from an approved given list, ie bank manager, doctor , vet etc . My bank manager refused to sign them, saying she had not known me for the given time- ( needless to say I changed banks after that- cocky sod she was, totally unhelpful) In the end I got my vet to sign them who had known me for less than than a year, but had no prob signing them.

It totally depends on you, if you feel you know her, and she is a good friend of yours and trust what she says - well sign them if you feel right about doing so. If you are having doubts or tend to worry about these things - well don't sign them

Has she been in the country for over two years? If yes, how will "they" know that you haven't known her for two years?

If it were me, I'd have absolutely no problem signing them if she is a good friend, it's no skin off my nose ( and if I got caught out, which I doubt it very much. I'd just say I did not realise I was supposed to have know her for two years, I was in a rush and didn't read the form correctly blah and blah)

If it was someone I don't know all that well - well no I would not sign them. I'd just be polite and say sorry but I can not sign them and suggests she rings the passport office up and ask for their advice. Or perhaps you can ring them up for her. Explain the situation to them and ask them who can she get to sign them, and how can she get a passport for her child if she hasn't known anyone for two years here - there must be a way.

It totally depends on you - I personally would if she was good friend, but if you are one of these people who don't like breaking " rules/laws and you will worry about signing the photos , well don't sign them and explain to her that you can not sign them.

cheers

jjonboy

I used to get this a lot in the UK.... In essence my own personal criteria was i knew the person reasonably well, and i was confident that everything about them was as stated. i.e. they were who they say they were.............

diddy

You know if she's dodgy or not. I've signed UK ones under 2 years.

Paul.

KatieStar

I have a form for Ezekiel I need a passport photo of him signed and the form signed stating the person has known him for a year. I phoned the Aussie government helpline and asked did this mean I couldn't apply for his proof of citenship until he was a year old. They said no, all the person needed was to have known Ezekiel since birth. Maybe it would be the same in your case, as long as you have known the baby saince it was born it would be ok.

Katie
ps where did your friend get her baby's photos done. I am struggling to find somewhere that takes baby passport photos

Tass

Thanks for replys. I wouldn't normally think twice BUT there's a wee bit more to it, parents aren't married , one parent British by descent , one British and I was curious that if UKPA were to follow thru their checks , how would that affect my visa here , if at all ?Could they do me for fraud ? Don't want to be deported for the sake of a signiture !

Tass

ps where did your friend get her baby's photos done. I am struggling to find somewhere that takes baby passport photos[/QUOTE]



Hi Katie !
She got them done by one of these people that set up the kiosks in the local shopping mall. I think they're called pixie photos or something like that ! Sorry , not much use I know !
All the best,
Tass.

JAJ

If you have known the person for less than 2 years, why not delete the 2 years where it's mentioned on the form and replace it with the correct time period. The UK passport authorities do understand that newcomers to Australia won't always have known someone for 2 years.

Incidentally - is she sure her baby is a British citizen? Which parent was born in the UK, the mother or the father?


Jeremy

Tass

Thanks JAJ, was kinda hoping you would see this.Both are citizens but her dad was born in the UK . Baby's mum born here and moved to UK as a child but British by descent, Australian by birth.They have been told that they will have to await a descion by passport agency because they are not married. I know it's totally selfish but don't want to do anything to affect my rights as PR here and have a feeling that this is the one in a million verification they would check up on ! Have you known of people adjusting the time period on the declaration ? I would happily do that.
Thanks for your help, much appreciated,
Tass.

JAJ

On the basis of what you say, it sounds like the child is *not* British.

Why? Because neither an unmarried British father, nor a British (by descent) mother, are enough for automatic British citizenship for a child born outside the UK.

However as the child of an unmarried British father, it will be possible to apply for it to be registered as a British citizen.
http://bhc.britaus.net/passports/pas...ult.asp?id=376

The application must be submitted to the British High Commission, with the required fee. It will be forwarded to the Home Office in Liverpool for a decision (will take a few months) and a Certificate of Registration as a British citizen will be issued to the child.

Only then will it be eligible to have a British passport. The application *must* be made before the child is 18, otherwise it loses all rights. If for some reason the father is ineligible to pass on citizenship, there may be some registration entitlements based on the mother's status if application is made before the child is 12 months old.

The bottom line is that your friends ought not to waste time in applying for British citizenship for their child.

British nationality law is complex, you can read about it at this link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_nationality_law


As far as I know it does happen from time to time. It's question of whether they will accept it or not - but remember, people newly arrived in Australia need passports all the time. It's not the first time something like this has happened.

Anyway, they likely need to get their child registered as British before they can apply for a passport.


Jeremy

Tass

Thank you so much ! I was reading all I could yesterday but got muddled up in all the links ! I was trying to explain what I thought I knew to them , about baby not automatically being British etc. and confused everyone even more ! Problem for them is , they're moving back home to the Uk in Feb. so time is an issue. Worse case scenario they plan to take baby over using Aussie passport and sort it all out there. It all just seems a bit of a mess to me and that's why I thought maybe best to help where I can but stay out of it ! I persume they would need to apply for a visa to take baby into the UK too ! :scared:
Anyway , will use your link and Thank-you , thank-you , thank-you again Jeremy.
All the best and have a great day,
Tass.

Have just realised this is the link I was looking at yesterday ! Good to know I'm on the right page for a change !

walaj

For UK passport we put a white blanket over car seat and placed our baby in that to take picture with digital camera, so we could alter it to the required size.

JAJ

For settlement - yes, the child would need a visa. http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk

If they are going to live in the UK for more than three years they could wait and later on register their child in the UK under different provisions of the law and it would be British 'otherwise than by descent' rather than British 'by descent', but realistically unless they are really up to speed on the law they may prefer to register the child as British as soon as possible.

Details here: http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/ind...izenship.html?

Home Office processing times are fairly quick at the moment (the timescales for 'adult registration' are the best guide as most minor registrations are tied to the parents naturalisation applications).
http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/ind...tionality.html

Things should be sorted out long before February if they decide to go ahead now.

They should also get an Australian citizenship certificate for the child as the birth cert proves nothing and having a citizenship cert makes things easier should the passport ever be lost. Use form 119 and pay AUD55.


Jeremy

Tass

Thanks again ! I didn't know any of this ! Am going to bed now !
All the best ,
Tass.