passport renewal help
 

we have to renew the boys passports and after sorting the payment side of things as we do not have credit cards , they have to be signed by someone who has known us for 2 years or more.

as we have only been here since sept 06 , how do we go about this / any ideas.

it will result in phoning the british consulate / abtran but as it is a collect call i have to buy a phone card as rogers do not allow 900 numbers , at $2.90 per minute.

some help would be nice

Re: passport renewal help
 

Get someone who has known you for whatever period of time you've been in Canada to sign and strike out the 2 years and replace it with the period of time they have known you.

The High Commission will probably accept that. If they don't, and if they formally refuse the application, then you will need to make an official complaint to the Foreign Office Minister, using your MP in Britain.

Don't waste your time and money on the helpline as based on the reports of others, they just read from a script.

Incidentally countersignatures are not normally required for adult passport renewals.

Re: passport renewal help
 

Presumably you are talking about a British passport. Do you need to get them signed? In the UK you only need the photos signed if you are unrecognizable from the previous ones. Is it different if you renew in Canada?

Just curious

Re: passport renewal help
 

yes they are uk passports , i am only going by what it says on the forms , it also syas i have to sign for my 17 year old


thanks for the help , i was going to get my boss to do it or the solicitor next door.

Re: passport renewal help
 

When I got my UK passport renewed in Canada I was lucky enough to have an English school teacher friend visiting so he signed them.

But I was told that I could either get someone (professional) in Canada to sign and just put how long they knew me, or just write an accompanying letter saying that I was new to Canada and didn't know anyone.

My other option was to send the relevant forms and photos back to the UK to get a Police friend to sign and send back to me.

I haven't changed very much between being 18 and 27 so I think my renew was fairly straight forward

Re: passport renewal help
 

We very recently had to renew my sons passport (he is 6) His first passport was a baby photo so I had to get the passport photos countersigned too. We have only been here for 6 months so I sent that part of the form to one of my great friends back in England (a PC) to sign and send back to me, this process took little over a week and once received I sent the form to the British Consulate for renewal......just over a week later his shiny new passport arrived. All in all the entire process took just about 3 weeks from printing off the forms online to getting the passport back - no problems. Cost $175 inc postage. Hope this may help.

Re: passport renewal help
 

I've just sent my passport off for renewal. As I read it, you do need the signature if you renew in Canada and you're much more restricted in the choice of people who can sign.

Re: passport renewal help
 

I agree - just renewed mine (2 week turn-round from Ottawa). I got my bank/account manager to sign mine.

Re: passport renewal help
 

What does the solicitor next door charge? Due to my headily illustrious profession and my dual citizenship status, I am eligible to do this deed.

I'll take half of what the bloodsucking lawyer costs (and a pint).

Re: passport renewal help
 

I thought lawyers weren't allowed to charge for signing a passport application :confused:

Re: passport renewal help
 

No you do not sign for youngsters unless they are under 16. A new rule came in very recently, my son who is 16 signed his own form i didn't have to.
Check the website again as the forms on there are now different since December i think.

BTW how much for a root canal treatment? I'm in pain and a dentist has just quoted me $787 and that i may need a crown later on as well. Alternatively it's an extraction for $97

Re: passport renewal help
 

As you have only been here a short time, I would have family in the UK send you the forms from the UK postoffice, these do not need signing if the current photo and the passport photo are similar (we renewed our daughers who was then 6 and is now 11, although we can see the resemblence, we didn't think they would, but it was renewed without question) use a UK address and enclose a cheque or postal order, once they are received by your good friends/family then they can be sent registered to you, it worked for us, without a hitch.

Re: passport renewal help
 

great . thanks for all the help

the lawyer charges nothing as i work next door , he notorised all my docs immigration free of charge.

sorry can not help with the root canal , we just make the teeth , my hubby in the same boat , dentist wants srious money and our denatl plan does not cover all his work yet.

Re: passport renewal help
 

Alright, I'll do it for the pint then. Jeez, just trying to make an honest buck. ;)