steve`o

theres a load of confusion regarding certified copies
read the relevant information on the tra / visa application websites and certify the copies in accordance with the information given


info of site

Certified document. Documents that have been certified or guaranteed by a certifying person as a true copy of the original document.

Certifying person. Your country has suitably qualified people who are able to witness your signature on a legal document, e.g. lawyer, doctor, policeman, school teacher.



so who ever can sign a legal document in your country is acceptable
i used a company director as in the uk any of the following can be used to sign an appication for a uk passport ( how legal do you want the document )

taken from UK passport web site


Who can countersign my application?
After you have completed the form in full, including section 9, section 10 should be completed and signed by one of the people below, or someone of similar standing in the community, who has known you for at least 2 years.

The latest version of the application form asks the countersignatory to enter their current British passport number (Irish passport numbers are also acceptable). This is necessary to enable us to check identity.

You should give the countersignatory your complete application together with photographs, documents fee and envelope, so that they can seal the application after completing section 10. (In the case of a child section 10 should be signed by someone of the relevant standing who has personally known the person who signs the declaration at section 9 rather than the child).

Acceptable countersignatures:

Accountant
Articled clerk of a limited company
Assurance agent of recognised company
Bank/building society official
Barrister
Broker
Chairman/director of limited company
Chemist
Chiropodist
Christian Science practitioner
Commissioner of oaths
Councillor: local or county
Civil servant (permanent)
Dentist
Engineer (with professional qualifications)
Fire service official
Funeral director
Insurance agent (full time) of a recognised company
Journalist
Justice of the Peace
Legal secretary (members and fellows of the Institute of legal secretaries)
Local government officer
Manager/Personnel officer (of limited company)
Member of Parliament
Merchant Navy officer
Minister of a recognised religion
Nurse (SRN and SEN)
Officer of the armed services (active or retired)
Optician
Person with honours (e.g. OBE MBE etc.)
Photographer (professional)
Police officer
Post Office official
President/Secretary of a recognised organisation
Salvation Army officer
Social worker
Solicitor
Surveyor
Teacher, lecturer
Trade union officer
Travel agency (qualified)
Valuers and auctioneers (fellow and associate members of the incorporated society)
Warrant officers and Chief Petty Officers


now when i mentioned this last time i was shouted down by a load of
I KNOW BETTERS
and as i was new to this ( arnt we all at some stage )
i quitely crapped myself ( the visa application had already been sent )

so i emailed
[email protected]

i expalined why i had used a company director and to my suprise they emailed me back saying that it was quite acceptable
as long as it was a person that would normally sign legal documents in the uk is was ok


sorry its a bit long winded

moral
read the information on the application form and if in doubt ask some
one who is iether a registerd migration agent or email the immigration
dept - they are very helpful



regards steve



ps i have passed the TRA and have been granted my visa
( both using a company director )

Wendy

I've just had some more stuff certified for the domestic skills assessment using a company director as well. They said it was fine, I e-mailed and asked.

ElshaUK

Ok, well I am confused now. I just checked out DIMA's website and it says for the UK.

http://www.australia.org.uk/VTI/HTML/cert.html

UK
Solicitor
Magistrate
Notary Public
Justice of the Peace
Officer of the court appointed by a Judge to take affidavits

steve`o

http://www.workplace.gov.au/workplac...ms.htm#Certify

Wendy

and from the DIMA site http://www.immi.gov.au/gateways/agents/faqs/2.0.htm

steve`o

same government different web sites showing different information
unfortunately this in my experience is common

for example

until very recently ( sometime last week )
the gov web site for ARTC applications clearly stated that if you had already applied for the TRA you only had to fill in part of the application form
several members reported back that there applications had been returned
as the form needed to be completed in full
when the TRA where asked about the information on the web the reply was that it was out of date and would be updated shortly

this took about four months that i know about

i wonder how many part filled applications were returned during this time

personally if your concerned email
[email protected]

as i did and ask the "horse" as it were

regards Steve

steve`o

thanks wendy

they make it very confusing dont they??

no wonder it crops up as often as it does

Katsmajics other half !!!

hiya, we've been told that our vicar can do certified copies too.
with regards to the teacher, can it be any old teacher or a head teacher?
thanks kat xx

Wendy

It just says teacher, so presume any teacher.

Luma

The skills assessing body for engineers IEAust is quite strict
http://www.ieaust.org.au/find/osqa/r...0documents.doc

ElshaUK

I find it all so confusing and contradictory....

Still think I will go with a Notary Public just to be safe I cannot believe that the DIMA site has 2 different examples of who can sign... Weird!!!!

graz79

That's an understatement.

Thanks for the information from all on this thread and it means I can now go and get my copies certified without being charged £5 a document as some of the local solicitors quoted.

It doesn't help that all the references state Australian this and Australian that and not whether you can use the equivilent in a different country i.e. The UK!!

bainser

OK, got this from the ACS website regarding who can certify copies.

I'll phone the local court tomorrow to see if they can do it but I have a mate who is a company director and it would make life very easy if he can sign them instead, anyone know if that would be ok?

graz79

An update for all who are going to pay for the privelege

I just phoned the local magistrates court. They will not charge as long as you give a couple of days notice and turn up before sessions start,

Thanks

sunburn

Firstly nice advice Steve 'O !

Just to add my tuppenceworth I rang our local magistrate court and they didnt seem to have heard of it. After a lots of holding on an 0871 number the girl reckoned £8 per copy, I kept asking if she was sure and "thats what Im told" ....Plus she said I could book it in for about 2 weeks time !!!
Not Just Aus gov websites that have conflicting info !
...So Im still searching round.