Nobody to sign passport photos, anyway out of it

ev8 · 30 April 2025 at 11:00AM

NoodleDoodleMan said:

"The long term GP isn't a "friend" with whom the OP has a personal relationship, the relationship is a professional relationship of patient / doctor. As such the GP cannot validate the photo."
My point exactly.
That's why I questioned introducing any suggestion that a GP could be approached from a professional perspective.

I didn't suggest it...

ev8 · 30 April 2025 at 11:03AM

ev8 said:

Well all I can do is try and phone them and see what they say. If they still allowed Drs I'd be fine.

IF and STILL

Clearly I wasn't suggesting I approach the GP, it's why I'm looking for alternatives. Nobody was suggesting using the GP, especially not me. I don't know why this is still being discussed. Perhaps to close the thread?

Anyway, if a mod sees, please, I do not want this closed for other people.

smudge56 · 30 April 2025 at 8:04PM

Does the drs receptionist know you.? They could verify your ID and would be acceptable.

Rich2808 · 1 May 2025 at 2:01AM

These rules are quite tough on people who may not have a wide circle of eligible contacts to do this.

In Ireland you can simply go to a police station - and provide your photos/proof of identity and any police officer can witness your form/photos for a first time passport. They don't need to know you - merely be satisfied you are who you claim you are.

I am sure the passport office could devise a more hi tech system in 2025 to verify people anyway - or engage local councils who provide voter ID for elections so why not passport verification too. Much more inclusive too/helps hard to reach groups.

Good luck OP - and hope you get this sorted.

ev8 · 1 May 2025 at 10:10AM

Rich2808 said:

These rules are quite tough on people who may not have a wide circle of eligible contacts to do this.

In Ireland you can simply go to a police station - and provide your photos/proof of identity and any police officer can witness your form/photos for a first time passport. They don't need to know you - merely be satisfied you are who you claim you are.

I am sure the passport office could devise a more hi tech system in 2025 to verify people anyway - or engage local councils who provide voter ID for elections so why not passport verification too. Much more inclusive too/helps hard to reach groups.

Good luck OP - and hope you get this sorted.

Thanks so much, yeah, I agree, the fact there are quite a few people with this problem shows it's needlessly tough and actually doesn't really help security in any way.

I vote all the time, I have a council issues bus pass, a birth certificate, I just don't have anyone who can sign this!

Thanks so much.

ev8 · 1 May 2025 at 10:11AM

smudge56 said:

Does the drs receptionist know you.? They could verify your ID and would be acceptable.

Not really, no, they change them over all the time. There are a few avenues I'm looking at before just doing as she said on the phone.

brianposter · 1 May 2025 at 6:59PM

Perhaps it should be pointed out that, at the moment, it is not the Passport office that is being difficult. It is other people simply assuming that the PO will be inflexible.

alex284 · 17 April at 4:03PM

I did manage to get a friend (who is a solicitor) to confirm my identity online, but I later received an HMPO email saying they “do not meet the criteria”. I’ve also tried two of my landlords, but they haven’t responded to my requests.

I’m a fairly introverted person, so I find it quite uncomfortable having to repeatedly ask people for a favour like this, especially when it involves official identity verification.

Interestingly, as a director of my own UK Ltd company, I’m eligible to act as a countersignatory for someone else - but that doesn’t really help me if I can’t find anyone suitable for my own application.

If anyone here is also a director of a UK Ltd and has faced the same issue, feel free to reach out. Maybe we can help each other out in a legitimate and compliant way.