Nobody to sign passport photos, anyway out of it

eskbanker

NoodleDoodleMan said:

eskbanker said:

NoodleDoodleMan said:

The two key aspects are having known the applicant for at least two years and also being one of the prescribed list of occupations/professions etc. that are acceptable to the passport office to verify the photo.

The former is generally not an issue, the latter can be.

That just seems to be restating the problem, but as posted earlier, the option of ‘a person of good standing in their community’ is a valid alternative to someone who works in (or be retired from) a recognised profession on the list, hence that being recommended to OP in the absence of anyone suitable on the profession list.

Yes that alternative ticks the boxes, however the problem centres around what criteria constitues a person of good standing in their community for the purpose required ?

Well, yes, my suggestion was for OP to call the advice line, given that the published documentation doesn't define any criteria for the 'good standing' option....

DullGreyGuy

heatherw_01 said:

Doctors are excluded unless they know you well. Mine speaks to me every 3 weeks, so that would be my only hope.
Silly that doctors are excluded but nurses aren't!

The problem is people think the list is really selective and you need an accountant or a lawyer or such to sign it but actually the list is now exceptionally large given the manager of a company or manager of a VAT registered business is on there. 

Doctor's actively asked to be removed from the list because they were inundated with requests and whilst they can charge for it as non-NHS work they also had to reject many of them because they wouldn't recognise them from a photo having not personally seen them for months/years (esp as most surgeries you just get who ever is free rather than "your doctor") so a pain to have to pay a fee only to be told no and also a lot of hours of unpaid work if you waive the fee.

Guess either people didnt realise nurses were on the list or less people see a nurse or there is more cases of seeing different nurse each time. 

strawb_shortcake

I don't mean this as a slight on anyone at  all and not insinuating this applies to the OP, I'm just curious. But if ill health limits your ability to leave the home and your social interaction with others then is foreign travel a realistic option?

Perhaps we are lucky in our local area, but we have lots of support groups for people with ill health and disabilities. If you have access to these then it's quite possible that either a volunteer or a carer would be able to counter sign passports and other documents (if youve attended long enough).

As I said this isn't a slight or criticism on anyone, I'm on the fringes of a stroke support group and have seen first hand the value that these groups bring to the survivors 

NoodleDoodleMan

eskbanker said:

NoodleDoodleMan said:

eskbanker said:

NoodleDoodleMan said:

The two key aspects are having known the applicant for at least two years and also being one of the prescribed list of occupations/professions etc. that are acceptable to the passport office to verify the photo.

The former is generally not an issue, the latter can be.

That just seems to be restating the problem, but as posted earlier, the option of ‘a person of good standing in their community’ is a valid alternative to someone who works in (or be retired from) a recognised profession on the list, hence that being recommended to OP in the absence of anyone suitable on the profession list.

Yes that alternative ticks the boxes, however the problem centres around what criteria constitues a person of good standing in their community for the purpose required ?

Well, yes, my suggestion was for OP to call the advice line, given that the published documentation doesn't define any criteria for the 'good standing' option....

I suspect they won't get a definitive answer there - seems to be a try and see if it'll be accepted situation.

Very much a hit or a miss scenario, not at all helpful to the applicant - mind you it's a Home Office department, when would you expect a straightforward response from them ?

eskbanker

NoodleDoodleMan said:

eskbanker said:

NoodleDoodleMan said:

eskbanker said:

NoodleDoodleMan said:

The two key aspects are having known the applicant for at least two years and also being one of the prescribed list of occupations/professions etc. that are acceptable to the passport office to verify the photo.

The former is generally not an issue, the latter can be.

That just seems to be restating the problem, but as posted earlier, the option of ‘a person of good standing in their community’ is a valid alternative to someone who works in (or be retired from) a recognised profession on the list, hence that being recommended to OP in the absence of anyone suitable on the profession list.

Yes that alternative ticks the boxes, however the problem centres around what criteria constitues a person of good standing in their community for the purpose required ?

Well, yes, my suggestion was for OP to call the advice line, given that the published documentation doesn't define any criteria for the 'good standing' option....

I suspect they won't get a definitive answer there - seems to be a try and see if it'll be accepted situation.

Very much a hit or a miss scenario, not at all helpful to the applicant - mind you it's a Home Office department, when would you expect a straightforward response from them ?

Sure, I'm not saying that calling the advice line is necessarily the best idea, but as far as I can see nobody's suggested anything better so far, when the majority of responses have been along the lines of 'can you really not find anyone on the list'!

NoodleDoodleMan

I can't think of a better idea either.

EnPointe

heatherw_01 said:

Not a helpful reply, but I would be in the same situation as a chronically ill and disabled person who can't work and doesn't go anywhere.

Doctors are excluded unless they know you well. Mine speaks to me every 3 weeks, so that would be my only hope.
Silly that doctors are excluded but nurses aren't!

I really hope you get it sorted and if you do, come back and let us know how you did it.

If I never need a counter signature, I would be without a person too.

It is a shame that for many in the same situation as us, we just have no one to do this.

If you have a pharmacist you see regularly for any medication, they can do it.

most of the Nurses and other HCPs who counter sign  passport applications do so for eligible family, friends and colleagues  , people don't seek out Nurses to  countersig  their  Passport form  - as other replies have explained it's because when tested  GPs often could not identify the the person who used them as a countersignature without access to notes etc. 

EnPointe

NoodleDoodleMan said:

eskbanker said:

NoodleDoodleMan said:

The two key aspects are having known the applicant for at least two years and also being one of the prescribed list of occupations/professions etc. that are acceptable to the passport office to verify the photo.

The former is generally not an issue, the latter can be.

That just seems to be restating the problem, but as posted earlier, the option of ‘a person of good standing in their community’ is a valid alternative to someone who works in (or be retired from) a recognised profession on the list, hence that being recommended to OP in the absence of anyone suitable on the profession list.

Yes that alternative ticks the boxes, however the problem centres around what criteria constitutes a person of good standing in their community for the purpose required ?

Councillor ( whether parish, District / Brough  or County ) , JP ,  holder of a state  awarded honour / position ...  or has been pointed out  Pub Landloard (a presmises supervisor  and personal licence holder) ... 

NoodleDoodleMan

EnPointe said:

NoodleDoodleMan said:

eskbanker said:

NoodleDoodleMan said:

The two key aspects are having known the applicant for at least two years and also being one of the prescribed list of occupations/professions etc. that are acceptable to the passport office to verify the photo.

The former is generally not an issue, the latter can be.

That just seems to be restating the problem, but as posted earlier, the option of ‘a person of good standing in their community’ is a valid alternative to someone who works in (or be retired from) a recognised profession on the list, hence that being recommended to OP in the absence of anyone suitable on the profession list.

Yes that alternative ticks the boxes, however the problem centres around what criteria constitutes a person of good standing in their community for the purpose required ?

Councillor ( whether parish, District / Brough  or County ) , JP ,  holder of a state  awarded honour / position ...  or has been pointed out  Pub Landloard (a presmises supervisor  and personal licence holder) ... 

Aren't most of these already included in the list of acceptable signatories that the Passport Office publish ?

If they don't know the applicant then they can't sign to verify the photos - which is really the main stumbling block.

smudge56

Think of the people that have know you for two years and what are their jobs.  Any manager, civil servant, social worker, local government worker health visitor, anyone who has seen you over the last two years and have a valid passport.  If someone is retired and over 70 it doesn’t matter what their job was as long as their passport is valid.