The Student Room Group

I'm finding it hard to find a passport counter signature. I'm at my wits end!

Hi everyone. I'm new here!

I am 20 yrs old and I am planning on sending way my application at the end of the month because I wanna book my holiday for June asap. I have the money, the documents and pics for my application but I am stuck on who could be my countersignature. I first asked my GP and they said no doctor in the surgery does them any more so I asked all my old lecturers and most never got back to me and the few that did were all for doing it until they found out they need to have a valid passport, which they don't have.


I have no professional friends and my friend's that have professional parents don't have passports or have refused. I have never worked. I done voluntary when I was 16 at a hospital radio but the manager has since died.

I am at my witts end trying to find someone. My boyfriend of 3 yrs is in the exact same situation. I was going to ask his dad since he owns his own company but yet again, he doesn't have a valid passport.

On the UK application form it says professionals or someone with a good stance in the community, what could that be for the community part?

I have seen the list of professionals that can be used but know no lawyers, policemen etc. I emailed my old academy and called but no one ever got back to me.

Also my last dentist has since closed and I am yet to register with a new one so I cant use them.

Thanks in advance fellow students :smile:

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Local shopkeeper?
Reply 2
Never thought of that, that could maybe work.

A friend also suggested that my local councillor could maybe do it even though they don't know me personally, if I take ID they should be able to it.

Is that true?
Reply 3
I'm in the same situation, only I need the signature for my student loan cause I don't have any form of ID, just my birth certificate. Watching for some kind of resolution! c:
Reply 4
Its a nightmare trying to get signatures for loans, provisionals, passports etc. I think its the hardest when it comes to passports because they require the countersignature to have a passport and they have to put their passport number on the form. A lot of people are put off by that :/
Reply 5
Do you got to church? The vicar of my parish church countersigned mine, but that was nearly 5 years ago. (you may have to pay though)

:smile:
Reply 6
I just had this happen to me! First time British passport for me so I had to get someone who had known me for two years and held a British passport. My old school only allowed the headmaster to sign and he was Irish, my GP retired, etc.. Finally got one of my mum's friends who was a prison warden to sign it. Do you know any social workers? Bankers?
Reply 7
My aunt is a social worker but her and my great uncle are divorced and have been for many years. My papa thinks I should be able to use her so he is gonna contact her. I'd use a banker but I've never met the bank manager at my branch in all my life :L

Nice to hear I'm not the only who has been thru all this crap! The sooner I have the signature and the holiday comes, the better!

Thanks for all replies so far x
Reply 8
Original post by Yasmin25
My aunt is a social worker but her and my great uncle are divorced and have been for many years. My papa thinks I should be able to use her so he is gonna contact her. I'd use a banker but I've never met the bank manager at my branch in all my life :L

Nice to hear I'm not the only who has been thru all this crap! The sooner I have the signature and the holiday comes, the better!

Thanks for all replies so far x


I'm going to some Cambridge course in two weeks and needed a new passport; we tried the form two weeks ago. As it's my first British passport I'd have to go for questioning to prove I'm not illegal in this country and it would take 10 weeks and an Irish one would have took at least 4. Sigh. I ended up applying for a CitizenCard as it comes in 1-2 days if you pay extra and most places recognise it as ID.
Reply 9
I'm dreading the passport interview I will get. I'm fully British and lived in Scotland all my day and so has my parents but the thought of someone asking me questions and basing whether I am illegal or not is scary lol
Original post by Yasmin25
I'm dreading the passport interview I will get. I'm fully British and lived in Scotland all my day and so has my parents but the thought of someone asking me questions and basing whether I am illegal or not is scary lol


And it will be one of those times when you forget something very important like something to do with school or your home.
Reply 11
Yeah exactly :/

I'm nervous enough around people of authority without them asking me important questions lol.

If I send away my passport at the beginning of March and plan to go away on 24th June - 1st July 2013, do you think it would be ok to book the travel arrangements there and then or wait til my passport came? Some people say yes just book it because it only takes 8 weeks max for a passport and others say no just wait until you have your passport.

I'm on the fence with that
Original post by Yasmin25
Yeah exactly :/

I'm nervous enough around people of authority without them asking me important questions lol.

If I send away my passport at the beginning of March and plan to go away on 24th June - 1st July 2013, do you think it would be ok to book the travel arrangements there and then or wait til my passport came? Some people say yes just book it because it only takes 8 weeks max for a passport and others say no just wait until you have your passport.

I'm on the fence with that


I'd do it. March - 24th June is 15 weeks so it should be grand. Apparently you can do it through the Post Office and get it back quicker and it only costs about £6 but as it's your first I don't think you'd get it back as quick as someone renewing.
Reply 13
Yeah the only thing the post office can do for me is check it and send it off quickly, could still wait up til the full 8weeks to get it :frown:

Apparently though most people only wait about 4 weeks at most so hopefully that's the case but I wont get my hopes up too much lol

When booking flights tho, do they not ask for your passport number or anything? If they do, I'd have to wait to book it then
Original post by Yasmin25
Yeah the only thing the post office can do for me is check it and send it off quickly, could still wait up til the full 8weeks to get it :frown:

Apparently though most people only wait about 4 weeks at most so hopefully that's the case but I wont get my hopes up too much lol

When booking flights tho, do they not ask for your passport number or anything? If they do, I'd have to wait to book it then


No, no. Just the name on the passport. BE CAREFUL. If your flight ticket says John Micheal Smith but your passport just says John Smith there may be complications.
Reply 15
Ahh thanks for the tip :smile: knowing me I will end up making some mistake like that with me or my boyfriend's tickets. This will be the first time abroad for both of us so we dunno what to expect with booking, airport security and the flight.

All in all tho, we can't wait. It'll be a weight off our minds when we finally find countersignatures.
i got a mechanic to do mine :P
Reply 17
Dammit, I don't know any mechanics I could use :frown: lol
Reply 18
just a thought, but my friend had her passport countersigned by the pharmacist at the local chemist, do you have a pharmacist who you've visited frequently over the past few years and who knows you? x
Reply 19
I do frequently get antibiotics for many UTIs but I've never dealt with the one pharmacist every time or even a lot of the time. Always seems to be someone new each time :frown:

I was gonna ask my optician as I have seen the same woman both times I have had my eyes tested and been with Specsavers for 4 yrs but I thought if my GP who I have been with all my life wont sign it, why would the optician?

No harm in calling up and asking though I suppose.

Thanks everyone so far x

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