Have you changed so much that you can’t be recognised from your last expired or current UK passport? Well, this can restrict you from travelling to other nations. You need to get your UK passport countersigned. This includes getting your passport application and one of your passport photos signed by a countersigning authority to prove your identity, as published by the UK Government.
Do I need a countersignature for passport renewal? Other than significant changes in appearance, a person applying for the first adult or child passport, getting a passport renewed for a child aged 11 years or under, or applying for replacing a lost, stolen or damaged passport needs to get the application form countersigned. Wondering who can countersign your photos? Read on.
Who Can Countersign a UK Passport Application?
Any individual living in the UK, holding a valid, non-expired British Passport and has known the adult applicant or parent of the applicant (in case the applicant is a child), not just as a random professional, but as a friend or colleague for at least two years, is eligible to countersign a passport application.
The counter signatories must have worked in or must have retired from a recognised profession. They should hold a good reputation in their community. Remember, those who work for Her Majesty’s Passport Office cannot countersign a passport application.
What to Write When Countersigning a Passport Photo?
The counter signatory should take the passport application form and fill in and sign section 10, must check that the details are correct and sign it and mention valid contact details, address, mobile phone number and passport information, including the valid till date, to ensure the fastest processing of a passport application. Through this information, the counter signatory may be contacted by Her Majesty’s Passport Office for passport countersignature check.
The signatory must then sign, date and certify one of the two passport-sized photographs in the passport application form, writing ‘I certify that this is a true likeness of [title and full name of adult or child who has applied for the passport]’. This can be written on the back of one of the photographs.
You can apply with Rapid Passports for a UK passport countersign with a much faster processing.
Those who are applying from outside the UK should choose counter signatories who must have a current British, Irish or other EU passport to get the application processed faster. In case they have a US, Commonwealth Passport, or a Non-British or Non-Irish EU Passport, don’t forget to add a colour photocopy of the page having their photograph, along with your application.
