Passport Form Signatory

[jubieanna]

Can a teaching assistant sign a passport form?

I know a teacher can but have been asked to sign one for a friend who says its ok. but I didnt think so.

[Prudie]

Countersignatories must work in (or be retired from) a recognised profession or be ‘a person of good standing in their community’, eg:

Above is pasted from the gov.uk website. Although suggested occupations are listed any person of good standing can sign and that would include teaching assistants - in fact that could be anyone who knows you as long as they're not family or down-and-outs :-)

[jubieanna]

ah right lol. thanks prudie. I'll sign it then. I'm definitely not a down-and-out lol

[Buenchico]

From the internal document which IPS staff must refer to:
"The criteria for a countersignature
A person deemed qualified to countersign a passport application may be either:
• a Member of Parliament, Justice of the Peace, Minister of Religion, a professionally qualified person (e.g. doctor, engineer,
lawyer, teacher), local councillor, bank officer, established civil servant, Police Officer; or,
• a person of similar standing ; and,
• who has personally known the applicant for at least two years; and,
• not a relative of the applicant (this includes partners, in-laws, and step-parents). Definition of "partner", if evident from the
application form, is a partnership or relationship that is akin to marriage.
• The countersignatory must hold a current British, or Irish, passport.
• Members of staff should not sign applications

Interpretation of a "person of similar standing":
A countersignature must be a person who enjoys a good reputation in the community, possesses a current British passport and has
credentials that can be checked, and who would have something to lose by wrongly countersigning an application. For logistical
reasons it is not possible to provide a comprehensive list of all professions and organisations where persons holding a responsible
position are acceptable to verify passport applications.
While there is no qualification for a "person of similar standing" this may be interpreted in the widest sense, but it must always be
borne in mind that a countersignature should normally be someone who:
• has qualifications that can be checked; and,
• it is believed will not risk a career or reputation by knowingly making an untrue statement in completing the countersigning
section of an application form.
NOTE: An unemployed person who has appropriate credentials is not precluded from countersigning an application."

[jubieanna]

Thanks for all that info Chris. Its a bit of a grey area this 'person of similar standing' I have qualifications and CRB check as I work in a school so do you think I would ok to sign it?

[Buenchico]

If you've got 'checkable qualifications' (and, of course assuming that you hold a British passport, have known the person for two years and are not related to them) then you can sign.

[ummmm]

My last passport was signed by the bloke that owns the corner shop. If they hold a license (sale of alcohol etc) they can sign it.

[jubieanna]

Thanks ummmm. I couldn't see any reason why I couldn't so I signed it! Fingers crossed its ok.

[tara20]

So what happens when (like me) you don't have a British citizen to hand who can sign it?

[Maydup]

I'll sign it Tara.

[Maydup]

Seriously, are you in UK? If so go to the GP if not you need to go to the embassy.

[tara20]

I'll get back to you in 2017, Maydup :-)

Maybe by then the backlog will have cleared up and the red tape be a lighter shade of pink.
Thank goodnesss I have another passport and ID to fall back on. (they take about a week, all my data is on the computer and my photo is looked at there and then at the office , signature, - done)

[tara20]

I'm not in UK, that's what gets me - the last passport was £120 at the consulate and took about ten days. Worth the extra to get it promptly and no hassle.
nor did I have to trust my documents to the post. Now they even want you to send any other valid passports !