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HI GUYS,
my friend got his citizenship about 2 to 3 weeks ago and now he applied for his british passport,the issue he has now is not an issue per say but just wanted a clarification..if possible.

one of the countersignatory in his british citizenship application is the same who countersigned his passport application and what happened is that in the citizenship application he stated that he knew the applicant for more than 3 years (as requested in the citizenship guidelines) and now for the passport application he stated he knew the applicant for more than 2 years (as requested in the guidelines).

now my friend is confused that if they ask him in the interview for example for how long he knew the countersignee if he has to tell them 2 or 3 years ..!!

i don't know if it makes sense to anybody but my understanding is that the person who countersign the passport application is not required to state how long he knew the applicant for but rather stating the fact that he knows the applicant for more than 2 years as requested by law for the purpose of the application..but because he was one of the referees who signed his application for the citizenship and stated that he knew the applicant for over 3 years as i stated above and as requested by law to get the approval for the citizenship,it made my friend a little bit worried and thought that it was a mistake from the referee.

-so is it a mistake or do my friend has nothing to worry about??
-i don't think that it was a lie or the person who signed the passport application intended to lie,but it was rather stating the fact that he knew the applicant for more than 2 years as requested in the passport application booklet and guidelines.

anyone could share any thoughts??
what does my friend need to answer if he gets a question in his passport interview regarding the length of time he knew the countersignatory person he might say 3 years and could be right,and could say 2 years and could be right too..!!or is it fine to say whatever because both answer could be deemed as correct..!!

any thoughts please..thanks.

How long has he known him? Note that both questions ask for 'more than'.

Casa wrote:How long has he known him? Note that both questions ask for 'more than'.

thanks for the quick reply,he knows him for over 3 years as he stated before in the citizenship application which was approved more than 3 weeks ago..i just thought to ask,now my friend is in this situation and he doesn't know what to say if the question would be asked..did the countersignatory person made a mistake??the application for passport was sent today,would either of them likely to be in trouble?

my understanding that in the guidelines booklet it asks the countersignatory person to state that he knows the person for more than 2 years and this is what that person signed and stated,they did not ask how long he knew the applicant,i would imagine that this person wouldn't make such a mistake at least for a teacher/lecturer..!!

any thoughts?

Exactly.

Casa wrote:Exactly.

thanks for the thought..anyone else??

ukforever wrote:my understanding that in the guidelines booklet it asks the countersignatory person to state that he knows the person for more than 2 years and this is what that person signed and stated,they did not ask how long he knew the applicant,i would imagine that this person wouldn't make such a mistake at least for a teacher/lecturer..!!

any thoughts?

I believe the passport application form actually asks "how long have you known the applicant" and you need to fill in the years and months.
The 2 years is only mentioned in declaration you sign.

In any case, I don't expect this to cause a big issue.

Jambo wrote:I believe the passport application form actually asks "how long have you known the applicant" and you need to fill in the years and months.
The 2 years is only mentioned in declaration you sign.

In any case, I don't expect this to cause a big issue.

does it??to be honest i did not get a chance to see the form,but i've read the booklet and read the requirements on the website gov.uk and i did not see the requirement to state how many years and months,,but if u are sure about it,then i'll take your word for it..i do think that its fine too and it shouldn't cause any issue and if the question is asked then my friend has just to say how long he knows the countersignatory person which is for more than 3 years and i think,he may just explain that it might be just a misunderstanding.
thanks for the thought.

from the gov.uk website:

Application form - what the countersignatory must do
After you’ve filled in the application form, you must ask your countersignatory to check the details on the form are correct, fill in and sign section 10. By doing this, they are confirming that:

they have known you for more than two years
you’re who you claim to be
as far as they know, all the information you have put on the form is true
If the form is for a child passport, the countersignatory should know the person who signs the declaration at section 9 rather than the child.

The countersignatory must also fill in their British or Irish passport number - Her Majesty’s Passport Office may check their identity.

https://www.gov.uk/countersigning-passport-applications

ukforever wrote:...i do think that its fine too and it shouldn't cause any issue and if the question is asked then my friend has just to say how long he knows the countersignatory person which is for more than 3 years and i think,he may just explain that it might be just a misunderstanding.

If I know you for 10 years I can say:
More than 1 year, more than 2 years, more than 3 years, ... so on, up to more than 9 years. All statements are correct simultaneously.