FBR application , clarification on witness requirement

[khern]

Hi there,

I have been wanting to do this for a while and finally got round to getting on with it. I have filled in the online application for a foreign birth and paid the fees. I have spent the last 2 month approx as many no doubt do chasing around for all the required documentation. I have only one more piece to go. I have now turned my attention towards getting a witness signature which I presumed would be pretty straightforward. Instead I am hitting a brick wall.

I was intending to just use my doctor but have been informed that it is their policy to not sign any documentation. I put in a request at a different surgery I go to offering to pay for the time taken and hit the same problem. I tried the local pharmacist and again the same problem. They have apparently been informed by their regulatory body not to sign documentation. I realise a pharmacist is not a doctor but I was hoping it would be considered close enough.

Realising this could be difficult I tried emailing the embassy for clarification on the "is personally known to me" requirement as there is no information clarifying this in the guidance provided with the form or in the downloadable guidance pdf from the embassy website but so far have received no reply. I have tried twice in four weeks with no response so far and there is no option on the phone that I could see to speak to a human being about citizenship queries. I am a bit loath to just leave a message as I have the feeling they are incredibly busy but I might have to.

I rang up a solicitor and initially was quite hopeful after explaining what the form was and what it needs. They said that they were prepared to do it but upon seeing the form backtracked and after confering with other solicitors at the firm concluded they would require clarification. They are more than happy to sign on the basis that I am who I say I am after seeing all my documentation and sign my photos but are not happy about the "is personally known to me" part.

I also tried a notary solicitor as suggested by the previous solicitor and basically they also have a "policy" if you are not a regular customer.

I unfortunately do not know a headmaster in any capacity, police officer, bank manager or judge and I highly suspect that if I approached any of them I would face a similar problem as I do not know them in a personal capacity.

As a last resort I approached my local priest. Years ago growing up I attended the church regularly and was a member of their locally hosted scouts group. I have not been for many years and have no connection to the new priest. I thought I would take a chance and so I explained what the form was etc and he said he was happy to sign it. But once again upon seeing the form he is very wary and agrees that it is very peculiarly worded with no guidance. He has agreed to sign the form on the basis of my ID which he is more than happy to do and has signed my photos and stamped the form. He has put in the little area of the form where you circle "is personally known to me" or "has been identified to me by" identified by ID driving license.

Now my questions after that long explanation which if you have been patient enough to get this far, thank you.

1) Is their anyone here who could tell me if the "identified by ID Driving License" would be acceptable or not on the form as I understand that it gets sent back and you lose the money already paid if it is incorrect so I would like to get this right first time.

2) Can anyone provide any clarification on the "is personally known to me" but please dont guess. If you have had any guidance directly on this I would be extremely grateful to hear it and any advice anyone could give.

3) Has anyone else here come up against this? How did you get around this? Did you manage to get someone not listed on the form to be accepted?

Huge thanks for any replies.

[MickByNameAndNature]

The language used actually gives you some leeway:

Who can be a witness?
The witness must either know you personally or know a third party who knows you personally.

Your witness can be one of the following:

Member of the Clergy
Medical Doctor
School Principal
Bank Manager
Solicitor/Lawyer
Police Officer
Magistrate/Judge

The part of this that is important in your situation is "know a third party who knows you personally."

So, if you have a friend or a family member that knows any member of these professions, that is enough. You know a person, and that person knows someone in one of these professions, they can, for lack of a better term, "vouch" for you to the witness. So now, just start asking your friends and family if any of them knows a suitable witness.

In response to your question regarding "has been identified to me by," that would be where your friend/family member's name goes.

If you know John Smith, and John Smith knows a Police Officer, the Police Officer would put that you have been identified to them by John Smith.

[seamus searlas]

Hi , I have just met the same problem .
A witness for the listed professions who know you personally is a great stumbling block .
Did you manage to resolve it ? - any suggestions greatly appreciated .