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hello everyone,
on the ukba website they ask for original documents not photocopies and they say it loudly that the application will be unlikely to be accepted in case of photocopy authenticated by a public notary or the issuing body.
they say they accept such photocopies (the authenticated ones by notaries or the issuing body) only in special cases.
do they accept photocopies by public notary or not? and what are these special cases then as they don't give more details?!!
thanks for your help

Any ideas ladies and gentlemen?

to be quite frank, I don't think even they know. When my wife applied for her EEA FP, the application form insisted on original copies of all documents, but when she got to the embassy they said they didn't want original copies (I had sent my passport to China), they wanted copies.

JetBlack wrote:to be quite frank, I don't think even they know. When my wife applied for her EEA FP, the application form insisted on original copies of all documents, but when she got to the embassy they said they didn't want original copies (I had sent my passport to China), they wanted copies.

Thanks for your reply. I wanted to know about applying from within the uk. Do they accept certified copies by public notary or not, but unfortunately nobody replied to my thread yet but you

Guerro wrote:

JetBlack wrote:to be quite frank, I don't think even they know. When my wife applied for her EEA FP, the application form insisted on original copies of all documents, but when she got to the embassy they said they didn't want original copies (I had sent my passport to China), they wanted copies.

Thanks for your reply. I wanted to know about applying from within the uk. Do they accept certified copies by public notary or not, but unfortunately nobody replied to my thread yet but you

I would suggest phoning someone up on the immigration helpline and asking them. Point out the inconsistencies in the website and tell them you are concerned that it will be rejected, since our problem was always different information from different places. If you do follow the advice of one of the website, print it out and send it in with the application. I think we had three different sets of instructions in the end - the UK document with the forms, the Chinese website and the staff in the embassy in China. In the end we just stuck with what the people who deal with it say, whether right or wrong.

They mostly accept a certified copy, if for example one has to travel overseas and they are unable to send of their passport, for perfectly reasonable reason. In circumstances like those, a solicitor can authenticate a copy, which you can send. If your documents, are not available due to factors beyond your control. In all cases the original copies are required.

It is not common practice for Government bodies to accept copies of documents, except in exceptional cases.

Obie wrote: It is not common practice for Government bodies to accept copies of documents, except in exceptional cases.

And this is exactly what they say on their website and what inspired me to open this thread. These exceptional circumstances are not clear and ukba will apply their own discretion. I thought at the beginning that a certified copy by a public notary is automatically accepted but many people now say this is not the case

my experience - I applied for an EEA2 residence card with a notarised copy of my partnerºs passport, and the entire application was returned with a note saying I had failed to provide the necessary passports, so the cost of the notary was a waste. I have heard contrary stories though that notarised copies are accepted, but if possible Iºd send the originals and request them back once the application is lodged\registered...