endorsement on passport

[firstime]

May I ask- who know what is the endorsement on passport? Is that the visa stamps - there are two stamps, one stated the date when the visa is issued, the other one says when it will expire ?? thanks

[Christophe]

An endorsement on a passport can be a visa or an entry clearance or a certificate of some sort. It can take the form of a stamp (sometimes called a wet stamp) - the old-fashioned sort where the stamp is put on an ink pad and then the ink is pressed down on to the passport page) - or sticker that is gummed on to a page. A passport could also, sometimes, be endorsed to show a change of circumstance (e.g. a name change) - most countries don't do this, but some may still; in that case the endorsement would be entered by the country that issued the passport rather than by the agency of another government.

But can you be a bit more specfic about the concern that has led to the question?

[firstime]

Thank you very much for your reply. The reason that I ask this question is related to application for settlement. I applied my WP 5 years ago when I was a student and I was given a 5 years Work Permit. My passport was returned with ' visa' - there were two stamps, one is a small pentangle shape (slightly bigger than a 2 pounds coin) and this one shown the date as in 30 June 2002. Another one is a much bigger stamp , about half a page big and at the bottom with hand writing as ' 30June 2007'. I started to work in August 2002 for my company. I have tried to call HO a couple of times to make sure which day is the starting date to calculate my 5 years staying. One lady mentioned that it should be the day I started work. But all others said it should be June 2002 because this is the date I got my visa endorsement. Some immigration service companies also confirmed that. Since nobody actually saw my passport, I was trying to understand what is exactly the visa endorsement in order to make sure that I did not make a mistake.

Would you mind to tell me- if these two stamps are visa endorsement? And do you know if the 5 years calculation should definitely start from June 2002, in my case? Thanks a lot

[Christophe]

I would say it's from the date in the passport - i.e. 30 June 2002. But someone else who really knows will be along, I hope. Both the stamps in the passports are endorsements, so the 30 June 2002 date is certainly 'and endorsement' in your passport.

[firstime]

thanks a lot - i will try to email HO- the probem is they never reply directly these days!!