Getting a certified copy of a UK passport

[Mutt Daeng]

When getting a certified copy of a UK passport from the British Embassy in BKK, are all used pages copied/certified?

Anyone have recent experiences of getting a certified copy?

TIA

[KannikaP]

Isn't it crazy that some 'authorities' need a certified copy of the document you used to enter the country.

If you are at an IO and they want one, why is it not accepted if THEY copy the passport in their little Canon.

[blackcab]

No, the British embassy certifies just the bio page of your passport.

[blackcab]

15 hours ago, KannikaP said:

Isn't it crazy that some 'authorities' need a certified copy of the document you used to enter the country.

If you are at an IO and they want one, why is it not accepted if THEY copy the passport in their little Canon.

 

It's not crazy at all. Most Thai government officers are not experts in spotting fraudulent passports from every country in the world. 

 

Some government functions have massive legal consequences, such as the registration of marriage and divorce.

 

District offices have been presented fraudulent documents many times.

 

To negate this certain functions require you to get your embassy to make a certified copy of your passport. If/when the document is legalised the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs verifies the document is genuine with your embassy.

 

The Thai MFA also affixes the document with a QR code. When scanned, the QR code takes you to a unique page on the MFA website which confirms the data on the scanned document.

 

In this way officers at other Thai government offices can be sure the passport they are being given is not a forgery.

 

It's time consuming and expensive but government officers want to be as certain as possible that they are not legitimising a scam.

[Brickleberry]

If you're getting married in Ubon, then you don't need a certified copy of your passport. Just an FYI ????

[KannikaP]

1 minute ago, blackcab said:

 

It's not crazy at all. Most Thai government officers are not experts in spotting fraudulent passports from every country in the world. 

 

Some government functions have massive legal consequences, such as the registration of marriage and divorce.

 

District offices have been presented fraudulent documents many times.

 

To negate this certain functions require you to get your embassy to make a certified copy of your passport. If/when the document is legalised the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs verifies the document is genuine with your embassy.

 

The Thai MFA also affixes the document with a QR code. When scanned, the QR code takes you to a unique page on the MFA website which confirms the data on the scanned document.

 

In this way officers at other Thai government offices can be sure the document the passport they are being given is not a forgery.

 

It's time consuming and expensive but government officers want to be as certain as possible that they are not legitimising a scam.

But they gave you a Visa, let you into the country, gave you Extensions maybe, and some still want it Certifying. What circumstances warrant this Certifying please?

It's them what needs certifying. Crazy in my opinion.

Same as wanting it translating. John Smith is John Smith. The date is the same. What's Manchester translated into Thai?

 

[BritTim]

9 minutes ago, blackcab said:

 

It's not crazy at all. Most Thai government officers are not experts in spotting fraudulent passports from every country in the world. 

 

Some government functions have massive legal consequences, such as the registration of marriage and divorce.

 

District offices have been presented fraudulent documents many times.

 

To negate this certain functions require you to get your embassy to make a certified copy of your passport. If/when the document is legalised the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs verifies the document is genuine with your embassy.

 

The Thai MFA also affixes the document with a QR code. When scanned, the QR code takes you to a unique page on the MFA website which confirms the data on the scanned document.

 

In this way officers at other Thai government offices can be sure the document the passport they are being given is not a forgery.

 

It's time consuming and expensive but government officers want to be as certain as possible that they are not legitimising a scam.

To be honest, I think creating a fraudulent certified copy would be way easier than a fraudulent modern biometric passport.

[blackcab]

13 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

But they gave you a Visa, let you into the country, gave you Extensions maybe, and some still want it Certifying. What circumstances warrant this Certifying please?

It's them what needs certifying. Crazy in my opinion.

Same as wanting it translating. John Smith is John Smith. The date is the same. What's Manchester translated into Thai?

 

You need to define "they". The Thai embassy in your country gave you a visa. This has nothing to do with an official in a District Office verifying the authenticity of your passport.

 

As an example, you need to provide a certified and legalised copy of your passport to get married or divorced in Thailand.

 

Both of these have serious implications for child custody and for your assets. For example, what if, unbeknownst to you, a Thai lady fraudulently married you, then claimed your estate upon your death?

 

For those with substantial assets it would be a nightmare.

[blackcab]

14 minutes ago, BritTim said:

To be honest, I think creating a fraudulent certified copy would be way easier than a fraudulent modern biometric passport.

 

I agree, it would be. However the certified copy often needs to be legalised at the Thai MFA, and it is here that the authenticity of the copy is checked.

 

A fraudulent certified copy will/should be discovered every time. This is because your embassy keeps a copy/scan of the document they produced for you, and the MFA sends a scan of the document you submit to them to your embassy for comparison and verification.

 

If the MFA and the embassy staff are doing their job correctly it's going to go wrong for the fraudster.

[Mutt Daeng]

44 minutes ago, blackcab said:

No, the British embassy certifies just the bio page of your passport.

Thanks @blackcab. You can close this topic now.

[BritTim]

At the OP's request, this thread is now

 

CLOSED