My wife now can't find her original divorce certificate. Why the hell UKVI need this bearing in mind they granted a settlement visa 2.5 years ago is beyond me, not to mention the Thai authorities allowing us to marry.

Can I put a copy in and say to hell with it, its is lost. I very nearly couldn't find mine but knowing how anal the UK authorities are I never throw anything away so managed to find it.

The daft thing is my UK divorce certificate is so bland it could easily be a copy. Even the rubber stamp on the certificate is black and I phoned up the court and they confirmed that they do in fact use black rubber stamps, not coloured ones.

She can get a new original one at the amphur where the divorce was filed.

I am not sure that will help as the FLR application has to be in by the 18 November. I will just have to hope that UKVI can accept a copy based on the fact that they didn't have a problem at the settlement stage.

I have to admit that I have no idea where the original divorce certificate is. I have been using copies for years! Even the one I thought was the original may have been a copy!

UK decree absolutes are just A4 paper with a few words and a stamp. No security built in (unless they have been changed).

Not sure why they need the divorce paperwork. It all must have passed the security of a Registrar for a marriage to take place in the UK!

If UKVI/Home Office have doubts they can always check their records!!

_{Another example of the shambles of the system. The whole thing is not "joined up" so the right hand doesn't know about the left hand. There is so many questions and evidence that they already have at the SV stage but they continue to request/insist on it. The form is 70 odd pages - my pack that I sent recently was over 150 pages with the evidence!}

_{Trevor I would just send the copy of the divorce cert but don't bring attention to it in a separate note - might just give them an excuse to refuse the application.}

They will not be able to tell a good photocopy from the original. Nor can you!!