UK Police certificate, legalising it with FCO, forwarding it to Thai Consular.

[Kayahammer]

I am applying for permanent residency here in Thailand. I obtained my UK police certificate, then called the British embassy to get it certified (they wouldn't do it) so the other option is Thai Consulate in home country (UK), which means I have to get it legalised by the FCO first. To save time I am attempting to get the FCO to forward it to the Thai Consulate in London to be legalised there also, before requesting them to return it to me in Thailand.

 

Also the ACRO police certificate needs to be notarized if it has not been signed by someone from that authority. There is a signature on the bottom, after 'Checked by', but no printed name accompanies this. Does that count as signed by someone from that authority? I have emailed them regarding this but I get standardized emails in return not answering my question.

 

Has anyone had any experience with this for permanent residency purposes? And is there any other option apart from sending the police certificate back to the UK and it potentially getting lost somewhere in the pipeline? 

 

Thanks in advance for helpful replies

[ubonjoe]

There would no need for it to be notarized if is legalized by the UK government.

This from the embassy website. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/notarial-and-documentary-services-guide-for-thailand

 

Quote

Legalising a signature or seal

Legalisation is the official confirmation that a signature, seal or stamp on an official public document is genuine. UK public documents such as birth, death, marriage and divorce certificates can be legalised by the UK government in the UK. This is also known as an apostille. More information on how to get your UK document legalised for use in Thailand can be found on Three Steps of Legalising a Signatures or Seal (PDF, 142KB, 1 page) and Legalisation Infographic (PDF, 168KB, 1 page) .

 

As far as I know there is not other way to get the police clearance legalized.

[Kayahammer]

Thanks for the reply.

 

Exactly what i thought about 

 

 

Quote

 

There would no need for it to be notarized if is legalized by the UK government.

This from the embassy website. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/notarial-and-documentary-services-guide-for-thailand

 

 

But when filling in the online application and payment for the FCO they state if the police certificate has not been signed by an official from the issuing authority it needs to be notarized first.

 

Strange.

[ubonjoe]

I would think a signature should be enough. Many things are signed but don't have the name of the signer on it.

[Kayahammer]

I hope you're right  

[OJAS]

Hmm, I fear that there may well be no getting away from you going through a notarisation process akin to that required of non-OA visa applicants in the UK at the very least. In this case notarisation is performed in the UK by a notary public or a solicitor. The Royal Thai Embassy in London have helpfully provided a link on their website to the following firm of solicitors who can perform this service:-

 

http://www.ashtonssolicitors.co.uk/

 

Alternatively you  may be able to identify a notary public through the following link (although please bear in mind that this will probably be more costly than a standard solicitor):-

 

http://search.thenotariessociety.org.uk/

 

Incidentally, subject access disclosure certificates are also required in the case of non-OA visa applications, so Ashtons at least should be familiar with them. Although this would still entail having to send your certificate back to the UK, I suspect that this would probably prove far more convenient relatively speaking than the bureaucratically tedious legalisation process referred to by the British Embassy in Bangkok - so long, of course, as the PR powers-that-be here considered it acceptable for their purposes.

 

 

 

Edited November 6, 2016 by OJAS

[ubonjoe]

Just having the certificate notarized will not be enough to meet immigration's requirements for a PR application.

It will have be legalized per the instructions I posted.

[roath]

On a technical note, whilst any solicitor in the UK can "certify" a document, they cannot "notarise" it, unless the individual involved has also qualified as a Notary Public (which is pretty rare frankly). If you actually needed something notarised, you would need to go to a specialist Notary or a solicitors' practice who have a Notary in-house (invariably, it would be a City of London law firm). However, when Thailand documentation mention the requirement to having a document "notarised", invariably, this is nothing more than having it certified by a qualified professional (which in Thailand would be a registered lawyer).

 

On ‎06‎/‎11‎/‎2016 at 0:52 PM, OJAS said:

Hmm, I fear that there may well be no getting away from you going through a notarisation process akin to that required of non-OA visa applicants in the UK at the very least. In this case notarisation is performed in the UK by a notary public or a solicitor. The Royal Thai Embassy in London have helpfully provided a link on their website to the following firm of solicitors who can perform this service:-

 

http://www.ashtonssolicitors.co.uk/

 

Alternatively you  may be able to identify a notary public through the following link (although please bear in mind that this will probably be more costly than a standard solicitor):-

 

http://search.thenotariessociety.org.uk/

 

Incidentally, subject access disclosure certificates are also required in the case of non-OA visa applications, so Ashtons at least should be familiar with them. Although this would still entail having to send your certificate back to the UK, I suspect that this would probably prove far more convenient relatively speaking than the bureaucratically tedious legalisation process referred to by the British Embassy in Bangkok - so long, of course, as the PR powers-that-be here considered it acceptable for their purposes.