My bank back home requires me to send them certified copies of my passport. Back home this is simple procedure which can be done free of charge at any police station. You show them your passport and the photocopy, they stamp and sign the copy and that's it. But here in Siem Reap things are different and I just cannot find any legit place to have a photostat of my passport certified. My country does not have an embassy in Cambodia, only in Bangkok. Any advice as to where I can get a copy of my passport certified would be most appreciated.

DLsea wrote: ↑Tue Oct 03, 2023 10:26 am My bank back home requires me to send them certified copies of my passport. Back home this is simple procedure which can be done free of charge at any police station. You show them your passport and the photocopy, they stamp and sign the copy and that's it. But here in Siem Reap things are different and I just cannot find any legit place to have a photostat of my passport certified. My country does not have an embassy in Cambodia, only in Bangkok. Any advice as to where I can get a copy of my passport certified would be most appreciated.

Only institutions from your country can certify your passport. The Cambodian police can not. Your embassy or consulate is your best bet. Maybe the bank will accept a copy from a Cambodian notary, but I would check with them before spending a riel.
Another option is to move to another bank.

It depends on what the bank defines a certified copy to be, have you checked with them for their specific requirement? Sometimes it just means that the person has seen the copy and the original in your possession. The UK government website says as follows:

Certifying a document
Certify a document as a true copy of the original by getting it signed and dated by a professional person, like a solicitor.

When you apply for something like a bank account or mortgage, you may be asked to provide documents that are certified as true copies of the original.

Copies of documents that can be certified include:

passports
photocard driving licences
letters from a government department
bank/building society or credit card statements
gas, electricity or council tax bills
letters from a hospital/doctor


Who can certify a document
Your document must be certified by a professional person or someone well-respected in your community (‘of good standing’). You could ask the following if they offer this service:

bank or building society official
councillor
minister of religion
dentist
chartered accountant
solicitor or notary
teacher or lecturer

The person you ask should not be:
related to you
living at the same address
in a relationship with you

Check with the organisation that needs the certified copy - they may have specific rules for who can certify a document.

How to certify a document
Take the photocopied document and the original and ask the person to certify the copy by:

writing ‘Certified to be a true copy of the original seen by me’ on the document
signing and dating it
printing their name under the signature
adding their occupation, address and telephone number

Freightdog wrote: ↑Tue Oct 03, 2023 11:53 am It might help to know (or confirm) which country you are talking about. While there may not be an embassy, there may still be consular services provided, located within another embassy. The UK embassy, for instance, has a shared consular office within its grounds, that officials that deal with several other nationalities.

Country is South Africa. Thanks, I'll look into that but I doubt it

Kammekor wrote: ↑Tue Oct 03, 2023 12:55 pm

DLsea wrote: ↑Tue Oct 03, 2023 10:26 am My bank back home requires me to send them certified copies of my passport. Back home this is simple procedure which can be done free of charge at any police station. You show them your passport and the photocopy, they stamp and sign the copy and that's it. But here in Siem Reap things are different and I just cannot find any legit place to have a photostat of my passport certified. My country does not have an embassy in Cambodia, only in Bangkok. Any advice as to where I can get a copy of my passport certified would be most appreciated.

Only institutions from your country can certify your passport. The Cambodian police can not. Your embassy or consulate is your best bet. Maybe the bank will accept a copy from a Cambodian notary, but I would check with them before spending a riel.
Another option is to move to another bank.

Was expecting the embassy route but was hoping to find something easier and cheaper - I need those copies in order to close one of my accounts.

DLsea wrote: ↑Tue Oct 03, 2023 4:13 pm

Kammekor wrote: ↑Tue Oct 03, 2023 12:55 pm

DLsea wrote: ↑Tue Oct 03, 2023 10:26 am My bank back home requires me to send them certified copies of my passport. Back home this is simple procedure which can be done free of charge at any police station. You show them your passport and the photocopy, they stamp and sign the copy and that's it. But here in Siem Reap things are different and I just cannot find any legit place to have a photostat of my passport certified. My country does not have an embassy in Cambodia, only in Bangkok. Any advice as to where I can get a copy of my passport certified would be most appreciated.

Only institutions from your country can certify your passport. The Cambodian police can not. Your embassy or consulate is your best bet. Maybe the bank will accept a copy from a Cambodian notary, but I would check with them before spending a riel.
Another option is to move to another bank.

Was expecting the embassy route but was hoping to find something easier and cheaper - I need those copies in order to close one of my accounts.

Like @Bluenose said, check with the bank what they mean with 'certified'. For Cambodians it means a signed copy from the provincial office. There might be an easy in-country solution.

As others have said, you need to clarify what is acceptable by the banks standards. If a Public Notary is acceptable, then search for a "Notarie Publique" or a law firm that is an approved Notarie Publique, I believe there are a few in SR, plenty in PP.