Cambodia Expats Online: Forum | News | Information | Blog

engexpat wrote: ↑Mon Oct 14, 2019 12:23 pm whats vfs just tried google but omes up with indian passport services?

Bubble T wrote: ↑Mon Oct 14, 2019 12:06 pm Here's a copy paste of what I wrote in response to another similar thread a couple of weeks ago (having been through the process myself this year):

"Passport application is done via VFS. I feel it's really important to point out (due to misinformation I regularly see being spread) it makes no difference if you are legally married. You'll have to provide a copy of your birth certificate, your son's birth certificates (the hospital issued one and the government one), all medical records from the pregnancy and birth, photos of you, the mother and the kid together (they don't want or accept photos of you and the mother prior to the birth, they want photos of all three of you), your parents birth certificate, your wife's passport, her ID, her birth certificate (just the government one is fine), a cover letter, passport photos of the kid and a counter signatory. If you can't provide all of the requested docs, explain why in the cover letter, they are humans and will get in touch. The lady who called me (my wife didn't have a passport to include) was cool and said "you can't provide what you don't have" and talked me through everything. The relevant forms can be found online, I can dig them up for you if you're having trouble finding them. You fill them in, make an appointment with VFS, and hand in the form and all the aforementioned documentation. You also need to make sure all Khmer docs are translated by an approved translation company, and that the company stamps the translations.

When the UK passport office have processed your application and are satisfied with the docs, you will be called back to VFS to do a quick video interview with someone in England from the passport office. This interview is purely to make sure that you are you. They don't ask personal questions about your relationship with the child's mother, they don't ask you to bring proof of anything, they just ask you about your past (where you lived as a child, where you went to school etc) to make sure it matches their records. They also asked a bit about the kid to make sure the info I gave matched the medical records we sent. At the end of the interview they will tell you that they are approving the passport and that you'll get it within a couple of weeks (when it arrives you go back to VFS to collect it)."

Additionally, this is the official table of supporting docs: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... _10.16.pdf
And these are the official instructions: https://www.passport.service.gov.uk/ov ... d/cambodia
And this is the actual application form: https://assets.publishing.service.gov. ... rm_010.pdf

Doc67 wrote: ↑Wed Oct 16, 2019 12:58 pmPurely out of interest, do they require a DNA test to prove paternity?

Bubble T wrote: ↑Wed Oct 16, 2019 1:43 pm

Doc67 wrote: ↑Wed Oct 16, 2019 12:58 pmPurely out of interest, do they require a DNA test to prove paternity?

I've heard that if they believe the kid isn't yours then DNA tests can come into the equation, but it wasn't mentioned during the process for my son (possibly relevant to note he's white and has lightish hair).

As for it being a "straight forward process", tbh it was all a giant pain in the ass for me (my birth certificate, my parents birth certificates, translations, countersignatory etc) but definitely worth it in the end.

engexpat wrote: ↑Fri Oct 18, 2019 12:58 pm what id you can only get one of your parents birsth certificates? i would only be able to provide my mothers