You think this would be easy...

[reynardo]

"Have the guarantor sign the back of the photograph of the child to verify that this is a genuine photo of the child."

Sounds easy enough. Now, the requirements:

To qualify as a guarantor you must:
* not be related to the child by birth or marriage
Rules out me, my parents and brothers, my brother's wife, my son's father, also his other grandparents, my husband, his brother, his father... *One lot to be scratched out*

* not be in a de facto relationship with a parent of the child (this includes a same sex relationship), nor live at the same address
Out with the housemate and goodness knows who else *scratch that lot then*

* have known the child for at least 12 months, or since birth
So me grabbing a stranger off the street doesn't work either *scratch scratch scratch*

* be an Australian citizen who is 18 years of age or over
Not any school friend of his, as far as I know

* endorse the back of one photograph by writing 'This is a true photo of (child's full name)' and signing it.
signing it. As in being able to write. Damn. *scratch scratch scratch [pause] scratch*

* possess a current (unexpired) Australian passport that was issued with at least 2 years' validity, or be on the electoral roll (as an unrestricted Australian Electoral Roll registration, at your current address for the past 12 months).
And how many people I know have moved lately. Dammit.*scratch*

Actually, I do have a possible victim candidate. waitingman, could I ask you a biiiiig favour?

Comments

[ultra-velvet.livejournal.com]

ha just read the same thing on my daughter's passport application two days ago. We scratched our heads too.

[carlowe.livejournal.com]

ye gods...lunacy!

[silmaril.livejournal.com]

If waitingman cannot do it, can one of his teachers?

[reynardo.livejournal.com]

Probably. Or an office lady. Or even the dear lovely Italian lady across the road, or silverblue whom we are seeing in a couple of weeks.

I was more highly amused by the huge range of people I had to exclude. And at what point in a relationship, or an ex-relationship, or a really-wasn't-a-relationship does someone no longer qualify?

[quatranoctal.livejournal.com]

What about Bob or Joy? I'm pretty sure that connection is tenuous enough to bypass the system.

[waitingman.livejournal.com]

By the time I reached the bottom line of this entry, I was already thinking of offering my services signature... give me a call!

[17catherines.livejournal.com]

How soon do you need it? Because I fill all those requirements.

(though I don't think I know his full name, so perhaps I'm not the best candidate after all!)

How about a teacher at his school?

[xmysteriousx.livejournal.com]

A DOCTOR! I got mine to sign it!

[shadow-5tails.livejournal.com]

That's...really something...

[caimekazie.livejournal.com]

o.O
What on earth?
That's...
A lot of criteria.

[xmas-chan.livejournal.com]

Haha, we just went through all sorts of passport application fun...

We got Mum's friend and school librarian to be the guarrantor, but these problems came about:

1. Guarrantor signed with bits outside the white box
2. Parents had to take child form to work separately to have someone witness their signatures
3. Both witnesses sign outside box
4. Get everything resigned and send off application
5. Post office calls Mum because Passports tell them on Witness Signature page a field is missing (parent name on child's birth certificate AND current name?!?! Current name was omitted - what are the chances it's changed, should be fill in IF DIFFERENT)
6. Go through witness process again and send off form

Now here is where the computer forms are great! If it were a paper one you'd have to redo it from scratch and not just the one page (pages have unique barcoding on top)

So make sure you all sign within the box ^_~