Why wont Gardai certify original passport?

defo a grumpy garda!
its part of his job to do it. if he wont do it, bring along a passport size photo of yourself & tell him you need an ML10 form to be filled in.
Or just go to a different Station!
 
Mrs Zag has just called from outside a Garda station where they refused to sign/stamp/certify/whatever her *original* documents. I feel an email to the press office coming on.

Their reason for not certifying it . . . she didn't have the form with her stating why she needed it certified. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh.

I can accept they might have a problem when presented with a photocopy of documents since they can't vouch for the fact that the copy is correct, but when presented with the originals what on earth can the problem be ?

Ooooooooooooh, I'm mad now.

z
 
I think the issue may be the fact we finally have a resourced Garda Vetting Unit, so anyone working with children from GAA coaches to creche staff need to get docs certified to kick start the vetting procedure. All Gardai have been made aware of this. This is a lot more serious than getting docs certified for selling shares/opening bank a/c and Gardai have become more cautious about certifying important documentation like passports and birth certs (rightly so if you ask me!)
 
Hi had this problem a few months ago where i went to Garda Station to get a Photocopy of Passport Certified, bringing along Original Passport with me of course.

The Garda said that due to the increase in the number of Forged Passports, Driving Licence's and other official Documents that have been recovered by the Gardai recently a decision was made not to Certify any official Document as they are not qualified to Authenticate them. With regard to my Passport i should go to the Passport Office and they should be able to help me.

Hope this helps
 
ha ha...funny...bit like some of the christmas cracker jokes i was reading at our cmas party last night!
 
Just call into a solicitor, i didnt want to travel all the way into my normal one and called into a random one - They Charged me 10Euro and i took 3minutes.
 
My wife got certified copies of our passports this week without any trouble, although the garda was a little unsure at first....
 
I had to do this last year for a loan application - applied online. Anyway, my husband and I went into the station and asked for the copies to be stamped - we had the original documents (drivers licenses) and the copies already made and ready to be stamped and signed. The Garda on duty wouldn't do it, he said they no longer do this. I argued with him that they were listed on the loan documentation - showed this to prove it - and that this was why we were in asking in the first place.

I spoke with the institution in question about it - along with a miriad of other issues I had with them (another discussion in itself) - telling them that if the Gardai no longer do this then their docs should be updated. However, the person I was speaking with told me that this seems to be getting more and more common with applicants and that some have been told by Gardai that they are no longer doing these tasks due to their issues with the Garda Reserves being brought in - a silent protest of sorts :confused:

Anyway, it seems to be down to the Garda and their mood on the day if you ask me!
 
Recently I wanted to open an on-line (joint) account, copied the relevant documents and to the local Garda station went with my wife. Station was closed so went to the Divisional HQ. Garda at desk refused and said that the Gardai no longer do this and that I'd have to have it signed by a solicitor or commisioner for oaths.

I decided to ask a few Garda acquaintences what the story is. Finally met them last night and they confirmed that the Gardai no longer witness these copies/documents.

So....I'm now going to email the Garda Press Office myself...

I have no intention of paying someone to facilitate me in opening a bank account. I don't think that this was the intention when the Money Laundering Act was enacted.
 
I went to a garda station 2 months ago and they happily signed and stamped a copy of my passport which I needed to open an account - no questions asked. The policy could not of changed in 8 weeks!!!!
 
This seems to be a recurring problem. Some Garda stations are helpful while others refuse to carry out their statutory obligations. The Gardai are members of the Financial Regulator's Anti Money Laundering Steering Committee. I have copied some text from Guidance Notes to Credit Institutions re the Criminal Justice Act 1994.

NON FACE TO FACE: RESIDENT PERSONAL CUSTOMERS
Personal Identity
The following are some of the methods which are considered reasonable measures to establish evidence of personal identity. In this regard there are two options and a credit institution may use either option:​

Option One
A certified copy of a passport, drivers licence or identity form verified by Gardaí.
Certification of passports/driving licences should be by a suitable person. Suitable
persons include:
Gardaí Síochána/ Police Officers
Chartered & Certified Public Accountants
Notaries Public/Practising Solicitors
Embassy /Consular staff
Designated Bodies in Ireland or from a country listed in Appendix E.
See [broken link removed] (a good cure for insomnia!)​

The Guidance notes clearly state the obligations of the Gardai. Occassionally customers call us about particular Garda stations who will not cooperate and we generally call the Garda Fraud Office to notify them. ​
 
Why do people need so many certified copies. Can't they bring the original passport/ID to the bank they are opening the account with?
 
Not if its an online account like Rabo or Nothern Rock. Even though they send the documents back to you would. You cannot send your original passport or driving licience to them in the post.
 
JoeFur said:
You cannot send your original passport or driving licience to them in the post.
Click to expand...

You can, I have done it with NR, no problems at all. Sent it registered and it came back in normal post. I am also sure they would be happy to copy it if you called in.

Towger.
 
I personally wouldn't risk sending my original passport in the post - always the chance of it getting stolen or lost..when opening bank accounts, I have used the Gardai at Pearse St a few times and never had a problem - I suppose its just a case of trying at a different time or a different station if one particular guard won't do it..annoying though !
 
The vast majority of people do not need to have a photocopy of their passport or driving license verfied by the Gardai. We are required to establish your identity and we need two items to do this:

1. Photocopy of your driving license or passport
AND
2. An original bank account statement issued within the last 6 months or a personal cheque drawn on your current account with your main bank.

If you cannot provide an original bank account statement or personal cheque then we require a certified copy of your passport or driving license.

We are also obliged to request one proof of your address. You can do this by providing an original utilty bill, credit card statement, other bank statement, motor insurance certificate etc issued within the last 6 months.

We do of course return all original documentation that you provide to us. Occassionally people do send us their passports but this is not recommended as this is a very valuable document which could get lost in the post.

If you think you might have difficulty in gathering the required documentation the best thing to do is to call us (or any other institution you are considering opening an account with) and we'll hopefully be able to assist you.

I hope this post is of some help. The level of documentation required to open an account in Ireland is quite onerous compared to other juristictions.

RaboDirect
 
Do you have any problems with someone arriving at your door, instead of using the post?
 
Towger said:
Do you have any problems with someone arriving at your door, instead of using the post?
Click to expand...

We don't operate a walk-in branch type service as we're not geared up for this. Our Customer Contact Centre operates from Mon - Fri 8am-8pm so this is how we prefer to handle customer queries. Sometimes people walk in off the street to our offices and we do of course facilitate them. The drawback here is that the person has to wait until a Customer Account Exec becomes free from the phones and this can sometimes take a while. So I'd suggest calling the Contact Centre first and take it from there.
 
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