Hi there,
My partner (who is a NZ citizen, but was born in the UK) has supported two of my successful work visa applications.
His passport expired last September, and while we're still sending it in, immigration has also advised that we should send in his birth certificates (UK and NZ) to help prove his citizenship.
This morning, I went to the office in Welly to ask some questions, and I asked if it would be ok to turn in certified copies of his birth certs. The guy was very helpful, but said, "Oh so we're having a bit of a purge on that right now...it's just easier if you turn in all the original documents as we take our own copies."
I thought this was reasonable, but when I told this to my partner, he wasn't pleased at all. But angry about it. While he'll do it if he has to, he wanted to send in the certified copies. And I totally understand where he's coming from.
Has anyone had any issues with certified copies of birth certificates in the last few months? I want to get this application sorted as quickly as possible, and I don't want to do anything that would slow it down!
Cheers.