A certified or apostilled passport copy is required more often than most people expect - for overseas residency applications, UAE and Gulf visa processes, bank account openings abroad and a range of other official purposes. The process is frequently misunderstood, and those misunderstandings cause delays. Here is what the process actually involves and where the common mistakes happen.
Why your original passport cannot be submitted
A paper apostille is a physical certificate that the FCDO attaches to the back of the document being legalised. It physically becomes part of that document. For obvious reasons, you cannot submit your original passport for this process. The solicitor or Notary Public produces a certified copy of the passport, and it is that copy - not the original - that is submitted to the FCDO and has the apostille attached to it.
What the FCDO actually authenticates
When the FCDO issues an apostille, it is authenticating the wet-ink signature, seal or stamp on the document in front of it. For a certified passport copy, that means the solicitor's or Notary Public's signature and stamp on the certification. The FCDO confirms that signature belongs to a registered UK legal professional.
Why any photocopy will not do
The certified copy must be produced by the solicitor or Notary Public themselves following inspection of the original passport. It cannot be a copy you have made at home and handed to them to sign. The solicitor must inspect the original in person, produce the certified copy from that inspection, and apply their wet-ink signature and official stamp. Without that, there is no signature or stamp for the FCDO to authenticate and the apostille cannot be issued.
When a Notary Public is required instead of a solicitor
For many destinations, a solicitor-certified apostilled copy is perfectly acceptable. However, some foreign authorities - particularly in the Gulf and certain other jurisdictions - specifically require notarisation by a Notary Public rather than certification by a solicitor. A Notary Public holds a higher level of international recognition for document legalisation purposes. If the receiving authority has specified notarisation, a solicitor-certified copy will be rejected regardless of whether it has been apostilled.
For countries outside the Hague Convention
For Hague Apostille Convention member countries, the apostille is the final step. For countries outside the Convention - including the UAE and Qatar - the apostilled passport copy must also go through embassy attestation in London. For UAE purposes specifically, a further MOFA digital attestation step in the UAE follows the Embassy attestation. Always confirm the full requirements of your destination before starting the process.
Allow enough time
Solicitor or notary appointment, FCDO processing at £45 per document taking around ten working days, and embassy attestation where required - the full process can take three to four weeks. If a deadline is approaching, start as early as possible. Call our team on +44 (0) 204 630 7500 and we will confirm the correct certification route and destination requirements before anything is submitted.