[holding answer 18 May 2007]: A countersignatory for a passport application must be a professional person, or a person of standing in the community, who holds a current British or Irish passport. This is not affected by maternity leave, but it remains essential that a person who countersigns a passport application must be contactable by the Identity and Passport Service.
[holding answer 18 May 2007]: The purpose of having passport applications countersigned by responsible persons is to enable the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) to confirm the identities of applicants. The work of the IPS includes contacting countersignatories for their confirmation that they signed an application in the identity shown on the form received by IPS. This is an essential safeguard against forgery of countersignatory details and other methods of identity fraud. If an application is countersigned by a person who the IPS cannot contact, the applicant may be asked to make a fresh application.