I REFER to Nancy Wei's letter (South China Morning Post, October 16) regarding the submission of original documents for BNO passport applications to the British Embassy in Washington.
This requirement of sending in original documents for the application of a British passport at overseas British posts applies worldwide. On receipt of a passport application, the Consular Officer must satisfy himself that the documents submitted relate to the person for whom a passport is being sought.
As the British posts do not have the applicant's previous passport records, they normally rely on original documents to establish the applicant's identity and national status. The certification of the original documents, being part of the passport application process, has to be done by the British post where the application is accepted. It would therefore, be impracticable for such original documents to be presented separately to the Hong Kong Immigration for verification.
We appreciate your reader's worries about the mailing of valuable documents like birth certificates, etc, but, as we understand it, the procedure for passport applications to be submitted by mail, usually accompanied by the original passports and/or supporting documents, is well-established at overseas British posts.
We are not aware that the local postal service in Washington is unreliable. There seems no reason why Hong Kong British Dependent Territories citizens staying in the United States should follow a different set of procedures when applying for passport facilities.
S. K. LEUNG for Director of Immigration