Hmm. DWP wrote to dad, seems to be an annual thing, to check he’s not dead🤪 Witness must be not related to my dad by birth or marriage (can’t be me or my wife?). Any suggestions welcome. As the Form is in English I suppose they should know what they sigb.
We go to our mayor’s office every time we get one of these and they stamp it with their official stamp and sign it. They find it very amusing and it’s a chance for a chat. They are very happy to do it, which is as well as between us we have about 10 bits and pieces of pensions!
I’ve given up worrying about whether they can read and understand it. They know enough and have done it often enough for it not to be an issue. If you are concerned (or they are) provide a French translation for them. I just tell them when I’m at the desk.
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Super thanks. That’s a good idea. Anyway I need to go there and check out that they’ve nor forgotten him.
Also a notaire will do it for free too.
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Some notaires charge @John_Scully - ours doesn’t.
@AdrianTB the form is also available online in French so that’s the one I took along to the Mairie last time buit we did have a laugh as to whether she was able to say I was still alive…
Mairies have to do this for pretty well all their non-French residents so are well used to it 
Your Dad simply goes to the Mairie, armed with the form and whichever identification method he is using.
We did this last week… OH took his passport… filled-in and signed his side of the form then the Maire completed the other side… carefully noting the passport number and issuing office (as request on the form)
~Then it’s only date, name, signature, address… and the official “stamp”
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Who is acceptable in addition to marie, and notaire…Doctor?
I’ve been getting “OAP” for five years
when DWP or whoever… decide to ask you for Proof that you are still alive…
they will give you a list of such folk as they hold suitable to sign…
DWP says… “should be a professional person or a person of good standing in the community…” and not related to you in any way, nor living at the same address.
They give a list of examples… and ask you to contact them if you’ve any probs…
I would say that they haven’t caught up yet with the fact that you are resident overseas! Yes, I know that they must know that if they’ve given you an S1 but it seems there are often left-and-right-hand issues here. It took a while before they started asking me for that sort of proof. Nor do they seem to be asking for it each year either. I’m not complaining, mind.
The list of approved people is very like the one for verifying passport photos. Includes all sorts… The Mairie is the easiest in my view as they are well used to it but if you go to and fro to the UK you can always get someone there to authorise it - Last time I did that is was my accountant, who is also a friend.
Thanks. I’ll probably goto the Mairie. I’m teleworking tomorrow and can work from dad’s place and he has ‘le fibre’. Mairie is a few hundred metres.
| AngelaR Regular
25 November |
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I would say that they haven’t caught up yet with the fact that you are resident overseas! Yes, I know that they must know that if they’ve given you an S1 but it seems there are often left-and-right-hand issues here. It took a while before they started asking me for that sort of proof. Nor do they seem to be asking for it each year either. I’m not complaining, mind.
The list of approved people is very like the one for verifying passport photos. Includes all sorts… The Mairie is the easiest in my view as they are well used to it but if you go to and fro to the UK you can always get someone there to authorise it - Last time I did that is was my accountant, who is also a friend.
The last time I did it was for a passport, it was a friend who was also an accountant !
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You could get the answer to your question by reading the information that came with the form. My Doctor signed mine this morning and a little later my Pharmacist asked me if I needed it doing. I am not in any way related to my Doctor or Pharmacist.
Just read the documentation.
AngelaR - The DWP must know he’s living abroad if they post the letter to his French address?
We go to our mairie in our small town and, as is often the case they don’t have good English (why should they?), I pencil in a French translation of the relevant bits which I then rub out afterwards. Telling them it’s the equivalent of a ‘Certificat de vie’ makes things easier.
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Luxembourg is the same. The local commune. Always very helpful.