Does the immigration department accept a certified copy of my passport by a solicitor? Do they need to know me for two years? I don't want to use the Nationality Checking Service as it will take me two to three weeks to get an appointment.

Thanks,

To certify your copies they can even certify if they don't know you.  The reason is they are just certifying that they have seen the original and it is exact copy of the original.

Home office does accept the certified copies. It is also listed on their Web site. I do highly recommend using the Nationality Checking Service even if you need a three week appointment. It's just my feeling that NCS puts your application months ahead of people sending by post.

Try sending them e-mail, which takes seconds to reach them but they take their sweet time and reply in 10 to 15 days. You will be making a mistake if you try to avoid NCS because they are giving you appointment in three weeks.  Just my opinion.

Waheed