falang1969

Hold on..... "Five of the accused had been sentenced to 30 years imprisonment each" That's not what was reported in the British media, 30 years in TOTAL! The actual sentences are below.... "Mark Gould, head of the project, is the one who receives the heaviest sentence: 11 years in prison. His partner Steven Gordon will have to serve a sentence of 5 years and two months. The pair took home £4.6m (€5.35m) and £1.7m (€1.98m) respectively from Flawless. Their three comrades were sentenced to 5 years and two months, 3 years and 11 months and 4 years and 9 months."

Being the OP, just a bit of feedback. Applied at CM VFS on 11th May 2023 Picked up from CM VFS 5th July 2013 So almost 8 weeks exactly.

I was told today by VFS in Chiang Mai, is that you can use for domestic flights but not international flights.

Just a bit of feedback. Submitted UK Passport application at Chiang Mai VFS today. A couple of things...... For a UK adult renewal passport, a countersignatory IS NOT REQUIRED. So no need to get one of the 2 photo's countersigned or fill out that section on the application form. Which saves a lot of hassle! However, if you do fill out the countersignatory section, (which you don't need to as above), you require a copy of the countersignatory's passport as well and one of the photo's countersigned. You also need proof of address in Thailand, I used my Thai driving licence. They need it in colour and a copy of the front and back. My address is in Thai and English on the back of my Thai driving licence. So regarding the application form, it's really only the first page that gets completed, passport number on page 2 and a signature at the end! You keep your passport, which can be used for domestic flights BUT obviously not for international flights. All above confirmed as of today at VFS Chiang Mai.

I once asked him why he did what he did for others, his repsonse was..... "I guess it could be hobby. I consider it as doing a public service. I just do the best I can to help people."

Because they will just quote the standard UK Passport Office response...."up to 11 weeks", when in reality Visa's and Passports are often quicker in real life...that's why!

RIP Ubon Joe, that man was a fountain of knowledge regarding immigration rules and procedures! Always came back with accurate information.

Has anyone applied for an adult UK passport renewal at CM VFS in the last few months? If so, what was the turnaround time? Deciding whether to renew here or in the UK, but don't really want to be stuck in the UK for months!

I know it was last month but anyone know why TG910 was diverted to Azerbaijan? Looks like it landed there and took off the next day for LHR. Just curious if anyone on here was on it and can enlighten me?

My wife applied for one at Chiang Mai VFS on 11th July, got it back on 24th August using standard service.

Correct, her FIRST UK passport, she is 2. I was surprised at how easy it was!

I must admit that seems more appealing, I need a new passport anyway (as getting full and only 1 year left), so could get that (cheaper and possibly quicker) in the UK and no need for a re-entry permit. In the UK for 6 weeks so plenty (hopefully) of time.

"For it to be issued in Thailand, this will have included a visit with the children to the UK embassy for an interview." We just filled out the UK passport application forms and submitted them via Chiang Mai VFS, never had an "interview", 3 weeks later passports arrived.

I always use my kids Thai passports for leaving/arriving in Thailand and UK passports for entering/leaving the UK....always seemed the most obvious and easiest thing to do. A serious question though....say they HAD left on a UK passport, when they come back to Thailand on a UK passport they will be treated as a UK citizen arriving in Thailand and all the hassle re visa's that most of us have to deal with? Correct?

So, in that case, it is probably easier to get a re-entry permit and quickly apply for a yearly extension when I get back to Thailand? Probably easier than getting a new Non-O from my home country and starting again?