sjbrownderby

Given that I applied for the new passport on April 3rd and the new passport was issued on April 7th.......and the fact that my visa stamp had to be transferred into the new passport before I could cross the border out of Thailand there would be a lot of explaining to do if I had used my old passport to travel outside the country after my new passport had been issued. Someone in immigration might pick up on this when the visa stamp was transferred to the new passport, all of the travel dates would be there to see clearly. So even if you could get away with travelling outside the country when you are waiting for your new passport you would not neccessarily know the date your new passport was issued and may find yourself having to answer awkward questions about why you used your old passport after the date your new one had been issued. Is it worth the hassle?

1 hour ago, MiKT said:

 

 

 But I don't suppose they actually inform the Thai immigration that your passport is no longer valid, so any reason why you could not go out to another country and then return before your new passport is ready to pick-up?

 

I submitted my passport application on April 3rd and my new passport was issued on April 7th. It was back in Bangkok on the 12th but due to Songkran was not available for pickup until the 18th. The courier's package was not opened until I picked up the passport so it is likely that VFS did not know the exact date the passport was issued and therefore when the old passport became invalid. Because it take such a short time for a passport to be returned it is much better not to take the chance of visiting another country while you are waiting.

 Also bear in mind that visa stamps have to be transferred into your new passport before you undertake any foreign travel. It is not just a simple matter, as someone suggested, of presenting the old passport with visa and departure card together with your new passport when attempting to leave Thailand. There is a procedure for stamps and departure card to be transferred into a new passport and it has to be done at an immigration office. I found that out to my cost when I attempted to leave Thailand at Mukdahan. Luckily there is an immigration office very close to the crossing and I was directed there to have it done. I could have saved myself a lot of time (most of it was waiting for the office to open at 8.30am) had I known about this before.

I have just applied to renew my UK passport inThailand. I submitted my application personally at the office in the Trendy Office Building. This involved a five hour drive from my home in Nakhon Ratchasima province for my appointment which took less than 10 minutes. That was on April 3rd and I have already received tracking information from DHL but delivery (to the Trendy Office building) has been delayed by Songkran and is scheduled for 17th April after which I can pick it up. I think that is quite quick but I had considered using a visa agency to save myself two trips to Bangkok but decided against it in the end and saved the cost of 5,000 baht. Provided you have all of the required documentation and correct photos you can pay by debit or credit card. My non-O multi entry visa will expire on May 5th but I have already done a border run to give me until the end of June to renew my visa in Savannakhet. 

 I am planning a trip to Kanchanaburi in about ten days time so a slight detour into Bangkok and I will have my new passport. If you live in or near Bangkok then passport renewal will be a lot easier for you. 

By your own admission your Thai is poor but you also stated that you got an ED visa to learn Thai. If I were an IO I might look at that and wonder why you did not use the ED visa for the purpose you stated and also if you are actually using your current visa for it's intended purpose. I can see that as being part of the problem you had.

Thanks to everyone for their input. What started out as a simple quest for information became complicated by erroneous information on the website of an agency. I was trying to weigh up whether to use an agency or apply in person. Obviously I want to be able to trust any agency I decide to use but the answer I got from the agency in question was that the information on the UK government website was wrong. I wear glasses and always have for my passport photos, so why would glasses be outlawed and the information not be changed on the government website? This question was not answered by the agency which added a little confusion to my search for an answer. 

 The reason I had considered an agency was that it may actually save me time and money given that I would have to drive for five hours from where I live to the office in Bangkok, a return journey I would have to make twice in order to submit the application and pick up my passport when it is ready. Faced with with what I now know is  erroneous information displayed on the website of this agency a matter of trust arose which went beyond the issue of whether I should wear glasses (or not) in the photos. Do I trust a company, or indeed anyone, with a document as important as my passport when they assert their information is correct and the official information is not?Something is not right with that and so I have decided not to use an agency. I will make the application in person.

3 hours ago, MiKT said:

 

YES, YES, YES, YES miKT is MISSINFORMED and offers HUMBLE, GROVELLING APOLOGIES to all.

 

I have just rung the Passport Office in the UK and YES now UK passports can be renewed in Thailand  by going to the Trendy Centre as indicated by many kind posters (or having an agent take and pick-up your passport).

 

I just misread the UK Gov website that I posted above and thought you had to do it all by post as I had to back in 2012.

 

Well, more apologies to all and at least I will have no trouble going to the Trendy Centre to renew my passport when I get back from Buri Ram where I am convalescing from an operation that has clearly screwed-up my brain.

 

SORRY, SORRY, SORRY.

 

 

 

 

 

Get well soon and drink a few beers to help your brain recover.

2 minutes ago, CGW said:

It used to be so simple, go the the Embassy on Monday, pick up your passport on the Friday, the same week! worked well, so much for progress!

My last one via Hong Kong took six weeks! now unfortunately I need another as full!

Follow the link quoted above and don't pay any attention to MiKT. He is totally misinformed.

Just now, MiKT said:

 

Misinformed must be flowing like water on this website.

 

The UK Visa Application Centre in the Trendy Building does exactly what it say's, "VISA APPLICATIONS" it deals with applications for Visa's to visit the UK from non-UK nationals. It has nothing to do with renewing a British passport.

 

I have been many times with my family for UK visa applications.

 

 

 

Yes, and they also deal with passport renewals. In fact I have just received a reply to my email regarding an appointment for passport renewal. Would you like to see it? I guarantee that it will dispel what you have written above and actually confirm that passport renewals are dealt with at the 'Trendy Office Building' Here is the text of the email:

Dear Mr. Stephen Joseph Brown ,

Thank you for your email, your appointment has been confirmed. Please find your appointment Letter attached.

For the photo you can get more advise at https://www.gov.uk/photos-for-passports

Best wishes,

HMPO Bangkok Officer

Just now, MiKT said:

 

Yes I did many times lately.

 

It says:

Get or renew a passport

The British embassy can’t help with passport enquiries. Contact Her Majesty’s Passport Office if you need help.

If you can’t get a new or replacement passport in time to travel, you may be able to get an emergency travel document.

Get an emergency travel document

You can apply for an emergency travel document if you’re abroad and your passport has been lost or stolen, damaged or expired, and you can’t get a new or replacement passport in time to travel.

If you are due to travel in the next 24 hours, contact us as soon as possible.

An emergency travel document does not guarantee entry to every country. Read what an emergency travel document does.

Please check country specific visa requirements prior to applying for the ETD. You will need to visit Thai Immigration for an exit visa.

Apply online for an emergency travel document if you:

• are over 16 years old and
• are a British citizen and
• have previously owned a British passport

Contact us to apply for an emergency travel document if you are:

• over 16 years old but have not owned a British passport before or
• not a British citizen or
• applying for a child under 16 years old

Once you have contacted us, you will be advised to make an appointment to apply for an emergency travel document at the British Embassy Bangkok.

 

SO VERY CLEARLY THEY WILL NOT RENEW A BRITISH PASSPORT AT THE EMBASSY.

 

See also reply to the next poster

I am not going through the embassy. There is an office in Bangkok that deals with passport and visa applications and it is to this office that you have to go. It is just off Sukhumvit and not so far from where the embassy is located. I have never stated in any post that I would have any dealings with the British Embassy.

5 minutes ago, Upnotover said:

Did you  actually click on the link you provided above.  And then read what it says?

I think the answer to that would be 'No' 

1 minute ago, MiKT said:

 

Sorry but you are totally misinformed.

 

You CANNOT renew a British Passport at the Embassy anymore. As I said they stopped this 5/6 years ago. I know because I last renewed my passport in October 2012 and had to send it to HK. Unfortunately the 32 pages are already filled-up and now I must get a new one, so I have checked the British Embassy website several time lately to be sure of what to do now.

 

Pick-up the phone an call the embassy before you waste time and money going to Bangkok and go to this website for renewal of British passport if you are overseas:-https://www.gov.uk/overseas-passports

 

to contact the

British Embassy Bangkok

Email[email protected]

Telephone +66 (0) 2 305 8333

Fax +66 (0) 2 255 9278

 

Do NOT believe anyone who says you can renew your passport in Bangkok.

Sorry my friend but it is you who is misinformed. I agree that you do not go to the embassy for passport renewal. You now have to go to  another office which deals with passport applications and visas which is located at:

 UK Visa Application Centre
The Trendy Office Building,
28th Floor,
Sukhumvit Soi13,
Klongtoey-Nua,
Wattana,
Bangkok
10110,
Thailand

10 minutes ago, OJAS said:

The current rules for passport photos are on the GOV.UK website at https://www.gov.uk/photos-for-passports and include the following statement:-

 

"You can’t wear sunglasses or tinted glasses. You can wear reading glasses but your eyes must show fully through clear lenses without glare or reflections"

 

I just wonder, though, whether wearing glasses might, in practice, prove risky in the longer term unless one can somehow be absolutely certain that one's existing frames and lens prescription will both last the full 10 years lifetime of one's new passport. For this reason I have always taken off my glasses (which I also wear 24/7) when having passport photos taken.

 

 

This is more a matter of trust because the visa company in question is virtually saying that the information on the GOV.UK website is wrong and they are correct. All I was trying to establish is whether there had been an unpublished change to the rules regarding passport photos and if there had maybe other things had changed. So it is not such a simple matter of removing glasses for a photo.

5 minutes ago, meatboy said:

i renewed my uk.passport not long ago,i used keyvisa pattaya,i saw what you read and my previous passport had me wearing glasses.

so i sent photo,s with and without,they will sort it out,oh my new passport has me WEARING GLASSES.

How strange, because this is the company that says you must not wear glasses in your passport photos. Obviously the photos of you wearing glasses were of the standard required i.e. you are not wearing tinted or sunglasses, your eyes can be seen clearly and there is no glare visible. Thank you so much, this is exactly what I was trying to establish and you just happened to go through the company which appears to be showing incorrect information on their website. 

1 minute ago, MiKT said:

 

Why do you need to drive to Bangkok?

 

Why do you need an agent anyway?

 

This agency seems to be trying to scam you, because you can ONLY renew a British passport online now (NOT at the British Embassy) and all you do is fill-in the online form and pay by credit or debit card, then send your old passport + the two pics (with or without glasses) and proof of residence by courier (DHL is my favourite in Thailand).

 

The new passport will be returned in @ 4 weeks, but it can be less if you are lucky.

 

If you are literate enough to write to TV it would seem crazy for anyone to pay an agent to fill-in the online forms for you.

 

@ 5/6 years ago they stopped issuing passports at the British Embassy in Bangkok and for a while you had to apply to the British Embassy in Hong Kong for a new red passport. But then they stopped that as well; and as I said above, you can ONLY apply online now.

 

This is all because far too many embassy staff around the world (I won't say also in Bangkok) were issuing passports to anyone with enough cash.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

YOU CAN NOT RENEW ONLINE. You have to either go yourself to Bangkok or authorise someone to do so in your place. I was merely trying to balance two trips to Bangkok from Korat against paying someone to do it for me, and not having to leave home at all. That is why I considered an agency. It just happened that this particular agency gave information which was contrary to what I believe to be true.

9 minutes ago, MiKT said:

Just 5 minutes ago I was checking the UK Gov site for passport renewal and your statement  "You can’t wear sunglasses or tinted glasses. You can wear reading glasses but your eyes must show fully through clear lenses without glare or reflections"  is quite correct. This is fully corroborated by the illustrations that show acceptable and non-acceptable photographs. 

 

The Visa company must be misreading the site.

 

But since (unlike a driving licence) it does not matter much you can send photo's of you not wearing specs if that makes it easier.

 

MPR

 

 

 

 

There is a bigger issue here and that is one of trust. I do not intend to use this company and I will submit my application in person, even though it means a five hour drive to Bangkok. My passport is absolutely vital to me so why would I trust a company which provides and justifies incorrect information?  The company says that glasses are not allowed in passport photos and I thought they may be party to some information to which I, and anyone reading the GOV.UK advice on passport photos, am not. I queried it and the guy says that their information is based on experience of rejections due to the wearing of glasses but does not elaborate further. The rejections may have been due to the quality of the photos, with regard to the illustrations you and I have both seen and not because it is any kind of official requirement.  It may seem a little fussy but genuinely I want to find out if there has been any unpublished change to rules regarding the submission of passport photos.

I am told by a visa and passport renewal company that UK passport applications are being rejected due to the wearing of spectacles in the photos and that they now require photos to be taken without spectacles. This runs contrary to the information on the GOV.UK website regarding the wearing of spectacles in passport photos. I am told by this company that this rule is applied due the the requirements of the biometric passport. That does not make sense to me because my current passport, which I will soon renew, is biometric and I am wearing spectacles in the photo. Amongst other things the GOV.UK website regarding passport photos states that "You can’t wear sunglasses or tinted glasses. You can wear reading glasses but your eyes must show fully through clear lenses without glare or reflections"   I have always worn spectacles for my passport photo and I can find no information that says I cannot do so, except on the website of this visa company. Has anyone had  experience of rejection of a UK passport application due to the wearing of glasses? .....................or is this visa company giving incorrect information? 

7 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Good luck finding a police station that will accept the report. Most will not have a clue about what it for.

Although the form states you can report to the police if there not an immigration office in the area they consider that to mean within the province. Which gives them a reason not to accept it.

 

Agreed but they are duty bound to accept the report if the immigration office is closed on a weekend or during public holidays in which case the fact that there is an in-province immigration office would be a moot point given the timing of the requirement.

12 minutes ago, sinbin said:

Thanks for that reply Sj. I went to my local village cop shop once and asked for an urgent letter to confirm my address. Immigration were closed for a long week-end. The police refused me based on they hadn't got any official stamps to put on the confirmation letter.

No doubt, with the required tea money donation, a stamp would have been found. Also, the police are not a 'full service' entity in the same way as the Immigration Bureau. 

Just now, sinbin said:

Are you 100% sure? Everything is on computer these days and I doubt the police will have a link to Immigration computers. What next, extensions from your local cop shop? Nah.

Yes, you can report to the police. If you do so you must ensure that they complete the attached receipt and return it to you. There are times when it is impossible to report to your local immigration office within 24 hours, such as at weekends and during public holidays. The fact that the immigration office may be closed at certain times does not negate your responsibility to report nor does it give you an excuse when explaining your failure to report within the specified time. Do not doubt what is correct. Break the law and you will pay........it is THAT simple.

1 minute ago, 55Jay said:

Yes, Korat.  They down in Patts.  I've got to do the TM28 which sounds like form + passport copy+rental agreement.  From landlord side, TM30 form+ID and housebook copy..... the Power of Attorney was a new one on me but makes sense.

It is doubtful that they will accept a POA if your landlord did not report your renting of the property within the required 24 hours. They will want him to report in person, so they can extract the 'fine' from him. 

1 minute ago, 55Jay said:

Since you've been through this with Korat, for the TM30, what else is required from the house owner?  Thai ID copy, house book, etc?

 

 

It is all at the whim of the officer asking. I have my own thoughts about what happened yesterday, thoughts which I have not expressed on this forum. The official website Immigration Bureau website is nothing more than a repository of misleading information. Take as much paperwork and copies as you can and they will be almost bound to ask for something you do not have, something about which the official website makes no mention. You say your landlord lives in Pattaya but you did not say where you live. Are you going to Korat immigration regarding your extension?

21 minutes ago, Lieberdavid said:

I am traveling out of Thailand next week and will return to Chiang Mai by air on Saturday. I have to file a TM 30 within 24 hours but the immigration offices will be closed until Monday. I am able to report myself as a house owner but cannot use online  reporting.

 

1. What should I do?

 

2. What immigration office should I use?

 

Thank you.

You can also report to the police. At the bottom of (part one) the TM 30 is a receipt which can be completed by the police and returned to you so you have proof that you reported.

I have now found out why the immigration officer wanted my brother-in-law there in person. He wanted to establish how long my friend had been staying at his house (even though the TM 30 stated that it would be from today) and would fine him accordingly for not reporting sooner but since my friend only looked at the house last night, and had not actually moved in, the officer seems to have been disappointed. This officer did actually speak to my brother-in-law by phone and never mentioned that as the reason why he must attend. He told my BIL by phone that for the first time of reporting he must attend in person. This officer obviously must have thought that my friend was already staying at the house and that therefore the report had not been made within the specified 24 hours. He was wrong and people have been inconvenienced as a result. 

4 hours ago, mngmn said:

I may be wrong, but I always proceed on the basis that anything on a Thai Government web site may, or may not be correct. In any case, the local official sitting across the desk from you, is not bound to follow the stated "rules" and can implement any variations to the "rule" that they see fit.

 

Works for me.

My friend completed his paperwork and registration at Korat immigration and they did indeed implement variations which cost him a donation to the tea money fund, with no receipt given of course. He got the outcome he wanted so he is reasonably happy.

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

If the office insists on the owner appearing in person there is not much that can be done about it.

You should also note that the info you quoted on the immigration website is under this heading "Notification of residence of foreigners for businesses".

I accept that but how is it possible that my brother-in-law's renting of his house to my friend does not constitute a business arrangement? On that point the Thailand Immigration bureau is vague. So far as I can see Sect 38 of the 1979 Immigration Act does not mention "Notification of residence of foreigners for businesses" and it is only when you click on a link titles " Notification of residence of foreigners " that you actually get to a page which says " Notification of residence of foreigners for businesses" The wording of the act mentions "Master, owner or possessor of the residence or hotel manager" The master, owner or possessor of a property may not necessarily run a business to accommodate a foreigner. That person could be a friend or family member so the heading on the  Thailand Immigration Bureau website is misleading because the reporting requirement does not just apply to businesses and the 1979 act does not specify businesses either. 

 By saying that I quoted from the website under the heading  "Notification of residence of foreigners for businesses" you intimate that there may be another section which apples to those other than businesses who need to register a foreigner staying at their property. I can find no such information on the Immigration Bureau website. Perhaps you can reply with the link to this information if it exists.