Andrew Dwyer

I will admit that the GOV.UK site passport service section does read as though you are required to send your passport in places but in reality Thailand has a service ( VFS Global Bangkok/Chiang Mai ) which inspects your current U.K. passport and coloured photocopies of every page and allows the photocopies to be sent to HMPO on place of your passport, which you retain.

Wrong. Did my U.K. passport renewal a month ago, sent photocopies of every page but retained my U.K. passport and have it now together with my new passport received last Thursday.

While this says visa they probably can provide you with the number for the U.K. passport section.

But did we find out why ??

Well, can clear Adolescence from my watch list now that the plot has been revealed !!

Yeah, another city “ fun “ car usually given away by the colours available as is the Deepal Lumin and the Neta V

I also saw it as a calling. Many people on here need help with their grammar because they are not as proficient in the English language … “ as what i am “ !

Isn’t there a phone number on the receipt you got from VFS ? You would have got a checklist, an advice note on picking up passport and a ( till ) receipt. Gave mine back last week. Other than that all emails etc points to a U.K. number.

Your problem is similar to mine, an error from VFS ( ticking the wrong box) created confusion at HMPO. I entered a rabbit hole by sending copies of both valid passports but no employer letter ( on advice from VFS ) as no other option available. I suggested to the helpline to send my “ second “ passport for cancellation which thankfully they accepted. To anyone in a similar situation: i.e. 2 valid passports, the options are employer letter or cancellation of 1 passport. In hindsight, sending my “ second “ passport for cancellation along with the application for renewal would have been the best option but it wasn’t offered. It is frustrating that you have gotten all the anxiety through no fault of your own but is now up to you to resolve it. I sent my passport to them ASAP via EMS and took exactly 1 week to arrive, you can track it. So i recommend you do just that with your id, i received an email yesterday from HMPO saying they will return my cancelled passport to VFS and i have the option to pick it up if i want. The helpline ( via email ) and the hotline ( via phone ) sounds like the same thing, might even be the same people ! Even after i had sent HMPO my passport and got notification receipt they still sent me an email saying “ please send us your passport for cancellation along with a letter from your employer “ !! I sent back an aggressive email reply that it was one or the other and they already had my passport. You are correct, they are not really up to speed with what is going on, probably teenagers on minimum wage !! Anyway, good luck and act quickly !

I hear ya !! My issues with the process involved VFS and HMPO: I had 2 valid U.K. passports and the U.K. application form said i had to supply an employer letter reasoning why i had two, where i would be travelling, for how long etc etc. I retired in 2016 so an employer letter is impossible but it didn’t state any alternative. VFS told me to send, through their service, full copies of both passports and on the application form ( section 8 I think ) just write in the reason i had 2 passports, that I would be renewing just the one and letting the other expire naturally, so i did that. 10 days later i paid for the service via U.K. debit card and 3 days later the whole SMS saga started. HMPO sent me an SMS to say they had emailed me, but it never arrived. After a couple of days i got in touch with the helpline, as the SMS wasn’t accepting replies, but they were very frustrating. Every email in the helpline chain appeared to reach a different person ( they don’t sign off with their name, only HMPO ) and i had to repeat the issue several times over the next two weeks ! They couldn’t understand why i wasn’t receiving the emails from HMPO but could see what the issue was as i was quoting a reference code from the initial SMS. Through the helpline we managed to figure out that i had to send my other passport back for cancellation but what was incredible was that HMPO were constantly sending me SMS messages saying they had sent me an email while none arrived but the helpline didn’t think to contact them. Finally after 18 days the helpline informed HMPO that they had the wrong email address for me and things were back on track. It was extremely frustrating and i started to feel that they wouldn’t connect the returned passport cancellation with the renewal application that was on hold and i had visions of my returned passport sitting in someone’s in tray as they were having a 3 week holiday in Benidorm !!

I did a U.K. renewal at VFS in Bangkok recently ( picked my new passport up on Thursday last week ). I had a bit of a nightmare, which i won’t go into here but there were errors by VFS and HMPO which meant my application took 5 1/2 weeks, and had to contact HMPO via their helpline: [email protected] There is definitely something amiss with the OP’s application and I recommend you use the above helpline to clarify exactly what is amiss.

Regarding the post from Upnotover: In Bangkok VFS ( presumably same at CM ) not allowed any sort of electronic item other than smartphone. Smartphones used while waiting allowed, not while being attended. I had a USB flash drive removed from my bag and if you are on your own you can only leave it on their table and hope it is still there when you come out.

I did !! and on this occasion the Brits won !!

So, here’s a new one on me : https://autolifethailand.tv/official-price-juneyao-jy-air-max-ev-thailand/ Free Gold membership to Juneyao Airlines …… nope … still none the wiser !!

Online initially wouldn’t work for me at Ayutthaya IO, when I enquired they simply said “ no have “. Then it came online but very sketchy service, since the latest updated version ( some years ago now ) it has worked great. I guess it is something that we have to accept as the Thai inconsistency standard.

I won’t even mention the great US tv programmes ! Take The Simpsons for example ……. d’oh !

I think some IO’s work on the premise that if online reporting isn’t working then more people will visit the IO. We used to call that “ job security “.

That’s 65 days away, rather get it done and dusted, my IO is only 10 minutes away and 90 days in person is a 5 minute process. Wait a minute !! Thought you couldn’t get online to work ?? ” Welcome to the club.“

I think most of us who have had an EV for a while have had a similar experience. You have been particularly unlucky as a relatively new owner. Probably the discount is connected to the Motor Show and will go back to “ your “ price after. It does seem to be the norm now, discounting for the two Motor Shows.

Had one rejection ( no reason given ) since Jan 2022, last done 10 days ago. Picked up my new passport Thurs so expect some disruption after changing stamps but after doing an in person no reason why it shouldn’t be back to normal service.

Saw the MG IM6 and ES5 in my local mall up close today. The ES5 looked okay, nothing special, but the IM6 was really nice ( with around 1 million baht on top of the ES5 of course it did ! ) beautiful interior. I was having a gander at Geely EX5 when the ladyboy salesperson came over and started to annoy me, talking real close and a blast of stale cigarette smell sent me packing , sorry Geely, pick better staff and I might show some interest. Incidentally, an ex Kia showroom is being transformed into a Geely showroom here in Ayutthaya, they announced the change during the last Motor Show and it is still a ways off getting finished. Sorry Geely but I’m not getting good vibes !! The only thing going for the Geely was a nice green colour while the IM6 was a bland cream colour and the ES5 an insipid beige colour. Seems like the trend is to use more pastel colours, what is wrong with plain old white ?? BYD SL 7 has a very light grey colour which looks like a dirty white to me and the Atto 3 Frost White is an indistinguishable colour !! As my dear old mum would say “ it’s so wishy washy “ !

Implant is the more permanent solution but involves some work and expense ( relative to other options ) , a bridge will also work well and can be fixed simply if fails. I had 2 implants around 40 years ago, 1 is still good but the other failed ( the pin came loose and the socket cracked) and the solution was a bridge, still good after around 20 years.

That is an implant mentioned already.

Unfortunate coincidence then ? 🙄

He didn’t announce it on Signal so I guess it wasn’t him !