parryhandy

Thanks for the updates, going to Nong Khai tomorrow morning will report back.

Almost forgot, does the overstay take up any space in the passport ?

thanks anyway will keep an eye on things

The problem is timing the vfs interview with the border run because the passport turn around is so long and who know when the border will reopen. I have 2 pages left which is enough for 1 hop and 1 extension then will have probably one square left for an exit stamp but no room to enter anywhere.

My stay ends on Sunday 25th my VFS interview is on Tuesday but I will have to travel down on Monday because of the curfew. I was going to get the overnight bus Monday evening.I could risk going to the vfs interview then doing the hop and paying overstay when the border opens but that means risking travelling in the middle of a coup to Bangkok and back with an overstayed passport.

is there any kind of extension for waiting for a passport because by all accounts it wont come back in 60 days ? was relying on the 90 from a border hop.

Yes I have a wife and child but was worried that the overstay would reset my visa. Its the very end of a year non o multiple entry based on marriage which expires on the 4th of June. So they will give me 60 days you think ? Also what about another 60 days later when my UK passport renewal takes longer than 60 days?

My plan was to do a visa run on Sunday (last day of my entry allowance) to Nong Khai. Since this is closed can I go to Khon Kaen immigration (to late to go now)on Monday pay the 1 day overstay and get a 60 day extension to the mulitple entry non o visa I have or does the fact that I have overstayed cancel the visa ?

This especially bad since I have to travel to Bangkok for my UK passport renewal interview on Monday as well so cant really wait for the border to reopen.

please advise

A week is a luxury we may not have. I do a border hop on the 25th (non o have to leave every 90 days) then I have my appointment at Trendy on the 27th then its taking at least 8 weeks maybe longer before I have to go back to Bangkok to collect then get out again hopefully before 90 days is up. Better getting the letter whilst in Bangkok to be sure.

just colour photocopied my passport cost = 500baht

total running costs now 2100 baht

She also confirmed that I could appoint somebody else to collect the passport, I have to give them a letter of authorisation. No appointment necessary for collection, anytime from 10am to 4pm Mon-Fri.

well there's a business opportunity right there. Will collect passport for you and ems it to your address,People will happily pay for that rather than travelling down to Bangkok again.

got exactly the same email as above this morning confirming one of my dates

emailed VFS Sunday evening asking for end of May will update if and when I get a reply. nothing as yet

I received my Certificate of Residence from Thai Immigration, but it was all in Thai including the address. Cost of translation 400 Baht. The immigration officer noted that it was for a passport application and said it was only valid for 30 days from the date of application, and it was only valid in Thailand. So by the time it reaches Liverpool it will fail both of those rules, but the Passport info says that documents must be dated within 1 year.

What happens if it reaches Liverpool and is rejected by them, is anyone's guess.

any chance of scanning a copy of this residence certificate so I can make my own. I have finally realised it might be a lot easier to prove I live somewhere in Thailand rather than my actual address and seeing as the UK passport agency have NO LEGAL JURISDICTION to check on anything and we have to collect the passports anyway it hardly matters. What a shambolic system.

The 90 day thing is something to do with tax law I reckon.

is this crossing open at weekends ? TIA

how much space in your passport does this crossing take ? Is it just 4 in and out smallish square stamps (about half a passport page if done neatly?) Might be able to squeeze in an extra visa run before having to renew my passport.

Possibly but it is a bloody performance to get a Passport from your own country.

(Reply to Soutpeel)

I am going to make a rather selfish comment..... sorry......glad I got mine back on the 2nd Jan, as it would seem the SS have taken over the pp office in recent weeks

so hopefully no worries for next 5-7 years and by that time all the rules it will have all changed again anyway, maybe have to send a certified DNA sample next time LOL

One suspects this issue will work itself out same as when HK started up and they said you had to send your original pp to HK until some pointed out that their own website said you need to have your pp in Thailand and then a quick about face and a copy of the data page was good enough

It wont work itself out unless the passport office disregard/relax their own rules. You got your passport back because you went through HK .The passport office if there's any comebacks later on can blame HK. With these new changes they cant pass the buck so it will come to a head only when the British embassy get that pissed off with citizens descending on them saying "I cant get a new passport what shall I do ?" The passport office and embassy will fallout big time over this and issues stemming from it especially since the embassies will, I presume, derive no revenue from it now.

The shift of everything back to the UK has not been thought through at all. These security/identity concerns are the reason the embassies were involved before in passport renewal.There is nothing stopping anybody fabricating any evidence of address here in Thailand because the bloody passport office in Liverpool has absolutely no jurisdiction to investigate evidence here in Thailand.I told them all that's been said on here on the phone. One guy I spoke to was adamant that all the evidence criteria were designed for ex-pats. I tried explaining to him that unless a person had dual nationality the amount of UK people being able to vote in Thailand or anywhere in SEA you could probably count on one hand.

Evidence of where you live is totally unnecessary for obtaining a passport, they just need to make sure the person that has applied for the passport, is in fact the genuine passport holder and there are a number of ways of doing that including an online skype interview.

The Passport Office in Liverpool is a total shambles.

Appalling service.

In spite of actually debiting my bank acc. they wont send me my Passport without

what they call "evidence of name and address".

I don't have any of the things on their list apart from Visas and Immigration stamps which were enclosed.

Only the UK can make such a simple thing so complicated.

Now I suppose I will have to waste time and money phoning them.

Have you asked them whether you can have it sent to the embassy instead ? Please let us know how you get on.

The thing that stops me sending my passport to relatives in the UK is that your new passport is returned to your UK address by registered post where you may or may not have to sign for it. Does anybody know if you do actually have to sign for it ? I can actually prove I live at my UK address.

I only sent a copy of my current extension of stay and the data page of my current full PP, and got my new pp back from the UK 2nd Jan

Their courier is DHL and yes the pp will arrive safely, my last visa for Thailand was some 9 years ago and have been on extensions for employment...so dont panic,

talking to somebody else i know, the table A, covers a multitude of sins including new applications not just renewal, and the table assumes someone is resident in the UK, hence the references to school records/baptism certificates, in other words some sort of evidence of your connection with UK, if they choose to check, to ensure new applicants are entitled to a UK passport....basically they have cut and pasted this table from somewhere else, it hasnt been drawn up for oversea's applicants

With a renewal, you have already been vetted and in the system, so a copy of your full or expiring PP fullfills the photo evidence, and the visa or extension of stay fullfills the name and address evidence it appears

This is very interesting, as I was told the opposite when I phoned up the helpline recently.

Since we're required to keep our passports with us at all times, I was told I'd need to send full-colour photocopies of each page of my current passport - all 48 pages! I am not allowed to send the original passport itself.

So under the "Photo Evidence", I wasn't able to offer anything that they'd accept.

The guy on the phone explicitly stated that the colour photocopies would NOT be accepted as ID, that I am not allowed to post my current passport as ID, and that they can't accept a previous expired passport as ID.

The only other photo-ID I have is a UK photo card driving license, which expired in November because it's illegal for me to renew it while living abroad. He said they can't accept that either, as it's expired.

For the "Name and address evidence" I offered a copy of my current lease, but was told this wouldn't be acceptable either. I pointed out that "visa or resident permit" were listed and ought to be allowed, but he said that this would NOT be accepted if it doesn't bear my full address.

He suggested sending a utility bill, but my bills are in the name of the owner of the condo that I rent.

So it looks like I have to fly back to the UK in order to renew. What a joke.

Soutpeel is probably right when I think about it now. The people that work in customer service are absolutely useless! They know nothing. I also called last week and the guy I spoke with didn't have a clue. They have all your info already if you are applying for a renewal. I would just chance it mate. Don't let these so-called guidelines made up by Whitehall politrickians scare you into buying a ticket back home to renew your little red book. Send copies of your pp, a few photos, app form and a cheque or cc autorisation form. All will be well, Soutpeel is right

They honestly haven't a clue what they're doing and why. The helpline guy told me the opposite in that utility bills are not accepted. I am going to do (for proof of residence) what the helpline guy said which was "send us what you've got" which is nothing and see what happens.

The photo id thing I mentioned earlier in that if you don't have a driving licence and lose your passport your fecked.

These problems are why there always should be an option to apply or pick up in person at the embassy and they forward it to the UK. I emailed the embassy in Bangkok about this and they said I could arrange to have it picked up from there.

Thanks for the update Steve.

There's nothing complicated or difficult about sorting a new PP, it's just a right royal (and expensive) pain in the @r$#

Isnt there ? If you follow the links provided in this thread you now have to apply in person at the embassy and take photo id with you which if you haven't got a driving licence would be difficult for most people. Oh and don't forget that proof of residence which if your travelling around is impossible.