Pib

Wow....almost a month "In Transit to Next Facility" time between NYC/Jamaica NY and Wilkes Barre PA. And to the best of my knowledge/research, after leaving NYC/Jamaica, mail bound for Wilkes Barre goes to the USPS regional Processing & Distribution Center (P&DC) in Scranton PA who then distributes the mail to nearby Wilkes Barre. The approx distance from NYC/Jamaica to Scranton is 120 miles and Scranton to Wilkes Barre is only 20 miles. Maybe the USPS uses turtles for registered mail transport between NYC/Jamaica and Wilkes Barre. Above tracking sure makes it appear the NYC/Jamaica to Wilkes Barre leg of the trip is the black hole, weak link in getting mail to Wilkes Barre from Thailand.

From looking back thru this thread at posts where tracking showed "successful" delivery I think for those of you where your tracking seemed to go MIA at the "In Transit to Next Facility" stage after escaping NYC/Jamaica, New York (like the image at the bottom) I bet it's just a case of your registered mail not being scanned at Wilkes Barre by the Wilkes Barre Post Office when initially received nor when it was delivered to the Wilkes Barre SSA office/delivery agent. Maybe just to durn many 7162's to individually scan since tens of thousands are being received this time of year. Now some of the successful delivery posts show a USPS scan at Scranton PA and then a day or so later another scan at the Wilkes Barre Post Office, so it's possible a person could show a scan at Scranton and then it goes MIA after leaving Scranton if the Wilkes Barre post office does not do a scan upon receipt nor final delivery. The USPS Inspector General in various reports has identified many post offices failing to properly accomplish tracking scans and I expect with the tens of thousands of 7162s being returned by registered airmail that the Wilkes Barre post office is simply failing to scan all of them after they arrive from the upstream regional USPS facility. They are still getting delivered, but if a USPS tracking scan failed to occur it makes the 7162 appear MIA. Now for those who have called the SSA and they said the 7162 does not yet appear in their Automated Information Retrieval System (AIRS) which is where a received "and processed" 7162 is suppose to appear, maybe, just maybe the received 7162s which have been received and processed into AIRS will "not" be viewable to any and all SSA Customer Support reps until some bulk updated is run....maybe at the end of August or early September...which then makes it viewable to any SSA rep who might get a call from a customer asking if the SSA received his 7162. My past googling, my test mailing of registered airmail a couple years back, Aseannow posts, and my gut feeling is the problem boils down to the Wilkes Barre Post Office failing to accomplish tracking scans on all of the many, many, many, many, many, etc., 7162's they are receiving this time of year. And if that's the case then sending a 7162 back by registered mail is really a waste of money unless tracking to New York....last seen leaving NYC....is good enough for the person Example of Register Airmail 7162 going MIA after escaping NY and then just showing "In Transit to Next Facility."

I live in Bangkok and yesterday/Monday morning when this small but dark and fast moving storm went over Bangkok it definitely got a lot darker...made one think What is going on....are we having an eclipse, etc. But as the article said there was little rain...it just got darker than a normal storm passing over.

@ubonjoe @bamnutsak @zlodnick Sorry to bug you guys again about "Does USPS tracking show your registered airmail 7162 back to Wllkes Barre finally making it there?" A week ago you guys said USPS tracking showed your registered airmail was still in transit but appeared to have cleared customs in NYC....like it was on the final stage of its trek from NYC to Wilkes Barre. Does USPS now show its arrival to Wilkes Barre SSA or is it still showing in transit? Thanks.

Thailand definitely has its act together in issuing/renewing passports. Just a few weeks ago my wife renewed her Thai passport...it only took 2 (two) days from applying at the passport office and EMS delivery to our home. She applied for renewal at the Southern Bus Station (Sai Tai Mai-Talingchan) on the 3rd floor in western Bangkok and she just walked-in with no appt. You can renew for either 5 years for Bt1,000 or 10 years for Bt1,500...the wife got the latter. And there is a Bt40 EMS mail fee and the renewed passport is mailed back to your....at least at this office you can not come back X-days later to pickup. When walking into the office there was two lines....one line was for walk-ins and one for online appt (i.e., you had made an appt online. I guessimate approximately 90% of the people were walk-ins. Each line lead to a window where they take your Thai ID card to start the renewal process....she was only in the walk-in queue line for about 15 minutes and once reaching the front it only takes about 30 seconds at this window. I only saw a few people who used the online appt window....that is having started the process online. Then you are directed to an another area where you set down with a person that takes your picture and fingerprints....basically "almost" completes all the renewal paperwork on the computer....this only takes 5 to 10 minutes. You are then directed to a cahier window to pay the Bt1,000 or Bt1,500 fee....then directed to another cashier to pay the EMS return fee of Bt40. You end of with some receipts showing payment with the EMS receipt showing an EMS tracking number. The passport office says it will normally take 3 to 5 business days to receive your renewed passport. The EMS tracking number did not show up in the Thai Postal system mail tracking until day 2 before dawn/O-dark early in the morning....and then around 2pm that day the postman delivered the passport to our house. Yeap...two days from start to finish....a very easy and fast process. You can make an online appt at below MFA website and also see stats for each passport office around Thailand....like how many people they have serviced so far during the day, what the current queue number is, etc. https://www.qpassport.in.th/#/landing Partial Snapshot of queue status/number of customers serviced during the day as of 24 Aug/4pm

But that implies the SSA is scanning the registered label to update the USPS tracking system. I seroiusly doubt the USPS gives such authority....plus that would really negatively impact USPS mail delivery time statistics...also be a cause for many customers doing follow-ups to the USPS for MIA mail which has really been delivered. In 2019 had you also done a follow-up to USPS regarding a MIA 7162 like you have just done for your 2022 report? If so, maybe in 2019 the USPS just updated the tracking status to show final delivery based on "assumed" delivery based on the Wilkes Barre post office knowing--but not directly admitting--that they miss tracking scans for many of the thousands of foriegn registered mail 7162's arriving the SSA Wilkes Barre facility.

If you mean you think once the SSA processes a 7162 it will also update USPS tracking to show received I seriously, seriously doubt that. Although the SSA Wilkes Barre ZIP code is a "unique" ZIP code which can be common for large organizations (govt and private) that receive a lot of mail that does not mean they interface with USPS systems like the USPS tracking system other than probably having a metered mail machine(s) to print postage on outgoing mail which is cheaper and faster than licking stamps. And pretty much anyone can rent a metered mail machine from the USPS or one of its metered mail affiliates like Pitney Bowes. A unique ZIP code is really just to help sort & facilitate the delivery of mail, especially for organizations that receive a lot of mail like the SSA Wilkes Barre. Once the "USPS" makes delivery the tracking is finished; the addressee does not have the ability to update USPS tracking. Now something I think that happens for organizations who receive a LOT of registered mail is the USPS simply fails to scan each & every registered mail piece when delivered. (Even the USPS IG says there is a problem in this area...see USPS IG article at bottom). Like the postman at Wilkes Barre scanning each 7162 that he delivers to SSA Wilkes Barre as I bet each day's delivery includes "hundreds to thousands" of 7162 returned via registered mail especially during the peak return period starting about a month after they were initially mailed out from Wilkes Barre. A with so, so many 7162's arriving via registered mail that many of them simply do not get that final scan confirming delivery....or should I say delivered to an agent for final delivery. Now for those pieces of registered mail that seem to go MIA once clearing the USPS International Service Center/Customs that is probably another case of many pieces of foreign registered mail simply not getting scanned.....the pieces still reach their final destination OK, but no tracking updates occur due to the missed scans. And of course there are always a few pieces that simply go MIA and never arrive....got nothing to do with not being scanned....bit I think (hope) the number of pieces in this category is very low. Below is a Mar 2020 USPS Inspector General article talking how some USPS employees fail to properly scan packages for tracking purposes. https://www.uspsoig.gov/blog/scanning-issues-persist

Thanks guys...good crossfeed. For ubonjoe and bamutsak I doubt you'll get any more updates....and maybe ditto for zlodnick. Seems registered mail tracking to SSA Wilkes Barre can all too often just stop short of the finish line although the mail "may" have indeed/most likely crossed the finished line based on your tracking and what I've seen in other posts over the years. But some folks get good tacking results....like in .Kivetoruk's 12 July post where he shows his Thai Postal System and US Postal System tracking results side by side....see partial snapshot below. The USPS tracking description states the mail piece was delivered to an agent for final delivery in Wilkes Barre which I expect means the Wilkes Barre main post office delivered the mail to a person in the SSA Wilkes Barre facility/mail room (which has it's own unique ZIP code) and its now up to the SSA internal mail system (i.e., the agent) to do the final delivery within the facility/building based on the P.O. Box line....like 7162's go to whatever office that processes 7162's. But the SSA's internal mail system has no interface with the USPS tracking system so the best a person can expect to see mail tracking-wise is what is shown in Kivertoruk's partial snapshot below indicating the mail was delivered to a SSA agent for final delivery such as Bubba working in the SSA mail room.....and that is where the USPS tracking will end. Partial Snapshot of Kivetoruk's 12 July post End Snapshot In closing, below partial quote/weblink does a good job I think of describing a "unique" ZIP code like the SSA Wilkes Barre ZIP code. Note where it says the USPS responsibility ends (like for tracking) once the USPS drops off the mail at the unique ZIP code facility. https://batchdata.com/product-info/what-are-unique-zip-codes

@ubonjoe @bamnutsak @zlodnick Your posts below showed a status that your 7162 sent via Registered Airmail to Wilkes Barre was still in transit....it had made it to New York....but it was still in transit from NYC to Wilkes Barre. Does "USPS tracking" show your 7162 finally making it to SSA in Wilkes Barre? And if tracking shows it did make it, when did final delivery to Wilkes Barre occur...and what did the total mailing time from Thailand to Wilkes Barre work out to? This would be good crossfeed to show how long Registered Airmail takes in 2022. Thanks.

That must have been back around the late 70s to early 80s when inflation was rampant....I mean super bad inflation....made today's inflation rate look mild. OR, you mean current day Thailand loan shark rates on the low end. ????

Samsung A11 and A8+.

Based on my review of the UltraMobile rules "and my actual use/testing" of my two UM $3/month Paygo SIMs below are the costs for use. And where you see the word "Wallet" that means whatever "Balance" you maintain in your UM online account. Some people have it setup to Automatically add a certain amount to their Balance each month; others (like me) just top-up occasionally. Like I always keep my Balance (Wallet amount) above approx $10 (enough to cover 3 months of usage) to play it safe in order to avoid the balance going to zero because I "forgot" to check my balance for numerous months. Voice Calls via Mobile Connection - US to Thailand (incoming): deducted from Voice 100 free monthly minutes (no Wallet charge) - Thailand to US: $2.39/minute deducted from Wallet (no deduction from free monthly minutes) Note: "incoming" means some other number is calling/texting to your UM number. Voice Calls via Wifi Calling Connection - US to Thailand (incoming): deducted from Voice 100 free monthly minutes (no Wallet charge) - Thailand to US: deducted from Voice 100 free monthly minutes (no Wallet charge) SMS (a.k.a., Text) via Mobile Connection - US to Thailand (incoming): 10 cents charge to Wallet (no deduction in free texts) - Thailand to US: 50 cents/text charged to Wallet (no deduction in free texts) SMS (a.k.a., Text) via Wifi Calling Connection - US to Thailand (incoming): deducted from SMS 100 free monthly texts (no Wallet charge) - Thailand to US: deducted from SMS 100 free monthly texts (no Wallet charge Data via Mobile Connection - Unless on Ultramobile “US/home” network (a.k.a., T-Mobile) where you get 100MB free monthly LTE Data there is no domestic or international Data roaming.

OP, You said the Mastercard debit card costs Bt700 to obtain....where did you get that info? The Bangkok Bank website says Bt100 for initial issue and then a Bt300 annual fee. I have the Mastercard debit card and those are indeed the cost. https://www.bangkokbank.com/en/Personal/Cards/Be1st-Smart-Card/Be1st-Smart-TPN-Mastercard

When doing a SWIFT transfer any type of currency can be transferred....like when you transfer USD from your U.S. bank to your Thai bank. However, although IDD uses SWIFT, the U.S. Treasury/SSA will only transfer baht to Thailand if you sign up for IDD....the SSA will not transfer USD to Thailand using IDD. It's just the way IDD is. If you don't want your monthly payment to arrive in baht at an exchange rate determined by the U.S. Treasury, but want USD instead....then IDD will not work for you. You will need to use the ACH method where the SSA pays USD to any U.S. bank....to include the Bangkok Bank NY branch who relays the payment to your in-Thailand bank acct. But remember, if having the pension sent via ACH to your Bangkok Bank acct a special/restricted acct will be required. Or have the SSA pay your benefit to your current U.S. bank and then you do SWIFT transfer or use a money transfer service like Wise to transfer when when you want to.

As mentioned earlier the U.S. Embassy might send the copies they certify/notarize for you via embassy to embassy diplomatic pouch mail since the Manila SS office is in the US Embassy-Manila....or they may just email/fax the docs to Manila....like govt to govt agency. Can't say for sure exactly what method they use "if" they still do it....they use to several years ago....can't speak to "now." Otherwise you will need to use the methods you mentioned above to mail the docs to Manila if Manila will not accept copies you send via email/fax. And I seriously, seriously doubt the Embassy would send your originals if you asked.....they would only send certified/notarized copies if they still do that. Annually the SSA mails the forms to those folks living in Thailand. To mail them back some people use Regular Airmail for Bt49 (that's what the wife and I do), Registered Airmail for Bt325, or EMS for around BT1,550. While sending via Registered or EMS may give you a warm fuzzy in being able to track their trek back to SSA, Registered Airmail is not faster than Regular Airmail on the average.....I guess EMS takes about a week but it's expensive. Personally I would just use Regular Airmail to send back the 7162....but using Registered Airmail may make you feel more comfortable.

DineshR, Regarding your direct deposit question, for direct deposit two methods/transfer systes are available and different rules apply for each. Various pros and cons apply and I hit on the big ones in paragraphs 1 and 2 below. And typically due to different exchange rates and fees between the two methods if your monthly net payment is approx $1,125 or below you are better off "in terms of the most baht being deposited to your acct" if using the IDD method; if above approx $1,125 ACH is better. More details below. 1. Direct deposit through the Automated Clearing House (ACH) system which can only be made to a bank with an ACH/ABA "routing number." Only one Thai bank has ACH receiving capability and that is Bangkok Bank via their Bangkok Bank New York branch. You do not need an acct at the NY branch you just use their ACH/ABA routing number and your in-Thailand Bangkok Bank branch acct number. But this will be a special/restricted acct for reoccurring U.S. govt pension like SS, mil retirement, etc. The U.S. govt only sends dollars via ACH. Since it will be a special/restricted acct all withdrawals/transfers must be done in-person; no online transfers/withdrawals allow. Nor is a debit card allowed. This would apply to either a baht or FCD acct. There will be two Bangkok Bank transfer fees....a NY branch fee of typically $5 for typical amount of $2K or below or $10 for amounts above $2K. Then there is a in-Thailand branch receiving fee of 0.25% (Bt200min, Bt500 max). Fees mentioned above will "not" appear on your acct "statement or passbook" as they are applied/deducted "before" posting to your acct....this fools some people into thinking no fees were applied but indeed they were. On the day of posting to your acct the exchange rate used is the Bangkok Bank "TT Buying Rate" which is for incoming foreign electronic transfers such as SWIFT/ACH and typically the opening day/0830 rate is used. Now if sending it to a FCD the TT Buying Rate is not used since no currency exchange is being done at that time....some other FCD fees may come into play as FCDs have their own schedule of fees. An ACH transfer is coded as an FTT/International transfer which may be important to you if you plan to use the monthly income/transfer method for annual extension of stay requirements since immigration offices want to see proof the monthly income came from outside Thailand. 2. Direct Deposit via International Direct Deposit (IDD) through the SWIFT system (not ACH system) and can be made to "any" Thai bank....no special/restricted acct required....even if sending to a regular Bangkok Bank baht acct since the SWIFT system vs ACH system is being used. Since it's going to a regular baht acct you can do online transfers/withdrawals/etc....and have a debit card....it's just a regular saving acct. IDD to Thailand only allows the sending of baht; dollars will not be sent. The U.S. govt/Fed Reserve Bank of NY & IDD contractor bank use their own exchange rate several business days before actual payment and send that baht to your Thai bank baht acct via the SWIFT system. Typically there will be one BAHTNET fee of Bt100 and if living outside the metro Bangkok area possibly an interprovince transfer fee of around Bt50-100 depending on the size of your payment. A BAHTNET fee applies since that Thai transfer system is used for the last let of the SWIFT transfer. The two ACH related fees talked in Para 1 above do "not" apply. And just to stress again only baht can be sent when using the IDD; not USD. And an IDD payment will "not" be coded as an international transfer since the last leg of the transfer via BAHTNET makes it appear as a local transfer....it could be important to those wanting "international coding instead. Once again above mentioned fee(s) will "not" appear on your acct statement or passbook it's applied/deducted "before" posting to your acct....this fools some people into thinking no fees were applied but indeed they were. In closing, on the direct deposit methods if SSA requires you to fill out a direct deposit form two different forms are used. For the ACH method the SF1199A is used and Bangkok Bank will have you fill out their own version of it...however, when using the ACH method to send to Bangkok Bank Manila may only ask you via phone/email what is the routing number and acct number to use. However, for the IDD a different form is used....the SSA-1199-OP107 for Thailand and Manila will probably require the form SF1199A https://www.gsa.gov/Forms/TrackForm/32810 SSA-1199-OP107 https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-1199-op107.pdf Cheers.

DineshR, Good to hear your application is moving along. Since you listed your Thailand "residential" address that was probably the primary reason your application has been forwarded to Manila for assistance in processing. Manila may want to do a telephone interview with you and also ask for some docs like maybe your U.S. passport and/or Naturalization Certificate. With the Thailand residential address this will also mean you will get a Are You Dead or Alive 7162 form each year to complete and return. Although you have a social security number and a U.S. citizen with U.S. passport since the SSA and other government agencies like the USCIS, IRS, etc., share little information due to privacy laws and/or IT system that do not interface with each other. So, the SSA may end-up wanting to confirm certain things...like documented proof you are a U.S. citizen proven by providing your "original" U.S. passport and/or Naturalization Certificate OR providing a certified copies instead. This may have been another factor in your application being forwarded to Manila for some assistance. You would mail the originals to Manila and they would return them after review, but if going to the U.S. Embassy-Bangkok or U.S. Consulate-Chiang Mai is not too hard for you either of those places can provide certified/notarized copies for "free" (no $50 fee per notarized doc) in accordance with State Dept regulations since you are applying for a federal benefit like SS pension. All the Embassy/Consulate does it notarize a copy of the docs which satisfies the Manila FBU....and the Embassy/Consulate may even forward those copies to Manila if you desire....they use to forward if requested but I don't know about now. I've been thru this process when I hand-walked two dual citizens (i.e., Thai and U.S,) thru their SS application process with Manila. In both cases Manila required the U.S. passport and/or Naturalization Certificate.....and those applicants did "not" send their original docs to Manila but just the certified/notarized copies. Manila may ask for some other docs. Each person's application and life/work story is different....some are applying on their own earnings records....some on a spouse's earning record.....some of divorced....some are Naturalized citizens....some are not U.S. citizens....some earn benefits from other countries which can complicate an application.....all kinds of possible variations from individuals....this is why we read all these different happy or sad SS pension application stories on social media. Although Manila will not be involved also, you are "definitely better off" having to deal with Manila on this side of the world if needing to provide additional docs as you can email/fax/snail mail the docs to Manila whereas Baltimore on the other side of the word is pretty much "snail mail based" for docs. If having to mail some docs they can get to Manila a lot faster than Baltimore. Once Manila completes their review they will forward the application back to Baltimore for final approval as a formality. Good luck and Cheers, Pib

OP, Your Bangkok Bank acct could still be alive as long as none of the rules posted in Dr Jay's post above came into effect on your acct like due to low balance or inactivity. And when it comes to activity that means account owner generated activity like making a deposit/withdrawal/transfer; it's not bank generated activity like an interest payment, bank fee, etc. Now if you had a debit card with the acct then that means at least a Bt200 fee (maybe Bt300) per year was applied. 2017 to 2022 is 5 years which means around/at least Bt1,000 has been charged against the acct for the annual debit card fee. Interest would have earned just a few baht since interest rates have been very low for the last 5 years or so. So, it sounds like your Aug 2022 balance (if the acct is still active) would have been down to around Bt2,000....maybe a little above or a little below. If a little below the Bt50/month fee may have already kicked-in approx 2022 would start draining the acct by 50/month....Bt600/year. All you can do is contact Bangkok Bank to see if your acct is still alive....you need to provide your passport as ID....don't worry about work permit, visa, etc. You just need the basic passport. If you have renewed your passport since 2017 then you need to take along your old and new passport to easily prove you are the acct owner since the Bangkok Bank computer system and your old bank passbook will still reflect you old passport number. The passport number on the passbook is on the last page and can only be seen when held under a black light. If you no longer have the bank passbook you just need to show-up with passport in hand and see what the bank says. Good luck.

Here's what my pop-up says according to Google Lens translation. As mentioned in my earlier post it only talks the Bangrak Medical Center Building location ceasing the issue of vaccine passports temporarily and when closing that pop-up both the wife and I could book an appt at BIDI in Nanthaburi.....like my booking a few weeks ago and the wife's booking last week for her upcoming 15 Aug appt.

USBank no longer accepts VOIP numbers such as Google Voice to receive Two Factor Authorization codes. More and more companies/banks are slowly not allowing VOIP numbers either for Two Factor Authorization (2FA) purposes and/or for any other purpose. Examples: a VOIP number may be allowed for voice/general info texts but not for 2FA. The VOIP number may not be allowed for any purpose. "It all depends on the company/bank/etc., as to if they accept/allow VOIP numbers" especially for 2FA codes. While these companies/banks may allow a VOIP number for voice calls they may not allow them for 2FA codes....or they simply may not allow VOIP numbers at all. I have quite a few financial/U.S. govt online accts....around a dozen or so......and currently approx 1/3 of them will "not" accept a VOIP number like my Google Voice number. Now 5 years ago they "all" accepted VOIP numbers but "slowly" more and more stopped accepting VOIP numbers either for 2FA codes "or" not accepting them for anything. VOIP numbers have more vulnerabilities than mobile numbers. It's very easy for a company/bank/etc., to "instantly" determine if a number is VOIP, mobile, or landline. They have it built into their security system. Heck, a person like you or me can use websites such as below to enter a number to determine if its VOIP, mobile, or landline. Like below website where I entered one of my Google Voice numbers and it came back with below results saying it was a VOIP number. In closing, it all depends on the company/bank/etc., as to if they partially accept VOIP number for certain tasks or completely reject them. In closing, it all depends on the company/bank/etc., if they accept VOIP numbers. And just because they currently accept VOIP numbers doesn't mean they always will as tomorrow they could possibly change their online security login policies to not allow VOIP numbers. You may or may not get a notice from the bank/company....you many only notice it when 2FA text codes stop arriving although general info texts continue to arrive...you may notice it when first trying to create a new online acct--it all depends on the company/bank/etc. Like I mentioned earlier this has happened to me with about a third of my online financial/US govt accounts over the last 5 years or so. https://www.phonevalidator.com/

I"m assuming you applied online, and if so, the email you got about Baltimore (where International Operations headquarters is) handling your application is all normal. However, Baltimore may still request Manila's involvement "depending" on your application, any questions/additional info required by SSA to finalize your application, etc. But if you are a U.S. citizen by birth and didn't have a complicated work history/earnings record chances are good your application will be approved without additional info/docs required by the SSA.

You have 60 days from the date on the form the SSA sends you. If you do not respond to that notice they send a follow-up which gives you 45 days to respond. If not responding to either your payment will be suspended for the January and forward payment (i.e., no payment occurring on 3 Feb). The Are You Dead or Alive letters frequency depend on which foreign country you are living. It's either an annual or biennial cycle. Thailand is on the annual cycle. And if you are 90 or above you get the letter on an annual basis regardless of foreign country you live in....and there are a few other exceptions which put some folks on an annual cycle. See below SSA weblink/snapshot for details. https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0302655005

When having a foreign address onfile with the SSA are paid on the 3rd of the month regardless of birthday, name, SSN, etc. However, for folks having a U.S. address onfile the payment date get more complicated but is generally based on your birthdate during the month unless you were already drawing benefits before 1 May 1997. Now that does not mean you are paid on your birthday but based on the SSA chart below which works out to four possible dates during the month. . It is not based on last name, SSN, etc. And say you now have a foreign address and getting paid on the 3rd, once/if you move back to the U.S. and provide your U.S. address to the SSA your monthly payment date will be in accordance with below. Move back overseas and you'll be switched back to the 3rd of each month.

No they haven't....if you base that statement on the popup message in Mor Prom that appears when starting an appt booking and getting the same popup message as me it just says the Bangrak Medical Center in central Bangkok is no longer issuing vaccine passports since 1 July due to upcoming automation changes in how vaccine passports are issued. But when closing that popup message you continue on to the booking menu where you "can" still make an appt for BIDI hospital in Nanthaburi. Now if the address you have loaded in your Mor Prom profile is not the metro Bangkok area then you may be offered different appt booking locations. Just a few weeks ago I booked an appt at BIDI in Nanthaburi to have a new vaccine passport issued....and last week the wife booked an appt for this coming 15 Aug for a new vaccine passport. And I checked Mor Prom just a few minutes ago and a person can still book appt for BIDI after closing that popup message talking about the Bangrak location no longer being available due to soon to come automation changes in getting vaccine passports. And if you don't want a paper vaccine passport you can book only an International Certificate/QR code issue/update which is issued on Mor Prom a day or two later...no need to travel anywhere....but that is only a Int'l Certificate update....you will not get the paper passport. If you get a new/update paper vaccine passport then an Int'l Certificate is automatically generated also. See my post just above for more details.

I can't speak to what different hospitals may issues....but I'm pretty sure it varies from hospital to hospital as to what they are authorized to issue/update. Some can update vaccine passports....others refer you to some govt hospital/agency. For the wife and I we have always used the Mor Prom app to get our yellow vaccine passport issued and/or updated......and when doing this an International Certificate/QR code is automatically issued/updated in Mor Prom. Just a few weeks ago I used Mor Prom to book an appointment on 1 Aug to have a new vaccine passport issued as I had just renewed my passport....they issued a new vaccine passport with my new passport number and also reflecting my 4th jab I had got about a month ago. Upon getting this vaccine passport my International Certificate/QR code on Mor Prom was automatically updated. And early this week the wife booked an appt for this Monday/15 Aug to get a new vaccine passport to reflect her new Thai passport and also to reflect her 4th jab she got last month. A new International Certificate/QR code will be automatically generated in this process. Since the wife and I live in Bangkok and that's the address we have loaded in our Mor Prom profiles whenever we start the process to book an appt to update our vaccine passport we are offered two locations of the Bamasnaraddura infectious Diseases Institute ( BIDI) which is a govt hospital in Nanathaburi which is the one we use for this process since it pretty easy for us to go to.....OR, the Division Communicable Diseases that use to be in the Bangrak Medical Center Building on Silom Rd in central Bangkok but the Bangrak location closed o/a 1 July. I expect that what locations a person is offered in this booking process may vary depending the their profile in Mor Prom. Now that the Bangrak Medical Center is no longer open...it closed for vaccine passport issue o/a 1 July 2022. When the wife or I start the booking process a "popup appears which states the center is not longer available for vaccine passport due to coming automation changes/upgrades in the issues of vaccine passports. Then once you close that popup message you can look for available appointments at the BIDI in Nonthaburi and Bangrad Med Center in Bangkok....however, the Bangrad selection stopped showing any available appts o/a 1 July; however the BIDI still shows appts. The Mor Prom app programmers should remove the Bangrad Med Center as choice since it no longer open, but for whatever reason it still offered but with no appts available. In fact just before posting this response here on this 11 Aug/Thursday night I opened up Mor Prom, started a booking process and BIDI showed appts for 16 thru 31 August....they will not show September appts until all/most of the August appointment at used up. But no appts available for the Bangrak Med Center since it closed for vaccine passport issues/update.