theoldgit

And all the police officers based outside never noticed anything?

What form do I need to complete from the British embassy website?

It's all here http://ukinthailand.fco.gov.uk/en/passport...ing-in-thailand

With the form being here http://ukinthailand.fco.gov.uk/en/passports/passport-forms

You might want to note that the Consular Section is closed next Monday and Tuesday, 8th & 9th.

^^ Read my post. There's NO restriction on anyone sending their UK passport back to the UK to get it renewed. I see any increased cost in obtaining a new passport overseas as a 'convenience fee'. So you pay more than you would filing it over the counter at the Post Office back home, but you DON'T have to fly to the Post Office to do it.

You may be getting confused with Thai Immigration's prohibition on sending your passport out of the country for a new Thai visa whilst physically remaining inside Thailand. That's illegal.

So now that the convenience has gone, you are saying that you are sure I can send my passport to the UK for renewal, given that I have got to send it overseas anyway?

By the way, I was not getting confused I had always believed you were not allowed to send a passport overseas, though I may have been wrong in my understanding.

This always makes me laugh, its more expensive as you are living abroad, if you want it cheaper go back to the UK for an holiday and renew it then. But remember its going to cost you 500 quid for a flight.

So renew it on a scheduled holiday, not that difficult.

That's the point I was making, Not that difficult to understand........

Sorry I didn't understand the point you were making, maybe I'm just thick.

I didn't understand why you needed to factor in the £500 for the flight when you had probably costed it into the price of the holiday, as I say I am probably a bit thick and missed your point.

I have always understood that you were not allowed to post passports overseas, that's why we were previously forced to renew a passport in your current country of residence, and pay the inflated price.

As we will now have to arrange to send our old passport to Hong Kong I cannot see how the Passport Agency could justify declining to issue a passport in The UK, at The UK price, and allow it to be DHL'd to Thailand - though I suspect they will find a reason.

We went to South Korea last year and my girlfriend certainly didn't need a visa and had no hassle on arrival, has this changed?

As from March 8th you will need to apply to Hong Kong for a new passport.

Not entirely correct. The paperwork exercise can be done in BKK and handed into the passport section at the Embassy. The processing thereafter will be dealt with in Hong Kong. The new passport can be collected as usual in BKK.

Sorry, but they have not said that.

The information on the website states that from 8th March applications will be processed in Hong Kong and until that date applications can be handed in at Bangkok. Nowhere does it say that after that date you will be able to hand an application in and collect your new passport in Bangkok. Whilst full details of the process have not been published yet, they do say that you must factor in the cost of secure delivery of the application and for the secure return of your passport, they would hardly say that if you can hand in and collect from Bangkok. The new arrangements are already in place in other countries, certainly in Malaysia you are required to send the application to Hong Kong together with the fee in Hong Kong Dollars.

I would like to be proved wrong, but I suspect I will not be.

As from March 8th you will need to apply to Hong Kong for a new passport.

30 days on arrival, we went on Wednesday not a word said to my gf, she was just stamped in for 30 days.

It seems that they don't trust the postal service either and recommend that you send it by DHL or the like, so the idea is to cut down on admin costs, but of course make sure the good old UK Citizen, sorry "Customer" has to pay more. I estimate that the cost, passport fee, courier fee to and from Hong Kong and the cost of a draft will make the cost of a 40 page passport in the region of £200, up from £150 applying in Bangkok.

You can pay by Credit Card or Bankers Draft, more expenses.

They suggest you allow four weeks, double the ten days.

So we already pay more for the convenience of renewing our passports overseas, for what exactly?

I flew in yesterday and as normal joined my partner in the Thai line, she always asks if it's ok, the Foreign Passport line was really long. A female supervisor came up to me and spoke in Thai, when I answered in English she said I could only join this line if I spoke Thai - she then burst of laughing, and we had a chat.

A really charming lady, I don't suppose for one minute she will read this, but why cannot it always be like that?

I would renew mine in UK but aren't there regulations about having so many months validity remaining when exiting a country.

I have heard of people not being allowed to fly because they only have a few months left on their passport.

No, some countries will only allow you to enter if you have six months remaining not leaving. You can enter the UK with one day remaining, in fact I think you can enter on an expired passport.

My main concern is sending my passport to Hong Kong, relying on the postal service both ways and being without a passport for the duration of the process, though I will obviously have a copy.

I intend to renew my passport when I am in the UK, it's also cheaper though I am not sure what happens to my Thai re-entry permit.

By the way it's nothing to do with improving the service it's a cost cutting exercise, the Bangkok Embassy is reducing it's staffing complement by three. And for those who talk about highly paid pen pushers, it's worth noting that most staff are locally employed and paid in the region of 25-30,000 Baht per month.

^^^^

That's why I said renew it on a scheduled trip.

This always makes me laugh, its more expensive as you are living abroad, if you want it cheaper go back to the UK for an holiday and renew it then. But remember its going to cost you 500 quid for a flight.

So renew it on a scheduled holiday, not that difficult.

Thai friend uses http://flight.tvairbookings.com/TVAirWeb/index.aspx?lang=en

for years says there the best..

Sent them an email yesterday, they replied within 30 mins.

I always thought they were good, I called into one of their branches a couple of weeks ago to book flights for Singapore, I was particularly interested in the Cathay Pacific flights. They told me the dates I wanted were completely sold out and tried to sell me Singapore Airlines and Thai flights at almost double the price. Thought I would check with the Cathay website, the cheap fare was available and booked within a couple of minutes.

I'm sure, as with a lot of companies, the service is hit and miss and dependent on who you deal with, and whilst I am glad you and your friend have had good experiences, it certainly pays to check what you are being told.

Whenever you apply for a tourist visa the reason to return is one of the most important things the applicant needs to convince the ECO. I am not sure what your girlfriends circumstances are but if she is relying on employment for a reason to return a six month holiday could well ring alarm bells.

That said, the answers given by mark515 are sound and there is nothing to stop her applying but as he says be honest. It is particularly important that she gives the correct details of the trip, if she wants six months then say so, if she pitches up at Heathrow having indicated that she was coming for three months, still a long holiday, and the IO ascertained she was coming for six, she could be refused entry, it's unlikely but possible.

They say you can apply by email - not so according to the desk at Swarnabhumi. I had to get a tax refund on three sectors that I missed and was told to apply at their desk when I transited. Fairly simple process, the lady filled in the details, took a copy of the passport and handed me a copy - told that expect the amount to be credited back to the card in 30 days.

Would know of the status of the refund in two weeks time when it is due to be credited.

Did you get your refund?

I have sent three emails so far, which have all been ignored.

I am flying from Suvarnabhumi tomorrow so guess I will ask at the desk.

wow ur a picky b......, its no so long a flight to the land of smiles......... will u watch tv when u are here?

Hardly being picky, I personally consider 11/12 hours stuck in a Thai bone rattler with little or no entertainment quite daunting, that's one of the reasons I don't fly Thai any more, coupled with their prices.

Thai seem to have got the message, well at least as far as entertainment goes, they recently announced they will be upgrading their entertainment systems.

Not really sure what watching tv when in Thailand has got anything to do with entertainment on flights though.

I could be in a similar position with my UK passport, I am considering renewing it when I'm next in the UK, as it's much cheaper.

I just wondered with my extention of stay and re-entry permit in my old passport would it be problem free enough to justify the effort, or should I renew in Thailand and save the hassle whilst paying the UK Government more than I need?

Surprising they have ANY passengers with the high fares they charge. So many better airlines (newer aircraft / modern inflight entertainment) to choose from and most are cheaper. How long before Thai Airways goes the same way as JAL??

They seem to be determined to charge high prices and don't seem to be bothered that a large number of regular fliers are moving to other carriers.

Maybe the people in their lounges are Star Alliance passengers, you can even use their lounges, even if not a Gold Card holder, by holding some credit cards or even by using your Thai miles.

It's at the new Central Festival Shopping Centre though not sure if it's open yet.

Yes, they come into force in April, and they do not need to wait for Parliamentary approval to implement them.

Don't expect the Tories to reduce them if and when they get in later in the year, as 7by7 pointed out earlier very few voters in The UK give a stuff about the high level of charges for visas, I think most voters see high fees as a way of stemming the flow of immigration to the UK, and a way of reducing their tax liability. And make no mistake the high fees for relatives are aimed at the extended families from the Indian Sub Continent, but we all suffer as a result.

If the lady concerned, who is apparently now going to Egypt, is married to a non French EU National, she can travel to France, visa free, providing she is traveling with her husband, has a valid travel document and a valid UK residence permit with the endorsement "family member of EEA national" (this endorsement is compulsory to be visa exempted).

This is the relevant link, hope it helps.

http://www.ambafrance-uk.org/Family-member...n-European.html

Of course this would not have helped the OP as his children would have still required a visa.

May I respectfully make one more point, the OP, who lives in England with his family, was seeking advice on a holiday destination near England, and somebody suggests Vietnam!

Hi oldgit,

Its true what Ray23 says and 99% right what dave suspects, Ive lived in Namsom 3 years now with the mrs, yes, she has the best beauty salon which does all, Sauna,massage,manicure,pedicure,haircut/styling,mudpack facials,hair dyes,wedding preparation,[early morning} unwanted hair removal,peg leg waxing, you name it, she does it,,

Our farm, its now totally organic, the main fruit now are bananas, next month will be Tamarind, some Papaya,we gave up on corn because of the labour costs to pick and process these,

I have my falang friends, Mark & Mike, english, Dennis, irish, Emil german, and every friday night, mrs will cook fish & chips with parsley sauce or mushy peas, @ a cost of 100bht per per person, she does a good assortment of western foods, but sausage egg & chips with bread and butter is a great favorite!!

Namsom, its a town of 8500 registered people, it probably exceeds that by 20%, the temple in the lake is really great, its been improved over the last 18 months with a supporting concrete wall around it, all done by local fund raising, same as the temple opposite our house, new dormitory & school being funded by locals having parties etc, Mrs has a lot to do with this,

Its a farming community, not much goes on here, what ive found is that peace of mind and an ability to be happy whatever the circumstances will contribute to my well-being,

So Oldgit, if you come to Namsom again, do drop in, just need 2 hours notice if you want fish& chips or any other easy falang food, that invite goes to all who wish to visit Namsom,

Cheers, Lickey & Pan,,

Good afternoon Lickey

We are driving to Namsom next month, the 18th, so I intend to to pop join your swaree on 19th if that's ok. I want to explore the area for a couple of days before driving back to Bangkok on 22nd.

At some stage I will need to make my mind up if I can live in the sticks.

Looking forward to meeting you all.

When you enter Regent House look at the first floor balcony ahead of you, that's where you need to be.

Go up the stairs and turn right, if one on the cowboys hasn't tried to nab you at the entrance there will be some more lurking here. The VFS office is on the right and there will be a security guard outside, checking you in, the VFS office is clearly marked.

The cowboys are in an office just to the left of VFS, they are very convincing. Remember VFS staff are in uniform, so no uniform it's not VFS and walk out.