Advice sought on UK passport renewal for those living in Thailand

[Bangkok Barry]

 

Reading the UK government guidelines for renewing a passport that is close to full, it appears that I must make an appointment and attend an office in Bangkok in person. Then once the new passport is ready a further trip to the office in Bangkok is needed unless someone can be authorised to collect it for me (there isn't anyone).

 

Surely there must be another way for anyone living in the provinces many hundreds of kilometres from Bangkok. I'm in Kalasin province, around 600 kms away = 2400 kms for two round trips.

[bert bloggs]

its such a pain in the arse , if you fly to the UK ever ,just renew it there , it was much easier .

[petermik]

No alternative...that is the script,did it myself earlier this year.....luckily I live in Pattaya

[simon43]

Same procedure for me in Myanmar.  Two round trips of similar distance as you, plus night in a hotel in Yangon etc.  

[NanLaew]

Sent you a PM.

[Eff1n2ret]

2 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

Surely there must be another way for anyone living in the provinces many hundreds of kilometres from Bangkok. I'm in Kalasin province, around 600 kms away = 2400 kms for two round trips.

Unfortunately there isn't another way - unless there is an authorised agent in your area, there are a couple in Pattaya. My wife and I went up there from Rayong this week to renew her passport. It wasn't too bad, because we combined it with a convivial evening with some of her family, but the real bummer is the thought of having to go again to collect the passport. It's no answer to say it can be collected by an authorised person, someone's got to go. Given that the same agency in Trendy Tower also handles visa applications and offers a postal service to those applicants, I'm struggling to understand why they can't do the same for UK passports.

I'm waiting until the memsahib has her new passport, then I will be writing to HMPO to complain about this, as well as another matter. I suggest that if enough of us do, they might do something about it.

[Bangkok Barry]

I wrote to the office to ask if there was a solution and received this reply with several errors in grammar, including the use of 'correction' instead of 'collection' and a change of font along the way. A perfect indication of the level to which the UK has sunk.

 

If you are not available you can send your application and all supporting documents through the 3rd party for apply on your behalf. However, the responsibility to ensure completeness and correctness of all application documents remains with the applicant. Incomplete applications will not be accepted for processing

 

For correction passport you can authorize someone to collect on your behalf by provide a receipt document, your old passport and authority letter for collection. You can come on Monday-Friday at 09.00-15.00 hours. No need to book appointment.

Edited September 29, 2017 by Bangkok Barry

[norfolkandchance]

3 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

Reading the UK government guidelines for renewing a passport that is close to full, it appears that I must make an appointment and attend an office in Bangkok in person. Then once the new passport is ready a further trip to the office in Bangkok is needed unless someone can be authorised to collect it for me (there isn't anyone).

 

Surely there must be another way for anyone living in the provinces many hundreds of kilometres from Bangkok. I'm in Kalasin province, around 600 kms away = 2400 kms for two round trips.

Check out the UK website UKGov passports (renew). You should be able to apply on line and then download a declaration form and send it with required documents to HMPO.

I lost my passport in Italy a few months ago. Cost was just over £100 which included the return courier fee. Took 3 weeks and that included 2 weeks mail in the post.Very efficient service. Hope this helps. Cheers

[Carlosm]

Is this the same procedure for applying for renewal of a  10yr passport that is about to expire ? I thought you had to mail it to the UK and Bangkok had stopped doing passport.... though its been a while since i checked and mine runs out next year.

Plus, how long before it runs out should i apply ?

 

Sorry if its slightly of topic but you got me worried .....

[ubonjoe]

7 minutes ago, Carlosm said:

Is this the same procedure for applying for renewal of a  10yr passport that is about to expire ? I thought you had to mail it to the UK and Bangkok had stopped doing passport.... though its been a while since i checked and mine runs out next year.

Plus, how long before it runs out should i apply ?

 

Sorry if its slightly of topic but you got me worried .....

Since 2014 when they stopped the mail in applications  you have to submit your application in Bangkok. Go through the steps here for info. https://www.gov.uk/overseas-passports

You can apply as early as you want to. They will add up to 9 months of passport validity left on the old one to the new one when it is issued.

Best not to wait any later than 2 months before it expires. The normal suggestion is to get a new one before it has less than 6 months since many countries require at least 6 months of validity on entry.

[nss70]

I have renewed my passport from Spain twice before, using the online system. It was efficient, easy and fast.

I just went on again as "applying from Thailand" and the system was quite happy to go through exactly the same process i.e. by post/courier directly to N. Ireland.

Cost is £108 approx. including the return courier.

Just leave enough validity for all eventualities and there shouldn't be a problem. Certainly much easier than a double trip to BBK.

[Eff1n2ret]

1 hour ago, norfolkandchance said:

Check out the UK website UKGov passports (renew). You should be able to apply on line and then download a declaration form and send it with required documents to HMPO.

I lost my passport in Italy a few months ago. Cost was just over £100 which included the return courier fee. Took 3 weeks and that included 2 weeks mail in the post.Very efficient service. Hope this helps. Cheers

It doesn't help, if you're in Thailand. The OP is just in the process of discovering the dismal truth about the process to which we are subjected here. 

Ubonjoe is quite correct to suggest that anyone whose UK passport is due to expire in the next 9 months should do so as early as possible, as the airlines get a bit twitchy if you're travelling on one with less than 6 months' validity, as my wife found on our recent trip to and from the UK - no serious problem, they just stand you aside at the boarding gate for extra checks. As we were there for less than 2 weeks, it wasn't practical to try and renew it whilst we were there, but the advice to do so if at all possible is good.

[Oxx]

5 hours ago, bert bloggs said:

its such a pain in the arse , if you fly to the UK ever ,just renew it there , it was much easier .

 

It can also be a pain in the arse doing it in London.

 

Earlier this year I made an appointment for the express, 4 hours, service, in London costing an arm and a leg.

 

To start with, there's nowhere to wait inside before your appointment.  Not much fun when it's pouring with rain.

 

Then when they checked my documents I was asked "Was this photograph taken abroad?"  Yes it was, and as such it was unacceptable.  Both photograph kiosks on the same level were broken, so I had to exit the building, pay steeply for more photographs, and then go through security again.

 

After resubmitting my documents I came back after 4 hours.  Passport not ready.  Come back in an hour.

 

An hour later I went back, and was told there was a problem.  On my application form I'd stated my title (Dr.).  They needed to know whether I wanted my title to appear on my passport.  (Why on earth couldn't they have 'phoned me to ask?)  I was then told someone would 'phone me in about 40 minutes to say the passport was ready.  Two hours passed.  No 'phone call.  I went back.

 

There was further pfaffing around.  The "Information" Desk initially couldn't tell me what was going on.  Eventually they decided I needed to speak to "Alan" in a different part of the building, and was told he was an "Asian" gentleman.  (Not much help.  I didn't see a single white face amongst the staff there.)

 

Alan was able to help, and 8 hours into what was supposed to be a four hours process, I eventually got my passport.

 

The initial 4 hours wait wasn't too bad.  Went to the V&A.  But the second 4 hours was all in short-ish bursts of waiting, and was spent in the Weatherspoons at Victoria Station downing a pint or two too many.

 

Of course, no apology for the atrocious service.

[Carlosm]

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

Since 2014 when they stopped the mail in applications  you have to submit your application in Bangkok. Go through the steps here for info. https://www.gov.uk/overseas-passports

You can apply as early as you want to. They will add up to 9 months of passport validity left on the old one to the new one when it is issued.

Best not to wait any later than 2 months before it expires. The normal suggestion is to get a new one before it has less than 6 months since many countries require at least 6 months of validity on entry.

Thanks !

[Bangkok Barry]

2 hours ago, norfolkandchance said:

Check out the UK website UKGov passports (renew). You should be able to apply on line and then download a declaration form and send it with required documents to HMPO.

I lost my passport in Italy a few months ago. Cost was just over £100 which included the return courier fee. Took 3 weeks and that included 2 weeks mail in the post.Very efficient service. Hope this helps. Cheers

Different rules apply to different countries, and the UKGov website guides you to the rules for each country. I'm assuming that Thailand is high risk for some reason and so everyone is asked to attend an interview, even to renew a filled passport.

[Bangkok Barry]

47 minutes ago, nss70 said:

I have renewed my passport from Spain twice before, using the online system. It was efficient, easy and fast.

I just went on again as "applying from Thailand" and the system was quite happy to go through exactly the same process i.e. by post/courier directly to N. Ireland.

Cost is £108 approx. including the return courier.

Just leave enough validity for all eventualities and there shouldn't be a problem. Certainly much easier than a double trip to BBK.

This is not the info given on the UKGov website I used and referred to in posting #10 above. Can you provide the link please. The info I and others who commented find this info there (my Bold type):

Making your application

You must apply in person. If you’re unable to, someone else can go on your behalf. You must bring photo ID with you.

Bring original supporting documents and a colour photocopy of each one. The original documents will be returned to you.

You must also bring your current passport with you when you apply, and a full colour photocopy of the entire passport (every page including blank pages).

You can’t travel with it after you’ve applied for a new one - but you will be able to keep your existing passport for ID purposes.

You’ll need to book an appointment by email. Include your first name and last name and 3 alternative dates and times. You will receive an email confirming your appointment.

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

Email: [email protected]

[ubonjoe]

13 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

Different rules apply to different countries, and the UKGov website guides you to the rules for each country. I'm assuming that Thailand is high risk for some reason and so everyone is asked to attend an interview, even to renew a filled passport.

Back in 2014 the reasons given were that Thailand required you to have your passport at all times. That meant that you could not send both passports when the renewal was done and the concern with that was that the existing passport would not be physically canceled by a stamp and/or the corners being cut off. Apparently they had some cases of people using a canceled passport or it being forged after being sold or disposed of improperly.

[Paul Laycock1]

I renewed mine by sending necessary documents to Hong Kong, took about three weeks. This was back in 2013 and not sure if this option is still available.

Try Google, renewing a passport while abroad. You should find all the necessary forms and instructions.

Probably better than a nightmare journey.

[Eff1n2ret]

1 minute ago, Paul Laycock1 said:

 

I renewed mine by sending necessary documents to Hong Kong, took about three weeks. This was back in 2013 and not sure if this option is still available.

 

It isn't

[Jip99]

6 hours ago, petermik said:

No alternative...that is the script,did it myself earlier this year.....luckily I live in Pattaya

 

 

The alternative, if you don't want to go to Bangkok (twice) is to instruct a third party to do it for you.

 

Obviously, a cost to that....... but an option for those wishing to avoid the Big Mango.

[Bangkok Barry]

12 minutes ago, Paul Laycock1 said:

I renewed mine by sending necessary documents to Hong Kong, took about three weeks. This was back in 2013 and not sure if this option is still available.

Try Google, renewing a passport while abroad. You should find all the necessary forms and instructions.

Probably better than a nightmare journey.

It isn't, and the UKGov website is probably the authority rather than Google. But thanks for your suggestion anyway. The 'Big G' often provides the answers.

[norfolkandchance]

51 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Back in 2014 the reasons given were that Thailand required you to have your passport at all times. That meant that you could not send both passports when the renewal was done and the concern with that was that the existing passport would not be physically canceled by a stamp and/or the corners being cut off. Apparently they had some cases of people using a canceled passport or it being forged after being sold or disposed of improperly.

Sorry I got the wrong end of the stick. Should have read all the pages referring to Thailand on the UKGov site.

Could the OP if he had friends or family in Uk apply from there ? Maybe the time scale would be restrictive.

[Bangkok Barry]

18 minutes ago, norfolkandchance said:

Sorry I got the wrong end of the stick. Should have read all the pages referring to Thailand on the UKGov site.

Could the OP if he had friends or family in Uk apply from there ? Maybe the time scale would be restrictive.

I could if I make a visit back there but that isn't a walk in the park either, as post #13 indicated, even with their 'premium service'.

I expect to be in Bangkok en-route back home from Dubai in early March anyway so I would be able to make the application then, and just have to make one return trip a month later to collect. So I'll only need to make one 1200 km round trip to spend one minute collecting my passport, because they don't have the wherewithal to use a courier service as they used to do when the application was made through Hong Kong.

Edited September 29, 2017 by Bangkok Barry

[Jip99]

6 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

I could if I make a visit back there but that isn't a walk in the park either, as post #13 indicated, even with their 'premium service'.

I expect to be in Bangkok en-route back home from Dubai in early March anyway so I would be able to make the application then, and just have to make one return trip a month later to collect. Only one 1200 km round trip to spend one minute collecting my passport, because they don't have the wherewithal to use a courier service. How quaint the UK system is.

 

You don't have to do that.....

[Eff1n2ret]

31 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

they don't have the wherewithal to use a courier service

But they still charge for one. The base price for a UK passport is £72.50. An overseas application costs £83, and then on top of that they add the £23.01 "courier fee". 

[ubonjoe]

3 minutes ago, Eff1n2ret said:

But they still charge for one. The base price for a UK passport is £72.50. An overseas application costs £83, and then on top of that they add the £23.01 "courier fee". 

That is for the sending the application to the UK and the new passport back to here.

I think he meant from Bangkok to his home which is not possible since they want the old passport to cancel it when the new one is picked up.

[Oxx]

1 hour ago, Eff1n2ret said:

But they still charge for one. The base price for a UK passport is £72.50. An overseas application costs £83, and then on top of that they add the £23.01 "courier fee". 

 

Given that they send probably dozens of passports from the UK to Bangkok daily, why can't they put them in the same package and charge a fraction of the current courier fee? Is there a single functioning brain at the FCO?

[jacko45k]

13 hours ago, Oxx said:

The initial 4 hours wait wasn't too bad.  Went to the V&A.  But the second 4 hours was all in short-ish bursts of waiting, and was spent in the Weatherspoons at Victoria Station downing a pint or two too many.

Blimey, I would have ended up blotto on the Abbots.

Was the photographer giving kickbacks then?

 

 

[StevieAus]

Late last year we obtained a U.K. Passport for our baby daughter it was her first one.

As we live in the North it would have involved an overnight stay plus airfares etc for two trips

We used an agent who advertised on this site very happy with the service

 

[Carlosm]

7 minutes ago, StevieAus said:

Late last year we obtained a U.K. Passport for our baby daughter it was her first one.

As we live in the North it would have involved an overnight stay plus airfares etc for two trips

We used an agent who advertised on this site very happy with the service

 

Who was the agent ?