15 hours ago, Will27 said:

My experience is different to yours then.

 

When I renewed my passport at the embassy, they asked if I wanted the new one it sent to me or did I want to pick it up.

When I requested it be sent, they clipped a corner off of the cover of the passport and provided me with a letter saying

I was applying for a new one.

 

You can also use other ID such as a drivers licence for domestic travel.

Well now,I asked for the Passport to send to me,, The Thai lady(not anAustralian)She spoke pretty good English (not Australian) said I cancel you're Passport than now. I said than I can't travel with a cancelled Passport, cause I don't know Jack Shit,and she didn't know Jack either.  so she Said ,you have to pickup Passport.. So I got to go and Pick it up

2 hours ago, a977 said:

This is going to be interesting as I get taxi from Pattaya to Embassy an return when I go to get my income notarised, normally a 2 1/2hour trip to Embassy but who knows with Bangkok traffic, what if I'm late for appointment do I have to make another appointment or if I'm early who is going to pay taxi to sit around and wait? To get paper witnessed takes less than 5 mins and as commented above hardly anyone ever there, the hardest part is going through all the bullshite to get to the counter so they can rip you off for1700baht

When you make the appointment they even ask you to be there 10 minutes early. If it did happen that you were late you could book another one while you're still in the taxi to coincide fairly closely with your arrival time. At 10:30 am today I checked for available appointments, and there was still 9 slots available, the first being 11:15 am. This might be only a temporary thing as most applicants are probably not aware of this new system that has only been in place for 1 week. Maybe in a month or two, we'll have to book days or weeks in advance.

 

Just a few more details I've noticed: You can only book appointments up to 2 months in advance. There are 22 slots daily, with none from 12:15 pm to 1:45 pm, and the last one is 3:15 pm. They finish at 3:30 pm and take 1 1/2 hours break for lunch. 

30 minutes ago, digger70 said:

Well now,I asked for the Passport to send to me,, The Thai lady(not anAustralian)She spoke pretty good English (not Australian) said I cancel you're Passport than now. I said than I can't travel with a cancelled Passport, cause I don't know Jack Shit,and she didn't know Jack either.  so she Said ,you have to pickup Passport.. So I got to go and Pick it up

I'm pretty sure you can use a cancelled passport for ID purposes for domestic travel.

 

The lady who dealt with me was Thai also, not that it matters TBH.

7 hours ago, Will27 said:

I'm pretty sure you can use a cancelled passport for ID purposes for domestic travel.

 

The lady who dealt with me was Thai also, not that it matters TBH.

You ask, I did, One Can't travel Anywhere with an Canceled Passport,,,, That was the problem,,,,As for the lady being Thai,,, she should've Known.I did see about ten Australian people enter the Embassy,,, No Australian people serving ,they were all Behind the office  walls,,, Australian Embassy???

7 hours ago, tropo said:

When you make the appointment they even ask you to be there 10 minutes early. If it did happen that you were late you could book another one while you're still in the taxi to coincide fairly closely with your arrival time. At 10:30 am today I checked for available appointments, and there was still 9 slots available, the first being 11:15 am. This might be only a temporary thing as most applicants are probably not aware of this new system that has only been in place for 1 week. Maybe in a month or two, we'll have to book days or weeks in advance.

 

Just a few more details I've noticed: You can only book appointments up to 2 months in advance. There are 22 slots daily, with none from 12:15 pm to 1:45 pm, and the last one is 3:15 pm. They finish at 3:30 pm and take 1 1/2 hours break for lunch. 

Don't forget the Passport application side is only open from 8.30 Am Till 12,,,,,,, Not in the Afternoon,,,,

14 hours ago, digger70 said:

Don't forget the Passport application side is only open from 8.30 Am Till 12,,,,,,, Not in the Afternoon,,,,

Thanks for bringing that to our attention. That's very poor service and will be inconvenient for many.

Just a warning not to go early and expect to relax at the Embassy awaiting your appointment time. I went early today and had to wait 30 minutes outside. They don't let anyone in until 30 minutes before their scheduled appointment time (they are strict to the minute) so you have to sit outside and wait. There isn't any coffee shop or any place nearby to relax. They have one bench which will seat 4 people, and that's it - you're staring at a wall (building site opposite the embassy - One Bangkok) until the let you in. This all seems rather excessive and quite unnecessary considering the consular services room is a big room with 24 seats to accommodate people who are waiting. Also, bring your own drinking water as there is none available inside.

 

Things will change in 2 or 3 years time when One Bangkok is completed. They'll be nice shops and restaurants to explore while you're waiting.

On 7/11/2018 at 2:11 PM, steve C said:

And for those who may have seen the documentary on Australian Embassy where the  young Australian couple had had everything stolen from them in Bangkok only to be told there was nothing the Australian embassy could do to help even though they still had a credit card. Well on this occasion my son, his wife and new born baby were there and they helped by handing over a considerable amount of cash to help which was put straight back into my sons account. Yeah thanks a lot for looking after Australians abroad.

Sadly, Australian embassies aren't the only ones that give a rat's ass about their citizens. Other Western countries' embassies are the same... 

Edited July 14, 20187 yr by StayinThailand2much

Any recommended hotels within walking distance of the embassy? 

Just for information about passport photos. I was at the embassy yesterday and had all the paperwork to renew my passport. I got photos taken at 2 different shops just to be on he safe side, one place near the embassy and the other near Nana. Girl at embassy said one was a little dark and the other maybe a little too light. I asked if they recommended any photo shops. They gave me a map to one they recommend which is near the old embassy apparently. They told me to specifically say it was for Oz passport. I did state that with the other 2 shops I went to ththe day before but maybe they’re not into speed on the Oz requirements. Motorbike taxi outside the embassy to the shop and he waited for me, 100baht for taxi.  Back to embassy and handed in new photos. I could see a slight difference in contrast but not much. Anyway they accepted the photos and I will pick up passport in 3 weeks. 

This is the place they recommend so just maybe it will save someone else any hassle. The girl and the rest of the staff in the embassy where very friendly and helpful. 

On 7/14/2018 at 11:48 AM, Tongjaw said:

Any recommended hotels within walking distance of the embassy? 

Malaysia Hotel is 2 kilometers from the Embassy. 900 baht a night

 

http://www.malaysiahotelbkk.com/

Edited July 18, 20187 yr by KhunAussie52

1 hour ago, KhunAussie52 said:

Malaysia Hotel is 2 kilometers from the Embassy. 900 baht a night

 

http://www.malaysiahotelbkk.com/

http://www.pinnaclehotels.com/lumpinee/

 

700m from the Embassy and about 200m from the Lumpinee MRT station.

4 hours ago, Tongjaw said:

Just for information about passport photos. I was at the embassy yesterday and had all the paperwork to renew my passport. I got photos taken at 2 different shops just to be on he safe side, one place near the embassy and the other near Nana. Girl at embassy said one was a little dark and the other maybe a little too light. I asked if they recommended any photo shops. They gave me a map to one they recommend which is near the old embassy apparently. They told me to specifically say it was for Oz passport. I did state that with the other 2 shops I went to ththe day before but maybe they’re not into speed on the Oz requirements. Motorbike taxi outside the embassy to the shop and he waited for me, 100baht for taxi.  Back to embassy and handed in new photos. I could see a slight difference in contrast but not much. Anyway they accepted the photos and I will pick up passport in 3 weeks. 

This is the place they recommend so just maybe it will save someone else any hassle. The girl and the rest of the staff in the embassy where very friendly and helpful. 

 

You can have them mailed too, which is generally a much more convenient option. They will cut your current passport when you apply. 

1 hour ago, tropo said:

You can have them mailed too, which is generally a much more convenient option. They will cut your current passport when you apply. 

Yes the lady told me they can but I need to travel to Singapore for a week so need my passport. 

1 hour ago, Tongjaw said:

Yes the lady told me they can but I need to travel to Singapore for a week so need my passport. 

That's a good point - you never know if you need it or not over the 3 week wait period. Probably better to have it than not, but I don't enjoy 5 hours on the bus (including BTS, taxis etc), so I do it the lazy way.

On 7/18/2018 at 8:36 PM, tropo said:

That's a good point - you never know if you need it or not over the 3 week wait period. Probably better to have it than not, but I don't enjoy 5 hours on the bus (including BTS, taxis etc), so I do it the lazy way.

I wonder if they will post it to you if you say you have lost your passport?

 

Then he could have used his old one to fly to Singapore in the interim. Hard to believe I'm thinking of sneaky ways to rort the system after what I've just been through.

On 7/18/2018 at 1:01 PM, Tongjaw said:

Just for information about passport photos. I was at the embassy yesterday and had all the paperwork to renew my passport. I got photos taken at 2 different shops just to be on he safe side, one place near the embassy and the other near Nana. Girl at embassy said one was a little dark and the other maybe a little too light. I asked if they recommended any photo shops. They gave me a map to one they recommend which is near the old embassy apparently. They told me to specifically say it was for Oz passport. I did state that with the other 2 shops I went to ththe day before but maybe they’re not into speed on the Oz requirements. Motorbike taxi outside the embassy to the shop and he waited for me, 100baht for taxi.  Back to embassy and handed in new photos. I could see a slight difference in contrast but not much. Anyway they accepted the photos and I will pick up passport in 3 weeks. 

This is the place they recommend so just maybe it will save someone else any hassle. The girl and the rest of the staff in the embassy where very friendly and helpful. 

 

When I got my new passport 2 years ago at the old embassy, every Aussie applying on the same day had to get new photos done at the same shop.

On 7/11/2018 at 1:04 PM, Chassa said:

I come from Udon Thani, it's a day trip by air to get something I can get free in Australia and have the privilege to pay 900 baht. Now I must make an appointment to get to a place no taxi driver knows. (because the embassy seems to be down a back alley).

The last trip I took, took 2 hours and 2 taxi's from Don Muang, the first taxi gave up on finding the embassy although I had the address written in Thai, the second had to ask a motor-cycle taxi for directions.

Now I must try to beat the clock (appointment). I guess they are so busy in the embassy although I'm usually the only person there.

I.m not impressed with this lack of service and definitely not impressed with the new 'Fortress Australia'

Welcome to the club it's been like this for UK folks for years.

3 hours ago, GeeKay said:

I wonder if they will post it to you if you say you have lost your passport?

 

Then he could have used his old one to fly to Singapore in the interim. Hard to believe I'm thinking of sneaky ways to rort the system after what I've just been through.

If you lose your passport you have to make a police report, inform the embassy and it's then cancelled.

 

So no, they wouldn't.

3 hours ago, Andycoops said:

Welcome to the club it's been like this for UK folks for years.

We done our daughters UK passport 4 months ago at the Trendy Building on Soi 13. We had no problem and found them very efficient. Never had to go to the Embassy. To be perfectly honest I though the Embassy was sold and everything now went through the Trendy Building. Please correct me if I am wrong. 

4 hours ago, newatthis said:

When I got my new passport 2 years ago at the old embassy, every Aussie applying on the same day had to get new photos done at the same shop.

I remember that shop, on the other side of the road just down from the old Embassy. It is good to go somewhere where you know they will get it right first time around.

2 minutes ago, Tongjaw said:

Please correct me if I am wrong.

You wrong. Only passports and visas are done at VFS.

All other things are still done at the embassy.

On 7/11/2018 at 11:05 AM, digger70 said:

Fine Khun Joe,,, How many people  Would Know That,,, Lucky My GF brother Lives /works in Bangkok He picked us up at the airport and took us there and Back For Renewel  of Passport.  Got to back there to collect Passport Next week.  We live in Hat Yai. They can send it  But they cancel the Passport on Application day .That means you can't travel back home(Airport Need a valid Passport for travel) So  More or less they are Forcing one to FLY Twice from Hat Yai to Bangkok Return,,,,,, That Renewel of my Passport cost me a fair few THB     And on top of that I had to pay an extra AU $150 for renewing the passport in Thailand. Cost of Passport THB 9140 +Travel costs

You could have applied for this at their consulate in Phuket ....

40 minutes ago, farangx said:

You could have applied for this at their consulate in Phuket ....

I know that But that would have cost more on air tickets + the return flight is from Phuket to Bangkok than Hat Yai,There wasn't a Direct Flight available.More Drama than good things.Wrong times flights.

2 hours ago, digger70 said:

I know that But that would have cost more on air tickets + the return flight is from Phuket to Bangkok than Hat Yai,There wasn't a Direct Flight available.More Drama than good things.Wrong times flights.

Bangkok Airways flies direct, unless wrong timing ....

Edited July 21, 20187 yr by farangx

2 hours ago, farangx said:

Bangkok Airways flies direct, unless wrong timing ....

That's what I said ,,,,the timing was Wrong for us couldn't do it,,,,,