New state-of-the-art Thai passports to be issued next year

By The Nation

 

Busadee Santipitaks

 

Thailand will start using the latest electronic passports in the middle of the year 2020, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Busadee Santipitaks said.

 

Current passport design

 

The cover of the new passport has been designed to reflect Thai art and culture. The latest technology is being used to protect personal identities. While the earlier passports used face and fingerprint recognition, the new passport will use the "Iris scan system".

 

Busadee said the time taken to submit a new passport application would not take more than 12 minutes. Five hundred passport service points and 15 temporary passport offices nationwide will be set up.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30379719

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-12-23

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Yet another colossal waste of money

1 hour ago, ukrules said:

Yet another colossal waste of money

Why are good new passports a waste of money? They are even not expensive.

 

14 minutes ago, Youlike said:

Why are good new passports a waste of money? They are even not expensive.

 

I think it's more to do with how they're doing it - this part :

 

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Five hundred passport service points and 15 temporary passport offices nationwide will be set up.

 

2 hours ago, ukrules said:

Yet another colossal waste of money

Not for everybody ..
Some deep pockets filled up in the process ...

1 hour ago, Youlike said:

Why are good new passports a waste of money? They are even not expensive.

!000 baht is at least a days wages more likely 2 days so not expensive to you but for the people getting them they are and the worst thing about them is that they only last 5 years, why is that?

33 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

!000 baht is at least a days wages more likely 2 days so not expensive to you but for the people getting them they are and the worst thing about them is that they only last 5 years, why is that?

The folk on the wages you're talking about don't have or need passports. 

1 minute ago, djayz said:

The folk on the wages you're talking about don't have or need passports. 

Nobody in our family earns more than a few hundred a day, they all have passports, even the kids and have all been abroad, Japan and Korea. Of course if they want to go off and work illegally in Korea, Australia etc they need one to get there.

and there was me thinking they was going to look like an ipad or something ????

5 hours ago, ukrules said:

Yet another colossal waste of money

You’ve got no clue.

 

Without doubt, the issuance of Thai passports is one of the most efficient processes - not just in Thailand - but anywhere in the world.

 

There is no application form, people just turn up to a processing centre (No appointment needed), have their ID card scanned, photo and finger prints taken and a passport is posted to your house in three days, often less. All for 1000 baht.

2 hours ago, Orton Rd said:

!000 baht is at least a days wages more likely 2 days so not expensive to you but for the people getting them they are and the worst thing about them is that they only last 5 years, why is that?

5 year validity? Maybe you missed this news item from earlier this year.

 

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1111478-mfa-introducing-10-year-passport-adopts-more-security-features/

 

DNA is next! Orson Wells in full steam, it seems! 

15 minutes ago, Sydebolle said:

DNA is next! Orson Wells in full steam, it seems! 

Yeah, Orson Wells always wrote about how technology would be able to make our passports more secure.

That doesn't improve Thailand's passport ranking which allows visa free travel. It wont improve anytime soon!

12 minutes ago, shady86 said:

That doesn't improve Thailand's passport ranking which allows visa free travel. It wont improve anytime soon!

Nobody said it would.

 

There are also many other things it won't do.  Want to list them too?

1 hour ago, samran said:

There is no application form

There is (unless they changed it in the last year or so) 

2 hours ago, dabhand said:

5 year validity? Maybe you missed this news item from earlier this year.

 

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1111478-mfa-introducing-10-year-passport-adopts-more-security-features/

 

Apparently only available at a few places...wife and daughter renewed there's last week (Surat Thani) and only got 5 year ones

2 hours ago, LukKrueng said:

There is (unless they changed it in the last year or so) 

There never has been. They ask you to write your name in English (how you want it spelled), your name in Thai and your ID card number. 

6 minutes ago, samran said:

There never has been. They ask you to write your name in English (how you want it spelled), your name in Thai and your ID card number. 

No, there is actually an application form you write all your details including your name in English and sign it at the bottom

12 minutes ago, LukKrueng said:

No, there is actually an application form you write all your details including your name in English and sign it at the bottom

I’ve applied for half a dozen Thai PPs, that’s just mine and not including my three kids.

 

When you get to the passport office they check your ID card, give you a queue number and a slip of paper where they ask for those three things. That’s it. No long application form like a western passport. 

7 hours ago, samran said:

I’ve applied for half a dozen Thai PPs, that’s just mine and not including my three kids.

 

When you get to the passport office they check your ID card, give you a queue number and a slip of paper where they ask for those three things. That’s it. No long application form like a western passport. 

In my country I apply online, pick a free time slot and show up for the biometrics to be taken. No queues, no paperwork. 
No TM6, no TMxx, no tabien baan, no passbooks, no chanote etc., it’s all digital and your country still in the medieval era?

14 minutes ago, CLS said:

In my country I apply online, pick a free time slot and show up for the biometrics to be taken. No queues, no paperwork. 
No TM6, no TMxx, no tabien baan, no passbooks, no chanote etc., it’s all digital and your country still in the medieval era?

In my country you have to fill out a lengthy form, you have to get photos countersigned by a person of the right social standing, you have to pay a small fortune, then you have to wait around four weeks.

 

Thailand absolutely puts it to shame.  Cheaper and way more efficient.  A few minutes of your time then passport received in 2-3 days for a reasonable price.

And well done for bringing up TM6, TM30 etc - completely irrelevant.  Did you forget the "brown envelope" comment just to round off the thread?

16 hours ago, ukrules said:

 

 

17 hours ago, Youlike said:

Why are good new passports a waste of money? They are even not expensive.

 

I think it's more to do with how they're doing it - this part :

 

20 hours ago, webfact said:

Five hundred passport service points and 15 temporary passport offices nationwide will be set up.

 

In the UK I have to drive 2 hours to get a passport office, & that after making an appointment at least 3-4 weeks in advance (£103 for renewal by post -10-14 days) or  £128 For same day - 4000 / 5000Baht)

 

The equivalent for Thais is a similar but faster & cheaper system (can’t remember the price of same day but we needed to do that s few years back).

 

My Wife recently renewed her Thai passport, it took 20mins (after booking an online appointment a few days earlier), it was delivered (by post) a few days later - I think it cost 1500 baht. 
 

We (as Westerners) hammer Thailand for being bureaucratic. Now the opposite is happening, but when it’s something which doesn’t benefit us we [in aggregate as forum members & contributors to this forum] seem critical... (well, some of the posts are). 

 

Think TM30 reporting & if they had 500 service points nationwide - There world be a Geriatric circle jerk going full on bukkake over the announcing face of such news... 

 

 

11 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

In the UK I have to drive 2 hours to get a passport office, & that after making an appointment at least 3-4 weeks in advance (£103 for renewal by post -10-14 days) or  £128 For same day - 4000 / 5000Baht)

 

The equivalent for Thais is a similar but faster & cheaper system (can’t remember the price of same day but we needed to do that s few years back).

 

My Wife recently renewed her Thai passport, it took 20mins (after booking an online appointment a few days earlier), it was delivered (by post) a few days later - I think it cost 1500 baht. 
 

We (as Westerners) hammer Thailand for being bureaucratic. Now the opposite is happening, but when it’s something which doesn’t benefit us we [in aggregate as forum members & contributors to this forum] seem critical... (well, some of the posts are). 

 

Think TM30 reporting & if they had 500 service points nationwide - There world be a Geriatric circle jerk going full on bukkake over the announcing face of such news... 

 

 

I just don't understand the mentality - a news article about something that has no relevance or effect on 90% of us but is a story about Thailand making an improvement (an improvement to something that is already very good) and people feel they just have to bash their keyboard to say it's a waste of money, brown envelopes, TM30, tabien baan, in my country it's just as good, et etc.  Why?  Seriously I don't get it.

What do people get out of just being negative about absolutely everything?

 

1 hour ago, CLS said:

In my country I apply online, pick a free time slot and show up for the biometrics to be taken. No queues, no paperwork. 
No TM6, no TMxx, no tabien baan, no passbooks, no chanote etc., it’s all digital and your country still in the medieval era?

Well done to you then.

 

I don’t even have to book a time if I don’t want to. I just turn up, show my ID card. Wait at most wait a few minutes - get taken to a desk where my latest photo and finger prints are taken. The rest of the info is already on the system. I can have my passport the same day for 3000 baht or 1000 baht if I want to wait 3 days.

 

My western passport is a multi page application which needs a referee, and takes 10 days. 

38 minutes ago, samran said:

Well done to you then.

 

I don’t even have to book a time if I don’t want to. I just turn up, show my ID card. Wait at most wait a few minutes - get taken to a desk where my latest photo and finger prints are taken. The rest of the info is already on the system. I can have my passport the same day for 3000 baht or 1000 baht if I want to wait 3 days.

 

My western passport is a multi page application which needs a referee, and takes 10 days. 

You don’t have the option to make an appointment and jump the queues. In TH wait time seems to have no value.
My country doesn’t offer same day pick-up, cause the passports are issued in a secret location for security reasons.

In urgent cases you can apply for a temporary passport that you get within 1 hour.

6 hours ago, CLS said:

You don’t have the option to make an appointment and jump the queues. In TH wait time seems to have no value.
My country doesn’t offer same day pick-up, cause the passports are issued in a secret location for security reasons.

In urgent cases you can apply for a temporary passport that you get within 1 hour.

Did you read the article or any of the posts?  Article says "within 12 minutes" and everyone who has been through the process (me included) can confirm you are in and out in a few minutes - there is essentially no queue to jump.

 

Why don't you give it a rest?  Or are you going to persist until someone gives you the gratification of saying "ok, your country is better"?  I'll do it if it'll make you stop.

 

CLS your country is better.  And we are all extremely jealous of your country's special secret location because our countries' passports are put together in someone's garage.

 

14 hours ago, CLS said:

You don’t have the option to make an appointment and jump the queues. In TH wait time seems to have no value.
My country doesn’t offer same day pick-up, cause the passports are issued in a secret location for security reasons.

In urgent cases you can apply for a temporary passport that you get within 1 hour.

No, we do have the option of booking in advance if we want. 
 

https://www.passport.in.th

 

But well done to you. World champion !!! Is the secret location the same as the bridge under from which you type? 

Edited December 24, 20196 yr by samran

15 hours ago, josephbloggs said:

I just don't understand the mentality - a news article about something that has no relevance or effect on 90% of us but is a story about Thailand making an improvement (an improvement to something that is already very good) and people feel they just have to bash their keyboard to say it's a waste of money, brown envelopes, TM30, tabien baan, in my country it's just as good, et etc.  Why?  Seriously I don't get it.

What do people get out of just being negative about absolutely everything?

 

ThaiVisa in a nutshell. It doesn't matter how positive the article is, they will always find a way to criticize it, bash Thailand, bash Thai people and make far-fetched allegations and assumptions.

 

It's a marvel how much work they go through to live in a country they clearly despise above all else.

On 12/23/2019 at 3:31 PM, samran said:

I’ve applied for half a dozen Thai PPs, that’s just mine and not including my three kids.

 

When you get to the passport office they check your ID card, give you a queue number and a slip of paper where they ask for those three things. That’s it. No long application form like a western passport. 

I can second what samran has weitten. When we got our son's passport, it really was that straight forward.