Renewing a child's UK passport

[brewsterbudgen]

My 5 year-old's UK passport is due to expire near the end of December 2020.  He has an annual Extension of Stay as my dependent.

 

We are planning on a UK visit in July/August.  Should I renew his passport here in Thailand before we make the trip?  Or should we make the trip and then renew when we're back?  Will he be allowed to check in at Heathrow with a passport due to expire in 4 months?

 

Secondly, would it be possible (and easier) to travel out on his old passport and then renew it in the UK, and travel back on the new passport? I realise I will need to transfer his Extension stamp, irrespective of whether the passport is renewed in Bangkok or the UK.

 

Thanks.

[Matzzon]

Yes, he will be able to enter UK with a UK passport as long as it has not expired. that´s like the thing with expiring dates and why they are printed in the passport.

Looks to me it´s better to renew it in UK.

[brewsterbudgen]

2 minutes ago, Matzzon said:

Yes, he will be able to enter UK with a UK passport as long as it has not expired. that´s like the thing with expiring dates and why they are printed in the passport.

Looks to me it´s better to renew it in UK.

I know he'll be able to enter the UK; my query was whether he would be able to check in at Heathrow to return home, with only 4 months on his passport.

 

 

[sungod]

To be on the safe side I would do it all here before you go, they will add up to 9 months of the validity of his current passport to the new one. You wont lose anything and not have to worry.

[Salerno]

5 minutes ago, sungod said:

they will add up to 9 months of the validity of his current passport to the new one

Not since 2018 they won't ... rules in UK changed to same as us in Australia. Rip off merchants.

[BritManToo]

27 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

I know he'll be able to enter the UK; my query was whether he would be able to check in at Heathrow to return home, with only 4 months on his passport.

 

 

It only takes 2 weeks to renew a passport by post in the UK. Got my kids new passport back within 10 days of posting.

Not sure why you would want to wait until it ran out?

Edited January 13, 2020 by BritManToo

[sungod]

23 minutes ago, Salerno said:

Not since 2018 they won't ... rules in UK changed to same as us in Australia. Rip off merchants.

Really? Thanks, I was unaware it had changed. Thanks.

[Salerno]

Just now, sungod said:

Really? Thanks, I was unaware it had changed. Thanks.

No worries, only reason I noticed at the time is it's one less thing the poms can rub in our faces 555

[Matzzon]

51 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

I know he'll be able to enter the UK; my query was whether he would be able to check in at Heathrow to return home, with only 4 months on his passport.

 

 

That will never be an issue, due to that it would just be silly to not renew the passport in time. Why is it that so many must have issues with expiring passports. Just renew it wherever you are before it even might be too late.

[brewsterbudgen]

1 hour ago, Matzzon said:

That will never be an issue, due to that it would just be silly to not renew the passport in time. Why is it that so many must have issues with expiring passports. Just renew it wherever you are before it even might be too late.

It expires on 22 December - I will obviously ensure it is renewed "in time". Maybe you're being deliberately obtuse, but query, which has been answered by more helpful posters, is that it would make sense to renew it much earlier than I need to, even though I won't get extra months added.   Renewing it in the UK also seems like an option, although I don't know how much quicker or easier that would be than renewing it in Thailand.

[brewsterbudgen]

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

It only takes 2 weeks to renew a passport by post in the UK. Got my kids new passport back within 10 days of posting.

Not sure why you would want to wait until it ran out?

I have no intention of waiting for it to run out.  It runs out at the end of December; my query was about whether to renew in June, before the trip to the UK, while in the the UK, or when we get back.  

 

But as we may only be back in the UK for 10 days, renewing by post while we're there does not seem to be an option.  Cheers.

Edited January 13, 2020 by brewsterbudgen

[BritManToo]

1 minute ago, brewsterbudgen said:

I have no intention of waiting for it to run out.  It runs out at the end of December; my query was about whether to renew in June, before the trip to the UK, while in the the UK, or when we get back.  

 

But as we may only be back in the UK for 10 days, renewing by post while we're there does not seem to be an option.  Cheers.

If the kid's with you, you could pay for the renew while you wait option.

Appointment in the morning, collect in the afternoon.

[Matzzon]

4 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

It expires on 22 December - I will obviously ensure it is renewed "in time". Maybe you're being deliberately obtuse, but query, which has been answered by more helpful posters, is that it would make sense to renew it much earlier than I need to, even though I won't get extra months added.   Renewing it in the UK also seems like an option, although I don't know how much quicker or easier that would be than renewing it in Thailand.

It will probably be cheaper, as well as quicker, due to no need for long and expensive transport of a document of value.

[Jip99]

2 hours ago, brewsterbudgen said:

I know he'll be able to enter the UK; my query was whether he would be able to check in at Heathrow to return home, with only 4 months on his passport.

 

 

 

No. Thailand requires 6 months.

[Jip99]

13 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

I have no intention of waiting for it to run out.  It runs out at the end of December; my query was about whether to renew in June, before the trip to the UK, while in the the UK, or when we get back.  

 

But as we may only be back in the UK for 10 days, renewing by post while we're there does not seem to be an option.  Cheers.

Also probably depends on your location.

 

A couple of years ago I made an appointment at the Peterborough office for 09:30. Went up to Lincoln to collect daughter from university and picked up the new passport in the afternoon on the journey back.

 

At that time the cost of the express service equated to inflated overseas standard service price.. No trip to Bangkok x 2 either.

Edited January 13, 2020 by Jip99

[puchooay]

11 minutes ago, Jip99 said:

Also probably depends on your location.

 

A couple of years ago I made an appointment at the Peterborough office for 09:30. Went up to Lincoln to collect daughter from university and picked up the new passport in the afternoon on the journey back.

 

At that time the cost of the express service equated to inflated overseas standard service price.. No trip to Bangkok x 2 either.

I agree. Easier in UK. A friend of mine, lives in Essex, booked an appointment at the London office for 10am for the day he returned to UK. Arrived at Gatwick airport 7am. Train to Victoria. Walk to office. Handed in application with payment for express service. Popped round the local pub for breakfast and a pint. A few hours later he was on his way to Essex with new passport in hand.

 

 

Edited January 13, 2020 by puchooay

[brewsterbudgen]

35 minutes ago, Jip99 said:

 

No. Thailand requires 6 months.

Ah.  You're the first person to state this.  I had thought this might be the case.  If it is (and I have no reason to doubt you) waiting until we come back from the UK in August is not an option.

[sungod]

37 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Ah.  You're the first person to state this.  I had thought this might be the case.  If it is (and I have no reason to doubt you) waiting until we come back from the UK in August is not an option.

Entry requirement fro Thailand posted on the travel advice by FCO state this.

Passport validity

Your passport must have at least 6 months’ validity remaining from your date of entry into Thailand. Entry to Thailand is normally refused if you have a passport which is damaged or has pages missing.

If you’re a dual national, you must depart Thailand on the same nationality passport you used to enter. If not, you may experience difficulties as you pass through immigration

 

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/thailand/entry-requirements

[brewsterbudgen]

1 hour ago, sungod said:

Entry requirement fro Thailand posted on the travel advice by FCO state this.

Passport validity

Your passport must have at least 6 months’ validity remaining from your date of entry into Thailand. Entry to Thailand is normally refused if you have a passport which is damaged or has pages missing.

If you’re a dual national, you must depart Thailand on the same nationality passport you used to enter. If not, you may experience difficulties as you pass through immigration

 

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/thailand/entry-requirements

Thanks.  So the denial would be at Bangkok Airport not at Heathrow?  Would I also be denied entry as well?   Would my 5 year-old child also be denied (either at Heathrow or Suvarnabhumi) if they have an Extension of Stay stamp until 30 November 2020, even though the passport was due to expire in late December 2020?

[sungod]

With regards to Heathrow, best check with the airline as they are now the first line of defence. When I was in the UK in the summer (hadn't been for a while), I was surprised we didn't exit through any official immigration channels, its all done at check in with the airline.

[evadgib]

To avoid any unnecessary extra costs the OP could complete online renewal formalities (stating a UK address) a day or two before leaving Thailand and post everything (inc the old ppt) as soon as he arrives. Old and New ppts will arrive separately in less than a week and can be tracked online.

HTH

Edited January 13, 2020 by evadgib

[falang1969]

I renewed by daughter's UK Passport in the UK last June while we were on holiday in the UK.

 

Applied online, sent her passport that we used to enter the UK and a week later passport delivered to our UK address.

 

Easier (and cheaper) IMO than doing it in Thailand.

 

 

[shy coconut]

3 hours ago, sungod said:

With regards to Heathrow, best check with the airline as they are now the first line of defence. When I was in the UK in the summer (hadn't been for a while), I was surprised we didn't exit through any official immigration channels, its all done at check in with the airline.

Where were you traveling from? I flew into Glasgow from Dubai in may last year and had

to go through the immigration process, although it was merely putting my UK passport up

against the scanner.

[sungod]

54 minutes ago, shy coconut said:

Where were you traveling from? I flew into Glasgow from Dubai in may last year and had

to go through the immigration process, although it was merely putting my UK passport up

against the scanner.

Going in we went through immigration, exiting we did not. All done by the airline check in process.

[theoldgit]

There are no regular embarkation controls leaving the UK, they were abolished some years ago as a cost cutting exercise, I think by the Blair Government.

Carriers have always ensured that passengers that are qualified to enter the destination country, that has never been a UKBA role.

Carriers now pass on data of all passengers leaving the country to the UKBA who will run checks to identify overstayers etc, and mark records if appropriate, these are effectively embarkation controls.

[brewsterbudgen]

16 hours ago, evadgib said:

To avoid any unnecessary extra costs the OP could complete online renewal formalities (stating a UK address) a day or two before leaving Thailand and post everything (inc the old ppt) as soon as he arrives. Old and New ppts will arrive separately in less than a week and can be tracked online.

HTH

 

14 hours ago, falang1969 said:

I renewed by daughter's UK Passport in the UK last June while we were on holiday in the UK.

 

Applied online, sent her passport that we used to enter the UK and a week later passport delivered to our UK address.

 

Easier (and cheaper) IMO than doing it in Thailand.

 

 

This seems like the best advice, thanks.  He can fly out on his old passport and we'll get the new one while we're in the UK.