Renewing UK passport in Bangkok

[petedk]

12 hours ago, SantiSuk said:

[emboldened emphasis added by me]

 

Does it currently take 3 to 4 weeks to get an appointment to renew a UK passport or were your "various reasons" peculiar to your personal circumstances? Once you get an appointment is another 14 day wait inevitable?

 

 

The various reasons were partly my fault. I had difficulty in finding proof of address in English. Nearly all official documents (bank, tax etc.) are either with the address in Thai or sent online with no address. I was also out of Bangkok for a while and thus delaying the process.

 

I tried to make an appointment with Trendy House and silly little things kept delaying me. An example was something like this.. "I wish to make an appointment at any time.... Signed Petedk (my real name)"

They wrote back that they needed the applicants full name (Which I had already given). Then they wrote that I MUST give 3 possible appointment times. All these emails delayed the process.

 

I prepared all the documents very carefully and, as I said earlier, once I got in everything went very smoothly, the staff were very very friendly and efficient. I had no problems at all. Now I am just waiting for my passport.

 

My friend applied yesterday and told me that he had to wait just over 14 days for the application. There must be a lot of British people here !

[SantiSuk]

Thanks for replying Petedk. Helpful.

[SantiSuk]

I have just spoken to VFS (German/Schengen Visa processing unit in Bangkok). They say that any UK passport holder visiting Germany, and thereby (until 31-Dec-20) not needing a German/Schengen Visa, must have 6 months of validity remaining at point of entry.

 

My research had already identified that anyone seeking a German/Schengen Visa needs to supply a passport on application which will have 3 months remaining validity when they plan to exit Germany. I questioned why the inconsistency, but the helpline adviser was not able to rationalise why. 

 

So I'm afraid Oldgit that your EU rules don't apply in Germany -apparently! Probably no point in me challenging it based on previous experience*, though I will repeat the point in an e-mail that I need to send them about invitation letters just in (the unlikely) case the VFS helpline adviser got it wrong**. If you are so clear OldGit that pre-Brexit it was not necessary to have a margin of validity and that nothing should have changed and can give me a reference point for the rules I may try and elevate it to Consular Affairs.

 

Passport renewal here I come then (probably).

 

 

 

 

*A few years back I had an exchange of correspondence with German Consular Affairs in Bangkok about the requirements for my other daughter - then a de facto adopted (no adoption/guardianship papers) daughter (but now has reached majority age). They said that they were aware that EU rules were interpreted by some EU countries to permit de facto daughters to be treated as family members of an EU citizen, but Germany insisted on not allowing the reliefs that might otherwise be applied.

 

**Big bonus to be able to speak to VFS when it comes to German visa applications - in stark contrast to the notoriously elusive UK VFS section at Trendy Building. The adviser was knowledgeable and spoke good English and intelligent enough to catch on to this and several other issues I was raising. German Consular Affairs have been right 'on-the-ball' in the past too whenever I have thrown technical issues their way

[theoldgit]

Good point about the various VFS departments, the staff dealing with the UK Visas have always been bad even if you could speak to them.

Of course VFS are still only a glorified drop box, they don't dictate policy though I suspect they think they do.

The new rules come into force on 1 January 2021, until then it's status quo until the end of the Transition n Period, the circular from HMG is very clear, though it's from HMG and not the Germans.

https://www.gov.uk/visit-europe-1-january-2021

 

 

[soalbundy]

On 2/22/2020 at 1:18 PM, brewsterbudgen said:

And when you receive your 'virgin' passport back, how will you get your Extension stamp transferred to the new passport without the letter provided by the British Embassy in Bangkok?  Not to mention, the risk of being in Thailand with no passport while the new one is being processed.

What letter? I renewed my passport 5 years ago and didn't have any interaction with the British embassy (as far as I can remember, just trendy house) and the visa transfer was done with no problems.

As for proof of address I personally would write myself a statement confirming that I live at so and so address in English and get it stamped and signed by the mayor at the Tetsabaan (council office) it's just round the corner from me and he signs all my proof of existence forms.

[Maybole]

On 2/20/2020 at 10:56 AM, Canuck1966 said:

Cut out the middleman

Just send your passport to a friend or relative in the UK.

They can forward it on to Liverpool and then back to you in Thailand

Your only cost will be a bit of postage each way and the 75 quid renewal.

You can do the whole thing online (inc pics) and no docs are required.

I would like further detail on this method. 

I can send my Passport to a relative in Glasgow, but I understand that I would need to include a copy of the receipt for the fee. There would then be a 3 week delay between my application and the arrival of my passport, Would this raise suspicion? More information from anybody who has used this method would be very welcome.

[soalbundy]

2 hours ago, theoldgit said:

Good point about the various VFS departments, the staff dealing with the UK Visas have always been bad even if you could speak to them.

Of course VFS are still only a glorified drop box, they don't dictate policy though I suspect they think they do.

The new rules come into force on 1 January 2021, until then it's status quo until the end of the Transition n Period, the circular from HMG is very clear, though it's from HMG and not the Germans.

https://www.gov.uk/visit-europe-1-january-2021

 

 

excuse my ignorance, VFS ?

[theoldgit]

46 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

excuse my ignorance, VFS ?

Visa Facilitation Service, the company that operate the UKVI’s Visa Application Centre in Asoke and where they also have a desk where manage UK passport applications.

[SantiSuk]

HMPO will not advise on UK passport validity issues

 

I wanted to know whether my Thaiglish daughter could travel to the UK and back with her UK passport that would expire shortly after our planned date of return. I used the free contact form found on a UK.GOV/HMPO website*

 

I wrote:

"I am a British Citizen/UK passport holder, resident in Thailand. I plan to travel to the UK in late April with my Thai wife and our 10 year old natural 'Thaiglish' daughter. Our daughter's UK passport (she also has a Thai passport) expires on 20-May-20 and we will have returned to Thailand at least a week before that.
Must we renew my daughter's UK passport, for presentation at the UK border, to demonstrate a longer period of validity than her current passport?"

 

They replied (very quickly):

"Thank you for your email about your child's passport.
Her Majesty’s Passport Office are unable to advise on passport validity, visa and entry requirements".

 

I guess I could try the (non-free) contact methods with UK Visas and Immigration, but I'm inclined to go ahead and renew the passport anyway. We may not even go on the UK/Germany visit - my wife is now well and truly spooked by the coronavirus thing and refusing to fly anywhere!

 

 

*https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-passport-office

 

Edited February 26, 2020 by SantiSuk

[theoldgit]

2 hours ago, SantiSuk said:

Must we renew my daughter's UK passport, for presentation at the UK border, to demonstrate a longer period of validity than her current passport?"

There are no set passport validity requirements entering the UK, for a foreign national the passport must be valid for the length of the intended stay.
For a British National there isn't even this requirement, a British National can enter the UK on an expired passport, a passport may expire but the holders citizenship doesn't, so whilst the passport may have expired it remains proof that she's a UK Citizen and as such is not subject to UK Immigration Controls and can enter the UK unimpeded, of course uninformed airline personel might believe otherwise and could still cause her a problem.

[petedk]

On 2/26/2020 at 2:26 PM, theoldgit said:

There are no set passport validity requirements entering the UK, for a foreign national the passport must be valid for the length of the intended stay.
For a British National there isn't even this requirement, a British National can enter the UK on an expired passport, a passport may expire but the holders citizenship doesn't, so whilst the passport may have expired it remains proof that she's a UK Citizen and as such is not subject to UK Immigration Controls and can enter the UK unimpeded, of course uninformed airline personel might believe otherwise and could still cause her a problem.

If I had known that I would probably have flown to UK to renew. Never mind.

 

My passport arrives Monday, the same day as my visa extension and old passport expire. What a relief.!

[OJAS]

18 hours ago, petedk said:

My passport arrives Monday, the same day as my visa extension and old passport expire. What a relief.!

You might not feel quite a sense of relief after battling your way from the Trendy Building to Chaengwattana to seek your latest retirement extension, only for some unexpected documentary curved ball to be lobbed at you by Immigration - most likely, I suspect, in connection with the mandatory health insurance policy given that your original visa is of the OA variety!

[petedk]

1 minute ago, OJAS said:

You might not feel quite a sense of relief after battling your way from the Trendy Building to Chaengwattana to seek your latest retirement extension, only for some unexpected documentary curved ball to be lobbed at you by Immigration - most likely, I suspect, in connection with the mandatory health insurance policy given that your original visa is of the OA variety!

Why do you think I have a retirement visa?

 

Yes, I have to get all the documents again from my university. Actually, they have already processed them.

[OJAS]

1 minute ago, petedk said:

Why do you think I have a retirement visa?

 

Yes, I have to get all the documents again from my university. Actually, they have already processed them.

Sorry, I was mixing you up with the OP!

[petedk]

3 minutes ago, OJAS said:

Sorry, I was mixing you up with the OP!

haha Maybe we should both retire, I have also mixed up the threads.

 

I started a thread sometime ago which is similar to this one. Mine was about passport renewal taking a long time. I thought that this was the same thread.

[britishjohn]

On 2/23/2020 at 2:51 PM, puchooay said:

Then I guess you are a little hard of understanding.

 

Here goes. "And" refers to the one document plus one document requirement. That means, I'm sure you did maths at school, 2 documents as in 1+1=2. That is how many documents my post refers to and how many documents are required.

 

The "and/or", which you mentioned, refers to the different types of document that you can provide for the second document required. That is the document that proves you reside in the country from which you are applying and has no bearing what so ever on the first document, as we can see from the previous use of the word "and", meaning "in addition to".

 

So, if you don't have residency in Thailand, which I believe could be confirmed by a stamp in your passport and a residency book/document, then you will need to use some other kind of evidence. 

 

The types of document that you can use for this have been explained many times in this thread.

 

So there you have it. Photo identity "and/in addition to/ accompanied with/also/as well as" proof of address. TWO documents. One with a photo and one showing where you live in Thailand.

 

I hope this clears things up for you.

Well it seems you are the one who is a little hard of understanding. I went to Trendy building yesterday to renew my passport. All I took was a document with my photo and a copy of my visa and extension showing RESIDENCY in Thailand. Neither shows my address, the documents checked and accepted and was told my passport will arrive within 4 weeks.

Hope that clears things up for you...

 

[pontious]

42 minutes ago, britishjohn said:

Well it seems you are the one who is a little hard of understanding. I went to Trendy building yesterday to renew my passport. All I took was a document with my photo and a copy of my visa and extension showing RESIDENCY in Thailand. Neither shows my address, the documents checked and accepted and was told my passport will arrive within 4 weeks.

Hope that clears things up for you...

 

I am sure you will be OK but HMPO in Liverpool decides what is acceptable or not - not VFS at Trendy.

[britishjohn]

2 hours ago, pontious said:

I am sure you will be OK but HMPO in Liverpool decides what is acceptable or not - not VFS at Trendy.

Well let's wait and see.

 

I did ask for clarification regarding the sentence "All applicants must provide one document showing photo identity and one document as evidence of name and address and/or residency dated within the last year"

 

It says name and address AND/OR residency. If it required name and address AND residency it would simply omit the OR. The fact the it states OR, means you can provide one or the other.

You may of course provide a document which provides both which is why it also says AND.

 

The person I saw agreed this was his interpretation also.