UK Passport renewal

[OJAS]

1 hour ago, evadgib said:

If anyone has a better idea i'm all ????s 

Well, something HMPO could, I think, do is simply allow us either to use their online renewal system and/or to DHL forms and supporting docs direct to 1 of their offices in the UK for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic. And DHL replacement passports direct to applicants.

 

I have actually made these suggestions to HMPO, and await their reply. If the Thai Immigration Bureau can (albeit belatedly) come up with a temporary solution for tourists stranded in LOS as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, then why on earth can’t HMPO do likewise in the case of Brits in LOS who are in imminent need of new passports such as the OP? Might require some urgent thinking outside the box on their part – but, there again, we are all living in exceptional times.

 

[finy]

1 hour ago, transam said:

How do you know the agents can't, have you phoned them....?

 

 

If you Google 'UK passports abroad' and fill in the details on the UK.GOV website I'malmost certain it says you must attend a meeting at VFS before getting a new passport from Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, or Laos.

 

In countries like Malaysia and Sri Lanka you don't.

 

That being said, I could have sworn I've posted everything back and got family members to post from UK for me because I needed signed photographs from someone. But that was probably well back in the day.

[pontious]

38 minutes ago, OJAS said:

I have actually made these suggestions to HMPO, and await their reply.

see bbc news uk and type in passport office -for some reason I cannot move it here.

[john terry1001]

6 minutes ago, pontious said:

see bbc news uk and type in passport office -for some reason I cannot move it here.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/search?q=passport+office

 

The articles on here refer to the passport office centres in the UK. No help if we need to apply from Thailand unfortunately.

[pontious]

5 minutes ago, john terry1001 said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/search?q=passport+office

 

The articles on here refer to the passport office centres in the UK. No help if we need to apply from Thailand unfortunately.

It does effect us because VFS send all our paperwork to the UK offices. They issue the passport and send it via DHL back to VFS. At the moment we cannot do that of course as VFS  is shut.

[john terry1001]

4 minutes ago, pontious said:

It does effect us because VFS send all our paperwork to the UK offices. They issue the passport and send it via DHL back to VFS. At the moment we cannot do that of course as VFS  is shut.

Which is why I said 'No help if we need to apply from Thailand unfortunately'.

 

When everything gets back to normal and the passport section at Trendy is open there wouldn't be an issue for us to discuss.

[evadgib]

1 hour ago, pontious said:

You would still have to apply at VFS in Bangkok. Until they reopen nothing can be done.  

I assumed everyone would realize the application would need to be submitted via the OP's UK address along with a covering letter explaining the exceptional circumstances.

[evadgib]

1 hour ago, Saltire said:

Good idea - except I already have one but it expires December 2020 ????

That was my point!

[pontious]

8 minutes ago, john terry1001 said:

Which is why I said 'No help if we need to apply from Thailand unfortunately'.

 

When everything gets back to normal and the passport section at Trendy is open there wouldn't be an issue for us to discuss.

I think we are saying the same thing - just differently. It will be sod's law Trendy opens and HMPO staff refuse to go back to work.????

[OJAS]

16 hours ago, finy said:

If you Google 'UK passports abroad' and fill in the details on the UK.GOV website I'malmost certain it says you must attend a meeting at VFS before getting a new passport from Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, or Laos.

 

In countries like Malaysia and Sri Lanka you don't.

 

That being said, I could have sworn I've posted everything back and got family members to post from UK for me because I needed signed photographs from someone. But that was probably well back in the day.

I was under the impression that you were only liable to be required to attend a meeting if you were applying for a passport for the first time or were seeking to replace one which had been lost, stolen or damaged, regardless of where you were applying from.

[OJAS]

16 hours ago, john terry1001 said:

When everything gets back to normal and the passport section at Trendy is open there wouldn't be an issue for us to discuss.

The longer the VFS office closures continue the more untenable HMPO's current negative "no can do" attitude will, of course, become - which will, hopefully, result in them being dragged, sooner rather than later, into the 21st Century in the case of passport renewals from Thailand - and permanently, to boot!

[ChipButty]

Them were the good old days when you could walk into the embassy in BKK and get a new passport in a few days

[evadgib]

7 hours ago, OJAS said:

The longer the VFS office closures continue the more untenable HMPO's current negative "no can do" attitude will, of course, become - which will, hopefully, result in them being dragged, sooner rather than later, into the 21st Century in the case of passport renewals from Thailand - and permanently, to boot!

Agreed. Now would be a good time for everyone in Thailand that is caught in this nonsence and/or lives here full time to contact the appropriate authorities (HMPO, FCO, MP, MSM, the latter for once might actually prove useful) & outline the mickey mouse 1000 mile round trip to Bkk (x2) that is currently required in order to renew a ppt whereas elsewhere in Asia it can be done without ever leaving home. As far as i'm aware the old chestnut of 'must have your passport at all times' is complete and utter baloney and is a literal translation of whatever regs the locals use re their national ID cards. Most foreigners do not have wallet-sized ID's but could quite easily be identified by their Thai DL's, Home DL's & copies of their ppts in their phones with hard copies above their sunshields in their cars.

 

HMPO can do their bit by adopting face to face technology to assist them in identifying applicants, as could the likes of DWP re pensions & proof of life....

 

Why is something so easy so hard?

 

(No flames please & no need to post about copying, shrinking and laminating the bio page of our passports; I assume everyone knows about that already)

[Saltire]

1 hour ago, evadgib said:

Agreed. Now would be a good time for everyone in Thailand that is caught in this nonsence and/or lives here full time to contact the appropriate authorities (HMPO, FCO, MP, MSM, the latter for once might actually prove useful) & outline the mickey mouse 1000 mile round trip to Bkk (x2) that is currently required in order to renew a ppt whereas elsewhere in Asia it can be done without ever leaving home. As far as i'm aware the old chestnut of 'must have your passport at all times' is complete and utter baloney and is a literal translation of whatever regs the locals use re their national ID cards. Most foreigners do not have wallet-sized ID's but could quite easily be identified by their Thai DL's, Home DL's & copies of their ppts in their phones with hard copies above their sunshields in their cars.

 

HMPO can do their bit by adopting face to face technology to assist them in identifying applicants, as could the likes of DWP re pensions & proof of life....

 

Why is something so easy so hard?

 

(No flames please & no need to post about copying, shrinking and laminating the bio page of our passports; I assume everyone knows about that already)

It all makes sense to me but probably not to the decision makers. It may even be the case that the current climate makes the process even tougher with consulates stuck in the dark ages.

 

I will take up your idea and drop them an email asking them to review. I too have to take 2 x 3 hour minivans each way to get to Bangkok and then I neeed a hotel for at least 1 night.

 

I am getting conflicting information that you can pay for courier delivery to avoid the second trip, but I thought you needed the old one to pick up the new one so that they could void it.

 

 

 

[evadgib]

17 minutes ago, Saltire said:

It all makes sense to me but probably not to the decision makers. It may even be the case that the current climate makes the process even tougher with consulates stuck in the dark ages.

 

I will take up your idea and drop them an email asking them to review. I too have to take 2 x 3 hour minivans each way to get to Bangkok and then I neeed a hotel for at least 1 night.

 

I am getting conflicting information that you can pay for courier delivery to avoid the second trip, but I thought you needed the old one to pick up the new one so that they could void it.

HMA said there are 75k resident Brits in a recent interview. If we assume a large number will be married to spouses who could also hold Brit ppts and have dual national dependant children holding both passports the number of people affected cannot be ignored. One complain from one person to one organisation won't go anywhere, but if hundreds of people contact multiple organisations with well written complaints highlighting the plight of Brits in Thailand there's a reasonable chance HMG/HMPO will feel compelled to do something about it.

 

I've had no need to contact anyone recently but have certainly made these views known when I did.

[Saltire]

5 minutes ago, evadgib said:

HMA said there are 75k resident Brits in a recent interview. If we assume a large number will be married to spouses who could also hold Brit ppts and have dual national dependant children holding both passports the number of people affected cannot be ignored. One complain from one person to one organisation won't go anywhere, but if hundreds of people contact multiple organisations with well written complaints highlighting the plight of Brits in Thailand there's a reasonable chance HMG/HMPO will feel compelled to do something about it.

 

I've had no need to contact anyone recently but have certainly made these views known when I did.

I emailed them to try to cancel, and get a refund for my prepaid appointment fees for 26 May.

 

Reply: too early - contact us later and NO refund on fees. Change date nearer the appointment. Useless.

[essox essox]

On 4/11/2020 at 1:40 PM, Saltire said:

Thanks for the replies.

 

Looks like VFS when they open is the best bet. Fortunately I have time between now and extension renewal to see how things calm down, or don't.

 

I will look for an agent and see what turns up. I was under the impression VFS would need two trips but I am told they have an option to return your new passport by FedEx/DHL?

 

Here's hoping things improve soon.

trendy house WILL NOT send by post.....one has to collect new passport in person....AS YOU HAVE TO SIGN FOR the new one !!!

[prakhonchai nick]

On 4/13/2020 at 8:31 AM, essox essox said:

trendy house WILL NOT send by post.....one has to collect new passport in person....AS YOU HAVE TO SIGN FOR the new one !!!

To collect your new UK passport from VFS, either self or using an agent, your old passport has to be submitted for them to cancel and cut the corner off. No old passport, then no new one!!!

[NamH2O]

On 4/11/2020 at 12:49 PM, Rookiescot said:

OK another option is a bit extreme.

Fill out the passport renewal for for applying for a new passport in the UK. (Please note there are two forms. One for applying within the UK and one for applying from outside the UK. Make sure you fill out the right one).

Send the form and your passport to someone you know in the UK and get them to send it to the passport office.

When the new passport arrives get them to send it and the old passport back to you.

 

1.Couple of obvious problems with this. Stuff does go missing in the post.

2.I'm not sure if the above is legal.

They require your old passport to be returned by post before they will,issue a new one,then both passports will be returned separately by post.

[OJAS]

On 4/12/2020 at 9:26 AM, ChipButty said:

Them were the good old days when you could walk into the embassy in BKK and get a new passport in a few days

And, in the case of the Bangkok embassy of practically every other country on this great planet of ours, this is still possible, I believe!

[OJAS]

On 4/13/2020 at 8:31 AM, essox essox said:

trendy house WILL NOT send by post.....one has to collect new passport in person....AS YOU HAVE TO SIGN FOR the new one !!!

 

2 hours ago, prakhonchai nick said:

To collect your new UK passport from VFS, either self or using an agent, your old passport has to be submitted for them to cancel and cut the corner off. No old passport, then no new one!!!

Under normal circumstances I might just about be able to accept a case for the second trip for the reasons you have both stated. But not in the current exceptional situation in which we are currently living – HMPO would IMHO just have to accept that we were capable of wielding a pair of scissors by snipping off the top and bottom covers of our existing passport when we received its replacement from the UK by DHL courier (just as they were prepared to prior to 2014 under the “Hong Kong Renewal Process”).

 

In any event, I am still unable to see any convincing justification whatsoever for the first trip to Bangkok (or Chiang Mai) clutching reams of application paperwork for onward transmission to the UK, even under normal circumstances. Why on earth can’t we be allowed to submit routine renewal applications in a convenient 21st Century manner via HMPO’s online system – just as is possible from Malaysia and Singapore, for instance? OK, we might not be able to send HMPO our original passports as a prerequisite to activating this process (in view of a perceived legal ID requirement in Thailand), but would there be really any need for this in practice, given that passport security would surely be adequately guaranteed by producing our existing passport for cancellation when collecting the replacement one?

[essox essox]

On 4/11/2020 at 12:58 PM, Saltire said:

Thanks, that was the main reason I cancelled (apart from being sure it would have been cancelled for me anyway), i.e. not getting back in. 2 trips to Bangkok would cost me more than 5k Baht.

 

Looks like 2 options now, wait for VFS and/or use an agent.

i would wait for VFS....why pay an agent money when one can do it onself?? I DID IN October 2018

[essox essox]

On 4/14/2020 at 9:06 AM, prakhonchai nick said:

To collect your new UK passport from VFS, either self or using an agent, your old passport has to be submitted for them to cancel and cut the corner off. No old passport, then no new one!!!

fair comment....I had my old one with me and they cut the corner off......I did it all by myself NO AGENT so NO pay extra monies !!

[fourpack]

5 minutes ago, essox essox said:

i would wait for VFS....why pay an agent money when one can do it onself?? I DID IN October 2018

Simple for me really cheaper to pay for someone to do it rather than fly/drive to BKK hotel for the night Fly/Drive home. When new passport arrives back in BKK. Fly /drive to BKK hotel for night Fly/drive  back home. Simple mathematics. Pay an agent. Save money and time.

We don't all live in BKK or close.

[transam]

10 minutes ago, essox essox said:

fair comment....I had my old one with me and they cut the corner off......I did it all by myself NO AGENT so NO pay extra monies !!

You live next door to Trendy....?

[Saltire]

OK so as I see it my choices are now as below, and both dependant on what happens in the next 4 months.

 

1 If and when VFS reopens for business - go to BKK August or September (so twice) and get the new passport. Factors include travel bans, hotel availability etc. Renew extension in October as normal and get a new 12 months stay. I can cover petrol costs if I get my brother in law to drive (6/7 hours) reducing the risk (and tedium) of minvans and buses.

 

2 Go to my local IO in October as normal and get a new extension, but only till August 2021 and not November 2021. This means I can delay the time to either go to VFS or to the UK to renew passport.

 

IS THERE a chance my extension application could be rejected completely and they insist on a new passport? This would put me into panic mode.

 

These options reduce the need to travel to the UK, though I would still like to do a trip eventually for other matters, like pick up new credit and debit cards which also expire Feb - May 2021.

 

The uncertainty of should I go soon or delay in the hope that things will relax is getting on my wick.

 

Right now I feel like I will be avoiding airports and aeroplanes indefintely.

 

Thaks for all the input and yes it would be so much easier if they just issued them in Bangkok.

 

[john terry1001]

52 minutes ago, fourpack said:

Simple for me really cheaper to pay for someone to do it rather than fly/drive to BKK hotel for the night Fly/Drive home. When new passport arrives back in BKK. Fly /drive to BKK hotel for night Fly/drive  back home. Simple mathematics. Pay an agent. Save money and time.

We don't all live in BKK or close.

The OP has said trips to Trendy to renew his passport would cost an extra 5k baht in total. Using an agent who would do all the donkey work for the OP charges guess what...........5k baht. And he would still have the additional cost of one trip to Trendy to collect his new passport. I'm glad I didn't learn your simple mathematics ????.

[ThaidDown]

7 minutes ago, john terry1001 said:

The OP has said trips to Trendy to renew his passport would cost an extra 5k baht in total. Using an agent who would do all the donkey work for the OP charges guess what...........5k baht. And he would still have the additional cost of one trip to Trendy to collect his new passport. I'm glad I didn't learn your simple mathematics ????.

Using an authorised agent requires no trips to Trendy.

 

[Saltire]

1 minute ago, ThaidDown said:

Using an authorised agent requires no trips to Trendy.

 

It seems an agent is not a good choice due to not being able to find one in my area after asking around in local FB groups). Besides I have reservations about posting my passport anywhere. The only agents I have ever seen in my IO are those who deal with migrant workers (I live an hour from the Myanmar border).

 

I have concluded therefore an agent is not posible, i'd have to go almost to Bangkok anyway to find one, which is kind of pointless.

 

 

[john terry1001]

10 minutes ago, ThaidDown said:

18 minutes ago, john terry1001 said:

The OP has said trips to Trendy to renew his passport would cost an extra 5k baht in total. Using an agent who would do all the donkey work for the OP charges guess what...........5k baht. And he would still have the additional cost of one trip to Trendy to collect his new passport. I'm glad I didn't learn your simple mathematics ????.

Using an authorised agent requires no trips to Trendy.

But it costs 5k baht for the agent plus the cost of his trip to Trendy to collect his passport.

 

Quote

 

Key Visa can take away all the hassle of renewing your British passport in Thailand for a service fee of just 5000 baht (this is in addition to your passport renewal fee) which includes document checking, photocopies, taking the application to Bangkok and collecting the new British passport when it is ready.

Even if you live away from Pattaya then we can still help, just send your documents to us via EMS and make the payment into our bank account. When your new passport is ready we will send it to you via EMS for just an additional 100 baht.

 

If the OP does it all himself, including the cost of two trips to Trendy, he says it will only cost 5k baht in total.