I need to renew my passport

[seam0nster]

My understanding is the VFS is currently closed and they're the people that can provide the passport renewal service. What am I supposed to do if I need a new passport? I cannot extend my visa with my current one.

[WhiteBuffaloATM]

simply apply as living in home country with friends / family there for onward mailing service.........

[seam0nster]

14 minutes ago, WhiteBuffaloATM said:

simply apply as living in home country with friends / family there for onward mailing service.........

I don't have any family in the UK and of the friends I do have I wouldn't want to put any of them through the hassle on my behalf. Surely there must be another option. The Gov.uk site takes me round in circles when trying to apply online and having called the VFS they forwarded me to a consular representative that assured me that 1) The VFS is not closed (it is, they told me as much themselves) and 2) Thai immigration wouldn't penalise me under the circumstances (which was pretty funny).

 

I'm waiting for 8am UK time to call the Passport Adviceline, Hopefully they'll be of some assistance although I'm not holding my breath.

 

Apologies if I come across a little grumpy, these things tend to stress me out more than they should, perhaps.

[British Consular Team]

As far as we are aware the VFS is open. You can confirm here.

[British Consular Team]

23 minutes ago, seam0nster said:

I don't have any family in the UK and of the friends I do have I wouldn't want to put any of them through the hassle on my behalf. Surely there must be another option. The Gov.uk site takes me round in circles when trying to apply online and having called the VFS they forwarded me to a consular representative that assured me that 1) The VFS is not closed (it is, they told me as much themselves) and 2) Thai immigration wouldn't penalise me under the circumstances (which was pretty funny).

 

I'm waiting for 8am UK time to call the Passport Adviceline, Hopefully they'll be of some assistance although I'm not holding my breath.

 

Apologies if I come across a little grumpy, these things tend to stress me out more than they should, perhaps.

Sorry, saw this after we posted the message above. Can you explain what you mean by a consular representative telling you the VFS is closed? 

[seam0nster]

6 minutes ago, British Consular Team said:

As far as we are aware the VFS is open. You can confirm here.

They're not open. I've called them to confirm as much.

[seam0nster]

Just now, British Consular Team said:

Sorry, saw this after we posted the message above. Can you explain what you mean by a consular representative telling you the VFS is closed? 

I said they told me it's not closed. (It is closed!)

 

26 minutes ago, seam0nster said:

consular representative that assured me that 1) The VFS is not closed

I called the VFS, they told me they're closed, they forwarded the line to consular services, they told me it's not closed. It is closed!

[WhiteBuffaloATM]

some valuable “friends” you have then.....

you will have to use one for the “apply from UK” method to work

uk.gov website is clear & functional.

you will need to carefully work through it.

read & comply the Form & Guidelines....

did all this recently for friend here.

passport renewal not simple but fairly easy if you focus hard ! 

UK Passports high value to fraudsters. process requires concentration....

 

once you identify as living here to Passport Help assume you have lost the “apply from UK” option.

dont do it, they cannot help you at all, will simply refer you to website

you are not special , there are no short cuts or “other ways”......

 

all applicants must ultimately follow fully the uk.gov website process

surely some Brit here can help as “application partner” ?

 

[seam0nster]

@WhiteBuffaloATM Mate, I've lived abroad close to 10 years, I don't burden my friends with this sort of stuff out of the blue when they've got their own stress in life to deal with. Otherwise I appreciate the advice. I'm going to call the Passport Adviceline now to see if they can offer any more wisdom.

[Doctor Tom]

4 minutes ago, WhiteBuffaloATM said:

some valuable “friends” you have then.....

you will have to use one for the “apply from UK” method to work

uk.gov website is clear & functional.

you will need to carefully work through it.

read & comply the Form & Guidelines....

did all this recently for friend here.

passport renewal not simple but fairly easy if you focus hard ! 

UK Passports high value to fraudsters. process requires concentration....

 

once you identify as living here to Passport Help assume you have lost the “apply from UK” option.

dont do it, they cannot help you at all, will simply refer you to website

you are not special , there are no short cuts or “other ways”......

 

all applicants must ultimately follow fully the uk.gov website process

surely some Brit here can help as “application partner” ?

 

Biggest issue with the online application is getting the digital photo right. It is highly sensitive to not meeting the exact form of photo.  You need perseverance and a photo place that doesn't photo shop the result as a matter of course, which they  all do unless you insist that they do not.  Good luck. I am going through the same process for my g/f and we have not yet got the photo right, despite many attempts. As I say, patience and perseverance. 

[seam0nster]

After 20 minutes on hold to the Passport Adviceservice a robot told me they'll call me back.

[seam0nster]

1 hour ago, British Consular Team said:

You can confirm here.

Also thanks for the link but this is for Czech people. Took me a while to realise why it was saying Sam Yan instead of Trendy building.

[Upnotover]

There was a thread over the weekend about someone needing to collect a passport having been contacted by VFS.  Are you certain they knew you were calling about passports and not visas?  I think I'd be inclined to send the appointment request email and see what comes back, if anything.

[seam0nster]

1 minute ago, Upnotover said:

There was a thread over the weekend about someone needing to collect a passport having been contacted by VFS.  Are you certain they knew you were calling about passports and not visas?  I think I'd be inclined to send the appointment request email and see what comes back, if anything.

I'm certain I made that very clear and they did indeed forward me to consular services, if I were applying for a visa I'm not sure they'd do that. Perhaps they were able to pick it up because they'd already successfully applied. I'm on hold again with a flabbergasted agent from the Passport Adviceservice.

[Scottish Thailander]

Seam0nster,

 

I did see that VSF Closed message a week or so ago but even then, it was not all offices in Thailand, just those in Bangkok. At that time, the Chiang Mai office was still open. Not sure what the current situation is, but it does seem to be that with the exception of the recent public holiday closures that they may be open in some offices of Bangkok currently so maybe that is where the confusion is arising. The other point of confusion may be that offices may be open for Visa applications but not supply a Passport Renewal Service?

 

From this link, https://www.vfsglobal.com/en/individuals/covid-19-customer-advisories.html you can see the latest (a few days ago so maybe not updated) status:-

 

REGIONAL

• 22 July 2021
  The Visa Application Centre in Chamchuri Square, Bangkok will remain closed until further notice as per local government directives.
  The UK Visa Application Centre in Trendy, Bangkok, will resume operations on 23 July 2021 at reduced business hours and with limited appointments.
  • Visa Application Centres temporarily closed in Bangkok, Thailand
• 19 July 2021
  UK Visa Application Centres in Bangkok are closed to new applications until further notice. For information regarding the status of your outstanding visa application, please visit the gov.uk.
  Click here for more information.
  • UK Visa Application Centre temporarily closed in Bangkok, Thailand

 Good Luck!

[Upnotover]

7 minutes ago, seam0nster said:

I'm certain I made that very clear and they did indeed forward me to consular services, if I were applying for a visa I'm not sure they'd do that. Perhaps they were able to pick it up because they'd already successfully applied. I'm on hold again with a flabbergasted agent from the Passport Adviceservice.

I'd still send that email, you might be pleasantly surprised.

[seam0nster]

Just now, Upnotover said:

I'd still send that email, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Did that before I realised the situation, waiting for a reply.

 

@Scottish Thailander I appreciate where you're coming from but they themselves told me in no uncertain terms that they're closed.

 

The Passport Adviceservice eventually told me I'd just have to wait for them to open again, which could be who knows when, probably too late if they're going to take 11 weeks to process my renewal.

 

Disregard everything, I've received a reply from VFS attempting to establish an appointment date. My bad! ????

 

They told me on the phone they were closed and couldn't help ????

 

[brewsterbudgen]

The VFS office at The Trendy in Bangkok is open but with limited opening times.

 

https://www.vfsglobal.co.uk/th/en/news/information-about-the-uk-visa-application-centres-in-thailand

[seam0nster]

Just now, brewsterbudgen said:

The VFS office at The Trendy in Bangkok is open but with limited opening times.

 

https://www.vfsglobal.co.uk/th/en/news/information-about-the-uk-visa-application-centres-in-thailand

That does in fact appear to be the case. Well, I've had my excitement for the day at least. If anyone as silly as myself in a similar situation finds this thread, just email them, calling them seems to be rather counterproductive.

[ukrules]

On 8/2/2021 at 3:16 PM, seam0nster said:

Disregard everything, I've received a reply from VFS attempting to establish an appointment date. My bad! ????

 

They told me on the phone they were closed and couldn't help

They were closed for a short amount of time, then they reopened but make no mistake - they did close for all business, visa applications, passport renewals and collections were all cancelled.

Anyone who tells you differently is lying. I know this as I was going to renew my passport the day after they announced the closure, it didn't last long, nobody knows why.

 

So you were correct - they had been closed but only for a week or two.

 

[blackcab]

As passport applications are not handled by the Embassy, this topic has been moved to the Home Country forum.