Renewing US Passport BKK

[TheScience]

I'm posting here because the United States unlike the UK doesn't have its own subform.

 

Would anyone know how long it takes for the US to process a renewal on a passport? I've heard it could be as little as 3 weeks but that was pre-covid.

 

I believe we are allowed to keep the passport as well correct? Therefore, it should not have any issue with 90-day report.

 

Thanks

[theoldgit]

@TheScience  I'll move your question to the "US and Canada Topics and events" sub forum, where somebody may be able to assist you.

[ubonjoe]

It takes about 2 to 3 weeks to get a new passport.

You do it by mail. See: https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/passports/adult-passport-renew/

The keep your old passport until they mail the new one to you.

[dsj]

I don't know if this is the right area to post.

My Thai wife has a valid Visa for USA until 2017 and she just recently legally changed her first name and kept the same last name and getting a new passport. I would like to know if she went to USA and showed her old passport with the valid visa and old first name, with her new passport with new first name, we a certified tanslation of the name change from MFA, would the USA accept that when she tried to enter the States. I tried to go onto their website to setup an appointment but they won't let me log in as it tells me that the email is incorrect format. Even when I tried the email address that I used the last time I renewed her Visa. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[mtls2005]

Prices go up tomorrow I think. A $20 increase, so make sure you check what the new fee is in THB before securing the local bank draft.

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/how-apply/fees.html

 

 

Starting Dec. 27, the cost of a U.S. passport book will rise $20 for all customers, the State Department announced this week. The price for a first-time or replacement adult passport will be $165; a renewal will be $130. The expedited fee, which gets you your passport weeks earlier, will remain $60.

 

The State Department said the fee increase is “necessary to ensure we continue to produce one of the most secure travel and identity documents in the world.”

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2021/12/23/passport-price-increase/

Edited December 26, 2021 by mtls2005

[ubonjoe]

56 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

Prices go up tomorrow I think. A $20 increase, so make sure you check what the new fee is in THB before securing the local bank draft.

A bank draft is no longer needed. You pay online in USD for it.

Quote

ANNOUNCEMENT: Beginning July 18, 2021, U.S. Embassy Bangkok began accepting online fee payments for adult U.S. passport renewal applications. Paying online allows you to mail your application to the U.S. Embassy without the need to apply in person.

Source: https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/passports/adult-passport-renew/

You do need a 100 baht bank draft to pay for the return postage for your passport.

 

[ubonjoe]

1 hour ago, dsj said:

I don't know if this is the right area to post.

My Thai wife has a valid Visa for USA until 2017 and she just recently legally changed her first name and kept the same last name and getting a new passport.

Best to ask you question in this forum. Visas and migration to other countries

[mtls2005]

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Who is eligible to pay online and renew their passport by?
A: You may be eligible to apply via online payment if you are an adult (16 years and older) who already has a 10-year U.S. passport book issued no more than 15 years ago. You must be resident in and have a mailing address in Thailand.

 

Q: What if I already have a bank draft?
A: Payments by bank draft are still accepted.  Please follow the instructions on https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/passports/adult-passport-renew.

 

https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/passports/faq-on-line-payment/

 

No clue if or how that "residency" requirement is applied re: online payment.

 

Sorry I forgot about that trial online payment system which was enabled earlier this year.

[ubonjoe]

35 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

No clue if or how that "residency" requirement is applied re: online payment.

It appears to be more of statement than a question. When you complete the passport application you would be using a address in Thailand on it.

[cmarshall]

If you are renewing a US passport, be sure to get the passport card as well.  Very useful in Thailand and elsewhere.

[mtls2005]

3 hours ago, cmarshall said:

If you are renewing a US passport, be sure to get the passport card as well.  Very useful in Thailand and elsewhere.

 

I agree on getting a passport card, but I have never found a use for it here, nor should anyone be under the impression that it is somehow a substitute for a passport.

 

It is RealID-compliant, which can be super helpful, mostly in the U.S. 

[cmarshall]

39 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

 

I agree on getting a passport card, but I have never found a use for it here, nor should anyone be under the impression that it is somehow a substitute for a passport.

 

It is RealID-compliant, which can be super helpful, mostly in the U.S. 

 

Having a passport card in Thailand saves us from ever having to carry the passport book, the loss of which would be a headache.  I have used my passport card as my id in sending DHL parcels, in registering at a hospital and then getting healthcare at the hospital, in registering for a language course, getting a Covid vaccine, etc..  The only time I carry my passport book is when going to the TM.  Other than that the passport card is indeed an effective substitute for the passport book.

 

The reason is that Thai people expect an ID card, since they all have national id cards.   So, they it doesn't strike them as odd to present a passport card as id, although many Americans would find it odd.

[mtls2005]

38 minutes ago, cmarshall said:

Having a passport card in Thailand saves us from ever having to carry the passport book

I guess we'll just have to disagree on the usefulness of a U.S. Passport card here in Thailand. I have never, ever used mine here nor would I as it would just confuse people. It is not a mini-passport, it is an independent, unique form of identification, with a unique numbering scheme unrelated to your passport booklet.

 

In all of my encounters with thai officialdom, an original passport is required. 

 

I recommend it as it is a RealID-compliant government-issued ID. Cheapish at ~ $3/year.

 

People considering a passport card should do their own research.

[cmarshall]

Just now, mtls2005 said:

I guess we'll just have to disagree on the usefulness of a U.S. Passport card here in Thailand. I have never, ever used mine here nor would I as it would just confuse people.

 

In all of my encounters with thai officialdom, an original passport is required.

 

I recommend it as it is a RealID-compliant government-issued ID. Cheapish at ~ $3/year.

 

 

People considering a passport card should do their own research.

If you read what I have written I never claimed to hand it to Thai officials.  There are a lot of occasions when people other than government officials ask for an id.  No Thai I ever handed it to seemed in the least nonplussed, probably because they think it must be a national id card.  I also used it when signing my most recent lease which was then accepted without question by both the landlord and the building manager.

 

As you know, we are advised/obliged to carry id while in Thailand.  The passport card fulfills that function and fits in your wallet while you keep the passport book safe at home.  

 

You should give it a try before you decide that it would just confuse Thai people.  

[mtls2005]

Like I said, we'll just disagree on the usefulness.

 

You seem to encounter the requirement for an ID a lot more than I do, and if it works with day-to-day administrative/clerical purposes for you, awesome.

 

18 minutes ago, cmarshall said:

You should give it a try before you decide that it would just confuse Thai people.  

No. Never. Sorry.

 

18 minutes ago, cmarshall said:

As you know, we are advised/obliged to carry id while in Thailand. 

Copies are fine, or so we've been told. Also scans available via a phone/cloud.

 

I value my passport card so I wouldn't carry it around for the same reason I don't carry my passport around, unless I know I'll need it that day.

 

I certainly wouldn't have used it during the vaccination process here. I want my passport number associated with my vaccination history, not some obscure number from my passport card.

 

Let's just agree that we have different requirements.

[cmarshall]

1 minute ago, mtls2005 said:

Like I said, we'll just disagree on the usefulness.

 

You seem to encounter the requirement for an ID a lot more than I do, and if it works with day-to-day administrative/clerical purposes for you, awesome.

 

 

No. Never. Sorry.

 

 

Copies are fine, or so we've been told. Also scans available via a phone/cloud.

 

I value my passport card so I wouldn't carry it around for the same reason I don't carry my passport around, unless I know I'll need it that day.

 

I certainly wouldn't have used it during the vaccination process here. I want my passport number associated with my vaccination history, not some obscure number from my passport card.

 

 

Let's just agree that we have different requirements.

Fine, except that I have experience with routine Thai acceptance of my US passport card, while you are just supposing that Thais would be confused.  It goes without saying that you are welcome to make your own choices, but advising others against getting it without any data to support your theory that it is useless in Thailand is not a reasonable position.

 

Getting a Thai to accept a photocopy of a passport seems a lot more dubious to me.

 

My passport card is also a lot less valuable to me than my passport book.  If I lost the card, I would just be out the price of a replacement with no real inconvenience.  

[TheScience]

On 12/29/2021 at 9:04 AM, cmarshall said:

If you are renewing a US passport, be sure to get the passport card as well.  Very useful in Thailand and elsewhere.

I had when years ago I've never shown it to anyone.

 

I won't bother to get another one as another poster had stated everyone will want to see the passport anyway.

 

I don't know if it's still the case but on the back of my passport card it says good only in the Caribbean or something like that...

 

One entirely nonsensical and even stupid thing that I noticed about my card and why I never even bothered to proffer it was that it not only had a different number than my passport but it did not even have the passport number on the card perhaps that's changed??

 

Appreciate the help though

Edited January 5, 2022 by TheScience

[beachproperty]

I just renewed my US passport ......sent in all the paper work with the bank drafts on Dec.8.

 

Received it 3 weeks later. No problem. 

[Alotoftravel]

Is there any specific update / actions we need to do once we get a new passport (new number ) besides transferring our visa . For example , so need to update Thai driving license , bank accounts? 

[flexomike]

On 1/12/2022 at 11:58 AM, Alotoftravel said:

Is there any specific update / actions we need to do once we get a new passport (new number ) besides transferring our visa . For example , so need to update Thai driving license , bank accounts? 

Bank accounts for sure, you can do your driver's licence when you renew