On 2/1/2023 at 7:03 AM, Gottfrid said:

Got mine in 10 days

We have fast and slow service  in the UK , you can get a passport in person on the same day as you apply, or apply by post which can take longer .

  So either get a passport on the same day , or wait and get it by post

3 hours ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

We have fast and slow service  in the UK , you can get a passport in person on the same day as you apply, or apply by post which can take longer .

  So either get a passport on the same day , or wait and get it by post

Online Premium service

You’ll apply, pay and book an appointment online. The earliest you can get an appointment is 2 days from when you apply.

You’ll get your new passport at your appointment. Appointments can last up to 30 minutes.

It costs £193.50 (or £204.50 for a 50 page frequent traveller passport).

You can only use Online Premium to renew an adult passport that was issued after 31 December 2001.

A bunch of off-topic "language police" posts, and responses, have been removed.

21 hours ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

We have fast and slow service  in the UK , you can get a passport in person on the same day as you apply, or apply by post which can take longer .

  So either get a passport on the same day , or wait and get it by post

If you are in the UK, yes! Not if you apply from another country. The only thing that is same day then, is emergency passport.

My kids passports were submitted on 6th December and we got them back on the 28th Dec ...

On 2/1/2023 at 8:40 AM, OJAS said:

Hmm, looks like 2 physical trips are also needed in your case - but to the Swedish Embassy instead of a rundown office block with an extremely silly name (assuming that Google has translated the following link from Swedish to English correctly):

Not needed for the UK, just one and even then an agent could save that.

7 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Not needed for the UK, just one and even then an agent could save that.

Surely two physical visits are required, one to submit the application and a second to collect the new one and have the old passport clipped.
Though, yes, an agent could be employed to carry out both transactions.

On 2/2/2023 at 9:24 PM, youreavinalaff said:

I have never had any issues getting photos to the required specifications. 

So where do you live? Maybe not a problem for those who live in major population centres like Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, etc, but certainly a significant one for those of us who live in the boonies!

 

On 2/3/2023 at 10:53 AM, Eff1n2ret said:

If you have a printer it's not difficult to download a free app and print your own - but that doesn't invalidate Ojas' point that HMPO is way behind the times when, for example Thai Immigration can capture your image digitally, and as do Thai passport offices. In fact, Brits in the UK and many countries in the world can apply online and submit a digital photo. Why Thailand and a few other countries are excluded from this facility is a mystery to me.

In particular, the acceptable background colour requirements differ in the case of digital and paper photos. In the case of digital photos, mug shots may be taken against "a plain light-coloured" background. Whereas in the case of paper photos, mug shots must only be taken against the correct shade of "a plain cream or light grey" background.

 

https://www.gov.uk/photos-for-passports/photo-requirements

 

It's getting paper photos taken against an acceptable background colour that's the major issue here in Thailand, since most professional photographers are only equipped to take mug shots against a turquoise or white background, which is the acceptable norm here for ID photos. Maybe some of them are capable of photoshopping the background colour so to make it appear to be in compliance with HMPO's over-fussy requirements, but that would, course, be in violation of HMPO's "no software altering" rule. And no doubt HMPO have their means for detecting whether or not this rule has been complied with.

 

1 hour ago, thonglorjimmy said:

Surely two physical visits are required, one to submit the application and a second to collect the new one and have the old passport clipped.
Though, yes, an agent could be employed to carry out both transactions.

Or you can get a friend to pick it up. 

8 minutes ago, OJAS said:

So where do you live? Maybe not a problem for those who live in urban centres like Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, etc, but certainly a significant one for those of us who live in the boonies!

 

In particular, the acceptable background colour requirements differ in the case of digital and paper photos. In the case of digital photos, mug shots may be taken against "a plain light-coloured" background. Whereas in the case of paper photos, mug shots must only be taken against the correct shade of "a plain cream or light grey" background.

 

https://www.gov.uk/photos-for-passports/photo-requirements

 

It's getting photos taken against an acceptable background colour that's the major issue here in Thailand, since most professional photographers are only equipped to take mug shots against a turquoise or white background, which is the acceptable norm here for ID photos. Maybe some of them are capable of photoshopping the background colour so to make it appear to be in compliance with HMPO's over-fussy requirements, but that would, course, be in violation of HMPO's "no software altering" rule. And no doubt HMPO have their means for detecting whether or not this rule has been complied with.

 

Is only once every 10 years to need to get a photo. I lived in Isarn and had no issues. Actually with my kids needed every 5 years. 

Photo shops in provincial towns have the required backgrounds. Where are you? 

On 2/1/2023 at 11:08 AM, brewsterbudgen said:

True, but I think his point is that the appalling delays being experienced are post-Brexit.  I renewed my passport in Bangkok in 2015 and it only took a couple of weeks.  

i did mine in 2018 got new on three weeks later

1 hour ago, OJAS said:

And no doubt HMPO have their means for detecting whether or not this rule has been complied with.

I'm not sure how they would do that on the paper photos that we have to submit. I played around with the brightness of the photo I took with a digital camera before I printed it.

3 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Photo shops in provincial towns have the required backgrounds. Where are you? 

Well certainly none of the photo shops in my neck of the woods (Rayong province) which I've used over the years for Immigration mugshots appear to be the proud possessors of drapes coloured plain cream or light grey against which mugshots for new British passports can be taken. Presumably you fall over such drapes when entering photo shops in Isaan, but it's a bit much to expect me to make a trip there every 10 years specially for new passport mugshots, I think!

 

1 hour ago, Eff1n2ret said:

I'm not sure how they would do that on the paper photos that we have to submit. I played around with the brightness of the photo I took with a digital camera before I printed it.

More generally, though, I do consider it a mystery as to why VFS don't offer an optional mugshot-taking service as part of the renewal process. That could certainly mitigate some of the pain of the first compulsory trip at least to their office, I think. I can only surmise that they have been expressly forbidden by their HMPO masters from providing such a service on the grounds that nothing, absolutely nothing, must be allowed to get in the way of the possible development of a possible joint UK/Thai government strategy aimed at making our lives in LOS just as miserable and difficult as is humanly possible!

 

Thankfully I was able to get mugshots for my last 2 passport renewals here in LOS during trips to the UK.

 

22 minutes ago, OJAS said:

Well certainly none of the photo shops in my neck of the woods (Rayong province) which I've used over the years for Immigration mugshots appear to be the proud possessors of drapes coloured plain cream or light grey against which mugshots for new British passports can be taken. I can only surmise that you fall over such drapes when entering photo shops in Isaan, but it's a bit much to expect me to make a trip there every 10 years specially for new passport mugshots, I think!

 

No need to travel far -  try here -  https://www.facebook.com/Siam.Express.Photo/?fref=ts

 

25 minutes ago, OJAS said:

More generally, though, I do consider it a mystery as to why VFS don't offer an optional mugshot-taking service as part of the renewal process. That could certainly mitigate some of the pain of the first compulsory trip at least to their office, I think. I can only surmise that they have been expressly forbidden by their HMPO masters from providing such a service on the grounds that nothing, absolutely nothing, must be allowed to get in the way of the possible development of a possible joint UK/Thai government strategy aimed at making our lives in LOS just as miserable and difficult as is humanly possible!

I got a photo taken in the Trendy building

6 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

I got a photo taken in the Trendy building

So did I, it was turned down at the interview..............????

3 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Or you can get a friend to pick it up. 

Indeed you can, but that still requires two visits by somebody, not only the one you claimed.

Using an agent like Key Visa Service saves all the headaches and travelling, all done by EMS post.......

1 minute ago, theoldgit said:

Indeed you can, but that still requires two visits by somebody, not only the one you claimed.

I claimed nothing. I said you only have to visit in person once.

Just now, transam said:

Using an agent like Key Visa Service saves all the headaches and travelling, all done by EMS post.......

And cheaper sometimes.

6 hours ago, OJAS said:

So where do you live? Maybe not a problem for those who live in major population centres like Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, etc, but certainly a significant one for those of us who live in the boonies!

Buriram. Considered by many as "the boonies".

so how long has it taken you?

 

From Oz we were sorted in under 4 weeks - January 2023

I saw a story in today's Daily Mail that over 90% of renewals are now being done within 3 weeks, although HMPO are sticking to their 10 weeks advisory.

Couple of days ago Braverman answered questions in the Commons regarding passport delays. She said that 97% of applications were dealt with within 10 weeks. They are expecting a large amount of applications this summer so had hired an extra 1200 staff. Regarding the 10 weeks, she emphasized that this was applications from the UK only.

7 hours ago, stratocaster said:

Couple of days ago Braverman answered questions in the Commons regarding passport delays. She said that 97% of applications were dealt with within 10 weeks. They are expecting a large amount of applications this summer so had hired an extra 1200 staff. Regarding the 10 weeks, she emphasized that this was applications from the UK only.

It seems that applications outside the UK are going much quicker.

What do i need to do if i want someone else to collect my children's new passports from vfs?

39 minutes ago, surat04 said:

What do i need to do if i want someone else to collect my children's new passports from vfs?

I had somebody collect my passport and she had an authorisation letter from me which referenced her Thai ID card number along with my application reference.  She also had my old passport for VFS to cancel.  That was all as far as I recall.

On 2/5/2023 at 9:11 AM, Neeranam said:

Or you can get a friend to pick it up. 

But that's still a physical pick up by somebody, agent or friend.

On 2/5/2023 at 12:10 PM, OJAS said:

Well certainly none of the photo shops in my neck of the woods (Rayong province) which I've used over the years for Immigration mugshots appear to be the proud possessors of drapes coloured plain cream or light grey against which mugshots for new British passports can be taken. Presumably you fall over such drapes when entering photo shops in Isaan, but it's a bit much to expect me to make a trip there every 10 years specially for new passport mugshots, I think!

 

Try any branch of Big Camera in most malls.  We did ours in Robinsons, Ban Chang, Rayong.