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Living Without Passport?

MakichGak
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MakichGak Rookie Member

MakichGak

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I would appreciate some kind suggestions in advance.
I hold a retirement visa, and after ten years with my spouse in Thailand, I currently reside in a small town.
My passport was about to expire in October, and at the same time I had to renew my one-year visa, so in August, I sent the passport by a reputable Southeast Asian forwarding firm to my embassy in Bangkok. The parcel spent six days in Bangkok, according to the forwarder's online monitoring, after which it was "returned to me."
I did not receive the parcel. I lost my passport.
Since it is nearly impossible to reach the forwarder by phone, I begin by emailing their Thailand office and then their head office abroad.
They merely responded to my first emails with professionally generated "0" content that was wordy and ignorant, without offering me any genuine explanation or acknowledgment that the parcel had been missing, then stopped to reply.
After presenting my passport copy and the forwarder receipt with the tracking number to the police, I was given a report.
I then applied for a brand-new passport at my embassy. However, I have to wait around 2.5–3 months for it to get to me.
Thus, I currently have to: a. live in concealment for the last ninety days; b. reside unlawfully till the end of November since I am unable to renew my visa for the upcoming year in October.
Same, of course, for my spouse as she is a dependent.
I would appreciate any genuine suggestions. What can I do? Thank you.

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CharlieKo Silver Member

CharlieKo

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Best to take the Police report about the lost passport to your local immigration office and see if they will renew your visa in October. Can your embassy issue you with a temporary passport? Do it asap. At least you will know what's what. 

 

Maybe the only thing in your favour is no passport, cannot leave Thailand!

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Caldera Platinum Member

Caldera

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Can't you get your passport application expedited (check with your embassy if there's an "express" option), or a temporary passport/emergency travel document (check with your embassy)?

 

One thing's for sure, you'll need an original passport (it could be a temporary one though) to get anything done with Thai immigration. Don't even bother approaching them before you have one, so your best bet to avoid issues is your embassy. 

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sandyf Diamond Member

sandyf

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29 minutes ago, MakichGak said:

After presenting my passport copy and the forwarder receipt with the tracking number to the police, I was given a report.

If you have a tracking number google "Global Package Tracking" and look for a link to parcelsapp.com.

I have used it many times both international and domestic and results have been better than notifications from courier. With a bit of luck you may find the last movement or even the passport.

With a copy and a police report you should be ok till your permission to stay expires. It would then be up to immigration but I would suspect you will be given 7 days to leave the country.

You haven't said which embassy but the time scale would suggest the passport is coming from your home country.  I was in a similar position in 2014 and had to ask my embassy to expedite the passport, it arrived a couple of days before I would have had to ETD back to the UK. That gets a bit complicated if the passport from the application has already been printed.

I am in fact heading back to UK tonight to get a new passport to avoid any similar problems.

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Caldera Platinum Member

Caldera

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1 hour ago, sandyf said:

With a copy and a police report you should be ok till your permission to stay expires. It would then be up to immigration but I would suspect you will be given 7 days to leave the country.

There's nothing immigration can and will do if you don't have a valid passport of some kind.

 

You won't even get an extra 7 days; they certainly won't put the extension (or order to leave within 7 days) stamp on a copy. You couldn't leave without a passport anyway, and of course they know. 

 

At the very least, you need a temporary passport from your embassy. A real original document that immigration can stamp.

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chickenslegs Diamond Member

chickenslegs

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7 hours ago, MakichGak said:

Same, of course, for my spouse as she is a dependent.

I am not knowledgeable about visas/extensions but I'm wondering whether the experts can envisage a solution that involves the spouse applying for a visa and the OP being the dependent. Assuming she has a current passport and could meet the criteria.

 

Just trying to think outside the box - don't be too harsh if I'm being stupid.

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Dan O Gold Member

Dan O

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2 hours ago, MakichGak said:

Thanks for all advices.

1.I dont have the option of express passport or it's substitute.

2.Dont have option of temporary passport/document from embassy.

what if wait for my passport 'under radars'?

Never heard of any embassy that can't help solve an issue like this with obtaining an expedited PP . Get a police report and copies of the emails from your reputable forwarding company showing the package is missing and contact your embassy either here or in home country. Explain the problem and ask for support to solve the problem 

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CharlieKo Silver Member

CharlieKo

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3 hours ago, MakichGak said:

2.Dont have option of temporary passport/document from embassy.

What are you hiding from? Your embassy is obliged to either provide you with a travel document to leave the country, or a temporary passport. So why is this not an option for you. You should explain or you are posting BS!

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Shop mak Silver Member

Shop mak

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4 hours ago, MakichGak said:

what if wait for my passport 'under radars'?

You create further Problems!

 

4 hours ago, MakichGak said:

2.Dont have option of temporary passport/document from embassy.

WHY? Explain this.

Are you for real? 

New member and all.

You actually want to create more problems, rather than follow advice given many times above.

Go To Your Embassy.

As soon as possible.

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BritTim Diamond Member

BritTim

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2 hours ago, Shop mak said:

@BritTim

We do not know the OP's nationality. Without that, we are speculating about what his embassy might be willing to do for him. However, as others have suggested, an absolute minimum ought to be an emergency travel document allowing him to travel to home country.

 

His spouse is a major complicating factor. I do not feel I have enough information to suggest what is likely to be the least unsatisfactory way forward of the various unpalatable options.

 

While a deliberate overstay was sometimes a rational option years ago, it really is a last resort these days. The result could be disastrous.

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BenStark Platinum Member

BenStark

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11 hours ago, MakichGak said:

I sent the passport by a reputable Southeast Asian forwarding firm to my embassy in Bangkok. The parcel spent six days in Bangkok, according to the forwarder's online monitoring, after which it was "returned to me."
I did not receive the parcel. I lost my passport.
Since it is nearly impossible to reach the forwarder by phone, I begin by emailing their Thailand office and then their head office abroad.

What's wrong with EMS? My embassy advises using EMS, so why you used a forwarder for a domestic postage?

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SiSePuede419 Gold Member

SiSePuede419

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17 hours ago, MakichGak said:

sent the passport by a reputable Southeast Asian forwarding firm

Forwarding firm?  What the hell is that?  Don't sound very "reputable" if they lost it.  Who told you to do that?  You never sent anything using registered mail at the Thai Post Office?

Seems like your problem is that you ignore very very basic knowledge (local post offices are very reliable in Thailand) and listen to people who give you bad advice.  There's the reason you have no passport now.

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alanrchase Gold Member

alanrchase

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What do you mean by forwarding firm? Similar to Kerry, Flash? Do you mean an agency that helps with passport renewals? How did you arrange for your embassy to return your new passport? Did you give the equivalent of a stamped addressed envelope for the forwarding company? Did the embassy have to contact the forwarding company when the new passport was ready? When you say "passport returned" is that the embassy saying they returned your new passport or the forwarding firm claiming that they delivered it to you?

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swm59nj Gold Member

swm59nj

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 Could have, should have.  What’s done is done. 
You need to contact your embassy for assistance. That is what they are there for.  They for the most part handle situations like this.  I don’t understand why your own embassy won’t help you. Especially since you tried to do the right thing.  

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bigt3116 Silver Member

bigt3116

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53 minutes ago, Dan O said:

I don't recall him saying his nationality.. He wrote that he sent the pp to his embassy in bkk so I think they do

Yes he has an embassy here in Thailand

BUT

You wrote "contact your embassy either here or in home country" , and I am saying that he won't have an embassy in his home country

????

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Gandtee Platinum Member

Gandtee

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10 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

I am not knowledgeable about visas/extensions but I'm wondering whether the experts can envisage a solution that involves the spouse applying for a visa and the OP being the dependent. Assuming she has a current passport and could meet the criteria.

 

Just trying to think outside the box - don't be too harsh if I'm being stupid.

Not stupid at all. It's called lateral thinking. I'm curious as well.

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bigt3116 Silver Member

bigt3116

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10 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

I am not knowledgeable about visas/extensions but I'm wondering whether the experts can envisage a solution that involves the spouse applying for a visa and the OP being the dependent. Assuming she has a current passport and could meet the criteria.

 

Just trying to think outside the box - don't be too harsh if I'm being stupid.

Not a stupid idea, just not viable, unless she already has the 800k seasoned it would not work, also, the OP has no passport and to get a dependent extension he would first have to go to a local consulate and get a single entry Non-O, which he can't because he has no passport.

 

So while it might be possible to save her going onto overstay, at the moment the OP has very limited options

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jesimps Gold Member

jesimps

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One way to avoid this sort of thing is to travel to Bangkok yourself and do the process via the official agent in the Trendy Building. That way, your passport never leaves your person. I would never trust a courier, an agent, or anyone else on the planet with my passport. If ever I'm away from the house and have the document with me, I always keep it in a zipped pocket. I'm no goody two shoes, but the loss or damage of that small piece of cardboard and paper can cause a massive siht-storm.

 

Sorry, I can't be of any help in offering a solution.

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