1 hour ago, a269652 said:

Please confirm that one is permitted to retain their expired passport when the replacement is issued. 

 

The last time I renewed was in 2015, and as I recall the office staff in a building near to BTS Nana clipped my old passport at the time I applied for a new one, and then once I picked up the new, my old one was retained. 

When renewing your passport you retain the passport while the application is processed in the UK. Only colour photocopies of every page are forwarded with your completed application form along with proof of address.

In the vast majority of other countries you would be required to return the passport but because the law here requires you have valid ID an exception has been granted by HMPO.

Without it you would not be able to enact any face-to-face banking, you would not be able to enter into any contractual arrangements,  you would be unable to hire a motor vehicle,  you would be unable to stay at a hotel etc, etc.

 

When you make your appointment with VFS you will receive a confirmation, 

read the second from last paragraph for clarification.

 

 

 

9 minutes ago, Farmerslife said:

In the vast majority of other countries you would be required to return the passport but because the law here requires you have valid ID an exception has been granted by HMPO

Seems for renewal of USA and Canadian passports (to name 2) the old passport is mailed with the application

2 hours ago, garygooner said:

Any idea why? 

I’d used exactly the same photo for my other UK passport renewal earlier on in the year so HMPO knew it was older than 6 months… 

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

Are you able to select a date and time for the appointment? I'm trying to coincide it with a planned trip to Bangkok

yep…  email VFS & give them 3 date options. 

If a red UK passport expires in October 2025 and one were to apply for a nice new blue UK passport in July, 2025, and assuming it arrives in the next few weeks ... does the new passport include the extra couple of months still remaining on the old one or not? 

On 3/31/2025 at 2:21 PM, Batty said:

Otherwise, you would be in a foreign country without a passport, wouldn't you? SO why do they want me to give them my passport?

Absolutely and how would you do a 90 day if there are delays?

30 minutes ago, a269652 said:

If a red UK passport expires in October 2025 and one were to apply for a nice new blue UK passport in July, 2025, and assuming it arrives in the next few weeks ... does the new passport include the extra couple of months still remaining on the old one or not? 

No.  All new UK passports are for 10 years from the date of issue.

1 hour ago, Negita43 said:

Absolutely and how would you do a 90 day if there are delays?

Online

Just now, scubascuba3 said:

56 minutes ago, Negita43 said:

Absolutely and how would you do a 90 day if there are delays?

Online

 

Just now, scubascuba3 said:

56 minutes ago, Negita43 said:

Absolutely and how would you do a 90 day if there are delays?

Online

Good point but still fraught - I hear that from time to time online 90 days are rejected.

3 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Easier and cheaper just to do it in Thailand?

Cheaper yes easier no🤔

 

1 hour ago, Negita43 said:

 

Good point but still fraught - I hear that from time to time online 90 days are rejected.

I've been doing online for years, easy, 5 minutes

7 hours ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   You could have got s new passport within 9 days for the normal price 

My way was garanteed and instant had a deadline and fully aware of costs 🤔

2 minutes ago, sammieuk1 said:

My way was garanteed and instant had a deadline and fully aware of costs 🤔

 

   The normal option says it take 3 weeks, but its often less than 10 days.

No need to go to the passport office , just simply apply online and go to the Post office and send your PP to them and wait 

On 3/31/2025 at 7:08 PM, Batty said:

Hi there. So, I applied at VFS Global a couple of weeks ago to renew my passport, which expires in May.

I made an appointment and successfully submitted all the documents. They said it would take 3 or 4 weeks and that they would call me when it arrived.

Payment was taken one week later.

Today, I received an email from the UK passport office saying I need to send them my passport. To do so, I need to revisit VFS global and hand it over. I also need to submit a form of ID from a list they provided.

 

Is this an error, do you think? The lady at VFS checked all my documents and handed my passport back to me. Everything was in perfect order. I had official ID from the Amphur and a Thai driving licence with my Thai address on it. I can't think of a reason why they would need me to fly back to Bangkok and hand it over again? Moreover, I don't have any 'new' form of ID to give them, other than what I already have. 

 

This feels like some kind of auto-email error, but I can't be sure. I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this?

Auto responder error due to system and location migration. Advice from VFS Chiang Mai was to just ignore that email. Worked out well because got my PP with a quick turn around.

On 7/4/2025 at 3:59 PM, richard_smith237 said:

02-Oct: Submitted application at VFS

18-Oct: Received HMPO e-mail - unable to process payment (given link to government portal for payment)

23-Oct: Received HMPO e-mail - Confirmed Payment 

24-Oct: Received HMPO e-mail - Request to Post new photos (current photos unacceptable)

02-Dec: Received HMPO e-mail - Collect Passport from VFS.

 

09/09/2025 - Deposited Passport VFS Bangkok
18/09/2025 - Passport Office Email confirming Passport Arrived
25/09/2025 - Passport Office Email confirming Approval - Printing Passport

28/09/2025 - Passport Office Email Informing Will Need Black Pen to Sign 

VFS Tracking - Doesn't work
Passport Office Tracking - Doesn't work

 

No payments on Credit Card (as yet).

So not really sure what the process flow is.

2 hours ago, Jenkins9039 said:

No payments on Credit Card (as yet).

Correction, they didn't email me and a email from SCB went into spam, charged my Credit Card day after it arrived in the UK.

4 hours ago, Jenkins9039 said:

 

09/09/2025 - Deposited Passport VFS Bangkok
18/09/2025 - Passport Office Email confirming Passport Arrived
25/09/2025 - Passport Office Email confirming Approval - Printing Passport

28/09/2025 - Passport Office Email Informing Will Need Black Pen to Sign 

VFS Tracking - Doesn't work
Passport Office Tracking - Doesn't work

 

No payments on Credit Card (as yet).

So not really sure what the process flow is.

Did you pay extra for tracking? maybe Courier Plus?

 

The black pen thing, sign what? application form was signed in black?

7 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

The black pen thing, sign what? application form was signed in black?

Sounds like they're just reminding you to sign your new passport with black ink when you receive it.  

1 hour ago, garygooner said:

Sounds like they're just reminding you to sign your new passport with black ink when you receive it.  

Yup:

 

2 hours ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Yup:

 

They seem very particular about the black ink for the application and payment forms, that makes more sense as a scanner of sorts reads all the data from the forms, passport seems less important 

Meanwhile, I don't think I got the message when I renewed in 2022. I just found the space on my PP, it's pretty well concealed.

 

I've travelled on that PP several times since, nobody has ever said anything.

 

Hunting for a black pen that actually writes, I'm guaranteed to get caught next time

 

EDIT Of the four old passports I have in my documents draw, all bar one have my signature on the data page which was scanned from my application (the 2022  one doesn't).

The one which actually required my physical signature in a big obvious box (I did sign) was issued in 2002!

 

The gist of this also appeared in my other post.

Folk who got a new British passport in under 3 weeks are lucky. I did mine at VFS Global, and they sent it off. Over the next 4 weeks I received no less than 27 emails and a 10 minute reversed charge telephone call from HMPO. Some of the emails demanded proof of citizenship - stupid as it was my 5th renewal, others demanded proof of my Thai address -  why? They never post anything to one anyway. There were quite a bunch demanding I prove, by documentation, the village town or city I was born in.

Telling them I was adopted almost 80 years ago cut no ice, they persisted in insisting. Pointed out to the fools that no one living could help, documentation might exist but where to look after 80 years, They refused to accept that.  Demanded my original birth certificate which I had from my parents effects fortunately, a delicate document they would not accept photo copied but I had to post it. It cost me 38 UK pounds to send it safely.

I told them I was going to complain to the ombudsman which led to the phone call, bloody expensive for me as it turned out as the cost got charged to my Thai phone bill which the guy who called never told me. Apparently I can afford the cost more than can the British treasury.

At the end of the phone call I was told that as place of birth was put as Herts, UK, they would not accept that and had to agree to place of birth being England. So I said ok, I don't give a monkey's **** and they said ok, we'll put England. 2 days later another email said passport being printed and then VFS later said I could collect it. On each of the 2 days following collection VFS emailed me to say firstly collect my birth certificate, and the following day collect all other photocopied docs or they'd be sent back to England. Told VFS to send them back - I don't need 40 photo copies of old passport pages etc. So the day after I collected my new passport it was back to VFS to collect my original birth certificate, but I would not go back for the photocopied docs a 3rd time the next day. 

54 minutes ago, cliveshep said:

Folk who got a new British passport in under 3 weeks are lucky. I did mine at VFS Global, and they sent it off. Over the next 4 weeks I received no less than 27 emails and a 10 minute reversed charge telephone call from HMPO. Some of the emails demanded proof of citizenship - stupid as it was my 5th renewal, others demanded proof of my Thai address -  why? They never post anything to one anyway. There were quite a bunch demanding I prove, by documentation, the village town or city I was born in.

Telling them I was adopted almost 80 years ago cut no ice, they persisted in insisting. Pointed out to the fools that no one living could help, documentation might exist but where to look after 80 years, They refused to accept that.  Demanded my original birth certificate which I had from my parents effects fortunately, a delicate document they would not accept photo copied but I had to post it. It cost me 38 UK pounds to send it safely.

I told them I was going to complain to the ombudsman which led to the phone call, bloody expensive for me as it turned out as the cost got charged to my Thai phone bill which the guy who called never told me. Apparently I can afford the cost more than can the British treasury.

At the end of the phone call I was told that as place of birth was put as Herts, UK, they would not accept that and had to agree to place of birth being England. So I said ok, I don't give a monkey's **** and they said ok, we'll put England. 2 days later another email said passport being printed and then VFS later said I could collect it. On each of the 2 days following collection VFS emailed me to say firstly collect my birth certificate, and the following day collect all other photocopied docs or they'd be sent back to England. Told VFS to send them back - I don't need 40 photo copies of old passport pages etc. So the day after I collected my new passport it was back to VFS to collect my original birth certificate, but I would not go back for the photocopied docs a 3rd time the next day. 

What a fiasco! Out of the UK passport renewal horror stories reported in the forums this is near the top, in terms of sheer bureaucratic madness encountered and the amount of cope needed to see it through. This is really out of control. Is there any answer to what seems to be such systematic incompetency? 

What a drag, and for a senior citizen who's already had passport after passport it's really a degrading experience to be put through.

 

 

2 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

They seem very particular about the black ink for the application and payment forms, that makes more sense as a scanner of sorts reads all the data from the forms, passport seems less important 

 

I actually went 'pre-prepared' with my forms - and I'd filled them out with a PDF editor (I just find that alot quicker than handwriting them out)... 

...  VFS wouldn't accept the 'PDF written' forms and wanted the application 'hand written' in capitals....  

 

Some of this stuff is rather archaic !!

 

5 minutes ago, rwilem said:

What a fiasco! Out of the UK passport renewal horror stories reported in the forums this is near the top, in terms of sheer bureaucratic madness encountered and the amount of cope needed to see it through. This is really out of control. Is there any answer to what seems to be such systematic incompetency? 

What a drag, and for a senior citizen who's already had passport after passport it's really a degrading experience to be put through.

 

<< Is there any answer to what seems to be such systematic incompetency? >> 

 

Usually yes - competition... If any of these 'official departments' were involved in any form of private business that involves competition, they'd go out of business quite quickly - its the lack of competition that leads to utter incompetence and a complete lack of caring...   I suspect anyone working in such an apathetic environment would fail in the private sector...  

 

Disappointingly - they are so well protected, there is no need for any individual or department to make improvements until things get so poor they become a national discrace and repeatedly reach the media, and even then very few 'flucks are given'....  

 

34 minutes ago, cliveshep said:

The gist of this also appeared in my other post.

Folk who got a new British passport in under 3 weeks are lucky. I did mine at VFS Global, and they sent it off. Over the next 4 weeks I received no less than 27 emails and a 10 minute reversed charge telephone call from HMPO. Some of the emails demanded proof of citizenship - stupid as it was my 5th renewal, others demanded proof of my Thai address -  why? They never post anything to one anyway. There were quite a bunch demanding I prove, by documentation, the village town or city I was born in.

Telling them I was adopted almost 80 years ago cut no ice, they persisted in insisting. Pointed out to the fools that no one living could help, documentation might exist but where to look after 80 years, They refused to accept that.  Demanded my original birth certificate which I had from my parents effects fortunately, a delicate document they would not accept photo copied but I had to post it. It cost me 38 UK pounds to send it safely.

I told them I was going to complain to the ombudsman which led to the phone call, bloody expensive for me as it turned out as the cost got charged to my Thai phone bill which the guy who called never told me. Apparently I can afford the cost more than can the British treasury.

At the end of the phone call I was told that as place of birth was put as Herts, UK, they would not accept that and had to agree to place of birth being England. So I said ok, I don't give a monkey's **** and they said ok, we'll put England. 2 days later another email said passport being printed and then VFS later said I could collect it. On each of the 2 days following collection VFS emailed me to say firstly collect my birth certificate, and the following day collect all other photocopied docs or they'd be sent back to England. Told VFS to send them back - I don't need 40 photo copies of old passport pages etc. So the day after I collected my new passport it was back to VFS to collect my original birth certificate, but I would not go back for the photocopied docs a 3rd time the next day. 

That seems very strange, a renewal should be straight forward, birth certificate not required. For thai address had you not provided copy of thai driving licence? the town where you were born should be just be on your old passport

20 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

That seems very strange, a renewal should be straight forward, birth certificate not required. For thai address had you not provided copy of thai driving licence? the town where you were born should be just be on your old passport

I provided not only my Thai driving licence scans but also a scan of my AIS mobile phone bill for proof of Thai address, and of course place of birth is on my old passports yes. I tell you the truth, Guy Fawkes had entirely the right idea and we need a runaway bus for Starmer!

On 9/30/2025 at 11:07 PM, Jenkins9039 said:

09/09/2025 - Deposited Passport VFS Bangkok
18/09/2025 - Passport Office Email confirming Passport Arrived
25/09/2025 - Passport Office Email confirming Approval - Printing Passport

28/09/2025 - Passport Office Email Informing Will Need Black Pen to Sign 

 

What is this all about? I thought when one applied a UK pp renewal at VFS one held onto the old pp ? Has something changed?

40 minutes ago, Hamus Yaigh said:

What is this all about? I thought when one applied a UK pp renewal at VFS one held onto the old pp ? Has something changed?

The original topic was about a mass confusion which arose when HMPO moved their offices from Liverpool to Corby back in March this year.

I got caught up in some of the confusion but it eventually got sorted.

 

Yes, the general practice is to supply VFS with colour photocopies of every page of your existing UK passport and you can retain your passport until the new one arrives when they snip off the corner of your old passport and give it back to you.

There are at least three posters claiming that VFS sent their passports to HMPO, that certainly wasn’t the case back in March and I don’t believe it has changed.

 

You would have to read the whole thing to get the whole picture but you can skip the bickering between Sandy and LL and the irrelevant off topic comments about Oz, US and Canadian passports also  which cuts it back drastically.

2 hours ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Yes, the general practice is to supply VFS with colour photocopies of every page of your existing UK passport and you can retain your passport until the new one arrives

Thanks Andrew, good info.