Well, if all the existing hassles with which we Brits here in LOS are faced at passport renewal time weren’t bad enough in their own right, those “geniuses” at HMPO and VFS have now come up with a convoluted and elaborate procedure for booking an appointment, which involves considerably more than simply dropping VFS an email as previously! A step-by-step guide to this "wondrous" new procedure is set out below:

 

(1) Click on https://www.passport.service.gov.uk/overseas/information/thailand/renew/adult

 

(2) Then click on the book an appointment online link under the "Making your application" heading which will take you to https://www.vfsglobal.com/en/individuals/
 

(3) Click on the Passport Services tab

 

(4) Select Thailand after "I'm a resident of" and United Kingdom after "and a citizen of"

(5) Click Go

(6) Click on https://visa.vfsglobal.com/tha/en/hmo/login

 

(7) Click on I don’t have an account link (unless you already have an account with VFS)

(8) Create an account as indicated, then click Register at the foot of the page

(9) Activate account through an email sent to your registered address

 

(10) Log into your account

 

(11) Add contact phone number, then click update

 

(12) Log into your account again

 

(13) Then, all being well, you’ll be able to book your appointment - finally!! 

 

At my time of life I wasn't awfully keen on schlepping all the way to Bangkok anyway. So this pretty much persuades me that next time - if there is a next time - I'll just get an agent in Pattaya to do the whole thing. Perhaps that's what they want. 

There is no really good reason why we can't apply online, like expats in, say South Africa or Brazil or most other countries in the world. If the Home Office and the British Embassy weren't so useless they would negotiate a work-around for the requirement that we must be in possession of our passports at all times, which we aren't if we give them to an agent to take to Bangkok, or which many other countries seem to ignore for their passport applicants.

11 hours ago, OJAS said:

Well, if all the existing hassles with which we Brits here in LOS are faced at passport renewal time weren’t bad enough in their own right, those “geniuses” at HMPO and VFS have now come up with a convoluted and elaborate procedure for booking an appointment, which involves considerably more than simply dropping VFS an email as previously! A step-by-step guide to this "wondrous" new procedure is set out below:

 

(1) Click on https://www.passport.service.gov.uk/overseas/information/thailand/renew/adult

 

(2) Then click on the book an appointment online link under the "Making your application" heading which will take you to https://www.vfsglobal.com/en/individuals/
 

(3) Click on the Passport Services tab

 

(4) Select Thailand after "I'm a resident of" and United Kingdom after "and a citizen of"

(5) Click Go

(6) Click on https://visa.vfsglobal.com/tha/en/hmo/login

 

(7) Click on I don’t have an account link (unless you already have an account with VFS)

(8) Create an account as indicated, then click Register at the foot of the page

(9) Activate account through an email sent to your registered address

 

(10) Log into your account

 

(11) Add contact phone number, then click update

 

(12) Log into your account again

 

(13) Then, all being well, you’ll be able to book your appointment - finally!! 

 

Crazy!  Once you have your valuable VFS account, what other goodies are you entitled to?

come on, its once every 10 years, surely you can spare the 10 minutes required

On 9/18/2025 at 12:54 PM, steve187 said:

come on, its once every 10 years, surely you can spare the 10 minutes required

 

It took me A WHOLE BLOODY HOUR to wade through all this nonsense, thank you very much! 🤬

I did it at the beginning of this year and it isn't complicated.

On 9/18/2025 at 12:15 PM, brewsterbudgen said:

Crazy!  Once you have your valuable VFS account, what other goodies are you entitled to?

You get a large large slice of nothing.

6 hours ago, OJAS said:

 

It took me A WHOLE BLOODY HOUR to wade through all this nonsense, thank you very much! 🤬

come on cheer up, its time spent in the air con, tapping keys on a computer with a cup of tea and a biscuit. how difficult is that, took me hardly any time to set up an account and navigate to the appointments page

I found VFS Global easy to use getting the appointment and the handing over of all the papers required which they checked and no problems at all then. Cannot say that about HMPO though - they are total tools. They sent a total of 27 emails. most demanding more information, demanding I sent my original birth certificate - a very fragile document it cost me £38 (Sterling) to send securely - all to prove my citizenship. They accepted photo copies of my passport, all 40 pages most of which were blank anyway, also things like my Thai driving licenses and phone bill but refused a scan copy of my birth certificate. Yet this was my 5th consecutive passport renewal although not admittedly from Thailand. Finally they phoned me but reversed the charges but never told me I was paying for the call.

 

The problem came down to some jobsworth objecting to the answer to 'what town I was born in - and they actually didn't want that, they just wanted 'England' on the form and in the end they changed my answer to 'England' themselves. Bureaucratic insanity! Took over a month and 27 emails demanding more information all about where I was born and generating ever more angry responses from me about the pointless exercise! I finally threatened to involve the ombudsman over their intransigence.

 

They sent the passport eventually, but did not at that time return the valuable certificate that my parents had given me - issued in 1945, according to VFS.  VFS eventually emailed me to collect the new passport. When I got home with passport VFS had emailed that same day while I was there on the premises to say the birth certificate was now available for collection.

 

Next day we struggled back into BKK to VFS and collected the birth certificate. We got home to find a 3rd email from VFS also sent while I was actually on the premises - all the other copy documents were available for collection. Well, they said if I didn't collect within 30 days they'd send them back to HMPO in the UK - a standard line on their other 2 mails.

 

The docs were all worthless scan copies - no way we were going to drive into BKK for wastepaper - Told VFS to do as they wished, not going to collect. Enough is enough pointing out that they could have bundled everything for collection on the same day instead of making it multiple trips. Thank God I will at age 79 never need to go through that performance again, well, I don't think so anyway.

19 hours ago, cliveshep said:

I found VFS Global easy to use getting the appointment and the handing over of all the papers required which they checked and no problems at all then.

 

At least you were, I take it, able to book your initial appointment with them by just sending them an email with a couple of preferred dates and times, as per the previous guidance, as opposed to having to learn, make and inwardly digest the current procedures for booking an appointment, which have now been imposed on us.

 

But the rest of your post illustrates perfectly the absurdity of the current passport renewals procedures from Thailand, which hark back to the Stone Ages and which HMPO inflicted on us back in 2014 with absolutely no explanation or justification whatsoever.

 

20 hours ago, steve187 said:

come on cheer up, its time spent in the air con, tapping keys on a computer with a cup of tea and a biscuit. how difficult is that, took me hardly any time to set up an account and navigate to the appointments page

 

But I bet that the renewal procedures as a whole took you rather longer than 10 minutes with a cup of tea and a biscuit, unless, perhaps, you happened to be living slap bang next door to a VFS office in Bangkok or Chiang Mai. That was what @Eff1n2ret was driving at in his post, I think.

 

On 9/19/2025 at 1:58 PM, Photoguy21 said:

I did it at the beginning of this year and it isn't complicated.

 

You mean no more complicated than just dropping VFS an email with your 2 preferred dates and times, as per the previous guidance? Really??

This does all sound rather stressful. I can only offer what I have done previously and will do again.

 

Last time I renewed my British passport in Thailand I used an agent - Thai Visa Express in Pattaya. This was 8 years ago so following my non-imm O retirement extension next year in June I will be repeating the process. They fill-in all the paperwork and no visit to the British Embassy is required. I provided my existing passport, address and the cash at their office and picked-up my new passport around 2 weeks later once informed it was ready. Currently the cost is B12,000 for the whole process. 9 years ago the cost was B10,000.

 

There is a new hotel directly opposite Thai Visa Express called the Amethyst. Far more convenient and far less expensive than trips to Bangkok to begin and collect when ready. Of course, this all depends where the applicant lives.

 

This is what visa agents are for. It's not about swerving the system or doing anything underhand, it is about de-stressing life and removing hassles and maintaining mental well-being. I know many expats who take pride in doing everything for themselves for both visa extensions and passport renewals in order to  get these processes completed at cost, but I know far more who employ agents to remove all the stress and potential aggravation. I know which I prefer.

 

Thai Visa Express are IAA registered and all the staff speak English very well and understand how things work and what is required, which does not include a birth certificate. They also do US replacement passports for B10,000.

 

https://www.facebook.com/thaivisaexpressthailand

 

 

 

 

There would not be a visit to the British Embassy anyway as they do not deal with passport renewal (what do they do?)   but otherwise I agree with you 100%.  I live in Khon Kaen and paying an agent was far easier and cheaper than flying to and from BKK twice and dealing with the paperwork hassle.

14 hours ago, OJAS said:

 

But I bet that the renewal procedures as a whole took you rather longer than 10 minutes with a cup of tea and a biscuit, unless, perhaps, you happened to be living slap bang next door to a VFS office in Bangkok or Chiang Mai. That was what @Eff1n2ret was driving at in his post, I think.

 

no mention of trips to VFS, just a moan about the time spent and the steps taken to get online appointment, only has to be done once every 10 years, most UK residents in Thailand are retired, i would think

I done believe in using agents to obtain illegal yearly extensions, but i do recommend using an agent to obtain passport, unless you are very close to VFS,  cost involved is 5 or 6000thb to save 2 trips

15 hours ago, lungbing said:

There would not be a visit to the British Embassy anyway as they do not deal with passport renewal (what do they do?)   but otherwise I agree with you 100%.  I live in Khon Kaen and paying an agent was far easier and cheaper than flying to and from BKK twice and dealing with the paperwork hassle.

Agreed. I used Mythaivisa a month ago. Excellent service.

17 hours ago, lungbing said:

There would not be a visit to the British Embassy anyway as they do not deal with passport renewal (what do they do?)   but otherwise I agree with you 100%.  I live in Khon Kaen and paying an agent was far easier and cheaper than flying to and from BKK twice and dealing with the paperwork hassle.

You dont know what the British Embassy does??? Let me tell you:

 

Their operational philosophy is simple and I must say they are strict about following it. What is, is:

1. To do as little as possible for

2. As many people as possible and

3. For as much money as possible.

 

I hope that gives you some clarification

On 9/19/2025 at 8:02 PM, cliveshep said:

I found VFS Global easy to use getting the appointment and the handing over of all the papers required which they checked and no problems at all then. Cannot say that about HMPO though - they are total tools. They sent a total of 27 emails. most demanding more information, demanding I sent my original birth certificate - a very fragile document it cost me £38 (Sterling) to send securely - all to prove my citizenship. They accepted photo copies of my passport, all 40 pages most of which were blank anyway, also things like my Thai driving licenses and phone bill but refused a scan copy of my birth certificate. Yet this was my 5th consecutive passport renewal although not admittedly from Thailand. Finally they phoned me but reversed the charges but never told me I was paying for the call.

 

The problem came down to some jobsworth objecting to the answer to 'what town I was born in - and they actually didn't want that, they just wanted 'England' on the form and in the end they changed my answer to 'England' themselves. Bureaucratic insanity! Took over a month and 27 emails demanding more information all about where I was born and generating ever more angry responses from me about the pointless exercise! I finally threatened to involve the ombudsman over their intransigence.

 

They sent the passport eventually, but did not at that time return the valuable certificate that my parents had given me - issued in 1945, according to VFS.  VFS eventually emailed me to collect the new passport. When I got home with passport VFS had emailed that same day while I was there on the premises to say the birth certificate was now available for collection.

 

Next day we struggled back into BKK to VFS and collected the birth certificate. We got home to find a 3rd email from VFS also sent while I was actually on the premises - all the other copy documents were available for collection. Well, they said if I didn't collect within 30 days they'd send them back to HMPO in the UK - a standard line on their other 2 mails.

 

The docs were all worthless scan copies - no way we were going to drive into BKK for wastepaper - Told VFS to do as they wished, not going to collect. Enough is enough pointing out that they could have bundled everything for collection on the same day instead of making it multiple trips. Thank God I will at age 79 never need to go through that performance again, well, I don't think so anyway.

HMPO have been very helpful to me, even if they’re clueless. Have you complained about these issues?

 

 

Just now, Photoguy21 said:

You dont know what the British Embassy does??? Let me tell you:

 

Their operational philosophy is simple and I must say they are strict about following it. What is, is:

1. To do as little as possible for

2. As many people as possible and

3. For as much money as possible.

 

I hope that gives you some clarification

They’re very effective at #1, so they’ll do everything they can to avoid #2 and #3. 🤣

 

 

8 minutes ago, falangUK said:

They’re very effective at #1, so they’ll do everything they can to avoid #2 and #3. 🤣

 

 

I don't think you understand. 2 was to do nothing for as many people as they can get away with and 3 to maximise their own income whilst doing nothing.

56 minutes ago, Photoguy21 said:

I don't think you understand. 2 was to do nothing for as many people as they can get away with and 3 to maximise their own income whilst doing nothing.

Apply #1 recursively to 2&3!

20 minutes ago, falangUK said:

Apply #1 recursively to 2&3!

You can apply anything you want and interpret it in any way but what I put is the unwritten ideas of the Embassy

2 minutes ago, Photoguy21 said:

You can apply anything you want and interpret it in any way but what I put is the unwritten ideas of the Embassy

Thanks 👍 😊 

Basically I agreed with your assessment and thought they were even worse than that. 

5 minutes ago, falangUK said:

Thanks 👍 😊 

Basically I agreed with your assessment and thought they were even worse than that. 

I quoted what an ex-British Embassy employee told me. They had retired when I was old it. I never bother unless essential with the British Embassy. I have had correspondence with them in the past and they have been useless.

Just now, Photoguy21 said:

I quoted what an ex-British Embassy told me. They had retired when I was old it. I never bother unless essential with the British Embassy. I have had correspondence with them in the past and they have been useless.

Thanks 👍 in my experience they are far worse than useless.

E.g.

Covid vaccine debacle... for those of us stuck in LOS during that time etc

This may have been asked before but here goes anyway.

 

Looking at the HMPO guidance for renewal of a UK passport from overseas it seems that the applicant must (a) provide a photo ID - and I think that the expiring passport would suffice for that - and (b) evidence of residency and address in Thailand.  This latter requirement could pose a problem as most of the suggestions for this, on their list, may not be readily available.  I have bank statements, both from my UK and Thailand banks that show my name and address in English but I am not sure if these would be acceptable.  What have other people used for this purpose?

 

I intend to use a visa agent to do the leg work, when the time comes, but I assume that I will still need to provide the necessary paperwork.

59 minutes ago, doctormann said:

I have bank statements, both from my UK and Thailand banks that show my name and address in English but I am not sure if these would be acceptable.  What have other people used for this purpose?

I used a UK (Lloyds IOM) bank statement for my last VFS renewal.  No problem.

9 minutes ago, Upnotover said:

I used a UK (Lloyds IOM) bank statement for my last VFS renewal.  No problem.

 

Thanks for that.  From what you say, I think that my Barclays IoM statement would work.

I went to my Thai bank and got a statement showing my Thai address in English. It was accepted. 

On 9/19/2025 at 1:55 PM, OJAS said:

 

It took me A WHOLE BLOODY HOUR to wade through all this nonsense, thank you very much! 🤬

Look on the bright side. In the not too distant future dying will only be approved by an online digital application made to VFS ( heaven and hells approved earthly agent ). Incomplete applications will delay death considerably .