On 4/13/2026 at 1:42 PM, hotandsticky said:

I am happy to stand corrected....................in this day and age I surprised that such applications physically cross borders..............what would HMPO do with 24 blank photocopied passport pages.

I stand corrected....

Today I received the DHL confirmation that delivery was made on 7th April in Birmingham...... Odd that nobody could trace it when I enquired earlier this week.

On 4/13/2026 at 3:10 PM, hotandsticky said:

Location/Office: The Trendy Building, 8th Floor, Sukhumvit Soi 13, Klongtoey-Nua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110.

Still? Do not trust ANY of the AI apps easily available.

Pete Best is still the drummer with The Beatles with some of them.

9 hours ago, hotandsticky said:

I stand corrected....

Today I received the DHL confirmation that delivery was made on 7th April in Birmingham...... Odd that nobody could trace it when I enquired earlier this week.

Birmingham? i thought the new office was Corby? or maybe that was the old office

4 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Birmingham? i thought the new office was Corby? or maybe that was the old office

Corby might be in a Birmingham Service Area.

17 April 2026

Dear Customer,

This is a proof of delivery / statement of final status for the shipment with waybill number 2014116661.

Thank you for choosing DHL Express.

www.dhl.com

Your shipment 2014116661 was delivered on 07 April 2026 at 11.41

Signed AV JAKUB DORACZYNSKI Destination Service Area BIRMINGHAM

UNITED KINGDOM

Signature

On 4/7/2026 at 3:03 PM, Bredbury Blue said:

My son no longer looks like the photo in his expired British passport so we have applied for a new 10 year passport under the CHANGES category (change of photo).

I prepared his passport application:

Filled in paper form I downloaded.

2 x photos

Counter-signatory filled in one section of the form and signed one photo

Expired UK passport

Copy every page of that passport in colour

Current Thai passport

Copy every page of that passport in colour

Original blue book

Copy of my son's pages in blue book in colour

Certified translation of those pages (to verify his home address)

Form authorising payment with my UK credit card (they didn't ask to see the card)

Appointment paper (has a QR code)

Son booked an appointment online last Friday 3rd for Monday 6th (chakri day holiday).

Been to VFS earlier this year for wife's UK visa so familiar with it.

Parking on B2 floor, easy enough to get a spot.

Went to VFS UK desk outside the office 10mins before appointment. Showed paperwork. Allowed me to join son going in the office.

Girl on counter quickly checked paperwork. Filled in a form regarding documents submitted, son signed it.

Girl printed out a receipt for the application. All done in 10mins. VFS service was very good again.

When passport returns either son or a 3rd party (me) can go to VFS office to collect it.

Believe cost of British passports go up tomorrow 8th April 2026.

My son'sinterview on 6th April.

Payment deducted from UK bank on 13th April.

Now waiting on advice when can go collect.

My son paid for his new Thai Passport to be delivered to our address  by Thai Post.
My wife paid for VFS UK to deliver her Thai passport with her new UK visa to our address by Thai Post.
For my son's new British passport, we weren't offered the option of delivery by post. Why can't VFS offer to post a new British passport?

59 minutes ago, Bredbury Blue said:

My son'sinterview on 6th April.

Payment deducted from UK bank on 13th April.

Now waiting on advice when can go collect.

My son paid for his new Thai Passport to be delivered to our address  by Thai Post.
My wife paid for VFS UK to deliver her Thai passport with her new UK visa to our address by Thai Post.
For my son's new British passport, we weren't offered the option of delivery by post. Why can't VFS offer to post a new British passport?

VFS can post the visa but not the British passport, ask them why, no good reason will come

6 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

VFS can post the visa but not the British passport, ask them why, no good reason will come

They may probably argue that, at least in theory, they’re supposed to cancel, by cutting the corner, the old passport before they hand over the new one.

6 hours ago, theoldgit said:

They may probably argue that, at least in theory, they’re supposed to cancel, by cutting the corner, the old passport before they hand over the new one.

other countries get around that, aussies get the passport in the post

9 hours ago, theoldgit said:

They may probably argue that, at least in theory, they’re supposed to cancel, by cutting the corner, the old passport before they hand over the new one.

But existing passports cannot be used for travel during the renewal process since they are cancelled electronically by HMPO in the UK. So it beats me why a pair of scissors still needs to be wielded these days in order to cancel them physically.

In any event, why can't HMPO simply entrust us to perform this onerous task ourselves if they still consider it to be absolutely desperately essential vital - just as was the case during the all too short period when passport renewals were processed via Hong Kong?

And what on earth HMPO's rationale is for the seemingly pointless and nonsensical requirements for (a) proof of a Thai address, and (b) colour copies of each and every page of our existing passport, whether used or not, beats me.

If this all stems from widespread incidences of passport misuse in Thailand, then I would venture to suggest that the culprits are more likely to be British tourists who were able to obtain their subsequently-misused passports back in the UK with relative ease and grace when compared to the hurdles we local longstayers have to jump through at passport renewal time. It truly riles me that we longstayers (who, I strongly suspect, are usually rather more careful in handling our passports) are, in effect, being expected by HMPO to carry the can for their negligence.

17 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

VFS can post the visa but not the British passport, ask them why, no good reason will come

I imagine it's so VFS can be paid using the 20 pounds DHL fee we are required to pay.

1 hour ago, OJAS said:

And what on earth HMPO's rationale is for the seemingly pointless and nonsensical requirements for (a) proof of a Thai address, and (b) colour copies of each and every page of our existing passport, whether used or not, beats me.

Me too. I don't know what the current stipulations are for proof of address, but when I renewed my passport in 2010, the first on the list of alternatives was a copy of your visa/ residence stamp in Thailand - so it struck me that they weren't interested in where you actually live, simply that you were legally present in Thailand. As regards copies of every page, it is not unknown for pages to be removed or otherwise tampered with to conceal an unfavourable immigration history, so that's why every page must be looked at. But copies are not very satisfactory, and I would have thought that inspection by the VFS clerk would suffice.

Of course the real solution to all this nonsense would be online applications and the passport posted to HMPO with the new and expired passports posted/couriered back to the applicant, as is possible for expats in most of the rest of the world. There is no good reason why it would not work here.

1 minute ago, Eff1n2ret said:

Me too. I don't know what the current stipulations are for proof of address, but when I renewed my passport in 2010, the first on the list of alternatives was a copy of your visa/ residence stamp in Thailand - so it struck me that they weren't interested in where you actually live, simply that you were legally present in Thailand. As regards copies of every page, it is not unknown for pages to be removed or otherwise tampered with to conceal an unfavourable immigration history, so that's why every page must be looked at. But copies are not very satisfactory, and I would have thought that inspection by the VFS clerk would suffice.

Of course the real solution to all this nonsense would be online applications and the passport posted to HMPO with the new and expired passports posted/couriered back to the applicant, as is possible for expats in most of the rest of the world. There is no good reason why it would not work here.

My passport renewal is on hold because they want my Thai driving license posted to them as proof of address, even though they don't deliver it.

And that's after vfs accepted my application, certified a colour copy of my D/L as real, and posted it all off.

Apparently they don't trust their own foreign staff to provide information that isn't needed!

38 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I imagine it's so VFS can be paid using the 20 pounds DHL fee we are required to pay.

it's probably because they don't want to deal with lost passports, but other countries take that risk

1 minute ago, scubascuba3 said:

it's probably because they don't want to deal with lost passports, but other countries take that risk

I don't want to risk hmpo or the postal services losing my driving license either, but they give me no choice.

6 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

My passport renewal is on hold because they want my Thai driving license posted to them as proof of address, even though they don't deliver it.

And that's after vfs accepted my application, certified a colour copy of my D/L as real, and posted it all off.

Apparently they don't trust their own foreign staff to provide information that isn't needed!

I think you have grounds for complaint. I wouldn't send my driving licence to those clowns, who knows where it would end up, and in the meantime, if you're stopped by the police??? I use my driving licence here as i/d quite regularly.

29 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I don't want to risk hmpo or the postal services losing my driving license either, but they give me no choice.

Download the DLT QR Licence app and scan your driving licence before you send then you can use the app if you get stopped

41 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

My passport renewal is on hold because they want my Thai driving license posted to them as proof of address, even though they don't deliver it.

And that's after vfs accepted my application, certified a colour copy of my D/L as real, and posted it all off.

Apparently they don't trust their own foreign staff to provide information that isn't needed!

VfS have no 'discretion' over what is sent to HMPO. Their role is to ensure that you supply sufficient evidence for each criteria section. On one occasion I was asked "are you happy to just send this....?" ...I was, and everything went through OK.

IMO the issue with a Thai driving licence is that it may have been issued longer than 12 months ago .....and it is in Thai. I have previously used a Thai D/L copy (with hand written translation) plus a signed statement from a spouse that the applicant lived at said address.....accepted.

The fact that HMPO don't deliver to the said address is irrelevant (stupid, but irrelevant).

32 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

VfS have no 'discretion' over what is sent to HMPO. Their role is to ensure that you supply sufficient evidence for each criteria section. On one occasion I was asked "are you happy to just send this....?" ...I was, and everything went through OK.

IMO the issue with a Thai driving licence is that it may have been issued longer than 12 months ago .....and it is in Thai. I have previously used a Thai D/L copy (with hand written translation) plus a signed statement from a spouse that the applicant lived at said address.....accepted.

The fact that HMPO don't deliver to the said address is irrelevant (stupid, but irrelevant).

To the tw4t who posted a thumbs down........................read to supporting documents guidelines.

I recently, 7 months ago, just used my BKK bank statement as proof of address. I just asked the bank to give me a normal monthly statement in English and VFS accepted this.

On 4/16/2026 at 9:03 AM, wil iam not said:

Last year I used an agent down Pattaya way as it is a 5 hour one way drive to VFS, then back, then again to pick it up. Fuel cost at least Bht 4000.

He did everything, all copies, all paperwork, and submission to VFS. New Passport couriered back in exactly 4 weeks. COST? Bht 6000 for the passport, plus Bht 6000 for the agent. SDuper service.

On 4/16/2026 at 10:03 AM, petermik said:

Thai Visa Express on soi 15 (The Avenue Central Pattaya off soi Bukhaow) does renewals for 5,000 baht if you pay the cost of the UK passport by credit card otherwise 13,000 baht...well recommended.

Thank you gentlemen. Myself and Mrs MD are travelling to Pattaya today to spend a few days at the seaside. I will be going to Thai Visa Express as soon as we get there to give them my UK passport renewal application.

19 hours ago, hotandsticky said:

IMO the issue with a Thai driving licence is that it may have been issued longer than 12 months ago .....and it is in Thai.

Mine was issued in 2013 and has all my data in Thai AND English.

That is why I cannot understand why an International Driving Permit is required to use it in UK, and vice versa, as it is only a translation. But who am I to question it!

20 hours ago, BritManToo said:

My passport renewal is on hold because they want my Thai driving license posted to them as proof of address, even though they don't deliver it.

And that's after vfs accepted my application, certified a colour copy of my D/L as real, and posted it all off.

Apparently they don't trust their own foreign staff to provide information that isn't needed!

Now that is messed up !!

Just over a year ago i visited VFS to renew my uk passport, i was prepared for an issue as i had two valid uk passports ( in this case i needed a letter from my employer to explain the reason why i had two, this was impossible ) but there was no options.

The nice young lady assured me that it was not a problem without the company letter and told me to write a note on the form in the additional details section explaining the reason for 2 x passports.

I had already prepared colour copies of both passports pages.

Of course it was a problem !!

HMPO were in the process of moving to Corby adding to the chaos.

HMPO noted my email address down wrongly and sent me various SMS’s to say they had sent me an email outlining a problem ( none of which I received obviously) and the SMS’s wouldn’t accept a reply !!

Finally I made contact and my only options were to a) get an employer letter or b) send my “ 2nd” passport for cancellation.

I chose b) and posted my “ 2nd” passport to HMPO Corby where it was duly cancelled, the corner cut off and returned to VFS, where i collected it. ( so , 3 visits to VFS ! ).

On my initial visit to VFS i forgot my Thai address proof, she took my Thai dl copied it and that was okay, i can only assume there was a problem with your dl copy, maybe the address not legible ?

On 4/12/2026 at 3:49 PM, hotandsticky said:

I did point out that using a 'third party' ie VfS was the ONLY way Brits in Thailand could renew their passports - as directed by HMPO.

Possibly a feature and not a bug of the process. If you do get through via voice to someone, be polite, else that shredding sound you hear in the background might be your application being recycled into confetti/ fire bricks while the person on the other end tells you they can't find any trace of your application.

On 4/13/2026 at 12:50 PM, hotandsticky said:

I don't know,but I doubt that the documents are couriered. I would expect the paperwork to be uploaded and pulled off by HMPO staff in Liverpool etc.

As of around 3-4 years ago, For non-UK citizens applying for a visa for entry into the UK from Switzerland, the agency there explained that printed document scans were verified at the agency and then scanned and uploaded to UKPO. Original passports still sent by courier (which is reasonable!). This step alone saves money on courier charges.

Prior to that, the printed doc scans were also sent by courier, only to be scanned in the UK (sighs). This explains the delay between the tracking number showing "delivered" and UKPO acknowledging your application.

Next step would be a facility to avoid the printouts altogether and just shift electronic copies around. Who knows, once we have to have our digital ID barcodes tattooed on the back of our necks, passports themselves might become a relic of the past (I doubt it).

2 hours ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Now that is messed up !!

Just over a year ago i visited VFS to renew my uk passport, i was prepared for an issue as i had two valid uk passports ( in this case i needed a letter from my employer to explain the reason why i had two, this was impossible ) but there was no options.

The nice young lady assured me that it was not a problem without the company letter and told me to write a note on the form in the additional details section explaining the reason for 2 x passports.

I had already prepared colour copies of both passports pages.

Of course it was a problem !!

HMPO were in the process of moving to Corby adding to the chaos.

HMPO noted my email address down wrongly and sent me various SMS’s to say they had sent me an email outlining a problem ( none of which I received obviously) and the SMS’s wouldn’t accept a reply !!

Finally I made contact and my only options were to a) get an employer letter or b) send my “ 2nd” passport for cancellation.

I chose b) and posted my “ 2nd” passport to HMPO Corby where it was duly cancelled, the corner cut off and returned to VFS, where i collected it. ( so , 3 visits to VFS ! ).

On my initial visit to VFS i forgot my Thai address proof, she took my Thai dl copied it and that was okay, i can only assume there was a problem with your dl copy, maybe the address not legible ?

TTB useless for getting a bank statement with my address in English (3 days and still not done)

BKB typed it out right away (surprised)

BKB statement and Thai D/L on it's way tothe UK.

Bloody expensive 280bht ....... used to be cheap!

12 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

TTB useless for getting a bank statement with my address in English (3 days and still not done)

BKB typed it out right away (surprised)

BKB statement and Thai D/L on it's way tothe UK.

Bloody expensive 280bht ....... used to be cheap!

I hear you !! I posted a passport over, forget how much it cost but it was surprisingly expensive.

Further update. I have just received an email from: Bangkok[email protected] informing me that my new passport is ready for collection; so that is 27 days from the date of my application submission on 24th March.

This seems to be the usual timescale for straightforward applications without any issues.

It also states “Please note: When collecting the passport, you must bring your document receipt checklist (or print out this email) and previous passport (if renewal) with you for cancellation; if you do not do so, then we will not be able to provide the new passport”  and also that it must be collected within 30 days or it will be returned to the HMPO UK.

It also reminds me that collection times are from 14.00 - 16.00 Monday to Friday. The afternoon collection times are really inconvenient for me, but I don’t think they will make any exceptions to that.

51 minutes ago, Eloquent pilgrim said:

Further update. I have just received an email from: [email protected] informing me that my new passport is ready for collection; so that is 27 days from the date of my application submission on 24th March.

This seems to be the usual timescale for straightforward applications without any issues.

It also states “Please note: When collecting the passport, you must bring your document receipt checklist (or print out this email) and previous passport (if renewal) with you for cancellation; if you do not do so, then we will not be able to provide the new passport”  and also that it must be collected within 30 days or it will be returned to the HMPO UK.

It also reminds me that collection times are from 14.00 - 16.00 Monday to Friday. The afternoon collection times are really inconvenient for me, but I don’t think they will make any exceptions to that.

Afternoon was inconvenient for me also as i usually go to Bangkok really early

On 4/19/2026 at 3:32 AM, OJAS said:

But existing passports cannot be used for travel during the renewal process since they are cancelled electronically by HMPO in the UK. So it beats me why a pair of scissors still needs to be wielded these days in order to cancel them physically.

In any event, why can't HMPO simply entrust us to perform this onerous task ourselves if they still consider it to be absolutely desperately essential vital - just as was the case during the all too short period when passport renewals were processed via Hong Kong?

Indeed passports are no longer valid for travel once the application has been and at some stage they’re supposed to be cancelled electronically, so it would seem ridiculous that the person collecting the passport has to present the passport to vfs for the ceremonial clipping of a corner.

I suspect that it’s an old requirement that nobody has had the sense to update, so vfs may continue to justify.

Final update. I drove to the VFS facility yesterday to collect my new passport; not much traffic again, less than 3 hours from Hua Hin.

I arrived at 13.50 and stood behind 5 others in a queue for the window to open at 14.00. Each person was dealt with in a couple of minutes. I presented my collection paperwork and old passport, and was handed my new passport and asked to check the details before signing it on page 3.

I also had to print my name and sign another paper confirming having received my new one; the corner was duly cut off of my old one which was handed back to me with the new one and I was driving out of the car park at 14.20; all very straightforward.

I must say I am impressed with the new passport compared to my old one. Firstly, it is navy blue, and not that awful miscellaneous maroon of my old one. When you open it, the first page is laminated and shows your passport number and photograph, but not your name. It also has a small clear laminated window that shows another photo of yourself on page 3.

Page 2 which is also laminated is the main details page, with name, d.o.b, issue and expiry dates, and your main photo. Page 3 is reserved for any official observations, and your signature, as well as the small third photo. The blank pages are more sensibly numbered on the bottom corners, and have some nice graphic designs and parts of maps of the UK. All in all, a very well designed document, and one that will have the forgers scratching their heads, I think.

All that remains now is to visit the immigration office to have my visa stamps transferred to my new passport and also to visit both of my banks for them to take copies and update my details on their records. ✌️