Getting A New Uk Passport

[Greenside]

I've run out of consecutive blank pages in mine and was depressed (but not hugely surprised given the cost of having a simple letter typed up) to find that getting a new UK passport here is 9000+ baht as opposed to 4000+ in the UK. What are the rules regarding the place of application? Obtaining and filling out the paperwork then FedExing the whole thing back for my brother to send to the passport office seems like a simple exercise but I expect there's a law against it.

Isn't there?

[soundman]

Moved to visas and other countries forum.

[beano2274]

Actually the price of a passport is 7220baht (124.50GBP) for a 32 pager and 8729baht (150.50GBP) for a 48 pager as per the Embassy website.

The price of a 32 page Passport in the UK is 77.50GBP (4495 baht) however, if you want it done within 1 week it costs 112.50GBP (6525baht), a 48 pager costs 90.50GBP (5250baht) or fast track seven days 120.50GBP (6989baht) as per the IPS website.

Take into account postage and there is not much difference, get caught without a passport and there is a fine to pay.

Edited September 22, 2009 by beano2274

[Greenside]

I'm sure the consulate in CM quoted 9000+ for the passport and, you're correct it, was for the bigger one. Possibly the cost of courier there and back would take the edge off the savings but I guess they would still amount to a couple of thousand which is still worth having if it's not illegal. Not having a passport for three weeks or so doesn't seem that big a risk - after all you'd have to rely on a copy even if you apply over here.

[Eff1n2ret]

I'm sure the consulate in CM quoted 9000+ for the passport and, you're correct it, was for the bigger one. Possibly the cost of courier there and back would take the edge off the savings but I guess they would still amount to a couple of thousand which is still worth having if it's not illegal. Not having a passport for three weeks or so doesn't seem that big a risk - after all you'd have to rely on a copy even if you apply over here.

This is what the DirectGov website says:

"If you do not live in the UK, you can apply in person to renew your passport while visiting the UK. To do this you need to call the IPS Passport Adviceline on +44 (0)300 222 0000 to make an appointment at a Regional Passport Office. You must also provide an address in the UK to which IPS can post the new passport.

IPS cannot accept applications from overseas. If you would like to renew your British Passport while living abroad, you will need to contact your local embassy, high commission or consulate"

It doesn't say you can't get someone else to send in the application whilst you're abroad. If you want to check out this webpage for the practicalities and take it from there:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTrans...ports/index.htm

I just renewed mine (within the UK) a couple of weeks ago, using the checking service at the Post Office. It's very simple, and I got the new document within 2 weeks.

[7by7]

"IPS cannot accept applications from overseas........."

It doesn't say you can't get someone else to send in the application whilst you're abroad.

If you send the application from Thailand to the UK for someone else to submit, isn't the application coming from overseas?

Even if it is legal, does saving a little over 3K baht make it worth the risk of it getting lost in transit?

[steve187]

a secure method of posting both ways will use up any savings made, and your passport will show by immigration stamps that you are still in thailand

[tubber]

I go in to the Embassy in BKK so they can check the application form-which you can download on their website. They then EMS it back to you, used to take 5 working days for a renewal, now I think it 7. They have actually reduced the price of a new passport due to the poor exchange rate. They keep your old passport but give you a receipt which I guess will satisfy the BiB if you get stopped, they send back the new passport and the old one with the corners cut off. Some people don't like the British Embassy but I have not had a negative experience yet. I think renewing it in BKK is your best option.

[Mercury]

Renewing in Bangkok is the only option when you are in Thailand.

[julesandmartin]

I have same problem my UK passport is almost full.

If I renew my UK passport in BKK what happens to my Non-O Visa stamp issued in Hull UK in the old passport? Can I get it transferred over to the new passport (if so where and at what cost?) or is it still valid if I carry attach the old passport to the new?

[tubber]

There is a section in the passport renewal form to list pages with visas you want to keep, they fold the corners over so it doesn't get chopped off when they cut the corners. I have an annual extension which I just get transferred to the new passport but I am sure just carrying your old passport will be sufficient.

[Arkady]

British Embassy may be more expensive but is a better service. You can still apply in person and they will witness your photograph for you, so you don't need to find another British citizen to do that. In the old days you could also apply in person at the passport office at Petty France in London but now you send off your passport to a black hole. I need to send an original copy of my birth cert because I was born overseas and the passport office in UK just threw away my birth certificte and sent back the new and old passports without it. When I called to ask for my birth cert back they tried to deny I had sent it but eventually admitted they wouldn't have issued the passport without it. There was no offer to pay for a new copy or even an apology. My original birth certificate was elegantly handwritten in copperplate. Eventually i got a new one scrawled in biro by some one who was clearly close to illiterate that doesn't even look as if it could be a government document. I'll stick to British Embassies for passports.

[ColinChapman]

I obtained a new passport from the British Embassy earlier this year and they only cut off the corner of the front cover, back cover and picture page, so there was no risk of damaging any immigration stamps.

[grahamhc]

Couple of points not mentioned.

PLACE OF ISSUE: When issued in the UK, it will be marked UKPA (United Kingdom Passport Agency), while if issued by the Embassy, it will be marked FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth Office - ie: Britishe Embassy)

That will prove to authorities that you are normally living out of the UK for a longer periods of time. Whether that is good or bad, I do not know.

APPLYING ON LINE: If you have an address in the UK, you could apply on line and they pre-check all the facts, and send your application to the given address. You sign it and attach a photo and return the forms in a special envelope. You normally get the passport back in a few days as a streamlined service at no extra cost.

Have the forms waiting for you before flying home, and get the passport back quickly when you want to leave. Save having to visit their office, which for me was Newport Gwent (Wales) when I lived in Oxford.

Big Passports are sensible with our travelling plans around this area. In the UK it is called a Jumbo Passport, but in the UK Embassy in the States it is called the Frequeant Traveller Passport, which is a more sensible name.

AMDT - Text added:

Remember that Thai Immigtation want a "Lettter of validity" from the Embassy before they will move the visas from your old passport to the new one. What happens if the Passport is issued in the UK? I do not know the answer to that situation.

Edited September 27, 2009 by grahamhc

[Soutpeel]

Remember that Thai Immigtation want a "Lettter of validity" from the Embassy before they will move the visas from your old passport to the new one. What happens if the Passport is issued in the UK? I do not know the answer to that situation.

First of all Thai immigration does not transfer visa's to a new passport, only your permission to stay stamp, further, Thai immigration doesnt always require a "Letter of validity" from the embassy. I have had 3 new passports over the last couple of years and have never been asked to provide one...

[ColinChapman]

I asked the lady in the embassy about the "Letter of Validity" and she said that it is not required in Bangkok (where I live), so probably best to check with the immigration office you will be going to.

[thetravellingcat]

a secure method of posting both ways will use up any savings made, and your passport will show by immigration stamps that you are still in thailand

that and only saving 3,000B means it isn't worth trying to dodge these formalities.

my tip so you don't run out of pages so quickly - check for pages stapled together! only after going through my passport did I notice a staple going through a two pages, but then the following page was used rendering them useless.

[jasreeve17]

Just a mention whilst we're on this thread:

The last two times I got a new passport (once in the UK, once in Bkk) I paid extra for the 48 pager - and received the normal 32 pager. My pleas and showing of receipts meant nothing to the folks at the passport offices; no refund, no exchange to the larger passport...

[cheshiremusicman]

Just a mention whilst we're on this thread:

The last two times I got a new passport (once in the UK, once in Bkk) I paid extra for the 48 pager - and received the normal 32 pager. My pleas and showing of receipts meant nothing to the folks at the passport offices; no refund, no exchange to the larger passport...

My wife just got her passport renewal back from British Embassy in BKK. 48 pages as requested and paid for. She did this by EMS post and it took 16 days from the date of posting ( a Saturday) to hitting our post box at the house. The old passport had the front and back pages corners cut off, but all the others were left as original. Information along with the new passport told her to go to the local immigration office to have her visa's replaced into her new passport. Her old passport had some three months left on it and even though the new passport runs from Sept this year, it has got the remaining three months tacked onto the expiry of the new one. Hope that this info is of some use for people renewing in Thailand.

Sending your passport back to the UK when you are 'plainly out of the country, because of entry stamps etc' sounds to me like a recipe for disaster, without all the added complications of 'lost in the post, etc , etc' Just not worth the risk IMHO.