New Arrangements For British Passport Services Overseas

[theoldgit]

I would renew mine in UK but aren't there regulations about having so many months validity remaining when exiting a country.

I have heard of people not being allowed to fly because they only have a few months left on their passport.

No, some countries will only allow you to enter if you have six months remaining not leaving. You can enter the UK with one day remaining, in fact I think you can enter on an expired passport.

My main concern is sending my passport to Hong Kong, relying on the postal service both ways and being without a passport for the duration of the process, though I will obviously have a copy.

I intend to renew my passport when I am in the UK, it's also cheaper though I am not sure what happens to my Thai re-entry permit.

By the way it's nothing to do with improving the service it's a cost cutting exercise, the Bangkok Embassy is reducing it's staffing complement by three. And for those who talk about highly paid pen pushers, it's worth noting that most staff are locally employed and paid in the region of 25-30,000 Baht per month.

[R123]

My suggestion to avoid the Thai post system:

Send your renewal application to Hong Kong via DHL or similar reliable courier company and insist that the new passport returned to you by the same or by an equally competent courier even if it means paying for such.

(keep a copy of the passport sent).

My queries are:

1. How to pay for the passport renewal in HK; by cheque which will take severel days/weeks to clear, or what?

2.Whilst in Thailand and having sent away to HK for the new passport what if asked to show one's passport whilst in Thailland?

Perhaps ask the British Embassy in BKK or Hon Consulate in Pattaya etc for a letter?

Any ideas anyone?

Edited January 30, 2010 by R123

[R123]

PS: And if one is renewing in HK what currency are we expected to pay for the renewal, as cannot pay in Thai baht?

[tingtongfarang]

PS: And if one is renewing in HK what currency are we expected to pay for the renewal, as cannot pay in Thai baht?

HK$ of course, these fees are always paid in local currency.

[flashlight92]

Here's the link for renewing a UK passport in Malaysia and it's probably going to be the same system for Thailand

http://ukinmalaysia.fco.gov.uk/en/passports/

I'd still like to know if I can legally renew my passport in the UK [as above] while I'm in SE Asia or is Hong Kong the only legal option? Also what do you do if you don't have a fixed address to get the passport sent to? Can you get it couriered to a UK embassy or will they not sign for it?

[theoldgit]

It seems that they don't trust the postal service either and recommend that you send it by DHL or the like, so the idea is to cut down on admin costs, but of course make sure the good old UK Citizen, sorry "Customer" has to pay more. I estimate that the cost, passport fee, courier fee to and from Hong Kong and the cost of a draft will make the cost of a 40 page passport in the region of £200, up from £150 applying in Bangkok.

You can pay by Credit Card or Bankers Draft, more expenses.

They suggest you allow four weeks, double the ten days.

So we already pay more for the convenience of renewing our passports overseas, for what exactly?

Edited January 30, 2010 by theoldgit

[Guest]

On the Malaysia embassy site, I read the FAQS, one answer says this: "If you hold a valid passport, we normally do not need to see your birth certificate. But we always need your expired or expiring passport if you have one."

So the question I raised earlier remains - about sending a passport containing current visas out of Thailand, and being left with no document to show any cop or immigration officer.

[tingtongfarang]

On the Malaysia embassy site, I read the FAQS, one answer says this: "If you hold a valid passport, we normally do not need to see your birth certificate. But we always need your expired or expiring passport if you have one."

So the question I raised earlier remains - about sending a passport containing current visas out of Thailand, and being left with no document to show any cop or immigration officer.

Thats one of the questions i asked in an email to the bkk embassy...i suspect they wont answer, Also i asked why they wont add pages as other embassys do for their citizens but i forgot...we are customers.

[NanLaew]

I'd still like to know if I can legally renew my passport in the UK [as above] while I'm in SE Asia or is Hong Kong the only legal option? Also what do you do if you don't have a fixed address to get the passport sent to? Can you get it couriered to a UK embassy or will they not sign for it?

Yes, you can still do it legally sending your passport to someone in the UK who will post on the application and receive the passport back. I did this late 2008 while offshore Vietnam. One of the engineers was headed for Scotland so he did the 'courier' for me to my parents and they used DHL to send the new one back to me. You will need a residential address for any and all business related to renewing it in the UK. It's all part of proving you are who you are.

Do make the effort to get NEW passport pictures that comply with the UKPA's very strict quality criteria. I used the same pictures as in the full, old passport (only 3 years old) and they rejected them (have to be < 6 months old). I sent digital pics to my father that he printed and resubmitted and they were rejected despite being high quality on photo paper. Ended up sending the jpeg image to a professional photographer locally, he printed them and the UKPA accepted them at the 3rd attempt.

[theoldgit]

I have always understood that you were not allowed to post passports overseas, that's why we were previously forced to renew a passport in your current country of residence, and pay the inflated price.

As we will now have to arrange to send our old passport to Hong Kong I cannot see how the Passport Agency could justify declining to issue a passport in The UK, at The UK price, and allow it to be DHL'd to Thailand - though I suspect they will find a reason.

[thaimiller]

This always makes me laugh, its more expensive as you are living abroad, if you want it cheaper go back to the UK for an holiday and renew it then. But remember its going to cost you 500 quid for a flight.

So renew it on a scheduled holiday, not that difficult.

Thats the point I was making, Not that difficult to understand........

[NanLaew]

^^ Read my post. There's NO restriction on anyone sending their UK passport back to the UK to get it renewed. I see any increased cost in obtaining a new passport overseas as a 'convenience fee'. So you pay more than you would filing it over the counter at the Post Office back home, but you DON'T have to fly to the Post Office to do it.

You may be getting confused with Thai Immigration's prohibition on sending your passport out of the country for a new Thai visa whilst physically remaining inside Thailand. That's illegal.

Edited January 31, 2010 by NanLaew

[theoldgit]

This always makes me laugh, its more expensive as you are living abroad, if you want it cheaper go back to the UK for an holiday and renew it then. But remember its going to cost you 500 quid for a flight.

So renew it on a scheduled holiday, not that difficult.

That's the point I was making, Not that difficult to understand........

Sorry I didn't understand the point you were making, maybe I'm just thick.

I didn't understand why you needed to factor in the £500 for the flight when you had probably costed it into the price of the holiday, as I say I am probably a bit thick and missed your point.

[theoldgit]

^^ Read my post. There's NO restriction on anyone sending their UK passport back to the UK to get it renewed. I see any increased cost in obtaining a new passport overseas as a 'convenience fee'. So you pay more than you would filing it over the counter at the Post Office back home, but you DON'T have to fly to the Post Office to do it.

You may be getting confused with Thai Immigration's prohibition on sending your passport out of the country for a new Thai visa whilst physically remaining inside Thailand. That's illegal.

So now that the convenience has gone, you are saying that you are sure I can send my passport to the UK for renewal, given that I have got to send it overseas anyway?

By the way, I was not getting confused I had always believed you were not allowed to send a passport overseas, though I may have been wrong in my understanding.

[Guest]

I've had an usually fast reply to my email from the embassy (and on a Sunday, for all you who moan about the service). As expected, the email said full details would be posted on 8 March on their website; however, the same official did state that it would be possible to make applications through the embassy and that the appliations would be forwarded on to the Hong Kong Consulate General.

[elliss]

Funny...I always thought I was a citizen of the UK, now according to dear

Quinton we are all "customers", nice one.

mr. dick turpin .

you are really out of touch, with the real world.{sorry ]

you speak the wrong language , to be a U.K. citizen .

suggest , you move to croatia / rumania / poland , etc.

and then move to U.K. where you will be treated well .

[Ananke]

Ah. I see the "more efficient" passport renewal process has reached your side of the globe then..... Poor you.

Here is a serious bit of advice: If your passport is about to expire near that dreaded switch over deadline, do please try your best to renew it now. (A UK passport can be renewed months before it actually expires.) I'm particularly thinking about all you parents planning summer holidays. I'd hate for you to go through all the excitement and adventures we did, when similar changes were made in Europe last year, and we almost couldn't get the kids out of the country in time to attend a rare family renuion, to celebrate Grandma's ruby wedding anniversary.

Problem? New procedures, new computer systems, new staff (I presume), and the usual pre-summer rush meant that many people's applications took weeks and weeks, and weeks instead of the normal 10 working days. To add to the stress, there wasn't even a phone number available on any of the relavent websites for you to call up and check on your pending (and now very late) application. The good news? After a while, things did settle down, and the process seems to work smoothly again, but during the switch-over monts, it was chaos.

So, off you go folks, go check your passport dates, and renew now if you can. Good luck!

[tingtongfarang]

I've had an usually fast reply to my email from the embassy (and on a Sunday, for all you who moan about the service). As expected, the email said full details would be posted on 8 March on their website; however, the same official did state that it would be possible to make applications through the embassy and that the appliations would be forwarded on to the Hong Kong Consulate General.

Till now i have received no reply but admitted i did have more questions for the consulate general, For instance why we cant have pages added to our passports as citizens from other western countrys so we can use our passports for the full 10 years...maybe its because we are regarded as customers and not citizens, If so its a sad state of affairs as we already have the most expencive passport and it would seem the least consular assistance,

I begin to wish i had changed my nationality when i had the chance!

Edited January 31, 2010 by tingtongfarang

[Guest]

I've had an usually fast reply to my email from the embassy (and on a Sunday, for all you who moan about the service). As expected, the email said full details would be posted on 8 March on their website; however, the same official did state that it would be possible to make applications through the embassy and that the appliations would be forwarded on to the Hong Kong Consulate General.

Till now i have received no reply but admitted i did have more questions for the consulate general, For instance why we cant have pages added to our passports as citizens from other western countrys so we can use our passports for the full 10 years...maybe its because we are regarded as customers and not citizens, If so its a sad state of affairs as we already have the most expencive passport and it would seem the least consular assistance,

I begin to wish i had changed my nationality when i had the chance!

I suspect that an embassy official is in no position to give a decent answer to your question, which seems to be one of policy and therefore something for the FCO to answer.

[Chaimai]

I imagine that we will now see the practical solutions coming out. Here's one:-

I travel to/from UK 4 times a year. If I sacrifice my Colman's mustard, Mint sauce, HP sauce and PG Tips, I could take about 50 passports back to the UK each time.

Benefits: -

the passport does not leave my control until I send it registered post to UKPA.

It also either stays in my possession until I return about 4/6 weeks later.

Cheaper than DHL. Pay me 500 Baht on top of UK postal charge.

Downside:-

Interesting discussion if I get stopped at Customs with 50 passports

[theoldgit]

^^ Read my post. There's NO restriction on anyone sending their UK passport back to the UK to get it renewed. I see any increased cost in obtaining a new passport overseas as a 'convenience fee'. So you pay more than you would filing it over the counter at the Post Office back home, but you DON'T have to fly to the Post Office to do it.

You may be getting confused with Thai Immigration's prohibition on sending your passport out of the country for a new Thai visa whilst physically remaining inside Thailand. That's illegal.

So now that the convenience has gone, you are saying that you are sure I can send my passport to the UK for renewal, given that I have got to send it overseas anyway?

By the way, I was not getting confused I had always believed you were not allowed to send a passport overseas, though I may have been wrong in my understanding.

Not that I was doubting you for one minute but I was a little concerned about sending my passport to the UK for renewal and saying that "NanAlew" assured me that is was ok to do so, so I took the liberty of sending the Identity and Passport Agency an email, this is their reply:

Only applicant's residing in the UK can submit their application forms in the UK. You cannot send your passport to an office outside the the country you are residing in for security reasons.

It seems from other posters that you will still be able to sumit passports to the BE in Bangkok and they will forward to Hong Kong in a diplomatic bag.

Edited February 3, 2010 by theoldgit

[samran]

what are we now....111 posts of whinging?

[theoldgit]

what are we now....111 posts of whinging?

No just the one, yours.

[stbkk]

I'm off to the Embassy on Friday, to deposit my son's application.

I'll try and get some 'definitive' information and let everybody know.

[samran]

what are we now....111 posts of whinging?

No just the one, yours.

Whinging about the whingers, you got it there...

Don't get what the fuss is about. Many other countries do passport applications via third countries. Australians apply at the embassy in whatever country they are in, but the passport is proccessed either in London, Canberra or Washington, depending on what hemisphere you are in.

NZ is similar, processed in Washington, London, Wellington or Sydney, depending on where you apply.

So you are in BKK and your application goes of to HK? What is the big deal?

[A_Traveller]

To be fair the initial position appeared to be that the 'customer' [not citizen nor subject] was responsible for secure shipping to HK. It now seems that the process of renewal takes place in HK and that the 'customer' may submit the application at the Embassy in Bangkok. I've not waded through all the posts, but presumably the collection/delivery process is as now.

So the end result is that it'll take longer, but not unreasonably so.

Regards

PS Just to add that my dealings with the Passport Consular Services have always been exemplary.

PPS Prohibition on adding pages is an historical issue [the silken thread bound books, remember those] and could be provided with the 'red'un's' but inertia rules

Edited February 3, 2010 by A_Traveller

[Chaimai]

So you are in BKK and your application goes of to HK? What is the big deal?

I am not sure there is a big deal. I think people are just seeking clarification on the process.

That is not unreasonable but, as usual, a government (Embassy) website is not giving all the answers.

It is explicit in saying that an internationally recognised courier service will ensure the safe return of your passport. (This allays fears of entrusting anything to the Thai postal service)

It is inferred (not stated) that a document transfer system (Diplomatic bag ??) exists between BKK and Hong Kong. It further infers (but is not stated) that the process continues whereby applications are passed through BKK to the (stated) processing centre in Hong Kong.

This is also presumed from the email response received by 'theoldgit' whereby passport documents cannot be sent outside your country of residence for security reasons.

[RubbaJohnny]

Also when going through the manless immigration terminals, the system also checks to see if your wanted by the local police, interpol and your own police, if this is alerted, you will be locked in the immigration box, and took away to be processed further.

This is new technology, and could be out sooner if the terrorist continue to fight.

Also if you were arrested whilst on holiday, they would have immediate access to your criminal records back home.

Or they open the trapdoor Wallace and Grommit style into the Dungeon?

A similar idea for DHSS benefits Sharia style

1 Put Hand in ATM lie detector Iris scan of needy cash

if speak with forked toungue hand seveerd for Korean bistro trade!

George Orwell another Blair described it all in 1984 Big Brother

Nice to see test run in corrupt 3rd world slow and notoruisly corrupt inefecient xenophobic Scandanavia!

so If I lose mine in e.g.Lao instead of a quick AIS/dtac call to BKK and via good Aussie embassy Calls to Hong Kong call center no doubt like cheaptickets .com in India etc

Where despite taking your cash and detail operators cannot give callback name or supervisors number.

Oh No!

This is a cost saving disaster for all holdaymakers tourist ex pat alike.The crooks and illegals will always find away until they are dealt with on the beaches and denied the freedoms benefits and welfare UK taxpayers and servicemen work so had for.

Urge you all write your MP and candidates in forthcomng UK poll or get Johanna Lumley on it.

Edited February 3, 2010 by RubbaJohnny

[stbkk]

I have just returned from making my sons application for a passport at the embassy, and hopefully can clarify a few things.

1. There are notices in the consular section and outside the embassy saying you will be able to hand in your application for processing either in Bangkok or send it directly to Hong Kong when the changes come into force.

2. I asked the lady when I was handing mine in, and she said You can still give the paperwork to the embassy in Bangkok, and they will send it to Hong Kong for you, but YOU have to pay for the courier.

3. The turn around time remains the same, 10 working days.

So basically no improvement in service, but more cost. That's Gordon Brown's Britain for you. Although hopefully not for many more months.

[theoldgit]

I asked the lady when I was handing mine in, and she said You can still give the paperwork to the embassy in Bangkok, and they will send it to Hong Kong for you, but YOU have to pay for the courier.

Thanks for the update, no doubt they will bundle all the applications together and split the courier cost between all the applicants - yeh right, and of course you will have to pay for the return delivery.

I for one find it pretty disgusting, but of course there is FA anybody can do about.

By the way "samran" now I am whinging.