British Passport Renewal

[BobBobBob]

Can you please help me. I am in Thailand for a few weeks and need to renew my British passport. If we go to the British Embassy in Bangkok, how long do you think I will have to wait until I receive it. I have read on the British Embassy website that it could take 4 weeks. If that is the case do you know if its possible to 'fastrack' it in someway?

Thanks very much for your help

Elaine

[beano2274]

THe British Embassy in Bangkok does not do Passport renewals, you have to send the application and documents to Hong Kong.

Also thought you could not travel on a passport which has less than 6 months validity??????

Another thing smells of troll - Name on login Bobbobbob, then name at the end of the post is Elaine, and also a newbie.

[Thanyaburi Mac]

See: http://ukinthailand.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/passports/

Mac

[BobBobBob]

Thanks Mac, very useful. Hong Kong it is then :rolleyes:

See: http://ukinthailand....nals/passports/

Mac

[A_Traveller]

Making the assumption that Elaine was thinking of 3 shillings when she chose her user name, it is possible to apply in person for passport renewal at Hong Kong, but the process still takes @ 4 weeks. The existing passport must also be surrendered, thereby meaning that she must remain in HK for that period, whereas if she applies remotely she can then retain her existing passport, which she must 'corner cut' upon receipt of the new one.

Assuming that the passport has more than 6 months to run, then this does allow her to visa run if she requires, e.g here in Thailand on a 30 day visa waiver [also assuming that there's space for the visa stamp or as is often the case round here the full page].

Regards

PS Just see dsfbrit's note below, so hope Elaine finds some of the advice useful herein.

[dsfbrit]

Elaine is not a TROLL - she is Newbie - I just set up her account for her. Beano2774 - to be honest as she is a Newbie I would have thought you could give her the benefit of the doubt - lets face it 'Beano2774' is hardly a 'sensible' name either is it!!! I told her how nice and helpful she would find the poster here - thanks for proving me a liar

[dsfbrit]

THe British Embassy in Bangkok does not do Passport renewals, you have to send the application and documents to Hong Kong.

Also thought you could not travel on a passport which has less than 6 months validity??????

Another thing smells of troll - Name on login Bobbobbob, then name at the end of the post is Elaine, and also a newbie.

Elaine is needing to renew her passport as it is FULL UP - it has nearly 6 years before it expires. WHY do people like you have to spend your Sunday afternoons posting daft replies like this on websites - dont yo have anything better to do. I have apologised to Elaine for you bad manners - perhaps you could do the same

[dsfbrit]

Making the assumption that Elaine was thinking of 3 shillings when she chose her user name, it is possible to apply in person for passport renewal at Hong Kong, but the process still takes @ 4 weeks. The existing passport must also be surrendered, thereby meaning that she must remain in HK for that period, whereas if she applies remotely she can then retain her existing passport, which she must 'corner cut' upon receipt of the new one.

Assuming that the passport has more than 6 months to run, then this does allow her to visa run if she requires, e.g here in Thailand on a 30 day visa waiver [also assuming that there's space for the visa stamp or as is often the case round here the full page].

Regards

PS Just see dsfbrit's note below, so hope Elaine finds some of the advice useful herein.

Thanks for this - she actually has a non-imm o visa to visit friends ie: me. She is here with her husband and they were thinking of retiring here, but have decided to go to South Africa instead. She and her husband dont have any pages left in their passports and I said they may be able to renew their passports in Bangkok as I did 2 years ago. I am an Expat who lives here in Pattaya and said if we asked here on TV - then I was sure we would get some good and prompt advice.

Thanks for this advice - it just shows how quickly the rules change here in Thailand - even at the British Emabssy.

[A_Traveller]

You are all welcome. The rules and process will change again over the next 18 months or so, with the end result being all passport processing will be done in the UK, and expats will need to send their applications, it appears, though this is not 100% clear yet, direct to the UK including covering secure return either to their address, or in some locations to the Embassy for collection.

Regards

[BobBobBob]

Thank you very much for your help

Elaine (BobBobBob) - 3 shillings:D

[beano2274]

reading the original post again - yes a little too quick to say a troll.

However the word renewal hit me in the face, so I believed that the passport was expiring, therefore the person could not have traveled with a document that was about to expire.

My apologies, at least I am man enough to say it on this website, unlike many others.

[beano2274]

Oh and at least some of my post was correct, in that all passports are done through Hong Kong. The rest, well read above....

[beano2274]

Elaine is not a TROLL - she is Newbie - I just set up her account for her. Beano2774 - to be honest as she is a Newbie I would have thought you could give her the benefit of the doubt - lets face it 'Beano2774' is hardly a 'sensible' name either is it!!! I told her how nice and helpful she would find the poster here - thanks for proving me a liar

Names do not have to be sensible, they have to have a meaning to the person, mine does, part of it is a comic that I read at school, the other part is a very important number.

I have come across many DSF's in my time, Deutsche Sport Fernsehen, DSF (Military, but doubt you were a Brig), and the Dubai Shopping Festival.

[dsfbrit]

See: http://ukinthailand.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/passports/

Mac

Thanks for this link Mac, I have read it myself now and I can see just how much the system has changed since my Bangkok renewal last year. The trouble has really arisen as she had left one page free in her passport for her South African visa stamp. Unfortunately the Thai immigration stamped in this last blank page when they arrived last week. She is now trying to contact the South African embassy to see if their rule that she MUST have a blank page in her passport for the South African 'visa on arrival' stamp is strictly enforced. I wish her luck - the visa system in Thailand is fantastically efficient compared to the South African system - which seems to be quite chaotic. In fact when she logged onto the South African website just now it simply said 'Hacked'

[beano2274]

I suggest a read of this:

http://www.southafrica-newyork.net/homeaffairs/visitorsvisa.htm

states 2 pages need to be free for endorsements, but best you take the time to read it properly incase I missed something.

[beano2274]

this states that people from the UK do not require a visa

http://www.capegateway.gov.za/eng/directories/services/11594/20865

[A_Traveller]

SA requires that all visitors need either 1 (countries for which no visa is required for entry) or 2 (prior visa required) clear pages in the passport at point of entry. Hence Elaine's issue.

Regards

[beano2274]

Here is the UK embassy website from SA

http://ukinsouthafrica.fco.gov.uk/en/

In case you need to contact them.

3 minutes on google.

[beano2274]

So according to the info from myself and another poster, no need to contact the SA Embassy, which is also closed tomorrow, as the answers have been given to the original poster.

Start getting the forms for a new UK passport, available at the Embassy, again probably closed on Monday.

[beano2274]

Hong Kong is looking your best bet.

[A_Traveller]

Juts to add the SA visa, in my experience, is a single page sticker, bar code and all, which obliviously obscures the page, therefore it can't, or at least shouldn't, be placed over an existing stamp.

Problem is if Elaine wants to go to SA quickly, then HK plus a bit of pleading might 'fast-tack' the application, but probably not dramatically. The only fast-track service I know of is offered through the Passport Offices in the UK, where they used to be able to renew a passport in one working day, but that not so helpful when she is in Bangkok.

Bit of a sod, really.

If she decided to stay, she could download the forms, fill them in, get photos, [checking the new non smiling digital requirements] and get the application sent off to HK tomorrow [holiday not withstanding].

Regards

[beano2274]

How about the Emergency passport on offer, could that not be done?

[beano2274]

If the OP was to accidentally wash the Passport, she could take the remnants and go to the Embassy, where she might be able to get an Emergency passport to travel, am not sure if it only facilitates travel to the Home Country of the Individual or another place.

If not, then they might fast track the application form for a new passport, if she told them she was on her way to SA and the tickets had already been purchased.

[TexasRanger]

I sent my application to Hong Kong from Bangkok last month and got the new passport in under 2 weeks. Very good service.

[A_Traveller]

Note sure wash & go will work, since, at least in the old days, temporary passports were usually single use to UK, though this may have changed. It depends on how long Elaine is staying, a few days a few weeks etc. If the tickets are flexible and the stay was planned at @ 3 weeks, I'd say HK by post might well work. If the stay is shorter and tickets are not flexible then going to HK and trying to expedite service might work [staying in HK for the period though], or seeing if Thai Immigration would move the stamp, in other words re-stamp the passport and void the original, giving back the single blank page, though she'd have to be eagle eyed going out.

Regards

PS Good to hear from someone who has experienced the HK by post service.

[personchester]

reading the original post again - yes a little too quick to say a troll.

However the word renewal hit me in the face, so I believed that the passport was expiring, therefore the person could not have traveled with a document that was about to expire.

My apologies, at least I am man enough to say it on this website, unlike many others.

Just apologise on your own behalf on this matter, end of story.

Seeking higher moral ground by making reference to other members that might not have done so is not appropriate.

[dsfbrit]

Sorry to bring this subject up again, but I let my friends get on with the task of renewing the passports themselves. The advice you offered was very helpful so thanks very much for that.

They sent the forms etc.. to Hong Kong yesterday so I thought it was all 'sorted'. Then I found their old passports still stored in our 'safe'. I read on this website

http://ukinhongkong.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/passports/applying-in-hong-kong/

'

To apply for a UK passport in Hong Kong you must submit:

your completed passport form

your 2 identical passport photographs

your current passport with a photocopy of the bio-data page

etc...'

It seems to me that they should have sent their original passports??? I dont want to worry them if it is not necessary but...could someone please confirm one way or the other

thanks very much much for your help...

edit: I just asked them about this and they said they phoned the British Embassy in Bangkok and they said the passport was not needed - something is odd somewhere!!!

[7by7]

You are looking at the wrong page of the Hong Kong website.

Foreigners in Thailand have to be able to produce a current passport to a police officer etc.on demand, the same as a Thai national with their ID card, so cannot send their passport to Hong Kong.

See this page

In addition to your completed application form, photos and fee, you will need to submit a clear photocopy of the data page of your previous passport. The passport being renewed will be electronically cancelled and is therefore not valid for use from the moment you submit your application. On receipt of your new passport you must physically cancel your old passport by cutting the corners of the photo page and the front and back covers. Failure to do so may leave your replaced passport open to abuse. Alternatively you should visit the British Embassy to have your replaced passport physically cancelled.

So applicants will still have the old passport for ID purposes within Thailand until they receive their new one, but will not be able to use it to leave the country.

[dsfbrit]

You are looking at the wrong page of the Hong Kong website.

Foreigners in Thailand have to be able to produce a current passport to a police officer etc.on demand, the same as a Thai national with their ID card, so cannot send their passport to Hong Kong.

See this page

In addition to your completed application form, photos and fee, you will need to submit a clear photocopy of the data page of your previous passport. The passport being renewed will be electronically cancelled and is therefore not valid for use from the moment you submit your application. On receipt of your new passport you must physically cancel your old passport by cutting the corners of the photo page and the front and back covers. Failure to do so may leave your replaced passport open to abuse. Alternatively you should visit the British Embassy to have your replaced passport physically cancelled.

So applicants will still have the old passport for ID purposes within Thailand until they receive their new one, but will not be able to use it to leave the country.

Thanks 7by7 - I figured it must be me ... that explains it thanks again...

[Familyonthemove]

The closing of the passport service in Bangkok is a huge problem for many of us Brits living here. Like many others, I travel most weeks on business - so having an invalid passport for possibly 4 weeks while it's processed in Hong Kong is not an option.

I went to Durham passport centre and used the very efficient one day service and had a new passport in 3 hours. Of course the 14,000 mile round trip to get there was a bit of a faff.

My passport was only 2 years old - but it was full because of the one page visas for travel in Asia and India. On return I had to get my Thai visa transfered to my new passport - and they used 4 pages!

So I'll be back in sunny Durham next year.