Notarised Copy of Passport at British Embassy

[AyG]

Unfortunately, I need to get a notarised copy of my passport at the British Embassy. (A Thai lawyer, apparently, isn't good enough for my purposes.)

I've looked at the Embassy's website and am left with a few questions that I hope someone can answer.

(1) Can I request the copy in the morning, and pick it up on the afternoon of the same day?

(2) Do I need to make a copy of my passport first? Or does the Embassy do that?

(3) Can the Embassy post the notarised copy to me (albeit for one if its usually outrageous fees)?

(4) The Embassy used to stop you taking your mobile 'phone into the building. This used to be on the website, but doesn't appear to be now. Is this ludicrous restriction still in force?

Thanks.

[theoldgit]

@ AyG

(1) I was certainly was able to do so a couple of months ago

(2) I'm pretty sure that you make a copy hand it in with your passport and of course some Baht, and they notarise your copy.

(3) I don't think they will, and as they say you need to submit in person I leave it as late as practical in the morning, it's normally quieter then as most people like to get there early, pop into Central for some lunch and then go back an collect.

They may do it by post, I'm really not sure.

(4) Yes, for reasons best known to them they still do take your phone.

[AyG]

To answer my own questions:

(1) Yes. In fact, you're expected to pick it up the same day.

(2) No need for your own photocopy. Even if you bring one, the embassy makes its own.

(3) No, they won't EMS the document to you.

(4) Yes, the ludicrous restriction on mobile 'phones is still in force.

What annoys me most about the whole process is that if I got a document notarised by, say, a local lawyer, it would take at most 5 minutes. The British Embassy drags it out for hours because you have to submit in the morning (last service 11 a.m.) and can't pick up the copy until after 2 p.m.. In my case I left home at 7:30 in the morning and got back home a little before 4 p.m. - more than 8 hours of my time wasted, and I live in the outskirts of Bangkok. For people living in further afield provinces they're going to have to spend the night before in Bangkok. The FCO absolutely no concern whatsoever for the impact its ludicrously user un-friendly procedures have upon those of use forced to submit to them. (Why, for example, is there no service on weekends and holidays? Why in this day and age should a working person have to take a whole day - or longer - off work just to get a stamped photocopy from the Embassy? It's heartless and insensitive.)

[Tony M]

I think the main reason phones are not allowed is because the majority of them have cameras and video capability, and you are in a diplomatic mission. It's understandable that they don't want you to photograph or video their staff and/or what goes on inside. Certainly, in some embassies even staff cannot take phones with cameras into the office, and in certain parts of the embassy, no phones are allowed under any circumstances.

I have worked in countries where you wouldn't want to take your phone into an embassy or official building, as the information on your phone, numbers, call records, SMS, etc, are "swiped" as you enter.

[7by7]

Take your passport to a lawyer to be notarised; how many other documents does he have to notarise that day? Very few, if any, I suspect. So he can do it then and there.

Take it to the embassy, they'll have a lot more to do that day. So collecting them in the morning and asking people to come back in the afternoon strikes me as a lot more sensible than making people hang around in the embassy while each person is dealt with one by one.

[ubonjoe]

The US embassy takes away your phone and any other electronic equipment. Including pen drives, cables batteries and etc. It's worse than the security at the airport.

They at least do it while you wait. Normal time for notary when I have gone is 15 to 30 minutes.

The UK embassy might let you do a mail in for a passport copy but you would have to send passport so they can certify the copy of it I would think.

[AyG]

Take your passport to a lawyer to be notarised; how many other documents does he have to notarise that day? Very few, if any, I suspect. So he can do it then and there.

Take it to the embassy, they'll have a lot more to do that day. So collecting them in the morning and asking people to come back in the afternoon strikes me as a lot more sensible than making people hang around in the embassy while each person is dealt with one by one.

If the embassy actually cared about providing a decent service they could arrange an appointment system.

At the very least they could organise things on a production line basis, rather than batching up all the paper stamping work to be done between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m..

Actually, they could do even better than that. When I needed a notarised copy of my passport last month for a different purpose I arranged for a lawyer to visit me at my home for almost exactly the same price as the embassy charges. Why couldn't the embassy offer a similar service in the Bangkok area? It would avoid customers having to travel into Bangkok and hang around for hour.

[JLCrab]

The only problem with having a document or passport copy notarized by an attorney is whether such notary is valid for the purposes in the UK. In the USA, only a notarized copy at a US Embassy is valid in many situations if a document is notarized outside the USA; if only by an attorney, a contract, will, or some other document might be challenged in a US Court.

[evadgib]

@AyG

When I needed a notarised copy of my passport last month for a different purpose I arranged for a lawyer to visit me at my home for almost exactly the same price as the embassy charges. Why couldn't the embassy offer a similar service in the Bangkok area? It would avoid customers having to travel into Bangkok and hang around for hour.

Their THB 6,240 callout fee per hour puts most people off.

Edited July 21, 2013 by evadgib

[AyG]

@AyG

When I needed a notarised copy of my passport last month for a different purpose I arranged for a lawyer to visit me at my home for almost exactly the same price as the embassy charges. Why couldn't the embassy offer a similar service in the Bangkok area? It would avoid customers having to travel into Bangkok and hang around for hour.

If you're happy to pay the THB 6,240 callout fee per hour on top of the other fee why not give them a ring?

That's rather missing the point. A legal company can provide an at home, convenient, fast and efficient service for the same price as the British Embassy charges for an inconvenient, slow, inefficient service. Why can't the British Embassy provide the same level of customer service at the same price?

(I'd also add that as non-UK residents we pay a vastly higher cost for passport renewal than UK residents. The higher cost is justified by the fact that we are alleged to require a higher level of consular assistance. In other words, we are already paying to subsidise the embassy. Logically, the costs of services provided to us by the embassy should be cheaper than those provided by a non-government legal firm.)

[evadgib]

A legal company can provide an at home, convenient, fast and efficient service for the same price as the British Embassy charges for an inconvenient, slow, inefficient service. Why can't the British Embassy provide the same level of customer service at the same price?

A lawyer has no way of checking that a passport hasn't been stolen or cloned.

Edited July 21, 2013 by evadgib

[7by7]

AyG,

Do you pay UK tax?

I do.

Where does the money come from to run the embassy?

Overseas passport fees? Maybe a fraction.

Consular fees? A small amount.

The UK tax payer? The vast majority.

So as a UK tax payer, why should I pay for a consular official to visit you at home to notarise a copy of your passport just because you can't be bothered to get off your arse and go to the embassy?

[AyG]

AyG,

Do you pay UK tax?

I do.

Where does the money come from to run the embassy?

Overseas passport fees? Maybe a fraction.

Consular fees? A small amount.

The UK tax payer? The vast majority.

So as a UK tax payer, why should I pay for a consular official to visit you at home to notarise a copy of your passport just because you can't be bothered to get off your arse and go to the embassy?

Yes, I pay UK tax - and an amount way out of proportion to the benefits I receive for it. And over the years I've paid much more tax than the average British tax payer.

The primary function of the embassy it to promote British interests overseas and, in my opinion, it's those interests that should be paying the bulk of the running costs - arms dealers and similar international businesses.

A British passport bought in the UK costs £72.50. To apply from Thailand costs £151.01 - more than double. Hardly a "fraction" more - more than double.

And if you'd bothered to read what I've posted, my primary complaint isn't about having to go to the embassy - it's more about having to waste several hours for the officials to provide a simple service that actually takes only a few minutes. The fact that Thai lawyers can provide a much faster, more convenient service in my home simply rubs salt into the wound, showing how ludicrously overpriced and inefficient the "services" provided by the British Embassy are.

[theoldgit]

Had to go to the Embassy last week to obtain at letter to confirm that my new passport is just that, as the Thai Immigration Authorties instisted on such a letter, and the UK don't issue them routinely issue. I also wonder why a passport costs so much more because I'm overseas, but that's an arguement for another day.

The Consular Assistant was charming and gave me a template to fill out, once I filled it out she signed it, stamped it and gave it back, took all of a couple of minutes, no charge.

I believe that Consular Staff when notarizing a passport are only saying it's a true copy, and they make the copy, I don't understand why they cannot copy it whilst you are there and fill in and sign and stamp the passport, in a similar process to what I went through.

I think this would be more efficient than having to check in a second time and having to ensure there is a person on duty in the afternoon to hand out the signed documents.

Like AyG I remain a UK taxpayer with HMRC taking a chunk of my pension.

[7by7]

.......if you'd bothered to read what I've posted, my primary complaint isn't about having to go to the embassy - it's more about having to waste several hours for the officials to provide a simple service that actually takes only a few minutes........

And if you bothered to read what I've posted you see that I have commented on that!

[diyer]

Thailand doesn't have certified 'Notaries' as in other Countries.

Surely, it really depends for what purpose the copy of the Passport is required.

If the copy is required for use within the private sector of Thailand, then that office may accept authentication of a copy by a qualified Thai lawyer.

If the copy is required for an agency of another Country then it will need to be authenticated and Notarised by a qualified Notary, which can only be completed by the Embassy of the Country in which the document is to be used.

[evadgib]

.......if you'd bothered to read what I've posted, my primary complaint isn't about having to go to the embassy - it's more about having to waste several hours for the officials to provide a simple service that actually takes only a few minutes........

And if you bothered to read what I've posted you see that I have commented on that!

How about an "I pay your wages" Brigade?

Thai Visa Brigades

Edited July 22, 2013 by evadgib