Changes to British passport services in Thailand

[KittenKong]

I am looking at getting a new passport soon as I only have 1 page left in my current one, even though thats enough for my next two 90 day report stamps I would like to get a new one sorted out soon. The thing is I dont work here nor do I have a Thai drivers license so I have no idea how to prove to them that I live here, any suggestions?

The easiest way I know of for a UK national to get address ID in English is to request a UK state pension forecast. Something like notice of tax coding etc from HMRC would also be easy to obtain.

Both may take a little while, of course.

[billd766]

I am looking at getting a new passport soon as I only have 1 page left in my current one, even though thats enough for my next two 90 day report stamps I would like to get a new one sorted out soon. The thing is I dont work here nor do I have a Thai drivers license so I have no idea how to prove to them that I live here, any suggestions?

Do you pay National Insurance contributions or income tax in the UK?

If so a letter addressed to you in Thailand should be sufficient.

If you have a UK bank get them to write to you in Thailand and that may help too.

I have 3 pension providers and the taxman writing to me so all I did was took one each of their letters, blanked off the contents of the letters and printed that out.

[bigt116]

Another update ;

Posted DHL on the 8th of Feb , signed for at Passport office 10th Feb , money taken on 12th of Feb.

Recieved back via DHL 1st March - so a 21 day turn around. Very happy and relieved to have new pp in my possession :-)

PS . For the proof of address, I just go the Head of my English department to sign a letter on school headed notepaper to affirm my address.

[billd766]

I sent mine on the 18th Feb, it was received on 21st Feb but no money has been taken yet.

I will leave it until Tuesday and contact them then for an update.

[billd766]

A follow up from my post #184

Bill’s passport saga

I needed to renew my passport by the end of May 2014 and reading the posts it is about a 1 month or less turn around, now through the UK.

This means that as I don’t have a credit card, only a debit card which is acceptable I also didn’t need an international money order either. A good thing when you live in rural Thailand.

So carefully gathering together all of the required information I sent it off to Liverpool using the Thai Post EMS and tracked it all the way.

It was sent off at 11.30 on Tuesday 18^th February and signed for in Liverpool at 12.00 on Friday 21^st February.

All went well and good. The last week of February I heard nothing nor did I expect to. I was hoping something would happen on Monday but nothing appeared. Tuesday morning I got an email from

F&CS - GRO TFT Mailbox F&[email protected]

They are the finance and accounts people in Liverpool and they said that they were unable to process the payment and could I please sort it out ASAP so as not to delay the passport application.

A small aside here. In January I lost my wallet, cash, licences and debit card from the Kasikorn bank. My wife and I go to the police to make the report and get a copy for the bank etc. No problem, 20 baht please, thank you very much, “Next”.

Off we go to the bank to get a new card to be told can you come back in a couple of days as the bank had run out of the blank cards. OK we do that, get the new card and fast forward to the credit card application in February and fill in the details and send the package off.

Back to Tuesday morning 4^th March, I ring Kbank online and get a helpful lady and explain my problem. “Ah you need to activate the card for international shopping” which I forgot to do in January. You stupid boy Pike! So 6 km down to the ATM and do that no problem, I come home and eat lunch because the UK is 7 hours behind Thailand and I cannot call them until after 3 pm.

Make a coffee and settle down to what I know will be a long session on hold at international rates. Wrong, they answer the call in less than a minute and I explain my problem that is now fixed. They put me on hold and take the money, except that the card is still refused. OK we try my wife’s card as it is a joint account and that is refused also. Apologise profusely and ask if it is possible to use somebody else’s debit card. This is OK.

Now plan A has failed it is time for plan B which is great except that I don’t actually have a plan B yet.

Back to the Kasikorn bank call centre and explain the problem and they kick it around and say that it is the UK governments fault and not theirs. I bite my tongue and try to explain that the UK government deal with this all the time and it really is a Kbank problem. I then hang up after wishing the girl a nice day as it isn’t her fault really. Look around but there is no dog to kick so I settle for a good swearing instead.

Now to find a plan B. Who do I know well enough, who cares enough and who trusts me enough to lend me their credit or debit card for £150.

Should I ask my ex-wife? Nah she would be quite happy to see me fined in Thailand, deported as an illegal alien back to the UK and living in a squat in Mandela Towers, Peckham.

I ask an old friend who I have known since 1973 and she says OK but first I have to transfer some money from one account to another. OK I have done that and gives me all the card details I need.

Back on the phone to Liverpool where I am quickly connected to the same lady who puts the debit card info in as I wait and tells me that was done OK. Thank you three times.

Plan B part 1 worked. Plan B part 2 starts.

I go to Kbank online banking but I cannot transfer the money. OK I will go back to the Kbank call centre and explain my problem.

Q1. Do you have a work permit. A. No I am retired. Ah then you cannot transfer money online sir, you have to go to your branch to do it.

Of the 10 or 15 people there only about 3 can speak some English and they have about 200 words between them so on the 5^th March my wife and I will go to the bank armed with mobile phones and paperwork and try to send the money to my friend in the UK.

She banks with the Halifax which is part of the LloydsTSB group and I need the Banks name, the Swift code and of course the Iban. The what? The IBAN, which is the International Banking Account Number.

Go to Google and find out what I can, including the branch phone number where my friend has her account. I manage to speak to a customer assistant or something who listens to me and tells me that the Halifax needs MY bank swift code. I explain that I will be transferring money to their bank and I need their swift code.

Eventually she puts me through to a nice Scots gentleman who knows what I am talking about and explains it to me in a manner and language that I can understand. He also apologises that he CANNOT give me the IBAN number as I could be anybody and with that information I can transfer money from my friends account to anywhere else. I thank him for his help and offer him part of the headache which has come on during the last 1 ½ hours trying to get this sorted out.

I ring my friend for the 3^rd time and she finds a bank statement and gives me the IBAN and I type it all up ready to fight the good fight at the bank tomorrow with my wife.

More to come later.

Edited March 4, 2014 by billd766

[OJAS]

A follow up from my post #184

Bill’s passport saga

I needed to renew my passport by the end of May 2014 and reading the posts it is about a 1 month or less turn around, now through the UK.

This means that as I don’t have a credit card, only a debit card which is acceptable I also didn’t need an international money order either. A good thing when you live in rural Thailand.

So carefully gathering together all of the required information I sent it off to Liverpool using the Thai Post EMS and tracked it all the way.

It was sent off at 11.30 on Tuesday 18^th February and signed for in Liverpool at 12.00 on Friday 21^st February.

All went well and good. The last week of February I heard nothing nor did I expect to. I was hoping something would happen on Monday but nothing appeared. Tuesday morning I got an email from

F&CS - GRO TFT Mailbox F&[email protected]

They are the finance and accounts people in Liverpool and they said that they were unable to process the payment and could I please sort it out ASAP so as not to delay the passport application.

A small aside here. In January I lost my wallet, cash, licences and debit card from the Kasikorn bank. My wife and I go to the police to make the report and get a copy for the bank etc. No problem, 20 baht please, thank you very much, “Next”.

Off we go to the bank to get a new card to be told can you come back in a couple of days as the bank had run out of the blank cards. OK we do that, get the new card and fast forward to the credit card application in February and fill in the details and send the package off.

Back to Tuesday morning 4^th March, I ring Kbank online and get a helpful lady and explain my problem. “Ah you need to activate the card for international shopping” which I forgot to do in January. You stupid boy Pike! So 6 km down to the ATM and do that no problem, I come home and eat lunch because the UK is 7 hours behind Thailand and I cannot call them until after 3 pm.

Make a coffee and settle down to what I know will be a long session on hold at international rates. Wrong, they answer the call in less than a minute and I explain my problem that is now fixed. They put me on hold and take the money, except that the card is still refused. OK we try my wife’s card as it is a joint account and that is refused also. Apologise profusely and ask if it is possible to use somebody else’s debit card. This is OK.

Now plan A has failed it is time for plan B which is great except that I don’t actually have a plan B yet.

Back to the Kasikorn bank call centre and explain the problem and they kick it around and say that it is the UK governments fault and not theirs. I bite my tongue and try to explain that the UK government deal with this all the time and it really is a Kbank problem. I then hang up after wishing the girl a nice day as it isn’t her fault really. Look around but there is no dog to kick so I settle for a good swearing instead.

Now to find a plan B. Who do I know well enough, who cares enough and who trusts me enough to lend me their credit or debit card for £150.

Should I ask my ex-wife? Nah she would be quite happy to see me fined in Thailand, deported as an illegal alien back to the UK and living in a squat in Mandela Towers, Peckham.

I ask an old friend who I have known since 1973 and she says OK but first I have to transfer some money from one account to another. OK I have done that and gives me all the card details I need.

Back on the phone to Liverpool where I am quickly connected to the same lady who puts the debit card info in as I wait and tells me that was done OK. Thank you three times.

Plan B part 1 worked. Plan B part 2 starts.

I go to Kbank online banking but I cannot transfer the money. OK I will go back to the Kbank call centre and explain my problem.

Q1. Do you have a work permit. A. No I am retired. Ah then you cannot transfer money online sir, you have to go to your branch to do it.

Of the 10 or 15 people there only about 3 can speak some English and they have about 200 words between them so on the 5^th March my wife and I will go to the bank armed with mobile phones and paperwork and try to send the money to my friend in the UK.

She banks with the Halifax which is part of the LloydsTSB group and I need the Banks name, the Swift code and of course the Iban. The what? The IBAN, which is the International Banking Account Number.

Go to Google and find out what I can, including the branch phone number where my friend has her account. I manage to speak to a customer assistant or something who listens to me and tells me that the Halifax needs MY bank swift code. I explain that I will be transferring money to their bank and I need their swift code.

Eventually she puts me through to a nice Scots gentleman who knows what I am talking about and explains it to me in a manner and language that I can understand. He also apologises that he CANNOT give me the IBAN number as I could be anybody and with that information I can transfer money from my friends account to anywhere else. I thank him for his help and offer him part of the headache which has come on during the last 1 ½ hours trying to get this sorted out.

I ring my friend for the 3^rd time and she finds a bank statement and gives me the IBAN and I type it all up ready to fight the good fight at the bank tomorrow with my wife.

More to come later.

Why don't you still have a UK bank account, Bill, if (as would appear to be the case) your pension income originates from there? This is, I take it, being credited directly into your Kasikorn account from GBP into THB at an unfavourable xrate, and then you are transferring some of it back to the UK from THB into GBP, again at an unfavourable xrate. Hence you are a double whammy victim of the Great Banking Xrate Rip-off!

Anyway the moral of your story for those of us Brits who still have a UK account is clearly "Don't close it as it could come in extremely handy at passport renewal time!"

[celso]

A little question I couldn't find any details for on the last few pages of the thread:;

Is it possible to pay with a Thai bank visa card?

I don't have a uk bank account anymore.

[thepool]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

A little question I couldn't find any details for on the last few pages of the thread:; Is it possible to pay with a Thai bank visa card? I don't have a uk bank account anymore.

It is possible. But check with your bank and ensure the card has been activated to allow such transactions.

If you are the person with the soon to expire passport it is vital for action to be taken tomorrow !

[Jip99]

A follow up from my post #184

Bill’s passport saga

I needed to renew my passport by the end of May 2014 and reading the posts it is about a 1 month or less turn around, now through the UK.

This means that as I don’t have a credit card, only a debit card which is acceptable I also didn’t need an international money order either. A good thing when you live in rural Thailand.

So carefully gathering together all of the required information I sent it off to Liverpool using the Thai Post EMS and tracked it all the way.

It was sent off at 11.30 on Tuesday 18^th February and signed for in Liverpool at 12.00 on Friday 21^st February.

All went well and good. The last week of February I heard nothing nor did I expect to. I was hoping something would happen on Monday but nothing appeared. Tuesday morning I got an email from

F&CS - GRO TFT Mailbox F&[email protected]

They are the finance and accounts people in Liverpool and they said that they were unable to process the payment and could I please sort it out ASAP so as not to delay the passport application.

A small aside here. In January I lost my wallet, cash, licences and debit card from the Kasikorn bank. My wife and I go to the police to make the report and get a copy for the bank etc. No problem, 20 baht please, thank you very much, “Next”.

Off we go to the bank to get a new card to be told can you come back in a couple of days as the bank had run out of the blank cards. OK we do that, get the new card and fast forward to the credit card application in February and fill in the details and send the package off.

Back to Tuesday morning 4^th March, I ring Kbank online and get a helpful lady and explain my problem. “Ah you need to activate the card for international shopping” which I forgot to do in January. You stupid boy Pike! So 6 km down to the ATM and do that no problem, I come home and eat lunch because the UK is 7 hours behind Thailand and I cannot call them until after 3 pm.

Make a coffee and settle down to what I know will be a long session on hold at international rates. Wrong, they answer the call in less than a minute and I explain my problem that is now fixed. They put me on hold and take the money, except that the card is still refused. OK we try my wife’s card as it is a joint account and that is refused also. Apologise profusely and ask if it is possible to use somebody else’s debit card. This is OK.

Now plan A has failed it is time for plan B which is great except that I don’t actually have a plan B yet.

Back to the Kasikorn bank call centre and explain the problem and they kick it around and say that it is the UK governments fault and not theirs. I bite my tongue and try to explain that the UK government deal with this all the time and it really is a Kbank problem. I then hang up after wishing the girl a nice day as it isn’t her fault really. Look around but there is no dog to kick so I settle for a good swearing instead.

Now to find a plan B. Who do I know well enough, who cares enough and who trusts me enough to lend me their credit or debit card for £150.

Should I ask my ex-wife? Nah she would be quite happy to see me fined in Thailand, deported as an illegal alien back to the UK and living in a squat in Mandela Towers, Peckham.

I ask an old friend who I have known since 1973 and she says OK but first I have to transfer some money from one account to another. OK I have done that and gives me all the card details I need.

Back on the phone to Liverpool where I am quickly connected to the same lady who puts the debit card info in as I wait and tells me that was done OK. Thank you three times.

Plan B part 1 worked. Plan B part 2 starts.

I go to Kbank online banking but I cannot transfer the money. OK I will go back to the Kbank call centre and explain my problem.

Q1. Do you have a work permit. A. No I am retired. Ah then you cannot transfer money online sir, you have to go to your branch to do it.

Of the 10 or 15 people there only about 3 can speak some English and they have about 200 words between them so on the 5^th March my wife and I will go to the bank armed with mobile phones and paperwork and try to send the money to my friend in the UK.

She banks with the Halifax which is part of the LloydsTSB group and I need the Banks name, the Swift code and of course the Iban. The what? The IBAN, which is the International Banking Account Number.

Go to Google and find out what I can, including the branch phone number where my friend has her account. I manage to speak to a customer assistant or something who listens to me and tells me that the Halifax needs MY bank swift code. I explain that I will be transferring money to their bank and I need their swift code.

Eventually she puts me through to a nice Scots gentleman who knows what I am talking about and explains it to me in a manner and language that I can understand. He also apologises that he CANNOT give me the IBAN number as I could be anybody and with that information I can transfer money from my friends account to anywhere else. I thank him for his help and offer him part of the headache which has come on during the last 1 ½ hours trying to get this sorted out.

I ring my friend for the 3^rd time and she finds a bank statement and gives me the IBAN and I type it all up ready to fight the good fight at the bank tomorrow with my wife.

More to come later.

Why don't you still have a UK bank account, Bill, if (as would appear to be the case) your pension income originates from there? This is, I take it, being credited directly into your Kasikorn account from GBP into THB at an unfavourable xrate, and then you are transferring some of it back to the UK from THB into GBP, again at an unfavourable xrate. Hence you are a double whammy victim of the Great Banking Xrate Rip-off!

Anyway the moral of your story for those of us Brits who still have a UK account is clearly "Don't close it as it could come in extremely handy at passport renewal time!"

No he isn't.The exchange rate is fair and last month a friend received a higher rate than the gross Kasikorn rates for that day.

I agree with the principle of retaining a UK bank account if you are likely to have any future financial dealings with the UK.

[jonw8uk]

A follow up from my post #184

Bill’s passport saga

I needed to renew my passport by the end of May 2014 and reading the posts it is about a 1 month or less turn around, now through the UK.

This means that as I don’t have a credit card, only a debit card which is acceptable I also didn’t need an international money order either. A good thing when you live in rural Thailand.

So carefully gathering together all of the required information I sent it off to Liverpool using the Thai Post EMS and tracked it all the way.

It was sent off at 11.30 on Tuesday 18^th February and signed for in Liverpool at 12.00 on Friday 21^st February.

All went well and good. The last week of February I heard nothing nor did I expect to. I was hoping something would happen on Monday but nothing appeared. Tuesday morning I got an email from

F&CS - GRO TFT Mailbox F&[email protected]

They are the finance and accounts people in Liverpool and they said that they were unable to process the payment and could I please sort it out ASAP so as not to delay the passport application.

A small aside here. In January I lost my wallet, cash, licences and debit card from the Kasikorn bank. My wife and I go to the police to make the report and get a copy for the bank etc. No problem, 20 baht please, thank you very much, “Next”.

Off we go to the bank to get a new card to be told can you come back in a couple of days as the bank had run out of the blank cards. OK we do that, get the new card and fast forward to the credit card application in February and fill in the details and send the package off.

Back to Tuesday morning 4^th March, I ring Kbank online and get a helpful lady and explain my problem. “Ah you need to activate the card for international shopping” which I forgot to do in January. You stupid boy Pike! So 6 km down to the ATM and do that no problem, I come home and eat lunch because the UK is 7 hours behind Thailand and I cannot call them until after 3 pm.

Make a coffee and settle down to what I know will be a long session on hold at international rates. Wrong, they answer the call in less than a minute and I explain my problem that is now fixed. They put me on hold and take the money, except that the card is still refused. OK we try my wife’s card as it is a joint account and that is refused also. Apologise profusely and ask if it is possible to use somebody else’s debit card. This is OK.

Now plan A has failed it is time for plan B which is great except that I don’t actually have a plan B yet.

Back to the Kasikorn bank call centre and explain the problem and they kick it around and say that it is the UK governments fault and not theirs. I bite my tongue and try to explain that the UK government deal with this all the time and it really is a Kbank problem. I then hang up after wishing the girl a nice day as it isn’t her fault really. Look around but there is no dog to kick so I settle for a good swearing instead.

Now to find a plan B. Who do I know well enough, who cares enough and who trusts me enough to lend me their credit or debit card for £150.

Should I ask my ex-wife? Nah she would be quite happy to see me fined in Thailand, deported as an illegal alien back to the UK and living in a squat in Mandela Towers, Peckham.

I ask an old friend who I have known since 1973 and she says OK but first I have to transfer some money from one account to another. OK I have done that and gives me all the card details I need.

Back on the phone to Liverpool where I am quickly connected to the same lady who puts the debit card info in as I wait and tells me that was done OK. Thank you three times.

Plan B part 1 worked. Plan B part 2 starts.

I go to Kbank online banking but I cannot transfer the money. OK I will go back to the Kbank call centre and explain my problem.

Q1. Do you have a work permit. A. No I am retired. Ah then you cannot transfer money online sir, you have to go to your branch to do it.

Of the 10 or 15 people there only about 3 can speak some English and they have about 200 words between them so on the 5^th March my wife and I will go to the bank armed with mobile phones and paperwork and try to send the money to my friend in the UK.

She banks with the Halifax which is part of the LloydsTSB group and I need the Banks name, the Swift code and of course the Iban. The what? The IBAN, which is the International Banking Account Number.

Go to Google and find out what I can, including the branch phone number where my friend has her account. I manage to speak to a customer assistant or something who listens to me and tells me that the Halifax needs MY bank swift code. I explain that I will be transferring money to their bank and I need their swift code.

Eventually she puts me through to a nice Scots gentleman who knows what I am talking about and explains it to me in a manner and language that I can understand. He also apologises that he CANNOT give me the IBAN number as I could be anybody and with that information I can transfer money from my friends account to anywhere else. I thank him for his help and offer him part of the headache which has come on during the last 1 ½ hours trying to get this sorted out.

I ring my friend for the 3^rd time and she finds a bank statement and gives me the IBAN and I type it all up ready to fight the good fight at the bank tomorrow with my wife.

More to come later.

Why don't you still have a UK bank account, Bill, if (as would appear to be the case) your pension income originates from there? This is, I take it, being credited directly into your Kasikorn account from GBP into THB at an unfavourable xrate, and then you are transferring some of it back to the UK from THB into GBP, again at an unfavourable xrate. Hence you are a double whammy victim of the Great Banking Xrate Rip-off!

Anyway the moral of your story for those of us Brits who still have a UK account is clearly "Don't close it as it could come in extremely handy at passport renewal time!"

No he isn't.The exchange rate is fair and last month a friend received a higher rate than the gross Kasikorn rates for that day.

I agree with the principle of retaining a UK bank account if you are likely to have any future financial dealings with the UK.

just want to highlight one part of this post:

Q1. Do you have a work permit. A. No I am retired. Ah then you cannot transfer money online sir, you have to go to your branch to do it.

I have no work permit, nor long term visa - I'm always on 30 day visa exemption, and I regularly make online transfers, albeit only within Thailand.....Did they specify international transfers?

The options appears to be there for international transfers on K-cyber banking, though I've had no cause to try it.

[theoldgit]

Post suggesting illegal activity removed.

[billd766]

A follow up from my post #184

Bill’s passport saga

I needed to renew my passport by the end of May 2014 and reading the posts it is about a 1 month or less turn around, now through the UK.

This means that as I don’t have a credit card, only a debit card which is acceptable I also didn’t need an international money order either. A good thing when you live in rural Thailand.

So carefully gathering together all of the required information I sent it off to Liverpool using the Thai Post EMS and tracked it all the way.

It was sent off at 11.30 on Tuesday 18^th February and signed for in Liverpool at 12.00 on Friday 21^st February.

All went well and good. The last week of February I heard nothing nor did I expect to. I was hoping something would happen on Monday but nothing appeared. Tuesday morning I got an email from

F&CS - GRO TFT Mailbox F&[email protected]

They are the finance and accounts people in Liverpool and they said that they were unable to process the payment and could I please sort it out ASAP so as not to delay the passport application.

A small aside here. In January I lost my wallet, cash, licences and debit card from the Kasikorn bank. My wife and I go to the police to make the report and get a copy for the bank etc. No problem, 20 baht please, thank you very much, “Next”.

Off we go to the bank to get a new card to be told can you come back in a couple of days as the bank had run out of the blank cards. OK we do that, get the new card and fast forward to the credit card application in February and fill in the details and send the package off.

Back to Tuesday morning 4^th March, I ring Kbank online and get a helpful lady and explain my problem. “Ah you need to activate the card for international shopping” which I forgot to do in January. You stupid boy Pike! So 6 km down to the ATM and do that no problem, I come home and eat lunch because the UK is 7 hours behind Thailand and I cannot call them until after 3 pm.

Make a coffee and settle down to what I know will be a long session on hold at international rates. Wrong, they answer the call in less than a minute and I explain my problem that is now fixed. They put me on hold and take the money, except that the card is still refused. OK we try my wife’s card as it is a joint account and that is refused also. Apologise profusely and ask if it is possible to use somebody else’s debit card. This is OK.

Now plan A has failed it is time for plan B which is great except that I don’t actually have a plan B yet.

Back to the Kasikorn bank call centre and explain the problem and they kick it around and say that it is the UK governments fault and not theirs. I bite my tongue and try to explain that the UK government deal with this all the time and it really is a Kbank problem. I then hang up after wishing the girl a nice day as it isn’t her fault really. Look around but there is no dog to kick so I settle for a good swearing instead.

Now to find a plan B. Who do I know well enough, who cares enough and who trusts me enough to lend me their credit or debit card for £150.

Should I ask my ex-wife? Nah she would be quite happy to see me fined in Thailand, deported as an illegal alien back to the UK and living in a squat in Mandela Towers, Peckham.

I ask an old friend who I have known since 1973 and she says OK but first I have to transfer some money from one account to another. OK I have done that and gives me all the card details I need.

Back on the phone to Liverpool where I am quickly connected to the same lady who puts the debit card info in as I wait and tells me that was done OK. Thank you three times.

Plan B part 1 worked. Plan B part 2 starts.

I go to Kbank online banking but I cannot transfer the money. OK I will go back to the Kbank call centre and explain my problem.

Q1. Do you have a work permit. A. No I am retired. Ah then you cannot transfer money online sir, you have to go to your branch to do it.

Of the 10 or 15 people there only about 3 can speak some English and they have about 200 words between them so on the 5^th March my wife and I will go to the bank armed with mobile phones and paperwork and try to send the money to my friend in the UK.

She banks with the Halifax which is part of the LloydsTSB group and I need the Banks name, the Swift code and of course the Iban. The what? The IBAN, which is the International Banking Account Number.

Go to Google and find out what I can, including the branch phone number where my friend has her account. I manage to speak to a customer assistant or something who listens to me and tells me that the Halifax needs MY bank swift code. I explain that I will be transferring money to their bank and I need their swift code.

Eventually she puts me through to a nice Scots gentleman who knows what I am talking about and explains it to me in a manner and language that I can understand. He also apologises that he CANNOT give me the IBAN number as I could be anybody and with that information I can transfer money from my friends account to anywhere else. I thank him for his help and offer him part of the headache which has come on during the last 1 ½ hours trying to get this sorted out.

I ring my friend for the 3^rd time and she finds a bank statement and gives me the IBAN and I type it all up ready to fight the good fight at the bank tomorrow with my wife.

More to come later.

Why don't you still have a UK bank account, Bill, if (as would appear to be the case) your pension income originates from there? This is, I take it, being credited directly into your Kasikorn account from GBP into THB at an unfavourable xrate, and then you are transferring some of it back to the UK from THB into GBP, again at an unfavourable xrate. Hence you are a double whammy victim of the Great Banking Xrate Rip-off!

Anyway the moral of your story for those of us Brits who still have a UK account is clearly "Don't close it as it could come in extremely handy at passport renewal time!"

I closed my UK account a few years ago as every time I withdrew money I got hit with a 150 baht ATM fee plus the bank in the UK also charged me. It was costing me about 10,000 baht a year in charges. My pension providers pay directly to my Kasikorn bank and cost me about £5 a month plus the exchange rate is the same or sometimes a little better than the Thai bank rate.

As I only renew my passport every 10 years, to keep a bank account in the UK just for that is a waste of time.

Edited March 4, 2014 by billd766

[billd766]

@ celso

Posted Yesterday, 21:58

A little question I couldn't find any details for on the last few pages of the thread:; Is it possible to pay with a Thai bank visa card? I don't have a uk bank account anymore.

I tried without success to pay with my Kasikorn debit card but I couldn't make it work for me. However this is only my experience and for other people it may well work.

@ jonw8uk

Q1. Do you have a work permit. A. No I am retired. Ah then you cannot transfer money online sir, you have to go to your branch to do it.

I have no work permit, nor long term visa - I'm always on 30 day visa exemption, and I regularly make online transfers, albeit only within Thailand.....Did they specify international transfers?

The options appears to be there for international transfers on K-cyber banking, though I've had no cause to try it.

I did try the international transfers on KBank online yesterday but it stopped at step 1 which is

Step 1: Fill in the "Add International Account request form" via K Cyber Banking.

Step 2: Print out the form, submit the form and any required documents to any KBank branch near you.

Step 3: Wait for the transaction result via email.

Remarks Any added account will expire after 2 years unless it is renewed.

A link to a sample form. https://ebank.kasikornbankgroup.com/retailstatic/security/IFT_Request_Form_eng.htm

A link for the documents required. https://ebank.kasikornbankgroup.com/retailstatic/security/IFT_Required_Doc_eng.htm

Nothing on the list about payment of expenses in the UK so the International transfer link may not be the best way to go.

Other banks may be different. The fact that I transfer 3 pensions to Thailand every month doesn't seem to matter. I am sure there is a way but you need a Thai at the bank who speaks very good English (in my case) and is also knowledgeable about international banking rules. A combination rarely found in rural Thailand.

Edited March 4, 2014 by billd766

[canarysun]

Well i finally have my new passport too! it took 3 weeks! Not a simple process either,Take your time filling in the application forms,you must photocopy your old passport in colour ( all pages ) They are also very fussy which colour background you have on your passport photos ( i would recommend sending 2 different colours just to be safe and save time) My payment was declined,apparently my kasikorn Debit card ( although a Visa ) did not work outside of Thailand. ( The UK passport office called me whilst i was " sunbathing by the pool " ...) Then they contacted me again to ask for more " proof of who i am " ( i told them " but you have my passport - that is more than enough proof" .. but apparently not........) they also then requested my old " school reports " I explained that i was " slung out of private education in the late 70's " in the end i emailed them a certificate from the " Ministry Of Thai Education " ( Via my school ) and that seemed to do the trick... DHL both ways " excellent service" ( although a " miserable " Thai lady working in the Pattaya DHL Office.... ) and the whole process for my new 32 page passport cost me a cool 10.000 Baht exactly!

[steve187]

Who has '' old school reports''

[theoldgit]

Who has '' old school reports''

Indeed, and what do they prove?

[billd766]

Who has '' old school reports''

Indeed, and what do they prove?

I have a total of 7 from 1957 to 1959 though I was actually at school from 1951 to 1959 and they prove what has been said about me many times.

Could do better and must try harder.

[OJAS]

I closed my UK account a few years ago as every time I withdrew money I got hit with a 150 baht ATM fee plus the bank in the UK also charged me. It was costing me about 10,000 baht a year in charges. My pension providers pay directly to my Kasikorn bank and cost me about £5 a month plus the exchange rate is the same or sometimes a little better than the Thai bank rate.

As I only renew my passport every 10 years, to keep a bank account in the UK just for that is a waste of time.

But I got the impression from your post at #182 that you make tax payments to our "beloved" HMRC presumably rather more frequently than once every 10 years. And such payments would surely be a lot easier to accomplish through a UK account than a Thai one? Or are the necessary tax deductions in your case made entirely through your tax code?

When I had an active Kasikorn account a few years ago, I got my occupational pension provider to credit my pension payments directly to that account, The net xrate (inclusive of charges levied by the provider as well as Kasikorn) averaged out at 3% in excess of the corresponding OANDA rate. I now get my pension paid into my UK account (along with my property rental income) and make monthly transfers to my existing account here with Bangkok Bank via their London branch, which, in net xrate terms, average out at just under 2% in excess of the corresponding OANDA rate. Maybe not an earth-shattering saving in percentage terms, but certainly one which mounts up over time in cash terms.

Back on topic as far as this particular thread is concerned, one arguably positive benefit of the recently-introduced changes IMHO is that we Brits living in LOS are no longer expected to pay for our passport renewals in that alien (for most of us) currency, the HKD!

[billd766]

I closed my UK account a few years ago as every time I withdrew money I got hit with a 150 baht ATM fee plus the bank in the UK also charged me. It was costing me about 10,000 baht a year in charges. My pension providers pay directly to my Kasikorn bank and cost me about £5 a month plus the exchange rate is the same or sometimes a little better than the Thai bank rate.

As I only renew my passport every 10 years, to keep a bank account in the UK just for that is a waste of time.

But I got the impression from your post at #182 that you make tax payments to our "beloved" HMRC presumably rather more frequently than once every 10 years. And such payments would surely be a lot easier to accomplish through a UK account than a Thai one? Or are the necessary tax deductions in your case made entirely through your tax code?

When I had an active Kasikorn account a few years ago, I got my occupational pension provider to credit my pension payments directly to that account, The net xrate (inclusive of charges levied by the provider as well as Kasikorn) averaged out at 3% in excess of the corresponding OANDA rate. I now get my pension paid into my UK account (along with my property rental income) and make monthly transfers to my existing account here with Bangkok Bank via their London branch, which, in net xrate terms, average out at just under 2% in excess of the corresponding OANDA rate. Maybe not an earth-shattering saving in percentage terms, but certainly one which mounts up over time in cash terms.

Back on topic as far as this particular thread is concerned, one arguably positive benefit of the recently-introduced changes IMHO is that we Brits living in LOS are no longer expected to pay for our passport renewals in that alien (for most of us) currency, the HKD!

You are right about the payments to HMRC through the tax code but they have only got it right 2 times in the last 9 so it just means I pay a little more or a little less tax each year and no "real" money changes hands. " of my pensions like yours pay over the exchange rate but for some reason the third pays less but not enough to worry about.

[billd766]

Yesterday morning I went to the bank and asked them EXACTLY what they wanted from me to transfer money to the UK.

I needed to do this as my Kasikorn debit card did not work with the passport office in Liverpool. I managed to fix that by asking an old friend if I could use her Halifax debit card which was OK by her and the passport office too.

Howto repay her? Simple, just transfer the funds from my bank account to hers.

Go to online banking and do it. No work permit cannot transfer. Call centre says do it through the local bank

Lesson 1 In rural Thailand always take your wife, girl/boy friend or trusted friend who can speak both Thai and fair English with you to the bank. Thisisto prevent misunderstandings on both sides.The cities should be easier.

My wife told them what I wanted and they gave me the form to fill in and said they also needed my friends bank details.

Her name and address

Bank name plus branch name and address

Swift code for the branch

Account name

IBAN

I came home and cleaned up the copy of the form they gave me, printed 3 copies (in case of mistakes) and also scanned it to my pc. While saving the form I found another which I had dowloaded previously in pdf format . It was the same thing but in colour and using a program called Nitro3 (free from the internet) you can type directly to the form.

This morning my wife told me that I can do it myself and gracefully declined to come with me so off i go.

Lesson 2 Whilst dealing with the bank you need the patience of Job, a large sense of humour, your passport, hat size, shoe size etc and a good book.

I stroll in and the nice ladies welcome me and hand me to the tender mercies of the girl from yesterday.

It seems that I filled in the wrong form though it wassidentical to the one she gave me and off we go. She isn't really sure but a call to KBank call centre helps and after a couple of minutes they talk to me and I explain what I want. We slowly plod through the paper work and stop at taking the money from the account. Cannot use the account but can I pay cash? Yep, over to the ATM, take out the cash and all is well. The girl is working on the paperwork and using another as a reference from the screen whilst a second girl is writing all this down as a learning curve.

They need a copy of my passport, my name address and phone number, Thai driving licenses help here, and eventually it is all done though they said the fee was 300bt and it was really 500bt.

I sign everything they give me and just missed the girls hand as she was to quick for me.

I got a receipt form and I transferred £165.79 at £1 = 54.2825 thb. The payment fee was 100 thb and the swift/telex charge was another 400 baht.

They were very helpful and friendly as they always are and I got a fair bit of reading done too. It took about 1 1/2 hours but the bank was airconditioned, free cold water to drink and nice girls to look at.

A pleasant way to pass a Thursday morning.

I must nip into 7/11 tomorrow and buy some chocolates for the staff.

[evadgib]

Published yesterday:

Reduction in passport fees for UK citizens overseas

MODS: How about a sticky showing current procedure?

Overseas British passport applications

Edited March 14, 2014 by evadgib

[ubonjoe]

Published yesterday:

Reduction in passport fees for UK citizens overseas

MODS: How about a "British Passports" sticky showing current procedure?

Overseas British passport applications

Thanks for the info. It will be in the news forum soon.

If is a new topic in this forum: Reduction in passport fees for UK citizens overseas

Edited March 14, 2014 by ubonjoe

[mkmike]

My son's British passport is due to expire later this year so the fee reduction is good news. However this will be his first adult passport and on the passport office website they ask for proof of address. Has anyone any experience of what document I could use to proof his address here in Thailand, all I can think of is to get an English translation of our house registration document (he has dual nationality), which would mean a trip to Bangkok. If anyone has recent experience of this I would appreciate it.

[Maestro]

Published yesterday:

Reduction in passport fees for UK citizens overseas

MODS: How about a sticky showing current procedure?

Overseas British passport applications

No pinned topic needed for this since a simple web search will find the link just as quickly.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[billd766]

I received an email this afternoon telling me that my passport has been processed and will be with me shortly.

Is there any way that I can track it?

It has taken 25 days so far.

[Soutpeel]

I received an email this afternoon telling me that my passport has been processed and will be with me shortly.

Is there any way that I can track it?

It has taken 25 days so far.

Nope, it will arrive when it arrives, but based on current reports you should get it in next day couple of days

[billd766]

I received an email this afternoon telling me that my passport has been processed and will be with me shortly.

Is there any way that I can track it?

It has taken 25 days so far.

Nope, it will arrive when it arrives, but based on current reports you should get it in next day couple of days

What concerns me is that the nearest courier service to me is 180 km away in Phitsanulok and DHL is in BKK 400 km away. I sent it off by Thai Post EMS and tracked it all the way. I have to pay for the return courier service and I should have the right to track it back again.

[angsta]

They should certainly supply a tracking number.

Do you now need a letter from the British Embassy saying your old passport is cancelled?

[ubonjoe]

I received an email this afternoon telling me that my passport has been processed and will be with me shortly.

Is there any way that I can track it?

It has taken 25 days so far.

Nope, it will arrive when it arrives, but based on current reports you should get it in next day couple of days

What concerns me is that the nearest courier service to me is 180 km away in Phitsanulok and DHL is in BKK 400 km away. I sent it off by Thai Post EMS and tracked it all the way. I have to pay for the return courier service and I should have the right to track it back again.

Once your passport arrives in Thailand they will send it by EMS to your home from the nearest DHL office. From previous posts I recall DHL will contact you when they receive it here and give you info about it being sent by EMS.

[ubonjoe]

They should certainly supply a tracking number.

Do you now need a letter from the British Embassy saying your old passport is cancelled?

Whether you need the letter or not will depend upon the immigration office you have to go to transfer your stamps.

Bangkok immigration has been reported as not asking for it.