Changes To British Passport Services In Thailand

[rajyindee]

Dear Mr xxxxxxxxx

Please see the attached letter in reference to your recent passport application as the payment you submitted was in excess of the fee required.

Refund amount £10.16

Reference OCR-xxxxxxxx 30/05

<<Overseas refund of overpayment.pdf>>

If, once the attached query has been resolved, you have any further queries please direct them to the Passport Advice Line on 44 300 222 0000

GRO Transactional Finance Team

Her Majesty's Passport Office | Finance Room 110 | General Register Office | Smedley Hydro | Trafalgar Road | Southport | PR8 2HH

T: 44 151 471 4302 | Text Relay Prefix 18001| E : F&[email protected] |

32 days from application at Trendy to this refund email. Refund money floating in cyberspace for 7 days before landing in my a/c. Hope this helps.

Edit: I needed to ring Newport to claim the refund quoting my reference number from above...

Thanks for that. I wonder how many people they've overcharged. I'll ask about my refund when I do my 'summary of a diabolical service' letter.

[rbkk]

Dear Mr xxxxxxxxx

Please see the attached letter in reference to your recent passport application as the payment you submitted was in excess of the fee required.

Refund amount £10.16

Reference OCR-xxxxxxxx 30/05

<<Overseas refund of overpayment.pdf>>

If, once the attached query has been resolved, you have any further queries please direct them to the Passport Advice Line on 44 300 222 0000

GRO Transactional Finance Team

Her Majesty's Passport Office | Finance Room 110 | General Register Office | Smedley Hydro | Trafalgar Road | Southport | PR8 2HH

T: 44 151 471 4302 | Text Relay Prefix 18001| E : F&[email protected] |

32 days from application at Trendy to this refund email. Refund money floating in cyberspace for 7 days before landing in my a/c. Hope this helps.

Edit: I needed to ring Newport to claim the refund quoting my reference number from above...

Thanks for that. I wonder how many people they've overcharged. I'll ask about my refund when I do my 'summary of a diabolical service' letter.

At least all those who have no original documents to return.

I noticed on the back of the receipt/acknowledgement piece of paper that there is a box for specifically the amount of courier fee paid, separate from the passport fee paid. I don't see why people are being charged when there are no original documents to return. It is making a lot of extra work for HMPO which they could do without if only Trendy could do the maths. Perhaps that is asking too much of the Trendy or it's not in their contract. Whatever the reason it is a very inefficient system.

[AlanAunuum]

to digitalchromakey

My application was put in on 29th May, i tried to leave thailand to enter Laos on 3rd June,the same day that my passport application arrived at Liverpool passport office.My old passport was valid till 15-11-2010 but it was coming up as flagged at the border,So now i can't even get an ETD as my passport application is in motion,so now its 20 days overstay so by the time it comes back it will be the 20,000baht limit, and you can't even call Liverpool you just get put through to a call centre in Bangor N Ireland and they then take down your message and e-mail it to LIverpool,there is no direct line or e-mail for Liverpool passport office. Its a disgrace and also paying for a courier service which does not even send you passport back to your home is downright theft.You pay for a courier service but i have to do a round trip of over 900 km thats over 12 hours travelling and then at least 3 hours in BKK

[digitalchromakey]

to digitalchromakey

My application was put in on 29th May, i tried to leave thailand to enter Laos on 3rd June,the same day that my passport application arrived at Liverpool passport office.My old passport was valid till 15-11-2010 but it was coming up as flagged at the border,So now i can't even get an ETD as my passport application is in motion,so now its 20 days overstay so by the time it comes back it will be the 20,000baht limit, and you can't even call Liverpool you just get put through to a call centre in Bangor N Ireland and they then take down your message and e-mail it to LIverpool,there is no direct line or e-mail for Liverpool passport office. Its a disgrace and also paying for a courier service which does not even send you passport back to your home is downright theft.You pay for a courier service but i have to do a round trip of over 900 km thats over 12 hours travelling and then at least 3 hours in BKK

Thanks very much for getting back with that information:

You were stopped at the border because your passport validity was just (by a couple of weeks) under 6 months and you would have been turned back by the Laos Border staff.

It wasn't that you had applied to renew per se.

Trust me I know how stressful being caught up in this fiasco is (I have a to do 2x 2,000 km round trips to BKK for my application) however you do still have some options to follow that may help.

1) You are eligible to purchase a UK ETD - at a cost in local currency equivalent to 95 GBP. You can then use this to do either a border run say for a 30 Day Visa Exempt; You need to check that the country you will do a border run to will accept the UK ETD. 30 days legal entry will save you 15,000 THB overstay, but you would have to pay overstay to date which would I presume be stamped into the ETD or current passport - so no long term record..

2) You could risk cancelling your passport application (complex process that apparently takes several weeks and you will lose the application fee you've already paid). However once your application is withdrawn you would be free to apply for the Free 12 month passport extension which would, for example, allow you border runs to Cambodia.

3) You could use an ETD to travel to the UK to reapply for a Fastrack Passport there at no extra cost if you can show urgent travel (return ticket to Thailand). Super expensive option.

Link to UK ETD Information: https://www.gov.uk/emergency-travel-document

If you do nothing, then you may well end up having to pay 20,000 THB overstay and getting an overstay stamp in your nice new 10 year passport.

You can rest assured that by it's actions to date, the UK Government and the HMPO have clearly demonstrated that they don't give a monkey's cuss about UK Citizens based overseas who have to renew passports or our situation, we have all been thrown to the dogs.

However getting an ETD might help to cut your losses

[hoyism]

i just called the UK Embassy in Bangkok Re. the 1 year extension

i was told i did not qualify as i have 5 years left on my passport

i said i only have 1 page left

the initial reply was : "running out of pages doesn't count/qualify for a 12 month extension", i responded with "it's on the internet/UK Gov website that it does qualify"

the reply: " you need to have at least 3 blank pages"

my response: "surely having only 1 blank page is more of an emergency?"

the operator kept telling me to call the UK helpline (i told her i can't get through calling that line), she checked with her line manager who gave the same reply.

now it looks like i'll have to call/wait for hours on the UK helpline

advice needed please!

[ubonjoe]

i just called the UK Embassy in Bangkok Re. the 1 year extension

i was told i did not qualify as i have 5 years left on my passport

i said i only have 1 page left

the initial reply was : "running out of pages doesn't count/qualify for a 12 month extension", i responded with "it's on the internet/UK Gov website that it does qualify"

the reply: " you need to have at least 3 blank pages"

my response: "surely having only 1 blank page is more of an emergency?"

the operator kept telling me to call the UK helpline (i told her i can't get through calling that line), she checked with her line manager who gave the same reply.

now it looks like i'll have to call/wait for hours on the UK helpline

advice needed please!

If you go back a few posts you will find the rules. You must have 3 empty pages.

Anyway an extension would not help you because it does not add any pages.

You need to get an appointment to apply for a new passport.

Edit: Also the most you can have left on your passport is 7 months. See: https://www.gov.uk/get-an-emergency-passport-extension-or-child-travel-document

[hoyism]

i just called the UK Embassy in Bangkok Re. the 1 year extension

i was told i did not qualify as i have 5 years left on my passport

i said i only have 1 page left

the initial reply was : "running out of pages doesn't count/qualify for a 12 month extension", i responded with "it's on the internet/UK Gov website that it does qualify"

the reply: " you need to have at least 3 blank pages"

my response: "surely having only 1 blank page is more of an emergency?"

the operator kept telling me to call the UK helpline (i told her i can't get through calling that line), she checked with her line manager who gave the same reply.

now it looks like i'll have to call/wait for hours on the UK helpline

advice needed please!

If you go back a few posts you will find the rules. You must have 3 empty pages.

Anyway an extension would not help you because it does not add any pages.

You need to get an appointment to apply for a new passport.

Edit: Also the most you can have left on your passport is 7 months. See: https://www.gov.uk/get-an-emergency-passport-extension-or-child-travel-document

ok thanks Joe, i only have 10 weeks left on my current visa but i guess i'll just have to apply/take a risk

Edited June 23, 2014 by ubonjoe
moved reply from quoted text

[sandyf]

i just called the UK Embassy in Bangkok Re. the 1 year extension

i was told i did not qualify as i have 5 years left on my passport

i said i only have 1 page left

the initial reply was : "running out of pages doesn't count/qualify for a 12 month extension", i responded with "it's on the internet/UK Gov website that it does qualify"

the reply: " you need to have at least 3 blank pages"

my response: "surely having only 1 blank page is more of an emergency?"

the operator kept telling me to call the UK helpline (i told her i can't get through calling that line), she checked with her line manager who gave the same reply.

now it looks like i'll have to call/wait for hours on the UK helpline

advice needed please!

If you go back a few posts you will find the rules. You must have 3 empty pages.

Anyway an extension would not help you because it does not add any pages.

You need to get an appointment to apply for a new passport.

Edit: Also the most you can have left on your passport is 7 months. See: https://www.gov.uk/get-an-emergency-passport-extension-or-child-travel-document

ok thanks Joe, i only have 10 weeks left on my current visa but i guess i'll just have to apply/take a risk

With 5 years on your passport and a blank page you are not in any real trouble. My passport may not be back before the stamp expires and I have no remaining space. I went to immigration and asked if I could apply for an extension of stay and initially they said come back when you have a new passport. I explained about the problem in the UK and I may not have a new passport before the stamp expired. She looked at my passport again and then said to make the application and they would process it. We will see what happens in a couple of weeks.

As you still have 10 weeks on your visa, I assume it is a Non O. If you are really worried you could go to Malaysia and get another 90 days before applying for the passport.

[Pattaya Pat]

This is a complete car crash.

Anyway, I confess Im getting frustrated waiting for my PP to come back, handed it in on 26th May, so probably not even halfway yet. At least I haven't heard that there are any problems with my application.

[personchester]

This is a complete car crash.

Anyway, I confess Im getting frustrated waiting for my PP to come back, handed it in on 26th May, so probably not even halfway yet. At least I haven't heard that there are any problems with my application.

Please outline your application details ... did you travel to BKK to apply for the passport renewal,

and did you just need the completed application form, 2 photos, and the payment details, and then what was the stated time factor, 2 months, 3 months, or 4 months etc ...

How much time was left in your passport when you applied, I understand that 7 months is acceptable to apply for a new 10 year passport plus the additional 7 months.

In order to collect the new passport do you have to travel to the BKK office to receive it.

Please outline your passport application details in order to help the UK Forum members. Alright ...

[ubonjoe]

This is a complete car crash.

Anyway, I confess Im getting frustrated waiting for my PP to come back, handed it in on 26th May, so probably not even halfway yet. At least I haven't heard that there are any problems with my application.

Please outline your application details ... did you travel to BKK to apply for the passport renewal,

and did you just need the completed application form, 2 photos, and the payment details, and then what was the stated time factor, 2 months, 3 months, or 4 months etc ...

How much time was left in your passport when you applied, I understand that 7 months is acceptable to apply for a new 10 year passport plus the additional 7 months.

In order to collect the new passport do you have to travel to the BKK office to receive it.

Please outline your passport application details in order to help the UK Forum members. Alright ...

You can apply as early as you want. There is no 7 month maximum.

You can get up to 9 months added to your new passport's validity from what is left on your old passport.

See here for info on what is required to apply: https://www.gov.uk/overseas-passports

[rikki]

I called the UK HMPO hotline again today to ask for an Application Process Reference Number.

MARK there told me that there was no such thing, and he could not give me any reference number, even though I told him that I had rang up on 16june, 3 days after my application had been received by HMPO UK,, and was told then to ring up on 18 june to get a Reference number

[digitalchromakey]

This is a complete car crash.

Anyway, I confess Im getting frustrated waiting for my PP to come back, handed it in on 26th May, so probably not even halfway yet. At least I haven't heard that there are any problems with my application.

Please outline your application details ... did you travel to BKK to apply for the passport renewal,

and did you just need the completed application form, 2 photos, and the payment details, and then what was the stated time factor, 2 months, 3 months, or 4 months etc ...

How much time was left in your passport when you applied, I understand that 7 months is acceptable to apply for a new 10 year passport plus the additional 7 months.

In order to collect the new passport do you have to travel to the BKK office to receive it.

Please outline your passport application details in order to help the UK Forum members. Alright ...

Yes he reported travelling to BKK to apply for his new passport on this thread.

You would also need to supply evidence of name and address in Thailand either in English or with an attached translation done by an accredited translation agency.

There is no limit on how early you can apply for a new UK Passport, however you will get up to 9 months of unexpired passport validity added to your new passport making it's potential duration up to 10 years and 9 months if you apply 9 months before its date of expiry.

Apparently a third party can now apply on you behalf with written authorization, ditto for collection, although currently the procedures for this are not are still not clear:

Here is the relevant HMPO application procedures page link for Thailand:

https://www.gov.uk/overseas-passports/y/thailand/renewing_new/adult

.

[digitalchromakey]

I called the UK HMPO hotline again today to ask for an Application Process Reference Number.

MARK there told me that there was no such thing, and he could not give me any reference number, even though I told him that I had rang up on 16june, 3 days after my application had been received by HMPO UK,, and was told then to ring up on 18 june to get a Reference number

After the s..t hit the fan a couple of weeks ago, the number of enquiries to the HMPO UK help line presumably went off the scale.

They have extended their opening hours and apparently have taken on a significantly large number of new call centre operators who seem to know less about overseas passport applications than you or I do.

They are working from set scripts and have access to almost no information about your passport renewal beyond the date of payment = 'In examination' on their script and the date your passport goes to the printers = 'Issued' on their script (passport should be available for collection 7-10 days after going to the printers).

The British Government and HMPO by their actions obviously doesn't give a s..t about those of us ove3rseas resident British Citizens who are caught up in this train wreck of a fiasco.

We have been thrown to the dogs.

Edited June 23, 2014 by digitalchromakey

[wotamess]

It would appear that probably for the first time in my entire life, bureaucratic ineptitude has finally done me a favour!

My heart sincerely goes out to everyone who has been shafted & stuffed by this unholy, wholly unscrupulous, festering pile of t%rds.

I was this afternoon, dreading the 10+ hour bus journey from Chiang Mai to BK. I am a smoker (sorry if that offends, I'd rather not be), and since not currently guilded with $millions, opt to pay ~ 1,000 Bht rather than >7,000... airfare (hate flying too btw). Added to which, I was more than a little doubtful that despite all my best efforts, my documentation would be intact; and deeply suspected a looming problem to raise its usual head. This is why I (well, ok, one of the reasons) left the UK. Anyone who works for themselves will know how deeply "AArgh!!!" all the paperwork is unless you're so buffed with cash that you can pay someone else to have a stroke on your behalf.

Anyhoo, my wifes eldest daughter had picked up my bus ticket, and we were waiting for her to bring back the car so that I could nip to the local internet watsname. His printer was buggered too, so she (daughter) found another similar bod to get it sorted. \she printed off the paperwork, and when she came back I realised that I needed to check the prices on the UKPO lump of .gov.uk

Guess what I found? 1 year passport extension - I appear to tick all the boxes!!

Anyone who followed my previous rants on this thread will note (unless the post was deleted) that I (ahem) "suggested" that FOC passport extensions should obviously be provided for those afflicted by THEIR (male chicken)-up.

"Darling," - yeah, I know "can you get a refund on that bus ticket?"...

OK, we lost 10% of the bus ticket value, and whatever the petrol was, gave my wifes daughter 100 Bht for her running about, and still had enough left over from the refund to buy several Chang, and the petrified/putrefied (?) skins of some as-yet-undetermined aquatic animal (snacks).

Had I continued with the aforementioned appointment, I would have wound up bumming around near the Regency office with b^gger-all to do from 7.00am 'till 1.30pm, and spent roughly 14,000 bht (travel + PP costs + inevitable overstay costs).

Just hope I haven't spoken too soon... (just my luck!)

PLEASE: to those who have been stuffed by this mess, please write, get all of your friends and family (if unlike me you have some) back in the UK to write to your and their MP's - lobby for your incurred costs, lobby for your fines, lobby for your injustice! Make it too difficult for them NOT to do something about this catastrophe. This lunacy has to stop; we can't escape their idiocy even when we move!

Oh, and if someone knows anyone vaguely influential in the Laos immigration/passport/let-me-in-on-a-1-year-extension-thingy....

[digitalchromakey]

It would appear that probably for the first time in my entire life, bureaucratic ineptitude has finally done me a favour!

My heart sincerely goes out to everyone who has been shafted & stuffed by this unholy, wholly unscrupulous, festering pile of t%rds.

I was this afternoon, dreading the 10+ hour bus journey from Chiang Mai to BK. I am a smoker (sorry if that offends, I'd rather not be), and since not currently guilded with $millions, opt to pay ~ 1,000 Bht rather than >7,000... airfare (hate flying too btw). Added to which, I was more than a little doubtful that despite all my best efforts, my documentation would be intact; and deeply suspected a looming problem to raise its usual head. This is why I (well, ok, one of the reasons) left the UK. Anyone who works for themselves will know how deeply "AArgh!!!" all the paperwork is unless you're so buffed with cash that you can pay someone else to have a stroke on your behalf.

Anyhoo, my wifes eldest daughter had picked up my bus ticket, and we were waiting for her to bring back the car so that I could nip to the local internet watsname. His printer was buggered too, so she (daughter) found another similar bod to get it sorted. \she printed off the paperwork, and when she came back I realised that I needed to check the prices on the UKPO lump of .gov.uk

Guess what I found? 1 year passport extension - I appear to tick all the boxes!!

Anyone who followed my previous rants on this thread will note (unless the post was deleted) that I (ahem) "suggested" that FOC passport extensions should obviously be provided for those afflicted by THEIR (male chicken)-up.

"Darling," - yeah, I know "can you get a refund on that bus ticket?"...

OK, we lost 10% of the bus ticket value, and whatever the petrol was, gave my wifes daughter 100 Bht for her running about, and still had enough left over from the refund to buy several Chang, and the petrified/putrefied (?) skins of some as-yet-undetermined aquatic animal (snacks).

Had I continued with the aforementioned appointment, I would have wound up bumming around near the Regency office with b^gger-all to do from 7.00am 'till 1.30pm, and spent roughly 14,000 bht (travel + PP costs + inevitable overstay costs).

Just hope I haven't spoken too soon... (just my luck!)

PLEASE: to those who have been stuffed by this mess, please write, get all of your friends and family (if unlike me you have some) back in the UK to write to your and their MP's - lobby for your incurred costs, lobby for your fines, lobby for your injustice! Make it too difficult for them NOT to do something about this catastrophe. This lunacy has to stop; we can't escape their idiocy even when we move!

Oh, and if someone knows anyone vaguely influential in the Laos immigration/passport/let-me-in-on-a-1-year-extension-thingy....

Let's hope you are eligible - here are the criteriae:

https://www.gov.uk/get-an-emergency-passport-extension-or-child-travel-document

There are however some restrictions, the only nearby countries that will currently accept the 12 month extended British Passports are Cambodia, Philippines and Hong Kong.

So you will need to plan your visa runs carefully and there may be more cost/inconvenience than normal.

But you are right, by failing to apply to renew your passport you have potentially rendered yourself eligible for the 12 month extension.

Shame you couldn't have re-booked your ticket, because you will need to make an appointment with the British Embassy in BKK and travel there to apply for the 12 month UK passport extension.

Good Luck.

Edited June 23, 2014 by digitalchromakey

[wotamess]

It would appear that probably for the first time in my entire life, bureaucratic ineptitude has finally done me a favour!

My heart sincerely goes out to everyone who has been shafted & stuffed by this unholy, wholly unscrupulous, festering pile of t%rds.

I was this afternoon, dreading the 10+ hour bus journey from Chiang Mai to BK. I am a smoker (sorry if that offends, I'd rather not be), and since not currently guilded with $millions, opt to pay ~ 1,000 Bht rather than >7,000... airfare (hate flying too btw). Added to which, I was more than a little doubtful that despite all my best efforts, my documentation would be intact; and deeply suspected a looming problem to raise its usual head. This is why I (well, ok, one of the reasons) left the UK. Anyone who works for themselves will know how deeply "AArgh!!!" all the paperwork is unless you're so buffed with cash that you can pay someone else to have a stroke on your behalf.

Anyhoo, my wifes eldest daughter had picked up my bus ticket, and we were waiting for her to bring back the car so that I could nip to the local internet watsname. His printer was buggered too, so she (daughter) found another similar bod to get it sorted. \she printed off the paperwork, and when she came back I realised that I needed to check the prices on the UKPO lump of .gov.uk

Guess what I found? 1 year passport extension - I appear to tick all the boxes!!

Anyone who followed my previous rants on this thread will note (unless the post was deleted) that I (ahem) "suggested" that FOC passport extensions should obviously be provided for those afflicted by THEIR (male chicken)-up.

"Darling," - yeah, I know "can you get a refund on that bus ticket?"...

OK, we lost 10% of the bus ticket value, and whatever the petrol was, gave my wifes daughter 100 Bht for her running about, and still had enough left over from the refund to buy several Chang, and the petrified/putrefied (?) skins of some as-yet-undetermined aquatic animal (snacks).

Had I continued with the aforementioned appointment, I would have wound up bumming around near the Regency office with b^gger-all to do from 7.00am 'till 1.30pm, and spent roughly 14,000 bht (travel + PP costs + inevitable overstay costs).

Just hope I haven't spoken too soon... (just my luck!)

PLEASE: to those who have been stuffed by this mess, please write, get all of your friends and family (if unlike me you have some) back in the UK to write to your and their MP's - lobby for your incurred costs, lobby for your fines, lobby for your injustice! Make it too difficult for them NOT to do something about this catastrophe. This lunacy has to stop; we can't escape their idiocy even when we move!

Oh, and if someone knows anyone vaguely influential in the Laos immigration/passport/let-me-in-on-a-1-year-extension-thingy....

Let's hope you are eligible - here are the criteriae:

https://www.gov.uk/get-an-emergency-passport-extension-or-child-travel-document

There are however some restrictions, the only nearby countries that will currently accept the 12 month extended British Passports are Cambodia, Philippines and Hong Kong.

So you will need to plan your visa runs carefully and there may be more cost/inconvenience than normal.

But you are right, by failing to apply to renew your passport you have potentially rendered yourself eligible for the 12 month extension.

Shame you couldn't have re-booked your ticket, because you will need to make an appointment with the British Embassy in BKK and travel there to apply for the 12 month UK passport extension.

Good Luck.

Thanks I generally need it!

"The service is by appointment only - phone your nearest British Embassy, Consulate or High Commission and select the ‘Consular Services’ option."

Where d'ya get BKK from? We've got a thingamy here in CM?/! - It's where I sorted my marriage etc.

Anyhoo - you still need an appointment, too late to phone by the time I picked up on this. I'll ring tomorrow & keep you posted: BTW, yes, I meet all criteria in the link.

[digitalchromakey]

It would appear that probably for the first time in my entire life, bureaucratic ineptitude has finally done me a favour!

My heart sincerely goes out to everyone who has been shafted & stuffed by this unholy, wholly unscrupulous, festering pile of t%rds.

I was this afternoon, dreading the 10+ hour bus journey from Chiang Mai to BK. I am a smoker (sorry if that offends, I'd rather not be), and since not currently guilded with $millions, opt to pay ~ 1,000 Bht rather than >7,000... airfare (hate flying too btw). Added to which, I was more than a little doubtful that despite all my best efforts, my documentation would be intact; and deeply suspected a looming problem to raise its usual head. This is why I (well, ok, one of the reasons) left the UK. Anyone who works for themselves will know how deeply "AArgh!!!" all the paperwork is unless you're so buffed with cash that you can pay someone else to have a stroke on your behalf.

Anyhoo, my wifes eldest daughter had picked up my bus ticket, and we were waiting for her to bring back the car so that I could nip to the local internet watsname. His printer was buggered too, so she (daughter) found another similar bod to get it sorted. \she printed off the paperwork, and when she came back I realised that I needed to check the prices on the UKPO lump of .gov.uk

Guess what I found? 1 year passport extension - I appear to tick all the boxes!!

Anyone who followed my previous rants on this thread will note (unless the post was deleted) that I (ahem) "suggested" that FOC passport extensions should obviously be provided for those afflicted by THEIR (male chicken)-up.

"Darling," - yeah, I know "can you get a refund on that bus ticket?"...

OK, we lost 10% of the bus ticket value, and whatever the petrol was, gave my wifes daughter 100 Bht for her running about, and still had enough left over from the refund to buy several Chang, and the petrified/putrefied (?) skins of some as-yet-undetermined aquatic animal (snacks).

Had I continued with the aforementioned appointment, I would have wound up bumming around near the Regency office with b^gger-all to do from 7.00am 'till 1.30pm, and spent roughly 14,000 bht (travel + PP costs + inevitable overstay costs).

Just hope I haven't spoken too soon... (just my luck!)

PLEASE: to those who have been stuffed by this mess, please write, get all of your friends and family (if unlike me you have some) back in the UK to write to your and their MP's - lobby for your incurred costs, lobby for your fines, lobby for your injustice! Make it too difficult for them NOT to do something about this catastrophe. This lunacy has to stop; we can't escape their idiocy even when we move!

Oh, and if someone knows anyone vaguely influential in the Laos immigration/passport/let-me-in-on-a-1-year-extension-thingy....

Let's hope you are eligible - here are the criteriae:

https://www.gov.uk/get-an-emergency-passport-extension-or-child-travel-document

There are however some restrictions, the only nearby countries that will currently accept the 12 month extended British Passports are Cambodia, Philippines and Hong Kong.

So you will need to plan your visa runs carefully and there may be more cost/inconvenience than normal.

But you are right, by failing to apply to renew your passport you have potentially rendered yourself eligible for the 12 month extension.

Shame you couldn't have re-booked your ticket, because you will need to make an appointment with the British Embassy in BKK and travel there to apply for the 12 month UK passport extension.

Good Luck.

Thanks I generally need it!

"The service is by appointment only - phone your nearest British Embassy, Consulate or High Commission and select the ‘Consular Services’ option."

Where d'ya get BKK from? We've got a thingamy here in CM?/! - It's where I sorted my marriage etc.

Anyhoo - you still need an appointment, too late to phone by the time I picked up on this. I'll ring tomorrow & keep you posted: BTW, yes, I meet all criteria in the link.

Awesome that you meet all the criteriae for the 12 month extension - that's a massive result.

We have a British Honorary Consul in HKT, but be doesn't do any consular paperwork.

Maybe you will have more luck in Chiang Mai - please do let this thread know as to the outcome as promised, thanks.

[sandyf]

I called the UK HMPO hotline again today to ask for an Application Process Reference Number.

MARK there told me that there was no such thing, and he could not give me any reference number, even though I told him that I had rang up on 16june, 3 days after my application had been received by HMPO UK,, and was told then to ring up on 18 june to get a Reference number

After the s..t hit the fan a couple of weeks ago, the number of enquiries to the HMPO UK help line presumably went off the scale.

They have extended their opening hours and apparently have taken on a significantly large number of new call centre operators who seem to know less about overseas passport applications than you or I do.

They are working from set scripts and have access to almost no information about your passport renewal beyond the date of payment = 'In examination' on their script and the date your passport goes to the printers = 'Issued' on their script (passport should be available for collection 7-10 days after going to the printers).

The British Government and HMPO by their actions obviously doesn't give a s..t about those of us ove3rseas resident British Citizens who are caught up in this train wreck of a fiasco.

We have been thrown to the dogs.

I have seen quite a few UK TV programmes on the passport crisis. Many are reporting that people in the UK are complaining to various authorities and getting fast tracked.

If someone goes to the front of the queue, then someone else must get pushed back a bit. I wonder who?

[soap]

Well how about this for the Guinness book of records.

My friends daughters documents for a five year child passport were sent off on MARCH 6th 2014.

On March 12 th the payment of 125 pound that was the payment for a child passport plus a DHL fee to deliver the passport back to her house was deducted from her fathers account.After numerous phone calls to HMPO trying to find out how the passport was progressing only to be fobbed off by a variety of different staff.

Nothing was heard about the passport until about the 1st MAY when her mother received a letter from the HMPO that was addressed to the address that was stated on the first application forms on the 6th March.

The letter was a standard proof of residence that required the applicant (a 13 year old girl) to provide a

Tax letter,or a employment record,or a letter from a government department,or a utility bill,etc etc that had to be translated into English showing her address. So she sent back the letter from the HMPO that had her name and address on, that she had received on the 1st May.

She received another standard letter giving the requirements for proof of residence on about the 4th June

plus also stating that they would consider canceling the application if the information was not received by the 24th June.

But please don't tell me common sense could prevail,they had hand written at the bottom of the letter that they would accept a letter from her school saying in English that she went to this school and her address on their records was what she had said all along.

Now what could be simpler than that,if they had stated in the first place that this would be accepted,they would not have put her parents under the stress i know they went through and have them run around like a blue arxsed fly.

Her mother received word on Thursday June 19 th that she could collect her daughters 5 year child passport at the trendy office today June 24th.

So from start to finish on the 6th March to June 24th i make that 111 days or just short of 16 weeks to renew a child passport,and i can assure you that the only issue they had was proof of residence

Oh I forgot the agreement her father entered into and paid 125pound was for the passport to be delivered by DHL to her home.Needless to say her mother caught the overnight bus to Bangkok as that was were the passport was sent to.Surely this must be illegal for the HMPO to deduct from your account a payment to deliver the passport by DHL and then change the rules and make you take a 2,000 k journey to collect the passport.

I find it very hard to describe in words the HMPO only to say Bungling,incompetence,hypercritical parasites,

And beaurocracy in bulk comes to mind

[davejonesbkk]

I have my meeting at Trendy to hand mine in tomorrow, can anyone confirm what Ive done is correct for getting a new passport?

Filled in the application form for sections, 1,2,3,5 and 9

I put my Thai address on the form

Filled in the debit payment form for the total fee of 114.01 GBP which is for the 48 page one and includes the courier fee, this was with my UK debit card btw with its UK registered card address

Colour copies of every page in my passport and signed each page

2 passport photos

Letter from my school on their letter headed paper saying I study there with the start and end dates, my full name, passport number and address also their Ministry Of Education details and finally their official stamp

Have I missed anything or done anything wrong here?

thanks

[digitalchromakey]

I have my meeting at Trendy to hand mine in tomorrow, can anyone confirm what Ive done is correct for getting a new passport?

Filled in the application form for sections, 1,2,3,5 and 9

I put my Thai address on the form

Filled in the debit payment form for the total fee of 114.01 GBP which is for the 48 page one and includes the courier fee, this was with my UK debit card btw with its UK registered card address

Colour copies of every page in my passport and signed each page

2 passport photos

Letter from my school on their letter headed paper saying I study there with the start and end dates, my full name, passport number and address also their Ministry Of Education details and finally their official stamp

Have I missed anything or done anything wrong here?

thanks

Your checklist looks good, providing your appearance has not changed significantly since your last application and the address on the letter from your school matches the address on your application form, then all your ducks seem nicely lined up.

Assuming you did remember to fill out the forms in black plus that your passport photos have the legal head size, grey/cream background, etc. then all should be ok.

[davejonesbkk]

I have my meeting at Trendy to hand mine in tomorrow, can anyone confirm what Ive done is correct for getting a new passport?

Filled in the application form for sections, 1,2,3,5 and 9

I put my Thai address on the form

Filled in the debit payment form for the total fee of 114.01 GBP which is for the 48 page one and includes the courier fee, this was with my UK debit card btw with its UK registered card address

Colour copies of every page in my passport and signed each page

2 passport photos

Letter from my school on their letter headed paper saying I study there with the start and end dates, my full name, passport number and address also their Ministry Of Education details and finally their official stamp

Have I missed anything or done anything wrong here?

thanks

Your checklist looks good, providing your appearance has not changed significantly since your last application and the address on the letter from your school matches the address on your application form, then all your ducks seem nicely lined up.

Assuming you did remember to fill out the forms in black plus that your passport photos have the legal head size, grey/cream background, etc. then all should be ok.

yeah done all that, photos have a white background I guess that will be ok though

[transam]

I have my meeting at Trendy to hand mine in tomorrow, can anyone confirm what Ive done is correct for getting a new passport?

Filled in the application form for sections, 1,2,3,5 and 9

I put my Thai address on the form

Filled in the debit payment form for the total fee of 114.01 GBP which is for the 48 page one and includes the courier fee, this was with my UK debit card btw with its UK registered card address

Colour copies of every page in my passport and signed each page

2 passport photos

Letter from my school on their letter headed paper saying I study there with the start and end dates, my full name, passport number and address also their Ministry Of Education details and finally their official stamp

Have I missed anything or done anything wrong here?

thanks

Your checklist looks good, providing your appearance has not changed significantly since your last application and the address on the letter from your school matches the address on your application form, then all your ducks seem nicely lined up.

Assuming you did remember to fill out the forms in black plus that your passport photos have the legal head size, grey/cream background, etc. then all should be ok.

yeah done all that, photos have a white background I guess that will be ok though

Gray or Cream........

[rajyindee]

yeah done all that, photos have a white background I guess that will be ok though

They could possibly be rejected. 5-10% grey or cream is the requirement. Not worth the stress not to get them done properly.

[rbkk]

yeah done all that, photos have a white background I guess that will be ok though

They could possibly be rejected. 5-10% grey or cream is the requirement. Not worth the stress not to get them done properly.

I was asked to have one of the photos countersigned even though it was only 2yrs9mths since my last passport and my appearance hasn't changed. This has been discussed before and it seems there are three ways it could go....

- No countersign

- One photo countersigned

- Two photos countersigned

Don't know which to suggest really, just stating what happened to myself and others.

[rikki]

yeah done all that, photos have a white background I guess that will be ok though

They could possibly be rejected. 5-10% grey or cream is the requirement. Not worth the stress not to get them done properly.

My photos had a blue background, so I was told to go back outside to get a white background.

There is a machine outside the door that costs 250bt for photos

[AlanAunuum]

as my passport was valid till november 2020 i can no undersdtand why i was not allowed to leave thailand, to go to laos,even with 2 pages in my passport,that is enough for the laos visa and then my non b visa. Also i have received to e-mails 3 weeks apart asking me for more information, d-o-b full name where i live etc, In total it has cost me over 1600 baht in phone calls to the UK and they wvwn had the cheek at the Bangor call center in N Ireland to tell me to call back in 5 minutes as our systems are down.I have now been told that i am still being security checked, WHY they have coies off all my pages in my old passport my proff off address, and my phots countersigned by a uk pasport holder. This is a total cock up, and the excuses get better every day. it has now been 4 weeks since my original application and not even a hint of where abouts it is in the process chain.

[bigsteve]

Successful 1 Year Extension:

I live in Phuket and have a 6 year old Thai/ British daughter. Her British passport was due to expire mid July but we don’t plan to fly to the UK until late August. I was just about to send off for her renewal when the news broke in the UK about the backlog of passport applications. Fortunately for me HMPO announced the plan to offer this overseas extension service.

I made my call to the British Embassy on the 17^th June. The number is 02 305 8333. It is an automated service and a bit tricky to navigate but once I had worked that out I got through a friendly and helpful voice who promptly offered me an appointment for Tuesday 24^th June. She also let me know the documents I would need, namely

Daughter’s UK passport (the one to be extended)

My UK Passport

Copy of (Thai) mother’s passport (I am not married – may be different for married couples)

Birth Certificate (which is Thai and therefore also needed English translation)

She also checked that my daughter’s passport had at least 3 blank pages. To qualify for this extension the passport can be expired by no more than 6 months or due to expire within the next 6 months (7 months if the place you plan to travel to requires 6 months remaining on the passport). My daughter didn’t actually need to be present.

So having got the appointment, we took the standard overnight bus from Phuket bus station to Bangkok as advised by Digital Chromakey who had been there for his renewal application in May. This was the 36 seater at 680 baht each way or there is a slightly more luxurious 24 seater for 1,050 each way. Our bus had a little Thai pastry and bottle of water on each seat as well as a blanket and pillow. The journey was fine and we arrived at about 7:30 at what I think was the Northern Bus terminal (which I think is near Mo Chit). At this point I made a mistake. Being a bit groggy from the overnight trip and being beset by taxi drivers as soon as the bus door opened I foolishly agreed to 350 baht in a taxi to Sukhumvit but this worked out ok as we had another errand to run at the Swedish Embassy before my appointment. What I should have done for the British Embassy is find my way to Mo Chit BTS Station and from there gone to Phloen Chit BTS Station which is just across the road from the Embassy itself. (As stated before, Digital Chromakey has made the journey and probably knows a better route).

Be warned – getting into the Embassy takes a while so I suggest arriving for your appointment at least 20 mins early. They kept my rucksack and made me turn off my phone. I was also told at the gate that as I had an appointment I did not need to take a ticket to join the queue. When I got inside the consular office it was unclear whether to wait for my name to be called or to ask at one of the counters when the previous person finished. In the end I compromised and waited until 15 minutes after my appointment time and then went to the counter. I am still unsure which was the right thing to do. Either way, the lady behind the counter had my daughter’s name on a clipboard and said she would see now see me. She verified that I had not already applied to renew this passport. If I had, I would not be allowed to extend it. She had me fill out the application form while she made copies of mine and my daughter’s passport. You can download this form from the Embassy website before you go if you want to save some time. (On the application form you will need to write down the Thai address of the applicant so make sure you have it). She was very pleasant and helpful and within about 10 minutes I left, armed with a new 12 month extension stamp in my daughter’s passport. She did tell me that the “12 months” is, in effect only 6 months because of the standard requirement of 6 months in the passport to be able to travel. As I left, I then heard her calling a name so presumably you do actually wait to be called....

[For anyone doing this from Phuket, we decided that the journey up by bus had been long enough, especially with a 7 month old baby in tow and therefore decided to fly back to Phuket rather than take the 12 hour bus back down. To get to Don Muang Airport from the British Embassy, jump on the BTS at Phloen Chit and go to Mo Chit. From there head down to the road (sorry, I didn’t pay attention to which side but easy enough to ask at one of the BTS ticket counters for Don Muang Airport) and grab the A1 bus at the A1 bus stop near the bottom of the steps. It goes directly to the airport and costs 30 baht. Flying back down with Nok Air (booked at the airport 2 hours before the flight) cost 1,600 baht.]

I hope this report proves useful to some. If anyone has any questions I can answer I’ll be happy to

Steve

[davejonesbkk]

Hmm, not sure what to do about pictures now. How can a background be 5-10% grey or cream anyway??