Changes To British Passport Services In Thailand

[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

Sorry

It must have been the Thai language problem, but the passport as still not arrived,

The child's mother did go to the trendy office on the 24th June for a visa application and hoping to collect the passport while she was there. She was told that the passport had not arrived and they would email when it arrives,so she can make another 2,000 k journey to collect the passport.

So now its 17 weeks since she applied for a British passport,and I must stress that the only issue the HMPO had over the passport was her proof of address.

Her father paid 125 pound that was the fee before these stupid changes,on the understanding that the passport would be delivered to her home by DHL only for the HMPO to renege on their promise.

Sorry, yes, me too; very sorry..

The child's mother makes a 2,000 km round trip to collect a passport that she was informed, after 111 days, would finally be ready for collection, gets to trendy ...........lo and behold, there's no new passport.

It beggars belief how shoddily we are all being treated, Third Class is the only accurate description of the level of service currently under offer from HMPO and the British Government for passport renewals.

Bureaucracy in bulk? No, it's more than that, a system that fails to deliver like this cannot be even be described as a 'bureaucracy', perhaps the most fitting description is a 'disaster of government'.

As I have posted before, several UK Senior Civil Servants and Politicians deserve to be lined up against the wall for this one.

Bloody Fiasco.

..

The mind boggles with these imbeciles.

I have just spoken to the child's mother,the update now is they sent the documents to the HMPO Liverpool on the 6th March,they paid at the old rate 125 pound for a 5 year child passport.

They received two letters at the address they gave requesting more information about proof of address from HMPO, the second letter suggested that they ask the girls school for a simple letter stating that she goes to this school and her address is what they gave right from the start. This they did and if they would have accepted this in the first place,there would have been no need for all this rigmarole.

To move on on on the 18th June the HMPO Liverpool rang the father to give him the good news that the passport would be sent on the 19th June for collection at the now best known building in Bangkok,after a fruitless journey to Bangkok on the 24th June the mother was told they would email her when the passport arrives.

Even if the the VFS email now to collect the passport it will be 4 CALENDAR MONTHS and still no 5 year child passport.

But wait for it,they sent the child's birth certificate who was born in England,with the documents required on the 6 the March.

THEY ARE STILL WAITING FOR THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE TO BE RETURNED

[digitalchromakey]

I submitted my application to Trendy on May 7th, payment was taken on May 12th. I just phoned the helpline to check on the progress and was told it's "under examination". They say that it is currently taking 7-8 weeks from the date of payment until it is sent to the printers, and then 10-14 days before it reaches Bangkok. I was advised to phone again next week to check progress.

It's been over 7 weeks for me since the payment date, and still "under examination.

I am not pushed for time, my visa extension is not due until November, but I just want to get the whole thing over with.

Thanks very much for this post.

Pleased that the delays do not impact on you personally.

However what your numbers do show is that the HMPO delays are now escalating out of control to mind bogglingly bad levels of service.

If your new passport went to the printers today, then at best it will be ready for collection from trendy BKK after Monday the 14th July, which would represent an application - collection period of 10 weeks.

Quite recently, those who applied in late April were getting their new passports back with an average 8 week delay.

Now in the space of just a couple of weeks the British Passport renewal delay period has increased to a predicted 10 weeks.

This unfortunately confirms what I had suspected would be the case, that HMPO are 'sitting on' the overseas applications (a 'zero risk' strategy) to help clear the UK Resident passport application backlog plus to service multiple free fast track upgrades.

A ten week passport issue period will certainly create one more illegal immigrant hiding somewhere in Thailand (digitalchromakey [uK Citizen -Third Class]), else at best a new refugee cowering somewhere whilst holding a UK ETD...........

[Zonka]

I went to VFS yesterday and enquired as to when I could make an appointment with them. First available appointment?...........29 July 2014!

The whole place is a shambles and most of the staff cannot speak English to a level that is required when dealing with English/British people on a daily basis.

So 10 week delay on passports that have been applied for, now add on nearly 4 weeks waiting before you can even apply for one!!

[watso63]

I went to VFS yesterday and enquired as to when I could make an appointment with them. First available appointment?...........29 July 2014!

The whole place is a shambles and most of the staff cannot speak English to a level that is required when dealing with English/British people on a daily basis.

So 10 week delay on passports that have been applied for, now add on nearly 4 weeks waiting before you can even apply for one!!

Now that is surely about as $hit as $hit can get. I've done my bit and got the cr@p response about Thai law making us having to carry the passport on our persons at all time rubbish. Time to swamp the embassy with email complaints. Absolutely unacceptable and disgusting.

Sent from my GT-N5100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[sandyf]

Normally you need about a third of a page, full page width for an Extension of Permission to Stay stamp.

Nothing stopping you going to Immigration now (you can apply up to 28 days before the 'Admitted Until' stamp date) for the 30 day Extension Stamp from the 21st July.

So go to immigration this week, see if they can fit an extension in your passport or not, if it doesn't happen, then this will still give you a couple of weeks to plan for the trip to the British Embassy to buy an ETD, book travel, get your stamps transferred to your ETD, etc.

The British Embassy have told me that currently they are so snowed under with ETD requests that they will only take appointments to do one if you have an immediate need to travel (pretty much next couple of days).

Good luck.

Thanks for that. I have barely enough room for a few exit stamps though. Can get eight of that size on a page, so I have barely a quarter of a page left (plus room for one more exit stamp-size on another page).

I highly doubt I will have room. So, is it even worth going to immigration first? I'm not sure what it can achieve other than, in the current climate, drawing attention to myself.

And if I am to go there in the hope they'll somehow have a magic reduced-size welcome sticker for my passport it would mean drawing attention to myself in the current climate whilst not having declared my passport is cancelled.

Maybe the best and simplest solution is to just to grin and bear the cost and hassle of an ETD. I must pay because I was stupid and didn't start the process a couple of pages sooner.

So maybe I should try to procure an ETD first and then go see Immigration for the extension whilst I openly, honestly and legally await my new passport?

Yes it is. I went to check and my passport is full. Initially they said to come back with a new passport. I explained about the problem over UK passports and said it was unlikely that I would get my passport before the stamp expired. She looked at the passport again and said to bring in the application for extension of stay. Will not know how they will do it till they have done it. Have made provisional arrangements with witnesses to go on the 14th.

[KillingTime]

I went to VFS yesterday and enquired as to when I could make an appointment with them. First available appointment?...........29 July 2014!

The whole place is a shambles and most of the staff cannot speak English to a level that is required when dealing with English/British people on a daily basis.

So 10 week delay on passports that have been applied for, now add on nearly 4 weeks waiting before you can even apply for one!!

I got my appointment in just over a fortnight. When i went in they asked if i had an appointment, which seemed to suggest i could have turned up and got one without waiting. If you live in Bangkok and have time available i'd consider just turning up bright and early and seeing if you can get one. When i turned up for mine i didn't have to wait a second. The guy was just sitting in a booth twiddling his thumbs. It was not especially busy either. My app was for 9.30.

Don't forget those cretins in Liverpool will find the time to turn off your current passport even though they won't have time to issue a new one for weeks.

[Tanlic]

I submitted my application to Trendy on May 7th, payment was taken on May 12th. I just phoned the helpline to check on the progress and was told it's "under examination". They say that it is currently taking 7-8 weeks from the date of payment until it is sent to the printers, and then 10-14 days before it reaches Bangkok. I was advised to phone again next week to check progress.

It's been over 7 weeks for me since the payment date, and still "under examination.

I am not pushed for time, my visa extension is not due until November, but I just want to get the whole thing over with.

You're probably worrying for nothing..

My worry for people who's passports run out before they get the new one. With all these delays more than a few are bound to be caught out when they find out it can tahe 8 to 10 weeks to renew.

It's my understanding that although you have a visa it is immediately cancelled and you have to leave the country, pay overstay and you will only get 30 days at the border, Then if you had a 1 year visa you have to apply for a new one.

Thankfully I've never had to find out and what I am saying I was told over a beer so it could be totally wrong.

If it is right it seems crazy to me that you have a new passport and a valid visa in your old passport but they wont transfer it after your old one's expiry date considering the Britsh f up..........just another rule to allow them to rob you I suppose.

I'm sure some of the lads on here will know if that is the case or not as it's only heresay on my part.

[delboy]

I'm not worrying, just concerned that, until I receive my new passport, some hitch may arise with my application. I posted on here just as information for others caught up in this mess.

In my case, my current passport expires in June 2015, and my visa extension is to November 2014. If I apply for a further 1 year extension in November on my current passport, I will only be given an extension up to the date my passport expires. Then, once I receive a new passport, I will have to apply for a 1 year extension in June 2015.

If I apply for my extension on my new passport (assuming it arrives before November) then I should get a full 1 year visa extension to November 2015.

I had originally decided to apply to Liverpool by mail in July, until the new system was introduced. I then decided not to wait, but to apply in May. Under the circumstances, I'm glad I did.

So, unless I need to leave the country, I should have no serious problem, just the stress of the unknown.

If only they had a tracking system in place, so that we could just check online to see where our application is in the grand scheme, it would surely save HMPO being swamped with phone calls. Even an automated E-Mail system to send off notifications as the application passed through the system would fit the bill, say "Passport Received, payment deducted" "Passport under examination" "Passport sent for printing" "Passport dispatched". At least we would know what was happening.

[Kan Win]

sometimewoodworker, on 03 Jul 2014 - 07:18, said:

Kan Win, on 02 Jul 2014 - 18:08, said:

bigsteve, on 02 Jul 2014 - 17:14, said:

bigsteve, on 02 Jul 2014 - 17:14, said:

No. Adding pages is something they will not do in British passports

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Since when may one ask?

Win

It has never been done for British passports

Thank you to all of you your replies, btw.

To get out of this back log, they have allowed us to get a 1 year more on our passports before going to Trendy, so why not cut out more problems, by issuing Additional Pages to the Passports that still have a Long Life in them, say 2 to 5 or more years.

Just as I said before "Just thinking out load".

[soihok]

I went to VFS yesterday and enquired as to when I could make an appointment with them. First available appointment?...........29 July 2014!

The whole place is a shambles and most of the staff cannot speak English to a level that is required when dealing with English/British people on a daily basis.

So 10 week delay on passports that have been applied for, now add on nearly 4 weeks waiting before you can even apply for one!!

Now that is surely about as $hit as $hit can get. I've done my bit and got the cr@p response about Thai law making us having to carry the passport on our persons at all time rubbish. Time to swamp the embassy with email complaints. Absolutely unacceptable and disgusting.

Sent from my GT-N5100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Yes - 100% agree.

Another letter is in the post.

I never got the promised returned call within 72 hours of my complaint, it obviously got lost between HMPO helpline and Liverpool--------NOW, Why am I not surprised.

[Squeegee]

Normally you need about a third of a page, full page width for an Extension of Permission to Stay stamp.

Nothing stopping you going to Immigration now (you can apply up to 28 days before the 'Admitted Until' stamp date) for the 30 day Extension Stamp from the 21st July.

So go to immigration this week, see if they can fit an extension in your passport or not, if it doesn't happen, then this will still give you a couple of weeks to plan for the trip to the British Embassy to buy an ETD, book travel, get your stamps transferred to your ETD, etc.

The British Embassy have told me that currently they are so snowed under with ETD requests that they will only take appointments to do one if you have an immediate need to travel (pretty much next couple of days).

Good luck.

Thanks for that. I have barely enough room for a few exit stamps though. Can get eight of that size on a page, so I have barely a quarter of a page left (plus room for one more exit stamp-size on another page).

I highly doubt I will have room. So, is it even worth going to immigration first? I'm not sure what it can achieve other than, in the current climate, drawing attention to myself.

And if I am to go there in the hope they'll somehow have a magic reduced-size welcome sticker for my passport it would mean drawing attention to myself in the current climate whilst not having declared my passport is cancelled.

Maybe the best and simplest solution is to just to grin and bear the cost and hassle of an ETD. I must pay because I was stupid and didn't start the process a couple of pages sooner.

So maybe I should try to procure an ETD first and then go see Immigration for the extension whilst I openly, honestly and legally await my new passport?

Yes it is. I went to check and my passport is full. Initially they said to come back with a new passport. I explained about the problem over UK passports and said it was unlikely that I would get my passport before the stamp expired. She looked at the passport again and said to bring in the application for extension of stay. Will not know how they will do it till they have done it. Have made provisional arrangements with witnesses to go on the 14th.

Hi Sandy, sorry I don't understand some things here. Why should you go away and come back with an extension application form? What do you mean you've made provisional arrangements with witnesses?

[Squeegee]

Normally you need about a third of a page, full page width for an Extension of Permission to Stay stamp.

Nothing stopping you going to Immigration now (you can apply up to 28 days before the 'Admitted Until' stamp date) for the 30 day Extension Stamp from the 21st July.

So go to immigration this week, see if they can fit an extension in your passport or not, if it doesn't happen, then this will still give you a couple of weeks to plan for the trip to the British Embassy to buy an ETD, book travel, get your stamps transferred to your ETD, etc.

The British Embassy have told me that currently they are so snowed under with ETD requests that they will only take appointments to do one if you have an immediate need to travel (pretty much next couple of days).

Good luck.

Thanks for that. I have barely enough room for a few exit stamps though. Can get eight of that size on a page, so I have barely a quarter of a page left (plus room for one more exit stamp-size on another page).

I highly doubt I will have room. So, is it even worth going to immigration first? I'm not sure what it can achieve other than, in the current climate, drawing attention to myself.

And if I am to go there in the hope they'll somehow have a magic reduced-size welcome sticker for my passport it would mean drawing attention to myself in the current climate whilst not having declared my passport is cancelled.

Maybe the best and simplest solution is to just to grin and bear the cost and hassle of an ETD. I must pay because I was stupid and didn't start the process a couple of pages sooner.

So maybe I should try to procure an ETD first and then go see Immigration for the extension whilst I openly, honestly and legally await my new passport?

I would go to immigration and let them decide if you have enough room. An extension stamp for a tourist visa entry will be smaller than an annual extension because ti does not have info about 90 reports and etc. A quarter of a page should be enough.

Should I not try telling them from the start that my passport process has already begun?

[rajyindee]

The e-mail of the British Nationals Overseas Team in Liverpool - the folk who can actually answer questions (as opposed to the misnamed Helpline) - is LiverpoolBNOTeam at hmpo.gsi.gov.uk. Mind you, it took around eight e-mails and countless phone calls to get them to actually answer a fairly simple question and I had to e-mail the official complaints folk ( hqenquiries at ips.gsi.gov.uk) to provoke the response.

Edited July 3, 2014 by rajyindee

[digitalchromakey]

Normally you need about a third of a page, full page width for an Extension of Permission to Stay stamp.

Nothing stopping you going to Immigration now (you can apply up to 28 days before the 'Admitted Until' stamp date) for the 30 day Extension Stamp from the 21st July.

So go to immigration this week, see if they can fit an extension in your passport or not, if it doesn't happen, then this will still give you a couple of weeks to plan for the trip to the British Embassy to buy an ETD, book travel, get your stamps transferred to your ETD, etc.

The British Embassy have told me that currently they are so snowed under with ETD requests that they will only take appointments to do one if you have an immediate need to travel (pretty much next couple of days).

Good luck.

Thanks for that. I have barely enough room for a few exit stamps though. Can get eight of that size on a page, so I have barely a quarter of a page left (plus room for one more exit stamp-size on another page).

I highly doubt I will have room. So, is it even worth going to immigration first? I'm not sure what it can achieve other than, in the current climate, drawing attention to myself.

And if I am to go there in the hope they'll somehow have a magic reduced-size welcome sticker for my passport it would mean drawing attention to myself in the current climate whilst not having declared my passport is cancelled.

Maybe the best and simplest solution is to just to grin and bear the cost and hassle of an ETD. I must pay because I was stupid and didn't start the process a couple of pages sooner.

So maybe I should try to procure an ETD first and then go see Immigration for the extension whilst I openly, honestly and legally await my new passport?

I would go to immigration and let them decide if you have enough room. An extension stamp for a tourist visa entry will be smaller than an annual extension because ti does not have info about 90 reports and etc. A quarter of a page should be enough.

Should I not try telling them from the start that my passport process has already begun?

This will confuse the issue, better your local Thai Immigration do not know that your British passport has already been invalidated by the UK Government [What the eye doesn't see.....].

Ubonjoe has posted that the Tourist Visa 30 day Extension Stamp is apparently smaller than the normal extension stamp used and that you might just be ok.

So just go to your local Thai Immigration a.s.a.p. with 1900 THB and a couple of passport size photos, fill out a TM7 form, etc. give them your passport, act dumb, and see how it goes.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

[digitalchromakey]

I submitted my application to Trendy on May 7th, payment was taken on May 12th. I just phoned the helpline to check on the progress and was told it's "under examination". They say that it is currently taking 7-8 weeks from the date of payment until it is sent to the printers, and then 10-14 days before it reaches Bangkok. I was advised to phone again next week to check progress.

It's been over 7 weeks for me since the payment date, and still "under examination.

I am not pushed for time, my visa extension is not due until November, but I just want to get the whole thing over with.

You're probably worrying for nothing..

My worry for people who's passports run out before they get the new one. With all these delays more than a few are bound to be caught out when they find out it can tahe 8 to 10 weeks to renew.

It's my understanding that although you have a visa it is immediately cancelled and you have to leave the country, pay overstay and you will only get 30 days at the border, Then if you had a 1 year visa you have to apply for a new one.

Thankfully I've never had to find out and what I am saying I was told over a beer so it could be totally wrong.

If it is right it seems crazy to me that you have a new passport and a valid visa in your old passport but they wont transfer it after your old one's expiry date considering the Britsh f up..........just another rule to allow them to rob you I suppose.

I'm sure some of the lads on here will know if that is the case or not as it's only heresay on my part.

Any valid visa (obtained at a Thai Consular Facility outside of Thailand] you have when a passport expires remains valid and can be shown for entry along with your new passport.

Any entry stamps, Extensions of Permission to Stay or Re-Entry Permits obtained within Thailand can be transferred by Thai Immigration to your new passport and will then remain valid (Some Immigration Departments need a letter from your Embassy confirming passport cancellation/re-issue before they will do the stamp transfer)..

[digitalchromakey]

I'm not worrying, just concerned that, until I receive my new passport, some hitch may arise with my application. I posted on here just as information for others caught up in this mess.

In my case, my current passport expires in June 2015, and my visa extension is to November 2014. If I apply for a further 1 year extension in November on my current passport, I will only be given an extension up to the date my passport expires. Then, once I receive a new passport, I will have to apply for a 1 year extension in June 2015.

If I apply for my extension on my new passport (assuming it arrives before November) then I should get a full 1 year visa extension to November 2015.

I had originally decided to apply to Liverpool by mail in July, until the new system was introduced. I then decided not to wait, but to apply in May. Under the circumstances, I'm glad I did.

So, unless I need to leave the country, I should have no serious problem, just the stress of the unknown.

If only they had a tracking system in place, so that we could just check online to see where our application is in the grand scheme, it would surely save HMPO being swamped with phone calls. Even an automated E-Mail system to send off notifications as the application passed through the system would fit the bill, say "Passport Received, payment deducted" "Passport under examination" "Passport sent for printing" "Passport dispatched". At least we would know what was happening.

Yes it would be helpful and save everyone's time/money to have a tracking system for overseas applications - the information you highlighted is all already internally available within HMPO and logged on their computers.

However with the current 7-8 weeks between 'Payment Deducted' and 'Passport Passed for Issue', whilst you are 'in/awaiting examination', there would still be far too much scope for nail biting and stress.

[watso63]

I'm not worrying, just concerned that, until I receive my new passport, some hitch may arise with my application. I posted on here just as information for others caught up in this mess.

In my case, my current passport expires in June 2015, and my visa extension is to November 2014. If I apply for a further 1 year extension in November on my current passport, I will only be given an extension up to the date my passport expires. Then, once I receive a new passport, I will have to apply for a 1 year extension in June 2015.

If I apply for my extension on my new passport (assuming it arrives before November) then I should get a full 1 year visa extension to November 2015.

I had originally decided to apply to Liverpool by mail in July, until the new system was introduced. I then decided not to wait, but to apply in May. Under the circumstances, I'm glad I did.

So, unless I need to leave the country, I should have no serious problem, just the stress of the unknown.

If only they had a tracking system in place, so that we could just check online to see where our application is in the grand scheme, it would surely save HMPO being swamped with phone calls. Even an automated E-Mail system to send off notifications as the application passed through the system would fit the bill, say "Passport Received, payment deducted" "Passport under examination" "Passport sent for printing" "Passport dispatched". At least we would know what was happening.

I said something similar right at the start of this thread, but to read through all the posts now would be akin to reading a rather large Stephen King novel 555.

Sent from my GT-N5100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[soap]

I'm not worrying, just concerned that, until I receive my new passport, some hitch may arise with my application. I posted on here just as information for others caught up in this mess.

In my case, my current passport expires in June 2015, and my visa extension is to November 2014. If I apply for a further 1 year extension in November on my current passport, I will only be given an extension up to the date my passport expires. Then, once I receive a new passport, I will have to apply for a 1 year extension in June 2015.

If I apply for my extension on my new passport (assuming it arrives before November) then I should get a full 1 year visa extension to November 2015.

I had originally decided to apply to Liverpool by mail in July, until the new system was introduced. I then decided not to wait, but to apply in May. Under the circumstances, I'm glad I did.

So, unless I need to leave the country, I should have no serious problem, just the stress of the unknown.

If only they had a tracking system in place, so that we could just check online to see where our application is in the grand scheme, it would surely save HMPO being swamped with phone calls. Even an automated E-Mail system to send off notifications as the application passed through the system would fit the bill, say "Passport Received, payment deducted" "Passport under examination" "Passport sent for printing" "Passport dispatched". At least we would know what was happening.

I said something similar right at the start of this thread, but to read through all the posts now would be akin to reading a rather large Stephen King novel 555.

Sent from my GT-N5100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I think it would be nearly impossible to have a tracking system,when you also have a fast track service in place.

When you have the powers that be cutting job,services etc hoping they will get a pat on the back or a lump of sugar from the likes of George Osbourne for putting an extra few million in the treasury coffers only to be pisxxd down the sink on the likes of benefits,golden handshakes etc.

So you will have the scenario of a HMPO member of staff starting to process little Joe Bloggs passport

Who lives in Mae Sai north Thailand and the boss saying "forget about little Joe Bloggs"we have a big order of fast track passports just come in that take priority.

So it becomes a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul,plus the fact you have staff holidays staff sickness days

[sandyf]

Normally you need about a third of a page, full page width for an Extension of Permission to Stay stamp.

Nothing stopping you going to Immigration now (you can apply up to 28 days before the 'Admitted Until' stamp date) for the 30 day Extension Stamp from the 21st July.

So go to immigration this week, see if they can fit an extension in your passport or not, if it doesn't happen, then this will still give you a couple of weeks to plan for the trip to the British Embassy to buy an ETD, book travel, get your stamps transferred to your ETD, etc.

The British Embassy have told me that currently they are so snowed under with ETD requests that they will only take appointments to do one if you have an immediate need to travel (pretty much next couple of days).

Good luck.

Thanks for that. I have barely enough room for a few exit stamps though. Can get eight of that size on a page, so I have barely a quarter of a page left (plus room for one more exit stamp-size on another page).

I highly doubt I will have room. So, is it even worth going to immigration first? I'm not sure what it can achieve other than, in the current climate, drawing attention to myself.

And if I am to go there in the hope they'll somehow have a magic reduced-size welcome sticker for my passport it would mean drawing attention to myself in the current climate whilst not having declared my passport is cancelled.

Maybe the best and simplest solution is to just to grin and bear the cost and hassle of an ETD. I must pay because I was stupid and didn't start the process a couple of pages sooner.

So maybe I should try to procure an ETD first and then go see Immigration for the extension whilst I openly, honestly and legally await my new passport?

Yes it is. I went to check and my passport is full. Initially they said to come back with a new passport. I explained about the problem over UK passports and said it was unlikely that I would get my passport before the stamp expired. She looked at the passport again and said to bring in the application for extension of stay. Will not know how they will do it till they have done it. Have made provisional arrangements with witnesses to go on the 14th.

Hi Sandy, sorry I don't understand some things here. Why should you go away and come back with an extension application form? What do you mean you've made provisional arrangements with witnesses?

I have to prepare the documents for extn of stay, income letter, photos etc. They said that when I brought in the application that I would need 2 witnesses.

[soihok]

Just an update on what I have been doing.

No phone call was made back to me from Liverpool, I presume they wouldn't have an answer any way.

Below is a copy of the lateset letter that is in the post and on the way to

Parliamentary and Diplomatic Enquiries Team (PDET)
Communication and Corporate Development Directorate
Her Majesty's Passport Office
4th Floor SE, Peel Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

Again, I don't expect to get anywhere with it but one must try.

Reference to: British Passport Renewal Procedure – British Citizen Residing in Thailand and Compliant on HMPO Feedback and Advice for Disabled Person Situation.

Dear Sir / Madam.

I wish to complain about the current procedure for British Citizens residing in Thailand to renew their British passports and I wish to state my particular position with regards my 11 year old daughter’s passport renewal. My daughter is a British citizen and severely mentally disabled. Her name is XXXXXXXXXXX and a copy of her passport is enclosed.

I, her father, am residing in Malaysia for employment on an Employment Pass. My employment takes me away from where my daughter is living due to her disability. She is being cared for by her Grandparents in Thailand as the quality of life she receives there is far greater than I can provide whilst working 70 hours a week in order to support my family.

Her British passport is expiring in September 2014 and I wish to apply for a renewal. The new procedure means that I have to apply in person in Thailand, as well as collect the passport in person once it arrives back in Thailand. This involves me taking international flights and overnight stays in hotel rooms on two occasions just to obtain the passport. This is a totally unacceptable situation arisen from whatever reason the British Government has had to implement it. My daughter is not a criminal.

In September my employment takes me to live in Singapore, so there is no way I can apply for her via Malaysia if I wanted to as the HMPO appears to be in shambles with excessive waiting times and the passport may arrive towards the end of the year. It looks as if her passport will now expire without renewal. Please consider allowing me to apply for renewal on line from Singapore in September for my (disabled) daughter residing in Thailand. I would be grateful of a reply as your HMPO complaint service, Newport Office, Liverpool office and the HMPO helpline have all failed to deliver me any help at all.

Yours faithfully

XXXXXXXXXXX

[soihok]

I STAND CORRECTED, well almost.

I actually got a phone call here in Malaysia from a very nice lady from the HMPO who wanted to help me, a week after my call to the helpline.

Can you imagine my excitement upon hearing that I can apply on line for my daughter in Thailand, I had to do the equivalent of a double take but on the phone and asked her to confirm.

So we went through the process, it went something along the lines of this summary:-

Me = Are you sure, I have been informed that I can only apply in person to an office in Bangkok.

Nice lady = Hmm, let me check, please hold the line......

About a minute

Nice Lady = Oh yes, you have to apply in person to an office in Thailand, but someone can apply for her on your behalf.

Me = The only person there is 65 year old Thai Grandma who isn't fit to travel from the North East to Bangkok to do this.

Nice Lady = Let me check on the other offices in Thailand..............oh, there is only one in Bangkok.

Me = I do appreciate your call back (I was on my best professional behaviour) but its the procedure put in place by the Government. Looks like her passport will expire before its renewed.

She did ask if my girl is due to travel imminently (issue an ETD) but in reality, she isn't going anywhere, but that is besides the point.

Anyway, letter is in the post.

Oh, got a reply from the letter back in the post today I sent previously saying. Sorry, nothing we can do about it.

Its clear as day that there is no point dealing with the HMPO directly for any change in the process.

No

What is needed is for every person who has posted on this topic to put pen to paper and complain directly to the Government and not the HMPO.

I have written three letters now, umpteen emails and a couple of phone conversations.

PLEASE DO THE SAME OTHERWISE WE WILL BE FOREVER BE GETTING THIS ATROCIOUS SERVICE IF OUR MOUTHS REMAIN SLIENT.

By the way, I asked about waiting times and the nice lady informed me that processing times are 8 weeks upon receiving the application in the UK.

On the bright side, at least we have the World Cup to keep our spirits up.

[watso63]

I STAND CORRECTED, well almost.

I actually got a phone call here in Malaysia from a very nice lady from the HMPO who wanted to help me, a week after my call to the helpline.

Can you imagine my excitement upon hearing that I can apply on line for my daughter in Thailand, I had to do the equivalent of a double take but on the phone and asked her to confirm.

So we went through the process, it went something along the lines of this summary:-

Me = Are you sure, I have been informed that I can only apply in person to an office in Bangkok.

Nice lady = Hmm, let me check, please hold the line......

About a minute

Nice Lady = Oh yes, you have to apply in person to an office in Thailand, but someone can apply for her on your behalf.

Me = The only person there is 65 year old Thai Grandma who isn't fit to travel from the North East to Bangkok to do this.

Nice Lady = Let me check on the other offices in Thailand..............oh, there is only one in Bangkok.

Me = I do appreciate your call back (I was on my best professional behaviour) but its the procedure put in place by the Government. Looks like her passport will expire before its renewed.

She did ask if my girl is due to travel imminently (issue an ETD) but in reality, she isn't going anywhere, but that is besides the point.

Anyway, letter is in the post.

Oh, got a reply from the letter back in the post today I sent previously saying. Sorry, nothing we can do about it.

Its clear as day that there is no point dealing with the HMPO directly for any change in the process.

No

What is needed is for every person who has posted on this topic to put pen to paper and complain directly to the Government and not the HMPO.

I have written three letters now, umpteen emails and a couple of phone conversations.

PLEASE DO THE SAME OTHERWISE WE WILL BE FOREVER BE GETTING THIS ATROCIOUS SERVICE IF OUR MOUTHS REMAIN SLIENT.

By the way, I asked about waiting times and the nice lady informed me that processing times are 8 weeks upon receiving the application in the UK.

On the bright side, at least we have the World Cup to keep our spirits up.

And without the hype...errrrrr stress of England being involved.

Sent from my GT-N5100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[watso63]

Oh, joy of joys, got my new retirement extension and my driving licences sorted out today. There is thick as two short planks and then there is thick as two short planks??? How hard is it to understand that my new passport and my old one have different numbers, even with a 500 Thb letter certified from the Immigration Police and all the relevent photocopied pages, the numpties at the driving licence centre couldn't understand why I wanted to change my 5 year driving licence ID number to match my new passport number. Almost went into a very stressed Basil Fawlty type moment...but now I am home and had a few drinks at a young man going to the temple party...all is calm in my household.

Sent from my GT-N5100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Soutpeel]

bigsteve, on 02 Jul 2014 - 17:14, said:

No. Adding pages is something they will not do in British passports

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Since when may one ask?

Win

It has never been done for British passports

Yes they did but it was a long time ago, when proper "black" cover passports where issued , not "EU" ones they issue now, they used to " bolt " on the extra pages, I still have one of my old pp's which had extra pages added

[GoonDizzy]

Pretty obvious what this is all about. Some moron decided to save money. It's gone tits up. Now, it's all about the tax money. Overseas residents aren't paying tax (some are to be fair). We aren't voting. Miss Miggins' two week holiday in Magaluf is more important to them than a potential overstay.

Oh, you can get an ETD. No reason for overstay. Hmmm. So, if you have a contract abroad you'll need to fly to the UK, get a passport via fasttrack, fly back...and hope your employer is ok with this. All for the paltry sum of a ONE WAY flight to the UK and baack, as Thai Imm may ask q's about the return flight to Thailand. All for what? 100,000baht? Remember the money you may need to show on your return. And they may get arsey of your return is within 3 months. So, you could be looking at 200,000baht if you need to stay in the UK for 3 months.

What can you claim back? Nothing!

It's a disgrace. Leaving the UK makes you a non citizen it seems. If you've been abroad outside the EU for a period, you'll find it difficult to get social secuirty/student loans/bank accounts/rent agreements.

Good luck to all with this shambles.

Edited July 4, 2014 by GoonDizzy

[watso63]

Pretty obvious what this is all about. Some moron decided to save money. It's gone tits up. Now, it's all about the tax money. Overseas residents aren't paying tax (some are to be fair). We aren't voting. Miss Miggins' two week holiday in Magaluf is more important to them than a potential overstay.

Oh, you can get an ETD. No reason for overstay. Hmmm. So, if you have a contract abroad you'll need to fly to the UK, get a passport via fasttrack, fly back...and hope your employer is ok with this. All for the paltry sum of a ONE WAY flight to the UK and baack, as Thai Imm may ask q's about the return flight to Thailand. All for what? 100,000baht? Remember the money you may need to show on your return. And they may get arsey of your return is within 3 months. So, you could be looking at 200,000baht if you need to stay in the UK for 3 months.

What can you claim back? Nothing!

It's a disgrace. Leaving the UK makes you a non citizen it seems. If you've been abroad outside the EU for a period, you'll find it difficult to get social secuirty/student loans/bank accounts/rent agreements.

Good luck to all with this shambles.

Yep. I forgot to add the Immigration Policeman asked me how long it took to get my passport. When I told him he laughed, shook his head and told my TGF that they had received phone calls from the bosses in BKK that the UK passport system was broken and just help UK citizens as best they can. May, Pugh, lost any face yet???

Sent from my GT-N5100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[GoonDizzy]

Pretty obvious what this is all about. Some moron decided to save money. It's gone tits up. Now, it's all about the tax money. Overseas residents aren't paying tax (some are to be fair). We aren't voting. Miss Miggins' two week holiday in Magaluf is more important to them than a potential overstay.

Oh, you can get an ETD. No reason for overstay. Hmmm. So, if you have a contract abroad you'll need to fly to the UK, get a passport via fasttrack, fly back...and hope your employer is ok with this. All for the paltry sum of a ONE WAY flight to the UK and baack, as Thai Imm may ask q's about the return flight to Thailand. All for what? 100,000baht? Remember the money you may need to show on your return. And they may get arsey of your return is within 3 months. So, you could be looking at 200,000baht if you need to stay in the UK for 3 months.

What can you claim back? Nothing!

It's a disgrace. Leaving the UK makes you a non citizen it seems. If you've been abroad outside the EU for a period, you'll find it difficult to get social secuirty/student loans/bank accounts/rent agreements.

Good luck to all with this shambles.

Yep. I forgot to add the Immigration Policeman asked me how long it took to get my passport. When I told him he laughed, shook his head and told my TGF that they had received phone calls from the bosses in BKK that the UK passport system was broken and just help UK citizens as best they can. May, Pugh, lost any face yet???

Sent from my GT-N5100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

All they care about are votes. We are dead to them. Until you get Channel 4 showing loads of UK citizens in Thai/Chinese/Singaporean jails due to their imcompetence. They'll wait. Trust me. They haven't got a clue. Heads must roll.

By the way. Good to hear Thai Imm were understanding about the situation. They're not all bad eggs.

Edited July 4, 2014 by GoonDizzy

[AyG]

the numpties at the driving licence centre couldn't understand why I wanted to change my 5 year driving licence ID number to match my new passport number.

Of course they couldn't. It's the same as if you change address. You don't get your driving licence changed - you wait until it's up for renewal. That's what's expected.

[watso63]

the numpties at the driving licence centre couldn't understand why I wanted to change my 5 year driving licence ID number to match my new passport number.

Of course they couldn't. It's the same as if you change address. You don't get your driving licence changed - you wait until it's up for renewal. That's what's expected.

read about insurance company's not paying claims if the id and passport numbers were different. just thought better safe than sorry for some peace of mind.

[evadgib]

Reminder to be on the lookout for Bear Traps:)

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-28189070

Five people have been arrested as part of a crackdown on websites made to look like official government sites.

The arrests come after more than 5,700 complaints about the websites were made to the Advertising Standards Authority and Citizens Advice.

Most were linked to alleged scams over fees charged for tax return, driving licence and passport applications.

Edited July 7, 2014 by evadgib