Changes To British Passport Services In Thailand

hoyism · July 7, 2014

can anyone tell me where-else in S.E. Asia i can apply for a new UK passport???

i have a few pages left on mine, with only 1-2 pages left and a lot of border run stamps i don't fancy my chances leaving (in a month) and coming straight back in so i'm looking at other nearby countries..

i wanted to go to Cambodia and do it but the UK embassy in PP have just told me " our passport office is no longer here!"

am i right in assuming you can apply for UK passports in Malaysia, and????

ubonjoe · July 7, 2014

can anyone tell me where-else in S.E. Asia i can apply for a new UK passport???

i have a few pages left on mine, with only 1-2 pages left and a lot of border run stamps i don't fancy my chances leaving (in a month) and coming straight back in so i'm looking at other nearby countries..

i wanted to go to Cambodia and do it but the UK embassy in PP have just told me " our passport office is no longer here!"

am i right in assuming you can apply for UK passports in Malaysia, and????

All UK passport applications are processed in the UK. It does not matter where you are at you have to send to your application and supporting documents to there.

digitalchromakey · July 7, 2014

can anyone tell me where-else in S.E. Asia i can apply for a new UK passport???

i have a few pages left on mine, with only 1-2 pages left and a lot of border run stamps i don't fancy my chances leaving (in a month) and coming straight back in so i'm looking at other nearby countries..

i wanted to go to Cambodia and do it but the UK embassy in PP have just told me " our passport office is no longer here!"

am i right in assuming you can apply for UK passports in Malaysia, and????

All UK passport applications are processed in the UK. It does not matter where you are at you have to send to your application and supporting documents to there.

Yes all applications are processed in the UK, but you must apply from the country where you are currently residing.

Application procedures themselves vary significantly from country to country (some you apply on-line, some you apply through an agent).

The UK HMPO insists on your providing documentary proof of your name and residence address with a passport application, also the replacement passport must be returned to the country you are residing in.

Free 12 month upgrades are available for those whose passports are close to expiry and have more than three free pages and have not already applied to renew.

Current application to replacement receipt delays are predicted at from 8 to 10 weeks plus.

HMPO will cancel your passport for any travel, registered on on an international data base, within just a few days of your application.

So currently you need to apply to renew a British Passport overseas from a country that you will be legally residing in, without any international travel, for up to three months.

Edited July 7, 2014 by digitalchromakey

hoyism · July 7, 2014

can anyone tell me where-else in S.E. Asia i can apply for a new UK passport???

i have a few pages left on mine, with only 1-2 pages left and a lot of border run stamps i don't fancy my chances leaving (in a month) and coming straight back in so i'm looking at other nearby countries..

i wanted to go to Cambodia and do it but the UK embassy in PP have just told me " our passport office is no longer here!"

am i right in assuming you can apply for UK passports in Malaysia, and????

All UK passport applications are processed in the UK. It does not matter where you are at you have to send to your application and supporting documents to there.

Yes all applications are processed in the UK, but you must apply from the country where you are currently residing.

Application procedures themselves vary significantly from country to country (some you apply on-line, some you apply through an agent).

The UK HMPO insists on your providing documentary proof of your name and residence address with a passport application, also the replacement passport must be returned to the country you are residing in.

Free 12 month upgrades are available for those whose passports are close to expiry and have more than three free pages and have not already applied to renew.

Current application to replacement receipt delays are predicted at from 8 to 10 weeks plus.

HMPO will cancel your passport for any travel, registered on on an international data base, within just a few days of your application.

So currently you need to apply to renew a British Passport overseas from a country that you will be legally residing in, without any international travel, for up to three months.

Thank you i had a feeling the girl at the Cambodian Embassy was wrong... i just put a similar thread up on a Cambodia forum and was quickly told "wrong! you can still get a new UK passport here!"

thanks again

digitalchromakey · July 7, 2014

can anyone tell me where-else in S.E. Asia i can apply for a new UK passport???

i have a few pages left on mine, with only 1-2 pages left and a lot of border run stamps i don't fancy my chances leaving (in a month) and coming straight back in so i'm looking at other nearby countries..

i wanted to go to Cambodia and do it but the UK embassy in PP have just told me " our passport office is no longer here!"

am i right in assuming you can apply for UK passports in Malaysia, and????

All UK passport applications are processed in the UK. It does not matter where you are at you have to send to your application and supporting documents to there.

Yes all applications are processed in the UK, but you must apply from the country where you are currently residing.

Application procedures themselves vary significantly from country to country (some you apply on-line, some you apply through an agent).

The UK HMPO insists on your providing documentary proof of your name and residence address with a passport application, also the replacement passport must be returned to the country you are residing in.

Free 12 month upgrades are available for those whose passports are close to expiry and have more than three free pages and have not already applied to renew.

Current application to replacement receipt delays are predicted at from 8 to 10 weeks plus.

HMPO will cancel your passport for any travel, registered on on an international data base, within just a few days of your application.

So currently you need to apply to renew a British Passport overseas from a country that you will be legally residing in, without any international travel, for up to three months.

Thank you i had a feeling the girl at the Cambodian Embassy was wrong... i just put a similar thread up on a Cambodia forum and was quickly told "wrong! you can still get a new UK passport here!"

thanks again

Application in Cambodia is certainly possible. Download the form, fill out, courier along with passport and credit card details to HMPO Liverpool, collect from UK Visa Application Centre in Phnom Penh approx. 8-10 weeks later.

Link here for full details: https://www.gov.uk/overseas-passports/y/cambodia/renewing_new/adult

You would have to be in Cambodia for the whole application period start-finish (maybe 3 months) as you will not have a passport to exit the country.

hoyism · July 7, 2014

Thanks for the heads-up people

parryhandy · July 8, 2014

yes you can apply from Cambodia but can someone please explain to me how would you prove your address there when you have just checked into a hotel there ?

Edited July 8, 2014 by parryhandy

evadgib · July 8, 2014

Passport boss set to face fresh questions from MPs

The head of the Passport Office is to face fresh questions from an MPs' committee later about continuing delays in the handling of applications.

Paul Pugh apologised last month for the distress caused to people after a surge in renewal requests led to a backlog.

The Home Office has ordered a series of emergency measures, including giving UK citizens living overseas an automatic one-year extension to their passports.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-28194482

Edited July 8, 2014 by evadgib

digitalchromakey · July 8, 2014

Passport boss set to face fresh questions from MPs

The head of the Passport Office is to face fresh questions from an MPs' committee later about continuing delays in the handling of applications.

Paul Pugh apologised last month for the distress caused to people after a surge in renewal requests led to a backlog.

The Home Office has ordered a series of emergency measures, including giving UK citizens living overseas an automatic one-year extension to their passports.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-28194482

So we have more confirmation that the 'emergency measures' including free fast track for UK resident citizens if an urgent need for travel can be shown plus negative publicity causing many to apply earlier than normal to renew is causing yet more chaos.

Backlog on the 22nd of June was 537,000 passports, up from 483,000 at the start of the month..

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's PM programme, a whistleblower from the Passport Office estimated about 100,000 passports did not appear in the official figures because they had not yet been scanned on to the system.

The agency was in "total crisis", she said, adding that the emergency measures were "making things 10 times worse".

People were being taken off their usual jobs and issuing passports with "a few days' training", she said, presenting security risks because they might not be able to spot a fraudulent application.

She also said computers were crashing for up to half a day at a time.

For those of us trapped in this train wreck of a fiasco with extant passport applications, this information does not generate much comfort.

Now we have the prospect of the new Thai overstay rules, just to make one feel more relaxed.

Caught without a current passport on overstay - 5 years blacklisting.

Now what was I saying about being thrown to the dogs?

It's turning into a real white knuckle ride, my application is now 7 weeks old, with 3 weeks left before my enforced overstay would kick in .........

soihok · July 8, 2014

Nightmare.

Noodles · July 8, 2014

Just a quick update. I had my appointment for passport renewal Tuesday 1st July and the money has been taken from my account

today. So does that mean that my application is now in the UK? Any updates on how long its taking for passports to arrive back at Trendy?

Thanks

digitalchromakey · July 8, 2014

Just a quick update. I had my appointment for passport renewal Tuesday 1st July and the money has been taken from my account

today. So does that mean that my application is now in the UK? Any updates on how long its taking for passports to arrive back at Trendy?

Thanks

The payment is drawn down in the UK, which means that your application is already in Liverpool and that your existing passport has now been cancelled.

Current UK passport application to collection delays are predicted to be around 8-10 weeks for Thailand, so I would guess at some time early to mid September for collection at trendy.

Good luck and welcome to the train wreck.

Edited July 8, 2014 by digitalchromakey

personchester · July 8, 2014

Just a quick update. I had my appointment for passport renewal Tuesday 1st July and the money has been taken from my account

today. So does that mean that my application is now in the UK? Any updates on how long its taking for passports to arrive back at Trendy?

Thanks

The payment is drawn down in the UK, which means that your application is already in Liverpool and that your existing passport has now been cancelled.

Current UK passport application to collection delays are predicted to be around 8-10 weeks for Thailand, so I would guess at some time early to mid September for collection at trendy.

Good luck and welcome to the train wreck.

You stated the existing passport has been cancelled ? ... how is this possible ?...

It is known that existing passports are not to be sent to the UK, only entire copies of the passport have to be provided and be part of the entire application forms to the UK, and not the existing passport itself.

The existing passport is kept to the applicant in order to deal with his "ID" matters in Thailand.

Have those passport matters been altered, please advice ...

Moonrakers · July 8, 2014

Existing passports are cancelled once the application for a new one has been received in the UK.

personchester · July 8, 2014

Existing passports are cancelled once the application for a new one has been received in the UK.

If passports are not being sent to the UK, how can they be cancelled.

When the new passport arrives in Bangkok from the UK then the applicant has to collect the new passport from Bangkok and must bring his old passport and Trendy will then cancel his old passport.

Edited July 8, 2014 by personchester

Moonrakers · July 8, 2014

All passport renewal applications are now being sent to the UK. It has all changed recently,

digitalchromakey · July 8, 2014

Just a quick update. I had my appointment for passport renewal Tuesday 1st July and the money has been taken from my account

today. So does that mean that my application is now in the UK? Any updates on how long its taking for passports to arrive back at Trendy?

Thanks

The payment is drawn down in the UK, which means that your application is already in Liverpool and that your existing passport has now been cancelled.

Current UK passport application to collection delays are predicted to be around 8-10 weeks for Thailand, so I would guess at some time early to mid September for collection at trendy.

Good luck and welcome to the train wreck.

You stated the existing passport has been cancelled ? ... how is this possible ?...

It is known that existing passports are not to be sent to the UK, only entire copies of the passport have to be provided and be part of the entire application forms to the UK, and not the existing passport itself.

The existing passport is kept to the applicant in order to deal with his "ID" matters in Thailand.

Have those passport matters been altered, please advice ...

Yes, unfortunately - see link on HMPO application page:

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

You can’t travel with it after you’ve applied for a new one - but you will be able to keep your existing passport for ID purposes.

There have been reports of people being refused exit from Thailand on UK passports within days of a British Passport renewal application.

Seems like the HMPO enters you passport as being invalid on an international database that even Thai Border Control can see.

So yes, your passport still looks and feels the same, problem is it has been 'zapped' and doesn't work any more as regards international travel.

So nice of the British Government to leave us without any means of travel other than an ETD for the up to 10 weeks whilst we await (and await) our shiny new passports to arrive at trendy towers..

Edited July 8, 2014 by digitalchromakey

personchester · July 8, 2014

All passport renewal applications are now being sent to the UK. It has all changed recently,

That might be a problem because it takes a long time to receive the new passport, because ID confirmation is needed here for many aspects, i.e Hospital service, Dental service, Bank Service, etc

Perhaps HMPO will now improve their messy system.

Moonrakers · July 8, 2014

All passport renewal applications are now being sent to the UK. It has all changed recently,

That might be a problem because it takes a long time to receive the new passport, because ID confirmation is needed here for many aspects, i.e Hospital service, Dental service, Bank Service, etc

Perhaps HMPO will now improve their messy system.

You can still use the old one for ID, just not for travel/extensions etc.

ubonjoe · July 9, 2014

You can still use the old one for ID, just not for travel/extensions etc.

Correct that you cannot travel. But it still can be used to apply for extensions of stay and etc.at immigration. They don't check a database there.

rikki · July 9, 2014

It being a month since my application at Trendy, I yesterday called HMPO hotline in UK, where Chloe could not give me a Reference number for my passport, but promised that she would email the relevant department who would email me the Reference number

angsta · July 9, 2014

I went back to the UK to process mine. It took 20 days via check and send at the post office. I live near Peterborough but I wasn't allowed to hand deliver my application to the passport office like I had previously.

digitalchromakey · July 9, 2014

It being a month since my application at Trendy, I yesterday called HMPO hotline in UK, where Chloe could not give me a Reference number for my passport, but promised that she would email the relevant department who would email me the Reference number

The HMPO UK Hotline is run by a contract agency call centre, they only have minimal information on their computer screens, plus since the truth came out about delays last month, they have taken on a whole bunch of new staff, who don't seem to know much about passport issues, to deal with the deluge of enquiries .

If you manage to get an application reference number, the helpline won't be interested in taking it as it doesn't not give them access to any more information than they can already see with your name and DOB.

The two application Stages that the call centre actually knows about.

1) In examination - any time after they take your money (payment date) and cancel your old passport - they don't count any time before this as regards your application processing time.

2) Issued - gone to the printers, with luck you will be able to collect from trendy towers 10 days later.

That's all the status information you can get from the Helpline from an application reference number throughout the predicted 10 week application to collection process.

Still worth having the reference number in case the s..t hits the fan.

matt111 · July 9, 2014

Is there any issue with just renewing online via the gov website presuming they have your photo from drivers license etc.., paying the fee, having it delivered to your UK address, and then have someone that's travelling this anyway bring it out, then head down to local immigration office and get visa switched across? Saves a lot of hassle, and courier fees, collection from trendy etc.

I know the .gov site has different instructions for each country currently in but they seem more like guidelines in the interest of convenience rather than hard and fast rules (or legalities).. or is that wrong?

Edited July 9, 2014 by matt111

rikki · July 9, 2014

I also called the Embassy in Bangkok, ext 1,1 for the passport advice, but it was just a recorded message with the Trendy number and HMPO UK hotline number

sandyf · July 9, 2014

You can still use the old one for ID, just not for travel/extensions etc.

Correct that you cannot travel. But it still can be used to apply for extensions of stay and etc.at immigration. They don't check a database there.

Moot point, not bothered about the validity. I have been to immigration this morning for exactly that. I checked a couple of weeks ago and the immigration officer said they would sort it. Went back today with all the paperwork and witnesses and apart from a bit of hassle on the docs it seemed to be okay. When they came to stamp the passport the main officer was not amused and it looked like she was going to say no. I told my wife to remind them that the passport was already invalid and the stamp was only for immigration purposes and to avoid overstay. They spent about 15 minutes checking each page with a ruler and finally decided on a corner where it would only slightly overlap the adjacent stamps. The were quite amazed that my passport renewal had been away for 8 weeks.

I now have another month, if not back by then it is 5000 baht down the drain and an ETD.

delboy · July 9, 2014

I just phoned the helpline regarding my application which was handed in on at Trendy on May 7th, with the money being taken on May 12th. Time from application 9 weeks.

Martin gave me an application number, and he stated that my application had gone through several stages of examination, so far with no problems, and he expected, by experience, that it should be sent for printing later this week. He said that it was taking, on average about 10-14 days from being sent to the printers to arriving at Trendy. He further said that current estimated time from receiving the money to finishing printing was about 9 weeks.

digitalchromakey · July 9, 2014

Is there any issue with just renewing online via the gov website presuming they have your photo from drivers license etc.., paying the fee, having it delivered to your UK address, and then have someone that's travelling this anyway bring it out, then head down to local immigration office and get visa switched across? Saves a lot of hassle, and courier fees, collection from trendy etc.

I know the .gov site has different instructions for each country currently in but they seem more like guidelines in the interest of convenience rather than hard and fast rules (or legalities).. or is that wrong?

Problem 1) If an on-line/postal application is made in the UK, they need your passport to be submitted with your application form and photos.

Problem 2) Online/postal applications are six weeks from application to delivery - so you don't save that much time.

Problem 3) You need a genuine UK Postal address.

Problem 4) You should hold your passport at all times you are in Thailand.

Problem 5) You wont have your passport for the best part of eight weeks.

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