Changes To British Passport Services In Thailand

[Welshboy89]

Ok I will get in touch with the British embassy for a letter to link my passports.

Would using your voided passport delay the process of renewing a passport?

[digitalchromakey]

Ok I will get in touch with the British embassy for a letter to link my passports.

Would using your voided passport delay the process of renewing a passport?

HMPO state as regards your old passport:

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.

To get the pro-forma transfer letter you just need to email the Consular Section once you have your new passport to start the ball rolling.

This thread has reports of people successfully exiting/ re-entering Thailand on the old passport after an renewal application has been made at trendy (one case where the new passport had already been received), there are also reports of denial of exit.

So the simple answer is that no one knows for certain, but the UK Government advises that the passport cannot be so used.

Edited September 12, 2014 by digitalchromakey

[AlanAunuum]

I HAD TO USE MY OLD PASSPORT TO GET A NEW NON B FROM PENANG, i had to steam an old cambodia visa off,maybe its that i honestly dont know,i have put my address down and sent with my application the apartment business card. If this continues i will have to go to bangkok and sort it out as i keep getting fobbed of on the phone 15 WEEKS AND COUNTING

[digitalchromakey]

I HAD TO USE MY OLD PASSPORT TO GET A NEW NON B FROM PENANG, i had to steam an old cambodia visa off,maybe its that i honestly dont know,i have put my address down and sent with my application the apartment business card. If this continues i will have to go to bangkok and sort it out as i keep getting fobbed of on the phone 15 WEEKS AND COUNTING

If that's what you supplied as evidence of name and address, then this may be your problem in a nutshell.

You should have supplied a document less than one year old to confirm your name and address in Thailand as follows:

Name and address evidence

Please provide one of the following:

• visa or resident permit (or colour photocopy)

• tax record eg a letter from a tax authority

• educational record eg school report

• employment record eg official letter from your employer

• letter sent to you from a central, regional or local government department

• baptismal or naming certificate

• medical/health card

• voter’s card

• parents’ death certificates

I have a supplementary list as supplied to me by HMPO:

We have contacted our Liverpool Overseas Team on your behalf who has confirmed that you must submit at least one piece of evidence to confirm the address you currently use and it must be dated within the last year. You may choose from the following:

Tax record e.g. letter from tax authority

Educational record e.g. school report

Employment record e.g. official letter from your employer

A letter sent to you from a central, regional or local Government department

National identity card or equivalent (or colour photocopy)

Visa or resident permit (or colour photocopy)

Where none of the above is available consideration may be given to bank statements, utility bills or their equivalents.

Any documents that are not in English must be fully translated by a person who is registered to an official organisation or trade body for translators or employed by a recognised translation company. The translation must be attached to the original document and signed to confirm it is a true copy of the original

HMPO also have copies of every page in your passport and they don't need to be rocket scientists to figure out that you have removed a Cambodian visa sticker from your passport - this was (and is always) a really most inadvisable thing to do, under any circumstances and also may not be helping your case.

Still don't understand why the British Consular facility in BKK is being so unhelpful..

[soihok]

_{Because they are good at it?}

[soihok]

.........and who do they have to answer to?

[AlanAunuum]

when i put my passport renewal application in at trendy building in bangkok,there was nothing said or on the passport application form to say that i had to show proof of my residence or where i live in Thailand,as the passport was being sent back to Trendy offices in Soi 32 Bangkok

[AlanAunuum]

when i put my passport renewal application in at trendy building in bangkok,there was nothing said or on the passport application form to say that i had to show proof of my residence or where i live in Thailand,as the passport was being sent back to Trendy offices in Soi 31 Bangkok

[watso63]

when i put my passport renewal application in at trendy building in bangkok,there was nothing said or on the passport application form to say that i had to show proof of my residence or where i live in Thailand,as the passport was being sent back to Trendy offices in Soi 31 Bangkok

Oh dear. This is where people that are not internet or computer savvy can get caught out: (not suggesting you are not)

1. Overseas application.

2. Guidance notes.

3. Supporting documentation

All the information is there.

[AlanAunuum]

i followed the guidelines to the letter,but as of March this year,you did not have to put proof of address as the passport was being sent back to trend in bangkok

[BritTim]

i followed the guidelines to the letter,but as of March this year,you did not have to put proof of address as the passport was being sent back to trend in bangkok

It is logical to suppose that proof of address should only be needed for postal applications. However, I know for certain that when the changes to force applicants to make two trips to Trendy in Bangkok were introduced, the UK authorities concurrently took the opportunity of additionally inconveniencing us with the proof of address requirement. You just missed it or assumed HMPO were staffed by logical human beings.

I shall note in passing that the proof of address could be tricky if one has just moved apartments. You may have the choice of fraudulently using your prior address on the application, or waiting until you get your first official letters to the new address before applying for the passport extension.

[digitalchromakey]

i followed the guidelines to the letter,but as of March this year,you did not have to put proof of address as the passport was being sent back to trend in bangkok

Unfortunately you didn't follow the current guidelines to the letter, HMPO moved the goal posts on March 26th - you applied two months later on May the 29th.

The correct application information/guidelines had been on the UK Government HMPO website for two months at that point.

trendy as jus the letter-box, they don't screen you application, they just count the papers; so they would probably not have known, or even cared that your evidence of name and address was inadequate - they will still get paid fro forwarding you application.

What ever the nation, when you deal with government organisations you have to follow their procedures, never assume or interpret; those of us who live in Thailand and follow this forum know only too well what happens if you assume some thing and don't follow the correct procedures..

The sad truth is that HMPO changed the application procedure, not to make it easier to communicate with you, but instead because they think we are all potentially terrorists masquerading as honest Britons by using stolen British Identities.

HMPO are looking for positive confirmation that we are who we say we are and proof that we are actually living in the country of application.

So here we are in the early 21st century, it is now almost impossible to get anything other than an ETD for Britons who are not resident in the country where a new passport is required.

Please don't think for one minute that I support the stupidities currently being performed by HMPO, but if this is the only issue, then you can fix you problem by providing HMPO correct evidence of name and address.

Edited September 14, 2014 by digitalchromakey

[watso63]

By the way Pattaya Pat, did you get your passport? Been a bit quiet lately.

Edited September 14, 2014 by watso63

[digitalchromakey]

By the way Pattaya Pat, did you get your passport? Been a bit quiet lately.

Pattaya Pat has left the forum.

[KillingTime]

So my new passport finally turned up a while back and i was told i also had to go the embassy to get a letter to transfer the visa. I have the letter but have not done anything with it yet.

My non im o Visa runs out in a couple of weeks and i'm planning a trip to Rangoon Burma next week to get a new one. I have the old passport (with clipped corner), the new passport, and the letter from the embassy.

Am i supposed to go to Chaeng Wattana first with these documents, or can it be done at the airport? Obviously there seems little point in transferring a visa that runs out in two weeks, but i want to make sure i'm doing everything correctly.

[ubonjoe]

So my new passport finally turned up a while back and i was told i also had to go the embassy to get a letter to transfer the visa. I have the letter but have not done anything with it yet.

My non im o Visa runs out in a couple of weeks and i'm planning a trip to Rangoon Burma next week to get a new one. I have the old passport (with clipped corner), the new passport, and the letter from the embassy.

Am i supposed to go to Chaeng Wattana first with these documents, or can it be done at the airport? Obviously there seems little point in transferring a visa that runs out in two weeks, but i want to make sure i'm doing everything correctly.

Since you only have a visa entry you can do it at the airport on departure. A visa cannot be transferred.

You only need to go to immigration if you have an extension of stay to have the stamps transferred.

[KillingTime]

Thanks for the prompt reply. If i can avoid a trip to Chaeng Wattana that's an added bonus.

[parryhandy]

I tried to leave on a . multi entry non o visa in old passport with new passport at Mukdahan and was sent to the immigration office about 1km from the border.They didnt open until 8.30.They would not do this at the border kiosks.

It is an extremely nice, helpful and well laid out immigration centre (free coffee!) .

Edited September 14, 2014 by parryhandy

[digitalchromakey]

I tried to leave on a . multi entry non o visa in old passport with new passport at Mukdahan and was sent to the immigration office about 1km from the border.They didnt open until 8.30.They would not do this at the border.

You were unlucky, normally if you have a 90 day admission stamp/entry in an old passport, they will just stamp you out in the new passport with a handwritten note that the previous entry stamp was in your old passport.

[Welshboy89]

Just to let you guys know, yesterday I was able to Skype a relative and have them call the passport office. I gave permission for my relative to speak to them over the phone. Just to check if my application is running smoothly.

My application is only 2 weeks old but the guy on the phone said applications are taking between 3-6 weeks at the minute.

Fingers crossed for everyone!

[digitalchromakey]

Just to let you guys know, yesterday I was able to Skype a relative and have them call the passport office. I gave permission for my relative to speak to them over the phone. Just to check if my application is running smoothly.

My application is only 2 weeks old but the guy on the phone said applications are taking between 3-6 weeks at the minute.

Fingers crossed for everyone!

You can phone the HMPO UK Helpline yourself via Skype - it costs 1.4p per minute.

However the 'Helpline' is just call-centre agency who know very little about the specifics of overseas passport applications.

They can confirm that your passport application is 'received' (which you will know anyway as you can see the debit on you credit card).

The only other information they can give you is that your passport is 'in examination' - where it will remain (status wise) until your passport is 'issued to the printers', at this point you have another 10-14 day wait before you will be informed by trendy that your passport is ready for collection in BKK.

As regards waiting time - the 'Help-line' will just pass on the HMPO 'official line' on waiting times (which, remember, are from receipt of your application papers in Liverpool, not the filing date at trendy towers BKK).

[Mister Fixit]

Thank God I didn't have to go through all this rigmarole. I went back to the UK in July for my mum's 96th birthday. She lives in Newcastle, near the Durham passport office.

Three weeks before I was going to be in Newcastle, I got my brother to call and make an appointment for me on a specific date so I could renew my passport and pay in person. They won't make an appointment more than 3 weeks before. He actually called them 4 weeks before and they told him to call back a week later.

Dead easy - take old passport, £137 in cash, (I wanted a 48-page jobbie), the completed form (I picked a couple up at a post office when there) and two photos (which was a problem later because I had them done here in Thailand - big mistake, see below). As I still look like I did 4 years ago, I didn't have to get the photos certified.

I had a 10 am appointment and was told to arrive 15 minutes early. I did and the office was packed. Four years ago when I did the same, it was empty, but the monstrous mess they are in now has made it bad, even in their regional offices.

There was a notice on the wall saying that I would be guaranteed to be seen within 20 minutes of my appointment time. Ha! I was seen FIFTY minutes late. The the photo problem raised its head - 'Have you have these photos taken abroad?' - 'Yes' - 'Sorry, I can't accept them, they're on matt paper, not glossy'. Great, trust the Thai photo shop to mess them up.

'You'll have to go to the photo booth in the corner over there and get new ones (4 for £5 - rip-off, I paid 100 baht for 12 (useless ones) here) - and I should really send you to the back of the queue'.

'Don't even think about it' I said. 'You promise to see people within 20 minutes of their appointment and you saw me at 10.50. It's now 10.55 and I am not waiting. Is there a manager somewhere?'.

She saw my determined look and told me to be quick, which mercifully I was because no-one else was waiting. When I left the booth there were two people waiting already. However, the photo booth was bad, because there were a lot of instructions given by a recording which was at very low volume and the background chatter from the waiting crowd made it difficult to hear.

Anyway, once she'd got some decent photos it went like clockwork, out in 5 minutes with apologies for lateness following me - they must have some targets for waiting times.

Told to come back at 3.15 pm, arrived at 2.30 expecting to wait. Was asked to show my receipt thing, and was immediately handed my new passport 45 minutes early!

Apart from the hiccup with photos, all dead easy. Note to self - if doing this again, don't get the photos done in Thailand, wait until I get back to the UK. That goes for any other Brits doing the same thing ...

Edited September 14, 2014 by Mister Fixit

[digitalchromakey]

Thank God I didn't have to go through all this rigmarole. I went back to the UK in July for my mum's 96th birthday. She lives in Newcastle, near the Durham passport office.

Three weeks before I was going to be in Newcastle, I got my brother to call and make an appointment for me on a specific date so I could renew my passport and pay in person. They won't make an appointment more than 3 weeks before. He actually called them 4 weeks before and they told him to call back a week later.

Dead easy - take old passport, £137 in cash, (I wanted a 48-page jobbie), the completed form (I picked a couple up at a post office when there) and two photos (which was a problem later because I had them done here in Thailand - big mistake, see below). As I still look like I did 4 years ago, I didn't have to get the photos certified.

I had a 10 am appointment and was told to arrive 15 minutes early. I did and the office was packed. Four years ago when I did the same, it was empty, but the monstrous mess they are in now has made it bad, even in their regional offices.

There was a notice on the wall saying that I would be guaranteed to be seen within 20 minutes of my appointment time. Ha! I was seen FIFTY minutes late. The the photo problem raised its head - 'Have you have these photos taken abroad?' - 'Yes' - 'Sorry, I can't accept them, they're on matt paper, not glossy'. Great, trust the Thai photo shop to mess them up.

'You'll have to go to the photo booth in the corner over there and get new ones (4 for £5 - rip-off, I paid 100 baht for 12 (useless ones) here) - and I should really send you to the back of the queue'.

'Don't even think about it' I said. 'You promise to see people within 20 minutes of their appointment and you saw me at 10.50. It's now 10.55 and I am not waiting. Is there a manager somewhere?'.

She saw my determined look and told me to be quick, which mercifully I was because no-one else was waiting. When I left the booth there were two people waiting already. However, the photo booth was bad, because there were a lot of instructions given by a recording which was at very low volume and the background chatter from the waiting crowd made it difficult to hear.

Anyway, once she'd got some decent photos it went like clockwork, out in 5 minutes with apologies for lateness following me - they must have some targets for waiting times.

Told to come back at 3.15 pm, arrived at 2.30 expecting to wait. Was asked to show my receipt thing, and was immediately handed my new passport 45 minutes early!

Apart from the hiccup with photos, all dead easy. Note to self - if doing this again, don't get the photos done in Thailand, wait until I get back to the UK. That goes for any other Brits doing the same thing ...

Amusing to see that it's not only overseas applicants who get shit from HMPO - I checked the HMPO Website Photo Requirements page and there's absolutely nothing there about the photos having to be on glossy paper.

If for some reason I had be in the UK April - July this year, I would have renewed there in the blink of an eye, rather that go through all the stress and bullshit of doing things the trendy way.

[ammagic]

Pattaya Pat, what email address did you use to contact the Embassy in Bkk? I am desperate now. Called helpline in the UK 3 x already. 11 weeks & no passport & as of next week in overstay. Only got the runaround. from the helpline & am now getting very anxious. Tks!

[bigsteve]

I can confirm it is still not necessarily so easy in the UK.

Recently applied (online, a few days before coming to UK for a 7 week visit) for a new British passport for my British/Thai daughter. Please note this is for a passport RENEWAL as she already had a British passport which I extended in Bangkok in late June , as posted on this thread.

After arriving to UK, sent off required documents on 28th August. Received a letter on the 8th September asking me for a letter from my daughter's Thai mother giving consent for her to have a British passport (we are not married). Other options on this letter included sending the birth certificate with my name on it if we had jointly registered the birth. Not taking any chances, I called the customer service centre and confirmed that a certified translation of the Thai birth certificate would pass muster. Was advised to send the original Thai birth certificate with the translation. Sent these docs on the 9th. Then on the 10th I received a call asking again for a letter of consent from the mother as I had been wrongly advised that the birth certificate and translation would be ok. (This has been the most irritating part of this process because as mentioned earlier, it was for a renewal of a still valid British passport, so their needing this letter seemed to me to be completely unreasonable/unnecessary.) The birth certificate/ translation was acceptable to put in for checking but could take several weeks. If I wanted the passport quickly (we fly back to Thailand in 4 weeks), I should send this letter.

So, type letter, email it to her mum in Thailand to print, sign, scan and email back to me so I can fax it to the office in Belfast where it was processed (email not acceptable). Sent the fax on the afternoon of the 11th. Had a call on the 12th from the lady I had spoken to the previous day saying fax received and the letter was acceptable and the passport should be with me in 4-5 days. It then arrived first thing yesterday, the 13th. (Sixteen days from my posting the documents to receiving the passport.) Once they actually got on with it, it was very fast. I was told on the phone that the processing time was now almost back to normal. I can only hope this means that those applying to Trendy will also find things speeding up.

I know this is slightly off topic as the thread is regarding services from within Thailand, but for anyone who does happen to be visiting the UK, HMPO is capable of processing applications quickly. Just make sure you have all required docs, as well as any other supplemental paperwork to make sure you can get through the BS procedures and policies in place. For anyone in that position, a lady there named Grainne Byrne was extremely helpful

Two things to note - I extended my daughter's passport in late June with the free 1 year extension service at the British Embassy in Bangkok. This new passport is for five years, starting from a couple of days ago and does not have the remaining months of the extension added on to it which you usually get when renewing a current passport. Second and more importantly - I mentioned on the phone to the customer service helpline ( this appeared to be a genuine HMPO employee rather than a clueless outsourced agency worker) about the passport envelopes being opened by the Trendy buliding. They knew nothing of this and were concerned, stating that the envelope is addressed to the applicant and should not be opened by anyone else (other than a friend/family member with relevant ID charged with collecting it). Just thought I would mention it.

PS Mister Fixit - I used a photo shop in Chalong, Phuket for the photos with no issues. I had with me the guidelines for sizes etc printed from the UK passport website.

Thank God I didn't have to go through all this rigmarole. I went back to the UK in July for my mum's 96th birthday. She lives in Newcastle, near the Durham passport office.

Three weeks before I was going to be in Newcastle, I got my brother to call and make an appointment for me on a specific date so I could renew my passport and pay in person. They won't make an appointment more than 3 weeks before. He actually called them 4 weeks before and they told him to call back a week later.

Dead easy - take old passport, £137 in cash, (I wanted a 48-page jobbie), the completed form (I picked a couple up at a post office when there) and two photos (which was a problem later because I had them done here in Thailand - big mistake, see below). As I still look like I did 4 years ago, I didn't have to get the photos certified.

I had a 10 am appointment and was told to arrive 15 minutes early. I did and the office was packed. Four years ago when I did the same, it was empty, but the monstrous mess they are in now has made it bad, even in their regional offices.

There was a notice on the wall saying that I would be guaranteed to be seen within 20 minutes of my appointment time. Ha! I was seen FIFTY minutes late. The the photo problem raised its head - 'Have you have these photos taken abroad?' - 'Yes' - 'Sorry, I can't accept them, they're on matt paper, not glossy'. Great, trust the Thai photo shop to mess them up.

'You'll have to go to the photo booth in the corner over there and get new ones (4 for £5 - rip-off, I paid 100 baht for 12 (useless ones) here) - and I should really send you to the back of the queue'.

'Don't even think about it' I said. 'You promise to see people within 20 minutes of their appointment and you saw me at 10.50. It's now 10.55 and I am not waiting. Is there a manager somewhere?'.

She saw my determined look and told me to be quick, which mercifully I was because no-one else was waiting. When I left the booth there were two people waiting already. However, the photo booth was bad, because there were a lot of instructions given by a recording which was at very low volume and the background chatter from the waiting crowd made it difficult to hear.

Anyway, once she'd got some decent photos it went like clockwork, out in 5 minutes with apologies for lateness following me - they must have some targets for waiting times.

Told to come back at 3.15 pm, arrived at 2.30 expecting to wait. Was asked to show my receipt thing, and was immediately handed my new passport 45 minutes early!

Apart from the hiccup with photos, all dead easy. Note to self - if doing this again, don't get the photos done in Thailand, wait until I get back to the UK. That goes for any other Brits doing the same thing ...

Amusing to see that it's not only overseas applicants who get shit from HMPO - I checked the HMPO Website Photo Requirements page and there's absolutely nothing there about the photos having to be on glossy paper.

If for some reason I had be in the UK April - July this year, I would have renewed there in the blink of an eye, rather that go through all the stress and bullshit of doing things the trendy way.

[AlanAunuum]

well i am of to the British Embassy tonight,hoping to be there nice and early and to give em merry hell.I am now o my 3 rd day overstay and not a phone call or anything from HMPO overseas collegues,so i am going in perso to demand some action as i am a british citizen and expect this cuckooo civil service to help me,and i am not leaving until i get a bloody good reason why i have to have an interview and further checks .

[digitalchromakey]

well i am of to the British Embassy tonight,hoping to be there nice and early and to give em merry hell.I am now o my 3 rd day overstay and not a phone call or anything from HMPO overseas collegues,so i am going in perso to demand some action as i am a british citizen and expect this cuckooo civil service to help me,and i am not leaving until i get a bloody good reason why i have to have an interview and further checks .

Why give the British Embassy 'merry hell', they (as part of The FCO) are no longer responsible for red passport renewal/issue, that is dealt with now by the Home Office/HMPO whose representatives in Thailand are trendy towers.

Go to trendy about this issue and you will probably just get short shrift and/or a lot of blank looks.

Speak to the consular services staff nicely (i.e. don't antagonize them) as they could choose to use their 'special channel' to help move things forward; btw I recommended that you phone them, I have no idea how you will get on talking to their counter staff.

[digitalchromakey]

Pattaya Pat, what email address did you use to contact the Embassy in Bkk? I am desperate now. Called helpline in the UK 3 x already. 11 weeks & no passport & as of next week in overstay. Only got the runaround. from the helpline & am now getting very anxious. Tks!

Pattaya Pat is no longer a member of this forum.

Phone the Embassy in Bangkok and navigate the automatic switchboard, there is an dial pad option that gets you through to a real human in the Consular Section, which is where you need to be to get help.

HMPO UK Helpline is pretty much a waste of space other than confirming change of passport status ('in examination' -> 'issued to printers')

[sungod]

Despite the massive wait for a passport, they are not shy in grabbing your money quickly. I submitted the applications in Trendy on Wednesday morning just gone, 48hrs later I received a sms from Kasikorn to tell me my account had been debited by HMPO in the UK!!!

[lovelaos]

well i am of to the British Embassy tonight,hoping to be there nice and early and to give em merry hell.I am now o my 3 rd day overstay and not a phone call or anything from HMPO overseas collegues,so i am going in perso to demand some action as i am a british citizen and expect this cuckooo civil service to help me,and i am not leaving until i get a bloody good reason why i have to have an interview and further checks .

I am guessing you are still there.