Renewing childs British passport - 'Name and address and/or residency evidence'

[Bantex]

This was given to me by the passport office staff in Bangkok for a child's first British passport. When I went for my son's renewal passport, I took these documents. Some were not needed but at least I had them to hand.

[MaiDong]

This was given to me by the passport office staff in Bangkok for a child's first British passport. When I went for my son's renewal passport, I took these documents. Some were not needed but at least I had them to hand.

ImageUploadedByThaivisa Connect1452166933.931116.jpg

Thanks for posting this, despite all the very helpful comments in this thread, this has got to be the most concise and up-to-date list of requirements!

[surat04]

Can someone advise me on the copying of Thai passports. Is it okay to copy the pages 2 up or does each page have to be on a separate sheet? I have 3 passports to copy each with 66 pages, that's a lot of blank pages to copy!

[ubonjoe]

Can someone advise me on the copying of Thai passports. Is it okay to copy the pages 2 up or does each page have to be on a separate sheet? I have 3 passports to copy each with 66 pages, that's a lot of blank pages to copy!

As long as you can fit 2 pages on a sheet without changing their size I see no reason why you could not do it.

[MaiDong]

Will I need a countersignatory?? It says on the form 'If a countersignatory is needed...', Why would I not?

[Bantex]

From page 11 of the passport help booklet.

[MaiDong]

From page 11 of the passport help booklet.ImageUploadedByThaivisa Connect1452529019.844708.jpg

Thanks for clearing that up! Seems a countersignatory is needed every time then?

[Bantex]

Not needed for point 4 in my last post.

But as you have to get the photograph verified and signed, I always get the same person to counter sign to eliminate any possible problems.

[brewsterbudgen]

From page 11 of the passport help booklet.ImageUploadedByThaivisa Connect1452529019.844708.jpg

Thanks for clearing that up! Seems a countersignatory is needed every time then?

For children, yes.

[MaiDong]

I can't find one single person to countersign, we don't have many friends, only local Thais, any foreign friends we have are spread around the country, are there any other options?

Ignore that, I've managed to locate the friend who countersigned for us last time

[Jip99]

You are the applicant if the child is under 16.

It is your address that requires confirmation.

It's the address where the child lives and not the parent's address if living abroad.

I live mainly in the UK at present and only my passport was required as proof of my identity. I took my wife's passport and ID card (which shows her address). Only copy of passport page with the holders photo & details was required.

ID is a given. You are presenting the passport.

Address verification is determined by Liverpool (if you are applying in Thailand) and Vfs will take whatever you say are happy with. Had a Tabien Ban rejected once because it was older than 12 months!

[Jip99]

I can't find one single person to countersign, we don't have many friends, only local Thais, any foreign friends we have are spread around the country, are there any other options?

UKPA are very specific:-

https://www.gov.uk/countersigning-passport-applications/when-to-sign-what-to-do

If you’re applying outside the UK

Your countersignatory must have a current British, Irish or other EU, US or Commonwealth passport.

If they have a US, Commonwealth, or non-British or non-Irish EU passport, you must include with your application a colour photocopy of the page with their photograph on it.

Your application will be processed faster if they have a British or Irish passport.

Your countersignatory must:

• have known the person applying (or the adult who signed the form if the passport is for a child under 16) for at least 2 years
• be able to identify the person applying, eg they’re a friend, neighbour or colleague (not just someone who knows them professionally)
• be ‘a person of good standing in their community’ or work in (or be retired from) a recognised profession

They can’t be closely-related to or involved with the person applying, eg:

• related by birth or marriage
• be in a relationship with or live at the same address as the person applying

[surat04]

When you submit official translations for proof of address do VFS take the original copy or are photocopies accepted?

[Jip99]

When you submit official translations for proof of address do VFS take the original copy or are photocopies accepted?

Photocopies are OK (like the passport) - you just have to present originals.

[MaiDong]

We applied for my son's British passport renewal yesterday.

We went along the day before and got some clarification on what exactly was required, here's what we were told;

Completed application form

2 photos, 1 of them countersigned(by Either a British, Irish, other EU, US or Commonwealth passport holder)

Colour copy and certified translation of our son's Thai ID card(for proof of address)

Colour copies of every single page of both his Thai & British passports

Take originals of everything, the staff there just need to check/compare them.

The lady who gave me the info happened to be the same lady who took our application, I was pleasantly surprised by the efficiency and politeness of her and of every single member of staff we had to deal with!

I hope this makes things easy for everybody else going through this process.

p.s. our son's passport photos were on a white background and were perfectly acceptable.

[brewsterbudgen]

We applied for my son's British passport renewal yesterday.

We went along the day before and got some clarification on what exactly was required, here's what we were told;

Completed application form

2 photos, 1 of them countersigned(by Either a British, Irish, other EU, US or Commonwealth passport holder)

Colour copy and certified translation of our son's Thai ID card(for proof of address)

Colour copies of every single page of both his Thai & British passports

Take originals of everything, the staff there just need to check/compare them.

The lady who gave me the info happened to be the same lady who took our application, I was pleasantly surprised by the efficiency and politeness of her and of every single member of staff we had to deal with!

I hope this makes things easy for everybody else going through this process.

p.s. our son's passport photos were on a white background and were perfectly acceptable.

Like you, I have nothing but praise for the efficiency and courtesy of the folk at the passport part of VFS and in Liverpool. My son's first UK passport was issued within 14 days and I doubt it was a straightforward case as I don't have a longform birth certificate and his mother is from Laos!

[MaiDong]

We applied for my son's British passport renewal yesterday.

We went along the day before and got some clarification on what exactly was required, here's what we were told;

Completed application form

2 photos, 1 of them countersigned(by Either a British, Irish, other EU, US or Commonwealth passport holder)

Colour copy and certified translation of our son's Thai ID card(for proof of address)

Colour copies of every single page of both his Thai & British passports

Take originals of everything, the staff there just need to check/compare them.

The lady who gave me the info happened to be the same lady who took our application, I was pleasantly surprised by the efficiency and politeness of her and of every single member of staff we had to deal with!

I hope this makes things easy for everybody else going through this process.

p.s. our son's passport photos were on a white background and were perfectly acceptable.

Like you, I have nothing but praise for the efficiency and courtesy of the folk at the passport part of VFS and in Liverpool. My son's first UK passport was issued within 14 days and I doubt it was a straightforward case as I don't have a longform birth certificate and his mother is from Laos!

Yep, that sounds tricky!

But yes, I've never had any problems with VFS, the British Embassy in BKK, nor Hull, I've had problems with other countries' embassy/consulate staff - or more like they've had serious attitude/rudeness problems with me and every other poor soul who had to tear them away from their phone or TV!...

[surat04]

We applied for my son's British passport renewal yesterday.

We went along the day before and got some clarification on what exactly was required, here's what we were told;

Completed application form

2 photos, 1 of them countersigned(by Either a British, Irish, other EU, US or Commonwealth passport .

Regarding the countersignatory. Can you get a Thai passport holder to sign?

[Jip99]

We applied for my son's British passport renewal yesterday.

We went along the day before and got some clarification on what exactly was required, here's what we were told;

Completed application form

2 photos, 1 of them countersigned(by Either a British, Irish, other EU, US or Commonwealth passport .

Regarding the countersignatory. Can you get a Thai passport holder to sign?

No

[Jip99]

We applied for my son's British passport renewal yesterday.

We went along the day before and got some clarification on what exactly was required, here's what we were told;

Completed application form

2 photos, 1 of them countersigned(by Either a British, Irish, other EU, US or Commonwealth passport holder)

Colour copy and certified translation of our son's Thai ID card(for proof of address)

Colour copies of every single page of both his Thai & British passports

Take originals of everything, the staff there just need to check/compare them.

The lady who gave me the info happened to be the same lady who took our application, I was pleasantly surprised by the efficiency and politeness of her and of every single member of staff we had to deal with!

I hope this makes things easy for everybody else going through this process.

p.s. our son's passport photos were on a white background and were perfectly acceptable.

Excellent news

After the debacle following the Vfs move to the Trendy Building they have become more friendly and efficient.

HMPO in Liverpool are equally constructive and they are not trying to catch you out. Do exactly as you have described above and you will have no problems. The address verification is usually the only slightly tricky thing - the ID card was a good solution (although in theory it should be less than a year old) and HMPO were helpful for me in allowing me to use a signed copy of a Thais ID with a confirmation that the applicant lived at that address.

[surat04]

We applied for my son's British passport renewal yesterday.

We went along the day before and got some clarification on what exactly was required, here's what we were told;

Completed application form

2 photos, 1 of them countersigned(by Either a British, Irish, other EU, US or Commonwealth passport .

Regarding the countersignatory. Can you get a Thai passport holder to sign?

No

This is going to be a real problem for me. I see on the application help notes that

"If you cannot comply with the countersignatory requirements your application may be delayed. You must provide a full explanation in section 8 and we will contact you , using the details on your application form, to agree a way forward."

Has anyone had to take this route and what was the outcome?

[brewsterbudgen]

We applied for my son's British passport renewal yesterday.

We went along the day before and got some clarification on what exactly was required, here's what we were told;

Completed application form

2 photos, 1 of them countersigned(by Either a British, Irish, other EU, US or Commonwealth passport .

Regarding the countersignatory. Can you get a Thai passport holder to sign?

No

Are you sure? I thought a non-British passport holder could countersign photos as long as a copy of their passport ID page was included in the application, although it may delay the processing.

[Jip99]

We applied for my son's British passport renewal yesterday.

We went along the day before and got some clarification on what exactly was required, here's what we were told;

Completed application form

2 photos, 1 of them countersigned(by Either a British, Irish, other EU, US or Commonwealth passport .

Regarding the countersignatory. Can you get a Thai passport holder to sign?

No

Are you sure? I thought a non-British passport holder could countersign photos as long as a copy of their passport ID page was included in the application, although it may delay the processing.

Non-British can, but not a Thai as far as I can see:-

The countersignatory must:

•

be a professional person (including those who

are retired) for example, bank or building-

society officials, police officers, civil servants,

ministers of religion and people with professional

qualifications like teachers, accountants, engineers

a n d soli ci to r s . You c a n fi n d mo r e i nfo r ma t i o n a t

www.gov.uk

/countersigning-passport-applications

•

have known you personally for at least two years

(for example, a friend, neighbour or colleague, not

someone who knows you professionally), and

•

hold a British, Irish or other EU, US, or

Commonwealth passport (in that order of

preference) which has not run out. We will be able

to process applications more quickly where the countersignatory has a British or Irish passport

[MaiDong]

We applied for my son's British passport renewal yesterday.

We went along the day before and got some clarification on what exactly was required, here's what we were told;

Completed application form

2 photos, 1 of them countersigned(by Either a British, Irish, other EU, US or Commonwealth passport holder)

Colour copy and certified translation of our son's Thai ID card(for proof of address)

Colour copies of every single page of both his Thai & British passports

Take originals of everything, the staff there just need to check/compare them.

The lady who gave me the info happened to be the same lady who took our application, I was pleasantly surprised by the efficiency and politeness of her and of every single member of staff we had to deal with!

I hope this makes things easy for everybody else going through this process.

p.s. our son's passport photos were on a white background and were perfectly acceptable.

Excellent news

After the debacle following the Vfs move to the Trendy Building they have become more friendly and efficient.

HMPO in Liverpool are equally constructive and they are not trying to catch you out. Do exactly as you have described above and you will have no problems. The address verification is usually the only slightly tricky thing - the ID card was a good solution (although in theory it should be less than a year old) and HMPO were helpful for me in allowing me to use a signed copy of a Thais ID with a confirmation that the applicant lived at that address.

We only got our son's ID card last week as there wasn't previously any need for him to have one, so it turned out to be a bonus in one sense at least

[MaiDong]

Are you sure? I thought a non-British passport holder could countersign photos as long as a copy of their passport ID page was included in the application, although it may delay the processing.

Non-British can, but not a Thai as far as I can see:-

This is the only potential mistake I made, after both me and my mum went through as much documentation and previous experience as we could find(both ours and others), we didn't see the requirement that the countersignatory had to include a photocopy(colour?) of the page in their passport with a photo - we never set eyes on the countersignatory advice on the .gov website, despite spending quite a long time covering our backsides, so I've sent an email to the passport office in Liverpool explaining this and offering to send it either my mail or email immediately, I'm still awaiting a response, this is the email address I used: [email protected]

I don't foresee this being a problem though, there is mention of them contacting me if they need extra info, PLUS the countersignatory is the same person who countersigned for my son's first British passport...

Watch this space!

[Jip99]

Are you sure? I thought a non-British passport holder could countersign photos as long as a copy of their passport ID page was included in the application, although it may delay the processing.

Non-British can, but not a Thai as far as I can see:-

This is the only potential mistake I made, after both me and my mum went through as much documentation and previous experience as we could find(both ours and others), we didn't see the requirement that the countersignatory had to include a photocopy(colour?) of the page in their passport with a photo - we never set eyes on the countersignatory advice on the .gov website, despite spending quite a long time covering our backsides, so I've sent an email to the passport office in Liverpool explaining this and offering to send it either my mail or email immediately, I'm still awaiting a response, this is the email address I used: [email protected]

I don't foresee this being a problem though, there is mention of them contacting me if they need extra info, PLUS the countersignatory is the same person who countersigned for my son's first British passport...

Watch this space!

Apologies if I missed it MaiDong but if your countersignatory is British, or Irish then they don't need the copy of their passport page as they can access the records from the passport number supplied.

The information on the Gov.UK site is excellent but, as you have found, you have to drill down a bit further to get all the info.

[parryhandy]

I will be renewing my daughters British passport soon. Does anybody know if I can just include her expired British passport with the application as opposed to photocopying every page seeing as she is also Thai and doesn't need to retain her uk passport ?

[ubonjoe]

I will be renewing my daughters British passport soon. Does anybody know if I can just include her expired British passport with the application as opposed to photocopying every page seeing as she is also Thai and doesn't need to retain her uk passport ?

I am sure you will need to have the copies of her passport, If she has a Thai passport copies of it will also be needed.

[parryhandy]

how will they know if she has a thai passport ?

[ubonjoe]

how will they know if she has a thai passport ?

If she has used her UK passport for travel and their are no departure or entry stamps for Thailand I think that would lead them to think she has another passport.

It is matter of being honest when applying for the passport. A lack of honesty could lead to problems.