UK passport renewal cock-up

[downtown]

my missus has been a british citizen for the past 10 years and the other week i sent off a passport renewal form, thinking it would be straight-forward, oh no. today they've phoned her and from what i can gather they are querying the spelling of her place of birth, ubon ratchathani. when she got citizenship it was recorded as "ubon ratchatarni" as at that time that was how I believed it was spelt. so there is a discrepancy and apparently they said to her they want to see her thai borth certificate, which her folks dont have and would probably take weeks or longer to obtain. we're booked to go to thailand on 30th July. to complicate matters her thai passport run out last week and the middle of this month we are due to go to the thai embassy, london to sort that out.

surely it would be ok to send british passport office her thai passport (though now expired) as that shows the correct speling of ubon ratchathani?

my other question is worse - case we get the thai passport sorted and she flies out and back in on her new thai passport? after all she is a british citizen. would appreciate any advice as she didnt go home last year and i dont want this petty bureaucracy to screw things up.

[johnatong]

If your wife enjoys dual citizenship I believe copies of her Thai passport pages are required by HMPO ?

Correct me if I am wrong but have you contributed (perhaps unintended) to this confusion ?

[downtown]

^not as far as I am aware. thoroughly read through their guidance on uk renewal of passport and believe it was just a completed form, 2 photos and the relevant form.

[johnatong]

^not as far as I am aware. thoroughly read through their guidance on uk renewal of passport and believe it was just a completed form, 2 photos and the relevant form.OK

OK !

I have not recently read the guidance notes so you must be correct.

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Normally, for dual citizens, it's required that you enter and depart you country of citizenship on that passport.

Thus, entering and departing Thailand should be on her Thai passport, so no visa needed. Best to get her a new Thai passport while in the UK now. If not possible in the UK, she can still fly to Thailand on an expired Thai passport.

Mac

[bubba1]

What help will a Thai birth certificate in Thai language provide?

It's just a renewal. Be polite but be firm with them. Explain there are different English spellings for Thai cities. Or tell them one is the Welsh spelling

[NanLaew]

Typically, the Thai passport is issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the provenance of the applicants Thai National ID card which in turn is issued on the provenance of the applicants Thai birth certificate. Therefore the logical progression is that the Thai passport should satisfy the HMPO requirements. However, their petty bureaucracy may not see it this way. Have you contacted them to suggest this rather than send them an unsolicited document?

The OP's wife can enter Thailand on her expired Thai passport and replace it while in the country. I think this may be easier and faster than replacing it through the Royal Thai Embassy in London who are only acting as agents/couriers for the MFA in Bangkok. Since Thai nationals have to retain their TM6 (arrival/departure) card in their passport while they are OUTSIDE of Thailand, there's no need to get stamps transferred from old to new passports, etc.. Make sure she still has the TM6 from her last departure from Thailand. If it is lost, she will still need to complete a new one on arrival.

Edited April 6, 2016 by NanLaew

[Richard W]

Normally, for dual citizens, it's required that you enter and depart you country of citizenship on that passport.

Not in the civilised world.

Travels between the UK and Thailand can be done using a current Thai passport with an expired British passport as a sort of visa for entering the UK. The converse seems not to work - if one enters Thailand on an expired Thai passport, one has to exit on a current Thai passport.

[7by7]

Downtown,

Identity fraud and theft is major problem these days, therefore I am not at all surprised that the passport office have queried even such a small discrepancy as this.

Whenever my wife and daughter have renewed their British passports we have always copied the birth place spelling from their expired British passport. Therefore it has always been the same as that in the passport office's records.

May I ask why you did not simply do the same?

[OJAS]

The crazy "With-It Tower Experience" which we Brits living in LOS are nowadays required to endure and suffer at passport renewal time is IMHO sufficient evidence in its own right that common sense is clearly a commodity in extremely short supply at HMPO. Why am I not surprised, therefore, that they are now excelling themselves in their gross incompetence by quibbling over a single letter in a place name? Absolutely pathetic if you ask me!

Edited April 6, 2016 by OJAS

[NanLaew]

The crazy "With-It Tower Experience" which we Brits living in LOS are nowadays required to endure and suffer at passport renewal time is IMHO sufficient evidence in its own right that common sense is clearly a commodity in extremely short supply at HMPO. Why am I not surprised, therefore, that they are now excelling themselves in their gross incompetence by quibbling over a single letter in a place name? Absolutely pathetic if you ask me!

Still bangin that old gong I see?

With all that ball ache, I reckon you must have a weekly passport rather than the 10 year one that everyone else renews with consummate ease THESE DAYS.

[BritManToo]

Just tell them same spelling as previous application.

Current mistake due to wife not using Roman alphabet often.

[blackcab]

The crazy "With-It Tower Experience" which we Brits living in LOS are nowadays required to endure and suffer at passport renewal time is IMHO sufficient evidence in its own right that common sense is clearly a commodity in extremely short supply at HMPO. Why am I not surprised, therefore, that they are now excelling themselves in their gross incompetence by quibbling over a single letter in a place name? Absolutely pathetic if you ask me!

Still bangin that old gong I see?

With all that ball ache, I reckon you must have a weekly passport rather than the 10 year one that everyone else renews with consummate ease THESE DAYS.

The crazy "With-It Tower Experience" should be replaced by the "irrelevant Victor Meldrew Experience".

[dan1]

My missis got her passport renewal in thailand last month it only took 5 days to receive new one

[7by7]

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Edited April 12, 2016 by 7by7