UK passport renewal

[CGW]

4 minutes ago, sjbrownderby said:

Follow the link quoted above and don't pay any attention to MiKT. He is totally misinformed.

Yes, thanks - just be reading up on the requirements and note:-

"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."

Which effectively means I will have to fly back to the UK to get a new PP as cannot be without for so long!

[Upnotover]

1 minute ago, CGW said:

Yes, thanks - just be reading up on the requirements and note:-

"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."

Which effectively means I will have to fly back to the UK to get a new PP as cannot be without for so long!

Mine took less than 3 weeks last summer, most reports I've seen since then have been similar.

[CGW]

6 minutes ago, Upnotover said:

Mine took less than 3 weeks last summer, most reports I've seen since then have been similar.

There are no guarantees though! when we applied through HK, they stated it would be a maximum of, if I remember correctly 35 days, I found out later (never read the small print!) that it was ~35 working days & excluded weekends and public holidays of which there were a multitude through that period! It cost me as I only get paid for days I work!

[MiKT]

12 minutes ago, sjbrownderby said:

Follow the link quoted above and don't pay any attention to MiKT. He is totally misinformed.

 

YES, YES, YES, YES miKT is MISSINFORMED and offers HUMBLE, GROVELLING APOLOGIES to all.

 

I have just rung the Passport Office in the UK and YES now UK passports can be renewed in Thailand  by going to the Trendy Centre as indicated by many kind posters (or having an agent take and pick-up your passport).

 

I just misread the UK Gov website that I posted above and thought you had to do it all by post as I had to back in 2012.

 

Well, more apologies to all and at least I will have no trouble going to the Trendy Centre to renew my passport when I get back from Buri Ram where I am convalescing from an operation that has clearly screwed-up my brain.

 

SORRY, SORRY, SORRY.

 

 

 

 

 

[CharlieK]

You can download the application form from   https://www.gov.uk/overseas-passports. Just answer the questions and it takes you through the process. You can post your application to Bangkok Visa application centre, There is a £23 courier charge to send it on to the UK. The UK will return it to Bangkok where it can be collected.

 

Read through the guide line notes for applying.

 

The confusion arises because the "Making your application" seems to contradict being able to make a postal application. 

However there is a notice that says British overseas nations should apply on line. Though maybe not truly online as the PDF form is not interactive!

 

Probably a good idea to contact the UK passport office to confirm. 

 

[meatboy]

just for the op.this is your day out.which i declined to DOOOOOOOOOOO.

dont mention driving.

house to korat bus station.

bus korat to mochit bkk.

mochit to trendy.

wait for your apointment.

easy then you have to do it in reverse.

another 5hrs.

oh that was a pain,was it?

relax and wait for them to contact u.

then go to bed and next day DOOOOOOOOO it all again.

another 5hrs.as long as there's no hold ups.

ME i done it all from home except the trip to the post office in the mall 5minutes.

what did it cost me 5,000bht.

would i do it again YOU BET I WOULD.

[Upnotover]

2 minutes ago, CharlieK said:

You can download the application form from   https://www.gov.uk/overseas-passports. Just answer the questions and it takes you through the process. You can post your application to Bangkok Visa application centre, There is a £23 courier charge to send it on to the UK. The UK will return it to Bangkok where it can be collected.

 

Read through the guide line notes for applying.

 

The confusion arises because the "Making your application" seems to contradict being able to make a postal application. 

However there is a notice that says British overseas nations should apply on line. Though maybe not truly online as the PDF form is not interactive!

 

Probably a good idea to contact the UK passport office to confirm. 

 

"You can post your application to Bangkok Visa application centre"

 

No you cannot.

[CharlieK]

Just now, Upnotover said:

"You can post your application to Bangkok Visa application centre"

 

No you cannot.

That is what I read in the passport website. You can go to the visa centre in person or post it to them either way it gets sent back to the UK and the UK send them back to which ever office you elect. 

[Upnotover]

1 minute ago, CharlieK said:

That is what I read in the passport website. You can go to the visa centre in person or post it to them either way it gets sent back to the UK and the UK send them back to which ever office you elect. 

Nope.  "You must apply in person. If you’re unable to, someone else can go on your behalf."

 

"In person" actually means "a person" (so can use a friend or agent) but not the postman.

[MiKT]

32 minutes ago, MiKT said:

 

YES, YES, YES, YES miKT is MISSINFORMED and offers HUMBLE, GROVELLING APOLOGIES to all.

 

I have just rung the Passport Office in the UK and YES now UK passports can be renewed in Thailand  by going to the Trendy Centre as indicated by many kind posters (or having an agent take and pick-up your passport).

 

I just misread the UK Gov website that I posted above and thought you had to do it all by post as I had to back in 2012.

 

Well, more apologies to all and at least I will have no trouble going to the Trendy Centre to renew my passport when I get back from Buri Ram where I am convalescing from an operation that has clearly screwed-up my brain.

 

SORRY, SORRY, SORRY.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anybody know a good cure for a nasty attack of Lumyiitus before I have to fill in the passport renewal forms?

[darrendsd]

1 hour ago, MiKT said:

 

Why do you need to drive to Bangkok?

 

Why do you need an agent anyway?

 

This agency seems to be trying to scam you, because you can ONLY renew a British passport online now (NOT at the British Embassy) and all you do is fill-in the online form and pay by credit or debit card, then send your old passport + the two pics (with or without glasses) and proof of residence by courier (DHL is my favourite in Thailand).

 

The new passport will be returned in @ 4 weeks, but it can be less if you are lucky.

 

If you are literate enough to write to TV it would seem crazy for anyone to pay an agent to fill-in the online forms for you.

 

@ 5/6 years ago they stopped issuing passports at the British Embassy in Bangkok and for a while you had to apply to the British Embassy in Hong Kong for a new red passport. But then they stopped that as well; and as I said above, you can ONLY apply online now.

 

This is all because far too many embassy staff around the world (I won't say also in Bangkok) were issuing passports to anyone with enough cash.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Totally wrong, you have to apply in person or get someone to submit your application for you hence that's why agents have sprung up

 

You don't use the Embassy, you have to go to the VFS center on Suk 13

 

Also you don't send or give them your old PP, you have to give them copies

 

Everything you are saying is completely wrong

Edited March 20, 2017 by darrendsd

[LennyW]

1 hour ago, sjbrownderby said:

Sorry my friend but it is you who is misinformed. I agree that you do not go to the embassy for passport renewal. You now have to go to  another office which deals with passport applications and visas which is located at:

 UK Visa Application Centre
The Trendy Office Building,
28th Floor,
Sukhumvit Soi13,
Klongtoey-Nua,
Wattana,
Bangkok
10110,
Thailand

 

Correct, i just did it last Thursday, you download the forms online, including the credit card payment form, then most important...YOU MUST MAKE AN APPOINTMENT with the UK Visa application centre, you give them a choice of three dates and they e mail you back with an appointment.

Once you are in the Trendy building the process is very swift, about 10 minutes, they give you a receipt which you must show when they call you to collect. You keep your old passport.

[LennyW]

1 hour ago, MiKT said:

 

Misinformed must be flowing like water on this website.

 

The UK Visa Application Centre in the Trendy Building does exactly what it say's, "VISA APPLICATIONS" it deals with applications for Visa's to visit the UK from non-UK nationals. It has nothing to do with renewing a British passport.

 

I have been many times with my family for UK visa applications.

 

 

 

Wrong again.

[MiKT]

14 minutes ago, LennyW said:

Wrong again.

so are you because you are far too late with this comment and did not bother to read further and see my apologies. Else you have snail-mail internet!

Edited March 20, 2017 by MiKT

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, OJAS said:

As a result of the dreaded "With-It Tower Passport Renewal Experience" which HMPO, in their infinite wisdom, decided to inflict on us 3 years ago, he is required to drive 5 hours to Bangkok in order to submit his passport application not at the British Embassy but instead at some office skyscraper with an exceedingly silly name somewhere in the deepest darkest part of town.

 

He will then be obliged to make a further 5 hours drive to said office skyscraper with exceedingly silly name a few weeks later in order to collect his replacement passport.

Good to see that you haven't given up the old banjo!

[OJAS]

55 minutes ago, MiKT said:

 

Anybody know a good cure for a nasty attack of Lumyiitus before I have to fill in the passport renewal forms?

Don't know about that one. But you'll probably need to take something stiff to prepare yourself for the 400km journey from Buriram to With-It Tower!

[Chip73]

Want to know the truth? Call Her Majesty's Passport Office on:  +44 (0) 300 222 0000. They just answered in under 30 seconds.

[sjbrownderby]

3 hours ago, MiKT said:

 

YES, YES, YES, YES miKT is MISSINFORMED and offers HUMBLE, GROVELLING APOLOGIES to all.

 

I have just rung the Passport Office in the UK and YES now UK passports can be renewed in Thailand  by going to the Trendy Centre as indicated by many kind posters (or having an agent take and pick-up your passport).

 

I just misread the UK Gov website that I posted above and thought you had to do it all by post as I had to back in 2012.

 

Well, more apologies to all and at least I will have no trouble going to the Trendy Centre to renew my passport when I get back from Buri Ram where I am convalescing from an operation that has clearly screwed-up my brain.

 

SORRY, SORRY, SORRY.

 

 

 

 

 

Get well soon and drink a few beers to help your brain recover.

[sjbrownderby]

Thanks to everyone for their input. What started out as a simple quest for information became complicated by erroneous information on the website of an agency. I was trying to weigh up whether to use an agency or apply in person. Obviously I want to be able to trust any agency I decide to use but the answer I got from the agency in question was that the information on the UK government website was wrong. I wear glasses and always have for my passport photos, so why would glasses be outlawed and the information not be changed on the government website? This question was not answered by the agency which added a little confusion to my search for an answer. 

 The reason I had considered an agency was that it may actually save me time and money given that I would have to drive for five hours from where I live to the office in Bangkok, a return journey I would have to make twice in order to submit the application and pick up my passport when it is ready. Faced with with what I now know is  erroneous information displayed on the website of this agency a matter of trust arose which went beyond the issue of whether I should wear glasses (or not) in the photos. Do I trust a company, or indeed anyone, with a document as important as my passport when they assert their information is correct and the official information is not?Something is not right with that and so I have decided not to use an agency. I will make the application in person.

[7by7]

Last year I renewed my passport in the UK.

 

For the photo I used a photo booth in my local post office, and the instructions therein said I should remove my glasses; so I did.

 

As I needed the new one urgently, I submitted my application in person at HMPO in Victoria. The clerk there asked me why I had taken my glasses of for the photo and when I told him he said the instructions in the booth were wrong and that clear glasses were ok. Not that not mattered as a photo with or without my glasses was fine,

 

It seems that it is not only agencies in Thailand who have misread the rules on face furniture!

[NanLaew]

Sheesh... this was all answered in an early post on page one where the applicant submitted 2 sets of photos, one with glasses and one without.

 

Now it's got the usual suspects all riled up about being 'with it' or something equally obscure or irrelevant.

[MiKT]

18 hours ago, OJAS said:

Don't know about that one. But you'll probably need to take something stiff to prepare yourself for the 400km journey from Buriram to With-It Tower!

 

Thanks V M, but no prob. been going up and down very frequently for more than 20 years and now the roads are much better, especially if you go via the Eastern Rout. Only a few more years and it will all be dual carriageway.

 

Not much more time than getting from say Klong Chan to the Windy Tower Centre on a bad Monday rush-hour morning.

 

Anyway, most of the time now I let my wife or daughter drive and sleep my way up and down. Much more Thai.

 

I must admit I was very stupid not reading the Passport Application rules properly, but having submitted several visa applications at Trendy for my friends and family to visit the UK, I read the bits about applying and picking up at the Centre and it was so familiar that it kind of went over my head.

 

I especially assumed that the application form was interactive - like the Visa forms have been for some time. But I have downloaded it now and printed it out. Once I have filled it in I will take it to Trendy - after booking an appointment.

 

 As I said, a bad attack of Lumyiitus. (Check with your wife what a Lum Yai is). No excuses though and I am sorry to have stirred up so much controversy with meaning too.

 

Thanks again to those not just beating me over the head (as I deserve) but actually supplying the correct information.

 

 

 

[petermik]

On 20/03/2017 at 8:14 AM, Upnotover said:

Mine took less than 3 weeks last summer, most reports I've seen since then have been similar.

I applied for my replacement (expired) passport at the Trendy building on 21st february I received a call on the 10th of this month my new passport was ready to be collected,I went up to BKK yesterday to collect,simple/straightforward and very efficient

[Nong Khai Man]

On 3/20/2017 at 2:18 PM, MiKT said:

 

Why do you need to drive to Bangkok?

 

Why do you need an agent anyway?

 

This agency seems to be trying to scam you, because you can ONLY renew a British passport online now (NOT at the British Embassy) and all you do is fill-in the online form and pay by credit or debit card, then send your old passport + the two pics (with or without glasses) and proof of residence by courier (DHL is my favourite in Thailand).

 

The new passport will be returned in @ 4 weeks, but it can be less if you are lucky.

 

If you are literate enough to write to TV it would seem crazy for anyone to pay an agent to fill-in the online forms for you.

 

@ 5/6 years ago they stopped issuing passports at the British Embassy in Bangkok and for a while you had to apply to the British Embassy in Hong Kong for a new red passport. But then they stopped that as well; and as I said above, you can ONLY apply online now.

 

This is all because far too many embassy staff around the world (I won't say also in Bangkok) were issuing passports to anyone with enough cash.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You Cannot Apply online, You have to Apply in Person at VFS In Bangkok....

[Anon999]

On 20/03/2017 at 2:53 PM, Upnotover said:

Well they must have slipped up last June when they issued me a new passport (actually Liverpool issued it, Trendy just handle the application).......just follow you own link but also read what it tells you....

It is unbelievable the amount of dross on this topic provided by numerous uninformed experts. 

 

To renew a passport your documents  have to be PERSONALLY delivered to the VFS offices, including one for payment by Debit or Credit card unless another payment method has been previously agreed. Once everything has been checked your passport will be returned to you for ID purposes but it cannot be used for travel. If you complete the 'Renewal' application form online it will be rejected because it says Black BIRO in a little box. They kindly got another set of forms and copied all the details across for me to sign, including the Payment Form! That is despite the fact that all forms are now electronically scanned. You will also have to get the new Passport  collected from the VFS. However, you can nominate someone to both take and collect your passport to the VFS but they must show their ID. Your old passport will be cancelled on collection of the new one by clipping the corner as is normal practise.

 

I had to travel from Roi Et and it's a far longer drive than from Korat  not to mention the cost of fuel for the return journey is more than for an airline ticket and it takes five times longer. A taxi meter to the Trendy Building costs about 200 baht on top. All done in one day and home again by 21:00.

 

My 15:30 appointment took 15 minutes from the time I arrived until the time I left. 

 

Lastly why many people use visa companies, at an extortionate cost, is beyond me but there again more money than sense and/or too lazy must come into it. 

[MiKT]

12 minutes ago, Anon999 said:

It is unbelievable the amount of dross on this topic provided by numerous uninformed experts. 

 

To renew a passport your documents  have to be PERSONALLY delivered to the VFS offices, including one for payment by Debit or Credit card unless another payment method has been previously agreed. Once everything has been checked your passport will be returned to you for ID purposes but it cannot be used for travel. If you complete the 'Renewal' application form online it will be rejected because it says Black BIRO in a little box. They kindly got another set of forms and copied all the details across for me to sign, including the Payment Form! That is despite the fact that all forms are now electronically scanned. You will also have to get the new Passport  collected from the VFS. However, you can nominate someone to both take and collect your passport to the VFS but they must show their ID. Your old passport will be cancelled on collection of the new one by clipping the corner as is normal practise.

 

I had to travel from Roi Et and it's a far longer drive than from Korat  not to mention the cost of fuel for the return journey is more than for an airline ticket and it takes five times longer. A taxi meter to the Trendy Building costs about 200 baht on top. All done in one day and home again by 21:00.

 

My 15:30 appointment took 15 minutes from the time I arrived until the time I left. 

 

Lastly why many people use visa companies, at an extortionate cost, is beyond me but there again more money than sense and/or too lazy must come into it. 

 

Took mine in to Trendy this morning and only 15 mins with no problem, although I printed out the application form and filled it in in black before I went, I did not download the payment form; but they just gave me a new one with no fuss.

 

However, anybody thinking of going should check their local photo copying facilities before they go.

You have to make a colour copy every page of your old passport and I got ripped of for 15Baht a copy in the photo shop on the ground floor as I could not do it before. But some other nationalities were getting charged 20 Baht per copy in the same shop, so not so bad. Although they did take a good photo of me to the regulation grey background colour for a reasonable price.

 

Also I am curious about my existing passport, they did not clip the corner and said they will only do this when the new one is returned in 4 weeks(ish). But I don't suppose they actually inform the Thai immigration that your passport is no longer valid, so any reason why you could not go out to another country and then return before your new passport is ready to pick-up?

 

[sjbrownderby]

1 hour ago, MiKT said:

 

 

 But I don't suppose they actually inform the Thai immigration that your passport is no longer valid, so any reason why you could not go out to another country and then return before your new passport is ready to pick-up?

 

I submitted my passport application on April 3rd and my new passport was issued on April 7th. It was back in Bangkok on the 12th but due to Songkran was not available for pickup until the 18th. The courier's package was not opened until I picked up the passport so it is likely that VFS did not know the exact date the passport was issued and therefore when the old passport became invalid. Because it take such a short time for a passport to be returned it is much better not to take the chance of visiting another country while you are waiting.

 Also bear in mind that visa stamps have to be transferred into your new passport before you undertake any foreign travel. It is not just a simple matter, as someone suggested, of presenting the old passport with visa and departure card together with your new passport when attempting to leave Thailand. There is a procedure for stamps and departure card to be transferred into a new passport and it has to be done at an immigration office. I found that out to my cost when I attempted to leave Thailand at Mukdahan. Luckily there is an immigration office very close to the crossing and I was directed there to have it done. I could have saved myself a lot of time (most of it was waiting for the office to open at 8.30am) had I known about this before.

[BritTim]

10 hours ago, MiKT said:

so any reason why you could not go out to another country and then return before your new passport is ready to pick-up?

I know people who have used the old passport for travel to neighboring countries without difficulty. The local immigration knows nothing about the cancellation for travel purposes. However, anyone doing that should be extremely careful. For instance, I can only begin to imagine the complications that would arise if you lost the passport, or were arrested for some unrelated matter while outside Thailand. Explanations to UK consular services would be fraught, and they would probably insist on an emergency travel document back to the UK. That is without considering charges in the country you were in for illegal entry.

[Get Real]

Does not seem to be such a serious problem to me. I mean, how hard can it be?

A passport i ok and valid for five years. Ok, I know. The pages will go empty before that.

Let´s say that if you travel much, he worst thing that can happen to you is to renew it once every second or once every year.

I would say a drive to Bangkok and go to the embassy 1 or 2 time every second year ain´t a biggy.

Then you also get the real information and the saftety of knowing that you deal with people you can trust.

That would definately be my choice.

[meatboy]

13 hours ago, Anon999 said:

It is unbelievable the amount of dross on this topic provided by numerous uninformed experts. 

 

To renew a passport your documents  have to be PERSONALLY delivered to the VFS offices, including one for payment by Debit or Credit card unless another payment method has been previously agreed. Once everything has been checked your passport will be returned to you for ID purposes but it cannot be used for travel. If you complete the 'Renewal' application form online it will be rejected because it says Black BIRO in a little box. They kindly got another set of forms and copied all the details across for me to sign, including the Payment Form! That is despite the fact that all forms are now electronically scanned. You will also have to get the new Passport  collected from the VFS. However, you can nominate someone to both take and collect your passport to the VFS but they must show their ID. Your old passport will be cancelled on collection of the new one by clipping the corner as is normal practise.

 

I had to travel from Roi Et and it's a far longer drive than from Korat  not to mention the cost of fuel for the return journey is more than for an airline ticket and it takes five times longer. A taxi meter to the Trendy Building costs about 200 baht on top. All done in one day and home again by 21:00.

 

My 15:30 appointment took 15 minutes from the time I arrived until the time I left. 

 

Lastly why many people use visa companies, at an extortionate cost, is beyond me but there again more money than sense and/or too lazy must come into it. 

people with more money than sense is beyond you.or they are too lazy.

so you think 2x 12hr.trips to bkk.plus fares,food ect.is extortionate,[ 5,000bht].i would say for over 70yrs.old that makes MORE  SENSE.