IN an effort to clear a massive backlog of passport applications – as many as 500,000, according to some sources – clogging up the system back in Britain, the UK government is offering British nationals living in Thailand an automatic one-year extension to their existing passport.
It is hoped this alternative to applying for a new passport will speed up the application process. For Brits living in Thailand, there is no cost for the service, which is handled by the British embassy in Bangkok. It also applies to children.
It is hoped this alternative to applying for a new passport will speed up the application process. For Brits living in Thailand, there is no cost for the service, which is handled by the British embassy in Bangkok. It also applies to children.
Only red passport holders are eligible and the document must have three months left until its expiry date (or seven months in the case of countries requiring six months left on the passport). The passport must also have at least three blank pages.
The backlog and delay in passport renewal has caused problems for British businessmen who use Bangkok as their base for regular overseas travel. Some have had to wait more than two months for their new passport to be returned, resulting in lost business opportunities.
Until recently, Thailand-based Britons were told that applications would take four weeks to process. Now that waiting time has been increased to “at least six weeks” from when the document is received by the Passport Office in the UK – and not when it is sent from Thailand.
This procedure contrasts with the “three-week” waiting time for Britons in the UK who want to renew their passports. Over-16s applying in the UK for their first adult passport have to wait “at least six weeks” to receive it.
However, in all cases, applicants are warned that the process can take longer if the documents have not been completed properly, or if submitted photographs are rejected.
In Thailand, “emergency passports” are available through the British embassy, but these are for travel to and from the UK only.
The British government is currently facing criticism over the huge backlog of passport applications, especially after photos leaked to the press showed the Liverpool branch of the Passport Office piled high with boxes of unprocessed applications – orange boxes for overseas applications and white boxes for those in the UK.
In Thailand, a standard British adult 32-page passport costs £83 (£72.50 in the UK) to renew; a 48-page passport is £90 (£81.25 in the UK).
Applicants are required to book an appointment at the UK Visa Application Centre at The Trendy Office Building, 28th Floor, Sukhumvit Soi 13. Email: BangkokHMPO@vfshelpline.com
The backlog and delay in passport renewal has caused problems for British businessmen who use Bangkok as their base for regular overseas travel. Some have had to wait more than two months for their new passport to be returned, resulting in lost business opportunities.
Until recently, Thailand-based Britons were told that applications would take four weeks to process. Now that waiting time has been increased to “at least six weeks” from when the document is received by the Passport Office in the UK – and not when it is sent from Thailand.
This procedure contrasts with the “three-week” waiting time for Britons in the UK who want to renew their passports. Over-16s applying in the UK for their first adult passport have to wait “at least six weeks” to receive it.
However, in all cases, applicants are warned that the process can take longer if the documents have not been completed properly, or if submitted photographs are rejected.
In Thailand, “emergency passports” are available through the British embassy, but these are for travel to and from the UK only.
The British government is currently facing criticism over the huge backlog of passport applications, especially after photos leaked to the press showed the Liverpool branch of the Passport Office piled high with boxes of unprocessed applications – orange boxes for overseas applications and white boxes for those in the UK.
In Thailand, a standard British adult 32-page passport costs £83 (£72.50 in the UK) to renew; a 48-page passport is £90 (£81.25 in the UK).
Applicants are required to book an appointment at the UK Visa Application Centre at The Trendy Office Building, 28th Floor, Sukhumvit Soi 13. Email: BangkokHMPO@vfshelpline.com
