Hi all.

Seeking some advice from anyone who has renewed their British passport recently in Thailand.

I'm aware of the official British website and done a little reading but really want to know specifics about the following questions:

1.

I believe from memory that they like to take your old passport away when you renew. My concern here is that I have my current visa stamp until July and other stamps Immigration might want to see like original entry etc. Does anyone know if we can insist on keeping it I'm not happy with the idea of just making photocopies given how Immigration works. I have thought about just declaring it as lost to avoid having to part with it. I also have sentimental reasons 🙏🏼

2.

How long does it take to get the passport? I'm thinking of traveling to Bangkok (I know you have to have an appointment) and was hoping that you can pick it up within a couple of days but I may be way out in terms of how long it takes?

If it takes some time is it possible to pay for it to be sent to your home address via secure post? Obviously I want to avoid having to drive 6 hours or more back to Bangkok just to pick it up if it's not ready within a couple of days. From what I saw online it indicated it could be 3 weeks from appointment application date.

Any advice and information concerning what actually happens much appreciated 🙏🏼

UPDATE:

What a complete farce. I've been checking the UK government website and they have come up with this gem for providing evidence of your Thai address, pretty much all of it is impossible. It mentions your visa, well my original visa was when I arrived from the UK 2023 so UK address and since visa extension stamps again no proof of your address! Just what do they want? Everything sensible like bank statements or rental contract or even bills in my name isn't even mentioned 🤬...do these clowns 🤡 actually understand what they are doing and asking for? 🤔 They mention a resident 'permit' do they mean a residence certificate? That I can get albeit a visit to Immigration and 500 baht.

Can someone who's done it and been to VFS Global confirm what will be accepted despite what it states on the British government website. Your help much appreciated 🙏🏼

Afterthought...is a TM30 acceptable? Everything is in Thai and English except for the document title so it would still need to be translated 🙄

FURTHER UPDATE

After a lot more digging and research many people have said a bank statement in English is acceptable and also the TM30 so I'll prepare both and hope for the best. My Thai driving licence would have also been okay but it's got the last address so I'll try and get that updated before I go as a back up 🙏🏼

I put this as a comment to a post a few minutes ago. On reflection it is so important to British passport holders wanting to renew/replace their passport it deserves a post of its own. 1. The British Embassy has nothing whatever to do with these matters. 2. VFS act as agents for His Majesty's Passport Office in Thailand. NOW THE IMPORTANT BIT: VFS ARE RUNNING DOWN THEIR Trendy Building HQ in BANGKOK (Sukhumvit Soi 13) where they have been forever and a day. You are still OK "ish" at Trendy Building to 18.3.24. From 24.3.24 address will be VFS Thailand, The Shoppes at Belle Grand Rama 9, 131/1, 141/1, Unit BS003-BS003/1, 1st Floor, Rama 9, Huay Kwang, Bangkok, 10310. The Chiang Mai VFS office motors on as before, in fact to my eye has longer hours. However though the costs have risen a lot there ie +GBP76.50 as against Bangkok. Wherever, it is needed to book an appointment. I'm guessing that may now be difficult (?) for Trendy Building at the moment.

My son sent off his application for his British passport renewal in March and has had no response to date. He received a digital receipt with a reference number for VFS Global that could be used for tracking his application. After opening up the VFS website and finding the tracking page, many attempts to input the reference number in different formats have led to no success. Anyone else had similar issues and found out how to do it correctly. The reference number looks like this in letters (L) and numbers; LLL/LLL/NNNNNN/NNNN/NN.

Looking for a service for renewing my sons british passport.not wanting to go bangkok if can do without seen a post a few months ago and cannot find it where it mentioned a person who does this and had good reviews any help would be appreciated thanks

Hi there, I'm British living in Thailand. I'm trying to do a renewal for my daughter's British passport but it's asking for supporting documents for proof of address like educational / school records or health card with address on it. Has anyone renewed a child British passport in Bangkok before? Under 11. I'm having a lot of difficulty with the school as they are saying something stupid that they can't provide due to her not attending school during covid but she's been learning online there whenever they offered it

..

I have just received a new British passport in Hua Hin and old passport now cancelled. How do I go about transferring visa from old to new passport, is there any paperwork to complete before I visit Imigration?

I am renewing my British Passport in Uk, what documents do I need to bring in order to transfer my 1 year non o visa into new passport in Thailand. Is there anything I need to ask for here in uk to provide when transferring from old to new passport.

Thanks

Hi! Does anyone know if you can get a passport renewed at the British consulate in Chiang Mai? Thanks in advance 🙏

So I've got an appointment in Bangkok on Monday to renew my British passport as I'm on the last page.

I see that a requirement is to show proof of address.

I have a rental contract, however I'm not a "permanent" resident here in visa terms. Would this be sufficient enough?

All the bills etc are in my landlady's name.

Could anyone confirm if a rental agreement is good enough?

Thankyou in advance!

Does anyone know what documents are accepted when applying to renew a British passport when you are on an ED visa?

It says it’s I need something for proof of address by government or employer. My bills come in the owners name so no letter from government and no employer to use.

Support of learning from Muay Thai gym, can I use a copy of the application for ED visa extension papers -it has my address handwritten on?

Anyone done this recently?