Some minor delays at the moment are turning into a massive problem within the processing of British passports within the UK. It’s been an ongoing news item in the UK recently and is now affecting many British expats in Thailand. Authorities in the UK are blaming a rush to travel for the summer time season and new Brexit-linked issues for British travellers heading to EU countries.
The Thaiger has been contacted numerous times up to now few days by disgruntled UK residents who are having their keep in the Kingdom threatened by the delays, misplaced paperwork and outright mistakes.
One of the expats says they’ve tried to resume their daughter’s British passport and advised it might take 10 to eleven weeks but that it’s already been 5 months and “they don’t know on where the paperwork even are”.
More than 20 other British residents are now either heading back, or in the UK, making an attempt to kind out their passports as they discovered it impossible to make something happen by way of emails or by way of the British embassy in Thailand.
Barry, an expat from Phuket, has been involved with The Thaiger for the previous three months.
“They’ve been useless, it’s been so frustrating. I just got fed up after bashing my head against the paperwork for 3 months and booked a flight to fix it myself. Why do we’ve all these Embassies in the occasion that they can’t do anything?”
Another British couple, currently dwelling in Australia, have been informed how they’ll in all probability have to cancel their marriage ceremony in the UK because of continued delays on the Passport Office. They would even have to allow 13 weeks for their baby’s British passport to arrive.
The issues and delays are actually a worldwide downside for hundreds of British residents needing to sort out their passports. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg with residents now wanting to journey over the summer holidays, however can’t.
Already, thousands of families are face delayed or cancelled holidays the northern hemisphere summer season. Super secret , contacted by hapless constituents, are describing the scenario as an “absolute shambles”.
Meanwhile, the British Home Office is urging travellers to permit 10 weeks for passport processing, however acknowledge that even the 10 week published delay is being “frequently breached”. Some applicants say they’ve been waiting up to 5 months.
Those travellers are complaining that no person is answering the so-called helplines, unanswered emails. Even individuals using the premium-priced “fast track” service are having issues making appointments.
The Home Office says that greater than 5 million folks have utilized for passports because the UK emerges from restrictions and lockdowns and the weather improves.
Adding to the pressure is the EU introducing post-Brexit rules that require British passports to have at least 3 months’ validity remaining, a change that has surprised many British citizens who have been unaware of the change till they wanted to journey again.
The delays at the British finish are having unintended fallout for expats around the world who need their passports for visa renewals in Thailand. At this stage Thai officials are exhibiting little understanding of the problems on the British finish of the paperwork nightmare and a few expats have been forced to fly back to the UK to try and sort out their passport points, at a time flight prices are hovering because of the rising gas costs and inflation.
The British Home workplace acknowledges that up to 5 million individuals have confronted passport delays.
“We urge individuals who want a new passport to apply for one as soon as possible. The overwhelming majority of all passports applications are being dealt with properly inside 10 weeks.”
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