PHUKET: A passport processing backlog that has ensnared and angered hundreds of thousands of Britons, including many expats, has led to the British Government changing the rules in an effort to ease congestion.
British holidaymakers who had an ''urgent need to travel'' would have their passport applications speeded up free of charge, Home Secretary Theresa May announced today.
It's known that Britons in Thailand and other countries around the world are in some cases encountering serious problems renewing visas and work permits because of exceptional delays in approving or reissuing replacement passports.
To avoid a potential scandal, Mrs May made a series of dramatic announcements in the House of Commons, as concerns about delays to passports deepened.
According to the Daily Telegraph, the news ''effectively confirms'' that the Home Office failed to prepare properly for the increased burden of processing expat passports.
Around 350,000 passport applications are submitted by Britons living overseas to Her Majesty's Passport Office (HMPO) every year, the newspaper says.
In January responsibility for issuing these documents shifted from the Foreign Office's seven overseas centres to the Home Office in Britain.
In effect, British citizens living and working in Thailand who previously sent their passports to Hong Kong for alterations of one kind or another now have to send their passports to head office in London.
Anecdotal reports to Phuketwan reveal that the delays have been so substantial - months rather than weeks - that an increasing number of Britons in Thailand and probably other parts of Southeast Asia are encountering serious issues relating to visas and work permits.
Mrs May told MPs that she had agreed with William Hague, the foreign secretary, ''that people applying to renew their passports overseas for travel to the UK will be given a 12 month extension to their existing passport''.
She added that holidaymakers who had a ''urgent need to travel'' would have their applications speeded up free of charge.
It was pointed out in British media reports earlier this week that leaked documents revealed the British Government was warned by senior envoys months ago of the likelihood of problems, but chose to ignore the warning.
Labor opposition MPs greeted Mrs May's emergency passport plan with derision.
British holidaymakers who had an ''urgent need to travel'' would have their passport applications speeded up free of charge, Home Secretary Theresa May announced today.
It's known that Britons in Thailand and other countries around the world are in some cases encountering serious problems renewing visas and work permits because of exceptional delays in approving or reissuing replacement passports.
To avoid a potential scandal, Mrs May made a series of dramatic announcements in the House of Commons, as concerns about delays to passports deepened.
According to the Daily Telegraph, the news ''effectively confirms'' that the Home Office failed to prepare properly for the increased burden of processing expat passports.
Around 350,000 passport applications are submitted by Britons living overseas to Her Majesty's Passport Office (HMPO) every year, the newspaper says.
In January responsibility for issuing these documents shifted from the Foreign Office's seven overseas centres to the Home Office in Britain.
In effect, British citizens living and working in Thailand who previously sent their passports to Hong Kong for alterations of one kind or another now have to send their passports to head office in London.
Anecdotal reports to Phuketwan reveal that the delays have been so substantial - months rather than weeks - that an increasing number of Britons in Thailand and probably other parts of Southeast Asia are encountering serious issues relating to visas and work permits.
Mrs May told MPs that she had agreed with William Hague, the foreign secretary, ''that people applying to renew their passports overseas for travel to the UK will be given a 12 month extension to their existing passport''.
She added that holidaymakers who had a ''urgent need to travel'' would have their applications speeded up free of charge.
It was pointed out in British media reports earlier this week that leaked documents revealed the British Government was warned by senior envoys months ago of the likelihood of problems, but chose to ignore the warning.
Labor opposition MPs greeted Mrs May's emergency passport plan with derision.
They reap what they sow! (UK Government that is) Expats abroad have been much infuriated by extra charges & delays due to centralization, first to Hong Kong (in the case of Asia) & then to UK.
This is TV top headline news in UK today. There is genuine anger here now on this issue with holidaymakers in danger of not getting necessary documentation to travel. But it also impacts greatly on expats living & working abroad.
Posted by Logic on June 12, 2014 19:12