CHIANG MAI, 5 February 2014 The Chiang Mai passport office is currently processing just 200 passport requests per day, due to more than a month of closure of the Department of Consular Affairs headquarters in Bangkok.
At least a thousand people turned up at the passport office at Chiang Mai provincial hall on Tuesday to request passports. However, the office was only able to process 200 applications, leaving most of the visitors frustrated. Many of them, had taken time off work to get their passports, and expressed great dissatisfaction to the officials.
Officials said the problem stemmed from the occupation of the government complex in Chaeng Watthana, Bangkok, that had disrupted the normal functions of many state agencies.
The Chiang Mai passport office is the only place to get passports in the Northern Region.
