BANGKOK, Feb 6 — The Department of Consular Affairs’s Passport Division will open a new temporary passport office at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre (QSNCC) in Bangkok to facilitate the public due the months-long anti-government protest.
The Department of Consular Affairs at Chaeng Wattana was blocked by the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) and the passports application service was interrupted by the protest.
Thongchai Chasawath, the Department director general said that, to accommodate the public, the Department will open an additional temporary passport office at the Lotus Room in QSNCC which will start operation on Monday between 8.30-15.30.
He said the PDRC has finally allowed department staff to enter into the Passport Division office and start the online system of the passport service which could make the issuance of passport easier and faster.
The system will be fully operational next week and will increase the issuance of passports from 3,650 to 7,000 per day which could accommodate the high demand of the public.
He said Thai citizens could apply for passport at the passport offices at the Labour Department, Surat Thani and Phuket.
Mr Thongchai said the system has not yet functioned with its full capacity so that the passport could only be delivered via mailing system and could not open for service this Saturday.
He urged members of the public who are not in a hurry to go abroad to wait until next week when the system is expected to operate normally.
