Warning to all UK passport holders

[Thetyim]

My nephew has just been barred from boarding his flight from London to USA because his passport is not "machine readable"
He has lost his holiday because the US now insists that all incoming passengers have a passport with barcode.

Now the interesting bit.
His passport was issued by the UK embassy in Bangkok and all passports since 1991 should have a barcode included.
This is clearly a mistake on behalf of the embassy.
The passport office insists that he must pay for his new passport.
What a bunch of cnuts.

So if you have had a PP issued in LOS go check it out, you might not be able to visit the USA.

[Thetyim]

Fok me, I just checked my own passport and I have not got a barcode either. My PP was issued December 2003.
Well they only had 12 years to get it sorted.

[William]

mine was issued in 2000 and doesn't either.

And with the price of a new PP, thank fok I have no intention of visiting the US

[hillbilly]

This issue will be interesting insomuch that I am going back to visit the states this summer, with some Thais that JUST got their passports. Will find out soon if they are barcoded or not.

Will have to look at the wife's passport, only issued less than 2 years ago.

[RandomChances]

^ new thai passports are barcoded, my misses picked her new one up a few days ago

[ChiangMai noon]

Mine's not barcoded.
issued in Istanbul around 7 years ago.

No interest in leaving my 2 km radius comfort zone, much less America.

[tuferguson]

My nephew has just been barred from boarding his flight from London to USA because his passport is not "machine readable"
He has lost his holiday because the US now insists that all incoming passengers have a passport with barcode.

Now the interesting bit.
His passport was issued by the UK embassy in Bangkok and all passports since 1991 should have a barcode included.
This is clearly a mistake on behalf of the embassy.

So if you have had a PP issued in LOS go check it out, you might not be able to visit the USA.

Not quite true. Its not a barcode like you see on stuff you buy in a supermarket its a machine readable font that has your personal and passport information at the bottom of the picture page. This is done to speed up the border controls.

I got mine from the bkk embassy 2003 and the bottom of the page is blank. I would guess its something to do with the manufacturing process, maybe the embassy doesnt have a proper machine to do it.

the only time I have had hassle with that was in cambodia at the airport when passport control asked me about it. all that happens is the officer has to manually key in the information rather than the machine automatically does it.

Think its the usual yank we do what we want mentality and fuck you if you are effected by it.

[Gerbil]

^ Correct.

Mine's got it. Issued BKK in 2003. However, I got a 48 page one as a friend in the consular section told me they were the only ones they had with the machine readable bit as they were using up their stock of the 30 page ones first.

I was travelling quite a bit around the region in those days and I used to get through a 30 page one in a couple of years with all the visa stamps, so it worked out cheaper anyway.

[Gerbil]

^ new thai passports are barcoded, my misses picked her new one up a few days ago

I believe Thailand is on the list of countries that will require biometric, not just machine readable, passports for US entry later this year?

[William]

I was travelling quite a bit around the region in those days and I used to get through a 30 page one in a couple of years with all the visa stamps, so it worked out cheaper anyway.

Is this coded lingo for "I was a visa runner in those days"?

[Thetyim]

all that happens is the officer has to manually key in the information rather than the machine automatically does it.

If that was the case I would have no complaint but he was barred from boarding his flight because the USA will only admit "machine readable" passports. He has lost his holiday and had to pay for a new passport

[mrsquirrel]

Did he have insurance?

[Thetyim]

Did he have insurance?

I expect so but all of them have a clause about a valid passport and he did not have a passport that was valid for a flight to the USA so they are bound to wriggle out of it.

[Thetyim]

So how long before UK adopt the same policy and my UK passport will not be valid for entry into the UK ?

[Gerbil]

Is this coded lingo for "I was a visa runner in those days"?

Fcuk no. Visa runners dont commute between BKK & HK each weekend. Glad I dont do that run anymore!

[Itchy]

While the warning is welcome this has been the case for some time now. It's all down the raft of regulations under the cover of 'Homeland Security'.

I'm all for it. The reason I'm in Rome is because our middle eastern client didn't want to take the $1.4 Billion dollars of business to the US on the grounds of all the hastles..... LOL

[Spin]

Yay! no barcode in mine. no fatties with silicone titties to beat off with a stick!

I do have the bit at the bottom of the page that looks a bit like this:

>>>>>>>>FOCKWIT>>>>A>>>>BIG>>>>>>>10/04/2023>>>>>>>
>>>>>>SEXPAT>>>>>DONT>>>>ADMIT>>>>THIS>>>BASTARD >>

[toslti]

From the FCO website....


Does my British passport allow me to travel under the VWP? (Visa Waiver Programme)
To enter under the VWP your passport must contain a machine-readable zone (MRZ)
at the foot of the photo page. The MRZ contains 2 lines of text as letters, numbers and chevrons (>>>). If the area is blank the passport is not machine-readable and you need to apply for a visa.

The new style passports containing a biometric chip and an MRZ are acceptable for the VWP.

If you don't have a machine readable passport then you have to get a visa.

[Begbie]

I thought that the US was allowing Visa free entry for UK citizens with biometric passports only. Biometric has a chip.