Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing lost passports. This actually happens a little bit more often than people think and I think for most expats this is an absolute nightmare. The notion of handing off your passport to a "Visa Agent" to get a Visa sorted out and then having them lose it. 

Not to get too deep into this, I don't want this video to seem like an anti-Visa Agent video but there is a difference between Immigration lawyers and so-called "Visa Agents" and this is one of those big differences. I can say we have never lost a passport in our firm. I am not saying it is not impossible to happen. Accidents do happen; good faith accidents can happen but we are pretty darn assiduous when it comes to dealing with passports and where we do deal with them, we are dealing with secured couriers and we are dealing with tracking and we are dealing with due diligence basically in maintaining the Integrity of the logistics of keeping those passports not just intact but from being lost and all kinds of other problems. I have been involved over the years with not a few situations where a so-called "Visa Agent" has taken a passport and either lost it or just totally disappeared due to they may not have been able to complete the task and they didn't really want to face up to it. Long story short, the passport is gone and what are you stuck dealing with? The first thing you need to ascertain in these circumstances is are you in overstay? The passport is gone, you need to presume that your Visa never got issued. Are you in overstay if your Visa didn't get issued? If you are, that is a whole different kettle of fish. If you are not, it may just be a matter of getting one's passport replaced which can be difficult depending on the nationality you are and especially in the current situation we are in with COVID and the Government response to COVID in the background where everything is just massively, quite frankly it is inefficient and dealing with different governments especially Embassies and things can be far more time consuming than under normal circumstances. That said, even under normal circumstances and I have dealt with this when things are rather optimal compared to now, this is not a fun thing to deal with. We have assisted a number of clients in getting this sorted out but it requires liaising not only with the country of nationality, it may also require dealing with certain authentication of documentation; it may also require liaising with the Thai Police depending on the circumstances of the case, and then most certainly it is going to require dealing with Immigration either at an Immigration Office or possibly at Immigration at the airport. Again, it is all going to be circumstantially dependent. I know I am kind of a broken record with that. I am not going to give much more insight into the specifics of how the mechanics of getting this fixed will work because the facts will drive that.

But that said, it is certainly a nightmare. It can be rectified. If you are dealing with this, take a deep breath; all problems have solutions. It may not be a terrible idea to contact a legal professional to gain some insight into how best to proceed. Long story short, yes it can be dealt with. It is not something you really want to deal with day to day. Something else to think about. Whoever is dealing with your Immigration matters, it is probably a good idea to get a good look at those folks. Have a look around, maybe check references; have other people used them; have they been around a while; are they just some sort of fly by night operation, they are just kind of gone. Those are all things to keep in mind. That said, even the most assiduous, good faith accidents can occur but yes there are solutions. It is just factually dependent on the situation. That will drive exactly how the overall situation is rectified.