sandyf

Indeed. The number allocated is from the Thai registration system which includes foreigners. I used mine to register at the hospital and when covid came along the hospital registered me on the vaccine app as soon as it was available.

I was in the UK this time last year and there were notices all over the place saying passport renewal was in excess of 10 weeks, but not seen any so far this year. With UK holiday makers leaving things to the last moment, renewal time can be seasonal and this is the worst season. The general election may well reduce the risk of them going on strike.

I shipped my stuff over and used Asian Tigers and service very good, they use White's as UK agent. It was back in 2009 so things may have changed a bit since then. A friend of mine also did it about the same but he did it in his wife's name as there was no tax on used personal items for a Thai national returning to Thailand. He had to pay tax on a motorbike, fairly obvious it wasn't a joint asset. Are you sure you have interpreted what you read correctly? I didn't bother with the marine insurance as the premium was quite significant. Many will say better to buy in Thailand but it is a personal decision based on what you have, it is all about quality and like for like can be quite expensive in Thailand.

At the moment I think it is only 25 or 26 countries on the E-visa platform. Only 2 in Asia, China and South Korea.

Obviously you are not old enough to be aware chip & pin was introduced in the UK around 2003 and fully implemented by 2006, due to public reluctance and paranoia the US was 9 years behind the UK.

Only a certain mentality would consider I made the post without first hand experience.

Thailand offers visa free access to many foreign nationals, how many western countries offer visa free access to Thais.

I just opened the account online using the website. I did get the phone app sometine later but never use it, do everything on the website. The card is very handy, I use it a great deal when travelling.

Obviously there is no possibility of EU citizens overstaying in Thailand.

China was effectively a cashless society before covid. The people do not want cash and they frown upon those that try and use it. The US was so paranoid they were years behind other major economies accepting chip and pin, still an issue for many. Conspiracy theories are far more dangerous than regulation.

Exactly Bill.

As suggested a Wise account. I did mine online from Thailand using VPN. You need to be able to do selfie on a webapp and upload it, also if you want the card you would need a physical address in the UK for it to be sent to. They also do a virtual card but I think you need the physical card before that becomes available. You can then have your pension paid into the account just like any other bank.

I recently had a new passport and as far as TM30 was concerned all I did was take the slip, dated 2015 out of the old passport and stick it in the new. No problem with extension or online 90 day.

When VFS first started up the plan was to deliver the passports by courier but it never came about, never bothered to remove the proof of address requirement. It was a global change from FCO to HMPO and other countries could be in the same boat. It was total chaos in the beginning, after about 10 weeks I had to get the embassy to intervene and surprisingly they did step to the plate.

The text actually says " if 'you' cannot be recognised from the photograph in your current British passport," I can assure you that when VFS started processing passport applications in April 2014 that was taken as a physical "you", you had to stand in front of the staff while they compared your face to the current passport and the new photo. Certainly not a case of just comparing photos of the applicant. I am perfectly aware that applications in the UK are done by post but overseas applications were always seen as being more susceptible to fraud. If you are saying that VFS no longer carry out a physical check then I will stand corrected.