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When I read the headline I was frozen in sadness, feeling almost orphaned, strangely alone in the world after his passing. I came here thirteen years ago and regard UbonJoe as having the greatest impact on my life, bringing me certainty where there was so much doubt. Over these years I have grown to recognise a great man who is respected and admired by everyone here that reads his advice. I remember my first post and reply from Joe in those early days when I was afraid and unsure, he was non judgemental, constructive and invaluable with guidance that brought me through to the place I needed to be. Most of us have never met Joe, but we have had our lives touched by this man. So like all of us on this forum I am grieving his loss, but then I feel uplifted when I read the tsunami and outpouring of love from the people he helped over so many years. This place is now strangely empty without Ubonjoe’s contributions, but this is also surely the most fitting place for his lasting epitaph given by those he supported in journeys of doubt when navigating this strange impossible land. We all have to say goodbye to a friend and a guide, but I wish I could have continued to read for many more years on this forum - ‘For the answer, wait till Ubonjoe comes along for real help’.

And this means that you can leave (pass through immigration) at any time on the day (May 30 - Up to midnight) and this is not an overstay - Yes?

If you were resident or appeared to be resident in the UK, then you would be entitled to benefits.

Pension Credit stops when you move overseas permanently. This is a means-tested benefit, which can top up your weekly income when this is low. You must live in England, Scotland, Norther Ireland or Wales and have reached State Pension age to qualify for Pension Credit. You can not receive this when resident in Thailand (or the Philippines).

No they will not backdate the lost pension payments for the indexed benefits lost, but will unfreeze your current pension to pay the same amount going forward as the full payment each month that you would be receiving in the UK as if you had never left. This unfreezing lasts as long as the time of the visit and hence there are two situations a). short visit to Philippines and b) Moving to Philippines full time. If you simply visited the Philippines for x days then your pension could increase for the time you were in the Philippines to reflect the unfrozen amount increase. You just need to provide your full name and home telephone number, date you are arriving and leaving the Philippines, nationality, address and telephone number of where you will be staying during this visit together with any travel details that might be relevant. This is different to moving your home to Philippines since this would require that you to apply for a change of circumstances and this process will be in writing with retirements to complete a change of circumstances form and a residency test. I am not entirely clear how it works in detail for the Philippines, but if say you were to return to the UK to unfreezing your pension the the following would occur: You would be subject to a 'Habitual Residence Test' and this is designed to test your intent to stay in the UK backed with proof. The sort of things that the decision maker will look for include: how long you’ve been in the UK and how long you intend to stay. You usually need to have been in the UK for at least one to three months to be consider ‘habitually resident’ (but this depends on your circumstances). The test will establish your reasons for returning and how much your life is based in the UK, such as whether you own property in the UK or you have family in the UK or even proof that you’ve registered with a GP / dentist. The decision maker is looking for anything that shows compelling reasoning that you are there to stay long term. Here you might include proof that you've sold a property abroad or given up a tenancy or proof to show you just bought or rented a property in the UK. The Habitual Residence Test is subjective and can be carried out by your local council, the Department for Work and Pensions, or HM Revenue and Customs. If you fail the test, you have the right to appeal.

I think that you might also get access via the Web Chat - since you have one of the issues listed for using this service and considered as technical " having problems with verifying your identity". You need to go through the initial stages of just getting chat bot responses, but then gives an option for a live person web chat (only available in UK office hours).

Yup - Excellent point and very true . I should have added this in the mix - Especially since I posited earlier that this should be a consideration when talking to DWP in response to brianburi

You probably already know, but just in case not - When you have told DWP that you are retired and live in Thailand, your State Pension will not increase each year.

You haven't missed out on the 10.1% rise - You just get the lower payment for one month. Everyone receiving a state pension has this increase automatically adjusted and you will receive this for any further payments you receive after April 6th 2023. The 'pre April 6th 2023', full new state pension (provided you have made the necessary NI contributions) is £185.15 per week. The rise of 10.1% is a rise of £18.70 per week to £203.85. Men are eligible if born after 6th April 1951., but you could receive less if you haven’t paid sufficient NI contributions and you could receive more if you’ve deferred (increase of 1% every nine weeks or 5.8% / 52 weeks).

I requested the same information from the Royal Thai Consulate, London 7 months ago, below is a straight copy paste (blue): Me: "Is there a wait period before a new application can be made after one Multi entry tourist visa ends? " The reply was: " Dear Sir/Madam Thank you for your email. The answer is NO. Warmest regards, The Visa Team "

Brilliant Response - Your answer gives me everything I needed - Thanks

Just so I understand - The airline will normally only be looking for exit flight out of Thailand when flying into Thailand on a Visa Exempt, but if you have a single or multiple entry Tourist Visa then the airline is unlikely to require a flight ticket within 60 days - Is this correct?

It is difficult to know how deep any further checking might occur, but its most likely that you have gone through the most intense checking and this is evidenced by the amount of front line rejections you received for the other issues, The job of the front line is mostly to ensure that the applications paperwork gets thoroughly checked before passing this into the next steps of the process. That is not to say that there will not be further inspections of the ticket, but it's likely that rejection would have already occurred on your already done front line inspection. The next step of your application processing will mostly be focused on the administration of the passports and the visa issuance. On the question of the ticket without PNR. A flight ticket is supposed to entitle a passenger to a seat on a flight and the PNR is a unique identity for every passenger and itinerary. It is actually possible to issue a flight ticket without a PNR but most tickets will normally show this. Without a PNR this does not make the ticket invalid, but would be considered bad practice and this is likely the dilemma the front-line officer had at the time of inspection, but hopefully this moment has now passed. On a broader issue for those reading your post and thinking about HCMC, it has obviously been an uncomfortable experience, but you have provided some good information for others when considering a Consulate. HCMC does not seem like it is the easy Consulate it once was. I will be making an application for a tourist Visa at Vientiane this week, but I am doing so after rescheduling my visa run when seeing reviews on Google Maps for the HCMC consulate - Posted below

Thanks BritTim - It does sound like a reasonable requirement - Good to get the feedback.

Quick Edit: Title should have been - "Tourist Visa from Lao" - NOT "Lao Tourist Visa"

On the vientiane Royal Thailand Embassy website there is a list of the docs required for a Tourist Visa application. Point 5 on the list..... "5. Travel itinerary to and from Thailand and accommodation e.g. plane/train/bus ticket, hotel booking, letter from whom you will be staying with and a signed copy of his/her ID". I have a six month Condo contract in Bangkok that will cover the 60 days of the Tourist Visa. I have a flight back to the UK on the 59th day of the anticipated Tourist Visa. I will get the bus back to the border afterwards and spend a few days in Nong Khai and then will get a flight or train at a later unknown date and I don't expect tickets for this to be asked for as part of the application. Bottom line: Is my copy of a flight ticket back to the UK and a printout copy of Condo rental Contract sufficient for the Travel itinerary and the accommodation requirements and do I need a signed copy of a Thai ID from the Condo owner or is this something that is already covered by the current TM.30, which a copy should also be provided in the application?

Ahhhh - OK. I stand corrected - Thanks

On the website https://vientiane.thaiembassy.org/en/การยื่นขอวีซ่า-applying-for-a-visa/ - The following is shown Processing Time The visa processing time is 2 working days (not including the submission date) - Collection 13.30 – 16.00 hours, 2 days after submitting the application, e.g. Monday submission, Wednesday collection; Friday submission, Tuesday collection. Previous experience: The application was made in the morning and the passport was returned in the afternoon of the next day. I am trying to understand if this is a newly introduced processing time or an old processing time which never gets implemented. Hence - Does anyone have current experience of what is the normal processing time?

Not sure of your source for the link - It looks like from the url you provided this is for the old location at Wattana Rd, which is no longer the location for extensions. This is the link you need for Bangkok appointments - The location is Immigration Office (IT Square Laksi Plaza, 3rd Floor) https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/[email protected]/bookings/

Thanks Joe - Perfect.

If an application is made for a Tourist Visa in a neighbouring consulate and the passport is returned the next day. A). Can someone confirm that the start of the 60 days only start on entry to Thailand (rather than the date of application nor the next day when the passport is returned)? B). If the start of the 60 days was on the 1st day of the month and the next two months each had 30 days would the admitted until date then be on the 30th of the second month?

One of the reviews (not copied on the post) from 2 months ago identifies a very protective door guard that only allows 2 people inside at any time and before getting access visitors need to show their confirmation of appointment. All these reviews seem to have gained access to the Consulate and hence all reviews presumably had appointments.

After reading the recent experience by bigqueso26 at the once friendly Hanoi Consulate for a Tourist Visa I looked at the other once friendly Consulate in Vietnam, HCMC - Below is their most recent reviews on Google Maps. It seems that similar to Hanoi recently the experience at this Consulate has also changed. I took a look at the appointment system - The next available appointment 16th March 2023 (37 days advance booking required). Has Vietnam Tourist Visa applications for Thailand undergone some known change that has caused the experience to be so different? Google Reviews: 1 Star ------- 21 hours ago NEW Worst place I've ever been in my whole life. The guy refused to answer sinple quoestions like "Is it possible to get a visa for three months?" or "What is the fee for a visa?" He simply doesn't answer. He showed me a piece of paper with a website of the vietnamese government, which, as I noticed now, doesn't work. Unfortunately I could not give 0 stars. 1 Star ------- 6 days ago NEW DO NOT COME HERE TO EXPEDITE OR APPLY FOR A VISA. This place is a complete disaster. No one working - like, at all. As in, no one is even physically there (even during their own posted hours on the service window). After 1 hour of waiting for someone to arrive, a very rude and unhelpful man arrived. He did not greet me. The only thing he did do was to point at a printed piece of paper, which had the website to the online visa application. Then, he walked away without saying a word, despite another person in line behind me, who was actively talking to him. This is an embarrassing way to welcome visitors. I cancelled my 2-week trip to Vietnam because of this place and will never look back.✌️ 1 Star ------- 6 days ago NEW They are useless. And very rude. 1 Star ------- a week ago NEW Worst service ever, they literally don’t care at all. They don’t even look at you or anything. Avoid this place, do your visa with time ahead, and online. 1 Star ------- a week ago NEW Honestly don't bother, try online or any other embassy anywhere. 2 applications and an embassy visit and still nothing. Take your money to another country. 1 Star ------- 2 weeks ago NEW ridiculous, chaotic, unorganized, unfriendly and most staff doesn't speak and ignoring You 1 Star ------- 2 weeks ago NEW Unbelievable. They never replied to any of my emails or picked up the phone calls. The website is not useful and it’s impossible to reach them online or via calls. 1 Star ------- a month ago Very poor quality of staff , we were at the embassy at 10 am & no staff at the counter until 11 am . When one gentleman came out, he is very rude & should not be working at the counter. Very disappointing to see someone behave like that. Whoever in charge should consider to review their performance. 1 Star ------- a month ago Very bad service, no answer the phone call, open 30 minutes late, and the staff of tourist visa counter is helpless and very rude.

I suspect aldriglikvid you might get more responses if you start a new post - Many have already read this post and will possibly not return to see your question - They might if it appears as a new post.

You are right its all about how the rules are explained without abusing the power of authority to diminish another person. I know what I said about the consulate being handed a list of rules, however you are right about being a [BLEEP} about it, otherwise this is simply a misuse of a position Blimey!... After looking at the most recent Google reviews - I get it - The experience of others in the last few months does seem very similar to your own. Below are the most recent 3 reviews: 1 month Ago: 1 Star “read carefully”, says a woman showing 12-step document requirements when it’s just 6 on their website they do visa 3 days minimum and have some holidays and weekends so there’s no chance for me to do the visa and they also require to full pay all accommodations and flights before applying so you can lose as much money as possible it’s just some kind of cruel joke I don’t get, and what they do just feels illegal like I suppose to pay for everything in thailand, I pay service fee, and risking to lose it all?! after traveling 2 countries and 4 cities I come with all documents listed on the website and they require something more which is too late to get today, and it’s weekend soon so get rekt I mean how much pain should one endure to get 60 days visa instead of 45-day stamp you’ll get on arrival for free anyway? 1 month Ago: 1 Star Tried to apply for tourist visa here. The list of required documents does not match those from official website. Counsel was nitpicking on nearly every document. They've accepted documents only on third attempt but then we found out it takes more than three working days to process. We could not change our flight tickets and had to abort the application, thankfully they returned the money. Would not recommend to anyone. 1 month Ago: 1 Star I rang the Thai Embassy in Hanoi today to ask some simple questions about exemption visas and all I got was a man yelling down the phone at me in a really angry voice. This kind of verbally abusive behaviour and absence of customer service is shameful and very very bad PR for Thailand.