spambot

Good info - I guess as long as you have been registered with a GP at some point and you need to get inpatient treatment within the same health trust area then there would be little reason to believe that treatment would not be available. I am assuming that "becoming a non-person" means that you and your records are not showing up on the online service and this might be that you simply need to first complete the online registration and then you and your records would appear. In order to maintain an inpatient access it seems the important issue is that you remain registered with the GP. For a proactive removal by GP or inpatient admin at the hospital I am not sure they have a process that tests for residence status after a set period of time. Other than directly telling GP that you are no longer suitable for GP registration there seems little that would be done to have removal from registration. it would be interesting to know if there is any linked process when informing DWP that you now reside overseas in Thailand if this then translates over to removal from GP registration?

Nine years ago I was refused an extension non imi O based upon retirement because the proof of earnings letter from the British Embassy was 'not correct' - I asked what this meant and and was told nothing more than the same statement when wanting to understand what this meant. I asked the immigration officer to speak with British Embassy and they refused. I visited British Embassy and asked them to talk or write to immigration and they refused. I sent a letter to the head of immigration, at immigration headquarters Bangkok asking for investigation to understand what was 'not correct'. I received the same letter I had sent in the same envelope with a covering sticker to my address. The envelope had been opened and sellotape was used to close the envelope. There was nothing else sent, but on the back there was written in hand and in English, 'return'.

When I made the application 4 months ago - The bank statement seemed to be the most important documents and the single reason for rejection of accepting an application. I needed to re-present 3 times and use documents from different banks I held accounts. I met 2 other people that had their Bank accounts rejected for similar reasons to my own. If you are saying that you do have the last three months of statements and that the next statement will not be available until the next week after you apply for the visa, in my experience this would be OK. I was rejected because my statements did not have an address on the Bank account PDF printout (not something that immediately obvious when looking at your own bank account PDF), then on the second occasion because the printout was from a mobile account, then third because the account was a screen print of the laptop screen (not the PDF statement printout). My advice would be to ensure the Bank statements/ PDF printed documents has your name and address and covers the length of time identified. It matters little that you are not perfectly up to date by a few weeks. Be aware that you will not actually be allowed to show other backup proof of what might be missing on the printed accounts by other means which is not actually printed ( my attempt was that I showed my real time Bank account on my mobile because it matches the transactions on the rejected printout). Other people at this time had the same issue and tried to show their online account via their mobile phone and were rejected.. I eventually succeeded by providing PDF printouts from one of my banks that I never use with no transactions on them, up to the date from the previous month which was a few weeks past, but with a balance that was sufficient for the application. Most Importantly if you can provide account documents that actually cover the period time required and they actually look like bank statement (not screen prints) this seemed to me when I applied to be the most important considerations and a few weeks missing will not be an issue.

swissie - You have a talent for words and you paint a subtext many of us all feel after the passing of Ubonjoe, an outpouring from the soul and I recognise that feeling. I am saddened by the passing of a man I never met, Ubinjoe and I find it difficult to articulate what I feel. All I know is that he changed my life in so many posts while also helping thousands of others while he selflessly did so.

Reading about the death of your wife at 55 was hard to do - I wish I could have given you more than just one 'thanks' for sharing your painful experience.

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.