mnop

3 hours ago, Peeba boy said:

Yes I have all paper work complete. I just checked manage my booking again

its saying flight might be changed. Can you check what ur booking says at manage my booking

I know what you mean - it's confusing that they say that. 

However all TG917 flights every Sunday during October are repatriation flights. I've been issued a CoE through the online system that confirms the arrival date and the fact I'm opting for free State Quarantine.

Regarding other paper work completed: the only other document I believe I'm required (as a Thai citizen) is the Fit to Fly, which has to be acquired 72 hours before. I believe the T8 form can be collected from the airport and filled in there. 

Regarding my earlier remark about changing the flight date for free; this doesn't actually seem to be the case. I tried changing it and it's charging you an full additional charge for a new flight. Glitch in the system... false assurance? Who knows #TIT 

I wouldn't worry about this flight being cancelled. Having a confirmed booking and a CoE issued, I see no reason that any October flights should be cancelled.  

2 minutes ago, Peeba boy said:

What date ru flying

October 25th via Thai Airways, as per your question. 

I realize they've made changes on November and December flights, but I assumed they were going a month at a time anyway, so I have no reason to doubt they will cancel this October flight. 

I've got a ticket on that flight, haven't heard of any cancellations so I'm assuming it's still going. 

Interestingly, I bought the cheapest ticket but it now says that I can change the date without any penalty charges - so anyone looking to pay more for that option may not need bother. 

11 hours ago, tso310 said:

If you book directly then you have to use an ASQ, if via the embassy registration, Thais only,  its an SQ. 

That's what I thought as well until this morning, when the Embassy's registration still didn't show any flights. Now i'm thinking Thais opting for SQ can also book directly from the Thai Airways website for the following reasons: 

1) One of the posts on their FB page shows a screenshot on how to book with Thai Airways, and mentions to choose Sunday only, so I imagine it is aimed towards all Thais regardless of the quarantine option. 

2) The following post simply mentions that detention for Thai people has two requirements: A TA flight and on a Sunday.

3) In fact, there's no mention or link to their registration system since last month. 

That being said, I'm still pending payment on my flight reservation... 

7 hours ago, HashBrownHarry said:

I heard the thais speaking on the repat flight i was on and none of them seemed very excited about the feee hotel they were getting offered, i suspect it would be a bit of a SH.

Actually I've done a lot of research on this and they look surprisingly good (one could end up anywhere between a 4* or the navy base, but even that doesn't look shabby). Loads of Youtube vlogs on the subject. Feel free to message me for links if anyone wants to know (referring to SQ here - sorry if I'm straying off-topic). 

1 hour ago, HashBrownHarry said:

Book with Emirates, much easier.

I've heard that the free State Quarantine is only offered to those who arrive on a repatriation flight. Can anyone confirm if this is true? 

On 9/23/2020 at 11:08 AM, KhaoYai said:

No idea what she eventually got to work - I got bored with it. Glad I won't be trying to get a COE myself - the way the RTE behaves is enough to try anyone's patience.

_{I'm stuck in the same situation with an invalid password token. I thought it was because the email said the link would expire in an hour, and I must have been too late.} 

_{Please, would you be able to ask her about the password format and share with us? It could be of tremendous help.}  

EDIT: Silly me. I went to https://thaiembassy.sociallab.co.th/ -> Login -> Forget Password, and managed to get into the system (no special characters needed). There I am met with the following message, for anyone's reference (I'm a Thai citizen): 

Our sincere apologies. All repatriation flights are fully booked. You can use the same ‘Username’ and ‘Password’ to register for available flights next month.

They finally agreed to reconsider it on the basis of all the documents not being considered.

On 8/22/2018 at 6:48 PM, Ipswich lad said:

OK so I posted last night how I complained to London and got it overturned you need to state all the points of refusal and explain why they was wrong here is the address I sent mine too and got the decision reversed you can also check my post on this sub forum of the letter i sent. Good luck buddy

Thanks for letting me know! I actually did send off a reconsideration request several days ago and it seems to have reached the right department. Anyone who thinks there is nothing that can be done would be well-advised to read through this document: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/730629/reconsiderations-v10.0.pdf. I sent off a succinct yet strongly-worded letter that clearly outlined the relevant section of visitor rules, quoted the refusal letter and explained its inaccuracy in terms of my application evidence. Patience muscles are back in training... 

@Ipswich lad, may I ask how long it took for them to respond/reverse the decision? 

On 8/22/2018 at 6:50 PM, rasg said:

So there is a possibility that the visa wasn't refused for "nonsensical reasons"? Maybe the ECO didn’t have all of the information you supplied?

 

Yes you are right, I might have spoken too much out of emotion at the time of posting. However, there were several other factors that just made the whole thing look shoddy: 1) The decision was made on the very same day the case was re-escalated again, 2) VFS texted me to pick up my passport hours before I received an email from the Caseworking office in ND, and a day before a formal UKVI email, leading me to believe that this possibly wasn't checked by an ECM as is the standard process, 3) spelling and grammatical errors aside, the letter contradicted itself several times (e.g. saying I didn't meet certain appendices at the start but saying it was refused for other appendices at the end) and just didn't make any sense overall. I understand that ECOs are referred to templates to use for certain paragraphs, so this just looks like a ridiculous copy & paste letter, and 4) If they wanted to refuse me for a simple reason as what my bank statements had shown, would it really have taken them 37 working days to come to this conclusion? 

Quote

I'm happy that the scanning service has been suspended. I don't think that VFS would take as much care scanning and putting the info together that I did when I put my wife's applications together. No doubt that VFS had a scanner that scanned a stack of copies at the same time and it's dead easy for sheets to be missed.

Wait... what? The new scanning system implemented in June has been suspended? Also, I do believe it's highly unlikely for pages in a stack to be missed in an automatic document feeder. 

Is it possible to ask VFS to send you an electronic copy of all the documents they submitted? It just dawned on me that while they were scanning my documents, all the papers went flying from the machine about halfway through the pile (this was in the first week they implemented in the new scanning system...). That might explain a lot. 

Applicant here, the sponsor is happy to do that on his own accord. 

I've read through the immigration rules thoroughly but, last I checked, separating 'truth' from the 'untruth' seems to be an assumed convention. Bureaucratically, yeah - probably difficult to prove indeed. 

Logically? I'm still banging my head against the wall.  

2 hours ago, puchooay said:

I hate to split hairs but in another thread you said you applied on 28/6. Here you say your statements were dated 31/6. BTW there are only 30 days in June.

Yes, you are right - apologies but I did not have the printed statements on hand at the time of posting (and what Thai bank would think of logically providing you digital copies...). 

The first income dates 29/12/2017 and the last one 31/05/18. The fact that they picked a random figure in between is completely absurd. I had all incomes & withdrawals for savings highlighted and recorded on another sheet for clarity. 

4 hours ago, theoldgit said:

It's a disgrace that you've had to wait 37 working days for a decision, did they give a reason for the delay?

 

They gave no reason for delay. My many communication attempts were entirely unhelpful. There were cases where support staff gave me contradictory and unhelpful advice, as well as wasting my time and money over the phone (e.g. over hesitation and thick foreign accents).  

My case was also re-escalated on the same day that this outcome was made, giving me the impression that they were perhaps under pressure to make a decision and decided to wing it under some made-up terms. 

2 hours ago, BKKBike09 said:

OP - roughly how much do you earn, and how much do you have in savings? Assuming that you work in Thailand, how long have you worked in your current job? You say you would be taking unpaid leave: are you able to provide a letter from your employer confirming this to be the case and that you will be expected back at work on xxxx date? How long is your planned visit to the UK: 'unpaid leave' suggests it may be for a relatively long period. How long have you known your sponsor and what is the nature of your relationship? If your sponsor is a romantic partner with whom you, demonstrably, you have been involved for many years, then that is one thing; if your sponsor is, say, a former work colleague, that is different. Would you be staying with your sponsor or is your sponsor simply stating that he will be responsible for your expenses if necessary?

I earn enough, and have enough in savings, to correspond to my stated planned expenses. My employers are a well-reputable global company who agreed on 'paid leave' (which might sound unusual but they value their employees and I had replacement arrangements in place), and provided a letter outlining these terms as well as my expectancy to return to work after two months, upon my planned return, along with evidence that I have been working with them for a year (the refusal letter acknowledged this). This was further evidenced by freelance employers who said the same (plus cash-paid invoices). My sponsor is a very close friend, evidenced by photographs of our extensive travel together and letters. Both our letters stated I would be staying with him (supported with proof of residence & his bank statements), as well as the fact that he would cover basic household costs, including food etc, significantly cutting down my travel costs.  

To add to the absurdity of the refusal letter; the beginning states that I have not satisfied two sections of the immigration rules, yet it concludes by stating that I didn't satisfy only one of them. Confusing. 

It's not so much that I wasn't granted the visa that this is the most upsetting part, but more so that it leaves a refusal mark on my immigration record that will certainly leave a stain on future attempts. Additionally, the refusal reasons are matters that easily could have been sorted out within the expected time frame... not 7.5 weeks later. While I will attempt (with great resilience) to retain an objective and calm attitude to dealing with this, I can't help but ponder that this is a situation where the case officer was pressured into not meeting the time frame (making a decision on the same day it was re-escalated for the second time) and making a hurried and inaccurate decision as a result. 

Thank you all for the support and advice (and unnerving debate). Contacting the MP and considering a judicial review may be a way to go from here. As for reapplying based on pure luck of getting a more reasonable case officer; the last thing I need is yet another refusal added onto the record. 

9 minutes ago, trigpoint said:

same thing happened to me last year. Totally ignored my bank statements of over £85,000, income of £15,000 per year and my own house to  live in whilst there, had proof of our relationship of over 5 years etc etc.  In fact they totally ignored me as being her sponsor and said the only reason of her going to the UK was to work and not return to Thailand. Unfortunately this is home office policy now and is unlikely to change, best hope is a change of government. There's been a lot about this in the UK papers now. 

Yes I have heard of some absolutely ridiculous cases! Sorry to hear about that. Did you manage to do anything to resolve it, or just give up altogether? 

Hi, is anyone able to advise me on how to best fix this situation? My visit visa was refused (after 37 working days) for reasons that seem to have ignored many aspects of my application, or misread it. 

The refusal reasons are as follows: 

"I note that you have provided your bank statements in which you have highlighted receipt of your salary, however, the last credit in your account was dated 28/02/2018 and your statements does not demonstrate that you continued to receive your salary, I am therefore not satisfied your circumstances are as you state."

The last credit in my bank statements is actually dated 31/06/2018. All the income for the previous months are both highlighted on my statements, and I provided an additional financial sheet stating all the dates which match these highlights. It seems like they were looking at the first credit on my statement, and not the last. 

Additionally, along with my bank statements, I also provided withdrawals from my account which I put into savings in my sponsor's bank account. My sponsor mentioned this in a letter, along with his own bank statements. Additionally, I said I would be on paid leave throughout my trip, and stated my expected income. On top of that, my sponsor agreed to cover my finances where needed. However, another refusal reason stated that my closing bank statement "does not demonstrate that you have sufficient funds to meet the reasonable costs of this visit." Earlier in the letter, they acknowledged "supporting documents from your UK sponsor demonstrating his willingness and ability to support you."

What do I do in this case? There are no grounds for appeal or administrative reviews. If I were to resubmit the application, I can't think of anything else I could do differently (except provide more recent bank statements of course). 

The letter is also riddled with spelling and grammatical errors. They made me wait 7 and a half weeks for this ridiculous response (almost 3 times the average time). 

Any advice is very much appreciated. Many thanks in advance! 

The more you know: I doubt escalating a case actually does anything at all. 15 days of quiet after escalating and the best they can do is to 're-escalate' it.... right. 

The translation on their Facebook page seems to suggest they're buying it for 1500 baht... 

On 8/9/2018 at 1:23 PM, Maradona 10 said:

UPDATE: There isn't one.

 

Goes without saying that I'm totally sick of this farcical nonsense now, got to the point where Mrs M just wants her passport back. I did end up calling that 'hotline' number to see if I can get any clarity so after giving the woman (or in Thai Visa language the 'lady') my GW number, she just said 'your visa is awaiting a decision' LOL...I told her I knew that which is why I called to see if I can find out more but she had no additional info whatsoever....so basically a scam number, I was billed for 8.33 quid, at 1.37 a min it seemed high as I thought I was only talking for a few mins, but can't be sure. The 'lady' herself was fine and friendly, in fact a lot more informal than one would expect, she even agreed with me that the whole thing is a joke...

 

Anyway, will have to be more patient. If anything I think the longer the wait the more likely it is it will be ok..why wait this long just say no way Jose?

 

Nothing anyone says in regards to this 'update' will make one single smidge of difference to the outcome, but feel free to comment anyway.

 

DM10

If it's any consolation; I feel you. In the exact same boat. They won't even respond to my emails anymore. 

15 hours ago, Jip99 said:

Your passport is held in Bangkok - YOU are Thai ?

 

You could try asking if you can retrospectively pay the premium service 2,500 Baht to retain your PP.

1

Yes, I am Thai. I did bring that up - apparently, the service is only available prior to your application being submitted. 

Well I managed to get through to them, they said nothing could be done until 15 more working days had passed from escalation (making it 35 days/7 weeks). I asked if I could withdraw my application so I could get my bloody passport back and at least make something out of my holiday. They said, very simply, "No". 

Back to bashing my head against the wall. Surely there is some way around this? 

Has anyone else had an issue where they try to phone up UKVI but the other end can't hear you? 

It's happened to me about 5 times now using JustVoip (charges me for a full minute every time, of course). I made plenty of other calls to the UK using the same account with no trouble. They're ignoring everything I write to them via email. I'm at VFS nearly every day but they haven't heard a thing. Can anyone suggest any useful advice on where to go from here? 27 days and counting..... 

4 hours ago, Jip99 said:

 

Just Maradonna to go to keep Thai Visa combatants out of the 4%.

 

 

I don't want to scar the record but it's been 25 working days now and all the multiple attempts I've made to relay my urgency is very rudely met with the same standard copy & paste email template. 

After escalating the case after 20 working days, they asked me to wait another 15 working days to be contacted. 

That's my entire holiday period over. Unbelievable. 

2 hours ago, puchooay said:

Application date 11th July. Email received today stating processed application received at VFS on 26th July. Passport on it's way by EMS. This is my wife's first ever application.

Wow, did you opt for a fast-track service? 

I applied 28/06 for a visit visa. Called them, emailed them, no interviews, no word... 

Can anyone confirm if VFS is open on Friday? 

Their website here of official opening days states they are open on Friday (or is this site referring only to the Delhi office?). Closed Monday. 

The staff in the lobby have no idea if they are open Friday. The staff behind the counters also claim to have no idea. The security guard, however, seemed to be assured they will be shut. 

^Speaking of, the VFS staff were happy to let me up the building with my receipt and inquire if my passport was there yet. This is following several calls to UKVI (by both myself and sponsor) where the only information they could give me was that I was sent an email saying it was under process. Inquiring about the outcome, they could only say the email said it 'was being looked at' (the one sent to me 6 business days ago). Wasn't very helpful.