British Consular Team

Thailand Travel Advice has been updated with information on requirements for entry and covid testing.

Thailand Travel Advice has been updated with additional information on quarantine requirements in response to coronavirus.

Thailand Travel Advice has been updated with additional information on the Thailand Pass system for vaccinated, unvaccinated and partially vaccinated passengers and information for travellers if travelling with children.

Hello @antony77. We just sent you a DM to ask for more details so we can advise further.

Thailand Travel Advice has been updated with new information on entry requirement following the latest announcement from Thai Government.

If you still need help with this, can you send us a direct message with contact details?

Thailand Travel Advice has been updated to reflect changes to Thailand's entry measures as well as the use of NHS vaccine record as proof of vaccine status in Thailand.

As Thailand is now open for international tourism, we have published a video on the Embassy’s UK in Thailand page with important information for visitors to Thailand. We also shared a post about what support we can provide and how to contact us when you need urgent help. Now that some Covid-19 restrictions have been eased, the team has been able to do more physical engagement work with Thai authorities. Last week our IDC team visited Immigration Bureau Division 2, TAC Suvarnabhumi Airport, and two international airlines to thank them for their support for vulnerable British nationals travelling through Suvarnabhumi airport and for facilitating the deportation process. In Phuket, one of our Vice Consuls and two of our Honorary Consuls attended an important meeting hosted by the Phuket Governor to discuss approach and protocols for rape and sexual victim handling. The majority of our case work over the last couple of weeks was to provide support to families of Brits who have passed away in Thailand. We also dealt with 5 welfare cases, 2 arrests, and coordinated with hospitals on providing support to 7 British nationals. Our IDC team managed to do a physical visit to the detention centre after almost a year of providing support to detainees there virtually. During the visit, the team successfully coordinated with IDC officers to facilitate a deportation of one British detainee. In the office, our notarial team provided 40 affirmations of marriage, 38 certified copies of passports, 8 affirmations of residency, and 2 certified copies of driving licences. We received a lovely compliment from a customer who received our service at the Embassy - “The service was great and a very pleasant experience”. We usually share our activities details and photos on UK in Thailand page so please feel free to follow the page to stay up to date of what the team and the Embassy are working on.

Thank you for suggesting this alternative approach and for giving us an opportunity to clarify our rules. These say that the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) can only provide notarial and documentary services when no local alternative options are available and our resources are sufficient to respond to such requests. We therefore do not provide a confirmation of pension income as Immigration Bureau rules state foreigners wishing to extend their retirement visa can provide evidence by showing the required deposit(s) in a Thai bank account. Further details can be obtained from the Immigration Bureau. Support for British nationals abroad highlights what help the FCDO can provide.

Hi @TonyM. Thank you for raising this. We were aware of this new requirement for foreign nationals entering Thailand but you have given us a better picture of the impact. We appreciate your concerns, and those of many others, around the additional costs that this legislation incurs, especially on top of a number of other mandatory expenses that also need to be met for visas. Last week we raised this issue with the Ministry of Public Health, who confirmed that this was a new requirement that the relevant Thai government agencies had agreed to implement. We now plan to raise this with the MFA. We will share any updates when we can.

Hello @LoVeFuN. To marry under Thai law you need to make an affirmation of marital status at the British Embassy Bangkok. The services we provide are by appointment only. You can normally book an appointment within a two week period but availability is dependent on demand. During peak periods you may have to wait longer for an appointment. We often release new appointments and there are also cancellations. If you cannot find a suitable appointment date, please regularly check back. Before you can attend an affirmation of marital status appointment you need to submit the required documents online. Once these are checked your appointment will be confirmed. Details on how to make a booking and apply for the service are available from GOV.UK.

@siftasam can you DM us?

Many of you will already know that from 1st November 2021, fully vaccinated people arriving from low-risk countries including the UK can now enter Thailand without quarantine. Check out our Travel Advice for more details on entry requirements. Last month, delegates from Consular team accompanied Ambassador Mark Gooding to Chiang Mai for his first Consular outreach trip in Thailand. The visit highlight was at the British community event as it was an opportunity for the Ambassador to hear feedback and concerns from British expats in Chiang Mai so we can continue to work with local authorities on providing them support. The Ambassador also paid a courtesy call to Chiang Mai Governor and met local authorities to thank for their support on ensuring access to vaccines for foreigners in the province. In the office, the majority of our case work was to provide support to families of Brits who passed away in Thailand. We also dealt with 9 welfare cases, 4 arrests, and coordinated with hospitals on providing support to 4 British nationals. Our notarial team provided 32 certified copies of passports, 22 affirmations of marriage, and 9 affirmations of residency. We receive a lot of English book donations for prisoners. We have been busy sending these out to prisons all over Thailand so prisoners can have access to new reading resources. We also received a great compliment recently from a British national who lives with 4th stage cancer and needs assistance &advice to return to the UK: “I cannot thank you enough for your patience and assistance, truly splendid!”  As well as compliments, we do of course also receive complaints. We always try our best to answer and learn from your feedback so if you have any feedback or complaints, please send them to us via our online feedback form, or in writing to: Customer Interaction Team Consular Directorate Room WH4.36 Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office King Charles Street London SW1A 2AH

Thanks for raising this @Tony M and for setting it out so fully. We'll have a look at your point next week and get back to you.

We are listening and where we can we are responding, as you can see if you look at our answers to other queries on our pages here. And we will get back to Tony M.

Hello @cape. We publish a list of English speaking lawyers and a list of translators and interpreters in Thailand on GOV.UK. You can contact them and find out which one would be able to offer the service you require.

Thailand Travel Advice has been updated with additional information on entry requirements from 1st November 2021.

@Raybangkok if it's Consular forms you are having trouble with let us know - we might be able to help.

Hi @sharecropper. As soon as the Embassy receives official notification of your death, and confirmation of your wife’s wishes, then a Consular Letter can be issued during any working day. Your wife simply needs to let us know when she requires the letter and we will work with her to ensure that she, or an appointed Funeral Director, can collect it from the Embassy by prior appointment and with the minimum of delay.

Hello @sharecropper. As your wife is regarded as your legal Next-of-Kin then she will usually be the sole decision maker on what happens to your funeral arrangements when you die. The British Embassy will firstly require formal confirmation of your death from the Thai Authorities (This would typically be from the Royal Thai Police or hospital, if death occurred there). The Embassy would then issue a Consular Letter to your wife, which gives authority for your body to be released from the place of death into the care of whoever she decides is taking care of funeral arrangements. For more information please see link below:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/what-to-do-after-a-british-person-dies-in-thailand"

This is incorrect. The Embassy does not provide requests for boosters.

Not sure this is how every British person we are seeking to help reacts. See https://aseannow.com/forum/264-consular-team-activities/ for more detail on how some feel differently.

These are good questions, sharecropper. One of the team will get back to you next week with some guidance.

Raybangkok as hotandsticky says the Consular team at the Embassy in Bangkok has no more access to DWP than you do. If you wish to complain you can find out how at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions/about/complaints-procedure

Thailand Travel Advice has been updated with additional information on vaccines in Thailand (Coronavirus page).