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theoldgit

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Posts posted by theoldgit

  1. As he intends to spend longer in the Netherlands than in France, he was right to obtain his visa from the Dutch authorities, even though is first arrival into the Schengen Area was at CDG.

     

    If he has a long stopover in Paris, that visa would allow him entry into the country, though it would be good if he had declared his actual travel plans when applying.

     

    Transitting airside is fine with his visa issued by the Dutch. 

  2. 18 hours ago, sandyf said:

    Where there is a will there is a way.

    I went back to the UK in August, the day after I had renewed my marriage extension. Came back early Oct, my insurance did not cost me anything and there was no age limit.

     

    If you're referring to the Emirates policy that was included with their flights, they're dropping that offer with tickets sold after the 1 December.

    It was certainly good while it lasted.

     

    Edit: I note that the removal of the free insurance after November has already been mentioned a few times.

    • Like 1
  3. There seem to be plenty of domestic tourists in Hua Hin at the moment, the car park by the old ferry terminal at Khao Takiab was packed on Saturday, with cars queueing up to get in, and leave, probably all wanting to leave Bangkok before the massive influx of tourists expected there this week, the main road through the town is certainly a lot busier now..

     

    A lot of Thai families on the beach with sellers doing a roaring trade in mats, the Thai people certainly adapt to the current market.

    • Like 1
  4. This is the latest guidance for travelling to the UK https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-to-england-from-another-country-during-coronavirus-covid-19

     

    Travellers from Thailand have to produce a vaccination certificate, the "Yellow Vaccine Passport" isn't required, it isn't even mentioned, so I would doubt that it's better, this is the guidance:  https://www.gov.uk/guidance/countries-with-approved-covid-19-vaccination-programmes-and-proof-of-vaccination

    • Thanks 1
  5. On 8/30/2021 at 8:40 AM, theoldgit said:

     

    Likewise, my wife has already got a letter confirming she entitled to 50% of my current Civil Service Pension on my demise, and my young neice has been nominated to act on her behalf to navigate the claim system when the time comes, thankfully Sara thinks the world of my wife.

     

    What we don't know yet if she would be will be entitled the Personal Tax Allowance if she lives in Thailand, the tax difference is about 9,400 Baht a month.  

     

    Further to my earlier post, I've received clarification from my Pension Provider, the Civil Service Pension Scheme.

     

    It depends what scheme you're on, my wife is lucky.

     

    Thank you for your email with regards to your Civil Service Widows Pension.

    An age difference reduction to widows pensions is only applied to member's who are in the Premium/Nuvos/Alpha sections of the pension scheme. The rules of these sections of the scheme state a reduction must be applied if the spouse is over 12 years younger than the member. However as you are in the classic section of the scheme no such ruling applies and a spouse is entitled to the full widows pension regardless of age difference.

  6. 14 hours ago, sharecropper said:

    Great link and thanks for the reply. What is the usual delay in terms of (hopefully) days for obtaining the consular letter after the relevant documents are submitted, and does my wife have to go and hang around outside the Embassy trying to get to see someone - or can it all be done online?

     

    Info from the link:

     

    Get a Consular Letter

    Thai local authorities need a Consular Letter from the embassy before they release the body for burial, cremation or repatriation. The next of kin must provide proof they are related to the person that died and inform the embassy in writing who they have requested to make the arrangements. If someone other than the next of kin is making the arrangements, they need to provide a copy of their passport and Thai ID before the Consular Letter can be issued.

  7. 14 hours ago, BLACKJACK2 said:

    ......... The reason for the 10yr visa is really in case my wife needed to get to the UK in a hurry. A little bit of background. I have been with my wife 20yrs and we have an 18yr old son. When you applied at the embassy we had 5 visas. They then outsourced to Regents House, 2007 I think we applied and got rejected, the whole experience was terrible and I said I would never apply again.............

     

    Just to be clear the outsourcing at Regent and subsequently at Trendy was/is only for the receiving of supporting evidence and now just the biometric capture, the actual decision making is carried out by UKVI staff, either in India or the UK.

     

    My wife has a longer term visa, it's not very cost effective, especially with the difficulties of the last couple of years, but we took the same view as you that it gave us the peace of mind, should we need to travel to the UK in a hurry.

     

    We live in Thailand so it might be easier to satisfy the decision maker that my wife would return to our home here, rather than you guys who live in different parts of the world, there will always be an element of doubt in the decision makers eyes, that doesn't mean that an application would fail, but it's a risk.

     

    You will not need the previous paper work, her application will be based of her current circumstances, she will would need to submit the relevant pages of her previous pages though. 

    • Like 2
  8. 1 hour ago, BLACKJACK2 said:

    I thought it was all done online now. The only thing I can really provide from this side is a sponsorship letter.

     

    Yes, applications are submitted online, but there's really nothing to prevent you assiting your wife by submitting the forms on her behalf, the application would still be hers and she would be responsible for its content, and of course know what the content is, and she would need to attend the Visa Application Centre.

    Supporting docs can be uploaded from anywhere.

    A reputable agent would certainly be a good option.

    • Like 2
  9. The use of an agent can be reassuring for some applicants, though you can do most of the donkey work from the UK if you wished.

     

    If she does use an agent pick a reputable one, preferably one that’s registered with OISC in the UK, whilst that’s not a legal requirement here in Thailand, there are a lot of cowboys claiming to be reputable agents.

    • Like 2
  10. 23 minutes ago, sandyf said:

     Heathrow are putting the taxes up next year.

     

    It's been reported that Heathrow wanted to almost double their charges but the regulator trimmed back the increase.

     

    The Guardian has reported that the Chancellor intends to substantially increase the APD for ultra long destinations, giving Singapore as an example of "ultra long", we will have to wait until Wednesday to see if there's any truth in that. 

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