theoldgit

I needed to pay a very small sum, a little over 6000 Baht, to a mate in England, he loaned me the cash as my atm card didn't work on the day I needed the money.

What a hassle, for a bit of fun it went like this - don't read if your easily bored :-)

OG - I would like to make a telegraphic transfer to a UK bank.

Girl 1 - The rate is 48 Baht, and she sticks her hand out.

OG - What do you need?

Girl 1 - The money you want to change.

OG - I don't want to change money, I want to send money.

Girl 1 - Blank look.

Girl 2 - What do you want to do?

OG - Explained again.

Boy 1 - What to you want to do?

OG - Explained again, with Girl 2 prompting.

Boy 1 - Do you have invoice?

OG - It's to pay back a loan to a friend.

Then gave details of his account, including the SWIFT code and copy of my passport.

Boy 1 - I need a copy of Mr *** passport.

OG - He is in England, and no I don't have a copy of his passport.

Boy 1 - Oh, proceeds to collect all the details again. How much do you want to send? Do you have an invoice?

OG - £125. No, I still don't have an invoice.

Girl 2 - That will be 6100 Baht plus 500 Baht for the SWIFT charges. You will also have to pay 1000 Baht for the UK to receive the money. Do you have an invoice?

OG - Santander have advised that there is no fee to receive the money, and no I still don't have an invoice.

Girl 2 - Why do you need to send the money?

OG - Explained again.

Boy 1 - Completes the transaction and takes money.

Girl 2 - I need to get manager to approve.

Boy 2 (Manager) - Why do you need to send money, do you have invoice, do you have copy of passport Mr ***.

OG - Explained again, and still don't have a copy of his passport.

Boy 2 - Signs it off.

A couple of days later I got a phone call to say the guy I was sending the money to was on a UK watch list and we need his full name, date of birth and the reason you are sending the cash. Now if you you knew who this guy was you would know how laughable that was. I told the girl I had the datails to hand and could give them now, she said no, you can call me back in a couple of days, I really had to insist that she took the details as I wanted to repay the loan, I really think she couldn't be bothered. The money was in his account a couple of days later.

Why is nothing ever simple in Thailand, and is there a building somewhere in Thailand full of copies of passports?

I'm just glad it wasn't for a large sum.

The visa section at the UK embassy does employ local staff; but only as clerical staff and interpreters.

All the decisions on applications are made by British staff who are direct employees of the British government and recruited in the UK; they are career civil servants. I imagine that for Australia it is the same (except for them being Australian, of course!).

Actually they are not all career Civil Servants as they do employ locally employed staff as ECO's, they recruited a number last year and they are about to recruit more, they don't even need to be British.

That said the criteria was that applicants should have worked in a visa issuing environment and were able to obtain UK security clearance, which rather narrows the field.

Also noticed a set of ads in the Bangkok Post recently for staff to work as Locally Delegated Officers in the visa section of the Australian Embassy, whilst these ads did not say that potential applicants did not say that they needed to have worked in a visa issuing environment it did say they needed to be able to obtain Australian Security Clearance, as I recall it did say what nationalities would likely to be able to do so.

Entry Clearance Officers and Locally Delegated Officers don't need to be career civil servants or even nationals of the country concerned, but they do need to prove that they can apply immigration law fairly and consistently to all applications and be able to obtain security clearance.

20 minutes?! More like 2 minutes. BTS is definitely the quickest and easiest way to go.

For sure, it's only a couple of minutes, leave the station in the direction of travel and exit to the right and you just cross the road to the embassy compound - or you can walk through the shopping centre on the right, think it's called Blue Wave, it's a Home Pro, down the escalator, turn left and entrance to the embassy is across the road, it's easier to cross there.

Obviously I cannot give a guarantee, but they are pretty efficient and I have never heard of anybody every being turned away, unless maybe if you get there just before they shut.

I have never waited more than an hour.

Hi theoldgit…no that is incorrect, and not stated…I wasn't offered and excepted Thai airlines –Because there was not an EVA representative to offer me , or the other people there anything. Thai airlines had a flight leaving about the same time—near empty—84 passengers on the whole plane, I made the decision to take it and pay for it.

Indeed you didn't say that, I just assumed that AA had endorsed your ticket for Thai.

Sorry about that, good luck.

It's the luck of the draw on the day, but if you go early and pick up a queue number you will probably be seen before lunch.

Edited for typo

Well, it didn't take long for an illustration as to why the HC is is a difficult and thankless job. Look at one has to deal with. Seriously, don't people think? The poor chap isn't even in a position to do something now and yet it starts with an unreasonable demand. Perhaps a collection will need to be taken to pay for the antacid and calmative potions that will be required. Fortunately, the designate is bald, so he won't be pulling his hair out in frustration. Sheesh, give the fellow a chance.

Exactly what I was thinking when I replied to the post, but I wasn't brave enough to say so.

Good points "geriatrickid"

I have been looking at the various FCO Web sites and wondered if, with your TV Channel, if you were interested in producing a programme on how Careline Services, a private company, has been providing UK passports since 1 January 2009. It actually took this company 2 months to give me my last passport and they do not answer the London number given out by the Hong Kong Consulate nor answer emails.

Careline Services do not provide passports, they are simply a company that handles the passport enquiries.

Whilst I can understand your frustration about the length of time you have waited for your passport the Consultate General in Hong Kong does advise that it can take up to four weeks, I make it about two weeks so far.

For sure open up a debate, but it needs to be accurate.

^^^

I agree, and whilst some of the goods will be symbolically destroyed, I'm sure most will find their way onto the market, for a small consideration of course.

Just be aware of one important thing with the turnstiles on the Skytrain, if you are carrying bags or luggage hold them up as you walk through the turnstiles. If you carry bags in front of you they trip the switch and close the gates pretty quickly - can be pretty painful (spoken with a high pitched voice)

Thongor Police Station seems to have a bit of a reputation, BKK James has mentioned it a couple of times.

I needed to go there to make a complaint, not about the police, I mentioned it to a friend who happens to be a Police Sergeant there, she advised me to never go there without a lawyer, I was pretty amazed by that statement but took her advice.

I've noticed recently that I'm losing my temper over little things that get my knickers in a twist. People not knowing how to do their jobs, or some over officious little plonker that can interpret a rule several ways but decides to do the way that will make the most trouble for me (just today). How do you keep your cool?

I'm almost at the point of getting medication because I'm losing it daily, with shopkeepers, the wife, at work, people dithering,

Thanks for posting this, I was begining to think it was only me that had this problem.

Thanks for the helpful reply. Will the signs and announcements be in English? Can you get a smartpass at any of the stations?

The Skytrain is very user friendly, and yes the signs are in English. You can get the smartpasses at any station, you can get the regular pass which just loads the fare and deducts the fare at the standard rate, no cheaper but convienient. If you are going to travel frequently you can get a 30 day pass which you can load with the number of trips you are going to make, these are slightly cheaper. By the way you swipe the smartpass, you only insert the single use tickets.

Never tried the busses, apart from my local one which costs 5.50 Baht, they always look too crowded for me, though I might start as I get more confident.

Agree never had a problem getting large items delivered free, you normally have to draw them a map, even had one item that beat me home.

BTS: go to a station and look at the signs. It is very idiot-proof, however, that may not be necessarily true in your case.

Buses: Get on and pay your fare. No need to ever get off.

Refrigerator: the only way to get a refrigerator home is to carry it on your back. No company will ever deliver a refrigerator for you, anywhere in the world.

It amazes me the lengths that people go to be <deleted>. Thanks for your valued input setbkk.

Par for the course with a few Thai Visa members I'm afraid, you do normally get some decent advice on this forum, but then you get idiots like this, and it's only his second post.

Playing devils advocate here, correct me if I'm wrong but the in circumstances such as your regulations allow you to be re-routed, stay in a hotel or get a refund, the choice is yours.

You were offerred and accepted an alternative flight with Thai, though I presume this would have been in economy rather than elite, so you got to your destination on a direct flight. OK you had to jump through hoops to get your flight and with Eva seemingly abandoning you, it must have been very frustrating, but you did get to Bangkok.

I find it suprising that Eva only sent you an email and didn't bother to call you on the number they had, did many more passengers turn up for this flight?

I did notice that there were very few dvd's on sale in MBK when I went there last week.

her visa is a multi, so she could return again before her visa expires on 1 oct 2010, and she would then not be allowed to return until may 1 2011, 12 months from her last 6th visa.... am i right?

No, the guidance is that she should only spend six months in the UK in a twelve month period, so as 7by7 says the clock would start when she entered the UK and she shouldn't spend more than six months in the12 months from that date.

She can apply for another visa as soon as the other one expires, or even before, but of course the longer she spends in the UK the more it makes the ECO suspect that she is trying to circumnavigate the system by attempting to use a tourist visa to spend much of her time there. Of course in every application for a tourist visa she will need to convince an ECO that she will leave the UK, and that might become increasing difficult the longer she spends away from home, does she have a job?

Yep she can do the later, she cannot remain in the UK after the visa expires which, in her case is six months after the issue date.

Without being alarmist you both need to bear in mind that she can still be denied entry into the UK even with a visa. It would be very rare for it to happen as the IO at the point of entry would need to convince a superior that the visa was fraudulently obtained or there had been a material change in circumstances. As I say very rare, but if your girlfriend had been in the UK for two months and was seeking to enter for a further two months they might consider that it warranted some further checking.

i know of plenty jobs here in uk that allow you to have unpaid leave , my job allows me 12 months if i wished

But still pretty unusual, I imagine that's why the ECO checked.

Yes the six month clock starts from the issue date of the visa, she cannot remain in the UK six months after the visa was issued.

Can you please change your ThaiVisa profile.

Your member title should now be Honorary Consul Member.

Give him a chance, he hasn't taken up post yet.

Out of curiosity how did you get the job?

Did the British Embassy approach you or was the position advertized?

Probably one of the posts you wont answer?

Certainly the position was advertised by the British Embassy and whilst it's not unusual for individuals to be invited to apply for certain positions I don't know if this happened in Howard's case. I do know that they did carry out a pretty vigorous and transparent recruitment campaign.

I have never met you Howard, though I have looked out for you on Walking Street when we have visited Pattaya, I wish you every success with your appointment, from what I have seen of you are a realist and I think you will do well.

I don't know what "Agent" told you that you need to supply phone records indicating that you have spent at least two minutes on the phone from a land land, that's a ridiculous statement and not one that a qualified advisor would give. ECO's realists and they are fully aware of the onset of cheaper phone methods, as others have said you can use Skype and can get phone records and with the cheap rate numbers, if these appear on you phone bill you can submit those and explain in your covering letter.

Subsequent visas would only be easier because it has shown the applicant has complied with a previous visa but, has already has been pointed out, each application is treated on merit and must show the current position so all the papers must be submitted.

Six hundred quid to fill out a form, I'm in the wrong <deleted> job.

now she wont be able travel anywhere in the next 10 YEARS

Not quite. Being refused a UK visa under Para 320(7A) does not mean she will now be refused a visa or entry to every other country. It is up to the country concerned.

Yes, if your Sister in Law can prove the letter was not fraudulently obtained then she should appeal. She needs to provide compelling evidence as you did say that the ECO investigated the validity of the letter, that may only have been a phone call but they wouldn't have done that unless there was something that aroused their suspicion.

7by7 is correct in saying that the ban only affects the UK, though she will have to declare it should wish to apply for a visa in most, if not all, other countries.

Whatever she decides to do, good luck.

^^^

You can submit the application from the UK but it will only save you a few days because, as has already been pointed out, the applicant still needs to go to Regent House to submit the hard copy of the application together with the supporting documents and to have their biometric details taken.