jayboy

7 hours ago, Surelynot said:

Wouldn't necessarily disagree with the findings....only draw back is that it gives a nice little 'out' for the atrocious handling of the pandemic in the USA, UK and Brazil.......

Does it though? I would have thought the overwhelming evidence that obesity and overcrowding are among the key factors adds to better understanding.But those who are simply interested in weaponising the COVID pandemic for political ends certainly will be a little deflated.

Sent an email yesterday to VFS seeking an appointment (gave 3 dates/times for last week of March). When should I expect a reply?

22 minutes ago, polpott said:

555. Scottish Conservatives won zero seats in 1997, one seat in 2001, 2005, 2010 and 2015 GEs. A long and honourable history indeed!

Thatcher didn't go down well in Scotland.Before then the Tories were a powerful element in Scotland for over a hundred years so educate yourself on the history. With respect you are really missing the point.In living memory the Tories were the leading party in Scotland in numbers of voters.You miss out the 2017 GE in which the Tories in Scotland out polled Labour and achieved only about 200,000 votes less than the SNP'S 980,000 votes.A proportional representation system would make the Tories a force to reckon with - not that I support PR.

I'm not suggesting the Tories are a threat to the SNP any time soon but it's just silly to pretend they're not a very significant part of the Scottish political culture and have been for a long time.

27 minutes ago, RuamRudy said:

I think what you refer to is conservatism with a small C. There is no doubt that there is a sizeable number of people in Scotland, especially in the rural communities who hold more Presbyterian views, and many who still vote Tory out of faithfulness to party if not personalities or current policy. 

Actually I'm not referring to social conservatives but to Scottish Tories, not the same thing at all.Even in the recent General Election when the SNP triumphed as never before, the Scottish Tories managed at least half the SNP's vote total.With proportional representation - not that I'm arguing for it - they would be a very sizeable force.With Labour in Scotland a dead horse, I'm pretty sure the SNP leadership isn't complacent about the Tory threat, all the more formidable if independence is achieved and the SNP (shades of the Brexit Party) has served its essential purpose.

2 hours ago, RuamRudy said:

If the tories weren't so despised in Scotland, they would have more seats. Its as simple as that. 

 

I'm not sure the Tories are so despised in Scotland in the way you suggest.I think Johnson is but that's a different matter.There's a long and honourable history of Scottish conservatism, fiercely proud and independent epitomised by the great John Buchan who said every Scot should be a nationalist.The SNP leadership is now left leaning and they have the wind behind them, even with present shenanigans and they will do well in May.But I wouldn't rule Scottish Tories out, even after independence - if it happens.They are Scots before they are Unionists.

2 hours ago, RuamRudy said:

 

If she was as bad as you say, I guess we will find out soon enough.

 

Comparison is not deflection, nor am I responsible for the comparison that many people seem to be making. Nor will I be responsible for the conclusions they draw - a woman who actually stands up to scrutiny. 

Comparisons need to be made but not the ones you make in your attempt to deflect.The most worrying one is that England it would be unthinkable for the Crown Prosecution Service to interfere with a House of Commons Inquiry in the disgraceful way that has occurred in the Scottish equivalents.Even admirers of Sturgeon, of which I am one, need to recognise something stinks in this business.

On 3/1/2021 at 3:23 PM, supersomchai said:

In normal times i wouldnt dream of expecting a vaccination via my embassy/consulate .

However we are in exceptional times a global pandemic where the rule book is torn up.

Why cant the Uk embassy show some inspiring initiative and provide vaccinations for its citizens abroad

for free or paid.....??????

 

 

I think that's an unreasonable suggestion.This is Thailand with its first class medical infrastructure not Burkina Faso.But it raises some interesting questions -

1.How many British expatriates would likely be take up the offer should it be available? My guess is not that many at all since by July/August the vaccine will be readily available at private hospitals - and apparently expatriates will also qualify to participate in the Thai government roll out.

2.Are any embassies of major countries offering to vaccinate their citizens resident in Bangkok? As far as I know - none.

3.How are Embassy staff obtaining protection? Is the vaccine being imported from the UK for embassy staff use or will staff obtain protection from the virus here in Bangkok with the rest of us (see 1 above)?

55 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

There are Thai insurance companies that will issue insurance up to the age of 75. 

This company that is on the list of approved companies offers a policy that is less costly since it has a 200k baht deductible. See: https://www.lmginsurance.co.th/en/Products/Pages/Universal-Longstayvisa.aspx

Out of interest, is it the case that insurance is restricted to the approved Thai insurance companies? If not,I would have thought that since Marjf has full cover from BUPA, all that would be needed is a confirmation -with certified translation if nececessary - from the company that there is appropriate cover.

I'm probably missing something..

Looking for solar powered garden lights for smallish Bangkok garden.Homepro have a reasonable selection but is there a specialist shop or online seller? Looking for quality not cheapest available.

11 hours ago, scorecard said:

 

PR exit/re-entry stamps .... can be obtained at swampy* airport just before going to the passport desks to start a trip

Well there you go.I never knew that so thanks Scorecard for that info.

Still I don't think I will avail myself of that option whenever the time comes.From my viewpoint too much potential for stress and unpredictable delay.Will continue to get fixed up well in advance of travel at CW in tried and tested way.

4 minutes ago, OJAS said:

 

This will definitely suffice in complying with HMPO's utterly pointless "proof of address" requirement. Since they don't mail your new passport directly to the address of which they require you to provide suitable evidence, I can only surmise that this is a case of pure bureaucracy for pure bureaucracy's sake.

 

You assume wrong.It is simply a method, along with other checks, of ensuring the new passport is issued to the right person.

3 hours ago, British Consular Team said:

 

Thanks for your reply. I agree it's not ideal that we can't contact many of the Brits living in Thailand but it's difficult to resolve that particular problem, as many don't want to be contacted - and that's their right. I'd question the idea that we don't know how many Brits are resident in Thailand though, as Thai immigration authorities provide us with that info on request. That data may not be exact but it's an excellent indication.

Thank you for this full reply and I hesitate to make further points since I know you and your colleagues must have thought about this issue carefully.Anyway here goes.I don't think the minority of expats that don't want to contacted is a major factor.The vast majority would sign up whatever kind of register was on offer, actually much easier these days with Thailand's good internet/telecoms infrastructure.

I suppose a key indicator would be what other developed countries with sizeable resident populations are doing about this - particularly the Australians, the Japanese, the Germans, the French and the Americans.If they have generally come to the same conclusions as the Brits, that is evidence of sorts that our patchwork approach is as workable as can reasonably expected.If they have reached a different conclusion and maybe even come up with a workable  contact system, maybe it's time for the Brits to have a re-think.

Please don't bother to respond.You have already given a very decent reply.

On 1/27/2021 at 2:21 PM, British Consular Team said:

This is a question that comes up a lot, e.g. here. The FCDO's crisis registration system Locate was switched off in 2013. This was simply because people didn't use it (less than 1% of British travellers and residents overseas). With the additional detail that we also found that in a crisis the people who needed our help were not the people registering on Locate. 

 

It's important also to note that if you need our help in the event of a crisis we will provide you with a way to register your details with us.  An example of this was last summer during the C19 lockdown when over 1300 British Nationals registered with the Consular team.

 

The best way to stay updated on this and other information is by following our travel advice and subscribing to our travel alerts. 

Thank you for this summary.However my specific question related to the surprising truth that consular officials may apparently have little or no idea of approximately how many British expatriates are resident in Thailand.I would have thought that would be essential information, not least in case of a hypothetical major emergency.I note that in such a crisis -though I wouldn't necessarily include the C19 lockdown in that category - a way would be found to allow British subjects to register their details.Nevertheless it might be thought that having no real idea how many British residents there are in Thailand and with no way to contact many of them might be seen as possible problem in the making.

1 hour ago, Natai Beach said:

You must be from the UK? 
 

World leader in sequencing of viruses? Hasn’t really helped much. 
 

Not sure how you claim that the UK is the world leader. Sounds like something Boris would say. 
Looks like Iceland is well ahead of the UK to me.

https://www.sciencealert.com/iceland-tracks-and-contains-covid-19-by-genetically-sequencing-every-positive-case

 

The information I have is it most likely originated in Kent. It would be good if they could trace it back to the first patient. 

 

I remember the Chinese used the same argument last year.

 

Anyway. How good is Thailand!!!
 

 

You seem to be completely out of your depth.

For others that are interested please see the New York Times editorial below.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/22/opinion/coronavirus-uk-strain.html

Perhaps a silly question.I see that one's existing passport needs every page to be photocopied.Is it expected that these copies are cut to size of passport or is it okay to have the pages copied on to A4 paper?

On 1/22/2021 at 7:01 PM, crobe said:

In this day and age of electronic records it is not difficult for the Thai immigration to provide to each embassy a list of their nationals in the country - drawn from the records of people incoming at airports, borders, renewing visas, 90 day reporting etc.

It would amaze me if this was the case.It would not be easy at all.

It is the responsibility of embassies to have some system of knowing the numbers and basic details of their citizens resident.Different countries have different methods of doing this.We know the UK abandoned its former system but we don't know what system, if any, it has now.

I will pose a hypothetical situation.Suppose there was significant instability in Thailand and the Secretary of State sent the following question to the Embassy.

PLEASE ADVISE SOONEST APPROXIMATE NUMBERS OF BRITISH CITIZENS RESIDENT IN THAILAND OTHER THAN TOURISTS.FURTHER PLEASE ADVISE WHAT ARRANGEMENTS YOU HAVE IN PLACE TO CONTACT THEM IN CASE SITUATION DETERIORATES.

I wonder how the Embassy would respond.

26 minutes ago, Moonlover said:

You are right, embassies stopped keeping such a register quite a few years ago.

I was enquiring about British Embassy policy.Other Western embassies do keep some kind of record of their resident nationals though the methods differ, but mostly by voluntary registration.The Americans use a "warden system" which I'm told works well. I am sure that many slip through the net and many don't want to be on the radar but I would have thought most countries would want to know approximately how many of their citizens are resident.

Am I right in thinking that the British Embassy no longer has a register of British citizens resident in Thailand? Is it possible (and encouraged) to register one's presence with the Embassy? 

9 hours ago, Bkk Brian said:

 

Lies

 

This is corrupt private enterprise taking over what should be supplied by the Thai government. Will be saving Anutin's budget and providing a nice fat profit for the private hospitals. 3,200 baht when the cost price is only $5 USD (150 baht)

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1384867/sinovac-jabs-varying-prices-raise-alarm

It is private enterprise that has produced the vaccine in record time.I'm not sure that corruption is more likely on the private enterprise than on the government side.Private enterprise is driven by profit but this is tempered by competition so that the consumer should achieve a reasonable price.A fully government effort in a country like Thailand is in my opinion open to much greater exploitation, but without the private sector's advantage of relative efficiency.