hi all,

I thought i would post about me and my wifes experience in Bangkok in pursuit of a TB test certificate and a marriage certificate ,as my experience may help others.

january 25th- get accomodation at Christan guest house as this is the nearest place to stay to the IOM office. it is in soi Saladaeng 2 just off Silom road. 1400 bhat a night plus 140 sevice charge. no fridge no tv and no drinking alcohol. but you can buy a big Singha beer out on the road for 60 bhat.

january 26th- walk approx 8 minutes to Kasemkij building arriving at 8.30 am. it is next to Bangkok christian hospital. go to the eighth floor. wife fills in some forms. walk about 5 minutes to Saladaeng sky train station. take sky train to Phaya Thai (4stops/ change at Siam square). walk 5mins to Phaya Thai hospital. wife has x-ray. take the sky train back to Saladaeng and walk to IOM office. give in the X-ray and wait for results. the test certificate was issued by 10.30 am.cost 2050 bhat.

next take sky train to Ploen Chit(4 stops/change at siam square) walk about 10 minutes to British Embassy. give in affirmation of freedom to marry and my passport. this was all done by about 11.30 or 12. cost of AOFTM 2625 bhat.

relax at night drinking beer in Patpong 1 outdoor bar and watch the world go by.

january 27th- take sky train to go to British embassy and pick up affirmation of freedom to marry at 9am .

walk out of embassy , turn right and walk about 5 mins, cross the road and walk over the footbridge and here you will see many offices for translation of documents. had the AOFTM translated into Thai in about 20 minutes and cost 300 bhat.

then we took a taxi to the ministry of foreign affairs,on Wattana road about 30 minutes . pay them 800 bhat and fill in a form . collect the stamped document at 1 pm.

then we took a taxi to an Amphur office , we chose Khet Bangrak office in Kwang Siphraya. ( near to silom road). fill in some more forms. wait about 2 hours and then we were issued with the marriage certificate.

take a taxi to a sky train station ( nearest was Saladaeng) take train back to Ploen Chit ( translation offices are right by Ploen Chit)and take the marriage certificate to a translation office. they translated the certificate from Thai to English . 3 pages took about 45 minutes and cost 900 bhat.

i met one man who payed an agency 9000 bhat to get the marriage certificate for him in one day, i spent about 2400 including the translation of the marriage certificate.

all done, and so i could have gone to the VAC office the next day to apply for a visa for my wife, although in my case the next day was a saturday. my point being that it is possible to get a tb test certificate,a marriage certificate and apply for a visa in three days.

i hope this post may be of some help to people who find themselves in the same situation.

good luck all

Scooty

I did all in 3 days as well, in January last year. OK it was a year ago but you could have saved even more money by having the translations done outside the MFA, ie the marriage certificate translation cost me 300bt outside the MFA. Still, it's good to let people know that it isn't too daunting, difficult or expensive.

Sierra, Did you come to Hereford on that dreaded day you played Hereford United to see who ended up in the conferance?

oh yes i also think i should mention my experience at the VAC centre as it may help someone else.

After we stayed at the Christian guest house , we then moved our accomodation to near Khoa san road, Banglampoo. It was the day to go to the VAC centre to apply for the settlement visa, so in the morning i went to the bank and i bought a cashier cheque made out to the British embassy for 19,500 bhat. when i arrived at the VAC they told me that the cashier cheque would not be accepted by the embassy and that i should have bought a bankers draft. so i take a taxi back to the bank and i get my money back. i then go back to the VAC centre and pay at the counter 19,000 bhat, i ask them

"is this a bankers draft"

they answer " no its a cashier cheque"

i say " you just told me that the embassy will not accept a cashier cheque"

they say " the embassy will accept a cashier cheque from the VAC centre but not from a bank"

the point of my post being that if anyone is going to apply for a visa by post in Thailand then make sure that you buy a "bankers draft" and not a cashier cheque.

good luck

scooty

oh yes i also think i should mention my experience at the VAC centre as it may help someone else.

After we stayed at the Christian guest house , we then moved our accomodation to near Khoa san road, Banglampoo. It was the day to go to the VAC centre to apply for the settlement visa, so in the morning i went to the bank and i bought a cashier cheque made out to the British embassy for 19,500 bhat. when i arrived at the VAC they told me that the cashier cheque would not be accepted by the embassy and that i should have bought a bankers draft. so i take a taxi back to the bank and i get my money back. i then go back to the VAC centre and pay at the counter 19,000 bhat, i ask them

"is this a bankers draft"

they answer " no its a cashier cheque"

i say " you just told me that the embassy will not accept a cashier cheque"

they say " the embassy will accept a cashier cheque from the VAC centre but not from a bank"

the point of my post being that if anyone is going to apply for a visa by post in Thailand then make sure that you buy a "bankers draft" and not a cashier cheque.

good luck

scooty

just a few additions to the above, just take cash to the VAC office they issue your check, translations are cheaper on the second floor of the building on the corner of Wireless RD and use the AMphur office near sam yan MRT station it is free and takes 30minutes-good info guys , all the best to you and your ladies!

Sierra, Did you come to Hereford on that dreaded day you played Hereford United to see who ended up in the conferance?

No, but the best team won so all's well that ends well!