Video Interview with the British Embassy Consular Team in Thailand - August 2020

[Stoker58]

56 minutes ago, philba said:

They do plenty behind the scenes. You and your well placed source just don't know about it.

What on earth do you mean by "I have looked into their messages" ? Whose messages to who ?

 I have used freedom of information and data protection requests to see internal emails that they never thought would be seen by outsiders. Got it now?

And my police source is in a position where he would see any incoming correspondence from the consulate. There is virtually nothing, and what there is is extremely deferential.

[Stoker58]

1 hour ago, philba said:

They do plenty behind the scenes.......

And you know that how? Which one of the Consulate Four are you?

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Some off topic posts and a post revealing personal information have been removed. 

[sandyf]

10 hours ago, Dogmatix said:

 

So from what you are saying the reciprocal agreements are actually to do with social security, rather than pension, like the agreements within the EU that allow EU citizens to claim social security and healthcare in other member countries?  On the other hand I don't know the reciprocal agreement with the US covers, since they have virtually no social security zero national health service. 

 

Anyway it still sounds like the reciprocal agreements have nothing or little to do with pension but not having them is just a great excuse for government to cheat pensioners out of large chunks of their pensions. Politicians can afford to cheat expats and ignore their complaints because they present no threat at election time.

I haven't read the US agreement, it will be somewhere online, it may only cover pensions but would still be a social security agreement as they are seen as a social security benefit.

Your last sentence is absolutely spot on, and majority of the UK population don't even the know the practice of freezing pensions even exists. The WASPIs got high level media coverage because they are in the UK, as expats we are P'ing in the wind.

https://www.waspi.co.uk/

[foggy farang]

In times of conflict, civil unrest and war foreign nationals have sought refuge within their countries Embassy's. What advice would the British Embassy Consular team give to British expats living in Thailand on gaining access to the new Embassy in times of conflict?

How would the Embassy cope with 100's of expats fleeing conflict and looking for a place of safety?

Selling the old British Embassy was a gross dereliction of Duty you all ought to be ashamed of yourselves.

[NanLaew]

On 8/12/2020 at 11:01 AM, robert888d said:

They seemed a pleasant enough trio ,but seem to do very little at all for the British Community  here. If you need a new passport it is a Thai agency that deals with it,likewise if you need a UK Visa for Thai partner etc.I  would have liked each one to have said what exactly they did in the previous week to help British nationals...very little I would imagine.

Since most of the questions they were asked covered ground that we already know isn't in their remit such as passports, visas and pensions, why didn't you post your more useful, "What exactly did you do last week to help British nationals?" question when you had the chance?

[philba]

4 hours ago, Stoker58 said:

And you know that how? Which one of the Consulate Four are you?

I'm an ex-civil servant. As for the Consulate Four, I have no idea what that means.

By the way, it's an Embassy.

[Stoker58]

24 minutes ago, philba said:

I'm an ex-civil servant. As for the Consulate Four, I have no idea what that means.

By the way, it's an Embassy.

 

24 minutes ago, philba said:

 

By the way, it’s a consulate. There’s a clue in the title of this topic.....”Consular team”.

You don’t seem to know the difference between a consulate and an embassy, so I doubt if you know much about what they do.

[philba]

 

42 minutes ago, Stoker58 said:

 

By the way, it’s a consulate. There’s a clue in the title of this topic.....”Consular team”.

You don’t seem to know the difference between a consulate and an embassy, so I doubt if you know much about what they do.

I know plenty thanks.

Still an Embassy.

 

 

[philba]

1 hour ago, Stoker58 said:

 

By the way, it’s a consulate. There’s a clue in the title of this topic.....”Consular team”.

 

The 2 words before that are an even bigger clue.....

[Stoker58]

1 hour ago, philba said:

The 2 words before that are an even bigger clue.....

 Well, you were definitely a civil servant if you don’t know the difference between a consulate and an embassy. I’m guessing maybe you still “work” there.

[philba]

48 minutes ago, Stoker58 said:

 Well, you were definitely a civil servant if you don’t know the difference between a consulate and an embassy. I’m guessing maybe you still “work” there.

Yes, I DO know the difference, as it's not complicated to understand.

That's how I know it's an Embassy, not a Consulate.

Oh, and no I don't work there.

I've copied and pasted the title of this thread below in case you still haven't grasped it yet. (words 4 & 5)

 

Interview with the British Embassy Consular Team in Thailand - August 2020

[Jonathan Fairfield]

An off topic post was removed

[GuyFawkes]

On 8/12/2020 at 7:00 PM, colinneil said:

Once again another clueless comment..... Coma, maybe you can find someone who will explain to you about comas, because it appears you are clueless.

Well said Colin!

[British Consular Team]

On 8/13/2020 at 1:07 PM, NanLaew said:

Since most of the questions they were asked covered ground that we already know isn't in their remit such as passports, visas and pensions, why didn't you post your more useful, "What exactly did you do last week to help British nationals?" question when you had the chance?

Happy to answer that question - it's a good one - when we start the Q&A section proper next week. We've also just updated section 3 with a taste of what the team did this week.  

[British Consular Team]

On 8/13/2020 at 6:11 PM, philba said:

Yes, I DO know the difference, as it's not complicated to understand.

That's how I know it's an Embassy, not a Consulate.

Oh, and no I don't work there.

I've copied and pasted the title of this thread below in case you still haven't grasped it yet. (words 4 & 5)

 

Interview with the British Embassy Consular Team in Thailand - August 2020

Perhaps I can help put this one to bed? We are a Consular team, yes, and I am a Consul, but we work in an Embassy. Consulates are smaller offices led by a Consul General, not an Ambassador. In China, for example, we have an Embassy in Beijing and Consulates in several cities. 

[cleopatra2]

1 hour ago, British Consular Team said:

Perhaps I can help put this one to bed? We are a Consular team, yes, and I am a Consul, but we work in an Embassy. Consulates are smaller offices led by a Consul General, not an Ambassador. In China, for example, we have an Embassy in Beijing and Consulates in several cities. 

What is The British Consulate /  Embassy advice to British nationals who do not have any social or family connections/ home in the UK.

Is the advice to return to the UK even if it means being homeless ?.

 

In addition to the above is the UK position that British nationals who fall into the category of Covid vulnerable should return to the UK ?.

[Derek B]

On 8/12/2020 at 8:53 AM, jayboy said:

They are not particularly well paid.They are mid to junior level bureaucrats doing their best.You are never going to find the most dynamic people doing this kind of job.Overall however I think you and others are being unfair and my impression is they are acquitting themselves quite well. But the fact remains Foreign Office or Home Office high flyers don't do this kind of consular work.Perhaps they should in countries like Thailand but I doubt that will ever happen.

 

Where I would partially agree with you is that for this kind of discussion it's not really good enough to say this or that subject is not within our remit (even if that is true). It would be best to say this or that is not our job but our understanding is such and such.As the contact point between the Embassy and the British expat community they know what are the common concerns and should prepare themselves even if these matters are not strictly their responsibility.To be fair the team being interviewed made some effort to do this.

 

 

Well said.........................I think the next Video should feature personnel from the UK VISA issuing department or a mixture of spoke persons from different departments.

[Derek B]

On 8/12/2020 at 4:44 PM, NeoDinosaw said:

In the old days, when I was renewing my annual visa, I just took the P60s for my pensions and copies of bank statements - original of course to get the letter from the British Consulate.  These are accepted by the Royal Thai Consulate in London , so why can't the British Consulate accept them too ?    

You would need to have those docs notorised I expect which can be done in the UK by post.

[Derek B]

I personally am not too happy with UK Embassy & Consular services globally however I see little point in complaining locally as the staff will be following due processes laid out by Whitehall - so better to contact HMFO in London with regard to perceived failings.

 

 

[Derek B]

On 8/12/2020 at 8:55 AM, Dogmatix said:

It’s a surprisingly small team with only only two accredited British diplomats. The Americans have loads of accredited US diplomats in their consular section.

I wonder why..................

[NanLaew]

13 hours ago, cleopatra2 said:

What is The British Consulate /  Embassy advice to British nationals who do not have any social or family connections/ home in the UK.

Is the advice to return to the UK even if it means being homeless ?.

Maybe lie in that bed that you made?

 

13 hours ago, cleopatra2 said:

In addition to the above is the UK position that British nationals who fall into the category of Covid vulnerable should return to the UK ?

Why not? They can do fourteen day quarantine like everyone else, no?

[izod10]

On 8/12/2020 at 3:11 AM, Dogmatix said:

I have never understood the justification of freezing pensions because there is no reciprocal agreement. The government has received exactly the same contributions from the pensioners and should pay the same to all. My brother lives in the US and gets his UK pension index linked because there is reciprocal agreement but the US government doesn’t contribute to it. It costs the UK government the same as it would if he were living anywhere else.

 

Thailand doesn’t have a comparable state pension. So there will obviously never be a reciprocal agreement. What a criminal excuse for cheating retirees out of their fully paid up pensions. Utterly disgusting!

Exactly,well said. I have always considered frozen pension to be a human rights issue.  The money(pension) is churned out from the UK base,from where it lands should be of no concern of theirs,but have stuck doggedly to a ruling made decades before that bear no semblance to anything today

Anyway cut to the chase ,where there is a crime ,there is a punishment,where there is no punishment ,no crime either

[TooBigToFit]

Would it be an insult to ask the Asian woman if she is a British citizen? Were this Thai embassy staff in the UK, asking a White woman sitting among the group if she is Thai would probably be a popular question. I'd also like to ask the group if they condemn the people connected to the regime and institutions committing the human rights abuses going on in Thailand.

[kingofthemountain]

41 minutes ago, TooBigToFit said:

I'd also like to ask the group if they condemn the people connected to the regime and institutions committing the human rights abuses going on in Thailand.

I don't think it's their role to do that

even as individuals, for obvious reasons

they probably don't do that in public anyway

 

[NanLaew]

17 hours ago, TooBigToFit said:

Would it be an insult to ask the Asian woman if she is a British citizen? Were this Thai embassy staff in the UK, asking a White woman sitting among the group if she is Thai would probably be a popular question.

Not so much an insult as irrelevant maybe?

 

Apart from yourself, who do you think would find having a 'White woman sitting among the group' of Thai embassy workers in the UK as something worthy of question?

 

17 hours ago, TooBigToFit said:

I'd also like to ask the group if they condemn the people connected to the regime and institutions committing the human rights abuses going on in Thailand.

They are consular staff and once again, asking for their personal opinions would be another irrelevancy. Maybe you are the bar stool busybody that probes everyone within boring range about what their politics are?

 

Are you also going to ask them if they have an opinion on whether the locals adhere to the precepts of Buddhism?

[TooBigToFit]

34 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Not so much an insult as irrelevant maybe?

 

Apart from yourself, who do you think would find having a 'White woman sitting among the group' of Thai embassy workers in the UK as something worthy of question?

 

They are consular staff and once again, asking for their personal opinions would be another irrelevancy. Maybe you are the bar stool busybody that probes everyone within boring range about what their politics are?

 

Are you also going to ask them if they have an opinion on whether the locals adhere to the precepts of Buddhism?

Well, I think every Thai citizen would have that question in their head. Can you name one White person who is in the Thai government at any level? My only point is Britain and the western world are open to all people of the world becoming citizens and participating in government. Thailand is basically pretty much racist. 

 

As for the human rights points, I don't expect an answer. The British embassy like most all are out for business opportunity before morality. Their values have literally never changed since they have been in Thailand.

 

So, my questions were just for the sake of noting the truth. Thais will protest today for their human rights. Like censored Thai TV, we can't discuss this issue with diplomats or their staff. Their role is to wait for the winner and keep the business flowing.

 

As for your barstool comment, I think you fit in that seat much better. You asked me about Buddhism. No I wouldn't bring that up. Anyone who can reason can figure that one out. I did think of asking what they think about Richard Barrow and why the Thai regime or its fascist supporters might want to kick him out of the country.

[PGSan]

On 8/12/2020 at 12:44 PM, Gandtee said:

But it would change mine at 59.93 quid. ????

And mine at about 6 times this amount!  Loadsa Chang! ????

[Stoker58]

21 hours ago, TooBigToFit said:

I'd also like to ask the group if they condemn the people connected to the regime and institutions committing the human rights abuses going on in Thailand.

  To be fair, it’s not the business of a consulate to get involved in human rights or student protests. That’s government level stuff.

  What I want to know is why the “team” are so reluctant to confront the Thai police when Brits are imprisoned without a phone call or a lawyer and the police don’t tell the embassy. There was an example in Phuket just recently, and there have been many other cases.

[British Consular Team]

On 8/12/2020 at 8:53 AM, jayboy said:

They are not particularly well paid.They are mid to junior level bureaucrats doing their best.You are never going to find the most dynamic people doing this kind of job.Overall however I think you and others are being unfair and my impression is they are acquitting themselves quite well. But the fact remains Foreign Office or Home Office high flyers don't do this kind of consular work.Perhaps they should in countries like Thailand but I doubt that will ever happen.

 

Where I would partially agree with you is that for this kind of discussion it's not really good enough to say this or that subject is not within our remit (even if that is true). It would be best to say this or that is not our job but our understanding is such and such.As the contact point between the Embassy and the British expat community they know what are the common concerns and should prepare themselves even if these matters are not strictly their responsibility.To be fair the team being interviewed made some effort to do this.

 

 

Thanks for this. You make a good point about us being the contact point between the British community and Embassy (or perhaps better to say other UK gov departments). We'll have a think about how we can improve our response in this area. And I also agree with you on the pay point! Although we'll have to differ on the question of high-fliers or not, as I joined Consular soon as I could when I finished the Fast Steam programme and hire the best people I can find for my team...