Visa refusal decision reversed !

[killblues]

Hi all , I posted on the 12 April how my 60 day tourist visa application from the uk had been refused 6 hours before my flight as they said I had to be in the uk at the time I applied even though I actually was in the uk. I thought (as did everyone who replied on here) that I would just have to suck it up even though it was the Thai embassy’s mistake not mine. 
I was surprised to receive an email on the 17th April (I arrived in Thailand visa exempt on the 12th) asking me to forward copies of my  inward and outwards flight tickets which I forwarded to them more out of curiosity than expectation. Imagine my surprise when today I’ve received an email from them saying my visa has been granted ! 
 

Ok it’s a pain because I’ll have to leave the country and re-enter to validate the visa but at least they’ve done the decent thing and admitted their mistake. 
 

Let’s hope this is a sign of things to come ???????? Don’t hold your breath though ????

[brianthainess]

So once their Easter and Songkran holidays were over in the UK they caught up with their backlog.

[sandyf]

19 minutes ago, killblues said:

that I would just have to suck it up even though it was the Thai embassy’s mistake not mine. 

The Embassy is not to blame here.

You applied on April 1st for a flight on April 12th with an Easter weekend in between.

Sending something on the 5th April wasn't going to get an answer till the following week.

The London Embassy is fairly efficient but you can't blame them for closing over the holiday period, check the calendar next time and allow time for a query.

[killblues]

 

 

7 minutes ago, sandyf said:

The Embassy is not to blame here.

You applied on April 1st for a flight on April 12th with an Easter weekend in between.

Sending something on the 5th April wasn't going to get an answer till the following week.

The London Embassy is fairly efficient but you can't blame them for closing over the holiday period, check the calendar next time and allow time for a query.

 

The embassy refused the app on the grounds that I wasn’t in the UK when I applied even though I was in the UK. How is that not their mistake ? 

[sandyf]

1 minute ago, killblues said:

The embassy refused the app on the grounds that I wasn’t in the UK when I applied even though I was in the UK. How is that not their mistake ? 

That is not the point, given the holiday situation you didn't allow reasonable time for the application to be dealt with. A earlier application would have allowed more processing time. The reality is you only allowed about 6 days.

As far as the refusal is concerned that is something else. The Embassy would take it that you were in the UK at time of application unless you gave them reason to think otherwise. The text of the questions is not always as clear as it should be and it is fairly obvious from comments on this forum that people often misinterpret what is being asked. They need to be read several times before making an answer.

[killblues]

26 minutes ago, sandyf said:

That is not the point, given the holiday situation you didn't allow reasonable time for the application to be dealt with. A earlier application would have allowed more processing time. The reality is you only allowed about 6 days.

As far as the refusal is concerned that is something else. The Embassy would take it that you were in the UK at time of application unless you gave them reason to think otherwise. The text of the questions is not always as clear as it should be and it is fairly obvious from comments on this forum that people often misinterpret what is being asked. They need to be read several times before making an answer.

Firstly , the holiday period is quite clearly irrelevant as they had time to consider and refuse the application before I left the UK. Previous applications (in the last 12 months) have been granted within 48 hours. I know I left it late but I had my reasons and understood the consequences should the visa not be issued until after I arrived in Thailand. 
 

“The Embassy would take it that you were in the UK at time of application unless you gave them reason to think otherwise.”

 

I’ve been back over my application several times and I’m 100% sure everything is correct. The only thing I sent in reply to the embassies most recent email was the copy of my flight tickets of which I had already sent an identical copy. There was absolutely nothing that could imply I wasn’t in the UK at the time of the application. 
 

 

[BritTim]

2 hours ago, killblues said:

Firstly , the holiday period is quite clearly irrelevant as they had time to consider and refuse the application before I left the UK. Previous applications (in the last 12 months) have been granted within 48 hours. I know I left it late but I had my reasons and understood the consequences should the visa not be issued until after I arrived in Thailand. 
 

“The Embassy would take it that you were in the UK at time of application unless you gave them reason to think otherwise.”

 

I’ve been back over my application several times and I’m 100% sure everything is correct. The only thing I sent in reply to the embassies most recent email was the copy of my flight tickets of which I had already sent an identical copy. There was absolutely nothing that could imply I wasn’t in the UK at the time of the application. 
 

 

The "it did not happen to me" crowd will always try to blame the victim in cases like this. While a bit unlucky, you cannot complain that you received the e-visa late (for reasons explained by others). However, there is no excuse for accusing you of not being in the UK when there was evidence that you were.

[sherwood]

3 hours ago, sandyf said:

That is not the point, given the holiday situation you didn't allow reasonable time for the application to be dealt with. A earlier application would have allowed more processing time. The reality is you only allowed about 6 days.

As far as the refusal is concerned that is something else. The Embassy would take it that you were in the UK at time of application unless you gave them reason to think otherwise. The text of the questions is not always as clear as it should be and it is fairly obvious from comments on this forum that people often misinterpret what is being asked. They need to be read several times before making an answer.

Pushing a fairly dry argument there sandyf.

[hotandsticky]

33 minutes ago, sherwood said:

Pushing a fairly dry argument there sandyf.

 

I think that he got out of bed on the wrong side this morning...... 

[Maestro]

5 hours ago, sandyf said:

That is not the point...

 

That was exactly the point.

 

Please stop bickering.

[CMBob]

Having never heard of the reason they initially gave you (that you were not located in the UK), one wonders why an embassy clerk reached that conclusion.  Perhaps a simple error or computer glitch on their part or, for some reason unknown to you, they saw something leading them to believe you were not in the UK.  As to the latter possibility, only thing I can think of that might cause that thinking is that you were using a VPN which would indicate your online application was sourced in another country. 

In any event, hopefully there's no issue in you doing a border bounce in some fashion and activating your now-granted Tourist Visa.

[sandyf]

16 hours ago, killblues said:

“The Embassy would take it that you were in the UK at time of application unless you gave them reason to think otherwise.”

 

I’ve been back over my application several times and I’m 100% sure everything is correct. The only thing I sent in reply to the embassies most recent email was the copy of my flight tickets of which I had already sent an identical copy. There was absolutely nothing that could imply I wasn’t in the UK at the time of the application. 

Comments on the forum have shown this question causes some confusion and brought a variety of responses.

 

" Applicant must apply for e-Visa via specific Embassy/Consulate conforming with his/her consular jurisdiction and residency. Applicant is required to upload document that can verify his/her current residency. *"

 

Difficult to know how this would be interpreted. I used my passport without a problem but I could see how staff may think an address should be included. I know people who have submitted document with address and had no problem so the way I will choose in the future.

A more observant member of staff may have related your flight to the above question but not something that could be relied on, particularly with pressure from the impending holiday.

From the outcome it would appear that the overall assessment of the application wasn't as good as it should have been but that does not mean that there were any actual mistakes made.

Edited April 21, 2023 by sandyf

[killblues]

1 hour ago, sandyf said:

Comments on the forum have shown this question causes some confusion and brought a variety of responses.

 

" Applicant must apply for e-Visa via specific Embassy/Consulate conforming with his/her consular jurisdiction and residency. Applicant is required to upload document that can verify his/her current residency. *"

 

Difficult to know how this would be interpreted. I used my passport without a problem but I could see how staff may think an address should be included. I know people who have submitted document with address and had no problem so the way I will choose in the future.

A more observant member of staff may have related your flight to the above question but not something that could be relied on, particularly with pressure from the impending holiday.

From the outcome it would appear that the overall assessment of the application wasn't as good as it should have been but that does not mean that there were any actual mistakes made.

I used the same method I have used on previous successful applications. I haven’t sent any new documents since the application was submitted therefore the fact that my visa has now been issued would imply that the original documents were sufficient. 

[Chongalulu]

1 hour ago, sandyf said:

From the outcome it would appear that the overall assessment of the application wasn't as good as it should have been but that does not mean that there were any actual mistakes made.

Firstly,there was a mistake made; for no logical reason they simply wrongly assessed he wasn’t in uk . Secondly,the excuse you made that he didn’t allow enough time is specious because they DID deal with the application within that time (erroneously) nor raise a query,simply wrongly rejected it. The time element is only a factor,not because any query was raised but BECAUSE they made an error which they have effectively admitted by now reversing the decision 

[BritTim]

6 hours ago, CMBob said:

Having never heard of the reason they initially gave you (that you were not located in the UK), one wonders why an embassy clerk reached that conclusion. 

A complete guess is that the application was made using a Thai debit/credit card, thus erroneously leading a mentally subnormal official to assume that the applicant was in Thailand.

[JackGats]

3 hours ago, sandyf said:

...

 

" Applicant must apply for e-Visa via specific Embassy/Consulate conforming with his/her consular jurisdiction and residency. Applicant is required to upload document that can verify his/her current residency. *"

...

 

I've wondered myself if it sufficed to be a national of the country in which the Thai consulate is situated. It might become an issue in my case as the bank statements I would produce as proof of income are from a bank in a third country. And I am definitely no longer a resident of my country of birth. Might lead to a catch-22 situation.

[sandyf]

1 hour ago, JackGats said:

I've wondered myself if it sufficed to be a national of the country in which the Thai consulate is situated. It might become an issue in my case as the bank statements I would produce as proof of income are from a bank in a third country. And I am definitely no longer a resident of my country of birth. Might lead to a catch-22 situation.

When I did mine last year I used bank statements from my Thai bank and it wasn't a problem.

[Maestro]

10 hours ago, JackGats said:

I've wondered myself if it sufficed to be a national of the country in which the Thai consulate is situated.

The section Supporting Documents in the online application process for a tourist eVisa requires the upload of a document regarding the applicant's address in 2 places, under point 7 and point 9: 

 

 

I live in Switzerland and when I applied for a tourist visa I uploaded a sheet with the text "not applicable" under point 7, and under point 9 I uploaded the same  statement for a bank account in Switzerland which I had already uploaded under point 6.

[Maestro]

This topic is now closed.