Uk Embassy's Lousy Attitude

[palusa]

A few years ago my neice (Thai) who was at University in UK was robbed and her passport stolen whilst visiting Family in Thailand, she had only 6 weeks to her finals and had a valid visa for another 9 months in her stolen passport, she applied at the Embassy Bangkok for the visa to be transfered to her new passport and was refused, it seems her mum ( who was not well mentally) had convinced her Austrian husband that my neice was in some kind of danger and she wrote a letter to the Embassy, myself and my wife and her real father tried to explain to the Embassy about her mothers health but they refused to listen.

After a while the mother admitted to the Austrian husband that she lied and he retracted his name from the letter, we then got references from the UK in favour of my neices character from the local police, a solicitor, Parish councillor, 4 tutors and head of Social services for our area, we then applied again and again she was refused even though we had everyone concerned (except the mother) in the waiting room at the visa section, the ECO refused anyone an audience but instead got security in although no one at any time made any threats.

My neice although Thai, is an European resident and has the right to work and travel in the EU except the UK, she was educated from an early age in Vienna before going to Lancaster University in the UK, she never overstayed or broke any of her conditions whilst there. These facts made no difference to the awful people in the Visa section they just refused to see any reason.

My neice and her step father then flew to Vienna where the Embassy granted her a UK visa and she eventually, a year late, finished her education back in the UK, (the Vienna Embassy were by the way, unofficially disgusted with the Embassy Bangkok).

My neice is now working for an airline flies regularly to the UK and has no problems except with the "flag" from the UK Embassy Bangkok with any long term Visa applications

My mother who my neice has called grandma for 18 years has just come out of hospital with a heart attack and is also 75 this year, so the whole family is planning a suprise get together, with this in mind I phoned the UK Embassy Bangkok and asked for a meeting to explain all again with the Chief ECO so that we could possibly lift the morally wrong flag and have no Visa problems when my neice applies for a holiday Visa soon. The attitude of the replying official was absolutely disgusting.

It was not the rules i had a problem with I was that I got what i call verbally abused, I was dismissed like as if I was a nasty germ and told no appointments were allowed because there were too many people wanting to complain, i was told to write to the Home Office (should that of not been the foreign office?) and wait, I explained i just wanted to right a wrong and because my neice is on a very tight schedule could we not talk about the problem and get it sorted, I was sneered at and told to complain if i wanted, the attitude was very nasty, I asked to speak to someone in charge keeping my calm and was told doesnt matter what i want, write a complaint to the Home office and wait. The two people I talked to were very sad individuals, not giving their names, especially the second lady who was very rude, what bothers me is this problem has been going on for the last 20 years that I know of why has nobody in the Thai government not demanded a stop to this harrassment and humiliation their countrymen have to endure at the hands of a supposedly freindly embassy?.

Palusa

[joskydive]

I must admit that on the very few occassions that I have had to visit the Embassy in Bangkok, it hasn't been the most pleasant of experiences and I am British. The best thing you can do though is write to the Foreign Office and Home Office and the Thai Government about your experiences with them and see what happens. There is a major possibility that they don't know what is going on there.

If, as the lady says, 'there were too many people wanting to complain' maybe some of them will do the same also. It's a shame that you didn't manage to get some names though because that then would have given them a starting point of any inquiry they could make.

[BigSnake]

Hear from some Brits friends that this is indeed true, one dam near got in a Fist fight with a Staffer a few years back, seem not much has change . Anybody hear has the ear of someone in the Brown Cabinet.??

[yaketyak]

It didn't help matters that her mother wrote that letter , gave them a reason to look closely and find a reason to refuse , which is very easy to do for them.

What surprises me is that people are still amazed at the rudeness of the staff at the British Embassy. You would have thought word would have spread by now and everyone know.

You must understand that they are not interested in emotional reasoning, they don't care about heart attacks and family problems or ambitions. They are purely interested in facts. They then interpret those facts how THEY want to.

If they fancy being rude there seems to be no limit to how abusive they can be and you have NO power to stop them. You are not allowed inside the compound , you cannot see whats going on. You wait outside in the hot and dusty street. Using lack of space as an excuse, they banned sponsers a few years back. If you do speak to them (on the phone) all they say is "if you don't like it ....appeal or complain". They know that this is a difficult and long process which will wear most people down. It is deliberately so.

All you can , and should do, is to complain vigourously to the ECM , at the same time to UK Visas and your local MP. Go to their surgeries and complain . State examples of the rudeness. The MP will already have heard it many times before , but by taking up the valuable time of UK Visas and your MP , by making them investigate and report back to you , you are playing your part in clogging up the system with complaints about the BE. Enough people do this consistantly and things will breakdown ... thats how change happens.

In your case i don't think you had the strongest of applications. I can see how it was easy for them to refuse. It was not neccessarily the wrong decision either , even though you won't want to hear that. HOWEVER there is no excuse for rudeness and that is what you should find the time to (to use that horrible Home Ofiice word of the moment ...) ROBUSTLY complain about.

[palusa]

It didn't help matters that her mother wrote that letter , gave them a reason to look closely and find a reason to refuse , which is very easy to do for them.

What surprises me is that people are still amazed at the rudeness of the staff at the British Embassy. You would have thought word would have spread by now and everyone know.

You must understand that they are not interested in emotional reasoning, they don't care about heart attacks and family problems or ambitions. They are purely interested in facts. They then interpret those facts how THEY want to.

If they fancy being rude there seems to be no limit to how abusive they can be and you have NO power to stop them. You are not allowed inside the compound , you cannot see whats going on. You wait outside in the hot and dusty street. Using lack of space as an excuse, they banned sponsers a few years back. If you do speak to them (on the phone) all they say is "if you don't like it ....appeal or complain". They know that this is a difficult and long process which will wear most people down. It is deliberately so.

All you can , and should do, is to complain vigourously to the ECM , at the same time to UK Visas and your local MP. Go to their surgeries and complain . State examples of the rudeness. The MP will already have heard it many times before , but by taking up the valuable time of UK Visas and your MP , by making them investigate and report back to you , you are playing your part in clogging up the system with complaints about the BE. Enough people do this consistantly and things will breakdown ... thats how change happens.

In your case i don't think you had the strongest of applications. I can see how it was easy for them to refuse. It was not neccessarily the wrong decision either , even though you won't want to hear that

. HOWEVER there is no excuse for rudeness and that is what you should find the time to (to use that horrible Home Ofiice word of the moment ...) ROBUSTLY complain about.

How stupid of me, thank you very much for putting me right, Of course we did not have a strong application criteria. I mean this girl had only been in the UK for the previous 2 and half years, in that time never broke a Visa condition, never resorted to public funds, never spouted hate or venom or tried to force her religion or ideals on other UK people, never stole, lied or cheated, you are right, she had absolutely no right to ask for the remaining time on her already agreed and given visa or to finish her studies that she had worked for for nearly 6 years altogether, how dare she expect understanding right or compassion?, how dare she expect the Embassy to take notice of profession people who knew her for 2 years to give an insite into her character when the Embassy can tell through a glass screen in 15 mins?, What a massive risk she was to the UK and she should therefore her basic human right stripped bare, her future thrown in the sewer, she could always marry the local noodle seller after all, I mean what ever came over her to expect fairness from the Embassy of the Country which many people look to as the example of how a country should be viewed as free and fair?, all the years hard work and struggle of course should rightly be viewed as irrelevant, what a cheek to expect an innocent verdict when the rules cleary state Every Thai unless connected is to be considered a major health hazard and should not be given a Visa with the exception of the Visa actually being unavoidable granted due to the clever little <deleted> covering all the angles with their precocious request with paperwork.

You are of course right, we the people existing on this planet should without question bow to the whims of our superiors that make up governments, we should not expect those people who come from over the road, mountain, river or sea to be considered our brothers and sisters, being all the same, all equal, all having rights, after all they might speak a different language or are a different colour, segregation is the way. integration of peaceful people should be discouraged, nobody should have the right to walk or swim or sleep where they want to, it does not belong to the people as God says, it of course belongs to the British Embassies ilks of the world.

Thanks once again for putting me right but if you dont mind i would like to stay in my crazy mentally unbalanced state of mind where all people have the right to exist talk and live where they want to as long a the exist in a peaceful and fair way, it makes me happy.

Palusa

[egg6447]

It didn't help matters that her mother wrote that letter , gave them a reason to look closely and find a reason to refuse , which is very easy to do for them.

What surprises me is that people are still amazed at the rudeness of the staff at the British Embassy. You would have thought word would have spread by now and everyone know.

You must understand that they are not interested in emotional reasoning, they don't care about heart attacks and family problems or ambitions. They are purely interested in facts. They then interpret those facts how THEY want to.

If they fancy being rude there seems to be no limit to how abusive they can be and you have NO power to stop them. You are not allowed inside the compound , you cannot see whats going on. You wait outside in the hot and dusty street. Using lack of space as an excuse, they banned sponsers a few years back. If you do speak to them (on the phone) all they say is "if you don't like it ....appeal or complain". They know that this is a difficult and long process which will wear most people down. It is deliberately so.

All you can , and should do, is to complain vigourously to the ECM , at the same time to UK Visas and your local MP. Go to their surgeries and complain . State examples of the rudeness. The MP will already have heard it many times before , but by taking up the valuable time of UK Visas and your MP , by making them investigate and report back to you , you are playing your part in clogging up the system with complaints about the BE. Enough people do this consistantly and things will breakdown ... thats how change happens.

In your case i don't think you had the strongest of applications. I can see how it was easy for them to refuse. It was not neccessarily the wrong decision either , even though you won't want to hear that

. HOWEVER there is no excuse for rudeness and that is what you should find the time to (to use that horrible Home Ofiice word of the moment ...) ROBUSTLY complain about.

How stupid of me, thank you very much for putting me right, Of course we did not have a strong application criteria. I mean this girl had only been in the UK for the previous 2 and half years, in that time never broke a Visa condition, never resorted to public funds, never spouted hate or venom or tried to force her religion or ideals on other UK people, never stole, lied or cheated, you are right, she had absolutely no right to ask for the remaining time on her already agreed and given visa or to finish her studies that she had worked for for nearly 6 years altogether, how dare she expect understanding right or compassion?, how dare she expect the Embassy to take notice of profession people who knew her for 2 years to give an insite into her character when the Embassy can tell through a glass screen in 15 mins?, What a massive risk she was to the UK and she should therefore her basic human right stripped bare, her future thrown in the sewer, she could always marry the local noodle seller after all, I mean what ever came over her to expect fairness from the Embassy of the Country which many people look to as the example of how a country should be viewed as free and fair?, all the years hard work and struggle of course should rightly be viewed as irrelevant, what a cheek to expect an innocent verdict when the rules cleary state Every Thai unless connected is to be considered a major health hazard and should not be given a Visa with the exception of the Visa actually being unavoidable granted due to the clever little <deleted> covering all the angles with their precocious request with paperwork.

You are of course right, we the people existing on this planet should without question bow to the whims of our superiors that make up governments, we should not expect those people who come from over the road, mountain, river or sea to be considered our brothers and sisters, being all the same, all equal, all having rights, after all they might speak a different language or are a different colour, segregation is the way. integration of peaceful people should be discouraged, nobody should have the right to walk or swim or sleep where they want to, it does not belong to the people as God says, it of course belongs to the British Embassies ilks of the world.

Thanks once again for putting me right but if you dont mind i would like to stay in my crazy mentally unbalanced state of mind where all people have the right to exist talk and live where they want to as long a the exist in a peaceful and fair way, it makes me happy.

Palusa

may i sugest you send this letter to your mp and the home office and forien arrairs office. but just smarten it up a bit when your less angry. i do agree with you.

[yaketyak]

Palusa,

when you are less angry and more composed, you need to go to see your MP. If your case is as strong as you think get him/her to investigate. They will if you push.

But please keep emotion out of it. The Government , through the British Embassies around the world, do not care one bit about your happiness or anyone else's . Visa and immigration are politically motivated. There are not precise rules because they need each case assessed on its merits. That way the ECO can decide if the applicant is a desirable or an undesirable and issue or refuse accordingly. Not always based on the facts , but based on who the Government wants in the country and more especially who they don't (low value individuals in their eyes , prostitutes , unemployeds etc). You get the picture.

Its a lovely idea that people can live in harmony with who they want where they want. One i agree with totally. Unfortunately those with the power most definately do not. And do remember its not a picnic for us Brits with Thai partners either. Yes we can get into Thailand , even stay pretty much indefinately, but we have to keep jumping through their hoops all the time , 90 day reporting etc. To get Thai citizenship is almost impossible for us . We are Brits so its the BE that concerns us here. I don't think they are the worst though ... i think the Americans have that honour by a mile.

[palusa]

Palusa,

when you are less angry and more composed, you need to go to see your MP. If your case is as strong as you think get him/her to investigate. They will if you push.

But please keep emotion out of it. The Government , through the British Embassies around the world, do not care one bit about your happiness or anyone else's . Visa and immigration are politically motivated. There are not precise rules because they need each case assessed on its merits. That way the ECO can decide if the applicant is a desirable or an undesirable and issue or refuse accordingly. Not always based on the facts , but based on who the Government wants in the country and more especially who they don't (low value individuals in their eyes , prostitutes , unemployeds etc). You get the picture.

Its a lovely idea that people can live in harmony with who they want where they want. One i agree with totally. Unfortunately those with the power most definately do not. And do remember its not a picnic for us Brits with Thai partners either. Yes we can get into Thailand , even stay pretty much indefinately, but we have to keep jumping through their hoops all the time , 90 day reporting etc. To get Thai citizenship is almost impossible for us . We are Brits so its the BE that concerns us here. I don't think they are the worst though ... i think the Americans have that honour by a mile.

[palusa]

Yes, sorry I am angry, but you are mistaken when you think I/we are asking the embassy for a new visa here in Thailand again, I forgot how nasty and ignorant they are and how pathetic the Thai authorities are of protecting there own from prejudice and injustice.

On the point of complaining we appealed back in March 2006 and STILL have not got a reply, they are a nasty breed of people and what goes around comes around so I will just leave them to it and send my neice back to Vienna where they give visa's on merit, a quaint procedure but nice eh?

It is a shame that I believe (my opinion, i hope i am allowed one), that the ordinary Brit has now been brow beaten into submission and we take just about any ammount of crap thrown at us from all authorities, we find ourselves incapable of standing together in the face of injustice. Do you know this when i went to talk to the ECO when my neice was refused the first time, i asked why when my father and my 2 grandfathers died for their country did I, as their son, not have the right to have my neice come to my country if i invited her to, the reply was from the fuzzy haired ECO, "that sir is totaly irrelevent". There is an old saying where i come from, it goes, "what do expect from a pig but a grunt", now I think thats relevant.

Palusa

[yaketyak]

Yes, sorry I am angry, but you are mistaken when you think I/we are asking the embassy for a new visa here in Thailand again, I forgot how nasty and ignorant they are and how pathetic the Thai authorities are of protecting there own from prejudice and injustice.

On the point of complaining we appealed back in March 2006 and STILL have not got a reply, they are a nasty breed of people and what goes around comes around so I will just leave them to it and send my neice back to Vienna where they give visa's on merit, a quaint procedure but nice eh?

It is a shame that I believe (my opinion, i hope i am allowed one), that the ordinary Brit has now been brow beaten into submission and we take just about any ammount of crap thrown at us from all authorities, we find ourselves incapable of standing together in the face of injustice. Do you know this when i went to talk to the ECO when my neice was refused the first time, i asked why when my father and my 2 grandfathers died for their country did I, as their son, not have the right to have my neice come to my country if i invited her to, the reply was from the fuzzy haired ECO, "that sir is totaly irrelevent". There is an old saying where i come from, it goes, "what do expect from a pig but a grunt", now I think thats relevant.

Palusa

Well i hope you can resolve your problem in the end.

BTW be careful when making comments like your... "what to expect from a pig but a grunt" . However accurate it may be , calling the BE staff pigs is frowned upon on this forum (by the mods that is). So you are better not to do it.

[palusa]

Mate, how did you translate an old saying into me calling the Embassy staff pigs?, the expression means merely that you can only expect from a person that from which they are made up of, eg; nasty folk do nasty things, nice folk do nice things, when it comes down to the Embassy staff however they should be viewed and judged accordingly by their deeds as well. Fair?

Palusa

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