When reading topics on Thai Visa over the last few years I've seen a lot of complaints about the British Embassy Visa Section and the UK Visa Center so I thought I'd give them some praise for a change.

I live in Thailand with my Thai wife and last Saturday I received a phone call from the UK telling me my mother had just died. Now I know my mother would want my wife to go to the funeral and my wife wants to go so at lunchtime on Monday we arrived at the UK Visa Center with a hastily assembled visa application. I went in to the center with my wife and explained the need for urgency as we needed to be in the UK by the end of this week. The staff there were very helpful and promised to do all they could to process it as quickly as possible. We left the office at 1-40 pm. At 1-45pm today, just 24 hours (and 5 minutes) later the lady at the Visa Center phoned me to say that my wifes passport was back with her and we could collect it as soon as we wanted to.

I think 24 hours to complete a visa application (and get a phone call to tell us when it was ready) is very good service and deserves some praise. Tickets are now booked and we fly out Thursday.

That is excellent.

Very good, and my commissearations on your loss. Good luck.

Yes, Very good.

Such a shame they cannot keep this standard up for every applicant.

In my opinion they are appalling.

But happy for you.

I recently had a client whose husband passed away unexpectedly at the age of 32, and she obviously wished to attend the funeral, but this was further complicated by the fact that he was to be buried in a UK territory and, as such, all visa applications have to be referred to that territory. It didn't involve the embassy in Bangkok, but the concerned mission did turn things round in six hours, including the reference, for which, of course, plaudits are the order of the day.

However, no visa officer is going to either refuse or delay such an application when, politically, then can envisage the next day's Daily Mail headline of, "British Embassy made me miss my (insert family member's relationship) funeral".

Scouse.