Uk Visa Application Centre In Bangkok

[wayner]

My wife will soon be making an application at the UK visa application centre in Bangkok.

Does anyone have any experience/stories regarding this place, I'd like to be prepared if at all possible.

Any help would be great.

Cheers

[Lite Beer]

My wife will soon be making an application at the UK visa application centre in Bangkok.

Does anyone have any experience/stories regarding this place, I'd like to be prepared if at all possible.

Any help would be great.

Cheers

They do not accept cash payment. She will have to get a bankers draft.

http://www.vfs-uk-th.com/SurChargeFree.aspx

Edited June 25, 2008 by Lite Beer

[stevebow]

Make sure you go into the correct room, they try to direct you into a room where an "immigration specialist" willl help yo with your application and try and charge you 50000 baht. Once in the correct room it really is a doddle.

Steve

[erikr_]

Make sure you go into the correct room, they try to direct you into a room where an "immigration specialist" willl help yo with your application and try and charge you 50000 baht. Once in the correct room it really is a doddle.

Steve

Hope the picture is clear

Edited June 25, 2008 by erikr_

[stevebow]

Make sure you go into the correct room, they try to direct you into a room where an "immigration specialist" willl help yo with your application and try and charge you 50000 baht. Once in the correct room it really is a doddle.

Steve

Hope the picture is clear

I wish i had seen that pic before i went there.

[mariner29]

Visa world run that Immigration office keep well away.

[wayner]

Visa world run that Immigration office keep well away.

Is there an alternative office?

[wayner]

Make sure you go into the correct room, they try to direct you into a room where an "immigration specialist" willl help yo with your application and try and charge you 50000 baht. Once in the correct room it really is a doddle.

Steve

Hope the picture is clear

That's very helpful indeed, thanks a million.

[doctormann]

My wife will soon be making an application at the UK visa application centre in Bangkok.

Does anyone have any experience/stories regarding this place, I'd like to be prepared if at all possible.

Any help would be great.

Cheers

They do not accept cash payment. She will have to get a bankers draft.

http://www.vfs-uk-th.com/SurChargeFree.aspx

I know that some people have had problems concerning the banker's draft. VFS have, on their web site, a list of banks where you may obtain the draft without paying commission. One of these banks is in Pattaya but I know of two cases where the draft obtained from this particular branch was not accepted as the bank had made some error - don't know what.

It's probably better to get the draft from the bank on the ground floor of Regent House - this bank closed for a while but I believe that it is now back again. They know exactly what is required and, conveniently, open in the morning a little while before VFS does (08:30?) and are commission-free.

DM

[teatree]

I found this useful, tells you what documents etc you need to submit. Its from the VFS website. I recommend you write a covering letter to tie the whole application together and refer to the evidence you have submitted in the letter.

[JimmyGreaves]

You just go downstairs to the bank (forgot the name) and they issue you with the bankers draft so don't let that worry you!

Also the sponsors/boy freinds/ husbands etc are not allowed in the office area

Edited June 28, 2008 by jflundy

[ianh68h]

You just go downstairs to the bank (forgot the name) and they issue you with the bankers draft so don't let that worry you!

Also the sponsors/boy freinds/ husbands etc are not allowed in the office area

Do you mean the theatre seat area? I went in for a general enquiry last year. I am hoping as sponsor later this month to literally take a back seat in order to give my Thai fiancee moral support. Are you saying I won't be allowed in? I'm inclined to test this (in a jai yen yen way).

[mariner29]

If you do go in the incorrect office they will gladly check your papers and confirm everything is ok .They will then inform you that they work for UK/VAC and charge you 20,000 THB to take you in and submit it.

Believe it or not people actually have done this regulary

[bangkokrick]

You just go downstairs to the bank (forgot the name) and they issue you with the bankers draft so don't let that worry you!

Also the sponsors/boy freinds/ husbands etc are not allowed in the office area

Do you mean the theatre seat area? I went in for a general enquiry last year. I am hoping as sponsor later this month to literally take a back seat in order to give my Thai fiancee moral support. Are you saying I won't be allowed in? I'm inclined to test this (in a jai yen yen way).

My wife and i have applied there twice and the visa was issued with a few minor problems. The only problems that we did have was with the bankers draft as mentioned above. The other was that you will definatley not be allowed in the room with your wife, so make sure that all the paperwork is correct before she enters. They do have a facility for copying documents and taking photo's within the room. It sticks in my throat a bit that this company is a representative for the British Embassy and as i Brit i am not allowed inside the room, but there you go.

You can also track the progress of your application on line at an address that they provide you with.

Cheers, Rick

[mariner29]

Yes he is correct i visited several times in March and you can go in the building but the office itself you cannot . You should just sit outside its not much of a wait anyway. Its quite interesting sat watching what goes on in the building.

[technocracy]

Just returned from Bangkok after sorting out a holiday visa for my wife. The one piece advice I would give is make sure you apply online and get an appointment rather than turning up and waiting.

I won't comment about the professionalism of the staff in the place - that is being reserved for directly to the embassy - but most folks wife/GF on here won't receive the same kind of treatment as my wife recieved being Thai.

That map is perfectly accurate - however it is pretty dam_n obvious which is the VFS room and which is the agency! You'll note the guards standing outside of the VFS . . .

There is a bank on the ground floor where you can get your bank draft.

Just so people also know it's easy to get to by the BTS - just go to the Rajadamri stop and continue walking in the direction the BTS was heading (coming from Siam towards Sala Daeng - can't remember the exit number). Regent House is about 100 or so metre walk and has a nice large sign on the top but isn't visible from the BTS stop.

[sumrit]

You just go downstairs to the bank (forgot the name) and they issue you with the bankers draft so don't let that worry you!

Also the sponsors/boy freinds/ husbands etc are not allowed in the office area

Do you mean the theatre seat area? I went in for a general enquiry last year. I am hoping as sponsor later this month to literally take a back seat in order to give my Thai fiancee moral support. Are you saying I won't be allowed in? I'm inclined to test this (in a jai yen yen way).

My wife and i have applied there twice and the visa was issued with a few minor problems. The only problems that we did have was with the bankers draft as mentioned above. The other was that you will definatley not be allowed in the room with your wife, so make sure that all the paperwork is correct before she enters. They do have a facility for copying documents and taking photo's within the room. It sticks in my throat a bit that this company is a representative for the British Embassy and as i Brit i am not allowed inside the room, but there you go.

You can also track the progress of your application on line at an address that they provide you with.

Cheers, Rick

You can go into the office with your wife/girlfriend under certain circumstances. When my mother died recently my wife needed a visa quickly so she could come back to the UK with me. I was allowed in with my wife to make sure we had supplied everything and there were no problems with the application.

I must say that I found the staff in there extremely helpful, they double checked everything then took my phone number and said they would rush it through as quickly as possible and phone me back. Twenty-four hours later they phoned me to say the passport was back with them, the visa had been issued (the first time I have known them to say over the phone that a visa had been issued) and we could pick it up as soon as we wanted to.

As other people have said you can get a bank draft from the bank on the ground floor and any papers that need copying can be done just inside the entrance to the Visa World office.

[khastan]

You just go downstairs to the bank (forgot the name) and they issue you with the bankers draft so don't let that worry you!

Also the sponsors/boy freinds/ husbands etc are not allowed in the office area

Do you mean the theatre seat area? I went in for a general enquiry last year. I am hoping as sponsor later this month to literally take a back seat in order to give my Thai fiancee moral support. Are you saying I won't be allowed in? I'm inclined to test this (in a jai yen yen way).

My wife and i have applied there twice and the visa was issued with a few minor problems. The only problems that we did have was with the bankers draft as mentioned above. The other was that you will definatley not be allowed in the room with your wife, so make sure that all the paperwork is correct before she enters. They do have a facility for copying documents and taking photo's within the room. It sticks in my throat a bit that this company is a representative for the British Embassy and as i Brit i am not allowed inside the room, but there you go.

You can also track the progress of your application on line at an address that they provide you with.

Cheers, Rick

You can go into the office with your wife/girlfriend under certain circumstances. When my mother died recently my wife needed a visa quickly so she could come back to the UK with me. I was allowed in with my wife to make sure we had supplied everything and there were no problems with the application.

I must say that I found the staff in there extremely helpful, they double checked everything then took my phone number and said they would rush it through as quickly as possible and phone me back. Twenty-four hours later they phoned me to say the passport was back with them, the visa had been issued (the first time I have known them to say over the phone that a visa had been issued) and we could pick it up as soon as we wanted to.

As other people have said you can get a bank draft from the bank on the ground floor and any papers that need copying can be done just inside the entrance to the Visa World office.

First of all I would like to thank all members of this forum who have warned about going to the visa service office next to the VAC for submitting your application by mistake. You saved me a packet this morning!

It would seem that the visa service center next to the official VAC is using more agressive tatics to get you to use there services if my experince this morning is anything to go by. We took a taxi from the hotel this morning to go to the VAC and it dropped us off outside the British Embassy by mistake. There was a guy outside that kindly looked at the directions I had for the VAC once I had been turned away by embassy. He hailed a taxi and gave him the correct directions. To cut a long story short the same guy arrived at the same time I did to the VAC! He ushered us inside saying this way this way. I tried to go to the bank for the bankers draft and he said no not necccesary we do all. Once upstairs he said yes this way directing us into the visa service center next to the VAC. Had it not been for the warnings I had read on this forum I would have gone inside. Instead I said no I can do myself. So again a big thank you

[gymshark]

We had a good experience there but am a little confused about the bankers draft as we paid cash with no worries.

[fft100]

We had a good experience there but am a little confused about the bankers draft as we paid cash with no worries.

Regarding bankers draft. Your normal bank will do one for 20 baht or so, so you dont have to use the list provided by VTS.

We had no problems with VTS. Had an appointment (that is important i feel) on the Wednesday afternoon, and by Friday morning the status on the website enquiry had been updated to passport waiting. So very quick. As always, if the paperwork is solid and answers all there questions then it makes life easier for everyone. I gave them 2 loose leaf folders with index etc. Looking at it later, i dont think they used half of it - but it was there if they wanted it. and i used the same paperwork at the german embassy a week later, and most of it will be ok for the next visa application next year.

Bit annoying not to go in as well, since i had put on a decent pair of trousers and shoes for the first time in months. The German embassy has now changed in that i wasnt allowed in the room either (used to be able to) so it looks like a general policy. I guess that if the girl doesnt know or understand what she is handing over or being asked about then thats a black mark ?

[CharlieB]

We had a good experience there but am a little confused about the bankers draft as we paid cash with no worries.

Regarding bankers draft. Your normal bank will do one for 20 baht or so, so you dont have to use the list provided by VTS.

We had no problems with VTS. Had an appointment (that is important i feel) on the Wednesday afternoon, and by Friday morning the status on the website enquiry had been updated to passport waiting. So very quick. As always, if the paperwork is solid and answers all there questions then it makes life easier for everyone. I gave them 2 loose leaf folders with index etc. Looking at it later, i dont think they used half of it - but it was there if they wanted it. and i used the same paperwork at the german embassy a week later, and most of it will be ok for the next visa application next year.

Bit annoying not to go in as well, since i had put on a decent pair of trousers and shoes for the first time in months. The German embassy has now changed in that i wasnt allowed in the room either (used to be able to) so it looks like a general policy. I guess that if the girl doesnt know or understand what she is handing over or being asked about then thats a black mark ?

I would say take cash to the centre and get it done in the bank downstairs. They probably give a kickback to the visa centre, but I had a bankers draft done by a BKK branch of Ayutthaya bank made out to the correct recipient and it was refused by the visa centre. We had to get into a taxi, go back to the bank, get the bankers draft turned back into money and then return again. I could see nothing wrong with it and neither could a couple of other English people outside the visa centre, but they wouldn't take it so we had to get cash. The centre is a pain in the arse and so are the touts for the agency next door.

I went into the agency next door, purely because we needed some pictures done for my daughters passport and my wife's visa application. They tried to say that my daughter wouldn't get a UK passport without us being married and tried to convince us to get a quickie marriage done. We got the pictures, I didn't take any of their help and we got the nippers passport and visa. They are an absolute joke, with very limited knowledge of the visa processes etc and would make a less clued up person doubt their own case. Their paperwork is also out of date. I had the latest copies of all the forms and their's were several years old.

[khastan]

We had a good experience there but am a little confused about the bankers draft as we paid cash with no worries.

Regarding bankers draft. Your normal bank will do one for 20 baht or so, so you dont have to use the list provided by VTS.

We had no problems with VTS. Had an appointment (that is important i feel) on the Wednesday afternoon, and by Friday morning the status on the website enquiry had been updated to passport waiting. So very quick. As always, if the paperwork is solid and answers all there questions then it makes life easier for everyone. I gave them 2 loose leaf folders with index etc. Looking at it later, i dont think they used half of it - but it was there if they wanted it. and i used the same paperwork at the german embassy a week later, and most of it will be ok for the next visa application next year.

Bit annoying not to go in as well, since i had put on a decent pair of trousers and shoes for the first time in months. The German embassy has now changed in that i wasnt allowed in the room either (used to be able to) so it looks like a general policy. I guess that if the girl doesnt know or understand what she is handing over or being asked about then thats a black mark ?

I would say take cash to the centre and get it done in the bank downstairs. They probably give a kickback to the visa centre, but I had a bankers draft done by a BKK branch of Ayutthaya bank made out to the correct recipient and it was refused by the visa centre. We had to get into a taxi, go back to the bank, get the bankers draft turned back into money and then return again. I could see nothing wrong with it and neither could a couple of other English people outside the visa centre, but they wouldn't take it so we had to get cash. The centre is a pain in the arse and so are the touts for the agency next door.

I went into the agency next door, purely because we needed some pictures done for my daughters passport and my wife's visa application. They tried to say that my daughter wouldn't get a UK passport without us being married and tried to convince us to get a quickie marriage done. We got the pictures, I didn't take any of their help and we got the nippers passport and visa. They are an absolute joke, with very limited knowledge of the visa processes etc and would make a less clued up person doubt their own case. Their paperwork is also out of date. I had the latest copies of all the forms and their's were several years old.

I watched these touts for approx one hour whilst waiting for my lady to come out of the VAC. On numerous occassions one of them would stand in front of the sign for the correct office blocking it from view from anybody approaching with a folder of papers another would then lead them into their office. Whilst I was there some big wig in a car complete with union jack arrived with his minions. I overheard him say the sign for the VAC is very confusing and he his concerned that people are going into the service center instead of the VAC. That office is the first thing you see and it is just to close for comfort to the VAC for me.

[Budinga]

thanx guyz for this post i know its old but my gf is going for a visa aplication tomorow and i just let her know where to go, we did go together once for equiery and that anoying women tryed to get me to pay 100,000 bhat for a visa lol i laghed and walked out. im glad i now know were to really go thanx alot.