The guarantee is pretty meaningless and very few Consulates insist on it. Maybe Hull does. Birmingham is pretty liberal too ultimately they'll get their butts kicked by the RTE London. Don't use tourism as your purpose of visit. Use study of Thai language or visiting girlfriend.

Well as I opened this thread I feel I should close it.

I wrote the original post whilst in the UK.

I am now in BKK and took some advice from a local farang which coincidently was the same as the later appeared on this thread. That is, use Hull Consulate to get a Non Im O.

I called them from BKK and they said there would be no problem in DHL-ing* the passports, application forms, fee, photos and letter from guarantor to them and they would turn it around in a day and send back.

I have now received them (via an address in UK, I could not pre-pay a return DHL package from BKK). So the situation for me is that I am in BKK with a tourist visa, due to expire next month but with a Non Im visa in my passport for when I re-cross the border ...all for a the price of a DHL parcel.

Whilst I am very happy at this outcome, it does make a mockery of the strictness of the rules that say RTE London enforces when consulates (strictly speaking...just shipping offices with no Thai representatives...only interested in the cash) work to a totally different and more relaxed set of rules.

* - be careful when couriering passports as all passports sent via this manner from Thailand are sent by law to Immigration first for inspection before being mailed to the consignee. DHL neglected to tell me this until i called them wondering why my package had taken three days to leave BKK...and there is no hiding the contents either as the courier opens all the packages before sealing.

pai gawn kap

Hollers