Went to the Birmingham Consulate today and got my visa, however the guy there charged me a £15 "admin fee".

Weird thing is, I told him the website said it was free, and he said (quote) "It still says £28 on my website"..

Does this guy do this himself?

Can you apply to become a consulate for them as an individual?

He also looked pretty unkempt, and wore just jeans/tshirt in a building full of smart suit wearing office types, went off with my passport and came back, so not even sure if he has an office!

I didnt have enough on me for £15 (was expecting maybe £5) so gave him £14 (all loose change) and he said ok, which pretty much confirms its straight into his pocket.

What would of happened if I got in touch with the Consulate in Thailand (who said "free" visas) and report they are charging people still - anything at all?

I know I`m going to Thailand but I`m getting scammed before I even get on the plane!

Just a heads up!

The Thai consulate in Birmingham is an honorary consulate and is privately run. Unlike Thai embassies and Thai consulates, they do not receive funding from the Thai government and are dependant upon fees from the issue of visas to cover their operating costs.

The central MFA promotion of free tourist visas has hit the revenue streams of honorary consulates hard, and several are now charging an administration fee for the issue of tourist visas.

£28 was the charge for the issue of a tourist visa before the promotion period, and it just looks like their website has not been updated.

Moved to the Visa Forum.

Thanks for the quick response - explains a lot.

Supose the way I'll look at it is I still got it half price.

And apologies for apparently posting in the wrong forum - not the best start!

Edited January 25, 201016 yr by rIKmAN

No problem!