Visa Applications During Emergency

[7by7]

The British and American embassies are periodically closed during the current emergency. Due, they say, to their proximity to the demonstrations.

UK

See British Embassy Bangkok: Closed to the public.

The VAC is issuing regular updates on their website.

14 May 2010: Visa Application Centre is closed today 14 May! The Visa Application Centre at Regent's House will be closed today Friday 14 May due to the disruption caused by the continued unrest. Please do not come to the Visa Application centre until further notice.

The British Embassy in Bangkok is also closed today. Whilst the Embassy remains closed we are unable to process visa applications so customers may experience delays.

Whilst both the Visa Application Centre and the Embassy remain closed we are also unable to return documents ready for collection. We apologise for the inconvenience. Please continue to monitor this website for updates and further information.

Alternative arrangements are now in place for Thai residents who need to travel urgently to lodge visa applications in other locations:

If you are a 'visit visa' applicant you can apply in another country outside the UK, at any time. Check the 'where to apply' link on the UK Border Agency's website. In this region, we strongly advise you make your application at the Visa Application Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Appointment booking and address details are available at www.vfs-uk-my.com. You should not apply in Vietnam or Cambodia as applications from these countries are processed in Bangkok. We also recommend against applying in Burma due to the limited capacity of the Post to process applications.

If you are a non-settlement visa applicant you can, until further notice, apply in person at the Visa Application Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Appointment booking and address details are available at www.vfs-uk-my.com. Please note the current waiting time for visa decisions on non-settlement applications in Kuala Lumpur is approximately 5 working days however customers are reminded that applications are considered on an individual basis and you may have to wait longer for a decision. The UK Border Agency's Customer Service Standards provide further information on our processing time targets.

If you are a settlement visa applicant you can, until further notice, apply in person at the Visa Application Centre in Kuala Lumpur. Appointment booking and address details are available at www.vfs-uk-my.com. Applicants are advised that the current waiting time for a decision on settlement visas is up to 12 weeks. We do however hope to offer a service for settlement visa applicants to apply at the British Embassy Bangkok once it re-opens if the Visa Application Centre remains closed. Please monitor this website for further updates.

They don't appear to say what you should do if you have already submitted an application and been told that your passport is ready for collection. All I can suggest in this circumstance is you monitor the VAC site for updates on when they are open or contact them for advice.

US

From US embassy

Announcement

Due to the security situation in the vicinity of the U.S. Embassy, the Embassy will be closed for services on Monday, May 17. Visa applicants with appointments scheduled for Monday, May 17 are instructed to come for an interview on Friday, May 21 at the same time as their originally scheduled appointment (e.g. If your appointment was scheduled for 9:00am on Monday, May 17, please come for your appointment at 9:00am on Friday, May 21). Should you be unable to come to the Embassy on Friday, May 21, please make a new appointment through the appointment system on the U.S. Embassy website: http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/non-immigrant...pointments.html. Please be advised that applicants impacted by this closure are being been notified through the e-mail addresses and/or phone numbers supplied during the appointment registration process. Please check your e-mail INBOX and SPAM folders, as some e-mail software may direct our e-mails to the SPAM folder. Only those applicants who were registered with the Embassy for their original appointments on Monday, May 17 will be permitted entry on Friday, May 21.

We ask that you please appear 30 minutes prior to your appointment time on Friday, May 21 to allow time for the enrollment process. Please check the Embassy website prior to your arrival, should the unrest in the vicinity of the Embassy remain ongoing. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please contact visasbkk(at)state.gov.

We appreciate your patience and cooperation.

Non-Immigrant Visa Section

U.S. Embassy, Bangkok, Thailand

To avoid duplication, if you have any comments or updates on the situation at any embassy or VAC, please post them in this topic and not start a new one.

This topic will remain pinned for the duration.

Edited May 16, 2010 by 7by7
Edited to include the US. Other embassies seem OK at present.

[Sorridstroker]

"Whilst both the Visa Application Centre and the Embassy remain closed we are also unable to return documents ready for collection. We apologise for the inconvenience. Please continue to monitor this website for updates and further information."

This gives me hope, if the embassy re-opens they may try to send our passport via them

[7by7]

Other embassies are also experiencing difficulties, for an example see this from the Swedish embassy (thanks to cdnvic for the heads up).

Others seem ok, for example there is nothing on the Australian embassy's site to say they are affected.

I'd advise checking with the appropriate embassy/visa application centre before making the trip, though.

[7by7]

Update from American embassy

Due to the ongoing security situation, the U.S. Embassy, including visa services, will remain closed on Tuesday, May 18. American Citizen Services (ACS) will be available for emergencies only.

Individuals whose visa appointments have been impacted by the closure of the U.S. Embassy will be contacted through the email address(es) provided during the appointment registration process with information on rescheduling.

Individuals with ACS appointments, please go to the U.S. Embassy website to reschedule. If you have problems rescheduling online, please email us at acsbkk(at)state.gov or call us at 02-205-4049. For individuals scheduling appointments for the first time, please go to the website to schedule your appointment. Please note that we are unable to make first time appointments over the phone.

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience, and thank you for your continued patience and understanding.

[TheRavens]

This is the latest from the Australian Embassy website:

The Australian Embassy in Bangkok is still operational. However, due to ongoing violent clashes in central Bangkok, including in front of the Australian Embassy, the Embassy will be closed to visitors from Monday 17 May 2010 until further notice. Australians in need of urgent assistance should contact the Embassy by phone on +66 2 3446300. Contact may also be made with the 24 hour Consular Emergency Centre in Canberra on +61 2 62613305 (from Thailand) or 1 300 555135 (from Australia) (see Travel Advice for Australians in Thailand).

Any enquiries in relation to Citizenship by Descent applications should be directed to the Immigration Section at the Embassy.

[Marvo]

I'm taking the GF back to the UK in 3 weeks. We have already made the application on-line to the VFS office in Bangkok and were going to submit supporting docs on her appointment date - 20th. This looks like not being possible.

The Website "helpfully " states alernative arrangements of applying for a visa in Kuala Lumpur but I guess that means staying in KL for how ever many days it takes them to process the application. Not a great solution to the problem.

Also there may be an added (Thai) document translation issue applying in KL, or not?

Has anyone made any investigations with VFS KL re this route?

[7by7]

It is difficult to suggest what else the embassy could have done on short notice. Finding and setting up an office elsewhere in Bangkok could not be done overnight, and even if it were then there would be no guarantee that the trouble would not spread to that area.

I suspect that it will not be necessary to remain in KL while the decision is being made as some sort of courier service will be in place to return passports and documents; but you should check this when making an appointment or handing in the application.

Normally Thai documents do not need to be translated into English as the embassy have Thai staff; I would suggest, though, that if applying in KL that one does do so.

As the notice on the VAC site says

We do however hope to offer a service for settlement visa applicants to apply at the British Embassy Bangkok once it re-opens if the Visa Application Centre remains closed. Please monitor this website for further updates.

[jasonr3255]

"Whilst both the Visa Application Centre and the Embassy remain closed we are also unable to return documents ready for collection. We apologise for the inconvenience. Please continue to monitor this website for updates and further information."

This gives me hope, if the embassy re-opens they may try to send our passport via them

I know today that VFS and British Embassy said they would contact applicants directly who are currently waiting for their returned passport/visa, Interested if anybody has been contacted during this latest closures to say that their passports are ready for collection, because supposedly they are still running a service..?

[Sorridstroker]

I contacted the VFS today and yes they are contacting people directly about alternative pickup points.

This does not help me however as my papers are already at the VFS and they said no one is willing to go to that building yet to retrieve them, I can't blame them.

so Applications - ok (different country)

passport pickup - ok (as long as your passport was still at the embassy when they shut)

I will be waiting until all this blows over and they reopen the VFS.

[7by7]

Embassies do still appear to be closed; some have made alternative arrangements, some haven't. Check with the embassy concerned.

The information in the links in the OP are regularly updated; so clicking on them will give you the latest situation.

[Sorridstroker]

Well my wife has got on the bus tonight to travel to bangkok from Ubonratchatani.

Hopefully we will have a visa waiting for us in the passport.

Just one quick question?

What format do the visa's take now? - Are they still paper visas pasted into your passport?

fingers crossed the vfs will stay open tomorrow.

[Kadafi]

Me and the miss's are at the vfs today, alot of people as expected and long waiting times. Bloody agents pretended to be the vfs and brought us into the office, clocked on straight away when they kept saying not easy for visa and for us to get married even though we have a child and only want a visit visa. Anyway told them to sod of for wasting my time and grabbed a ticket from outside at the vfs, number 250 and we have hours of waiting to do so im expecting a long day....

[7by7]

UK: 26 May 2010: The Visa Application Centre at Regent's House is now operating a full service

The Visa Application Centre has re-opened and is now operating a full service. Please refer to the ‘contact us’ page on this website for details of our operating hours. Customers should be aware that due to our recent closure we are extremely busy and ‘walk-in’ customers are likely to experience longer waiting times before seeing counter staff. Customers can however book an appointment by visiting the ‘schedule an appointment’ page on this website.

U.S. Embassy Visa Services: Rescheduling of Appointments

Due to security concerns in the area and access issues on Wireless Road, the U.S. Embassy was operating under emergency personnel staffing from Friday, May 14 to Monday, May 24. The Non-immigrant and Immigrant Visa sections of the Embassy were closed during that period. If you had a non-immigrant visa interview appointment scheduled for May 14 through May 24, 2010, your appointment will be rescheduled.

The U.S. Embassy is working diligently to accommodate the non-immigrant visa appointments that had to be cancelled due to our unexpected closure and will advise those impacted through e-mail or phone with details on new appointment dates as soon as they have been determined.

Please Note: As a large number of people have been affected by these events, and the volume of appointments that have been scheduled for the upcoming weeks, it will not be possible to consider expedited appointments at this time. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this has caused.

[7by7]

Apart from clearing bavklogs, things appear to be back to what passes for normal; so this topic is unpinned and closed.