New Services Saves British Retirees Travelling To Bangkok For Immigration Papers

[Rimmer]

New Services saves British Retirees travelling to Bangkok for Immigration papers

PATTAYA:--Pattaya’s British Consulate may be lost, as far as Soi 5 is concerned, but local businesses are quickly offering alternatives which may, in many cases, be even easier than before.

Following the British Embassy’s unwelcome decision to close the small Consulate on Soi 5, British residents voiced their concern that travelling to and from the Embassy in Bangkok is, of course a nightmare.

The new Honorary Consul to Pattaya will, of course, be expected to represent the Embassy at emergencies and assist with British Visitors in a crisis but will not be offering the document services provided previously by the admin office that was, until this week, on Soi 5. Meaning that British residents of the region would have no option but to endure the 4 hour each way journey to the heavily Congested area of Bangkok that houses the Embassy, when ever documentation was needed.

Now local businesses are already starting to offer viable alternatives as “Pattayans ” await the announcement of the new Honorary Consul to the city.

One such business, the Key Visa Company, have launched their brand new PENSIONER’S LETTER Programme, which will allow UK residents to have their letters processed via Key Visa, for a nominal fee of just 300 baht ( plus the usual Embassy cost).

We spoke to Darren McGarry, the company owner, and found him to be extremely knowledgeable with a welcoming 13 years experience of working with numerous embassies and both Thai and other Immigration authorities.

Full story:http://www.pattaya103.com/pension-income-letter-thailand-service/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=pension-income-letter-thailand-service

--Pattaya 103 FM 2012-12-01

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[Jane Doe]

4 hours to BKK? Even the bus is quicker than that.

And how many times a year do you have to go to your embassy?

I went there once in 6 years to get a new passport...

[theoldgit]

I wasn't aware that you had to travel to Bangkok to buy this letter, or is the facility to mail your request directly to the Embassy no longer available?

I did hear that consular staff have approached the Thai Immigration Authorities asking them to consider doing away with this requirement, I doubt very much that it would happen in the short term, if at all.

[hm1973]

The British Embassy offer a postal service for pension letters. I am not sure of what they require and it may take a bit longer than before but it's worth contacting them or the new Honorary Consul when they are appointed to find out the exact process.

I made regular trips to and from the embassy and in a car and with hitting traffic when entering Bangkok I did it in around 1 hour and 40 minutes, never any longer. The bus to Egamai takes around 2 hours and a taxi ride to the embassy will take around 30 minutes.

[BlackPuddingBertha]

And how many times a year do you have to go to your embassy?

I went there once in 6 years to get a new passport...

In nearly 40 years of travelling all over the world and living outside the UK, I have never once set foot in a British consulate or even contacted them for anything.

I time my passport renewals for when I visit the UK as it's cheaper and easier.

[TommyDee]

300 baht is a brilliant barter against the miserable journey to wireless road from pattaya IMHO and a lot more reliable than trusting documents in the local mail, unless of course you use registered mail, and even then, trusting your documents in the mail is a risky business. and I woudl imagine that registered mail both ways would be close to if not more than the 300 baht charged by this company.

here you have a chap who has used his head and contacts to put together a program which will save a lot of time and money compared to going on your own. I think he deserves a pat on the back for being so quickly innovative.

The embassy, i think, and this is only from memory, expects docs in before 11 and then picked up later in the day, so that makes it a full day spent there, provided of course that the traffic doesnt hold you up and prevent u from hitting their cut off time.

[JimSiam]

Agree, 300 baht is really nothing for such a service, especially if you have more important things to do, so many services are provided here in this country at reasonable rates.

[theoldgit]

I don't think anybody is suggesting it's not a good and reasonably priced service, but to suggest the only other option is a round trip to Bangkok isn't correct.

I'm sure many people will take advantage of the service, if only for the peace of mind.

[Jayman]

Following the British Embassy’s unwelcome decision to close the small Consulate on Soi 5, British residents voiced their concern that travelling to and from the Embassy in Bangkok is, of course a nightmare.

I don't think anybody is suggesting it's not a good and reasonably priced service, but to suggest the only other option is a round trip to Bangkok isn't correct.

I'm sure many people will take advantage of the service, if only for the peace of mind.

I don't think anyone is suggesting that the pattaya based consulate office was the only option other than a round trip to BKK. Well, other than the several thousand complaining posts on TVF about the pattaya consulate closure.

Edited December 1, 2012 by Jayman

[gamini]

You have never needed to go to bangkok for your UK Embassy retirement letter. You just post the detalls with the appropriate fee and they post you back a letter. It has been like this for the last 12 years.

[evadgib]

300 baht is a brilliant barter against the miserable journey to wireless road from pattaya IMHO and a lot more reliable than trusting documents in the local mail, unless of course you use registered mail, and even then, trusting your documents in the mail is a risky business. and I woudl imagine that registered mail both ways would be close to if not more than the 300 baht charged by this company.

here you have a chap who has used his head and contacts to put together a program which will save a lot of time and money compared to going on your own. I think he deserves a pat on the back for being so quickly innovative.

The embassy, i think, and this is only from memory, expects docs in before 11 and then picked up later in the day, so that makes it a full day spent there, provided of course that the traffic doesnt hold you up and prevent u from hitting their cut off time.

...for those that haven't used their noggin & applied by post!

Edited December 1, 2012 by evadgib

[theoldgit]

I personally wouldn't trust the Thai mail service with a letter which contains my passport. However, would it be legal to give custody of your passport to Key Visa? I thought that one must always have your passport in your own possession. If legal, the service seems to be the second best way to get a pension letter next to doing it yourself.

You don't send your passport to the UK Embassy, as they explain on their website, you just send a copy.

Likewise Key Visa doesn't keep your passport, he just makes a copy.

At the end of the day both services will work, you just choose which one is most convenient to you.

[theoldgit]

I don't think anyone is suggesting that the pattaya based consulate office was the only option other than a round trip to BKK.

I was referring to the link, which suggested just that.

[Ohio]

One of seveal alternatives that will appear I am sure

[BlackPuddingBertha]

Just curious as to how one pays the 2500B charge for the letter when doing it by post? Presumably that incurs other costs also.

I suppose that KeyVisa take the 2500B in cash when they do it, which seems a simple arrangement for the passport holder unless getting to KeyVisa is very inconvenient.

[gk10002000]

I used Key Visa twice, once for a simple mini van overland visa run trip to Cambodia and back, and once for a routine 7 day extension. Both went well. I was staying on Soi Bukhao, it was extremely convenient and saved me the trip to Jomtien Immigration and an unknown line wait time. Well worth a few US dollars for their time.

[Pormax]

I just used the postal method. Embassy charge 2,340B plus100B for EMS return postage. Went to Post Office and got equivelent to Postal Order made out to British Embassy to be cashed at Nana post office Bangkok and paid 42B for ems postage. Receieved back in 9 days (2 weekends in that). So easy enough to do the pension letter yourself.

[Jayman]

I just used the postal method. Embassy charge 2,340B plus100B for EMS return postage. Went to Post Office and got equivelent to Postal Order made out to British Embassy to be cashed at Nana post office Bangkok and paid 42B for ems postage. Receieved back in 9 days (2 weekends in that). So easy enough to do the pension letter yourself.

So you paid an extra 142thb vs the 300thb these guys are charging for the all inclusive service?

Yes, I'd agree, if you time is worth less than 158thb then do it yourself. But back to the OP, the 300thb they are charging seems to be a very reasonable fee to insure your service is handled conveniently and professionally. They are using couriers and not relying on any mail system. Your method took 2 weeks but this service is same week. Also, what if there was unexpected issues? You would have to deal with them yourself but if using a service like this one they handle that for you. Is kinda like insurance, you don't get the benefit of paying the extra costs until you are in a situation that warrants it's use.

Of course, no one is forced to do anything. They are just offering another choice for those that might appreciate it. Guys worried about spending an extra 158thb, this service is probably not for you.

I only wish there was a service like this available to Americans that need the income letter.

Edited December 8, 2012 by Jayman

[Rinrada]

And how many times a year do you have to go to your embassy?

I went there once in 6 years to get a new passport...

In nearly 40 years of travelling all over the world and living outside the UK, I have never once set foot in a British consulate or even contacted them for anything.

I time my passport renewals for when I visit the UK as it's cheaper and easier.

Agree...

[LeCharivari]

I personally wouldn't trust the Thai mail service with a letter which contains my passport. However, would it be legal to give custody of your passport to Key Visa? I thought that one must always have your passport in your own possession. If legal, the service seems to be the second best way to get a pension letter next to doing it yourself.

You don't send your passport to the UK Embassy, as they explain on their website, you just send a copy.

Likewise Key Visa doesn't keep your passport, he just makes a copy.

At the end of the day both services will work, you just choose which one is most convenient to you.

The "key" difference is that if you send your documents by post you have to send the originals (plus a photocopy of your passport) and the Embassy check their legitimacy, while if you opt for Key Visa they check the originals and send photocopies to the Embassy.

Effectively the Embassy are simply outsourcing the verification process to a visa agent to do the checks for them - highly questionable ethically, as some visa agents will "help" those who do not have the right documentation by producing it for them for a fee (not that I am suggesting that Key Visa is one of them), but in practical terms everybody wins: those using the agent only pay much the same as the post or the bus and train fare for a simpler service; even if only half of those previously getting a letter from the Consulate (about 50 a week) use an agent, the agent still makes a reasonable profit; and, most importantly, the Embassy have even less work to do.

Given the minimal interest rates available on bank deposits at the moment there's really very little justifiable financial reason not to deposit 800,000 in the bank for a couple of months and so avoid the whole proof of pension process.