Out of interest what passport / embassy letter for 12 Baht do you use?

French Embassy: I send it copy of the tax form that states my French revenues (proof), with a self addressee envelope, and they send me back this envelope with the "Embassy Income Letter" inside. Cost 2 stamps and take about 4 days. Easy.

Until 3 years ago it was possible to send a scanned proof of revenues by Internet, but looks like the Embassy doesn't have money anymore to pay for the 6 baht return stamp...

What is it £16.000 or somewhere around that?,now interest rates are virtually on the move in the UK you could easily gain more than that in interest in a bond ....

I get interest on my deposit here. Not as much as I used to get here a year or two ago (3.8%) but still more than I could get for a similar deposit in the UK.

Anyway, it's a matter of principle.

3.8 % on a falling currency,was Sterling up almost 17% against the Baht recently? So you could say you have lost in Sterling terms around 13% Would that be around £208 lost? 4 times the £50 of what your principles dictate

Here we go, the perpetual, "I bet I am less broke-arse than you" posting frenzy.

Here we go, the perpetual, "I bet I am less broke-arse than you" posting frenzy.

What has this to do with anything"broke-arse"? "perpetual" "frenzy" just a case of basic maths actually,it is so damned basic a five year old could see a logic

Use Darren at Key Visa. Supply him with bank statements (copies). They go to UK Embassy every Wed (?). They take all papers/passport copies etc. Get it back the following week & then you pay. Excellent service despite rip-off fee from robbing bastards at UK Embassy BKK.

The UK never cease to amaze me, anything to do with the government, is rip off, and theft etc, against the ordinary people. Too busy with overseas aid and MPs "expenses", oh, and not giving OAP's their annual pension increases because they live in certain other countries. Shameful.

I get interest on my deposit here. Not as much as I used to get here a year or two ago (3.8%) but still more than I could get for a similar deposit in the UK.

Anyway, it's a matter of principle.

3.8 % on a falling currency,was Sterling up almost 17% against the Baht recently? So you could say you have lost in Sterling terms around 13% Would that be around £208 lost? 4 times the £50 of what your principles dictate

I long ago gave up trying to second-guess currency movements.

Over the last 10 years the GBP/THB rate has varied from just over 44 to just over 76 with many ups and downs on the way. So yes the Baht has fallen around 15% in the last year, but previously it had risen by much more. Anyone who bought 800KB more than about 6 years ago would be very happy now. Today I am showing a small loss from the exchange rate, but it's nothing I cant afford and it could easily have gone the other way (in fact for a few years I was showing a paper profit).

Anyway, as I mentioned it is a matter of principle. I will not pay 2500B for a letter and that's all there is to it. I also dont want the inconvenience of having to get it from Bangkok, and I probably could not actually provide the sort of evidence they need for it anyway as my income fluctuates wildly from one month to another, with a lot of it in the form of capital gains rather than income, and I dont (yet) receive a state pension.

Use Darren at Key Visa. Supply him with bank statements (copies). They go to UK Embassy every Wed (?). They take all papers/passport copies etc. Get it back the following week & then you pay. Excellent service despite rip-off fee from robbing bastards at UK Embassy BKK.

The UK never cease to amaze me, anything to do with the government, is rip off, and theft etc, against the ordinary people. Too busy with overseas aid and MPs "expenses", oh, and not giving OAP's their annual pension increases because they live in certain other countries. Shameful.

It's not only the UK - most "developed" countries charge like wounded bulls for various bureaucratic tasks. This make-work phenomenon must be great for reducing unemployment rates, but seems to serve no usefyul function (pity that all of these workers aren't productive. What a boon to the national economy if they were).

And as an Aussie I should be so lucky as to get an OAP, never mind missing out on yearly adjustments. Australians are not allowed access to the state pension unless they lived in Australia for at least 2 years after the age of 63 years. So don't be too harsh on your UK government - I am happy to swap for ours!

Use Darren at Key Visa. Supply him with bank statements (copies). They go to UK Embassy every Wed (?). They take all papers/passport copies etc. Get it back the following week & then you pay. Excellent service despite rip-off fee from robbing bastards at UK Embassy BKK.

Thanks Mikebell,

Overlooked your post,I am at Embassy on Monday for passport,see if I can kill two birds with one stone with income letter too.

I take it will be twelve months of statements,not a snapshot of last three months

I have held a deposit of the 800.000 baht for a number of years also, in a sterling account,now the £ has increased I just want it out and having as little financial exposure in Thailand as possible. I just get the feeling for farangs at least things will be a'changin' in the not too distant future. Just want an easy escape plan in place

Edited July 19, 201411 yr by loppylugs1

Use Darren at Key Visa. Supply him with bank statements (copies). They go to UK Embassy every Wed (?). They take all papers/passport copies etc. Get it back the following week & then you pay. Excellent service despite rip-off fee from robbing bastards at UK Embassy BKK.

The UK never cease to amaze me, anything to do with the government, is rip off, and theft etc, against the ordinary people. Too busy with overseas aid and MPs "expenses", oh, and not giving OAP's their annual pension increases because they live in certain other countries. Shameful.

It's not only the UK - most "developed" countries charge like wounded bulls for various bureaucratic tasks. This make-work phenomenon must be great for reducing unemployment rates, but seems to serve no usefyul function (pity that all of these workers aren't productive. What a boon to the national economy if they were).

And as an Aussie I should be so lucky as to get an OAP, never mind missing out on yearly adjustments. Australians are not allowed access to the state pension unless they lived in Australia for at least 2 years after the age of 63 years. So don't be too harsh on your UK government - I am happy to swap for ours!

So you would be happy to have immigrants from all over the place coming to Australia at the same rate they are coming in to the UK, and a lot of them picking up benefits paid for by the very overtaxed citizens while the country is sending money abroad for what we call overseas aid, and the MPs very generous "expenses"?

Why you so angry possum? Were (are) you a Labour voter?

And your father before you?

And his father before him?

There is something here I do not understand the Canadian Consulate here in Chiang Mai charges 1500 bahts for the letter plus the trip out to the city's edge. How can one get a private service to do the same thing for 300 bahts. Is there one available in Chiang Mai??

300 plus the cost of the letter the US embassy gharges 1650 baht it's robbery.