Birmingham consulate

[Jay Sata]

I am of for a three month tour of Asia that includes Thailand.

I have a friend who has always used Hull but persuaded him to use Birmingham.

Apart from issuing tourist visas in 15 minutes they can now issue non immigrant O visas without the need to go to London.

Bottom line is I was offered a one year multi entry O on the basis of marriage and it can all done in less than

an hour!

It appears London worked out the paper pushing does not make sense. Document checking is now done via phone and email.

The woman who runs the Birmingham consul did say the situation is fluid.

[Maestro]

Thank you for posting this information.

Still no mail applications allowed, I presume.

[paz]

I don't think it's news, already reported here:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/755619-non-o-birmingham-consulate/

[steve187]

any financial proof required

[VBF]

Presumably one has to be married to a Thai, not single and over 50 years of age with enough money in the bank? (Like in the good old days!)

And as Maestro asked "still no mail applications allowed"?

[Jay Sata]

She told me no bank details required.

The woman who appears to in part run the operation has been there for a long time and has extensive Thai travel experience.

The consulate is easy to park and find. Get your sat nav to take you to 1 Victoria Square and park on the meters on the right just before the Town Hall.

It is just a few minutes to the front of the a Town Hall and if you look down to the right the building is across the pelican crossing.

There is no sign saying consulate. Walk in to reception and they will point you through the ground floor to inner reception.

I get the impression that after the initial visit postal applications may be OK.

I phoned Hull prior to this trip and it appears they are limited now in what they can do.

I suspect their latitude in the past has fueled this clampdown.

[VBF]

She told me no bank details required.

The woman who appears to in part run the operation has been there for a long time and has extensive Thai travel experience.

The consulate is easy to park and find. Get your sat nav to take you to 1 Victoria Square and park on the meters on the right just before the Town Hall.

It is just a few minutes to the front of the a Town Hall and if you look down to the right the building is across the pelican crossing.

There is no sign saying consulate. Walk in to reception and they will point you through the ground floor to inner reception.

I get the impression that after the initial visit postal applications may be OK.

I phoned Hull prior to this trip and it appears they are limited now in what they can do.

I suspect their latitude in the past has fueled this clampdown.

So Jay, sorry to "bang on" but may I confirm with you that as you got your non-immigrant O on the basis of being married to a Thai, presumably that is a requirement?

By which I mean to ask "Is the non-immigrant O available to someone single and over 50 years of age as used to be the case?"

I'm pretty sure I know the answer but it would be so nice to be able to get another multiple "O" as a single bloke!

Thanks..... VBF

[Jay Sata]

You are correct in that my non immigrant O is on the basis of being married to a Thai for the last 15 years.

However while I was there a UK resident was getting a new passport for his Thai/UK son.

When I walked in I was told my visa would be ready in 7 minutes and in fact it took 8 with an apology that she was on the phone.

Hull was a lot slower than that.

I will check to see if they do postal non immigrant O visas.

Have you tried phoning them?

[VBF]

You are correct in that my non immigrant O is on the basis of being married to a Thai for the last 15 years.

However while I was there a UK resident was getting a new passport for his Thai/UK son.

When I walked in I was told my visa would be ready in 7 minutes and in fact it took 8 with an apology that she was on the phone.

Hull was a lot slower than that.

I will check to see if they do postal non immigrant O visas.

Have you tried phoning them?

Jay - thanks for the response.

Actually I phoned them 2 months ago and was told that they would be able to issue me a single O in person, with an original bank statement showing £16,800. However no multiple O for a single bloke (even though over 50) and no personal application allowed..

Your post made me wonder (hope!) if things had changed there in the last couple of months since i spoke to them. Apparently not is the answer. So it goes - thanks again. VBF

[Jay Sata]

Who did you speak to?

The old lady seems to run a lot of the paperwork and she said a few days ago that things are changing all the time.

I will try and phone her tomorrow.

When did you last talk to her?

[VBF]

Who did you speak to?

The old lady seems to run a lot of the paperwork and she said a few days ago that things are changing all the time.

I will try and phone her tomorrow.

When did you last talk to her?

Cannot remember and didn't make a note of who....as i say it was 2 months ago but "changing all the time" pretty much sums the whole thing up doesn't it? Worth keeping an eye on though but if I can't get a multiple O, then a Triple entry Tourist becomes more useful, and I can get that by post from London. That's much closer to Surrey where I live but I might consider making the trip to Brum for a Multiple O though!

[ubonjoe]

Nothing has changed. Unless you are married to a Thai, or have a Thai child you are the legal father of or are 65 or over and getting a pension you will not get a multiple entry non-o visa in the UK.

[Jay Sata]

Why not give them a call

<phone number removed>

She seemed clued up and said they can issue other visas now!

I will given them a call to confirm.
.
http://www.thailand-visa.com

[ubonjoe]

For over a year now there have been no reports of getting non-o multiple entries visas in the UK other than those I mentioned.

Her saying they can do other visas does not mean a multiple entry non-o.

[VBF]

For over a year now there have been no reports of getting non-o multiple entries visas in the UK other than those I mentioned.

Her saying they can do other visas does not mean a multiple entry non-o.

Thanks Joe - just "clutching at straws" as it were! One never knows though - things CAN change in this confusing world!

If Jay phones and finds new information, we'll all be in his debt.

May I respectfully offer a (pedantic) correction to your post above though: You said "...........65 or over and getting a pension........"

That should be "............65 or over and getting a State pension...................."

I say that because the Embassy and the Consulates all told me that a Private Pension will not qualify - it must be a UK Government pension.

And the reason I'm being so pedantic is that 65 is no longer the age at which UK males automatically qualify for a State Pension. It depends upon when you were born - I'm 59 and I won't get my pension until age 66.

This https://www.gov.uk/calculate-state-pension calculator shows how it works.

This means that, if the present rules still apply, I won't qualify for a non-O multiple until I reach 66, rather than 65! A fine example of the British government reneging on promises past

[Jay Sata]

You are correct in that my non immigrant O is on the basis of being married to a Thai for the last 15 years.

However while I was there a UK resident was getting a new passport for his Thai/UK son.

When I walked in I was told my visa would be ready in 7 minutes and in fact it took 8 with an apology that she was on the phone.

Hull was a lot slower than that.

I will check to see if they do postal non immigrant O visas.

Have you tried phoning them?

Jay - thanks for the response.

Actually I phoned them 2 months ago and was told that they would be able to issue me a single O in person, with an original bank statement showing £16,800. However no multiple O for a single bloke (even though over 50) and no personal application allowed..

Your post made me wonder (hope!) if things had changed there in the last couple of months since i spoke to them. Apparently not is the answer. So it goes - thanks again. VBF

I checked this out today with Birmingham and that is still the case. They can only issue single entry 90 in that category.