Danish Consulate in Pattaya closing

[webfact]

Danish Consulate in Pattaya closing

PATTAYA: -- The Danish Consulate in Pattaya will be closed down on 10th March 2015. According to the Embassy, the closing is part of an overall adaption of the structure and tasks of the Danish Honorary Consulates. The demand for consular services have changed, and also new communication channels and technologies as well as new requirements such as bio-metric production of passports has influenced the tasks of Honorary Consulates.

The Danish Ambassador Mikael Hemniti Winther explains:

“Far most of the tasks that the Consulate is carrying out for the Danish people can be done by e-mail or by surface mail directly to the Embassy in Bangkok, and there is no need to go personally to the office or travel to Bangkok. With the requirement of bio-metric registration for obtaining a new passport, there would always need to visit the Embassy in Bangkok anyway.

The only slight inconvenience, the Ambassador can think of would be emergency passports and passports for children, where there will now be a need to travel to Bangkok.

“However last year we only received less than 20 in total for those two types, so it is hardly worth mentioning,” he adds.

The Ambassador thinks that the Danes in Pattaya will find that the Embassy will provide a quick and efficient service for them either by e-mail or normal postal services and with no need to go personally to the office.

“Danish people with more serious needs in terms of arrest, serious illness, or other needs for assistance, will receive the same assistance as in the past,” he adds.

Regrets the closure

Consul Stig Vagt-Andersen regrets the closure of the consulate which, in his opinion, hurts the weakest of the Danes living in the Eastern Seaboard area who regularly needs consular services. He adds, that as he has not been consulted prior to the decision there has been no opportunity for him to speak out for the Danish residents in the consulate district.

“Among the estimated 900 Danish visit, that we have had last year, 200 of them are pensioners on one year Thai retirement visa, whereof a quarter are an average of 75 years old,” says Consul Stig Vagt-Andersen.

“Besides our elderly Danes then families with young kids under 12 will also find it inconvenient to travel with infants to Bangkok to make their children’s passports.”

“Danish enterprises in the Eastern Seaboard industrial estates and shipping to Laem Chabang port will also be negatively affected as they no longer will have access to flexible consulate services locally. This will sadly create additional cost and loss of time for these companies”.

“I took the initiative to open the Danish consulate 16 years ago in Pattaya, with support of Ambassador Niels K Dyrlund, based on a clearly identified need for local consular services. At that time we reached the clear conclusion that the consulate offered both cost benefits and improved service levels.”

“Although we locally only have seen the need for consular services grow steadily year by year, we however, have to accept that we regrettably no longer will be able to provide these services,” says Stig Vagt-Andersen.

Source: http://scandasia.com/danish-consulate-in-pattaya-closing/

-- ScandAsia 2015-03-05[/b]

[khwaibah]

No Danish punters in SinCity. That says a lot.

[joepattaya1961]

I didn't know there was a Danish Consulate in Pattaya...........now I have to classify this knowledge as not-relevant.

[guzzi850m2]

Bad news man.

I had one passport renewed there but for the next one I had to go to Bangkok due to more complex passports that need a special machine to make them.

It's worst for the elderly Danes, for me it's not such a big deal (yet).

What a shame.

[guzzi850m2]

I didn't know there was a Danish Consulate in Pattaya...........now I have to classify this knowledge as not-relevant.

What an arrogant statement.

Pattaya have people from all over the World man which makes it a more interesting place in my opinion.

[DoctorG]

I didn't know there was a Danish Consulate in Pattaya...........now I have to classify this knowledge as not-relevant.

What an arrogant statement.

Pattaya have people from all over the World man which makes it a more interesting place in my opinion.

I think you might have misunderstood Joe's comment.

[emilymat]

Oh well, cast adrift like the Brits.

I just wish they wouldn't dress up cost cutting with all this blurb about bio-metrics etc etc..

[jacko45k]

Well where the Danish Ambassador states for consular services there is no need to go to Bangkok, but the British Embassy obligates it, twice.

I am expecting Danes will be travelling.

Edited March 5, 2015 by jacko45k

[Asiantravel]

This cost-cutting will just be getting worse. Venezuela just announced it was cutting its embassy staff in USA from 100 to 19!

But the Cuban Embassy in Bangkok probably has the leanest operationI have seen so far.

When I went there to apply for a visa there were no support staff I was actually served by the Cuban Ambassador herself

Edited March 6, 2015 by Asiantravel