British Embassy; Rare Accolade!

[laolover88]

Request for letter confirming pension sent March 30. Returned April 4. For any government department that's quick!!

[Lamkyong]

quick i agree , but far from the norm unfortunately

[Eclipse]

At the prices they charge it should be quick.

[stuandjulie]

Same for mine, 5 days and they even told me that as the exchange rate is so crap I could have a small refund on the fee.

[laolover88]

quick i agree , but far from the norm unfortunately

What's the norm? Most correspondence with any UK government department is usually 3 weeks. Strangely in the UK the one thing that IS quick is getting a passport!

[Speedo1968]

Getting a passport quick ?

It used to be a walk in service at ANY UK passport office - 2 - 4 hours !!!

What happened when you could no longer get a new passport here and had to send to Hong Kong ? Illegal to stay here without passport.

What happened when if in UK the queue was so long that passports where being printed in Germany ( I think it was ) then returned to UK ?

Much of the documentation was also printed / handled outside the UK - but within Europe.

I did get a quick response from The British Consul in Bangkok regarding registration of NOK, even a polite and charming phone call.

[brewsterbudgen]

Getting a passport quick ?

It used to be a walk in service at ANY UK passport office - 2 - 4 hours !!!

What happened when you could no longer get a new passport here and had to send to Hong Kong ? Illegal to stay here without passport.

What happened when if in UK the queue was so long that passports where being printed in Germany ( I think it was ) then returned to UK ?

Much of the documentation was also printed / handled outside the UK - but within Europe.

I did get a quick response from The British Consul in Bangkok regarding registration of NOK, even a polite and charming phone call.

You send a copy of your passport not the real thing. Currently it's being processed very quickly (via Liverpool) - about 2 weeks.

[sanukjim]

The request for the same service in The American Embassy takes from fill in form until pick up is about 20 minuets.

[johnatong]

The request for the same service in The American Embassy takes from fill in form until pick up is about 20 minuets.

Which service are you talking about ?

[ubonjoe]

The request for the same service in The American Embassy takes from fill in form until pick up is about 20 minuets.

Not exactly the same service. You have to do your income affidavit in person. The UK embassy only does a income letter by mail. The OP sent his application and payment on the 30th by EMS and got it back by EMS on the 4th.

[richard_smith237]

In the UK it takes about 3-4 hours to get a Passport renewal.

However, you have to pay a fair bit extra for the fast track service and book an appointment weeks in advance.

[smotherb]

Getting a passport quick ?

It used to be a walk in service at ANY UK passport office - 2 - 4 hours !!!

What happened when you could no longer get a new passport here and had to send to Hong Kong ? Illegal to stay here without passport.

What happened when if in UK the queue was so long that passports where being printed in Germany ( I think it was ) then returned to UK ?

Much of the documentation was also printed / handled outside the UK - but within Europe.

I did get a quick response from The British Consul in Bangkok regarding registration of NOK, even a polite and charming phone call.

he

For the income statement, the US Embassy makes you come to Bangkok; or to one of their consular outreach visits to cities in which I do not live, You have to make an appointment and they only accept appointments until 10:45 in the morning, and I am not a morning person. Then, they charge $50 for the notary fee.

If you need a passport, you also need to go to Bangkok/outreach, make an appointment, and it's a two of three week turnaround from the States. They say they cannot keep passports in the overseas embassies for security reasons. Duh, okay, the embassies have no security and the passports are not numbered, right? At any rate, they told me they would notify me when they passport arrives. "So, I have to come back to Bangkok," I asked? No, they can send it to my home via a Thai courier service. Where is the security in that, you may ask? So did I.

Yet, we complain about Thai government hassles.

[evadgib]

At the prices they charge it should be quick.

London sets the fees & applies them worldwide.

Edited April 4, 2016 by evadgib

[steve187]

In the UK it takes about 3-4 hours to get a Passport renewal.

However, you have to pay a fair bit extra for the fast track service and book an appointment weeks in advance.

4 hours from being seen, not from apointment time, and i made my friends and my apointment the day before for Peterbourgh

[mikebell]

A rare accolade indeed. The UK Embassy in Thailand does not operate an outreach clinic like some efficient/humane countries. The income letter is a scandalous rip-off. They know you need it so they can charge the earth. They do no investigation; merely change the name on a pre-existing document. They inflict this charge on pensioners whose UK state pension has been frozen for years (8 in my case.)

It makes my blood boil when I see the astronomical figures given by UK Gov in foreign aid.

[Speedo1968]

3 - 4 hours was in the good old days ! Yes, a long time ago. No appointment required. Now many local ( eg Peterborough ) offices I think are closed, I had to travel to London for my one but last, my recent one had to come from Hong Kong as Bangkok no longer issued them.

[johnatong]

3 - 4 hours was in the good old days ! Yes, a long time ago. No appointment required. Now many local ( eg Peterborough ) offices I think are closed, I had to travel to London for my one but last, my recent one had to come from Hong Kong as Bangkok no longer issued them.

Not closed !

http://www.passports-office.co.uk/passport_office_peterborough.asp

[ubonjoe]

Getting a passport quick ?

It used to be a walk in service at ANY UK passport office - 2 - 4 hours !!!

What happened when you could no longer get a new passport here and had to send to Hong Kong ? Illegal to stay here without passport.

What happened when if in UK the queue was so long that passports where being printed in Germany ( I think it was ) then returned to UK ?

Much of the documentation was also printed / handled outside the UK - but within Europe.

I did get a quick response from The British Consul in Bangkok regarding registration of NOK, even a polite and charming phone call.

he

For the income statement, the US Embassy makes you come to Bangkok; or to one of their consular outreach visits to cities in which I do not live, You have to make an appointment and they only accept appointments until 10:45 in the morning, and I am not a morning person. Then, they charge $50 for the notary fee.

If you need a passport, you also need to go to Bangkok/outreach, make an appointment, and it's a two of three week turnaround from the States. They say they cannot keep passports in the overseas embassies for security reasons. Duh, okay, the embassies have no security and the passports are not numbered, right? At any rate, they told me they would notify me when they passport arrives. "So, I have to come back to Bangkok," I asked? No, they can send it to my home via a Thai courier service. Where is the security in that, you may ask? So did I.

Yet, we complain about Thai government hassles.

Having to get up early one day a year should not be that hard. At least now you can plan the date to get the affidavit within 6 months before the date you apply now. Perhaps plan a trip to one of the places that an outreach is being done. Doing mine next month in Pattaya while I am there visiting family with the rest of my family.

It is more like 10 days to 2 weeks to get a passport.

There is a lot more to it than security for not issuing passports at embassies and consulates. Just look at the new passports with embedded photos and now chips. It got to complicated and costly to produce passports at embassies and consulates. They have also stopped doing them at the regional passport offices in the states where you could get one on the same day before.

[SantiSuk]

E-mail them on there normal contact us facility re visas (maybe general). Take a guess what their proud service standard is for a reply.

20 days!!!!

[SantiSuk]

There their. Apologies for typo in 1st line. Not smart enough to figure out how to edit on a smart phone!

[evadgib]

Not smart enough to figure out how to edit on a smart phone!

Nor it seems to understand the difference between notary services & visa enquiries. Edited April 5, 2016 by evadgib

[laolover88]

Lawks! I know most of the problems and silly timescales associated with the FCO and the Consulates and Embassies. I just thought they did the business efficiently. So why not say so? 2500 Baht for a letter is of course a total rip off.But look at the premium that agencies think they can charge!! Key say a letter is 3500! I object to the fact that I pay UK tax for the government to provide services and then they outsource those services at a profit for which I pay more.. The pensions non-indexing scandal is simply theft by the government.

[OJAS]

3 - 4 hours was in the good old days ! Yes, a long time ago. No appointment required. Now many local ( eg Peterborough ) offices I think are closed, I had to travel to London for my one but last, my recent one had to come from Hong Kong as Bangkok no longer issued them.

Not closed !

http://www.passports-office.co.uk/passport_office_peterborough.asp

And Hong Kong has now, in turn, been superseded by the dreaded "With-It Tower Passport Renewal Experience", as a result of which 2 physical trips are now the order of the day from whatever remote corner of LOS you live in to the top floor of an office building somewhere in deepest darkest Bangkok with an exceedingly silly name, firstly to lodge your application and again a few weeks later to collect your replacement passport. Maybe fine if you live in Bangkok, but most certainly not fine if, like me, you do not.

At least in the Hong Kong era you could submit your application by post and have the replacement passport couriered directly back to you.

Why HMPO decided to replace a relatively uncomplicated and stress-free process with the present convoluted shambles overnight a couple of years ago remains a complete mystery to this very day. One might, I think, be forgiven for concluding that the change was made solely at the behest of sadists who are in charge at HMPO!

It looks like I may well be taking an extended holiday in Peterborough when I next need to renew my passport (assuming, of course, that the HMPO office there is still open then). I really am prepared to go to any lengths to avoid a couple of mandatory trips to that hellhole called Bangkok!

Edited April 5, 2016 by OJAS

[johnatong]

3 - 4 hours was in the good old days ! Yes, a long time ago. No appointment required. Now many local ( eg Peterborough ) offices I think are closed, I had to travel to London for my one but last, my recent one had to come from Hong Kong as Bangkok no longer issued them.

Not closed !

http://www.passports-office.co.uk/passport_office_peterborough.asp

And Hong Kong has now, in turn, been superseded by the dreaded "With-It Tower Passport Renewal Procedure", as a result of which 2 physical trips are now the order of the day from whatever remote part of LOS you live in to the top floor of an office building somewhere in deepest darkest Bangkok with an exceedingly silly name, firstly to lodge your application and again a few weeks later to collect your replacement passport. Maybe fine if you live in Bangkok, but most certainly not fine if, like me, you do not.

At least in the Hong Kong era you could submit your application by post and have the replacement passport couriered directly back to you.

Why HMPO decided to replace a relatively uncomplicated and stress-free process with the present convoluted shambles overnight a couple of years ago remains a complete mystery to this very day. One might, I think, be forgiven for concluding that the change was made solely at the behest of sadists who are in charge at HMPO!

It looks like I may well be taking an extended holiday in Peterborough when I next need to renew my passport (assuming, of course, that the HMPO office there is still open then). I'm really prepared to go to any lengths to avoid a couple of mandatory trips to that hellhole called Bangkok!

More people who are affected by the passport renewal process should complain.

Write at least to the British Ambassador in Bangkok, HMPO and the Home Secretary in the UK. A sufficient volume of focused complaint may secure change.

Posting here will not achieve anything.

[laolover88]

I agree. Most dealings with FCO or for that matter any UK government department are a complete nightmare. All I said was they, unbelievably, did something OK,, at a cost. Used to get the letters from Chiang Mai 24 hour turn around.The UK Civil Service has gone mad, as have numbers of UK companies. The Civil Service does not know whether it is in Newcastle, Belfast, Stockport, Cardiff, London or wherever. Scottish Power for example seems to think it can run its business from Glasgow, Madrid, Bangalore and Hyderabad. At least my Council Tax bill is not, yet, in Urdu

[evadgib]

Hong Kong was only ever a stop-gap and was explained before, during and after each move.

I agree re trendy being a balls-ache for anyone living more than 2hrs from Bkk and have submitted feedback to that effect.

[OJAS]

3 - 4 hours was in the good old days ! Yes, a long time ago. No appointment required. Now many local ( eg Peterborough ) offices I think are closed, I had to travel to London for my one but last, my recent one had to come from Hong Kong as Bangkok no longer issued them.

Not closed !

http://www.passports-office.co.uk/passport_office_peterborough.asp

And Hong Kong has now, in turn, been superseded by the dreaded "With-It Tower Passport Renewal Procedure", as a result of which 2 physical trips are now the order of the day from whatever remote part of LOS you live in to the top floor of an office building somewhere in deepest darkest Bangkok with an exceedingly silly name, firstly to lodge your application and again a few weeks later to collect your replacement passport. Maybe fine if you live in Bangkok, but most certainly not fine if, like me, you do not.

At least in the Hong Kong era you could submit your application by post and have the replacement passport couriered directly back to you.

Why HMPO decided to replace a relatively uncomplicated and stress-free process with the present convoluted shambles overnight a couple of years ago remains a complete mystery to this very day. One might, I think, be forgiven for concluding that the change was made solely at the behest of sadists who are in charge at HMPO!

It looks like I may well be taking an extended holiday in Peterborough when I next need to renew my passport (assuming, of course, that the HMPO office there is still open then). I'm really prepared to go to any lengths to avoid a couple of mandatory trips to that hellhole called Bangkok!

More people who are affected by the passport renewal process should complain.

Write at least to the British Ambassador in Bangkok, HMPO and the Home Secretary in the UK. A sufficient volume of focused complaint may secure change.

Posting here will not achieve anything.

I have already complained several times to HMPO about this crazy procedure. My complaints have all, however, achieved absolutely nothing.

[HOAX]

A confirmation of income and getting the stamped letter at the embassy just takes a couple of minutes. But I must've misunderstood the OP?

[BritTim]

A confirmation of income and getting the stamped letter at the embassy just takes a couple of minutes. But I must've misunderstood the OP?

We are talking about the British Embassy. The confirmation of income can only be done by post (true for a while). There are still a very few services for which you can attend the Embassy in person. These all require making an appointment in advance. Just turning up and hoping to be allowed in is futile. All commonly used services have been shunted off to third party suppliers, and service by post is provided for most of the remainder. The Embassy still owns quite a bit of that original valuable land plot on Wireless Road. I would not be in the least bit surprised if they are awaiting the right time to sell, and move out to some cheap location in Bangkapi or somewhere. In truth, there is no longer any real reason why it needs to occupy a central location. They can still maintain an ambassadorial residence somewhere in the area if his wife wants to be close to the department stores.

[HOAX]

A confirmation of income and getting the stamped letter at the embassy just takes a couple of minutes. But I must've misunderstood the OP?

We are talking about the British Embassy. The confirmation of income can only be done by post (true for a while). There are still a very few services for which you can attend the Embassy in person. These all require making an appointment in advance. Just turning up and hoping to be allowed in is futile. All commonly used services have been shunted off to third party suppliers, and service by post is provided for most of the remainder. The Embassy still owns quite a bit of that original valuable land plot on Wireless Road. I would not be in the least bit surprised if they are awaiting the right time to sell, and move out to some cheap location in Bangkapi or somewhere. In truth, there is no longer any real reason why it needs to occupy a central location. They can still maintain an ambassadorial residence somewhere in the area if his wife wants to be close to the department stores.

I know there are more Brits than Norwegians in Thailand but... still...

Why not get a bigger location and more employees at the embassy? I don't think us Norwegians would be too satisfied with not being worthy enough for a fulfilled service. I could understand if we were talking about a poverty stricken country but I would assume GB is wealthy enough, and after all, Brits do pay taxes.

But how do brits feel about it? You get the help you need when you need it or do brits literally die around post offices in Thailand?

Edited April 6, 2016 by HOAX