UK Visa for Thai Wife

[glasswort]

On 2 Aug my Thai wife and I visited the Trendy Building in Bangkok to lodge the documents in respect of her UK visa application. Although she has been to the UK on five previous occasions I took  a load of paperwork which in the end was not required - better safe than sorry when submitting documents anywhere in Thailand.

Since our last visit the procedures had changed quite a bit mainly in that I was permitted to accompany her whereas before I was not allowed past the security door. We were given our number and entered the main room and very quickly the number was displayed and my wife approached the desk and submitted the documents - all that were actually required in respect of supporting documents amounted to her passport, her old passports, confirmed return air tickets, hers and my bank statements; so far so good.

The next step was fingerprinting and this is where the problems started. The woman behind the desk said that I would have to change the flight dates because there would not be enough time to process the application, namely 15 working days. I said this would not be possible and pointed out that between 2 and 28 August (our outward flight) there are 17 working days, she then pointed out we had opted to have the documents returned by courier which could take several days so I said ok I will come and collect them. This created yet another problem which I could not get my head around and took an hour to sort out.

Lo and behold on 7th August, just  6 days after submitting the application I received an SMS informing me that the documents are ready for collection. This we did yesterday and unfortunately documents cannot be collected until after 1.30pm by which time the queue to get into the lift stretched almost to the building entrance.

When we finally arrived at the 28th floor there was an extremely rude Thai guy herding everyone as though they were cattle. The document collection desk is slap bang in the middle of the main office and having received the queue number we were obliged to wait yet another half hour to claim the documents. Needless to say we then had another long wait for the lift to take us back to the ground floor.

The second visit with all the stress of driving in Bangkok from Pattaya would have been totally unnecessary if those at the Visa Application Centre were more aware of what is going in.

To advise me to change my flights because visa applications take a minimum of 15 days to process was clearly misleading at best.

We all know that the UK Government now outsources many of its tasks but at what cost to those who are paying.

[theoldgit]

So did she get her visa?

[glasswort]

1 hour ago, theoldgit said:

So did she get her visa?

Yes, but I would have thought that is obvious. After all she has been to the UK  with me to visit my parents on five previous occasions and returned to Thailand when she said she would.

[Jip99]

So all is well.

 

The 6 day turnaround is remarkable and a friend had exactly the same timescale with hers - even more remarkable was that was on a Friday, usually it is the next day when VfS get the documents back from the embassy - then they are sent EMS normally arriving day 3. This was Friday 11th before the long holiday weekend. Anyway, the embassy actually got the docs back on Friday and VfS posted them. EMS moved them on Saturday (a public holiday) and the applicant collected everything at 9.30 on Sunday morning from Buriram PO........ excellent service.

 

I am very pleased that VfS now appear to be allowing partners to accompany applicants beyond the security gate.

 

The VfS staff did nothing wrong (other than using typical Thai 'language') because the embassy will have instructed them that the standard turnaround time Is 15 working days (for 90% of non-settlement visas) - alerting an applicant that the timescale may impact on pre-booked flights is courteous - what often isn't is the way Thais tell you). They may also be miffed that you had the audacity to book flights before a decision is made, going against their specific advice. Personally, I always book in advance but I have never left it that close for submitting the visa application   In my experience 10 working days is about the norm so they are currently punching well above their weight.

Edited August 16, 2017 by Jip99

[7by7]

On ‎16‎/‎08‎/‎2017 at 10:08 AM, glasswort said:

The second visit with all the stress of driving in Bangkok from Pattaya would have been totally unnecessary if those at the Visa Application Centre were more aware of what is going in.

To advise me to change my flights because visa applications take a minimum of 15 days to process was clearly misleading at best.

We all know that the UK Government now outsources many of its tasks but at what cost to those who are paying.

 

UKVI advise visa applicants not to purchase flight tickets until after the visa has been issued. Up to applicants whether or not they follow that advise, but if paying for tickets in advance then common sense surely says to submit the visa application in plenty of time.

 

UKVI advise standard visit visa applicants to allow 15 days for their application to be processed. Often they beat this target, but at busy periods they don't.

 

VFS staff can only pass on the information given them by UKVI; which is allow up to 15 working days. If they had told you it would take 6 days, but it in fact took three weeks then you really would have something to complain about!

 

Maybe next time read the guidance first and allow sufficient time for her application to be processed.