UniqueWord
-
Posts
75 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Downloads
Posts posted by UniqueWord
-
-
OneMoreFarang & brewsterbudgen:
Thanks for your well-meaning replies and suggestions.
I've tried contact-embassy.service.gov.uk My browser is unable to get a response. GOV.UK (contact-embassy.service.gov.uk) throws up a 24/7 phone number in UK to call, which won't be of much help, besides being rather expensive while waiting on hold for a representative!
The link https://www.gov.uk/guidance/what-to-do-after-a-british-person-dies-in-thailand gives me the publication I've seen already, which is badly written and vague with circular references, and seems to be pushing the biz of local funeral directors. My wife will be directing the funeral and needs clear and precise information on what is required to obtain the Consular Letter. This seems to be something the B.E. is reluctant to publish.
I've tried to keep my question to them civil, but dealing with these pompous and arrogant people sometimes becomes too much!
Cheers, UW.
-
To The British Embassy Consular Team:
I would like a useful response to the following email I sent on 25 June!
Fri 25-Jun-21 16:54
To: [email protected]
Clearly the address of this forwarded email was out of date. However, I did not get a bounce or a re-direct, or an automated reply giving me the new correct address. Really, I would've thought that HM Gov could manage its e-comms better than this.Maybe a word more of explanation. I found that the advice given in the Gov publication dealing with this to be vague to the point of being almost useless. I am looking for clear and precise detailed information which I can pass on to my Thai wife as she will be taking charge of my funeral. Under no circumstances will she release the original of the Death Certificate since she will need this to claim her Survivor Benefit from my Pension Plan in USA.
Also, I presume this letter should be sent to the new Sathorn postal address.
Sincerely, My Name
From: My Name
Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2021 16:57
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Subject: Consular Letter to release body for funeral
Dear Sir or Madam,After reading the advice contained in the British Embassy publication dealing with death of a British Citizen in Thailand, I have a question.
What is the list of required documents to accompany the letter requesting a Consular Letter to release the body for funeral, and which of these need to be originals as opposed to copies?
I am in the process of preparing a document instructing my wife on what to do after my death, and need this information. It would be helpful if you could also give a suggested text for the letter.
I have a suggested list as follows:
Copy of Death Certificate (in Thai)
Original British Passport of deceased
Copy of Marriage Certificate (double sided) proving next of kin
Copy of my wife's Thai ID Card (both sides)
Copy of my wife's Passport photo and biometrics page
Your comments on this list would be appreciated.Best Regards, My Name
-
To Upnotover.
Many thanks for responding,. As usual the BE doesn't provide much detail in getting the Consular Letter to release the body. There is no list of required documents to be sent accompanying the Request Letter. It's pretty much a guessing game as to what's required and whether copies are acceptable, or they want originals. I'll instruct my wife to provide copies and leave it to the BE to tell her they want originals if they're that picky.
There's no way they'll get the original of the Death Certificate which she needs to secure her Survivor Benefit from my Pension Plan in the USA!
Cheers, UW.
-
Not sure if I'm in the right place, but here goes. Not a regular Forum contributor.
How do I register with the Embassy, or know if I'm already registered?
and
What does my wife need to do to get the Embassy letter that will release my body from the hospital after my death, so the body can be given a funeral?
PS at the moment I'm still alive, just trying to prepare....
-
Try installing an app on my Nokia stone-age phone!
-
1
-
1
-
-
- Popular Post
- Popular Post
Hi. Went today to Buriram Immigration to do Extension of Stay (Marriage, Non-O) using income method. Report as follows:
1) Office was almost empty at 11:40, only us and a bloke from Laos who seemed to be having problems.
2) We were dealt with efficiently by a very pleasant lady IO, with only two minor hiccups.
3) First problem was the downloaded TM.7 Form was out of date, and I had to re-write the form. I've had this problem before with the TVF download form. Also accompanying the TM.7 are two new forms dealing with acknowledgements of Ts &Cs of temp stay, and penalties for overstay. The current versions of all 3 forms are attached in PDF format to this post. The TM.7 doesn't appear to be substantially different, but she didn't like the download.
4) The Khor Rhor 2 form we had previously obtained on 2 April was out of date and we had to get a new one. I was not aware that the Khor Rhor 2 form has a shelf life of only one week! The IO completed the entire process without the new one and allowed us to bring it in after we got it later in the day, which was quite nice and unexpected.
We were all done & dusted by 14:00 in what was a fairly smooth experience.
Hope someone can benefit from this information.
Cheers, UW.-
3
-
15 hours ago, ubonjoe said:
The updated Kor Ror marriage registry is to prove you are still married. If you had gotten divorced there would not be one for the Amphoe to print out.
Thanks for clarification. Makes sense now.
-
Hi Folks,
Applied for extension using income for previous year (2018) direct deposit to Bangkok Bank from Financial Institution in US. The income is from an Annuity derived from previous employment in US which I elected to receive when I became eligible at age 55. The arrangement has been in place for several years now.
1) Local branch of Bangkok Bank advised that the statement for the year 2018 would take 7 biz days to obtain which was unexpected, but not a problem.
2) After getting the statement and a letter to confirm I was the account holder, I copied the statement then hilited the Foreign Transfers. Then made an Excel spreadsheet with the amounts for each month and a calculation of the exchange rate for each transfer. This was based on the information in the 1042-S Tax Statement received from my FI.
3) The IO paid little attention to the hilited copy of the statement, but simply included the original statement in the application documents, including my XL spreadsheet. The IO asked where in the 1042-S was the amount of the Annuity, and included that in the application.
4) I had downloaded the fillable TM.7 file from the TVF website, and completed that and printed it with the picture and signature. This was rejected by the IO and I had to do another one. The reason given was that it was out of date.
5) We had originals and copies of our marriage documents, but one of these was also rejected. In the translation the name of this form is Khor.Ror.2. The reason given was that it was not a current copy. The IO gave my wife directions to the nearest Office where she could obtain a current copy and I waited while the IO pleasantly asked me a few questions on our relationship. It's not clear if the questions were official or just small talk.
In conclusion there were a few hiccups which I've noted but no real problems. The issue with the marriage form is rather weird as the date on the form we presented is same date we got married, but the one which was accepted is 23 April 2019. But this is Thailand. The IO said that this is a new directive from the chief of Immigration. Whether this is the overall chief or the Buriram chief we did not ask. The IO was very pleasant and spoke very good English. The total time we were there was about 90 minutes.
I hope this information is helpful for some folks on here.
Cheers, UW. -
Thanks for the confirmation, Elvia.
Cheers, UW.
-
Regret bothering y'all about this, but I just downloaded the TM.7 Form for Extension of Stay and noticed that it hasn't changed since last year. With all the changes that have been taking place in Immigration, I just want to get some confirmation that what I've downloaded is the real thing.
Thanks for your attention, UW.
-
1 hour ago, evadgib said:
Sorry mate, I don't see the connection if you'll pardon the pun.
The link is to the difficulties in the future of some folks being unable to get a OTP on their phones to authenticate an on-line purchase. This being due to legislation to be introduced next year (2019). Maybe I just picked up the wrong link on BBC.
Anyway I'm confused, but that's not abnormal....
Cheers, UW.
-
1
-
-
To Mr. Crab (Post #26) Just 'gotta' wait & see. 555
Cheers, UW.
-
20 hours ago, ratcatcher said:
Has anyone been refused the income method in the last few days
As I have previously reported, Buriram Imm stated to me and my wife on 22 Nov that without a Letter from the BE, the income which is deposited in my Thai Bank account will not be accepted for the purpose of renewing my Extension of Stay next May.
Perhaps I should have clarified that Buriram Imm are well aware that this income comes from the US and is around 60K THB/month depending on exchange rate. This clearly satisfies the requirement of 40K THB/month for the Marriage Extension.
They are also aware that the proof is a IRS 1042-S Tax Form which is issued every year in early March for the preceding calendar year, and the supporting BE Letter, which will not be available next year. Plus, they are aware that this income stream has existed for more than the last decade.
Just my tuppence worth.
Cheers, UW.
-
2
-
-
- Popular Post
- Popular Post
FWIW, here's a summary of my visit to Buriram Immigration 22 Nov 2018.
I was there for my 90-day report and at the same time asked the IO about the financial
requirements for renewing my Marriage Extension on 9 May 2019. Currently I have a British
Passport and have used the Income Letter method in the past. The IO was fully aware that
these Letters were no longer being issued by UK/US/AUS and Danish Embassies, with
different effective dates; the BE Notice on the subject was taped to the side of one of the
display consoles and clearly visible to all customers.At first the IO said that a Letter from my Thai Bank with a Statement showing foreign income
deposits for the prior 12 months in excess of 40K THB/month would be acceptable, but after
consultation with a more senior Officer, he changed that to say that only a Statement which
showed 400K THB deposited in the Bank for at least the prior 2 months would be
acceptable. The IO to whom I spoke was a 2-striper, but the more senior Officer was not in
uniform so his rank is unknown. The IO explained that the income which I could prove to be
deposited every month in a Thai Bank was no longer useful for Immigration because we
spent it; they want to see evidence of money in a Bank.Because I have dual citizenship UK & Canadian, I then asked about changing my Passport to
be Canadian. Again after consulting the senior Officer he said it was not possible to transfer
the Extension to a passport with a different nationality. In this case I would have to leave
Thailand and re-enter with the new passport and a new Visa and start the process over
again. When I asked him about changing to Canada, he asked in return if the CE were
better placed to verify my income than the BE, and if the CE would be continuing the service.
I said I had no idea on both issues. He was clearly skeptical on the subject.During this Q & A session, Mrs UW was present and took an active role in ensuring there
were no misunderstandings. At the end of the meeting, the IO suggested a path forward
might be to borrow the 400K from family or friends for only the required 2 months. There was
no hint or suggestion of the use of an Agent, or a simple one-time 'processing fee' over the
normal Extension fee of 1,900 THB.This report is for information; I'm not drawing any conclusion, except to speculate that
Immigration still have no clear idea on how to handle the 'income' part of the requirements.
What I was told at Buriram Imm Office is clearly at odds with the notice from the BE, and if I
understand correctly, Thai Immigration Law.Sadly, at this juncture, although I have had a legal income stream for the last decade and can prove that my Thai Bank account is credited every month with a Foreign Transfer of significantly more than 40K THB/month I can see no clear path forward that does not involve either the use of an Agent, the artifact of short-term loans, or 'under the table' payments that are illegal.
Or the option of trusting the Canadians will not bow to the 'winds of change' and starting over again with a Canadian passport.
We live in Interesting Times.
Cheers, UW.
-
4
-
3
-
Hello Mark,
Here's my few words that may help you. I was married and divorced in Thailand, and I got my wife to sign a piece of paper that she gave up all rights to any future claims on me; this was accepted by a Thai court.
Despite this, my Pension Benefits could not be transferred to my new wife because the rules stipulated such a renouncement had to be executed and witnessed in the presence of a Notary. I was unaware of this rule when I divorced.
Although the divorce was reasonably amicable by Thai standards, when my ex-wife became aware of the problem, it was difficult to persuade her to execute and notarize such a legal instrument without some sweetening, i.e. money.
I advise you to seek clarification on the precise document(s) required by the Registrar or competent authority in UK, and the legalization required.
When you have this information, you can then proceed to obtain these document(s) together, if necessary, with your ex-wife. But I would caution you to release as little as possible to your ex-wife regarding the importance of this, however amicable your relationship may be.
FYI, my problem did not come from UK but from USA, a society which seems to thrive on litigation. But I think my message is pertinent to both.
Good Luck, UW.
-
Many thanks for all the replies. I have a lot of information and some very useful links to look into. Also apologies for not finding the UK Pensions topic on TVF; in my 2 years of membership I have rarely posted or tried to search for topics, so I am acually quite useless at searching the topics data base.
Right off the bat, if IBAN is only used within Europe, what would be the appropriate thing to put on the Pension Clain form? Or is this covered in the Bangkok Bank link provided in one of the replies?
Cheers, UW. -
I have recently become aware that I am eligible for a UK State Pension and have the choice of having this paid to a UK bank account or an international bank account. My first thought was to get a UK bank account to give me better control of when to make transfers, etc. Sadly, my sister in the UK told me that it would be almost impossible to open a normal account in UK as a non-resident. Google searches and some old threads (ca 2013) from TVF confirm this.
Looking at the Pension Claim form there is a section by which an international bank account can be designated to receive pension funds but I don't understand what IBAN & BIC are. My current annuity is paid from US and it took me forever to get over their insistence on having an ABA Routing Number! In the end they were satisfied with the SWIFT code.
So my question is two-fold:
- is there any information about the possiblility, and by what path, to open a UK bank account as a Thai resident?
- I'm assuming there are some members who have their pensions paid into Bangkok Bank; if I'm correct, what do I put on the claim form for the IBAN and BIC?
Cheers, UW.
PS. I apologize if this has been covered in a previous thread but I couldn't find evidence of this. -
Good Day.
Just discovered a 'buggy" MS Update released 8 April 2014, title:
'KB2936068 Security Update for Internet Explorer 11 for Windows 7'
After installation and restart, could not connect to AIS 3G service as normal and received msg:
"Incorrect username or password".
Contacting AIS Help did not correct problem - very good service, good English, but could not provide solution. After uninstalling this particular update, problem resolved, all back to normal.
Be wary of allowing MS Update to go ahead and install it!
Good luck, or Chok dee whatever your orientation...
-
Hear, Hear. Darwin Award movement seconded...
-
Thanks for the info. Now I know. It's certainly an interesting vegetable. Never heard of 'turkey berries' before.
-
Does anyone know the English name of the vegetable that looks like a green pea in Thai Green Curry? My wife says it's from the eggplant family - the Thai name sounds like "makhua something". I know that "makhua ted" is tomato, if that helps in deciphering my phonetic Thai...
Please supply a useful answer to my email on 25 June 2021
in Q&A, Ask the Consular Team
Posted
Yes, many times with varied results. No human picks up, always VM. Either their VM works sporadically or my keypad is iffy. When it asks to leave a message I ask to call me back at my (given) number, when it asks to press zero for attendant I do so without success. The call terminates from their end every time.