Applying for Non B Visa at Thai Embassy in London

[orpheus7876]

Introduction

 

 

Whilst this process did involve a lot of confusion, stress, time and expense, it didn't go drastically wrong, which I guess is a plus.

 

 

As per the new arrangements for obtaining the non b visa, one is required to fill in an online application form, pay online, and then book an appointment at the embassy. You are then required to pick up the visa the following working day (see http://www.thaiembassy.org/london/en/services/7495/81753-How-to-Apply-for-a-Visa-in-Person.html)

 

 

Type of non b visa and cost

 

 

I applied for a single entry non b visa which is only valid for 3 months. If you do the same, ensure you factor in enough time when you get to Thailand to apply for a work permit, i.e. if you’re due to start your new job at the beginning of August, don’t go and get the visa at the beginning of May or June, because your non b visa may expire before your work permit is ready, and then you’ll have to re-apply for a non b again (sometimes employers can be slow to sort out the work permit).

 

 

The cost of the single entry non b is 60 pounds.

As far as I can remember, I wasn’t actually given the option to apply for a multiple entry non b visa.

 

 

Police check from previous countries worked in

 

 

The first round of confusion occurred when I was told by my new employer in Thailand that in order to obtain the visa I was required to take my police clearance letter not only from the UK, but also from the country I had previously worked in to the embassy (amongst all the other necessary documents). Due to a delay in obtaining the latter, I was worried that I would not be able to secure an appointment at the Thai embassy in time before I left the UK (I had made travel plans). However, I found out that once the online visa application (on the Thai embassy's website) is completed, you can pretty much book an appointment for the next day (at least in my case). Furthermore, I eventually found out that I also didn't need to bring any police check other than the UK one.

 

 

The online application

 

 

Completing the online visa application is pretty stressful because it crashes several times as you attempt to complete it. Fortunately, the site is able to retain most of the data you enter so it's a case of going back to the beginning and clicking next over and over again. I think you have to make sure you click 'save' on every page.

 

 

Uploading documents

 

 

In the online application you finally get to the page where you need to upload relevant documents. This stage is pretty confusing.

 

 

Below is a list of the documents as it is stated that you need to upload on the site:

 

• Approval letter from the concerned authority under the Ministry of Education
• Certificate of criminal record clearance from the country of residence
• Letter confirming employment details from schools/ universities signed by authorized person together with a copy of ID card or passport of the signer.
• School/ university's registration

 

Unfortunately, my employer sent me a bunch of documents which were in Thai so I was unable to determine which documents corresponded to those that needed uploading. Additionally, the site only lets you upload one file per document type, and this file must be below 0.5Mb in size. Because of this file size limit, you most probably will not be able to upload more than about 2 pages for each document type required (as a pdf). So you may need to use an online pdf splitting tool. Ultimately, you have to use your best guess as to which documents correspond to which required document type, and you will have to upload those documents you think are most relevant/ important, because you will not be able to upload more than about eight pages in total (including your police check letter), due to the file size limit.

 

 

Booking appointment and receiving confirmation.

 

 

When you have uploaded the documents, you pay and book your appointment. As I have mentioned, I was able to book an appointment for the following day (which was a relief). However, a new problem then emerged in the online application process. I was given the option to print the confirmation of my application which included a bar code, but I was unable to print this document. I simply clicked and nothing happened. The only option I had was to ‘print screen’ and save the screen capture. The current screen had a small bar-code displayed so I thought that this might suffice – AND THANK GOODNESS I DID THAT! It turned out that this was essential for obtaining the visa: when I later went to the embassy, others I spoke to said that they had received a confirmation email of their application, and they had printed this out. However, I didn’t receive anything! I checked my email thoroughly including junk box. I also know that I gave the correct email because I had initially received an email when I created an account on the site. The lady working at the desk in the embassy told me that she specifically needed the print-out of this confirmation in order to process the visa application. I explained my situation and how I did not receive the email, and then provided her with the print-out of my screen capture and fortunately she accepted this. She then said that I needed to bring in another copy of this screen capture the following day when picking up the visa otherwise the visa would be rejected! So, if anyone encounters the same problem I had, I would strongly recommend doing a screen capture of the final stage of the online application (that displays the bar code) and printing this out and bringing two copies with you. Please note: because I was somewhat doubtful that this screen shot of the bar code was of high enough quality so as to be readable by a bar-code scanner, I used image-editing software to increase both the bar-code’s size and sharpness. Perhaps this was unnecessary, but I didn’t feel like taking any chances. It was the uncertainty over the clarity of this bar code which caused me to worry for 24 hours!

 

 

Going to the embassy and documents to bring

 

 

Surprisingly, there was not much of a queue when I got there and didn’t have to wait long. You will see that there is a supposed ticket system, but I think that can be ignored, because nobody ever announces any numbers. The appointment system seems to be pointless – I think you could probably turn up any time during their working hours (9-12), so don’t worry if you are early or late.

Regarding documents to bring, I spent hours preparing all the necessary documents to bring along with copies. In the end the only documents I needed were my passport and UK police check (as well as the screen capture of the bar-code discussed earlier - which scanned fine).

 

 

Nonetheless, for your information below are the documents that my employer stated I needed to take to the embassy. Note that this list doesn’t include the documents that my employer had already sent me and which I had already uploaded during the online application process.

 

• CV
• Photocopy and original of UK police check
• University degree
• 2 recent photos
• Passport

 

Again, the only documents that I ultimately needed to take to the embassy were the UK police check, passport and confirmation page with bar-code. However, I would advise taking all these things (as well as employer’s documents) just in case.

 

 

Collecting the visa

 

 

The following working day you can collect the visa. This is a bit of a joke since it requires one to stay in a hotel for the night, or travel back in. I did the latter and it costed me about one hundred pounds in total in train fares.

 

 

It says on the embassy’s website that you should collect between 11-12; however, I was told I can come from 9-12. It’s common sense, but when you get the visa just check it’s actually in your passport and has the correct information before you leave and someone else is seen to.

 

 

Conclusion

 

 

Though the process was confusing and caused me to worry for a whole day whether my visa would be accepted or not, it was fine in the end. I have experienced the same visa application process for another country, namely Kuwait; the latter was a LOT more arduous as it involved various medical tests, attestation of documents, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 29, 2019 by orpheus7876