Volume 14, Issue 14
What’s Inside:
1 - 15 April 2015
30 BAHT
british embassy changes rules Prior appointments needed T he British embassy in Bangkok has now changed the system for obtaining notarial (documentary) services from the main site in Wireless Road. British nationals must now make an appointment online and can no longer turn up on a first-come, firstserved queuing basis. The revision was introduced on March 23. The services affected by this change are swearing an oath about freedom to marry, any affidavit, needing a witness signature, making a certified copy and uniting documents. However, some other notarial services can be handled by post, notably the famous letter confirming your income or salary for Thai immigration purposes. This move brings the notarial services section of the embassy into line with other departments which already require a prior appointment, including applying for a British passport which is handled by the sub-office at Trendy Office. Effectively, this means that everyone requiring a service at the
British embassy or its suboffice must have a confirmed written appointment time before they make the journey. The embassy says that the change in procedure is part of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s consular strategy which claims to want to provide a more professional, modern and streamlined service for British nationals who require access to notarial and documentary services. The strategy was launched in April 2013 and covers the period to mid 2016.
Full information about notarial services can be found at the British embassy website www.gov.uk/notarialand-documentary-servicesguide-for-thailand. The site gives a detailed account of which services require a physical presence and which can be handled by post. For example, the legalization of a seal or signature can be handled without visiting the embassy. It should be noted that most embassy services of any kind are now centred on Bangkok. The Pattaya office
of the local honorary consul was closed in 2011 and the Chiang Mai office, although still open, offers fewer services than in the past. It is widely believed that financial cuts, imposed from London, have been responsible for the curtailment of services in the provinces. Government statements now lay heavy emphasis on Brits abroad using the social media, wherever possible, rather than overly relying on human interaction. Continued on page 6
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