@Andi **********

Name dropping but my best pal who I talk to almost daily is a senior British Diplomat ie Ambassador. I hear things as well as complaints- nothing sectet of course lol. I am looking forward to his next posting so I can visit somewhere new and stay at the Ambassadors Residence lol.

@Andi **********

People better hope they do not fully outsource. I think they will find them more difficult to deal with.

@Elías *******

UK, Shengen and a host of others. I have only dealt with them for a passport renewal appointment in Bangkok and it was fine. Having a white face meant they pulled me out of the reception queue and sent me to front 🙂 Friends dealing with them for visas report a lot of issues. A pal relocating to UK sponsored by a major company had a headache with them. I know a senior Diplomat who is not very impressed with them and that is an understatement.

@Andi **********

I do not know about Thai Embassy but many embassies have had budget cuts as well as staff cuts. A lot of work is also outsourced such as visas. Thailand has kept their in house though which is good. VFS can be a nightmare.

@Andi **********

it is funny people wanting 2 days turnaround time lol. These embassy staff have other duties too. I wagercthey have not employed any extra to deal with the DTV.

Anonymous participant I honestly vsnnot remember it was 5 years ago. As anywhere the bigger budget you have the easier it is to get an agent to work with you. In Bangkok I found most of them to be poor and I was on a half decent budget ie 40k 5 years ago.out of the foreigners in my office I was on the lowest budget as a single guy I did not need the luxury others did :-). I know yiu are new in town but might not be possible. If I was doing it now I woukd choose my area and take a Thai friends around with me. There are notices on lampposts etc in all areas from landlords etc but they are in Thai. I would also choose a few bu8lding I like and walk in and ask the jurisdiction office. They know what is available in their buildings

Anonymous participant I was extremely lucky to find owner directly. It was in a FB Bangkok Property group. He was English like me and we did the same job lol. He also only took 1 month deposit. I just got lucky. All of my landlords in last 8 years in Thailand have been western. Not saying they are less likely to rip you off but up to now I have been fine.

Anonymous participant Not in Bangkok. I was lucky there to go direct to owner. It seems like a den of thieves up there according to pals. In Pattaya I know a great agent.

I think there is a FB group dedicated to pet friendly rentals in Bangkok. The options are not wide for condos though. Going directly a building and talking to the management is a good idea but you would need first to know pet friendly condos.

Anonymous participant That official is from the MFA. It is Immigration and not MFA who have the power over entry and extensions. This is from the MFA website ". Royal Thai Embassies and Royal Thai Consulates-General have the authority to issue visas to foreigners for travel to Thailand. The authority to permit entry and stay in Thailand, however, is with the immigration officers"