@James *******

right I found that out a bit later. Correct. This being the government there’s no saying if it will come back or not.

I always wonder what they do with these things

Are they all in a giant warehouse with little paper snippets? Do they get scanned and burned for energy?

@Tod ********

Really good advice, consulates are generally completely clueless when it comes to anything outside their own walls. And I've been fascinated by how seemingly all consulates get to make up their own rules, more or less, on how things work.

It used to be you could only get certain visas in the consulate in your home country - but there were always exceptions to that rule, and other consulates not your home country which were also issuing those visas... and which ones would offer what services would also change over time.

David Hallgren Meh, just like anything else, check reputation before sending money. All of Ebay was built like that!

Make sure you find a good place, with real reviews, where others have done it, and you're going to be just fine.

@James *******

I don't think departure cards exist anymore?

When arriving early July, for the first time in 20 years in Thailand, there was no entry card to fill out - the entry card and departure card always used to be one form.

So I am assuming departure cards are a thing of the past. Everyone's in the system anyway.