British Embassy opens new visa service centre

[Norseman]

BANGKOK, April 21 (TNA) -

The British Embassy to Thailand has opened its new visa service centre with improved system to facilitate the public and quicken its services.

British Ambassador to Thailand H.E. Mr. David William Fall presided over a ceremony to inaugurate the new visa service centre, located on the 2nd floor of the Regent House Building on Rajadamri Road here, on Friday.

The embassy's old visa service centre was in the compound of the British Embassy in Bangkok on Wireless Road.

"The new visa service centre is located in a downtown area with less traffic congestion but wider spaces which should be more convenient for the public," the British top envoy to Thailand told journalists here on
Thursday.

"The British Embassy will also improve the visa services by assigning a private company, VFS (Thailand) Co., to provide the visa services on behalf of the embassy, which will quicken the services," he noted.

The new visa issuing services with a service charge of Bt425 each, including the 7 per cent value added tax (VAT), has been opened from April 21.

"Launching the new visa services will efficiently help the embassy deal with increasing number of Thai people applying for the entry visa into Britain," the British ambassador said.

He anticipated that the number of Thai people applying for visa services at the centre would rise to more than 50,000 this year, from 43,000 last year and would further increase in coming years.