Thai Consulate in Hull wants cash, money orders or bank checks to pay for travel visas
A few weeks ago, I was getting my usual visa application ready to mail to the Thai Consulate in Hull when I noticed something odd. Instead of accepting a debit card or credit card as they have always done, suddenly the Thai Consulate in Hull is only accepting cash, money order or checks for payment for a travel visa.
Being at the last minute in mailing my visa application and heading out to the airport for a trip to Spain, I had no choice but to put £60 in cash in an envelope and mail it to them – that being the cost of a double-entry visa and return postage.
Needless to say, I wasn’t happy about having to put that amount of cash in an envelope and then trust the British post office to get it to them as, in past experience, the British post office honestly isn’t that trustworthy when it comes to delivering cash safely. Particularly as I have always paid for my travel visas to Thailand with a debit card in the past, and never had a problem.
Why won’t Thai Consulate in Hull accept debit and credit cards anymore?
Now what the rational for the Thai consulate in Hull only accepting cash, money order or bank check is anybody’s guess. It being a Thai governmental organization, however, it probably shouldn’t be surprising as many organizations run by Thai government officials seem to spend a lifetime going one step forward and two steps back. And requiring payment in cash? That went out in the 1990s!
But, it being a Thai governmental organization with an obvious lack of common sense, if I was you I wouldn’t expect it to change anytime soon.
Therefore, if you do need a travel visa for Thailand and are applying to the Thai Consulate in Hull to get one, be aware you will need to buy a money order (mandating additional cost to yourself), write a bank check or put British pounds in cash in an envelope and mail it.
Or….you could do what I decided to do.
Get a Thai visa for a shorter amount of time than originally planned (I planned a triple entry and instead just paid for a double), and spend your additional time traveling in a different country instead.
Malaysia, for instance. They give you a three month visitor’s stamp at the airport. Free of charge. No jumping through the ever-changing hoops like visitors to Thailand have to do. Now there’s a country that welcomes it’s visitors and tries to make things as easy as possible for them. Pity Thai authorities can’t learn a lesson from them.
Note: By the way, the ‘only accepting cash, money orders or bank checks for visa payment’ isn’t only happening at the Thai Consulate in Hull. Apparently, the Thai Consulate in Birmingham and the Thai Embassy in London also have the same outdated requirements.
