Thailand
Additional services in Thailand
This page describes the additional services that are available from us and our commercial partner, VFS Global, to visa applicants in Thailand.
These services are optional, and are available for an additional fee.
Priority visa service
You can use our priority visa service to have your visa application processed ahead of others. Under normal circumstances, a priority service visa application will be processed within 3 working days.
The service costs 3,000 baht per applicant (including sales tax), which must be paid when you submit your visa application.
You can apply for your visa using this service if you are:
- a business visitor who has travelled in the previous 5 years to the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or a country in the Schengen Area. Your spouse and children accompanying you will also be accepted, regardless of their previous travel, if they also pay the priority service fee. When travelling to the above countries, you must have complied with the terms of their entry conditions - if you have been refused by any of these countries following your most recent travel, you will not qualify for the priority service;
- an employee of a company who is a member of the UK Border Agency's Business Select Scheme in Thailand, who is travelling on business regardless of previous travel history. Your spouse and children accompanying you will also be accepted, regardless of their previous travel, if they also pay the priority service fee. The company should submit a standard letter of support with your application;
- a general visitor or a family visitor who has travelled in the previous 5 years to the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or a country in the Schengen Area. Your spouse and children accompanying you will also be accepted, regardless of their previous travel, if they also pay the priority service fee. When travelling to the above countries, you must have complied with the terms of their entry conditions - if you have been refused by any of these countries following your most recent travel, you will not qualify for the priority service;
- a permanent resident of the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or one of the Schengen countries, applying for any category of visitor visa;
- a seafarer applying to join a ship in the UK, if you have travelled to the UK for the same reason in the previous 3 years. You must hold a Seafarers Identity Document (Seaman's Book);
- a member of operational aircrew in Thailand (pilot or steward/ess) applying as a visitor or business visitor. You should provide evidence of your occupation with your application.
- a Tier 4 (General), Tier 4 (Child) or a Tier 4 (Dependant) visa holder.
We strongly recommend that you do not use this service if you have any form of adverse immigration history.
Using the priority service does not imply or guarantee that you will be successful in your visa application. All visa applicants must meet the requirements of the UK Immigration Rules. We will not refund the fee for the priority service, or the visa application fee, if we refuse your visa application or if, in exceptional cases, it takes longer than 3 working days to process your application.
Services from VFS Global
You can find more information about these services on the VFS Global in Thailand website.
If you want to use these services, you must pay the fee when you attend your appointment at the visa application centre.
Prime time appointments
If you are unable to attend an appointment at the visa application centre during the regular opening hours of Monday to Friday 08:00 - 15:00, you can schedule a prime time appointment on a Saturday for an additional charge of 1500THB. To access these appointments please select the prime time option when scheduling an appointment and pay the 1500THB fee in cash when you attend the visa application centre.
SMS service
This service from VFS Global updates you on the progress of your UK visa application. It will send an automated message to your mobile phone at various stages of the visa application process. This is followed by an automated message to your email address, telling you about your visa application's status.
The SMS service is available in English and Thai.
Courier service
The visa application centre will courier your documents back to you in Thailand at an additional nominal courier charge.
Photocopying service
The visa application centre provides photocopying facilities.
Photograph service
The visa application centre provides a photograph facility that meets the UK Border Agency requirements.
Fax service
There is a fax facility at the visa application centre.