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British Embassy retreats in Phuket
08 Nov 2013 : The Bangkok-based British embassy has announced that its honorary consuls in Phuket and Koh Samui will no longer provide any notarial services, such as income verification letters for immigration purposes. British citizens requiring official documentation must now deal with the main site British embassy in Bangkok. A spokesman said that 70 percent of the notarial work in Phuket and Koh Samui was the provision of income letters and these could be applied for by post and did not require a special journey to the metropolis. The embassy claims that it is rationalizing services in order to concentrate resources where they are best needed, for example, assistance for Brits in distress. In its last issue, Pattaya Today revealed that, as regards Pattaya, where no notarial services have been offered since late 2012, it was now optional whether Brits obtained their income verification letters from the British embassy in Bangkok or from the consulates of other countries in the resort. In a statement, the British embassy stated that it was concerned about a potential loss of income if other consulates assumed responsibility, subject to agreement by the Thai Immigration Bureau. It is not known whether the embassy is telling its nationals the same thing in Phuket and Koh Samui.