Thai envoy on visa issue

I wish to respond to the letter from Dr. Kazi Mizanur Rahman published on 26 September 2008 in The Daily Star regarding Thai visa. I would like to bring to your attention that the Royal Thai Embassy in Dhaka has outsourced VFS for non-judgemental operation of the Thai visa application process since 2004 and there is no appointment system prevailing till date. Any applicant can walk in and submit the application to the VFS Thailand Visa Application Centre without prior appointment over telephone or otherwise.
The VFS centre (IVLAC) and the phone numbers 8850636 and 8811071 mentioned in the referred letter are not related to VFS Thailand Visa Application Centre, the helpline of which is in fact 8829585 where applicants can obtain information relating to Thai visa during office hours.
Even if visa-on-arrival has yet come into place, with 160 applications per day on an average, the Embassy would generally approve a visa within a relatively short period of 2 working days.
I was saddened to note the accusation made by Dr. Rahman that Thailand is not sympathetic and considerate to Bangladesh. As a matter of fact, the Embassy has always tried to do its best to promote a better understanding and closer relations between our two countries and peoples. When it comes to visa, the Embassy is always considerate in issuing visas and tries to minimize the processing time. At the VFS Thailand Visa Application Centre, we even have an Emergency Counter where emergency cases are handled. Particularly, the Embassy has made it a point to issue visas to applicants requiring urgent medical attention in Thailand within half an hour after the Embassy receives the applications from VFS.
If one has any queries, suggestions, requests or complaints regarding visas, please address them to me at [email protected].