Additional COVID-19 Blog by Ambassador Kees Rade
Normally Easter weekend in the Netherlands, and Songkran in Thailand, is a period where many people visit family or friends, enjoy the beginning of spring in the Netherlands or spray each other with water in hot Thailand. How different is the picture this year! Empty roads, deserted bus stations, no street festivities. In the midst of this exceptional period, just an interim message from the embassy.
Blog Ambassador Kees Rade (16)
You will not be surprised that everything we have done in the past month, and I am afraid that will not be much different in the coming weeks, has focused on just one subject: the COVID-19 crisis. In February we already had a preview of the vicissitudes around the Westerdam. But now the crisis has erupted in full force in just about the whole world, and certainly also in “our” three countries.
It will not have escaped anyone's attention that in this Covid crisis it is "all hands on deck" at all embassies and consulates of the Netherlands, anywhere in the world. I was curious about the ins and outs at the Dutch embassy in Bangkok, I even wanted to spend a day with them to get an impression of how the ambassador and his staff are tackling this unprecedented challenge. Of course I couldn't follow along, if only because I can't and am not allowed to travel to Bangkok, but I was advised to ask a number of questions, which they would answer.
Information about staying in Thailand due to COVID-19
Dear Dutchman in Thailand, on our website https://www.nederlandwereldwijd.nl/…/over…/update-reisadvies we share up-to-date information, such as about the new entry conditions for Thailand. Consider whether your stay in Thailand is still necessary, given the rapidly diminishing opportunities to leave.
The global development with regard to the COVID-19 virus has far-reaching consequences for the services provided by Dutch embassies worldwide, including external service providers such as the visa agencies.
Message from Ambassador Kees Rade about COVID-19
Dear Dutch people,
The consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak are multifaceted. On a human, social and economic level, we discover every day how far-reaching this pandemic affects our daily lives. The situation regarding COVID-19 is currently serious in the Netherlands, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, and it does not look like this situation will improve in the short term, on the contrary.
Blog Ambassador Kees Rade (15)
Let me start this blog by explaining why it only appears now, and not at the end of January: I was in the Netherlands during that period, where I attended the annual ambassadors conference.
Agenda: Invitation LGBTI evening by NL embassy in Bangkok
The Dutch embassy in Bangkok invites everyone to come and see a number of LGBTI (English: LGBTI) documentaries on Friday 14 February.
Dutch Embassy in Bangkok: Closing days in 2020
If you have to go to the Dutch embassy in Bangkok this year for, for example, passports, ID cards, nationality statements, consular statements, legalizations, DigiD activation code, MVV and other visas, then you have to take into account that the embassy is closed on certain days .
Blog Ambassador Kees Rade (14)
First of all, of course, to all of you, on behalf of the entire staff of the embassy, the very best wishes for a prosperous and above all healthy 2020! The smoke from the fireworks has blown away, traffic in Bangkok is starting to get busy again, time to start the new year.
Blog Ambassador Kees Rade (13)
Traditionally, November has been a very busy month, with many activities both inside and outside the residence. Main victim: our turf. It started with Karin Bloemen's enormously energetic show, always a pleasure to see her perform live. Hopefully the neighbors also liked her “je t'aime” and other songs.
Dutch embassy in Bangkok bans Zwarte Piet
It has been a tradition for years, the Sinterklaas celebration in the garden of the residence, but this year there is a radical change. Zwarte Piet is no longer welcome on the grounds of the Dutch embassy. He must make way for the soot sweep Piet, the embassy has decided in consultation with the NVT Bangkok.
Dutch embassy has internship available
The Dutch embassy in Bangkok once again has an internship available for enthusiastic and proactive trainees who will join the team from mid-January to the end of July 2020.
Blog Ambassador Kees Rade (12)
The highlight of the month of October was without a doubt our visit to THE cave, or the place near Chiang Rai where the whole world watched with bated breath last summer when an entire football team was trapped there.
Agenda: Last chance, sign up for a fantastic evening in Hua Hin
There is still some room for registration for Friday 25 October – the monthly drinks evening of the Dutch Association Hua Hin & Cha Am. So far 75 people have come.
Agenda: Consular Consultation Hour in Pattaya on October 28, 2019
Prior to the celebration of the 15th anniversary of the Dutch Association in Pattaya, the Dutch embassy is organizing a consular consultation hour in Pattaya on 28 October.
Festive opening of Dutch consulates in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap & consular consultation hours
Meet the Honorary Consuls Jhr. Willem Philip Barnaart and Mrs. Godie van de Paal during the Meet & Greet with the Dutch community in Cambodia on October 14 and 15, 2019.