Get Help
At the British Benevolent Society, we act as a resource for British citizens in times of need. Many of our clients are referred to us by the British Consulates in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
BBS Relief Application
While not an arm of the Consulate, we are often able to provide services that complement those of the Consulate and in many cases take action when the Consulate may not be able to.
Our services include help with repatriation, senior living assistance and aiding citizens who are in the US legitimately, but may have trouble proving their legal status.
Our BBS Relief Leaflet offers additional information about the assistance we provide as well as case studies.
British Consulate
We work closely with the British Consulates in San Francisco and Los Angeles to provide assistance and resources on unique and vulnerable cases.
The BBS has enjoyed a special relationship with the British Consulates-General in San Francisco and Los Angeles for more than a century. Each serving British Consul-General in San Francisco has had the pleasure of serving as Honorary President of the BBS. Tammy Sandhu, our current Honorary President, has been HM Consul General to San Francisco since October 2023.
Tammy Sandhu
Tammy Sandhu is Her Majesty’s Consul-General in San Francisco. Tammy has had diplomatic postings to Morocco, Brussels and India and has served in Iraq and Kenya. She has worked on political and economic affairs, she has been a UK Government spokesperson and she has worked on bilateral trade and investment. She has worked on the Government response to crises, specifically dealing with high profile kidnaps of British Nationals overseas.
Before moving to San Francisco, Tammy worked in International HR. She was the Head of Secondments and then the Head of International HR Strategy and EU Exit for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). Tammy also worked on the FCO’s Covid response.
In 2020 Tammy was elected Chair of the FCO’s Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Committee and later served as co-Chair of the merged Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s (FCDO) Race and Ethnicity Network. Tammy continues to work on racial equity both within the FCDO and through her work in San Francisco.
As Consul General, Tammy co-leads the Consulate-General in San Francisco of more than 30 people covering UK-US relations across the Pacific North West: Northern California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana and Alaska. The Consulate-General in San Francisco and the UK Government Office in Seattle cover a broad range of political and policy work including on climate, trade and tech, as well as providing support to British nationals and British companies in the Pacific North West.
Tammy was born in Leicester, United Kingdom. She joined the FCO in 2005 after completing a BA Hons in English Literature at the University of Warwick and an MSc in International Public Policy at University College London.
Tammy is married with one daughter.
You can follow Tammy on Twitter @TammySandhu
