TerraplaneGuy

OP update: I went this week and although the office was almost empty (about 8 expats, as it's low season) and plenty of staff, the officer told me it would take a week! I could not stay in Samui that long, had flown down just to get stamps transferred. I begged him repeatedly to get it same day, said it was an emergency, and finally he agreed I could pick up the next day (not same day although I was there before it opened). He made it clear he was angry. "You force us to work until midnight!!". As if it takes hours to transfer a couple of stamps lol. But there was NO charge.

OP Update: After getting numerous opinions that transferring at Chaeng Wattana is impossible if you got your stamps at a different office (including from lawyers and agents) and that Suvarnabhumi doesn't do it, I bit the bullet and flew to Koh Samui for the transfer. Arrived before it opened, had everything ready, officer told me it would take 7 days! This despite that there were very few people at the office (it's low season now) and plenty of staff. I told him I had flown down specifically for this, had to return to Bangkok the next day for urgent stuff, etc. etc. He said no. Said I should have done it at Chaeng Wattana!! I told him it's not possible, he said it is, they just have to call Samui office, etc. I begged relentlessly and finally he agreed to do it for pickup the next day. "You're going to make us work until midnight!" he said. But at least the ending was happy, this morning I showed up to pick it up and got it with the correct stamp transfers. As others have said, this kind of thing is idiotic. Visa and entry stamps are a NATIONAL matter, as is everything with Immigration. You are not getting a visa to Surat Thani province, you are getting a visa to the Kingdom of Thailand. Any office (especially the central office at the capital) should be able to transfer these stamps, it's not a question of issuing new ones, just moving the darn things from one passport to another. But instead they forced me to pay for a flight and hotel in Samui. Well, I guess I did my part to boost the tourist industry lol.

Do you recall whether you got it done same day or had to come back the following week for pickup?

I'm not doing an extension, I'm transferring stamps to a new passport and my challenge is I want to do it at CW but my last stamps were done in Koh Samui. Hence thinking of an agent.

Is @thaivisacentre a reliable agency?

Thanks. You're right, my last TM30 says Samui. But you raise an interesting point. Some people here have said it is impossible to get stamps transferred at Suvarnabhumi. Yet I know I've seen posts on older threads by people saying they have done it at the airport. Did you end up transferring stamps there? Because one option I was thinking of was simply to take a quick trip to Malaysia or wherever and get my extension of stay and re-entry stamps transferred to my new passport at Suvarnabhumi.

Chaeng Wattana - BKK. I'm trying to get my stamps transferred to my new passport there. The issue is that I only recently moved back to BKK so my last extension stamp was done in Koh Samui and people say CW is reluctant to do this seemingly straightforward procedure in such cases, instead sends you back to the office you got your last stamp at. I don't want to have to go to Samui for this. I'm thinking an agent could possibly get it done at CW.

Thanks - do you mind passing on the name of the agency? You can pm me.

At what office?

Has anyone done this recently? I'm on a retirement extension of stay (based on a non-OA visa) and need the stamps, including multiple re-entry permit, transferred to my new passport. A few questions: 1. Is it a same-day, walk-in procedure, or do you have to leave your passport and pick it up another day/week? 2. Any special form to fill out? 3. Apart from old and new passports, any other documents needed? I hear that at Chaeng Wattana (Bangkok) they now require you to update and copy your bank book for this purpose.

Good point and although I'm not qualified in Thai law I think the answer is that using an agent is not in itself illegal but bribing an official is. So if the applicant has any knowledge that the agent intends to pay an Imm official to "grease the wheels" that would likely be illegal (not to say chances of prosecution are high). Clearly this is much more likely in the illegitimate situations because that's where grease is really needed. In the legitimate situations I'd think there is little to no risk, as you indicate.

Do you mean that you gave your passport to an agent and he brought it back with an incorrect visa? If so was it really necessary to get a new passport? Why not just have the incorrect visa cancelled and get the correct one? I think I might be missing something here.

I think I made my question quite clear and again, it is NOT about avoiding financial (or any other) compliance with legal requirements. Please read my post again. In a nutshell: is there any downside to using an agent for legitimate Imm. procedures?

Starting a separate thread for this here. FIRST let me be clear: I am NOT talking about using an agent to obtain visas/extensions/permissions (or anything else) in violation of the law, such as where the applicant lacks the proper qualifications. I AM talking about using an agent to go and facilitate processing of a legitimate transaction in circumstances where it is inconvenient or impossible for the applicant to do it him/herself. For example, a qualified applicant needs something but due to work/family/illness/travel or other obstacles is unable to make the time to organize the application and/or be physically present. Some people seem to think using an agent is risky. But they may be thinking of the first case (illegitimate transactions). How about in the second case (legitimate transactions) - is there really any downside other than the agent's fee? One risk I can imagine is that if the agent is dishonest you could end up losing your passport or other docs, etc. So clearly some research would be needed. Anything else? Personally I've never used one, been here a long time and I prefer to do all this stuff myself. But there may be a situation coming up where it's very inconvenient for me so ...

Just wondering, since I've never used one before: what's the risk of using agents? I know people who have always used them for their extensions with no problem, and obviously an awful lot of people do use them. Given how openly they operate, both outside and inside the Immigration offices, they seem to be accepted as part of the system (despite the fact we know that often rules are being "bent" to say the least). What is the downside? (Especially if, as in my case, I wouldn't be asking them to do anything illegal).

I didn't know they keep track of people that closely but it's worth bearing in mind. My concern with Samui is partly the slog but also I'm not as confident as you they will do this on a same-day basis. Things that are same-day at CW (eg extension of stay) take a week at Samui, you've got to leave your passport and return a week later. Not so sure it will be different for a stamp transfer although it should be, since it's in theory a much simpler process.

Just wondering how you know that so emphatically. Have you tried recently? Have they published an announcement or something?

I suspect you're right although, about the TM30, I'm thinking that if I get one now for BKK and print it that should probably put that issue to bed. Yet I agree, still may not be enough. The only alternative I'm thinking to going to Samui is hiring an agent here in BKK. I've never done it, done all my extensions etc. myself over the years, but this could be a case where it's worth it to me. I assume they could do it at CW, they can get bigger things done with no apparent basis.

Good points, thanks. The answer is my most recent TM30 and 90 day reports are both from Koh Samui, as I only moved to BKK a couple months ago (and haven't filed a TM30). I could cure the TM30 problem by checking into a BKK hotel for a couple of days but my next 90 day isn't due for a couple months so not sure I can do anything about that. They ought to understand the situation (recent move) but who knows if they will.

Thanks for the reply. First, it's too bad they won't transfer at Suvarnabhumi, and I'm wondering if this is always the case these days or whether (like so many things with Imm) it's variable. Because there are multiple reports on this site that they indeed DO it. Now, those may be obsolete and that's why I'm looking for recent experience. Have you tried recently? Second: I DO understand that I don't currently have an OA visa, but rather an extension of stay. But the extension is derived from that visa and based on it. This is a semantic point that has been analyzed endlessly on this site over the years. For some purposes, Immigration may trace an extension of stay back to the original visa on which it depends, and it is only in that regard that I refer to mine as OA.

I'm OP: Thanks but actually I'm not confused, I know they won't actually transfer the original visa as such but I've been through this years ago and what they did was put a little info box stamp into my new passport that does (in Thai) record the details of my original OA visa. And I believe they will also, either in the same or a separate stamp, record the details of my most recent extension of stay. The problem for me with CW is that, as I noted above, my last extension was done at Koh Samui and there are many reports of people turned away at CW and being told to go back to the office where they got the last extension if they want to transfer to a new passport. And please note here I'm especially concerned with OA visa/extension and whether CW will transfer that, as I'm told (see above) that only some classes of visa/extension are being transferred.

I've been exploring Chaeng Wattana for transferring my stamps but starting this thread to look at the possibility of a quick trip in and out of the country via Suvarnabhumi, as I've heard that they will do the transfer on the spot and it might work better for me given my last stamp is from Koh Samui and CW has been known to turn people away who got their last stamp at another office. Any recent experience with Suvarnabhumi? In particular, I'm interested in OA visas/extensions because that's what I've got, but any report appreciated.

Thanks - what exactly did they transfer and stamp in the new passport? Was your original visa an OA? Are you on that or an extension of stay derived from it?

Thanks- but to be clear, what about the question whether specifically the OA visa (and/or its extension) is transferable at CW? Understand: the LTR office requires you to do this transfer on your own, through the regular Immigration procedure, before they will commence their issuance. They do not get involved. I only mention them because it is their statement (above) that made me nervous that maybe the OA is not transferable.