JUARNETTE

8 minutes ago, PeachCH said:

Still the easiest way and no financial obligations, except the agent fee????

Is this available to all without great expense or ineffective/poor financial planning?  How does this VISA exempt process work (I.e. Eliete VISA)?  How do you do it and is there references to gain guidance and proof if needed?  

11 hours ago, MRToMRT said:

You will find Sophon's name all over the place in the past, I would term him a bit of my idea of a right wing xenophobist. "Agency FREA" is his private company, I know him and the company as I hired them to value my home back in the day. He was University (thats how I came to know him) lecturer with private business interests.

You are what is known as a Brother Machine…. I.e. Lable Maker

Sad.  This is very telling to anyone who has questions/thoughts about what to expect if they were to come to Thailand.  This may be the perfect ad of caution, and goes directly in opposition to what the media says Thai citizens want (eg. more visitors).  However as one post mentioned… it is very much in line with the “perpetual scam” culture the Govt naturally breads here as I have witnessed.  None the less, to even mention it is reflective of their Charecter, which IMPO is sad.

On 9/14/2021 at 5:24 PM, mfd101 said:

There is a major cultural problem to overcome first: Thais love complexity. You just need to look at traditional Thai architecture to see that, and its effects on modern hiso houses.

 

Everything new in processes is an add-on, not a replacement. That's why you can have reasonably modern computing alongside 1960s bureaucratic practices (photocopies & mountains of paper) and poor education that encourages conformity not thinking.

 

So the Thai concept of 'order' looks to a Westerner like a counter-productive maze of contradictory instructions. Simplification is not likely, just more complexity.

You forgot to mention the one key item that starts the circle of chaos, and that is that EVERY Thai citizen has a scam going, and is dependent on it to maintain a level of living, if not for survival in many cases

Yesterday I ran into a new rule I had not previously encountered.  It seems that last year when my failed attempts to get my 1 yr extension on my own failed, and I submitted to getting an "Agent" has backfired.  

It seems that when my "Agent" got my first VISA extension as a "Parent" (even though I have no children) and was caught in the QA somewhere (by an agent that failed to get paid I assume), and further brought me back in to deposit 800,000THB in my bank account, get the Bank book updated and then withdraw the 800k, and get a RETIREMENT VISA Extension, has put me in a special category.

On this occasion (10 Sep 2021, yesterday), as the last occasion, I wanted, and intended to get an Extension on my VISA for being Married.  So, again, I put 400k THB in the bank 3 months early.  My failure last year, as the Immigration Officer (IO) conveyed, was that the money had not been in the bank for 3 months.  That was true, but the info at the time I was "In-Progress" was that it only needed to be in there for 2 months (and even after today, I'm not sure because of the dysfunctional leadership and processes of the Immigration division), and that forced me to pursue an "Agent."

With my Bankbook with 400k THB in the bank for over 3 months, I went to the CW Immigration to get an Extension based on my Marriage (Actually, I wanted to just pay another 30,000THB and have the "Agent take care of it for me again, but my wife insisted we try again to do it). 

We got our ticket at the Front Desk of the Immigration Office, and almost immediately we got in to see an IO.  The IO shuffled through the papers quickly and simultaneously hinted to my wife (in Thai) that a Bribe was needed.  When my wife balked, the IO agent put the papers back in a pile and said they cannot do an extension as Marriage because we had a "Retirement" extension previously, and once that is done, it must remain a "Retirement" type VISA/Extension, and because we didn't have the 800k in the bank for the required period, we cannot get an extension, and she asked us to leave.

My wife asked to speak to the Director.  The Director had not arrived at her desk yet and we waited about 45 minutes.  After she arrived, my wife went to speak with her.  

Lots of hand raising and shouting by my wife pursued, and after about 30 minutes my wife returned to me.  

My wife told me that they are willing to give us a 2-month extension because the IO Director knows the VISA extension was fraudulent (and the agent has been disciplined, but still retains her job there at the same desk.  The IO Director even called the agent over, and the agent apologized for "messing up our life").  

My wife further stated to me, that the Director said after 45 days for us to come back in and she (the IO Director) would process us as a Married VISA.  However, next year we Can Not get an Extension because by that time the IO Director was expected to be promoted, and the fraud would be seen on the VISA by the new IO Director, unless we successfully bribed to the IO Desk Agent at that time, and I would be kicked out of the country.  Further, the director (kindly) advised I go back to the U.S. and get a new VISA and start all over again.

Side note: My wife told the IO Director about the initial agent asking for a Bribe,  The Director replied that what the IO Desk Agent does is her business, not anyone else's, and she can not control her behavior.

Thoughts? Recommendations?

So, if it’s for “gang members,” it’s not acceptable, but if it is for the shaking down of the routine Foreigner here to be with their family…. It’s still ok?  I’m just asking so I know the routine when I pay “the guy” another 30,000thb to process my next extension, will be the same or not.  I don’t want to have to wait another 8 hours a day in the immigration pool to learn the new process.  Thanks for any guidance in advance.