jimmyaaa Posted November 27, 2017 Share Posted November 27, 2017 Heard many stories on what a madhouse , long waits , and overall bad experiences at the local immigration office in chiangmai . I decided to use thaivisa agency for extra 1400 baht over doing it myself (american passport holder buying 30 day extension after using free 30 days on arrival ) . Great experience ! Walk in their office ( thai visa) give them passport ( 5 minutes total ) . Schedule next day appointment .Show up next day they drive you to immigration office ( nice perk saves a few hundred baht transpo fee both ways depending)....The immigration office looked like a funeral parlor , everyone miserable , completely overcrowded , Had to be a few hundred foreigners there ( 930 am).... thaivisa agent sits with you 5 minutes and you walk up give them your passport....10 minutes later , they call your name , pick up your passport and your outta there ! Money well spent and ill be using them again in the future Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkthai Posted November 28, 2017 Share Posted November 28, 2017 anything similar in BKK ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmyaaa Posted November 28, 2017 Author Share Posted November 28, 2017 4 hours ago, jkthai said: anything similar in BKK ? i actually meant to post this in chiangmai forum.....i would like mods to move it if possible... i couldnt figure out how Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark1066 Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 I've always paid 500 baht for that service with an agency at Promenada and I don't have to come back the next day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmyaaa Posted November 30, 2017 Author Share Posted November 30, 2017 15 minutes ago, Mark1066 said: I've always paid 500 baht for that service with an agency at Promenada and I don't have to come back the next day. better than my deal ! i live next door to service so it was easy....i wouldnt tried it otherwise but glad i did Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark1066 Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 5 minutes ago, jimmyaaa said: better than my deal ! i live next door to service so it was easy....i wouldnt tried it otherwise but glad i did If you live next door and get free transportation then it sounds fine. I don't live near any agencies so one near to immigration is easier if I'm in a hurry. As long as neither of us have to spend the day at Promenada, it's all good :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuddyDean Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 (edited) It was very quiet at Prom, yesterday. You could have got there at 9 and been done by ten. I got a one year and was done by 9:40,_and got passport at 10:20. Never have or will use an agent. The guy after me said the IO spent seven minutes with me. I walked 12 minutes to 1006 and got back near That Phae Gate for 15 THB. Edited November 30, 2017 by BuddyDean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amexpat Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 So using the agent costs 1400 more and takes one day longer. Helluva deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmyaaa Posted November 30, 2017 Author Share Posted November 30, 2017 26 minutes ago, amexpat said: So using the agent costs 1400 more and takes one day longer. Helluva deal. thats the only difference between not using an agent ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amexpat Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 1 hour ago, jimmyaaa said: thats the only difference between not using an agent ? Well, there's also abetting corruption. But why should that bother you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davehowden Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 "(american passport holder buying 30 day extension after using free 30 days on arrival )" So you paid 1400 baht extra for 30 day extension ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark1066 Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 7 hours ago, amexpat said: Well, there's also abetting corruption. But why should that bother you? I mean no offence with this question but if a little corruption bothers you so much, do you honestly think you picked the right country to move to? Or did you move here in spite of the corruption because you hoped it might change, much like a woman who marries a philandering man? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amexpat Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 Of course no offense. I think you are just saying I should leave the country or contribute to corruption because nothing can ever change. French, Russian, American revolutions; end of apartheid, ouster of the Shah. Should the populace have just kept quiet an played along? Those were huge. Mine is just a hope that CM will clean up like the rest of the country. Things do change. Remember smoking in a/c restaurants? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evenstevens Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 10 hours ago, amexpat said: So using the agent costs 1400 more and takes one day longer. Helluva deal. If punters are happy to pay for ANY Visa Agent to secure their Visa,s on their behalf,and pay a small fee to do so, what,s it got to do with you,its not your money , is it??? 8 hours ago, amexpat said: Well, there's also abetting corruption. But why should that bother you? Abetting Corruption??? what a load of tommy rot, As for myself just paying a small fee to a Visa Agent which allows my self funded retirement here in C/mai , are far more easier one, that i enjoyed immensely, over many many years, btw do not recall any members taking it out on any D.I.Y who prefer to do D.I.Y at the Immgr Dept,and in my view good luck to the D.I.Y.its their decision, ,you should pay the same respect to punters, who engage Visa Agents to have their visa,s processed by them . sadly you seem to forget , that it is nice to have another service available, when needed or not a nice lovely morning to all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill97 Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 Of course no offense. I think you are just saying I should leave the country or contribute to corruption because nothing can ever change. Quite a conclusion, certainly are other more reasonable alternatives.Sent from my iPod touch using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elektrified Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 14 hours ago, BuddyDean said: It was very quiet at Prom, yesterday. You could have got there at 9 and been done by ten. I got a one year and was done by 9:40,_and got passport at 10:20. Never have or will use an agent. The guy after me said the IO spent seven minutes with me. I walked 12 minutes to 1006 and got back near That Phae Gate for 15 THB. I got there at 14:30 in July and was out by 15:50. I would have been out by 15:30 but my passport was taken to some other office and they forgot about it. I finally got up and asked what was happening and they sent someone to retrieve my passport. Out the door 5 minutes later... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaibeachlovers Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 31 minutes ago, elektrified said: I got there at 14:30 in July and was out by 15:50. I would have been out by 15:30 but my passport was taken to some other office and they forgot about it. I finally got up and asked what was happening and they sent someone to retrieve my passport. Out the door 5 minutes later... Couldn't have done that last week depending on what you wanted. Big q at 0800 for retirement extension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elektrified Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 2 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said: Couldn't have done that last week depending on what you wanted. Big q at 0800 for retirement extension. So leave and come back at 14:00-15:00. I've done that in past years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark1066 Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 9 hours ago, amexpat said: Of course no offense. I think you are just saying I should leave the country or contribute to corruption because nothing can ever change. French, Russian, American revolutions; end of apartheid, ouster of the Shah. Should the populace have just kept quiet an played along? Those were huge. Mine is just a hope that CM will clean up like the rest of the country. Things do change. Remember smoking in a/c restaurants? My point is not that you should leave, I'm simply asking why you came if you are so sensitive to corruption? The French, Russian and American revolutions and the end of apartheid were battles fought by the native populations - corruption in Thailand was never your battle to fight in the first place or are you saying you came here on some kind of moral crusade? Because if you have a bee in your bonnet about corruption and you're from the USA, you could have started with politics in Chicago, as just one example. And really, to compare paying a small sum of money to speed up a visa application to apartheid or the Shah of Iran (ousting him didn't seem to do the Iranians much good did it?) is getting things a little out of perspective don't you think? Tea money is a fact of life in SEA and in most Arab countries too. Why do you think you have the right to come here and try to impose your values on the local population? You don't have to go home if you don't like it but it's a strange act to move to a foreign country and then start to complain about issues of which you must have been well aware before you ever came here. I didn't say you have to contribute to corruption either; you're free to do whatever you want. I do think you should bear in mind that the locals don't seem at all bothered about such minor forms of corruption though so I am not sure who you are trying to clean the country up for...yourself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanemax Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 I did go to the Prom to get a visa extension, got there quite late, just before 4 PM and as the officers wanted to close on time at 4 30 , my application was rushed through and they even filled out the form for me , got my PP back before closing time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark1066 Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 1 minute ago, sanemax said: I did go to the Prom to get a visa extension, got there quite late, just before 4 PM and as the officers wanted to close on time at 4 30 , my application was rushed through and they even filled out the form for me , got my PP back before closing time If you're talking about a 30-day tourist visa extension then yes, it's always a good idea to go in the afternoon. I'm not sure why so many people on here keep telling people to go at 08.30 in the morning - complete waste of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuddyDean Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 Two votes against Barry Soetoro and one against Hillary were my actions against Chicago style corruption. There is absolutely no need to use agents at 90% of the offices in Thailand, that is what is annoying. However, the noose seems to have loosened since last year. Two of the four paid sitters left empty handed and there is a group of them camping there every night. Nice to see them lose their game. Maybe the new, neighboring offices have helped out a lot, maybe many hit the exits. The biggest change was how few people!e were getting thirty day extensions...so a lot of those people were chronic runners and it is also nice to see them sent elsewhere. I think the need for an agent is somewhat of an urban myth. Never did I feel like the IO was playing any game our was pouting that I got off easy. A lot of the problems come from Bangkok controlling their funding. COR was just so out of hand, they had to do something. 500 THB? not enough for a burger and a beer at Dukes. No one screams about expediting fees at the US Passport Office....2000 THB? or getting their liar letter stamped for 1750. That is what should be eliminated, and that would make it a lot more pleasant for all of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amexpat Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 2 hours ago, BuddyDean said: No one screams about expediting fees at the US Passport Office....2000 THB? or getting their liar letter stamped for 1750. That is what should be eliminated, and that would make it a lot more pleasant for all of us. Once again, those fees are plainly posted. For COR it is plainly posted that there are NO FEES charged. Screw this. There are so many here who know the price of everything and the value of nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dante99 Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 3 hours ago, amexpat said: For COR it is plainly posted that there are NO FEES charged. I got mine without paying a fee, has something changed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmyaaa Posted December 1, 2017 Author Share Posted December 1, 2017 On 11/30/2017 at 8:19 AM, amexpat said: Well, there's also abetting corruption. But why should that bother you? i bought coffee for the agent as a token of my appreciation afterwards....that doesnt bother me quite so much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elektrified Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 12 hours ago, Dante99 said: I got mine without paying a fee, has something changed? Doubtfully. I also got mine without paying a fee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metisdead Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 Some disruptive posts and replies have been removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amexpat Posted December 3, 2017 Share Posted December 3, 2017 On 12/1/2017 at 10:50 PM, Dante99 said: I got mine without paying a fee, has something changed? Apparently. There was a thread a couple of years ago about how you had to pay 500 or wait a month for it. There was a big sign that said no fees are charged. No corruption, of course. Just expedited service. No receipt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyL Posted December 3, 2017 Share Posted December 3, 2017 Why do so many people miss the point that it's not necessary to use visa agents in the rest of Thailand to receive "expedited" service, only in Chiang Mai? The other Immigration offices have pretty well been cleaned up. To say that corruption is a "way of life" here isn't really true when it comes to receiving immigration services elsewhere in the country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill97 Posted December 3, 2017 Share Posted December 3, 2017 Why do so many miss the point that a lot of people get satisfactory service in CM without using agents?Sent from my iPod touch using Thaivisa Connect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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