NON O VISA - Marriage Extension drama - Again

[tstcman]

So, if you have read my other posts on this visa extension crap, I have been dealing with Chiang Mai Immigration for 1 month now. But I was called yesterday and told surprise surprise, they lost my digital photos because a computer crashed and did not back up their data.

 

So go to the office and the guy left for the day a 9 am and no one knew when he would return. Ended up getting his cell and calling him. The office got it fixed and took a new digi pic. Hope this is the last f up I have to deal with related to this. In a long list of bs, it seems to get a simple visa extension.

[Lite Beer]

It is quite a simple process at most places.

Clearly CM is not one of them.

[KMartinHandyman]

The expediter I’ve used for everything in Thailand advised me to switch from marriage to a retirement extension, avoiding some red tape. I pay them to fill out the application, make the embassy appointment for the income document and ride to immigration bringing with me only my passport. For me overpaying by the price of a noodle soup each day is well worth avoiding the do it yourself extension stories I read here so often.

[JackThompson]

1 hour ago, KMartinHandyman said:

The expediter I’ve used for everything in Thailand advised me to switch from marriage to a retirement extension, avoiding some red tape. I pay them to fill out the application, make the embassy appointment for the income document and ride to immigration bringing with me only my passport. For me overpaying by the price of a noodle soup each day is well worth avoiding the do it yourself extension stories I read here so often.

A retirement-extension requires less paperwork - and is treated in a more relaxed manner by some offices.  Filling out the application and making an online-appointment for an embassy visit (depending on your Embassy) is a few minutes work.  What may be worth paying for, ironically, is avoiding arbitrary hurdles, which only exist at some offices, and seem designed to force people to use agents. 

 

The downside, is if one's agent gets caught up in something untoward with another's application, at which point all extensions from that agent could become suspect.  But as long as you have a way to be sure your agent isn't involved in any illegal bribery-schemes / brown-envelope passing, you should be ok.

[kurtmartens]

Odd, as I found CM Immigration great to deal with.  But.  We also use a fixer.  And she has proven her worth getting my WP and my visa done.  You might want to consider using her or someone if CM continues to be ... a pain.

[OJAS]

2 hours ago, KMartinHandyman said:

The expediter I’ve used for everything in Thailand advised me to switch from marriage to a retirement extension, avoiding some red tape. I pay them to fill out the application, make the embassy appointment for the income document and ride to immigration bringing with me only my passport. For me overpaying by the price of a noodle soup each day is well worth avoiding the do it yourself extension stories I read here so often.

Not sure that this would make any difference in thr OP's case, though.

 

Chiang Mai might equally have been capable of losing his digital photos (which, I assume, are the mug shots which immigration offices tend to take these days as part of the extension process) had he been applying for a retirement extension instead.

Edited December 23, 2017 by OJAS

[KMartinHandyman]

Using an expediter was the moral of the story and finished in half a day.

[pearciderman]

4 hours ago, kurtmartens said:

Odd, as I found CM Immigration great to deal with.  But.  We also use a fixer.  And she has proven her worth getting my WP and my visa done.  You might want to consider using her or someone if CM continues to be ... a pain.

 

Strange, because your "fixer" neither got your WP nor visa done at Immigration. But I can understand why you use a "fixer" because you do not have a clue what you are on about.

[YetAnother]

7 hours ago, Lite Beer said:

It is quite a simple process at most places.

Clearly CM is not one of them.

and here is where it gets weird;

perhaps we need locate in this 3rd world place where immigration is tolerable

[BritTim]

2 hours ago, pearciderman said:

Strange, because your "fixer" neither got your WP nor visa done at Immigration. But I can understand why you use a "fixer" because you do not have a clue what you are on about.

Your point is well take, but just to nitpick ...

If a conversion from a tourist entry was done, in effect, the fixer did get the visa through immigration. Probably, though, the parent post was referring to the extension of stay.

[kurtmartens]

5 hours ago, pearciderman said:

 

Strange, because your "fixer" neither got your WP nor visa done at Immigration. But I can understand why you use a "fixer" because you do not have a clue what you are on about.

She did all the legwork.  I showed up, signed, and went home.  So yes ... she "got me" the WP and got me the extension on my visa, etc.  I don't need a grammar lesson and pretty sure I have a clue.  But hey ho ... it wouldn't be Thaivisa without someone being snarky.

[pearciderman]

11 hours ago, BritTim said:

Your point is well take, but just to nitpick ...

If a conversion from a tourist entry was done, in effect, the fixer did get the visa through immigration. Probably, though, the parent post was referring to the extension of stay.

 

Just to nitpick, when Immigration issue a visa, that is exactly what they do, they do not "convert" your previous tourist visa or visa exempt entry.

 

:-)

[GroveHillWanderer]

25 minutes ago, pearciderman said:

 

Just to nitpick, when Immigration issue a visa, that is exactly what they do, they do not "convert" your previous tourist visa or visa exempt entry.

 

:-)

Immigration offices in Thailand do not issue visas. As stated on most Thai embassy websites, a visa for Thailand can only be issued at a Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate General.

[ubonjoe]

8 minutes ago, GroveHillWanderer said:

Immigration offices in Thailand do not issue visas. As stated on most Thai embassy websites, a visa for Thailand can only be issued at a Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate General.

Immigration does issue non immigrant visas but they are only valid for the date they are issued and a 90 day entry is done as soon the visa stamp is done. They are only issued based upon qualifying for certain extension of stay.

[BritTim]

3 hours ago, pearciderman said:

15 hours ago, BritTim said:

If a conversion from a tourist entry was done, in effect, the fixer did get the visa through immigration. Probably, though, the parent post was referring to the extension of stay.

 

Just to nitpick, when Immigration issue a visa, that is exactly what they do, they do not "convert" your previous tourist visa or visa exempt entry.

The effect is to convert a tourist entry into a non immigrant entry. The visa is an intermediate step, only issued so that the 90-day non immigrant entry can immediately be issued while canceling the tourist entry. That is what makes the term "conversion" a good description of the process (albeit the visa is a necessary part of it). Further, I am nearly certain the visa itself is authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (one reason why 15 days is required to get it done).

[ubonjoe]

8 minutes ago, BritTim said:

I am nearly certain the visa itself is authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (one reason why 15 days is required to get it done

The 15 days is for it to be approved by a higher ranking officer  than is normally in a immigration office. At almost all offices that means sending it to the regional division headquarters for where the office is located.