Has anyone had experience of using the Thai Visa Centre (https://thaivisacentre.com) to obtain a retirement visa.  They have an ad on Facebook, and a charming lady called Grace is making a very attractive offer!  It just seems a little too good to be true.  Will gladly share more information by PM or email.

 

KB

The process is so easy you do not have to pay someone for help.

1 hour ago, Phuket Man said:

The process is so easy you do not have to pay someone for help.

I would say plus the only 'retirement visa' is the OA and you can only get that in your own home country.

Visa and extension images attached.

Note extension doesn't mention 'visa' anywhere.

 

Edited February 20, 20188 yr by ubonjoe
edited image to remove personal details

Yes, thanks.  It was particularly the non-requirement of this agency for any funds that puzzled me / made me slightly wary.  Hence the request to chat with anyone who has actually used this agency.  I gather there are others offering similar things.

 

 

They loan you the money for the 12 month extension application at a price.

Illegal and it would be you that cops it if the brown stuff hits the fan.

not any info on the attached link in the op

4 hours ago, Phuket Man said:

They loan you the money for the 12 month extension application at a price.

Illegal and it would be you that cops it if the brown stuff hits the fan.

There is no law against someone borrowing 800K.

1 minute ago, elviajero said:

There is no law against someone borrowing 800K.

There is if the money is not seasoned for the required amount of time and then withdrawn the next day.

2 minutes ago, Phuket Man said:

There is if the money is not seasoned for the required amount of time and then withdrawn the next day.

There is no law insisting the money is “seasoned”.

 

The money can be withdrawn in full anytime after the permit has been issued, and small amounts can (usually) be withdrawn during any ‘consideration’ period.

1 minute ago, elviajero said:

There is no law insisting the money is “seasoned”.

I think a police order is real close to being called a law.

It is certainly something that is required by the police order.

1 minute ago, ubonjoe said:

I think a police order is real close to being called a law.

It is certainly something that is required by the police order.

Close, but not a law. The police order is a set of guidelines issued to immigration for them to consider whether or not to issue an extension. Immigration can ask for more than specified in the order, or less (with justification) if signed off by a senior officer.

1 minute ago, elviajero said:

Close, but not a law. The police order is a set of guidelines issued to immigration for them to consider whether or not to issue an extension. Immigration can ask for more than specified in the order, or less (with justification) if signed off by a senior officer.

 

 

 

A good test would be to walk in yourself with 'unseasoned' money and see how you get on.

12 minutes ago, elviajero said:

Close, but not a law. The police order is a set of guidelines issued to immigration for them to consider whether or not to issue an extension. Immigration can ask for more than specified in the order, or less (with justification) if signed off by a senior officer.

I see no mention of guidelines in the current police order. From page one of the order.

 

Quote

It is deemed expedient to amend the criteria and conditions for consideration of an alien's application for a temporary stay in the Kingdom of Thailand by virtue of Section 11(4) of the Royal Thai Police Act B.E. 2547 (A.D. 2004). Therefore, the Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police Bureau issues the following order prescribing the criteria and conditions for consideration of an alien's application for a temporary stay in the Kingdom of Thailand under Paragraph 3, Section 35 of the Immigration Act B.E. 2522 (A.D. 1979):

And this incase the criteria is not met.

 

Quote

5. In the case where an alien applicant does not meet the full qualifications stipulated by the criteria herein or in other cases not specified in this Order but a competent officer equivalent to or higher than inspector is of the opinion that the alien has legitimate reason for staying in the Kingdom of Thailand, the application shall be forwarded to the Commander of the Royal Thai Police or an authorized competent officer for further consideration of the alien's application.

 

21 minutes ago, Jip99 said:

A good test would be to walk in yourself with 'unseasoned' money and see how you get on.

How would that ‘test’ whether or not it’s law or not!

1 hour ago, elviajero said:

How would that ‘test’ whether or not it’s law or not!

 

 

It would test whether you get an extension or not - the law is irrelevant.

Bickering posts and replies have been removed.  

Removed another bickering post.

Quite a few "posts", just wondering if we can circle back to the OP.

 

Does anyone have any experience with this agent?

 

If no, feel free to resist posting.

 

If yes, share here or via PM.

 

Thanks.

Removed the two most recent off-topic post.

 

"The OP's question was:

Has anyone had experience of using the Thai Visa Centre(https://thaivisacentre.com) to obtain a retirement visa."

On 2/20/2018 at 5:31 PM, elviajero said:

There is no law insisting the money is “seasoned”.

I respect your opinion most of the time but in this case you are way off, there might be mitigating circumstances were an IO has some discretion for e.g. medical reasons, but in general an agent attained 12 month extension would not stand up to any scrutiny if it was investigated, we can skirt around the words "rules" and "laws" but the bottom line is ………………………………..you know the answer

On 2/20/2018 at 12:25 PM, Jip99 said:

 

 

It would test whether you get an extension or not - the law is irrelevant.

I like it! I think that the OP can be assured that if someone is offering openly to obtain anything provided by the authorities in Thailand then it is a genuine offer and that you will get what you pay for. 

On 2/20/2018 at 12:04 PM, keelbolt said:

Yes, thanks.  It was particularly the non-requirement of this agency for any funds that puzzled me / made me slightly wary.  Hence the request to chat with anyone who has actually used this agency.  I gather there are others offering similar things.

 

 

There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of posts on TV on this subject. For the Nth time, using an agent to circumvent the funding requirements for an extension to stay is, by definition, flouting immigration law. Do it if you wish, but be aware that if the agent gets rumbled, due often to the jealousy of other agents, all the extensions done by that agent will be reviewed. 

On 2/20/2018 at 12:52 PM, Phuket Man said:

They loan you the money for the 12 month extension application at a price.

Illegal and it would be you that cops it if the brown stuff hits the fan.

precisely right. 

4 hours ago, smedly said:

On 2/20/2018 at 10:31 AM, elviajero said:

There is no law insisting the money is “seasoned”.

I respect your opinion most of the time but in this case you are way off, there might be mitigating circumstances were an IO has some discretion for e.g. medical reasons, but in general an agent attained 12 month extension would not stand up to any scrutiny if it was investigated, we can skirt around the words "rules" and "laws" but the bottom line is ………………………………..you know the answer

I agree that an individual IO has little power to waive anything, but the senior officer at the local office can get pretty much anything waived.

 

The law gives immigration the discretional power to decide who gets an extension. The Immigration Commission issue police orders that outline the 'min requirements' an applicant is supposed to meet to get an extension. Those requirements are not law.

 

There are several ways agents obtain extensions and some are completely legit. All offices have to produce a paper file for every extension and as long as the right paperwork is in the file, or waived requirements have been signed off, even a 'fraudulent application' should "stand up to scrutiny".

 

16 minutes ago, elviajero said:

I agree that an individual IO has little power to waive anything, but the senior officer at the local office can get pretty much anything waived.

No. Search for previous topics on the subject but someone once explained that only a few very high ranked officers can do so, and apparently they are all at post in Bangkok... 

On 2/20/2018 at 11:10 AM, Phuket Man said:

The process is so easy you do not have to pay someone for help.

Yes it is if you have 800k 

But if you don't have 800k not so easy, very difficult.  Hence the need for an agent to smooth things over.

1 hour ago, Pattaya46 said:

2 hours ago, elviajero said:

I agree that an individual IO has little power to waive anything, but the senior officer at the local office can get pretty much anything waived.

No. Search for previous topics on the subject but someone once explained that only a few very high ranked officers can do so, and apparently they are all at post in Bangkok... 

Yes. I don't need to search thanks.

 

It is any authorised officer, not just a few. If it can't be signed off at office level - it can usually be signed off at the divisional office. It certainly isn't restricted to Bangkok only. 

On ‎5‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 10:18 AM, mtls2005 said:

Quite a few "posts", just wondering if we can circle back to the OP.

The post you are wanting to circle back to is from Feb 2018. Since there are literally thousands of agents in Thailand, it would be easier to get recommendations on agents that people currently use instead of asking about a particular agency from a post that is more than a year old. Some agencies that I am familiar with are; TSL & Associates on Wireless Road in Bangkok, Siam Legal & Bangkok Buddy. Good luck...

Edited May 19, 20197 yr by BertM

5 hours ago, elviajero said:

I agree that an individual IO has little power to waive anything, but the senior officer at the local office can get pretty much anything waived.

yes for Bt10,000 - that is of course quite normal paying bribes to officials

 

But I have to tell you - when there is no alternative to paying bribes then I am going to look for alternatives - I have been here a long time and have mostly (98%) complied with the rules/laws, I spend a lot of money here and as a matter of principal if they try to force me into an illegal corner I will take my business elsewhere

 

They really have lost the plot recently and gone off in a direction that is very difficult to understand

 

Thailand is supposed to be a developing country - right now they are going backwards   

23 minutes ago, smedly said:

They really have lost the plot recently and gone off in a direction that is very difficult to understand

 

Thailand is supposed to be a developing country - right now they are going backwards

I think it’s easy to understand. As I have written for years, the more visitors they get the more they will enforce immigration.

 

And regardless of visitor numbers, the more a country ‘develops’ the more it is going to want and need to control immigration.