Immigration woes —- Again?

[Dante99]

11 hours ago, NancyL said:

There are only two ways to get in-and-out of CM Imm. quickly for a retirement extension year-after-year.  Either use an agent or be in a "relationship" with someone at Immigration.  

 

Sure, every so often you can get lucky, but not year-after-year.

 

The Priority service has worked well in recent years so have line sitters.  So that is four ways.  There is also Electrified's approach which may require a few visits to hit a slow period but is believable as other's reports have indicated such periods exist.  

[ChakaKhan]

On 5/9/2018 at 11:12 PM, elektrified said:

Ugh..... just come back at 14:30 and your problems are solved. Or come back tomorrow.

Would have to agree  I always go after lunch --(thais and food) so they are well fed and the crowds are gone ?

[elektrified]

52 minutes ago, Dante99 said:

The Priority service has worked well in recent years so have line sitters.  So that is four ways.  There is also Electrified's approach which may require a few visits to hit a slow period but is believable as other's reports have indicated such periods exist.  

3 or 4 years ago I did have to try about 3-4 times to get it done but not a big deal as I am there often.

[elektrified]

18 hours ago, scottiejohn said:

I think a "silencer"  has been fitted to the offensive weapon since I cannot hear any shots since a very recent question asked by myself above about the time of a certain "line sitter" has not been answered.   

From post #7 in the other thread. "I have been getting my extensions for 12 years now. No agent, no "sitter", no complaints, no whining, nothing. I've never arrived before 8:45 and never spent more than 3 hours (usually 90 minutes) from start to finish..."

 

I know some of you don't work, sit in bars all day and instantly respond on your mobiles, but I've got business, kids, and a number of other matters so don't have time to check often and instantly respond.

[atecom]

Apologies slightly off topic, but I see most people are talking about retirement extensions, is there a different line for different extensions? If one were going for a tourist visa extention, would they be subject to the same queue times, or possibly an even longer queue?

[ramrod711]

18 hours ago, ThaiPauly said:

I got a quote from Thai Visa Assist in Chiang Mai Land yesterday afternoon.

 

They quoted me 5,885 baht including the 1,900 baht visa fee.

 

I thought that was quite reasonable, but I have heard of other companies offering the same service cheaper but I have not got round to speaking to them yet.

That isn't bad really, I use them for my 90 day reports. Someone told me about Best Friend Visa so I stopped in and spoke with the young lady in charge. The price listed for a retirement extension was 4,900 baht but that included the 1,900 baht immigration fee. I always do it myself with assistance from a linesitter, but I don't want to have her sitting in line for 12 hours. If we can't do better than that I will pay her for her time and use the agent. [email protected]

[meechai]

Marriage visa was 10k baht two years ago at TVA

It included the 1900 fee

 

 

[ThaiPauly]

7 hours ago, Wandr said:

I am not as familiar with Chiang Mai, as I should be. Where is Chiang Mai Land and what is it. Also, is Thai Visa Assist easy to find once I am there? Thanks.

I have never used an agent, but it is not necessary in other offices if your papers are in order. From what I am reading Chiang Mai is different, and I may have to fall back on one.

I have not got that info to hand right now so just google Thai Visa Assist Chiang Mai and it will tell you everything you need to know. Give them a call for directions and to check prices, Chiang Mai Land in the name of a road , not far from Airport Plaza., and yes it's easy to find once you are in the vicinity, I have passed it before

[scottiejohn]

5 hours ago, ChakaKhan said:

and the crowds are gone

As are the numbers to get serviced after midday!

Edited August 19, 2018 by scottiejohn

[scottiejohn]

3 hours ago, elektrified said:

I've never arrived before 8:45 and never spent more than 3 hours (usually 90 minutes) from start to finish..."

 

I know some of you don't work, sit in bars all day and instantly respond on your mobiles, but I've got business, kids, and a number of other matters so don't have time

So how many times in this hectic schedule of yours do you have to "visit" Utopia to find it empty enough for them to be able to process you in your claimed timescales?

 

PS;  If you are busy with your business what are you doing at PROM doing "retirement extensions"? You cannot do both.

Edited August 19, 2018 by scottiejohn

[The Deerhunter]

On 5/10/2018 at 7:20 PM, thailand49 said:

What location Chon Buri?  that you need a sitter? 

Well not in Sri Racha.  Just don't try 8am on a Monday.  It is a very busy office.   They process hundreds possibly thousands of work permits every week for Cambodian & Burmese guest workers from Easter Seaboard factories.  I see agents there with fists full of passports and forms for workers. 

[Greenside]

All this arguing is a total waste of time.  The move of some or all of the immigration processing to the new office over by the airport will likely change everything in the next couple of months, so why not wait until you see how things work then.  You could use the break to make some notes, take some pictures perhaps and maybe even devise a whole lot of boilerplate complaints and implied insults to effortlessly paste into your posts as the occasion merits (or not, as the case may be).  ☺️

 

Before anyone asks:

Marriage extension two weeks ago: total time spent waiting/processing/having picture taken = 4½ hours.  Went home for most of the morning, back after lunch and was finished by 3:45.  Cost 1900 baht.  No sitters, no agent, no problems.

Edited August 19, 2018 by Greenside
Age induced proofreading error...

[thailand49]

1 hour ago, The Deerhunter said:

Well not in Sri Racha.  Just don't try 8am on a Monday.  It is a very busy office.   They process hundreds possibly thousands of work permits every week for Cambodian & Burmese guest workers from Easter Seaboard factories.  I see agents there with fists full of passports and forms for workers. 

As far as I know, Chon Buri, includes SriRacha, Pattaya, Sattahip, and Rayong?  I assume he was talking other than the  Immigration in Jomtien Soi 5, I've never seen or heard from anyone in the ten plus years the volume he is talking at Chon Buri and I've been there on a Monday, Friday and after a holiday.

Yes, I agree about the fist full but I know the guy you know him too the one in the front all the time and the fist full aren't supposed to get in the way of the people with numbers. You see them early being done before they open officially at 08:30am.

I was there just Wednesday, Monday was closed mother day when I show up at 7:50am the door was already open and number were handed out there was on 5 people within 5 minutes of the opening bell I got my 90 report, went outside had breakfast came back in 30 minutes later took a peek and decided to get a single entry no one in line got my papers inspected given a number walked to window 2,  paid my 1000 baht and five minutes later I was on the road. Sure high season it is busy but not what the ops is indicating. So was this Chon Buri?

Edited August 19, 2018 by thailand49

[elephant45]

A day is coming that unless you have a million baht in their banks you wont be welcome. Thais want 2 week tourists, spend a bunch of money and leave.

[scottiejohn]

12 hours ago, Greenside said:

All this arguing is a total waste of time.  The move of some or all of the immigration processing to the new office over by the airport will likely change everything in the next couple of months, so why not wait until you see how things work then.  You could use the break to make some notes, take some pictures perhaps and maybe even devise a whole lot of boilerplate complaints and implied insults to effortlessly paste into your posts as the occasion merits (or not, as the case may be).  ☺️

 

Before anyone asks:

Marriage extension two weeks ago: total time spent waiting/processing/having picture taken = 4½ hours.  Went home for most of the morning, back after lunch and was finished by 3:45.  Cost 1900 baht.  No sitters, no agent, no problems.

Just a waste of 4.5 hours rather than my less than 15 minutes per year which I can spend in, what is to me, a more valuable way.

What makes you thing that going back to the site of the old zoo is going to make life any better.  The service was just as bad there as it is now. Unless they are drafting a large number of new well trained officers, a new Boss, a new IT system, online bookings  and a new ethos nothing will change. 

Just less space to park and no "Dukes" for Nancy et al to visit. 

[amexpat]

1 hour ago, scottiejohn said:

Just a waste of 4.5 hours rather than my less than 15 minutes per year which I can spend in, what is to me, a more valuable way.

What makes you thing that going back to the site of the old zoo is going to make life any better.  The service was just as bad there as it is now. Unless they are drafting a large number of new well trained officers, a new Boss, a new IT system, online bookings  and a new ethos nothing will change. 

Just less space to park and no "Dukes" for Nancy et al to visit. 

Why the crusade, scottiejohn?  I certainly don't believe you are on any agent's payroll so I wonder.

 

OK you use an agent. Are you just trying to justify it to others or to yourself? 

 

Maybe you are just very concerned that people are using their time inefficiently? 

[The Deerhunter]

13 hours ago, thailand49 said:

As far as I know, Chon Buri, includes SriRacha, Pattaya, Sattahip, and Rayong?  I assume he was talking other than the  Immigration in Jomtien Soi 5, I've never seen or heard from anyone in the ten plus years the volume he is talking at Chon Buri and I've been there on a Monday, Friday and after a holiday.

Yes, I agree about the fist full but I know the guy you know him too the one in the front all the time and the fist full aren't supposed to get in the way of the people with numbers. You see them early being done before they open officially at 08:30am.

I was there just Wednesday, Monday was closed mother day when I show up at 7:50am the door was already open and number were handed out there was on 5 people within 5 minutes of the opening bell I got my 90 report, went outside had breakfast came back in 30 minutes later took a peek and decided to get a single entry no one in line got my papers inspected given a number walked to window 2,  paid my 1000 baht and five minutes later I was on the road. Sure high season it is busy but not what the ops is indicating. So was this Chon Buri?

Chonburi is a huge province.   I understand that it has three immigration offices but only two general ones that we can use, Jomtien (in Pattaya) and Sri Racha. The other one is on an island and only for people arriving by boat.   

[scottiejohn]

33 minutes ago, amexpat said:

Why the crusade, scottiejohn?  I certainly don't believe you are on any agent's payroll so I wonder.

 

OK you use an agent. Are you just trying to justify it to others or to yourself? 

 

Maybe you are just very concerned that people are using their time inefficiently? 

There were 11 lines in my post, only 3 were in reference to agents/time use/efficiency.  I am on no crusade but I get extremely puzzled (putting it politely) when certain people claim to be able to do things in a way which the rest of us mere mortals find impossible to achieve. If certain claims were true then there would be no reason for this topic nor the many other topics on TV complaining about CM Immigration.

 

The rest of my post was to ask what makes you think that moving to a new building  will make any difference.  Certainly the move from the Zoo to prom only seemed to make matters worse.  That part of my post you have not responded to.

[Maradona 10]

You have a 'line sitter' Wow, you really are living the dream!

 

What were the fees for his/her services?

[Greenside]

14 hours ago, Greenside said:

All this arguing is a total waste of time.  The move of some or all of the immigration processing to the new office over by the airport will likely change everything in the next couple of months, so why not wait until you see how things work then.  You could use the break to make some notes, take some pictures perhaps and maybe even devise a whole lot of boilerplate complaints and implied insults to effortlessly paste into your posts as the occasion merits (or not, as the case may be).  ☺️

 

Before anyone asks:

Marriage extension two weeks ago: total time spent waiting/processing/having picture taken = 4½ hours.  Went home for most of the morning, back after lunch and was finished by 3:45.  Cost 1900 baht.  No sitters, no agent, no problems.

 

2 hours ago, scottiejohn said:

Just a waste of 4.5 hours rather than my less than 15 minutes per year which I can spend in, what is to me, a more valuable way.

What makes you thing that going back to the site of the old zoo is going to make life any better.  The service was just as bad there as it is now. Unless they are drafting a large number of new well trained officers, a new Boss, a new IT system, online bookings  and a new ethos nothing will change. 

Just less space to park and no "Dukes" for Nancy et al to visit. 

 

1. I don't think you'll find I said that things would get better, just different.
2. You have made 58 posts on TV in the last ten days.  Let's say 10 minutes per post if you include the time to read what you're replying to - no, better make that 5 minutes (see (1) above).  By my reckoning that's 4¾ hours which to some may no doubt be a more valuable way to spend one's time than sitting in line, reading a book and chatting to new acquaintances.  I'd take going to immigration any day.

[scottiejohn]

5 minutes ago, Greenside said:

just different.

In what way? 

Also you seem to have lots of time on your hands to go and spend it counting what I have done in the last 10 days.

BTW; According to you my 4.5 hours of reading/posting was actually spread over 10 days, not one day, so your comparison, as such, is a little bit off as well as meaningless.  

Edited August 20, 2018 by scottiejohn

[thailand49]

4 hours ago, The Deerhunter said:

Chonburi is a huge province.   I understand that it has three immigration offices but only two general ones that we can use, Jomtien (in Pattaya) and Sri Racha. The other one is on an island and only for people arriving by boat.   

News to me, I heard that when I got here when the office move to Jomtien 5, I was told all the others were closed?  So thanks although I think the current Immigration office is too small at times and should be moved to more open space and access on Sukhumvit the service times has greatly gotten better on particular days of the week.

[Sparkles]

Greenside  makes a valid point a few posts back in all the back and forth on this thread is pretty pointless when we are on the verge of a brand new world at the old airport site.

 

Lets be frank CM Immigration is a totally dysfunctional operation,deliberately so IMO, and I have seen no encouragement by way of communication from CM Imm that anything is going to change.Agents are laughing all the way to the bank and they are simply "line jumpers" who have taken advantage that many foreigners are happy to employ them to  perform this function.Draw your own conclusions why agents enjoy "priority"

 

Still we await why the reason CM is the only Immigration in the country that punishes its local foreign residents.People who in most cases have made huge  investments into the local economy and to the most part have been a positive influence on the local business scene and general community.

 

 

[bkk6060]

All of you guys, I hope you are not being weak males. You should be home sleeping.

Those line sitters should be your girlfriend or wife.  Its called, being a strong man. 

[CNXBKKMAN]

On 8/19/2018 at 1:09 PM, atecom said:

Apologies slightly off topic, but I see most people are talking about retirement extensions, is there a different line for different extensions? If one were going for a tourist visa extention, would they be subject to the same queue times, or possibly an even longer queue?

Yes there are different queues. A tourist visa extension should be straight forward. I would go in the afternoon and you shouldn't be there very long. Tourists get an honest service. No need to arrive before they open at 08:30. They stop for lunch 12- 1pm.

[Kelsall]

2 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

All of you guys, I hope you are not being weak males. You should be home sleeping.

Those line sitters should be your girlfriend or wife.  Its called, being a strong man. 

Indeed

 

[ThaiPauly]

10 hours ago, Kelsall said:

Indeed

 

Maybe they were taking it in turns and the picture just caught her turn........I somehow doubt my own theory though

[scottiejohn]

38 minutes ago, ThaiPauly said:

Maybe they were taking it in turns

Do you mean the cigarette?

[ChakaKhan]

On 8/19/2018 at 3:58 AM, scottiejohn said:

As are the numbers to get serviced after midday!

My mistake--I was speaking for renewing a tourist visa-extension-----sorry......

 

Serviced after midday--sounds like a soapy massage   ?

[Dellboy218]

Arrived Promenada immigration at 0500 and am about No. 50.  I turned down the kind offer of a well known local organization to do it for me for 7800B.  It's obvious that most of these are line sitters.  For future reference bring some anti mossy spray.  With Dengue prevalent in parts of Chiang Mai perhaps they could put some anti mosquito lamps up!