Visa Agents Days Are Numbered?

[moe666]

8 hours ago, 1337markus said:

Whats next? Line sitters for banks, check in at airports, supermarket cashiers, petrol stations? 

My perspective, 13 years ago CNX Immigration was tolerable, now its the complete opposite and only 1 person can fix that, joke? Readers here have to think about later in life when you are not so mobile. An American down the road is not well off financially, so no agents, he is 83 years old walks very slowly with a cane, asking him to get up at 4 am and go and line up is madness. His wife does it to get his ticket, then gets a neighbor to drive him to that place we love to hate.

 

I donot believe it is about being more efficient it is a matter of more agents to staff Chiang Mai Immigration. Even 10 years ago just show up and you could get it done 8 years later it was the beginning of to many people and not enough staff

[tingtongtourist]

On 10/27/2018 at 3:54 PM, Thailand said:

A very recent post on Chiangmai imm thread said that a person applying for extension of stay based on retirement sent his assistant with all the documents and he was able to get a ticket to pass on to the actual applicant so nothing to stop agents or whomever doing exactly that.

Id say small time agent like this will get away with that

I think what they talk about is agents more obvious who dump dozens of passports at one time and make it bad for everyone.

good ridance so they say

[tingtongtourist]

18 hours ago, canthai55 said:

How do you want to spend your time ?

Cheap or not - this is a personal decision. Even if it cost 20K this is only 55 baht a day.

cheap, only 55baht a day you say. great!

 

Trouble, when you want farang stuff and have gf expense, hand is in pockets all day long buying dozens of cheap (and not so cheap) stuff!!!!

i dont need more 55baht a day expense, i have already to many!

 

Anyway for those retired and not work, your time is actually free! 

so go do it yourself!!

 

really is just plain lazy and arrogant these guys who talk like lining up a few hours per x or xx months is like some terrible waterboarding torture

 

lucky you guys werent born Thai and have some security gaurd job. 

sit outside of aircon 14h per day with F.A to do and get paid 300bahts a day!

[namatjira]

Yes with the method of paying a fee to falsify bank documents I guess it’s all about the trickle up effect.....ie....it depends on how high those payments get distributed amongst the group.

this is one area of potentially huge growth....

it could well be just hush hush on this nice little earner...

too big to fail as they say.......they can’t eat their tea if they don’t get any tea money now can they.

[sfokevin]

This thread is not about the illegal processing of banking documents for visa extensions... 

[Burma Bill]

On 10/27/2018 at 3:01 PM, Jonathan Fairfield said:

Yes, there was a report from a week or so ago that agents had been banned from entering Chiang Mai immigration

Unless they may be acting for CHINESE clients.

[Trujillo]

All this speculation is mildly amusing, but is there an official statement on this topic? 

[scottiejohn]

On 10/29/2018 at 8:47 AM, sfokevin said:

This thread is not about the illegal processing of banking documents for visa extensions... 

LEGAL AGENT'S DAYS ARE NOT NUMBERED

Agents doing legal work on behalf of a customer where they assist in a customer's documentation and speed up the process for them is not illegal and also makes life faster for those who wish to queue.  The use of legit agents does not hinder those queuing at the zoo as the IO knows the agency/agent and knows that all the paperwork meets "the requirements of the day" and he/she only has to spot check the documents etc proffered by the agent. In this way the IO can process many more "agent" submissions in a given time frame than walk in people with all the wrong documents etc.  Please stop "slagging off" legit agents who are delivering a service to both their paying customers and those who love sitting/standing in line for many hours.  Each to their own.

 

Giving false documents to bypass immigration rules is a different matter and is illegal and I thought it was against Forum rules to discuss illegal activities.

 

Legal Visa agents days of doing legitimate work are most definitely neither numbered or over.

 

However good riddance to the illegal agents .

 

PS;  Sorry "sfokevin" I am not getting at you I just realised I have quoted the wrong post, but I do not know how to remove the connection/quote.

 

Edited November 5, 2018 by scottiejohn
PS/Sorry added

[Thailand]

The agents are still bypassing the current queue system so no change there.

 

However, if the current ease of doing Non O's extensions of stays based on retirement etc continues then many of those that were using agents will see that it is money not well particularly spent. A friend at lunch today  related that he was able to get a ticket on Friday at 10.30am for "retirement" visa,lunch and shopping at Airport Plaza, went back at 1.30pm and was  away with his passport at 2.30am job done.

[Dante99]

27 minutes ago, Thailand said:

A friend at lunch today  related that he was able to get a ticket on Friday at 10.30am for "retirement" visa,lunch and shopping at Airport Plaza, went back at 1.30pm and was  away with his passport at 2.30am job done.

Thank you for the useful factual information.

[ozmeldo]

30 years in out of Asia. Nearly all South and East Asian countries. Marriage visa...never had use for sn agent.

[Thailand]

11 hours ago, ozmeldo said:

30 years in out of Asia. Nearly all South and East Asian countries. Marriage visa...never had use for sn agent.

You have wives in all those countries? ????

[sfokevin]

Curious is the 6am to 8pm hours a permanent thing?...

Or just temporary until the backlog seems to have gone away?

[prism]

16 hours ago, Thailand said:

A friend at lunch today  related that he was able to get a ticket on Friday at 10.30am for "retirement" visa,lunch and shopping at Airport Plaza, went back at 1.30pm and was  away with his passport at 2.30am job done.

I also had a friend that got a retirement extension last week. He came in at 2:30 pm and was done in about an hour. His IO told him to encourage his friends to come in the afternoon for shorter queues. Hope that's still the case in the future. 

[roo860]

I also had a friend that got a retirement extension last week. He came in at 2:30 pm and was done in about an hour. His IO told him to encourage his friends to come in the afternoon for shorter queues. Hope that's still the case in the future. 

Great idea, everyone go in afternoon, then IO will say come in the morning, shorter queues!
[emoji2]

Sent from my SM-G920F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Bill97]

I also had a friend that got a retirement extension last week. He came in at 2:30 pm and was done in about an hour. His IO told him to encourage his friends to come in the afternoon for shorter queues. Hope that's still the case in the future. 

Been that way since time began. If you are kind they will even tell you which day to come in.


Sent from my iPod touch using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[mrmillersr]

On 10/28/2018 at 10:45 AM, NancyL said:

Hubby did his retirement visa extension a few days ago using the services of OS Thai Visa, so the services of the main-stream visa agents are still very viable.  They obtained a queue ticket for him with a POA form and took him and a couple other clients out to Immigration around 3 pm in the afternoon.  Hubby never did see the I/O review his documents; they were given to the OS Thai Visa people who reviewed them with the I/O.  He did include proof of income in the form of his income tax 1099 forms.  His only interaction with immigration at the new office was to have his photo taken, both for his extension and his multiple re-entry permit.  Total time at the new immigration office was less than one hour and his passport was returned with the next extension and re-entry stamps.

 

Was it worth the price paid to OS Thai Visa?  Well yes, if you're the sort of person who doesn't like to arrive at 6 am to receive a queue ticket.  By all accounts, now you don't have to arrive any earlier.  But, when Hubby first started to gather his documents and planning his application, things were still in turmoil at Imm. and he didn't want to queue at 3 am.  Also, he didn't know if his 1099 forms would be sufficient proof of income.  One of his pensions isn't deposited in Thailand, but rather in a U.S. bank account where we use it to pay off our Visa card each month for purchases mostly made in Thailand.  So, he was going to have a problem if he had to show 65,000 actually being deposited into a Thai bank each month.

Mind sharing what he paid OS Thai Visa for their services? 

[EricTh]

3 hours ago, prism said:

I also had a friend that got a retirement extension last week. He came in at 2:30 pm and was done in about an hour. His IO told him to encourage his friends to come in the afternoon for shorter queues. Hope that's still the case in the future. 

What?

 

I had to go there at 6 am and waited 2 hours before they called my number. If I had known, I would have gone in the afternoon.

 

This is simply unimaginable in the past at Promenada, because after 8:30 am, all the queue numbers would have been taken for retirement which is max 25 per day.

 

[elektrified]

2 hours ago, Bill97 said:

Been that way since time began. If you are kind they will even tell you which day to come in.


Sent from my iPod touch using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

Exactly. That is the way it has always been.

[NancyL]

36 minutes ago, mrmillersr said:

Mind sharing what he paid OS Thai Visa for their services? 

Their services to process a retirement visa are 5600 baht (plus the 1900 baht cost to Imm.) and 1000 baht for a re-entry permit.  The additional gov't fee is 1000 baht for a single re-entry or 3800 baht for a multiple re-entry.

[elektrified]

2 hours ago, EricTh said:

What?

 

I had to go there at 6 am and waited 2 hours before they called my number. If I had known, I would have gone in the afternoon.

 

This is simply unimaginable in the past at Promenada, because after 8:30 am, all the queue numbers would have been taken for retirement which is max 25 per day.

 

<removed>. I always went at 14:30 - for years. Never took more than 90 minutes.

[NancyL]

Just now, elektrified said:

Rubbish. I always went at 14:30 - for years. Never took more than 90 minutes.

It really depended on the day.  Many days you could get lucky coming at 2:30 pm, but not always.  Depends on what time of year your extension expires, I suppose.

[simoh1490]

I never got lucky at Promenada, even at 2:30.

[EricTh]

2 hours ago, elektrified said:

Rubbish. I always went at 14:30 - for years. Never took more than 90 minutes.

What you are talking is pure rubbish and without substantial proof.

 

From my own experience and most other forummers' experience, the maximum number given out per day was only 25 in the past. You can check all the written experiences in the past few years to tell who is telling the truth and who is talking rubbish here.

 

If it's so easy to get visa, why would agents send their people in the wee hours in the morning everyday when they can get it in the afternoon in the past?

 

You think they have nothing better to do?

 

 

Edited November 6, 2018 by EricTh

[simoh1490]

The time of year makes a big difference, peak low season in say April means there's very little tourist traffic at Immi.

[landtrout]

1 hour ago, EricTh said:

What you are talking is pure rubbish and without substantial proof.

 

From my own experience and most other forummers' experience, the maximum number given out per day was only 25 in the past. You can check all the written experiences in the past few years to tell who is telling the truth and who is talking rubbish here.

 

If it's so easy to get visa, why would agents send their people in the wee hours in the morning everyday when they can get it in the afternoon in the past?

 

You think they have nothing better to do?

 

 

 

   Eric, Eric, Eric.....

 I'm not sure what you would consider "substantial proof", but here's my experience: I arrived at Immigration this afternoon at approximately 2:40 pm, with all of my paperwork in order. I was given a queue ticket (F46) which would indicate that I was the 46th applicant for an extension of stay based on retirement seen today. An hour and a half later (4:10 pm), I was out the door with my passport stamped. I even managed to park in the Immigration lot!

 

 I did the same thing last year at Promenada, except for the fact that I arrived at 1:30, and was on my way at 2:30, extension in hand. So, am I also "talking rubbish"?

 

In case anyone might be interested, my application was based on the "monthly income" method, accompanied by a US income affidavit issued the day before the notice came down that the consulate was planning to discontinue them next year. When the guy at the front desk reviewed my application before giving me a queue ticket, he asked whether I had documentation to "prove" my statement on the affidavit. I answered in the affirmative, and when he asked to see them, I handed him a copy of my annuity statement printed from the OPM website (US government pension). He was obviously familiar with the statement, since he only glanced at it before nodding and issuing the queue ticket. The IO who processed my application asked for something to verify my income affidavit, and I handed her the same OPM printout, as well as a "year-to-date" statement from OPM, showing identical payments made each  month from January through November. She didn't ask for anything more, although I was armed with US bank statements, tax returns, 1099-Rs, etc.... just in case. Obviously, that may not be enough to secure an extension next year, but it seems to be adequate right now!

[Dante99]

2 hours ago, EricTh said:

What you are talking is pure rubbish and without substantial proof.

 

From my own experience and most other forummers' experience, the maximum number given out per day was only 25 in the past. You can check all the written experiences in the past few years to tell who is telling the truth and who is talking rubbish here.

 

If it's so easy to get visa, why would agents send their people in the wee hours in the morning everyday when they can get it in the afternoon in the past?

 

You think they have nothing better to do?

 

 

Eric, you must have brown eyes.

[sfokevin]

53 minutes ago, landtrout said:

I'm not sure what you would consider "substantial proof", but here's my experience: I arrived at Immigration this afternoon at approximately 2:40 pm

Your experience is encouraging... But Immigration is presently working under extended hours (6am to 8pm) this was done reportedly because Big Joke rapped a CM Immigration after a report of early morning mobs fighting for queue slots (less than a month ago)... God forbid this get into the Chinese internet stream and depress the land of smiles image as a ideal vacation spot...

 

We must hopefully wait and see if this new regime is maintained or if they revert back to the status quo of the past few years...

[scottiejohn]

Received the following from my agent today;

 Big Announcement from Consulate and Embassy in Thailand 
 Dear Valued Clients, 
 Big Announcement from British Embassy in Bangkok,  the United States Embassy in Bangkok and the U.S. Consulate  General in Chiang Mai,  and the Australian Embassy Thailand. 
 From 1st January 2019, the Consulate and Embassy in Thailand 
 will no longer be providing  an income affidavit or bank balances for Thai Immigration  purposes. 
 A kind update about the British Embassy in Bangkok, the United States Embassy in Bangkok,  the U.S. Consulate General in Chiang Mai, and the Australian Embassy. 
 We would like to inform and confirm that as of 1st January 2019 onward the British Embassy will stop providing their Proof of Income service (Stat Dec/Affidavit) because it is unable to fulfil the Thai authorities’ 
 requirements to verify the income of British Nationals. 
 They also stated that all British Nationals concerned should note that the last date for income letter applications is 12th December 2018. 
 As for the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok and the U.S. Consulate in Chiang Mai and the Australian Embassy:
 • For the Australian Embassy: Effective 7th January 2019
 • For the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok and the U.S. Consulate in Chiang Mai: Effective 1st January 2019
 * And both of U.S. Embassy & Consulate will not notarize previous versions of the income affidavit. 
 If you previously relied on a proof of income statement from the Consulate/Embassy for your visa renewal the below are your alternative options:
 • For those whose visas will expire in November 2018 – May 2019, you can still get the Proof of Income certified by the Consulate/Embassy before 12th December 2018 (for British Nationals) 
 and before 30th December 2018 (for U.S. Nationals and Australian Nationals), and col ect it until it can be used when it’s time for the visa renewal. 
 Due to the fact that the Proof of Income from the Consulate/Embassy will valid for 6 months, if you obtain it in November or December 2018, it will still be efficient in until April – May 2019. 
 Another option is for you to demonstrate that you have an amount of at least 800,000 THB (for 
 Retirement Visa) or 400,000 THB (for Marriage Visa) in an account in Thailand for no less than three months prior to the visa application. 
 • For those whose visas will expire in June 2019 onward, the only option is to demonstrate that you have an amount of at least 800,000 THB (for Retirement Visa) or 400,000 THB (for Marriage Visa) in an account in Thailand for no less than three months prior to the visa application. 
 * A bank statement should be used as the supporting document for obtaining a Retirement Visa or Marriage Visa afterward. 
 However, please note that even though the Proof of Income, 
 which has been certified before 1st January 2019 and will be 6 months goods, is accepted  by the immigration for the visa renewal at this moment. 
 The immigration has all rights to change the regulation without any warning in the future and there might be some chances that this acceptance will no longer be efficient. 
 We cannot provide any confirmation for the future incidence that might occur after  1st January 2019. 
 Thus, please be aware to consider the risk of the options above before you complete  your consideration. 
 If it’s our kind suggestion, we would suggest for you to prepare for the above options of putting money in your bank account rather than to presume the Thai immigration will accept a “proof of income” statement up to 6  months after issued has they did in the past. 
 For more information, please kindly visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/british-embassy-bangkok-to-stop-certification-of-income-letters  or personal y contact with the British Embassy in Bangkok through their contacts. 

 

PS;  This is as received from one of the major reputable visa agents in CM and please don't comment/question the English or grammar as it is as I received it.
  
 

[EricTh]

15 hours ago, landtrout said:

 

   Eric, Eric, Eric.....

 I'm not sure what you would consider "substantial proof", but here's my experience: I arrived at Immigration this afternoon at approximately 2:40 pm, with all of my paperwork in order. I was given a queue ticket (F46) which would indicate that I was the 46th applicant for an extension of stay based on retirement seen today. An hour and a half later (4:10 pm), I was out the door with my passport stamped. I even managed to park in the Immigration lot!

 

 I did the same thing last year at Promenada, except for the fact that I arrived at 1:30, and was on my way at 2:30, extension in hand. So, am I also "talking rubbish"?

 

 

I am not disputing the fact that things have changed after Big Jok at the new building just this month.

 

I am disputing the fact at Promenada where the maximum number of people in retirement queue was about 25 per day. This has been well documented by many forummers in the past. I have also ask the officer regarding this limit.

 

You can go read all those posts in the previous Promenada thread for long time forummers here. Unless you say those forummers and I are all lying.

 

Edited November 7, 2018 by EricTh