Visa agents getting priority in Immigration .....Why ?

[Andrew Dwyer]

Brown envelopes would be the quick answer i suppose but is that really the reason ?

After all it's not like they are generating any business for IO's, 90 days, extensions and the rest will be done regardless of them.

Is it because they are Thai ??

 

The main reason for this post (my weekly rant ) is 2 weeks ago i did my yearly extension and noticed 2 agents slyly moving over to the IO and while making seemingly innocent chitchat pushed their pile of papers and passports over the desk while the IO was still dealing with a farang !

 

Today i went for a re-entry permit and got equally peeved !!

 

Ayutthaya is a small office with 3 IO's serving and a superior IO who gives the final stamp and sometimes calls out for 90 days only.

 

Today i got number 16 and the desks were already up to 11 so only 4 to go before me,easy peasy,  OR SO I THOUGHT !!

The room was packed with people, Desk 1 had a Visa Agent i remembered from 2 weeks ago BUT she was also being served at Desk 2 !!

Occasionally she would call her clients over to pay or for the computer photo etc, she had 6 Filipinos with her.

Desk 3 was another visa agent with a posse of Indians ( pun intended ) , at least 5 if not more.

 

Sooo, what should have taken me 15 to 20 minutes actually took me an hour and a half.

( i know, i know, compared to CM or Jomtien or Chiang Wattana i've got it good )

 

I suppose the agents do speed things up, if left to the farangs it would surely take longer, forgotten docs, making copies etc, but it stills gets you wound up when your number is close but never moves !!

 

A designated desk for agents would be good, or even better let them do their thing at the weekends only ??

 

Does this happen elsewhere ??

 

Okay, weekly rant over.

As you were !

[jackdd]

13 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Brown envelopes would be the quick answer i suppose but is that really the reason ?

Yes, that's the reason

[shady86]

You might want to report this to Big Joke. He will be your saviour.

[watcharacters]

8 minutes ago, shady86 said:

You might want to report this to Big Joke. He will be your saviour.

 

And be sure to leave your name and ALL contact information..

[Huayrat]

Silly post it's obvious why they get seen first..

[poanoi]

you can probably out-bid the agents, offer 50k for being first served

and see if it works

[ChakaKhan]

2 hours ago, shady86 said:

You might want to report this to Big Joke. He will be your saviour.

If the OP is Chinese.....

[mikebell]

10 hours ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

i know, i know, compared to CM or Jomtien or Chiang Wattana i've got it good )

Jomtien, by and large, is very efficient.  90 day reporting is usually a matter of minutes.

[Peterw42]

At the end of the day it probably works out quicker having an agent do 5 extensions rather than 5 people doing their own extensions, the agent will have all the required paperwork in order etc. If the agent wasn't there you would probably have ticket 21 rather than ticket 16. 

[Andrew Dwyer]

At the end of the day it probably works out quicker having an agent do 5 extensions rather than 5 people doing their own extensions, the agent will have all the required paperwork in order etc. If the agent wasn't there you would probably have ticket 21 rather than ticket 16. 

Yes, I understand that Peter ( and mentioned it in the OP ) but my rant is that they seem to be a law unto themselves.
I’m not sure if they even have a ticket as on my visit 2 weeks ago they clearly had an agenda of approaching the desk engaging the IO in an innocent question, sitting down and pushing their pile of passport/papers over the desk, much to the surprise of the farang being attended. This happened twice.

On my visit yesterday, two agents were occupying 3 desks and 5 farangs ( including myself) were forced to wait a long time before being attended.

[Andrew Dwyer]

I guess my complaint here appears petty to some and to be honest if I had waited until today I probably would not have made this topic.
But arriving at Immigration to see the way the agents were manipulating the IO’s seemed to be a ridiculous situation.

But having said that I guess the “ No Tips “ sign is not in Thai language



so how are they supposed to know ?? [emoji51]

[Vacuum]

29 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

At the end of the day it probably works out quicker having an agent do 5 extensions rather than 5 people doing their own extensions, the agent will have all the required paperwork in order etc. If the agent wasn't there you would probably have ticket 21 rather than ticket 16. 

Correct, but in this case (and all other) the agent didn't have a ticket, did the usual queue-jumping using the envelope as a ticket.

[Andrew Dwyer]

Correct, but in this case (and all other) the agent didn't have a ticket, did the usual queue-jumping using the envelope as a ticket.

That is my assumption also.

[Lacessit]

It's not always just the money. Some agents have  family connections with immigration officials.

I suppose there's the other factor of the agent's paperwork being in perfect order. That would get preference too.

[Andrew Dwyer]

It's not always just the money. Some agents have  family connections with immigration officials.
I suppose there's the other factor of the agent's paperwork being in perfect order. That would get preference too.

Yes, that could be another reason.
Whatever the reason, it’s certainly being going on a while and seeing the smiling faces of both agents and IO’s is a win win situation !!

In Ayutthaya there is an initial desk in the “ lobby “ where an IO checks your paperwork ( and makes copies if necessary) before getting your ticket from the machine and entering the main room.
A good system, but obviously not good enough, the lobby is very small and becomes crowded quickly .
Sitting in the main room you can see people entering without getting tickets, of course they could have obtained tickets earlier and popped out [emoji51]

[cyberfarang]

7 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

It's not always just the money. Some agents have  family connections with immigration officials.

I suppose there's the other factor of the agent's paperwork being in perfect order. That would get preference too.

I think you`ve hit the nail on the head. For example, how does one become an agent? It`s definitely an old pals network.

 

Agents should be dealt with separately from those dealing directly with immigration. But as I see it, the system is being deliberately manipulation in favour of the agents and to push expats into using the agents.

 

 

[Andrew Dwyer]

I think you`ve hit the nail on the head. For example, how does one become an agent? It`s definitely an old pals network.
 
Agents should be dealt with separately from those dealing directly with immigration. But as I see it, the system is being deliberately manipulation in favour of the agents and to push expats into using the agents.
 
 

My thoughts as well.

Agents should have a dedicated desk, right now they appear when they want, approach any desk with a smile and get attended without a ticket ( or so it seems to me).

The money they make from farangs for their service must be very lucrative that they have a certain urgency to get back out there and “ fleece “ some more !! ( again IMHO).

[Kwasaki]

28 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

It's not always just the money. Some agents have  family connections with immigration officials.

I suppose there's the other factor of the agent's paperwork being in perfect order. That would get preference too.

Agent's are there everyday for Thai's companies employing labour, expats are there once a year.

I would go agency if I could be given a price.

[vogie]

15 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

Agent's are there everyday for Thai's companies employing labour, expats are there once a year.

I would go agency if I could be given a price.

Kwasaki, why don't you ring them up and ask?

[Kwasaki]

8 minutes ago, vogie said:

Kwasaki, why don't you ring them up and ask?

I did just that and the Thaivisa centre agent would not quote because he said the price is up and down.

Ask for rough estimate and still wouldn't give an answer.

He asked what I have and then told me to stay on the 400,000 marriage or I would have to leave country to get a new non 'O' retirement visa. 

I told him I already have had a retirement extension on my 'O' visa before changing to marriage, he said I can't do that now.

So gave up. 

 

[vogie]

12 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

I did just that and the Thaivisa centre agent would not quote because he said the price is up and down.

Ask for rough estimate and still wouldn't give an answer.

He asked what I have and then told me to stay on the 400,000 marriage or I would have to leave country to get a new non 'O' retirement visa. 

I told him I already have had a retirement extension on my 'O' visa before changing to marriage, he said I can't do that now.

So gave up. 

 

Have pm'd you some info, hope this helps.

[Andrew Dwyer]

I did just that and the Thaivisa centre agent would not quote because he said the price is up and down.
Ask for rough estimate and still wouldn't give an answer.
He asked what I have and then told me to stay on the 400,000 marriage or I would have to leave country to get a new non 'O' retirement visa. 
I told him I already have had a retirement extension on my 'O' visa before changing to marriage, he said I can't do that now.
So gave up. 
 

To be honest I don’t ( usually ) mind going to Immigration, Ayutthaya IO’s are friendly and efficient, it’s local for me ( 10 mins drive ) and close to the centre of town so usually visit Immigration coming to or going from somewhere.

Visa agents have a purpose and I understand many people use them, personally I have no need.
It’s the queue jumping and liberty taking aspect of it that I don’t like.

[Suradit69]

16 hours ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

i know, i know, compared to CM or Jomtien or Chiang Wattana i've got it good

Not sure what you think you know.

 

I get 90 day reports done in minutes (actually these days I just send someone to do this) and annual extensions have been amazingly quick and painless at Jomtien.

[Andrew Dwyer]

Not sure what you think you know.
 
I get 90 day reports done in minutes (actually these days I just send someone to do this) and annual extensions have been amazingly quick and painless at Jomtien.

Okay, sorry, looks like I got it 100% wrong with Jomtien , by the sounds of it they are very efficient as there must be a large number of farang in that area .

[themerg]

Because visa agents deliver VOLUME to Immigration office. I pay MY VISA AGENT 1000 Baht a year and they do my 90-day reports to Immigration. I give them my passport, I go home and don't go to immigration and they email me to pickup my passport. For my yearly retirement visa, I go to immigration with my visa agent  in their car,15 minutes and 1 photo for the immigration computer, then I go back to my visa agent to get my passport and then home. I spend 15 minutes in Immigration a year. I spend 1 hour with my visa agent a year. I do this by myself, I would be in Chiang Mai Immigration for 10- 20 hours a year. Immigration is a hot boring uncomfortable place.

[The Deerhunter]

6 hours ago, Lacessit said:

It's not always just the money. Some agents have  family connections with immigration officials.

I suppose there's the other factor of the agent's paperwork being in perfect order. That would get preference too.

We are reasonably well recognised now and they sometimes look up and see some one who they think might have all the right docs and I have been beconned over.  No bribes but always polite and well dressed. They get my stuff rolling then return to the numbers.  So it can work both ways.   Reputedly in some places the agent's are actually employed by a company owned by local staff.  Some of us are waiting to see if BJ has heard about this and does any thing about it.  Of course it might not be true but TIT.  If it is true you will never beat them!!!

 

Edited November 8, 2018 by The Deerhunter

[Kwasaki]

21 minutes ago, themerg said:

For my yearly retirement visa, I go to immigration with my visa agent  in their car,15 minutes and 1 photo for the immigration computer, then I go back to my visa agent to get my passport and then home. I spend 15 minutes in Immigration a year. I spend 1 hour with my visa agent a year. I do this by myself, I would be in Chiang Mai Immigration for 10- 20 hours a year. Immigration is a hot boring uncomfortable place.

Yeah but what's the cost I can"t get an answer from these agencys maybe because I live out the way. 

Edited November 8, 2018 by Kwasaki

[Ebumbu]

6 hours ago, Kwasaki said:

I did just that and the Thaivisa centre agent would not quote because he said the price is up and down.

Ask for rough estimate and still wouldn't give an answer.

He asked what I have and then told me to stay on the 400,000 marriage or I would have to leave country to get a new non 'O' retirement visa. 

I told him I already have had a retirement extension on my 'O' visa before changing to marriage, he said I can't do that now.

So gave up. 

 

 

Tactic of sleaze ball. Beware. Leave that one alone. Find one with whom you share the basic ground rules of civilized business etiquette, such as they do not change the price after your passport is already in their hands and unretrievable without payment. All kinds of deeply sketchy agents. Choose wisely. Gut instinct, behavior, attitude, ethics. 

[Dap]

A designated desk for agents, sounds like a capital idea.

[NoshowJones]

18 hours ago, shady86 said:

You might want to report this to Big Joke. He will be your saviour.

I think you are saying this with tongue in cheek. Report this to big Joke, he then gets his publicity team with their cameras, down to an immigration office, stamps his authority on the Immigration officers, tells the Visa agents, stay away from this office or you will be going to jail.

Aye right.

Edited November 8, 2018 by possum1931