For now i'm not going to mention which agent , but. Having contacted one via their website, due to insufficient funds i needed their help. This was their reply :-

 

you would have to come the office, but can renew your 1 year

the cost is 15,000 but need you here 1 month before

 

Pretty vague. Has anyone here used an agent ?, can you use them and if so what exactly do they do ? I dont want to do anything wrong, i've lived here over 20yrs and there's no way i want to do anything that would get me banned out of the country, but i need to do something in the next 4 months which is when my seeding time ends.

What other options do i have, my money is tied up till next year then i dont have a problem and i live in Phetchabun which makes border runs a 15 hour round trip plus processing time.

15,000 sounds like a bargain compared to some price quotes I have been hearing.

Go in there and ask your questions.

To add, I have never heard of an agent or ex-pat being arrested/harassed by Immigration for using an agent.

In fact they encourage it as it is big money for immigration, why bite the hand that feeds.

Good luck.

Edited March 20, 20197 yr by bkk6060

1 minute ago, bkk6060 said:

15,000 sounds like a bargain compared to some price quotes I have been hearing.

Go in there and ask your questions.

To add, I have never heard of an agent or ex-pat being arrested/harassed by Immigration for using an agent.

In fact they encourage it as it is big money for immigration, why bite the hand that feeds.

Good luck.

Cant go in at the moment, i live rural and its a 10 hour round trip for me.

I thought the news rules were to stop agents paying back handers and immigration officials asking for them so was wondering if it still happens.

If you have no alternative, use an agent

How have you managed the last 20 years?

I want to use an agent but dont know what they do. Put the money in your bank account and let it seed or pay off the I.O.

1 minute ago, giddyup said:

How have you managed the last 20 years?

Showed i had the money in a foreign trust fund to the B.E. and got a proof of income letter.

it will never stop, too much money invloved, last year, a thai agent, it was 12000, baht, Immi got 9000 she got 3000 baht, she had 600 customers thats a lot of 9000s.

if its a fairer system then people will need agents less, when its stacked against you with nationalists then people will use agents more

 

just have to see n-section at cw where agents of top international schools are leading in the wealthy students in their uniforms, normal, happens everyday there, nobody is kicking up a fuss, in fact the larger organisations like large schools, probably think its the best and only way to get things done, especially under the present conditions

I want to use an agent but dont know what they do. Put the money in your bank account and let it seed or pay off the I.O.

They just pay off Immigration, although Bangkok Bank or Kasikorn seem to have a role. I don't think they bother moving 800k, bit of a myth that

Well if the agents are ever stopped there will all the sudden be a whole lot new Som-tam sellers....

7 minutes ago, Carlosm said:

I want to use an agent but dont know what they do. Put the money in your bank account and let it seed or pay off the I.O.

I use a agent in CM but ther is no free ride, I have to meet all the requirements. Agents are different from one location to another

Hey there are already about a zillion posts on this subject already..

If anyone has successfully used an agent could you send me a message with their name.

24 minutes ago, humbug said:

 

just have to see n-section at cw where agents of top international schools are leading in the wealthy students in their uniforms, normal, happens everyday there, nobody is kicking up a fuss, in fact the larger organisations like large schools, probably think its the best and only way to get things done, especially under the present conditions

I'm lost. What are these children doing insofar as making visa extensions, without their parents and needing paid agents outside the school?

Edited March 20, 20197 yr by Number 6

15k is the norm in Pattaya, so in reality only costs 13,100 extra...discreionary powers by the I.O. comes into play for retirement extensions, marriage visas has other involvment which fees approx 23k

8 minutes ago, Carlosm said:

If anyone has successfully used an agent could you send me a message with their name.

is your name "Big Joke"

24 minutes ago, Number 6 said:

I'm lost. What are these children doing insofar as making visa extensions, without their parents and needing paid agents outside the school?

 pretty sure the schools set it up with parents for agents for those that dont want to diy it, its been a daily occurance at n-section for years, top tier schools, even other schools , kids in uniforms and agents directing operations. you see the odd foreign parent with their children, but nothing like the numbers being processed by agents. I seen it for years now and its got worse since the nationalists have been around. 80% of their work students and 20% for teachers, hell i even had an agent on the desk with the immi official helping her do my visa for a joke, i have a totally different visa to ed. imo but thats the way it is at n-section, agents galore

2 hours ago, isaanjohnno said:

is your name "Big Joke"

Seriously,man... i've a real problem, joke if you want but if i dont get an extension of stay soon i loose my family, business and livelihood.

Picture yourself in these shoes !

11 hours ago, Carlosm said:

Seriously,man... i've a real problem, joke if you want but if i dont get an extension of stay soon i loose my family, business and livelihood.

Upon what basis are you applying for the extension on. If married to a Thai or are the parent of a Thai there are some more options for you.

12 hours ago, Carlosm said:

i loose my family, business and livelihood.

If you have a business, cant' you get a business visa?

15 hours ago, moe666 said:

I use a agent in CM but ther is no free ride, I have to meet all the requirements. Agents are different from one location to another

And I bet if you asked your agent  they would be able to offer alternative means to obtain an extension of stay, why would you think they are any different?

17 hours ago, Carlosm said:

Cant go in at the moment, i live rural and its a 10 hour round trip for me.

I thought the news rules were to stop agents paying back handers and immigration officials asking for them so was wondering if it still happens.

No, it was like they did with ED so-called "crackdown" - increase the payoff and force more legit applicants to use agents. 

 

Based on that quote, the price-increase seems to have been rolled-back, so they are close to the old prices.  The greatly increased agent-volume, as the result of embassy-letter issues and money-in-bank lock-downs, will still be a huge windfall in additional agent-laundered money.

 

17 hours ago, Carlosm said:

I want to use an agent but dont know what they do. Put the money in your bank account and let it seed or pay off the I.O.

They put the money in for an hour or so while they get the bank letter.  We can only speculate why the IOs always "forget" to check money-seasoning, when agents submit applications.

 

Be sure to ask the agent how they handle the "after extension granted" 90-day bank-book check (or checks).  One was quoted here as saying these would only cost 500 baht each.  In your case, this would likely be done via-mail.

 

16 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

They just pay off Immigration, although Bangkok Bank or Kasikorn seem to have a role. I don't think they bother moving 800k, bit of a myth that

The agents I queried (just before the new rules went into effect) all said I needed an account at one of the banks they worked with, to put the money in and out.  I would need to give them my ATM card and bank-book during this process.   It would seem this is the same, now.

 

I decided on a Non-O-ME Visa again, instead - though the total cost (including border-runs) is a bit more - plus the hassle of the runs.  I detest the agent-system, because it encourages the IOs to make life harder on honest applicants - but I don't blame people who are coerced to use them as a lesser of evils.

Edited March 21, 20197 yr by JackThompson

2 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Upon what basis are you applying for the extension on. If married to a Thai or are the parent of a Thai there are some more options for you.

I am married to a Thai (13 years).

2 hours ago, onera1961 said:

If you have a business, cant' you get a business visa?

Dont know how thats done, it only makes 25,000 Bt a month and there are 12 peoples name on the taxation license.

 

 

 

 

The agents I queried (just before the new rules went into effect) all said I needed an account at one of the banks they worked with, to put the money in and out.  I would need to give them my ATM card and bank-book during this process.   It would seem this is the same, now.  

 

 

A friend who got an agent renewal from Jomtien in Feb said they didn't even bother with the 800k this time, just several expats were in the car and went to Jomtien for a photo.

Maybe the process varies for some reason

 

 

 

9 minutes ago, Carlosm said:

I am married to a Thai (13 years).

Then it can be done legit w/ 400K bank (2 mo prior - possibly 1 or 2 mo after application - not sure about this in Petchabun), or 40K/mo of foreign xfers.  Maybe they will want you to also provide secondary-docs showing origin of income from the trust.

2 minutes ago, JackThompson said:

Then it can be done legit w/ 400K bank (2 mo prior - possibly 1 or 2 mo after application - not sure about this in Petchabun), or 40K/mo of foreign xfers.  Maybe they will want you to also provide secondary-docs showing origin of income from the trust.

My problem is meeting the financial requirements (as said line 2 of my post)

14 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

A friend who got an agent renewal from Jomtien in Feb said they didn't even bother with the 800k this time, just several expats were in the car and went to Jomtien for a photo.

Maybe the process varies for some reason

 

 

 

If they had used the agency in the Immigration car park, they wouldn't have needed a car.????????

17 hours ago, Carlosm said:

If anyone has successfully used an agent could you send me a message with their name.

pro visa khao noi