Chaengwattana: How Early To Go?

[ricklev]

I have to do my non-b visa extension in a couple of weeks.  There shouldn't be any problem as I work for a government university, all documents will be in order, this is the 15th extension of the same visa and a faculty staff member will be there with me (I know, you never know.....).  

 

Anyone have an educated guess on how early  I have to get there to be out before lunch?   Is that even possible?

[cowbee]

I always go there around 5am and got 10th up Q. Finished below 9am for ED or TR visa


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[ricklev]

7 minutes ago, cowbee said:

I always go there around 5am and got 10th up Q. Finished below 9am for ED or TR visa


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Thanks for the info.

 

[mtls2005]

THey've instituted a new queuing system, as I understand it, which involves giving out queue numbers outside the doors, but inside the lobby, ~ 06:00 until 08:30. They then re-organize the queue and give admittance based on that "entry" queue number ~ 07:30 - 08:00.

 

This is not to be confused with the queue numbers one gets once inside the main hall, based on the six or eight possible activities (TM7, TM47, TM8, etc.).

 

So it sounds like one could arrive early-ish, get an entry queue number, then head downstairs for coffee or to make copies.

 

Given your circumstances, and that there are no other surprises (TM30), very generally speaking, the earlier you arrive the earlier you finish. Of course, there are variables like holidays which might lead to longer service times. 

 

 

 

 

[ricklev]

1 hour ago, mtls2005 said:

THey've instituted a new queuing system, as I understand it, which involves giving out queue numbers outside the doors, but inside the lobby, ~ 06:00 until 08:30. They then re-organize the queue and give admittance based on that "entry" queue number ~ 07:30 - 08:00.

 

This is not to be confused with the queue numbers one gets once inside the main hall, based on the six or eight possible activities (TM7, TM47, TM8, etc.).

 

So it sounds like one could arrive early-ish, get an entry queue number, then head downstairs for coffee or to make copies.

 

Given your circumstances, and that there are no other surprises (TM30), very generally speaking, the earlier you arrive the earlier you finish. Of course, there are variables like holidays which might lead to longer service times. 

 

 

 

 

 Excellent!  Thanks. 

[Srikcir]

3 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

inside the lobby,

When is the lobby open, ie., to get through complex front door security?

[mtls2005]

31 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

When is the lobby open, ie., to get through complex front door security?

 

My guess, at least by 06:00, maybe earlier. It seems like a 24-hour facility, vendors setting up in the central open area for whatever promotion is on-going, are trolleying in pallets of stuff.

 

 

A neighbor went last week, arrived at 06:15, said there were ~ 40 people getting entry queue numbers.

[Nanaplaza666]

I always got there around 5am and put my umbrella or whatever i had with me on the floor , same almost everybody does to get your place in line , and then went downstairs for coffee and some sandwich or whatever . If you arrive around 5am you will be in the top 10 Q nr's .

[buick]

i went early once, before they started the queue number system just to enter the offices.  i also got incredibly fast service once on a tourist visa extension (took about 30 minutes).  the problem i encountered was the traffic getting back to mochit BTS.  it took more than an hour and a half the first time (i was done by 9:30).  so the next time, i was done that early, i went downstairs and waited another hour before i left (checking google maps and traffic conditions).  just a reminder for those who might feel fantastic getting out of there early.  depending on where you are headed, it might be better to stay a little longer.  i prefer sitting at CW than sitting in a taxi.

[onera1961]

On 5/31/2019 at 2:46 AM, cowbee said:

I always go there around 5am and got 10th up Q.

OMG, the sheer inconvenience people subject themselves to live in  a dump called Bangkok 

Edited June 1, 2019 by onera1961

[DaRoadrunner]

I got there about 8.15 am and about 220 people already had tickets and were queuing up inside the building in a line that stretched down the side outside of Immigration. The outside ticket machine was taken away just as I arrived, so there we stood, a growing crowd of ticket-less souls outside the entrance.

 

When they opened the entrance we got in first, before the 220 that had arrived early! Da Roadrunner sped through Immigration in a blur and got a ticket from the machine inside... number 76. (How 75 got a ticket before me is still unknown). And before you complain about queue jumping; they let us in first and I had been there the day before with ticket number 756, - gave up and went home!

 

It still took 4 hours to complete the job. With all the new paperwork they keep introducing it's going to get worse. They need to simplify the required papers and do away with stupid regulations. Or are they thinking, if we give these Farang enough sh1t they'll give up and go away?

[lamyai3]

I know the OP specifies before lunch, but personally I don't think I ever arrived at CW (or Suan Phlu when it was done there) before about 2.30pm. I always figured if I've got to do something tedious that might take a few hours, I'd prefer to do it in the afternoon than be up at 4am. Late last year I got the retirement extension done start to finish in 45 minutes, and even got the re-entry desk to do me a permit without needing a ticket number. They'd officially closed but the lady said OK, and scribbled out the form for me quickly while I ran downstairs for a few photocopies.

 

That was 8 months ago (albeit on a quiet day) - before Big Joke, before the scrapping of embassy letters, before the insistence on TM30's. It's hard to believe how quickly things have gone south. 

[buick]

5 hours ago, lamyai3 said:

I'd prefer to do it in the afternoon than be up at 4am. Late last year I got the retirement extension done start to finish in 45 minutes, and even got the re-entry desk to do me a permit without needing a ticket number. They'd officially closed but the lady said OK,

did you drive yourself ?  or have a car/driver waiting for you ?  when i went in the afternoon several years ago, i couldn't get a taxi for over 30 minutes (it was about 4pm).  then it took another 30 minutes just to get out of the complex onto chaengwattana rd due to heavy traffic. and another hour to get to mochit BTS (and i paid the 15thb for the tollway, west of CW).  when i leave just before noon (if i'm lucky) or around 2pm (if i've had to stay over lunch), there is no wait for a taxi and i'm at mochit BTS in less than 30 minutes.

 

what is your experience departing late afternoon and which direction are you headed ?

 

 

 

[lamyai3]

3 hours ago, buick said:

did you drive yourself ?  or have a car/driver waiting for you ?  when i went in the afternoon several years ago, i couldn't get a taxi for over 30 minutes (it was about 4pm).  then it took another 30 minutes just to get out of the complex onto chaengwattana rd due to heavy traffic. and another hour to get to mochit BTS (and i paid the 15thb for the tollway, west of CW).  when i leave just before noon (if i'm lucky) or around 2pm (if i've had to stay over lunch), there is no wait for a taxi and i'm at mochit BTS in less than 30 minutes.

 

what is your experience departing late afternoon and which direction are you headed ?

Typically I'd take a bts to Mochit and a taxi from there, similar on the way back, leaving downtown around 1pm it'd take around an hour to CW. A bit longer on the return, though I never had problems finding a taxi. I have been caught in the rush hour traffic around Chaengwattana Road before, this can certainly be a nightmare after about 4pm or so. An alternative might be a motorbike taxi to the nearest purple line station, about 3km, never tried this though. With the new additional requirements, I would no longer necessarily recommend an afternoon trip to immigration, at least not at the current time.