First time checked by Immagration in 15 years

[NoshowJones]

11 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

I'm sure that would have them very afraid and especially courteous for your next extension.   

No worries about that, I don't go down that route.

[NoshowJones]

33 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

What would you do?  

My tongue can be as sharp as there's.

[dbrenn]

1 hour ago, whiteman said:

Just to put matters right for the ones that did not understand my message.

......

I did not go to lunch for I had all ready eaten.

I'd have still invited them to a modest lunch as a courtesy, and (if they accepted my invitation) eaten just a token amount myself if I was already full.

 

Would have been a small price to pay for some priceless goodwill, as they tell their colleagues and bosses how nice you were.

[Happy Grumpy]

20 hours ago, dbrenn said:

I would have bought them lunch. It pays off in the long run to be hospitable.

It also sets you up a weak and easy mark. 

 

No doubt them getting more personal info that they case use later while dining. 

[jacko45k]

4 hours ago, spornb said:

I do the same in my home country

Why would you need to socialise with immigration police in your own country?

[intherealworld]

8 minutes ago, dbrenn said:

I'd have still invited them to a modest lunch as a courtesy, and (if they accepted my invitation) eaten just a token amount myself if I was already full.

 

Would have been a small price to pay for some priceless goodwill, as they tell their colleagues and bosses how nice you were.

Yes, and 9 of them will turn up next time.

more fool you.

Treat official business in an official way.

you will get more respect that way.

 

[BritTim]

2 minutes ago, intherealworld said:

Yes, and 9 of them will turn up next time.

more fool you.

Treat official business in an official way.

you will get more respect that way.

Did you notice that dbrenn has Thai citizenship? That shows he has a better than average idea of how to deal with Thai officialdom, and makes his approach worthy of serious consideration.

[holy cow cm]

Go to lunch with the bottle of wine sounds like a great idea. 

[intherealworld]

Just now, BritTim said:

Did you notice that dbrenn has Thai citizenship? That shows he has a better than average idea of how to deal with Thai officialdom, and makes his approach worthy of serious consideration.

Nah.

I stand by what i said.

what he suggested is nothing short of a bribe.

 

[dbrenn]

52 minutes ago, Happy Grumpy said:

It also sets you up a weak and easy mark. 

 

No doubt them getting more personal info that they case use later while dining. 

Reading the OP and many of the responses in this thread, I'm really not surprised by all the 'they hate us' posts that people write when things go wrong for them. There are so many people here who have no idea about how to behave in a foreign country.

 

Chinese tourists probably are easier to deal with, and provide Thailand with superior value - managed as they are on short package tours - than moaning farangs who lack cultural awareness and common social graces.

[BritTim]

1 hour ago, intherealworld said:

Nah.

I stand by what i said.

what he suggested is nothing short of a bribe.

When I eat in a fancy restaurant in a big US city, I am expected to tip the waiter 20% or so. We call that a tip, understanding that tips are a major part of a US waiter's earnings. In Thailand, the basic salary of the officials is peanuts, and it is accepted that officials can receive some perks on the side. There are limits to what is acceptable, but having a modest lunch paid for by someone who might need a favourable interpretation of the rules in the future would not be seen by most Thais as corrupt behaviour.

 

I am not asking you to agree with either the idea of underpaying service staff in the US or maintaining friendly relations with officials in Thailand. I do suggest you try to understand the system, and understand the potential consequences (both for you and others) of conforming or fighting the system.

[connda]

3 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

What would you do?  

Let the dogs out.

 

[marcusarelus]

4 minutes ago, connda said:

Let the dogs out.

 

That would be my thought.  They call me the old man with the crazy dog around here.  Just tell the folks at Immigration, "ask anyone where the old man with the crazy dog is."

[Ebumbu]

On 7/9/2019 at 3:58 AM, ratcatcher said:

S

So, after 15 years of extending your permission to stay, you receive a call that Immigration wants to drop by and say hello. You should have been pleased, as you obviously have nothing to hide. As for the lunch invitation, you should have said "Why not, I love Thai food". Presuming, of course, after 15 years, you can speak basic Thai? Better to be sociable with these guys than the other way. I'm sure you could have footed the bill for lunch,it would have gone down well

 

Next year, double would be there, like stray cats. 

[Ebumbu]

Time to get some pit bulls. 

[DJ54]

4 hours ago, dbrenn said:

Would have been a small price to pay for some priceless goodwill, as they tell their colleagues and bosses how nice you were.

Absolutely...   nothing fancy a simple Thai meal a nice jester. The wife and family were selling beer,water, noodle soup at the local

village they were making the rounds keeping everything in order.

 

they are the real deal not the local volunteer party police they were their also...

 

asked the real guys if they’d like beer,water ? They said water and went on their rounds sometime you might need someone to cover 

your back......

 

A couple volunteers cane by asked for beera and in the corner drinking... one is a in-law

 

 

[ubonjoe]

A post flaming a member has been removed.

[Caldera]

6 hours ago, dbrenn said:

I'd have still invited them to a modest lunch as a courtesy, and (if they accepted my invitation) eaten just a token amount myself if I was already full.

 

Would have been a small price to pay for some priceless goodwill, as they tell their colleagues and bosses how nice you were.

I can see why you were a good fit to apply for Thai citizenship. I genuinely don't mean that in a negative way - some of us adapt easier to Thai customs than others.

 

That said, many Thais I know despise their officials even more than I do. While they wouldn't openly show disrespect for obvious reasons, I think what you've described goes above and beyond even by Thai standards.

[dbrenn]

43 minutes ago, Caldera said:

I can see why you were a good fit to apply for Thai citizenship. I genuinely don't mean that in a negative way - some of us adapt easier to Thai customs than others.

 

That said, many Thais I know despise their officials even more than I do. While they wouldn't openly show disrespect for obvious reasons, I think what you've described goes above and beyond even by Thai standards.

I'm not sure where you're from but I'm English, and we robustly despise our officials, to the extent of being disgusted by them. Read the news and you'll no doubt see that in the US, Europe and Australia, officials are also despised in equal measure, so contempt for authority may not by your yardstick be just a Thai thing.

 

[Caldera]

7 minutes ago, dbrenn said:

I'm not sure where you're from but I'm English, and we robustly despise our officials. Read the news and you'll no doubt see that in the US, Europe and Australia, officials are also despised in equal measure, so contempt for authority may not by your yardstick be just a Thai thing.

Quite right. "A Thai thing" is going out of your way to buy lunch for the officials you despise.

[ancharee]

As you said to me a long time ago, welcome to Thailand. !!

[dbrenn]

14 minutes ago, Caldera said:

Quite right. "A Thai thing" is going out of your way to buy lunch for the officials you despise.

Eating a bit of humble pie and showing deference to authority is a small price to pay to get what you want, in both your professional and personal life - in my case the right to stay in Thailand with my loved ones, free from hindrance for the rest of my life.

 

Meanwhile, those who foolishly and boorishly believe that they are entitled and have rights, when in fact they have none at all, are surprised and hurt when they don't get what they want.

 

It's a code of conduct that hold true, wherever you live.

[recom273]

18 hours ago, possum1931 said:

"they are officious and rude on occasions,"  and you call that conducting themselves in a proper manner??

If they came to my house and started being officious and rude, they would soon know about it.

No, rude by screaming out loud “Mai mee see sen!, Cap pratet Loi! Go home!” - when I was requesting a 60 day extension on my ME-O in front of my wife in front of a full office of customers. You don’t have 400,000b ( enough for a to get a proper extension) go back to your country! My wife was a little embarrassed.

 

Twice throwing the passport at me, once into my lap another across a counter like a frisbee - Could you imagine throwing something that carries other countries royal insignia?

 

They didn’t understand that Savannakhet issues ME-O and thought it a bit of a dodge to fly 3000 km round trip to get one.

 

I see similar behavior dished out to unaccompanied African runners and football players, that use the office. 

[teatree]

On 7/9/2019 at 5:58 PM, ratcatcher said:

S

So, after 15 years of extending your permission to stay, you receive a call that Immigration wants to drop by and say hello. You should have been pleased, as you obviously have nothing to hide. As for the lunch invitation, you should have said "Why not, I love Thai food". Presuming, of course, after 15 years, you can speak basic Thai? Better to be sociable with these guys than the other way. I'm sure you could have footed the bill for lunch,it would have gone down well

Do this and the once every 15 years visit becomes yearly and paying for lunch becomes the norm and more and more is expected each time. 

 

By all means offer them nice refreshments and be hospitable and polite, but keep the relationship professional.

[Wake Up]

On 7/9/2019 at 8:15 PM, lamyai3 said:

Agree - who'd want to go out to lunch with people who are basically out to extort? I'd want to keep my dealings with them as professional and minimal as possible. 

During my 30 plus years in business I bought thousands of lunches. To buy these guys lunch and eat with them would have been worth your time and money. Ask for their card when you say goodbye and one day who knows they may be able to help you when you need it. They don’t make any money. Buying a lunch would have benefited you and your wife more than you know. Assuming you can afford it. ????

[Robins]

On 7/9/2019 at 5:02 PM, dbrenn said:

I would have bought them lunch. It pays off in the long run to be hospitable.

Or at least have a fresh pot of coffee made.  You're so right, be polite and welcome them in, they're just doing their job. 

[Robins]

15 minutes ago, Wake Up said:

During my 30 plus years in business I bought thousands of lunches. To buy these guys lunch and eat with them would have been worth your time and money. Ask for their card when you say goodbye and one day who knows they may be able to help you when you need it. They don’t make any money. Buying a lunch would have benefited you and your wife more than you know. Assuming you can afford it. ????

Like having a stack of donuts and a pot of coffee to welcome an American cop, and yes, I was one. 

[CNXexpat]

37 minutes ago, Wake Up said:

Buying a lunch would have benefited you and your wife more than you know. Assuming you can afford it.

Very true. It doesn´t have to be a fancy restaurant, just a good beside-the-street-restaurant around the corner. 200 or 300 Baht, perhaps an interesting conversation and officials they are on your side when you need one. Not wasted money. 

[lamyai3]

1 hour ago, Wake Up said:

During my 30 plus years in business I bought thousands of lunches. To buy these guys lunch and eat with them would have been worth your time and money. Ask for their card when you say goodbye and one day who knows they may be able to help you when you need it. They don’t make any money. Buying a lunch would have benefited you and your wife more than you know. Assuming you can afford it. ????

Since I've always lived in Bangkok, the chance of seeing the same immigration officer twice is pretty remote. Though I can certainly see the sense in forging a relationship in a small provincial office, or in a case like @dbrenn where there's an ongoing process of PR going on. Otherwise I stand by my comment which it seems quite a few have agreed with - I'm not a fan of obsequious brown-nosing. 

[herwin1234]

omg i never had a Thai official ask me to go out for lunch (or dinner or whatever) but what a GREAT oportunity that would be to have a friendly chat with these guys. 

Up to now i am afraid to say my only experience is Thai officials (like police) regularly buying a burger in my shop, always nice to see these guys with a friendly chat and smile.

I hesitate but i seriously think many foreigners are mentally unstable and paranoid and all they can see are Thai ppl out there to hussle them and "extort" them for a free meal. What a sorry way to live.  Can't risk to see the good in ppl, only distrust.

At worst one would loose a few hunderd baht for their free lunch, at best and more likely, you'll have a surprising nice chat and made a good impression with Thai ppl  that matter.