Suprise visit by immigration

[NCC1701A]

On 7/11/2019 at 2:21 PM, IraqRon said:

filled in some notes, took a pic on phone of pp and of me, both men thanked me and left. 

did they search your house?

[NCC1701A]

On 7/11/2019 at 2:50 PM, villagefarang said:

We had a nice visit and he got some pictures to prove he had been to visit us.

did they look in every room?

[NCC1701A]

11 hours ago, billsmart said:

Yes, I had a similar visit about a month ago

did they look in every room?

[billsmart]

5 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

did they look in every room?

They did come in and look around, so maybe they did look in every room. I didn't really notice. They did want to see my passport and 90-day report. They took a photo of themselves standing with me on my porch.

 

They were friendly and not threatening. I asked them why they were doing this, and they said they had to visit every long-term visa holder in their territory once a year. I told them I'd live here for over 15 years, and this was the first visit I've had. They just looked at each other and smiled.

Easy-peasy... ????

[BritManToo]

7 minutes ago, billsmart said:

They did come in and look around, so maybe they did look in every room. I didn't really notice. They did want to see my passport and 90-day report. They took a photo of themselves standing with me on my porch.

 

They were friendly and not threatening.

You call some stranger who searches your home 'not threatening'?

I find the entire concept threatening.

[IraqRon]

5 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

did they look into every room in the house? that is going to be a real problem for me. 

 

no, didn't come into the house at all, just came to the sala on the street side of the house.

 

you don't have a sound proof room at your place do you??  (just joshing)

[villagefarang]

6 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

did they look in every room?

No, he was happy to sit at our dining table in the main room.  He did not ask for a tour of the house.  Most people don't even get that far and are greeted in an outdoor area.

[WorriedNoodle]

1 hour ago, billsmart said:

They did come in and look around, so maybe they did look in every room. I didn't really notice.

Same happened to me a couple of years ago. They seem to have a required procedure that they need to step inside your house (with shoes still on I think?) and take of photo of you, your pp on your porch. They even checked the pages in my pp. It all seemed pointless as they had just seen me 5 days earlier with my pp for the one year extension so they clearly knew me as the IO is very small and number to process small. The Thais in the household at time (wife, her parents and relatives) all found it to be normal behavior, unlike myself.

[Vacuum]

On 7/11/2019 at 7:21 AM, IraqRon said:

Yesterday was visited by two men, not in uniform but t shirts and unmarked truck.

I would prefer such a visit, less gossiping from the neighbours.

[IraqRon]

3 minutes ago, Vacuum said:

I would prefer such a visit, less gossiping from the neighbours.

that thought occured to me later, maybe that is why no unis., i will say that i saw the pistol buldge on his left hip under his longish t shirt.  after seeing his id.

[Andrew Dwyer]

did they look into every room in the house? that is going to be a real problem for me. 
 

I believe they only go into the lounge area and sometimes not even that far.


If you are really concerned I suggest you buy a rug........... and some duct tape !!

[villagefarang]

There was one other occasion when we received a visit by three policemen intent on selling us some tickets to a boxing match.  It was something they were doing ostensibly to raise money for their precinct.  The tickets were not cheap but they thought a foreigner would love the idea.  My wife and I would never pay money to see people beat each other up, so we politely said no without actually saying no.  We did call the station they said they were from to check if they were genuine officers or not.  It was all a bit strange but did checkout as real.

[StevieAus]

When my wife applied for residency in Australia many years ago we were told by the the lawyer handling the application that it wasn’t unusual for the Australian Immigration to make unannounced visits in order to ascertain that the application was genuine.

I don’t know why people feel unsettled by such events unless of course there is something to hide.

[connda]

17 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

did they look in every room?

Nope they stopped at the locked gate with the barking dogs on our side of the gate.

[BritManToo]

5 hours ago, StevieAus said:

When my wife applied for residency in Australia many years ago we were told by the the lawyer handling the application that it wasn’t unusual for the Australian Immigration to make unannounced visits in order to ascertain that the application was genuine.

I don’t know why people feel unsettled by such events unless of course there is something to hide.

If a policeman tried to enter my home in the UK without a warrant he would be denied entry.

I would step outside and close the door behind me before talking to him.

Who knows if they're looking for an opportunity to plant drugs?

[connda]

 

10 hours ago, IraqRon said:

that thought occured to me later, maybe that is why no unis., i will say that i saw the pistol buldge on his left hip under his longish t shirt.  after seeing his id.

No uniforms, tee-shirts, and a bulge at the waist.  That's probably about the last thing in the world you'll see if you allow unidentified, armed men into your home and it turns into a home invasion.  
What did immigration just proclaim recently.  Something like, "Smarten up foreigners", as meaning dress nicely to the immigration offices?  But - it's Ok for their IOs to show up at our homes looking like - mafia wise-guys?  Tee-shirts?  How professional!  What message does that send to you?  

[connda]

6 hours ago, StevieAus said:

When my wife applied for residency in Australia many years ago we were told by the the lawyer handling the application that it wasn’t unusual for the Australian Immigration to make unannounced visits in order to ascertain that the application was genuine.

I don’t know why people feel unsettled by such events unless of course there is something to hide.

Were the Australian Immigration showing up 10 or 15 or 20 years later to 'ascertain that the (initial) application was genuine?"  I'll answer that.  "No."  In a first world country, if Immigration continued to show up for visits on a yearly basis for years if not decades after the initial application, those that they were visiting probably would have cause to file a suit claiming discriminatory harassment and probably could enlist the assistance of any number of NGOs or tax-exempt organizations whose sole purpose is to look after and guard the rights, as well guard against the human rights abuses of those foreigners residing in said first world country.   

[NCC1701A]

8 hours ago, StevieAus said:

When my wife applied for residency in Australia many years ago we were told by the the lawyer handling the application that it wasn’t unusual for the Australian Immigration to make unannounced visits in order to ascertain that the application was genuine.

I don’t know why people feel unsettled by such events unless of course there is something to hide.

 

i notice that non Americans are conditioned to accept police road blocks and police intrusions into their homes.  i am not . the idea of criminals like the Thai police walking around my house while one of them keeps me busy talking is not my idea of a good time. 

[kevvy]

NCC1701A Maybe you would be worried  they found something .. Little blue pills.. ????

[Andrew Dwyer]

I'm not at all worried about them coming. The IO , police, and other government officials, in our area have always been very helpful. I'm sure they could never walk around unaccompanied with the extended family we have here.
I've found that the Thai police only bother you when you do something wrong. In fact they've been very friendly, professional and helpful. I tried to hire a police canine trainer to help me train my dog. He took a good amount of time helping me and evaluating the dog.  He said he was too busy to make a commitment to help with training, but told me if I'd ever get tired of the dog he'd love to have him. I tried to pay him and he refused. Tried to buy him lunch and he said he wasn't hungry. My wife latter bought a basket of fruit and left it at the police desk and said to thank the policeman for his kindness. This was about 3 years ago at the Lampang police headquarters.

Nice little story about you and your dog Fred but not really relevant was it ?

The OP is talking about 2 guys showing up at his residence, apparently armed, no uniform and in an unmarked truck. No id offered but when requested id shown.
But let’s be honest how many would recognise a fake id from real one, I know I wouldn’t !!
Probably easier to obtain fake id’s over uniforms and official vehicles.

Letting some strangers inside your home is always cause for concern IMO

[NCC1701A]

2 hours ago, FredGallaher said:

I'm sure they could never walk around unaccompanied with the extended family we have here.

i am alone in  a big house.

2 hours ago, FredGallaher said:

I've found that the Thai police only bother you when you do something wrong.

that is not my experience.

[brianthainess]

Just applied on Fri to change from retirement to married visa, i was told they will visit in 7 days. They will phone first and if i am not home,will arrange another day. 

I had to sign more than 50 ! copies of docs. heads up to anyone changing visa you will need to copy every page of pp with previous visas/extensions.   i hope their visit is more pleasant than last year.

[billsmart]

On 7/13/2019 at 7:00 AM, BritManToo said:

You call some stranger who searches your home 'not threatening'?

I find the entire concept threatening.

I don't find government officials wanting to enter and search my home threatening. They did ask, and I invited them in. I don't know what they would have done if I had refused their request.

 

One reason is I believe they have the right to do that is I am living here on a Long-stay visa. I am a guest.
The reason I don't feel threatened is I have nothing to hide.

 

[BritManToo]

40 minutes ago, billsmart said:

One reason is I believe they have the right to do that is I am living here on a Long-stay visa. I am a guest.
The reason I don't feel threatened is I have nothing to hide.

But one day they may have a bag of Yaba to hide.

[jak2002003]

2 hours ago, billsmart said:

I don't find government officials wanting to enter and search my home threatening. They did ask, and I invited them in. I don't know what they would have done if I had refused their request.

 

One reason is I believe they have the right to do that is I am living here on a Long-stay visa. I am a guest.
The reason I don't feel threatened is I have nothing to hide.

 

So I would not like to be a 'guest' in your home if you think it's fine to search all their bags and personal belongings if they stay with you.

 

This is an invasion of privacy.  Like you said, you have no idea what they would do if you told them they could not come in and search your house.... I bet they might get a bit 'threatening' then.

 

You have to be careful about what you are doing here, same as anywhere else.  They could have easily planted illegal things in your house and blackmailed you for money.  

[billd766]

On 7/14/2019 at 10:54 AM, NCC1701A said:

i am alone in  a big house.

that is not my experience.

It is in my experience though.

[Billy Bloggs]

Im out of country at the moment doing the pension thing in Oz, but my g/f told me police were at our village the other day checking up and making sure no one was working, there are about three foreigners of different nationalities in our area, sorry I missed them.