Praise for Chiangmai Immigration office

[BritManToo]

11 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

While I agree English is a very commonly used language, expecting officials in every country to speak it fluently is a bit of a stretch.

I don't expect Officials to speak English in every country.

But I do expect them to speak it in a country whose education teaches them English for 14 years.

 

[Lacessit]

3 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

They should if the UK, USA or Australia had Thai as a second language, and everyone had to learn it in school for 10 years, then at University for a further 4 years.

For some weird reason, various nationalities used to claim proprietorship of various skill areas, So German was the language of science,  French the language of diplomacy and standards, Latin the language of Catholic religion. Italian was for opera.

I remember as a delegate of an International standards committee ( ISO ) having standards written in English, then laboriously being translated into French by the French contingent present. A complete b####y waste of time.

Getting back on topic, the front staff at CM Immigration all seem to speak adequate English, just as my Thai is adequate. I will never understand farangs who refuse to learn any Thai. They are only robbing themselves of communication.

[Bundooman]

8 hours ago, Vacuum said:

Without the recuested document, I assume. You'll get it after a month if you didn't pay them the tip money.

There's always a moaner-downer on this forum. Thank god I have a life!

[Lacessit]

2 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I don't expect Officials to speak English in every country.

But I do expect them to speak it in a country whose education teaches them English for 14 years.

 

You are guilty of assuming said education is adequate to the task at hand.

[BritManToo]

1 minute ago, Lacessit said:

I will never understand farangs who refuse to learn any Thai.

I will never understand white guys referring to themselves using a Thai racist slur!

[Bundooman]

7 hours ago, jayboy said:

What's hard about it?

Dealing with this kind of obnoxious attitude for one!

[BritManToo]

6 hours ago, Thailand said:

Walk in there anytime and there is a dick or two being dicks and they have to deal with this on a daily basis on top of doing their basis boring jobs.

No way could I cope with what they have to.

Could you cope if you got a share of every agents fee using that office?

[Lacessit]

Just now, BritManToo said:

I will never understand white guys referring to themselves using a Thai racist slur!

That depends on whether you regard it as racist. I don't.

Let's face it, the Chinese gwailoh and Japanese gaijin are far more racist.

English is replete with terms such as <deleted>, gook, slant-eye, <deleted>, raghead, hebe etc. I don't think we can put ourselves on a pedestal.

[jayboy]

10 minutes ago, Bundooman said:

Dealing with this kind of obnoxious attitude for one!

You talking to me?

[gimo]

RE 

Quote

I don't understand farangs who never learn any Thai 

      It's up to them . As long as they don't complain that people can't speak english when selling stuff at the night market etc , it shouldn't draw criticism . Some Thai/ Farang couples enjoy the ' help/rely on '  relationship . Others are very independent and don't want to receive help from others .

[Number 6]

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

So when a Thai goes to a government office in the UK, USA or Australia, he should be able to find at least one person who can speak Thai?

I've found most government officials here can speak some English. See how you get on expressing that point of view to Chinese officials.

While I think that in my situation at Chaeng Wattana English is fine for my needs, I use Thai to be polite.

 

English is lingua franca of the world. Only 75m people speak Thai. Doesn't even make sense.

 

The odds of running into a Thai person outside Thailand and off the beaten tourist track are not high. Certainly you don't think some white person should be trained up in Raleigh NC to be fluent in Thai on the off chance...

 

Maybe by moving out of that backwater you'll find more supportive immigration folks able to meet your needs.

Edited September 30, 2019 by Number 6

[Lacessit]

1 hour ago, Number 6 said:

While I think that in my situation at Chaeng Wattana English is fine for my needs, I use Thai to be polite.

 

English is lingua franca of the world. Only 75m people speak Thai. Doesn't even make sense.

 

The odds of running into a Thai person outside Thailand and off the beaten tourist track are not high. Certainly you don't think some white person should be trained up in Raleigh NC to be fluent in Thai on the off chance...

 

Maybe by moving out of that backwater you'll find more supportive immigration folks able to meet your needs.

You want me to move to Bangkok? Why don't you ask me to chew razor blades while you're at it?

[beachbuggy]

The OP was commending CM IO. UJoe responded and was corrected regarding the waiting time. All is fine. Then the next 90% of comments are by so many time wasters (not all, apologies to those who were positive), please get a life, learn some Thai language, I did post 65yo, or please, please, leave this wonderful country. Eff off in other words

[gimo]

8 hours ago, ragabob said:

The OP was commending CM IO. UJoe responded and was corrected regarding the waiting time. All is fine. Then the next 90% of comments are by so many time wasters (not all, apologies to those who were positive), please get a life, learn some Thai language, I did post 65yo, or please, please, leave this wonderful country. Eff off in other words

       I think you're assuming that the posters who are defending the expats that haven't learned Thai , haven't done so themselves . Not correct sir . I can speak Thai , but regret that I haven't learned to read it yet . I also know a lot of expats in Thailand  and another country I lived in , that only speak English and I understand the reasons why they haven't .

[BritManToo]

11 minutes ago, gimo said:

       I think you're assuming that the posters who are defending the expats that haven't learned Thai , haven't done so themselves . Not correct sir . I can speak Thai , but regret that I haven't learned to read it yet . I also know a lot of expats in Thailand  and another country I lived in , that only speak English and I understand the reasons why they haven't .

I did, useful for road signs, but not much else.

Essentially a waste of two years of my life.

Edited October 1, 2019 by BritManToo

[jacko45k]

Just now, Victornoir said:

Never had a problem with the immigration of Chiang Mai. Never expected too much. Always greeted with smile and understanding, now at Promenada as before, near the Airport.

There we come across an incredible concentration of embittered old men with hostile faces who feel that everything is theirs. For example, they require a flawless English-language practice as read above or queued idly since 4AM while one goes directly from 11. Then they whine for waiting too long.

Thanks to the OP for his positive testimony. For me, the problems specific to Chiang Mai immigration come mainly from its users.

How soon people forget. It was not very long ago there were plenty of complaints of the service at Chiangmai. I used to read them here and wonder why people even lived up there rather than being in Chonburi and using the lovely people at Jomtien. Weren't people arriving at 4am and paying people to stand in line for them? Big Jok sorted it out didn't he?

[moe666]

19 hours ago, damascase said:

So this is your idea of ‘doing a hard job very well’? Making you wait 3 weeks for something you’ll get within half an hour at many other immigration offices? 

People keep complaining about the residency certificate process. A few years ago if you wanted one you went to the Consulate and paid 50 dollars for it after making an appointment on the internet. The head of immigration grew tired of the complaints about his requirements, as he said these certificates are not a immigration function go to your consulate. So there you have it you can complain but you can also pay a higher price for it

[Thailand]

10 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

How soon people forget. It was not very long ago there were plenty of complaints of the service at Chiangmai. I used to read them here and wonder why people even lived up there rather than being in Chonburi and using the lovely people at Jomtien. Weren't people arriving at 4am and paying people to stand in line for them? Big Jok sorted it out didn't he?

And how have your personal experiences of Chiang Mai immigration changed over the years?

[jacko45k]

2 minutes ago, moe666 said:

People keep complaining about the residency certificate process. A few years ago if you wanted one you went to the Consulate and paid 50 dollars for it

And a few more years ago, you simply went to immigration and got one without receiving the 3rd degree. Waiting a month for one is beyond belief...

[jacko45k]

1 minute ago, Thailand said:

And how have your personal experiences of Chiang Mai immigration changed over the years?

Not in the slightest, what is your point because I don't see it!

[Timofe]

Please allow me a brief sequel to my post starting this topic.  This morning a friend went to the Chiangmai Immigration office for a Certificate of Residence.  This friend speaks Thai fluently and he knows how to smile.  When he asked if the officer could expedite the Certificate of Residence, she said, “sure, come get it tomorrow.”  There was no discussion at all about a fee for the expedited service. 

[Vacuum]

55 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

And a few more years ago, you simply went to immigration and got one without receiving the 3rd degree. Waiting a month for one is beyond belief...

This is one reason to apply for the 'yellow book'.

[JimGant]

1 hour ago, Timofe said:

“sure, come get it tomorrow.”  There was no discussion at all about a fee for the expedited service. 

Let us know if it was still free when he picks it up tomorrow....

[rumak]

20 hours ago, Thailand said:

21 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Which side of the counter?

Your side?

No question mark required.....   ????

[rumak]

18 hours ago, Captain 776 said:

C M does an ABSOLUTELY......OUTSTANDING JOB.

you dating one of the young helpers there ?

[BritManToo]

2 hours ago, Thailand said:

And how have your personal experiences of Chiang Mai immigration changed over the years?

I stopped going there 4 years back, it's a great improvement.

Flying out to HaNoi on Thursday for the weekend.

Way quicker and easier than queuing and begging at CM immigration, and I can wear shorts!

And they don't make me get additional photocopies of anything.

Edited October 1, 2019 by BritManToo

[Thailand]

5 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I stopped going there 4 years back, it's a great improvement.

Flying out to HaNoi on Thursday for the weekend.

Way quicker and easier than queuing and begging at CM immigration, and I can wear shorts!

And they don't make me get additional photocopies of anything.

Interesting,another poster who is not using ChiangMai immigration and has no recent experiences. I do not need to fly anywhere to avoid immigration at Chiangmai. Recent experiences, extension of stay for 2 persons and a post in this thread related to TM30 were both simple, inexpensive DIY (TM30 free and I wore shorts -plus) and reasonably efficient.

Shades of when I first came here some years ago.Hopefully the dark days of Promenada are behind us.

[GroveHillWanderer]

19 hours ago, gimo said:

BUT in any government office that deals with foreigners around the world , English is THE language of communication and said offices should be staffed with people who can speak it.

That's absolutely not the case. I lived for years in France and spent extended periods of time in Germany. In both countries, conversations with members of officialdom in official settings, always took place in the local language. 

 

Over the years, I've travelled to various other countries. In some of the countries I've travelled to, English was fairly widely spoken (especially the Scandinavian countries) but not always. Even then, as a visitor I was dealing mostly with people involved with the tourist industry, not government officials.

 

In fact just about the only non-English speaking country I've come across where people seem to expect government officials to speak to you in English, is Thailand.

[Stevemercer]

I recall a year or two that Chang Mia immigration appeared to be one of the worst performing offices in Thailand. Then 'Big Joke' (remember him?) visited the office, heard the complaints and shook up the office, turning it around to one of the best performing.

[gimo]

20 minutes ago, GroveHillWanderer said:

That's absolutely not the case. I lived for years in France and spent extended periods of time in Germany. In both countries, conversations with members of officialdom in official settings, always took place in the local language. 

 

Over the years, I've travelled to various other countries. In some of the countries I've travelled to, English was fairly widely spoken (especially the Scandinavian countries) but not always. Even then, as a visitor I was dealing mostly with people involved with the tourist industry, not government officials.

 

In fact just about the only non-English speaking country I've come across where people seem to expect government officials to speak to you in English, is Thailand.

I'm surprised that immigration offices in Germany ,Sweden etc don't have english speaking staff . From my experience in France , they most certainly do , as they do in Japan . " Just about the only non English speaking country I've come across where people seem to expect govt officials to speak to you in english , is Thailand ".   Rubbish .