Good experience- Kalasin immigration.

[Scouse123]

If anybody hasn't been to Kalasin immigration for a while, they have moved out of the temporary office into a large office adjacent which is much more fit for purpose.

 

It was totally staffed by female immigration officers today, who were dressed down in relaxed fashion of joggers and sports shirts.

 

The office is large and organized with seating inside for only eight to ten and outside a further 8 seats, seating was halved due to the social distancing. The staff have been drafted in from Khonkaen and airports, so there has been a staff turnaround. I saw only one male immigration officer in uniform and he stayed out of the way.

 

They were great, spoke English to most people, very friendly and helpful to everybody and a good atmosphere. It took about an hour for the extension and multi entry permit.

 

It was a pleasure with nobody saying they didn't have change or anything like that when the fees were handed over!

 

By the way, the earliest you can apply at this office for an extension is 45 days before expiry.

 

I applied a month early, as I am hoping that they might open the local land borders and I wanted to make sure I had a valid extension in place.

[OJAS]

18 hours ago, Scouse123 said:

who were dressed down in relaxed fashion of joggers and sports shirts.

So much for those on here who say that we should all turn up at our immigration offices wearing tuxedo jackets and donning dicky-bow ties!????

[Frenske]

Great that you had a good experience. I got ripped off twice. The very first time I got there and when I needed a residence certificate. thb 500 and no reciept. I's not about the money, it just p###es me off.

[UncleMhee]

Did you get your Residency Certificate on the day of application? If so you received it through the expedited process which is available at some offices for a fee. Some agents will also provide them for a much larger fee on the day. Whilst some offices don't provide the service and you are to return in one month's time to collect your free certificate. Getting what you pay for is hardly getting ripped off.....

[Peter Denis]

On 6/18/2020 at 6:43 PM, Scouse123 said:

By the way, the earliest you can apply at this office for an extension is 45 days before expiry.

I applied a month early, as I am hoping that they might open the local land borders and I wanted to make sure I had a valid extension in place.

Wondering about your last sentence...

When you apply for the 1-year extension of stay based on your original Non Imm O or O-A Visa, there is no reason to do it one month early because the 1 year extension will start from the expiry date of your permission to stay.  Unless you change the category of Visa (e.g. from retirement to marriage), in which case the 1-year extension will start from application date.

When you apply for the 60-day extension of stay for reason of visiting your wife/dependant child, it is recommended to do that only just before the present Amnesty stops, as that extension will start from the day of application (applying earlier means you will lose the days that you are already covered by the Amnesty).

[Scouse123]

50 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

Wondering about your last sentence...

When you apply for the 1-year extension of stay based on your original Non Imm O or O-A Visa, there is no reason to do it one month early because the 1 year extension will start from the expiry date of your permission to stay.  Unless you change the category of Visa (e.g. from retirement to marriage), in which case the 1-year extension will start from application date.

When you apply for the 60-day extension of stay for reason of visiting your wife/dependant child, it is recommended to do that only just before the present Amnesty stops, as that extension will start from the day of application (applying earlier means you will lose the days that you are already covered by the Amnesty).

 

Ah OK,

 

What I was meaning was I have one month left on the current retirement extension.

 

If the border restrictions were suddenly lifted and I was allowed to cross into Cambodia then I didn't want to risk, (if they closed again suddenly), being stuck over there with an expired retirement visa, if a sudden lockdown lasted longer than a month.

 

In Asia, they are fickle, they could open for a couple or three days, then have a ' spike ' in cases and suddenly go into lockdown again for God knows how long. I was thinking ahead, that if I had a full year extension and a multi entry, I could sit over there and ride it out, if any unforeseen circumstances like that.

 

So, now I have 13 months worth of stay basically. I am on Non-O extension with multi entry permit.

[Bangkok Barry]

4 hours ago, Frenske said:

Great that you had a good experience. I got ripped off twice. The very first time I got there and when I needed a residence certificate. thb 500 and no reciept. I's not about the money, it just p###es me off.

First time I went there he wanted to fine my wife the maximum 2000 for being 24 hours late in reporting that I had returned to the address I already gave immigration on entering the country. But they came to an 'arrangement' and she only had to slip him 500. Maybe the ladies there now might be less open to making 'problems' that have to be 'solved'.

[jomtienisgood]

5 hours ago, Frenske said:

Great that you had a good experience. I got ripped off twice. The very first time I got there and when I needed a residence certificate. thb 500 and no reciept. I's not about the money, it just p###es me off.

What would you want the receipt for anyway?

[Scouse123]

56 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

First time I went there he wanted to fine my wife the maximum 2000 for being 24 hours late in reporting that I had returned to the address I already gave immigration on entering the country. But they came to an 'arrangement' and she only had to slip him 500. Maybe the ladies there now might be less open to making 'problems' that have to be 'solved'.

 

AS I said, I only saw one brown uniform that was a male officer and he kept a low profile.

 

It was all pleasant ladies on reception, document checking, small interview as to what we wanted and handing back the finished passport. They even saved me a passport page by putting both the extension and the multi entry on one page!

 

 

[Scouse123]

5 hours ago, Frenske said:

Great that you had a good experience. I got ripped off twice. The very first time I got there and when I needed a residence certificate. thb 500 and no reciept. I's not about the money, it just p###es me off.

 

In days gone by, I would go to Sakhon Nakon which is a lot further than Kalasin for me, and if I didn't slip them at least 1500 baht, I was messed around all day, even being told to return the day after.

 

[ThaiFelix]

1 hour ago, Scouse123 said:

 

In days gone by, I would go to Sakhon Nakon which is a lot further than Kalasin for me, and if I didn't slip them at least 1500 baht, I was messed around all day, even being told to return the day after.

 

Oh?  I did Sakhon Nakhon for visa extensions for 5 years in a row until our own Kalasin office opened last year  but never once had any problems or was messed around??  They often hinted for handouts/meal money etc but I just refused or ignored them, however I was still given the best service nonetheless.  I must admit for the first couple of years the service was time consuming but back then there were only two officers handling everything.  Irregardless they were still very patient, thorough and helpful.  The first year when they made their home visit they hinted at petrol money and about liking chicken soup.  I replied that they need to talk to their boss about travel expenses as it was none of my concern but I did however favour Tom Yang Goong!! lol!  It was water off a ducks back for them and they still showed us respect and gave good service.  Maybe I gained their respect by not paying??

[Scouse123]

9 hours ago, ThaiFelix said:

Oh?  I did Sakhon Nakhon for visa extensions for 5 years in a row until our own Kalasin office opened last year  but never once had any problems or was messed around??  They often hinted for handouts/meal money etc but I just refused or ignored them, however I was still given the best service nonetheless.  I must admit for the first couple of years the service was time consuming but back then there were only two officers handling everything.  Irregardless they were still very patient, thorough and helpful.  The first year when they made their home visit they hinted at petrol money and about liking chicken soup.  I replied that they need to talk to their boss about travel expenses as it was none of my concern but I did however favour Tom Yang Goong!! lol!  It was water off a ducks back for them and they still showed us respect and gave good service.  Maybe I gained their respect by not paying??

Yeah,

 

And we all speak as we find and no two people seem to have the same response,

 

Different strokes for different folk!

 

I am much happier with Kalasin office and the new set up.

[ThaiFelix]

15 hours ago, Scouse123 said:

Yeah,

 

And we all speak as we find and no two people seem to have the same response,

 

Different strokes for different folk!

 

I am much happier with Kalasin office and the new set up.

Its certainly a lot closer for me now, 1 hour travelling (one way) instead of 3!