Attitude of immigration staff

[statman78]

2 hours ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

How much did they stitch you for?

No cost and it took about 10 minutes

[Falconator]

1 hour ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

Them immigration officers are becoming even more deceitful. Last year I hadn't seasoned my monies long enough by about a week. No problem to go away and come back in a week.  The officers started writing on a piece of paper. Then passes it to the wife. He'd written '15,000' will make the problem go away. I refused.

 

PS. That was at the football stadium Buriram.

 

I've heard Buriram regularly does this. Handing slips of paper under the table, with requested amounts like 10,000-20,000 to Thai wives.

 

Never heard this in Chiang Mai, where I'm based at.

[scorecard]

4 hours ago, BritTim said:

Immigration offices, and individual officials vary greatly. You appear to be unlucky with your local office. It is also possible that there was some unpleasantness in the past. Officials tend to have long memories. That is why you should always bite your tongue if subjected to something unreasonable. In Thai culture, keeping things pleasant on the surface is important, even when you are seething inside.

It's not only immigration other gov't offices are the same and many are just fine, same in every country.

 

Several years back I decided to change the ownership of my car to my adult son. He took every known documents with him to the LTO at Din Daeng and he encountered the dragon from hell.

 

- She claimed that the blue book was fake because it had a farang name and farang are not allowed to own vehicles or anything in Thailand.

 

- Son had my Permanent Resident book with him, just in case, she screamed at him 'whats' this', son explained and she insisted it must be fake because their is no such thing in Thailand. She motioned that she was going to tear the book apart. Son grabbed the book quickly, scooped up the other documents fast and fled. 

 

 

[jacko45k]

3 hours ago, Dmaxdan said:

Considering that indirectly we pay their wages, you'd think they'd be scattering rose petals at our feet. 

I don't expect they see it that way.... their attitude improves if supplementing their wages.

[Falconator]

1 hour ago, jwest10 said:

Total rubbish and  find them in the main very helpful and friendly and granted my last 90 day reporting a junior member asked fo my bank book but always have my dear wife with and we did not have it and last time was not asked for it.
However, please bring it next time and very polite both ways.

It also comes down to luck. Sometimes one office is harder than the neighboring one.

 

And different officers at different offices can be different.

 

Keep in mind that most immigration officers you talk to are subordinates who don't want to get into trouble with their bosses.

 

Try to put yourselves in their shoes. Think of it this way: "What can I do to make everything easy and straightforward for them so that they can keep their jobs and not lose face?"

 

 

[IvorBiggun2]

23 minutes ago, Falconator said:

I've heard Buriram regularly does this. Handing slips of paper under the table, with requested amounts like 10,000-20,000 to Thai wives.

I'd imagine they write it down in case you have your mobile phone recording the conversation. Hence why I said they're getting more deceitful.

[HAPPYNUFF]

Well, Ive lived here for 8 long years,  this is, to the best of my recollection,  experiences with my local I.M. Office.

1)No change offered  from the 2000 baht tendered for   yearly extension.  At least the female I.O. had the decency to blush  as I told her,"dont forget to give that 100 baht to the boss".

2)  2000 baht demanded  for  transferring stamps to new passport. No receipt offered.

3)  3900 baht demanded  for payment of   extension of visa.  I stated to the I.O. "Its 1900 baht"  " New boss " was the reply.    "I dont care if you have two new bosses, 1900 is all your getting"      Scowls, papers tossed back,  completed however.

4)  500 baht  for letter of residence, for    drivers license. Happened twice.

Ive noticed  there seems to be a complete change of staff each time I go to my local office...  Maybe its such a lucrative posting there  fighting for  appointmemt there??

As an aside, took my wife into  the Immigration office in Perth, West Australia for some paperwork.  Couldnt see an Australian face anywhere amongst the staff, all Chinese or Indian.   One smart arsed  slope make a remark about Thais to my wife, I suggested she get back to her own stinking country and let an Australian  take her job.

[IvorBiggun2]

8 minutes ago, HAPPYNUFF said:

  Scowls, papers tossed back

Had that happen to me at Kap Choeng. My money for my extension requirement was in 2 separate accounts but both in Bangkok Bank. Male officer claimed I was trying to mess him about and threw my papers onto the desk of the woman officer next to him and walked out. The woman officer never had any problem.

[rumak]

I am not going to read all the pages here before i post this..... so apologies if already posted :

 

Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority, still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority.

 

Now the funny thing about "power"  as i have observed,  is that the same basic premise exists 

everywhere and on all levels !     I personally would have to assume that this is a human trait,

going back to the beginning of time.   I can just picture two cavemen from different tribes having this discussion ..." my chief sucks ! "         " yeah, mine too ! "

 

and just one last thought.   how many of you well-to-do  men  feel just a pinch of superiority when interacting with the "locals" ?

 

Edited August 7, 2020 by rumak

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, Falconator said:

Try to put yourselves in their shoes. Think of it this way: "What can I do to make everything easy and straightforward for them so that they can keep their jobs and not lose face?"

Answer: Pay an agent 25,000bht.

[fondue zoo]

It's a repetitive bureaucratic public facing office job, almost nobody in there is achieving their dreams, job satisfaction and or life goals.

Plus, you can find 'heads up their a*se' government service personnel in any country.  My only wish would be that they all get on the same page when it comes to requirements/rules.

[BritManToo]

Just now, fondue zoo said:

It's a repetitive bureaucratic public facing office job, almost nobody in there is achieving their dreams, job satisfaction and or life goals.

Which is sort of funny as they had to pay $$$$$$s to buy the job.

[problemfarang]

Well i have really good friends in nakhon sawan immigration. we are really close. go drink together and do other things. we are good friends. She is a great person, honest and doing her work great. anyway, one day we were out for some drinks and i was talking to her about the behave of IO officers and why they really like to refuse or trying to find things with the documents... what she told me shocked me: because many IO officers started to open visa agencies under some family name or likewise. Then they refuse the docs and send people to these agencies.. to get some money.

 

 

[rumak]

Just now, problemfarang said:

what she told me shocked me: because many IO officers started to open visa agencies under some family name or likewise. Then they refuse the docs and send people to these agencies.. to get some money.

if that shocked you......... i am really shocked

[JeffersLos]

I always find them very happy and smiley. ????

 

 

 

 

 

As they tell me Cannot. 

[Falconator]

27 minutes ago, fondue zoo said:

It's a repetitive bureaucratic public facing office job, almost nobody in there is achieving their dreams, job satisfaction and or life goals.

Plus, you can find 'heads up their a*se' government service personnel in any country.  My only wish would be that they all get on the same page when it comes to requirements/rules.

You are thinking like a farang.

 

This is a dream job for most ordinary Asians, who prize stable, secure (although repetitive) jobs over "interesting" jobs. Government and police jobs are highly coveted because they are seen as highly secure, and loans are very easy to secure for people working in the public sector. Plus you can easily make connections with important people.

 

[fondue zoo]

7 minutes ago, Falconator said:

You are thinking like a farang.

 

This is a dream job for most ordinary Asians, who prize stable, secure (although repetitive) jobs over "interesting" jobs. Government and police jobs are highly coveted because they are seen as highly secure, and loans are very easy to secure for people working in the public sector. Plus you can easily make connections with important people.

 

Yes, good point.

 

[Preacher]

Keeping cool and saving face goes a long way in Thailand. I normally have a very friendly experience with Thai immigration and no problems. Sometimes the requirements from their local head office for a marriage extension changes and they need some extra form. Then they call my wife and say sorry, we now also need this. Which is promptly delivered by me.

It helps that I work practically next door to my immigration office, so we see each other regularly and smile and wai. Not being a big and busy office like Bangkok also helps.

 

Local amphur the same. The lady that normally helps me is probably not the brightest on earth, but she is very nice and tries to help me. Last time when she couldn't do what she had done several times for me in the past I just left smiling as it was easier to do with my wife's ID-card.

The nice lady came after me in the parking lot and wanted to try one more time, and succeeded. 

 

As to complaints to immigration: Unlike what people think these are taken very seriously and handled by the top brass of immigration themselves. The investigation is done by the subcommander for that region, normally a colonel and a few other officers that will interview you. An immigration officer will not like being investigated as it can mean serious troubles and will have to explain himself to the top brass.

With a complaint you have a lot of power, but do use it wisely and make sure there is e legitimate complaint. I have seen enough post here of people complaining about corruption while the story they tell is one of not understanding the rules and the officer was just applying the correct rules.

[JTXR]

I don't spend a lot of time in immigration, but just in the times I have been there, I have witnessed some loud, rude, disrespectful behavior on the part of foreigners who are frustrated for one reason or another in whatever it is they want to do.  Sure, there may be some bad (and even corrupt) IOs, but even the good ones put up with a lot of <deleted> in an average week.  Based partly on my own observations and partly on advice from the wife, I think there is never any reason to be anything other than clean, neat, respectful, calm and exceedingly polite to IOs, even if you think they're wrong.  Like bureaucratic officials everywhere, they have the absolute ability to obstruct you if they want to -- it's very unwise to give them any reason to want to.

I guess I'm lucky.  I have come across bored IOs and unsmiling, not particularly friendly IOs, but never one that was openly disrespectful or rude.

[Eindhoven]

3 minutes ago, JTXR said:

I don't spend a lot of time in immigration, but just in the times I have been there, I have witnessed some loud, rude, disrespectful behavior on the part of foreigners who are frustrated for one reason or another in whatever it is they want to do.  Sure, there may be some bad (and even corrupt) IOs, but even the good ones put up with a lot of <deleted> in an average week.  Based partly on my own observations and partly on advice from the wife, I think there is never any reason to be anything other than clean, neat, respectful, calm and exceedingly polite to IOs, even if you think they're wrong.  Like bureaucratic officials everywhere, they have the absolute ability to obstruct you if they want to -- it's very unwise to give them any reason to want to.

I guess I'm lucky.  I have come across bored IOs and unsmiling, not particularly friendly IOs, but never one that was openly disrespectful or rude.

 

They are literally the most miserable introduction to any country I have visited and I have visited a lot of countries, many times.

Why you would want to massage the egos of those miserable bunch of misfits?

Yes, many are openly rude. Waving their hands to dismiss is openly rude and disrespectful, make no mistake.

This from a country that needs tourism like no other. Disgusting.

 

 

[IvorBiggun2]

38 minutes ago, Preacher said:

I have seen enough post here of people complaining about corruption while the story they tell is one of not understanding the rules and the officer was just applying the correct rules.

You are talking tosh. I fully understand the rules. The officer is applying the rules according to his financial gain in doing so.

[IvorBiggun2]

4 minutes ago, Eindhoven said:

They are literally the most miserable introduction to any country I have visited and I have visited a lot of countries, many times.

Why you would want to massage the egos of those miserable bunch of misfits?

Yes, many are openly rude. Waving their hands to dismiss is openly rude and disrespectful, make no mistake.

This from a country that needs tourism like no other. Disgusting.

Absolutely.

[rumak]

41 minutes ago, JTXR said:

I guess I'm lucky.  I have come across bored IOs and unsmiling, not particularly friendly IOs, but never one that was openly disrespectful or rude.

i gave your post a like.   I also have witnessed farangs acting loud, rude, and disrespectful .... in a few

places ( banks, offices, immigration, etc).     This is how some act when not getting their way.  Not great to be the person seeing the officer afterwards  ????

 

once or twice i have seen some rude actions by immigration officials.  not often, and much less often

than from farangs.    I must admit though,  immigration procedures CAN be trying at times

[scotsman]

I have to say that some of them do this as they are instructed to do so by there boss in order to get you to go down the visa agent route so they make it very difficult.

Over the last 20 years I have had a mix of very nice helpful officers that want to help you but only for things like 90 reporting or retirement extension or regency certificate but nothing else.

Any other type of visa like a Category O from a Tourist visa in country very difficult to get in jomtien immigration. 

A marriage extension with 40k a month for 12 months very difficult to get as the top of my reply comes into play.

That has been me and my brothers experience here.  

 

Regards 

Scotsman 

[Falconator]

Which kinds of people does immigration pick on more?

 

- Nice old married retired guy from Northern Europe

- "Sexpat" type guy with a Chang beer vest

- East Asian guy (like Japanese or Singaporeans) who behave somewhat more like Thais

- Young white guy, backpacker/digital nomad crowd

- Burmese and Cambodians migrant workers

- Filipino teachers and other workers

- Mainland Chinese businesspeople

 

Like immigration anywhere, I am sure they profile people and behave differently towards different groups.

 

Some types might be easier to extract direct cash from or to force down the visa agent route according to their thinking.

[Falconator]

1 hour ago, Eindhoven said:

 

They are literally the most miserable introduction to any country I have visited and I have visited a lot of countries, many times.

Why you would want to massage the egos of those miserable bunch of misfits?

Yes, many are openly rude. Waving their hands to dismiss is openly rude and disrespectful, make no mistake.

This from a country that needs tourism like no other. Disgusting.

 

 

 

That's hyperbole.

With Thai immigration, you just have to be patient, and maybe have a bit of cash in hand.

 

But US immigration can treat innocent people as if they're dangerous criminals.

Their fierce interrogations can never compare to Thai immigration interviews.

I have been to about 20 countries, and I have never seen immigration or police anywhere like in the US.

 

[IvorBiggun2]

1 hour ago, Falconator said:

With Thai immigration, you just have to be patient, and maybe have a bit of cash in hand.

Why, if you are doing everything legal? No need for cash in hand.

[lungbing]

Before the Khon Kaen office opened I used to have to go to Nongkhai.  It's a long way so my wife and I would make a day of it, take my mother in law and have lunch by the river and shop at Tasadet market.

 

Immigration was first though and one year I got the officer known as Mr. Happy, because he wasn't.  All my paperwork was in order, he stamped my passport and got up and threw it back at me and turned his back and walked off.  My mother in law was appalled and I said it just normal for him.  I was so pleased when the Khon Kaen office opened and I've never had a problem there.

[Pattaya Spotter]

9 hours ago, Pilotman said:

Yes.  I'm sure that they are fine with their own, but they make visitors feel very unwelcome, even aircrew get the third degree.  I never liked flying to the US.  Except, funnily enough, In Seattle, where they always seemed a bit more friendly. 

It is unfortunate if you have felt unwelcome...like I said, CPB agents are law enforcement officers and not a welcoming committee. I met with a pretty stern border agent processing my entry into Germany at Frankfurt Airport once so I guess they are pretty much the same worldwide. 

[ripstanley]

6 hours ago, HAPPYNUFF said:

Well, Ive lived here for 8 long years,  this is, to the best of my recollection,  experiences with my local I.M. Office.

1)No change offered  from the 2000 baht tendered for   yearly extension.  At least the female I.O. had the decency to blush  as I told her,"dont forget to give that 100 baht to the boss".

2)  2000 baht demanded  for  transferring stamps to new passport. No receipt offered.

3)  3900 baht demanded  for payment of   extension of visa.  I stated to the I.O. "Its 1900 baht"  " New boss " was the reply.    "I dont care if you have two new bosses, 1900 is all your getting"      Scowls, papers tossed back,  completed however.

4)  500 baht  for letter of residence, for    drivers license. Happened twice.

Ive noticed  there seems to be a complete change of staff each time I go to my local office...  Maybe its such a lucrative posting there  fighting for  appointmemt there??

As an aside, took my wife into  the Immigration office in Perth, West Australia for some paperwork.  Couldnt see an Australian face anywhere amongst the staff, all Chinese or Indian.   One smart arsed  slope make a remark about Thais to my wife, I suggested she get back to her own stinking country and let an Australian  take her job.

I have been doing extensions since 2012 in Mai Sai, then Chiang Rai and now Phayao. My following comments are my answers to your statements.

1/ Always given back my 100 baht Change

2/ In 2016 I changed to a new passport in Chiang Rai. No charge

3/ Always been charged 1900 Baht

4/ I have never had to obtain a resident certificate.

Your last comment is very racist as all employees of Australian Immigration have to be Australian citizens. Therefore they are Australian.