70k Visa! - No Longer Issuing Volunteer Visas After Sept 11?

[JeffersLos]

Cabinet announcement will be either Tuesday 15th or 22nd regards the Amnesty.

 

If announcement on the 15th, choose what extension (30 or 60 day) you will be going for, go to immigration to confirm you have all the docs required, then if no announcement on the 22nd, go to your IO on the morning of the 23rd with all docs in hand. 

[Dart12]

4 minutes ago, edwardandtubs said:

Agents are lying to you. 60k for 15 months at Thai Visa Centre in Bangkok and 55k for 15 months at VIP Visa in Pattaya. You can get a medical visa at short notice if you don't have time to get that visa. 

 

You're currently being subjected to high pressure sales tactics by scam artists. Ignore them.

I know I'm being hustled.  Not a lot of choices when you are the new kid and don't know all the ins and outs.

Kind of funny how bad they are with business accumen, but how much they love to run a hustle in these moments.  Pretty good at it even.

[lovesthespicy]

29 minutes ago, 2530Ubon said:

If anyone has already got this volunteer, could you tell me, do you also get the blue WP book with this visa? Thanks in advance to anyone who can answer ????

 

No you do not a work permit with the visa. The company I used specifically says "you cannot work on this visa"

[orchidlady]

Dart12 just sent you a PM.

[Yellowtail]

1 minute ago, Dart12 said:

I know I'm being hustled.  Not a lot of choices when you are the new kid and don't know all the ins and outs.

Kind of funny how bad they are with business accumen, but how much they love to run a hustle in these moments.  Pretty good at it even.

Nothing new about visa services and people that are willing to pay for them. 

 

If you qualify and they are only helping you process your paperwork it's generally pretty cheap. If you don't qualify and the are helping you cheat it is much more expensive.

[Dart12]

5 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

Nothing new about visa services and people that are willing to pay for them. 

 

If you qualify and they are only helping you process your paperwork it's generally pretty cheap. If you don't qualify and the are helping you cheat it is much more expensive.

I qualify.  Do I have time to make sure I do everything right? no.  Prefer to hire a (trusted) pro.  

that is the caveate though...finding a "trusted" profesional.

[ChaiyaTH]

You can be sorted for around 50K by my agent, just send me a PM. My agent stopped taking in retirees to be honest, he said there is too many at the same time and they like to keep things sustainable. Only refferals.

Edited September 11, 2020 by ChaiyaTH

[Longchop]

1 hour ago, Neeranam said:

Who is asking for 70k, immigration ?

NO, criminal agents for illegal visas.

[ChaiyaTH]

8 minutes ago, Longchop said:

NO, criminal agents for illegal visas.

Guess you don't know much about it, it is indeed high up immigration officers asking more, as they do a really good job. The visa will be legal and properly without even having to visit, they photoshop photos into the database too. Money will also be deposited. 

 

The cheap agents on the other end, are often fake and illegal visa extensions OR done by a lower ranking officer, who can easily get caught. Most expensive agents will not only be expensive but also look into you in detail, your situation and best suitable visa solution, before accepting you aboard. Upside is that their renewals are not as expensive, once you are in the system.

Edited September 11, 2020 by ChaiyaTH

[CorpusChristie]

2 minutes ago, ChaiyaTH said:

Guess you don't know much about it, it is indeed high up immigration officers asking more, as they do a really good job. The visa will be legal and properly without even having to visit, they photoshop photos into the database too. Money will also be deposited. 

 

The cheap agents on the other end, are often fake and illegal visa extensions OR done by a lower ranking officer, who can easily get caught. Most expensive agents will not only be expensive but also look into you in detail, your situation and best suitable visa solution, before accepting you aboard.

Dont think you should be giving so much info on public forums 

[ChaiyaTH]

8 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

Dont think you should be giving so much info on public forums 

Why? It isn't my business or job. Nothing new about this as well, it is just that most do not want to pay up for the services.

[CorpusChristie]

4 minutes ago, ChaiyaTH said:

Why? It isn't my business or job. Nothing new about this as well, it is just that most do not want to pay up for the services.

You could ruin it for everyone , this is an open public forum 

[Longchop]

12 minutes ago, ChaiyaTH said:

Guess you don't know much about it, it is indeed high up immigration officers asking more, as they do a really good job. The visa will be legal and properly without even having to visit, they photoshop photos into the database too. Money will also be deposited. 

 

The cheap agents on the other end, are often fake and illegal visa extensions OR done by a lower ranking officer, who can easily get caught. Most expensive agents will not only be expensive but also look into you in detail, your situation and best suitable visa solution, before accepting you aboard. Upside is that their renewals are not as expensive, once you are in the system.

So lower ranking officers might get caught but higher ranking officers will not?

All these visas costing ×20 to ×30 the proper cost are ILLEGAL regardless of which criminal agent supplies it.

[edwardandtubs]

5 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

You could ruin it for everyone , this is an open public forum 

How would that work? Dawn raids by the anti-corruption commission? That's not going to happen in Thailand.

[Dart12]

Any horror stories about VIP Visa?  They come across well and are fairly priced.  

[jacko45k]

2 hours ago, Dart12 said:

Then their is talk of 270 day tourist visas coming out next week.

There is the regular meeting next week where proposals are released.... if any.

I too heard rumour of a new tourist Visa, but it was 90 days and renewable for 2 further 90  days, giving your 270. I might give up on retirement extensions if that was possible.... don't hold your breath.

[Phillip9]

58 minutes ago, ChaiyaTH said:

The cheap agents on the other end, are often fake and illegal visa extensions OR done by a lower ranking officer, who can easily get caught. Most expensive agents will not only be expensive but also look into you in detail, your situation and best suitable visa solution, before accepting you aboard. Upside is that their renewals are not as expensive, once you are in the system.

I think in the vast majority of cases, this is done in the open and everyone in the office knows what's going on.  It is not like one rouge officer is pocketing the money.  The money is distributed across the entire office.  In my case, when I got my ed visa, the officer opened the brown envelope and counter the extra "fee" in the open in full view of half a dozen other officers.  The only difference in agent price is probably the fee the agent is pocketing, or maybe it depends on the office they use.

[from the home of CC]

2 hours ago, EricTh said:

 

270 days is 9 months. If one can get this, what's the point of putting in 400k or 800k in a bank?

 

exactly. this is a idea born of panic and unless they're going to amend all visas I don't see it getting much attention by the folks that are in control..

[Yellowtail]

2 hours ago, Dart12 said:

I qualify.  Do I have time to make sure I do everything right? no.  Prefer to hire a (trusted) pro.  

that is the caveate though...finding a "trusted" profesional.

 

If you qualify there should be no issue getting a visa. You can either do it yourself or pay someone to do it for you. If you pay someone to do it for you, you will have to pay them.  Claiming you're being "hustled"  implies you are being cheated. I don't think willingly paying someone else to do work you don't want to do falls into that category.

 

Can the organization you volunteer for not help you with this?

[alianware]

Don't think that visa can help you further to get in into Thailand. Even a lot of farang, who married with thai have problems to visit their family cause of closing border. 

[stranded81]

Hi Everyone,
Grateful for some feedback on the below.

BACKGROUND - Arrived in Thailand on VOA, March 2nd. Received single 7 day extension till March 23 and then a "under consideration" stamp til April 22 from Bangkok immigration after obtaining a letter from our embassy.
We moved to Hua Hin In April owing to possibility of covid cases rising in Bangkok and were told we were covered under amnesty anyway till July 31. Then till Sep 26th.
When we went to update our stamp at hua hin immigration we were refused one as the IO told us that we could obtain the stamp only at the original immigration center (bangkok) but there was no need to worry as we were technically covered by amnesty till Sep 26th, and our permission to stay was technically in the window period (April 22 and amnesty kicked in march 26th).

NEW EMBASSY LETTER -
Now, My family and I (wife + 18 month old baby) have after a lot of groveling managed to obtain a letter from our Embassy for a 30 day extension request.
However, when we went to immigration at hUA Hin with the extension request, they said we first had to go to the bangkok immigration office where we originally received the "under consideration till april 22nd" stamp, have that updated and then we can apply for the 30 day extension either at bangkok or hua hin - does this seem accurate?
We don't mind taking the day trip and heading over to Bangkok for 2 days to get our "under consideration" stamp updated on Monday, Sep 14th.
My question is - what will bangkok immigration office do exactly? update the stamp to permitted to stay till sep 26th?
And then at the same time update that to October 25th with the embassy letter?

Or is this one immigration office just passing the ball to the other in the hopes of discouraging us to apply for the 30 day extension?

12 MONTH VOLUNTEER VISA
If we are successfully granted the 30 day extension, I have been informed by the THAI VISA CENTER AGENT (I believe lot of folks using their services here), we can apply for a 12 month volunteer visa and they will take care of the entire process . Naturally, they are charging a heft amount (35K per applicant)

Summary of my inquiries -
1. Will we be able to successfully get our "under consideration till april 22nd" stamp updated at the original immigration office next week? Considering it is so close to the end of the amnesty period anyway.

2. Following that, will the immigration office in Bangkok right there and then approve and update the 30 day extension as well till October 25th since we have an embassy letter? (i understand thai immigration is under no obligation to do so, but considering that they may, can the process of updating 2 things , first the permission to stay till sep 26th and thereafter, permission to / another consideration till oct 25th with embassy letter be achieved within a single visit to the immigration office? Trying to ascertain the process flow here. I'll even have an updated hotel booking in bangkok to show the immigration office in bangkok.

3. Will the agent be able to obtain a volunteer visa so long as we are given permission to stay till October 25th? (even if the new stamp states " under consideration till october 25th"

Any feedback on the above would be greatly appreciated.
thank you very much





 

[2530Ubon]

I would be a bit wary about the visa agent; I think volunteer visa is 90 days + 12 months. I'm no expert, but i have seen several people quoting 50-70k for 15 month visas, 25k for the original 90 days - I have been asking this question and looking at the details too!

[Yellowtail]

1 minute ago, 2530Ubon said:

I would be a bit wary about the visa agent; I think volunteer visa is 90 days + 12 months. I'm no expert, but i have seen several people quoting 50-70k for 15 month visas, 25k for the original 90 days - I have been asking this question and looking at the details too!

 

Do the organizations people volunteer for not help them get visas? It seems odd to me that someone would fly over here at their own expense and then spend their days selflessly doing volunteer work and the organization they volunteer for will not even help them maintain legal status in the county.

 

 

[Phillip9]

9 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

Do the organizations people volunteer for not help them get visas? It seems odd to me that someone would fly over here at their own expense and then spend their days selflessly doing volunteer work and the organization they volunteer for will not even help them maintain legal status in the county.

There is no actual volunteering needed.  people are just using these visas as a way to stay in the country because it is the only visa they can qualify for.  

[patient37]

53 minutes ago, stranded81 said:

Hi Everyone,
Grateful for some feedback on the below.

BACKGROUND - Arrived in Thailand on VOA, March 2nd. Received single 7 day extension till March 23 and then a "under consideration" stamp til April 22 from Bangkok immigration after obtaining a letter from our embassy.
We moved to Hua Hin In April owing to possibility of covid cases rising in Bangkok and were told we were covered under amnesty anyway till July 31. Then till Sep 26th.
When we went to update our stamp at hua hin immigration we were refused one as the IO told us that we could obtain the stamp only at the original immigration center (bangkok) but there was no need to worry as we were technically covered by amnesty till Sep 26th, and our permission to stay was technically in the window period (April 22 and amnesty kicked in march 26th).

NEW EMBASSY LETTER -
Now, My family and I (wife + 18 month old baby) have after a lot of groveling managed to obtain a letter from our Embassy for a 30 day extension request.
However, when we went to immigration at hUA Hin with the extension request, they said we first had to go to the bangkok immigration office where we originally received the "under consideration till april 22nd" stamp, have that updated and then we can apply for the 30 day extension either at bangkok or hua hin - does this seem accurate?
We don't mind taking the day trip and heading over to Bangkok for 2 days to get our "under consideration" stamp updated on Monday, Sep 14th.
My question is - what will bangkok immigration office do exactly? update the stamp to permitted to stay till sep 26th?
And then at the same time update that to October 25th with the embassy letter?

Or is this one immigration office just passing the ball to the other in the hopes of discouraging us to apply for the 30 day extension?

12 MONTH VOLUNTEER VISA
If we are successfully granted the 30 day extension, I have been informed by the THAI VISA CENTER AGENT (I believe lot of folks using their services here), we can apply for a 12 month volunteer visa and they will take care of the entire process . Naturally, they are charging a heft amount (35K per applicant)

Summary of my inquiries -
1. Will we be able to successfully get our "under consideration till april 22nd" stamp updated at the original immigration office next week? Considering it is so close to the end of the amnesty period anyway.

2. Following that, will the immigration office in Bangkok right there and then approve and update the 30 day extension as well till October 25th since we have an embassy letter? (i understand thai immigration is under no obligation to do so, but considering that they may, can the process of updating 2 things , first the permission to stay till sep 26th and thereafter, permission to / another consideration till oct 25th with embassy letter be achieved within a single visit to the immigration office? Trying to ascertain the process flow here. I'll even have an updated hotel booking in bangkok to show the immigration office in bangkok.

3. Will the agent be able to obtain a volunteer visa so long as we are given permission to stay till October 25th? (even if the new stamp states " under consideration till october 25th"

Any feedback on the above would be greatly appreciated.
thank you very much





 

I actually asked TVC this same question.

They said that if I was no longer under Amnesty they would need me to come 20 days before my expiration date (I guess with amnesty they can be a little more flexible).

 

As for you saying they quoted you 35,000 for a 1 year visa from VOA, that doesn't make sense.

You would first need to get a 3 month non-immigrant visa first for 25,000 THB to be eligible for the 1 year extension (this is what I ended up doing).

You should confirm with them, seems like you may be misunderstanding something.

[Yellowtail]

15 minutes ago, Phillip9 said:

There is no actual volunteering needed.  people are just using these visas as a way to stay in the country because it is the only visa they can qualify for.  

 

So they basically pay a "consultant" to provide phony letters from the organizations they're not actually going to volunteer for? Classy.

[fishtank]

Agents do not issue Visas.

Thai Consul does.

 

Edited September 11, 2020 by fishtank

[Yellowtail]

2 minutes ago, fishtank said:

Agents do not issue Visas.

Thai Consulates do.

 

Actually, I think the consulate is just a building, would it not be the consul that issues it?

[stranded81]

51 minutes ago, patient37 said:

I actually asked TVC this same question.

They said that if I was no longer under Amnesty they would need me to come 20 days before my expiration date (I guess with amnesty they can be a little more flexible).

 

As for you saying they quoted you 35,000 for a 1 year visa from VOA, that doesn't make sense.

You would first need to get a 3 month non-immigrant visa first for 25,000 THB to be eligible for the 1 year extension (this is what I ended up doing).

You should confirm with them, seems like you may be misunderstanding something.

Thanks for your feedback - I will certainly clarify this point with them.

May I ask where you are in this similar process? Assuming you are pursing this route too -
were you able to/ are/ have already gotten the 3 month visa while under amnesty?
and thereafter are applying for/ already applied for the 12 month volunteer visa?

Also, since we already obtained 2 extensions - one 7 day extension prior to amnesty and a second "30 day under consideration" extension which allowed us to stay well into when the amnesty kicked in, would we qualify for the 30 day extension with embassy letter now even?

And if we do, then the added hurdle of the 3 month visa + 12 month volunteer thereafter
seems like a lot of stamps we would have to get which immigration wouldn't be happy yo dole out, regardless of whose getting "compensated" Just being realistic about my chances here 

Any more insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
 

[fishtank]

20 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

Actually, I think the consul is just a building, would it not be the consulate that issues it?

No.

Edited September 11, 2020 by fishtank