Thai Visa agent legit?

[ubonjoe]

Some baiting and bickering posts have been removed. Time to end it or a formal warning will be given.

[CharlieH]

Reported flame post and subsequent responses removed.

[Tanoshi]

On 3/28/2021 at 5:01 PM, jackdd said:

According to Roi Et Immigration's website they have four people who have the required rank of inspector or higher: http://www.roietimmigration.com/articledetail.asp?id=33674

From that list of staff and I've been visiting Roi Et since the day it opened, I recognise only three.

Four if including the one now moved to inactive duties.

 

Of the 4 Inspectors listed, the wife recognises two, but states they work at the Police Station, the other two she doesn't recognise, nor have I ever seen.

 

Roi Et Immigration consists of 3 rented shop units, each roughly 3x4 metres and a double desk at the front. 2 staff members occupy the front desks and deal with everything, 90 day reports to extensions. One shop unit is for Investigators (always empty) one is for Admin with 2 staff members processing everything after being cleared by the front desk. The other shop unit is the Inspectors office, who incidentally is a female and maybe seen once a week, staffed by her female secretary.

 

In total only 5 IO's in regular attendance.

The photo of staff members is not conversant with the actual staff based at the office.

Roi Et has become the centre and base for Immigration investigations throughout the NE area (which is why they're building a new office). I'm told their are currently at least 12 staff Investigators, maybe one is an Inspector, but there are many facets to Immigration and they certainly do not all deal with the daily applications of foreigners.

[DrJack54]

21 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

From that list of staff and I've been visiting Roi Et since the day it opened, I recognise only three.

Four if including the one now moved to inactive duties.

 

Of the 4 Inspectors listed, the wife recognises two, but states they work at the Police Station, the other two she doesn't recognise, nor have I ever seen.

 

Roi Et Immigration consists of 3 rented shop units, each roughly 3x4 metres and a double desk at the front. 2 staff members occupy the front desks and deal with everything, 90 day reports to extensions. One shop unit is for Investigators (always empty) one is for Admin with 2 staff members processing everything after being cleared by the front desk. The other shop unit is the Inspectors office, who incidentally is a female and maybe seen once a week, staffed by her female secretary.

 

In total only 5 IO's in regular attendance.

The photo of staff members is not conversant with the actual staff based at the office.

Roi Et has become the centre and base for Immigration investigations throughout the NE area (which is why they're building a new office). I'm told their are currently at least 12 staff Investigators, maybe one is an Inspector, but there are many facets to Immigration and they certainly do not all deal with the daily applications of foreigners.

Think you posted something in a thread (perhaps this one) re officers dismissed and some farang arrested and deported. etc.

I can't find that event. Can you provide link for that account. Would have been big news story.

[DrJack54]

On 3/28/2021 at 8:51 AM, Tanoshi said:

Actually Jack, some years ago in Roi Et, an audit lead to an investigate lasting several weeks.

5 IO's were dismissed from service (not posted to inactive service).

The local agent was reprimanded and has never practiced since.

At least 4 local foreigners (to my knowledge) were arrested, detained in IDC, fined by a Court, then deported and banned for life.

 

Stamps were genuine, but the applications for extensions based on retirement were not.

I guess the IO's being greedy and not paying the proceeds up the chain of command was their downfall.

This is the one. Very big deal. Must be a link to this event. I cannot find one. Does not mean didn't happen. Perhaps you can assist.

[Tanoshi]

1 minute ago, DrJack54 said:

Think you posted something in a thread (perhaps this one) re officers dismissed and some farang arrested and deported. etc.

I can't find that event. Can you provide link for that account. Would have been big news story.

Wasn't a big news event at all, kept very hush, hush.

If you'd lived in Roi Et at the time you'd have known something was up.

Rows of tables at Immigration staffed by a dozen young IO's sifting through mountains of applications.

Immigration visiting bars and restaurants with photos of foreigners trying to identify and locate their address. Apparently all had false addresses on their applications.

One they eventually arrested lived in Kalasin.

 

The wife is a friend of one of the arrested foreigners wife and despite letters of appeal they never got a reply from Immigration. They eventually hired a lawyer and the only reply he could get from Immigration was he was a convicted criminal and regarded as undesirable for future Thailand entry.

That was 18 months ago.

[Tanoshi]

2 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

This is the one. Very big deal. Must be a link to this event. I cannot find one. Does not mean didn't happen. Perhaps you can assist.

Not at all.

It happens more than we read about. Immigration doesn't like to do it's dirty washing in public and at best try to keep it an internal affair.

The odd story reaches the news as did the one in Nonthaburi when certain IO's were dismissed for corruption, apparently replaced by others that still carry on with the practice.

[DrJack54]

3 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

Not at all.

It happens more than we read about. Immigration doesn't like to do it's dirty washing in public and at best try to keep it an internal affair.

The odd story reaches the news as did the one in Nonthaburi when certain IO's were dismissed for corruption, apparently replaced by others that still carry on with the practice.

I don't accept your accounts. More to the story as the saying goes.

In any event not important. 

Leave it there.

I will continue to assist folk with using agents for various situations. 

 

[Tanoshi]

48 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

I will continue to assist folk with using agents for various situations. 

I will continue to assist folks with problems after using an agent.

[ChaiyaTH]

I laugh at people who do not use them, they deposited 800K baht while Thai baht was at the very peak. Soon they will have lost 20% capital aside of not earning 7% average a year and to top it off inflation. I'd know what to do, 30K a year is nothing then. 

 

Same for those who recently bought Elite, after they took all the real benefits away.

 

To then hear arguments of people ''i do not want to contribute to corruption OR I want to be honest'', please, you might as well leave Asia right away in that case lol. But perhaps it makes sense that most people always do the official naive things, work until they are old, stay poor forever etc.

Edited March 29, 2021 by ChaiyaTH

[impulse]

39 minutes ago, ChaiyaTH said:

I laugh at people who do not use them, they deposited 800K baht while Thai baht was at the very peak. Soon they will have lost 20% capital aside of not earning 7% average a year and to top it off inflation. I'd know what to do, 30K a year is nothing then. 

 

Same for those who recently bought Elite, after they took all the real benefits away.

 

To then hear arguments of people ''i do not want to contribute to corruption OR I want to be honest'', please, you might as well leave Asia right away in that case lol. But perhaps it makes sense that most people always do the official naive things, work until they are old, stay poor forever etc.

 

I don't think I'd enjoy a life where every time I saw the immigration police come into the bar or down the street, I'd be wondering if that was the week my agent got greedy and stiffed them.  Or of a new Immigration boss was undoing all the stuff that happened before he benefitted.

[bojo]

42 minutes ago, ChaiyaTH said:

I laugh at people who do not use them, they deposited 800K baht while Thai baht was at the very peak. Soon they will have lost 20% capital aside of not earning 7% average a year and to top it off inflation. I'd know what to do, 30K a year is nothing then. 

 

Same for those who recently bought Elite, after they took all the real benefits away.

 

To then hear arguments of people ''i do not want to contribute to corruption OR I want to be honest'', please, you might as well leave Asia right away in that case lol. But perhaps it makes sense that most people always do the official naive things, work until they are old, stay poor forever etc.

Some people can't afford agents by the way, some agents don't take any prisoners.....

However, I think alot of people with the wherewithal always have the money on deposit here in Thailand, the 'interest lost' factor is a minor concern to them. Having the money on account makes sense to them as does employing an agent in tandem. Alot of savvy expats use agents and have built up strong rapports with them over time......................

I think that those that bought Elite in recent times, it was probably a 'knee jerk' reaction and unnecessary....................

And personally, I love the flexibility that agents,  the interpretations and immigration offer, kind of half the reason we're here, right? Can't imagine trying to do the same in say the Uk for example!!!!

[NoshowJones]

On 3/28/2021 at 11:40 AM, Tanoshi said:

What headache!

If you have the financials and know what documents are required it's not a headache.

You may come across the odd A-hole, but you come across them in every day life.

Although most IOs are decent, it is more than just the odd A-hole.

[rcuthbert]

Said Visa, et al, = everybody eats. The food supply is presently limited...

Make sure that A - he is legit, and B - that he  is not over charging, then go for it.

[wilkis333]

On 3/27/2021 at 5:56 PM, Jack Walker said:

@Gman1992 could you please share the agent's contact information to me? I have some other questions to ask. 

Can u pm to me too