Previously I would travel to Savannakhet for a 1 year non immigrant visa based on marriage.

I'm considering using a local visa agent at a cost of baht 20,000 for a retirement visa.

My question is before proceeding is this 100% legal with no immigration issues when leaving the country for a vacation.

If you meet the financial requirements and the agent is just doing the application on your behalf, yes its legal.

If you are using an agent to bribe immigration to get around the financial requirements you don't have, then its not legal.

Either way the visa/extension you end up with is legal, its how you obtained it is legal or illegal.

 

Its not going to stop you having a vacation

 

Why wouldn't you just do a legal extension based on marriage ?

Do it yourself and stay legal.

Marriage extension is very easy to do if you qualify.

If you do not qualify you should not even be thinking about it.

Covid has created a big demand for visa agents for the seasonal expats who can't go home and don't want to invest money in a Thai bank. I think those who jump through the hoops to obtain the visa themselves love to slag agents. The extension in the passport of an individual using an agent is just as legit. Due to covid I used an agent and think it's so easy why would I want to hassle doing it myself.

9 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

Covid has created a big demand for visa agents for the seasonal expats who can't go home and don't want to invest money in a Thai bank. I think those who jump through the hoops to obtain the visa themselves love to slag agents. The extension in the passport of an individual using an agent is just as legit. Due to covid I used an agent and think it's so easy why would I want to hassle doing it myself.

Not to mention the standing in line potentially with hundreds of others.  Right now, an agent is a great way to go.

 

I think thaivisa offers this service????

20,000BHT is expensive for a "legal" visa extension via an agent.    I have always used one for legal extensions as I prefer to spend only 5 Mins in Immigration getting the photo taken and a receipt for the Extension fee (1900Bht) handed to me by the IO rather than faffing backwards and forwards for days at the whim of the IO's latest requirement and waiting in endless queues, especially now with COVID around.

the advertiser on this thread will do the Retirement extension for ya for 14,000 baht
no bank, no hassles

29 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

Covid has created a big demand for visa agents for the seasonal expats who can't go home and don't want to invest money in a Thai bank. I think those who jump through the hoops to obtain the visa themselves love to slag agents. The extension in the passport of an individual using an agent is just as legit. Due to covid I used an agent and think it's so easy why would I want to hassle doing it myself.

I lived Baan Nork for many years and had to do all my own paperwork etc.. now that I am near enough to an agent, it is a pleasure to let them do everything for me. I just renewed my annual visa and the agents office was empty... the price is nowhere near 20k baht - - but I qualify for the visa

2 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

If you meet the financial requirements and the agent is just doing the application on your behalf, yes its legal.

If you are using an agent to bribe immigration to get around the financial requirements you don't have, then its not legal.

Either way the visa/extension you end up with is legal, its how you obtained it is legal or illegal.

 

Its not going to stop you having a vacation

 

Why wouldn't you just do a legal extension based on marriage ?

Yes, but in the event of a bribe, only until the scam is discovered and the perpetrator in Immi. is arrested and the paper trail leads to the ultimate victims, as has happened previously.

13 minutes ago, Brierley said:

Yes, but in the event of a bribe, only until the scam is discovered and the perpetrator in Immi. is arrested and the paper trail leads to the ultimate victims, as has happened previously.

The previous ones you're referring to I believe were false stamps, not the legit stamp the agent obtains for you at immigration. My extension is every bit as legit as yours regardless of everything else.

2 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

f you are using an agent to bribe immigration to get around the financial requirements you don't have, then its not legal.

 

How about if you are paying an agent a fee to present your application to a senior Immigration Officer who has the authority to grant the extension without the usual funds being in place?

 

How he convinces the senior officer to do so is obviously unknown? ????

 

2 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

The previous ones you're referring to I believe were false stamps, not the legit stamp the agent obtains for you at immigration. My extension is every bit as legit as yours regardless of everything else.

A visa extension acquired through bribery of an official cannot possibly be deemed to be 100% legit, how can it!

If I should use an agent, I would be sure about the agent, that he is not a "fake" one with his own rubber stamps, because then you will get problems.

 

As far as I am informed, the individual IM officer have the power to do his own decissions, when we are talking about retirement visa, correct me if I am wrong. It seems that some agents together with some IM officers can do individual retirements visa. If my informations is right, then it should be legal, to get an individual retirement visa. 

 

Mariage visa is another case, several IM officers/departments must look at it, that make it difficult to make "individual" solutions, I would never talk with an agent who offers marriage visa without the client have the money or income (400,000 baht)

 

The other day I see a 3 month visa given because of sickness, did not know that was possible, but it just shows that the IM officer have some power to do individual solutions. The man who get this visa is realy sick, so it shows some humanity from the IM officer, and I think the agent who helped with the visa shared some thing with the IM officer.

 

 

5 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

The previous ones you're referring to I believe were false stamps, not the legit stamp the agent obtains for you at immigration. My extension is every bit as legit as yours regardless of everything else.

But would you be able to show a bank book to prove you had the money in the bank when you applied and if for retirement that the 800k baht was in the for 3 months after and then 400k baht after that if asked for it.

2 minutes ago, Brierley said:

A visa extension acquired through bribery of an official cannot possibly be deemed to be 100% legit, how can it!

Bribery is an ugly word many are fixated on, read the above post. Senior immigration official makes command decision to grant extension without usual funds in place.

3 minutes ago, finnsk said:

If I should use an agent, I would be sure about the agent, that he is not a "fake" one with his own rubber stamps, because then you will get problems.

 

As far as I am informed, the individual IM officer have the power to do his own decissions, when we are talking about retirement visa, correct me if I am wrong. It seems that some agents together with some IM officers can do individual retirements visa. If my informations is right, then it should be legal, to get an individual retirement visa. 

 

Mariage visa is another case, several IM officers/departments must look at it, that make it difficult to make "individual" solutions, I would never talk with an agent who offers marriage visa without the client have the money or income (400,000 baht)

 

The other day I see a 3 month visa given because of sickness, did not know that was possible, but it just shows that the IM officer have some power to do individual solutions. The man who get this visa is realy sick, so it shows some humanity from the IM officer, and I think the agent who helped with the visa shared some thing with the IM officer.

 

 

Medical visa's have been around for a long time and are not uncommon, typically they are arranged in conjunction with a hospital or health facility.

2 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

If you meet the financial requirements and the agent is just doing the application on your behalf, yes its legal.

If you are using an agent to bribe immigration to get around the financial requirements you don't have, then its not legal.

Either way the visa/extension you end up with is legal, its how you obtained it is legal or illegal.

 

Its not going to stop you having a vacation

 

Why wouldn't you just do a legal extension based on marriage ?

At the moment I don't have the funds in a thai bank 

7 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

Bribery is an ugly word many are fixated on, read the above post. Senior immigration official makes command decision to grant extension without usual funds in place.

If that's the way you want to justify it to yourself that's fine but don't expect others, and especially the legal system, to support your view, if ever it was determined that bribery had taken place. A command decision is one thing, making a policy exception when is something else entirely.

2 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

But would you be able to show a bank book to prove you had the money in the bank when you applied and if for retirement that the 800k baht was in the for 3 months after and then 400k baht after that if asked for it.

I'm 100% legit, don't have answers for your questions.

1 hour ago, EVENKEEL said:

Covid has created a big demand for visa agents for the seasonal expats who can't go home and don't want to invest money in a Thai bank. I think those who jump through the hoops to obtain the visa themselves love to slag agents. The extension in the passport of an individual using an agent is just as legit. Due to covid I used an agent and think it's so easy why would I want to hassle doing it myself.

They are not all as legit. If the underlying documentation is faked, if the extension is obtained under false pretenses, then, no, it is illegal. Same as anywhere else in the world, really.

1 minute ago, EVENKEEL said:

I'm 100% legit, don't have answers for your questions.

Did you have money in the bank? If not then is is not legit.

4 minutes ago, Brierley said:

If that's the way you want to justify it to yourself that's fine but don't expect others, and especially the legal system, to support your view, if ever it was determined that bribery had taken place.

IMO the legal system thrives on bribery here in Thailand.

5 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

Bribery is an ugly word many are fixated on, read the above post. Senior immigration official makes command decision to grant extension without usual funds in place.

No, they don't. Whatever an agent might tell you to persuade you, actually the agent fakes the required documents, and for a fee the immigration officer overlooks that these documents are fakes.

If there should ever be a crackdown the IO will say that the foreigner submitted fake documents and that he didn't notice it. The agent will be nowhere to be found.

10 minutes ago, Brierley said:

A visa extension acquired through bribery of an official cannot possibly be deemed to be 100% legit, how can it!

They argue it is in the IO's remit to ignore the financial requirements laid down by law. But only doing so for payment is at least corruption. I would think the illegal part, or at least invalid, is that the extension is mostly obtained from a province you do not live in, when the law says it has to be issued by the office that your address is in. 

1 minute ago, EVENKEEL said:

IMO the legal system thrives on bribery here in Thailand.

I late edited to add that a command decision and a policy exception are two very different things, especially when a ranking Immi. officer is not in a position to authorize those exceptions. And the fact that the system thrives on bribery, allegedly, doesn't make it any the less illegal. I'm not trying to be righteous on this subject but it might be better just to say that it is illegal but with an acceptable level of risk, for you.

4 minutes ago, clivebaxter said:

I would think the illegal part, or at least invalid, is that the extension is mostly obtained from a province you do not live in, when the law says it has to be issued by the office that your address is in.

 

Therefore legal if it's issued in your home province?

7 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

Senior immigration official makes command decision to grant extension without usual funds in place.

That is false info spread by agents and etc. This what the immigration order for extensions states.

 

"5. In the case where an alien applicant does not meet the full qualifications stipulated by the criteria herein or in other cases not specified in this Order but a competent officer equivalent to or higher than inspector is of the opinion that the alien has legitimate reason for staying in the Kingdom of Thailand, the application shall be forwarded to the Commander of the Royal Thai Police or an authorized competent officer for further consideration of the alien's application."

 

An officer might be able to wave amount of time the money has been in the bank or being a little below the balance. They would not be able to waive the requirements entirely.

IMO they simply approving it without seeing any original documents for the proof and then the unverified documents are put a person's file in case of audit was done.

Just now, treetops said:

 

Therefore legal if it's issued in your home province?

I would say not if it has only been issued by a bribe. If legal why would you need an agent as middle man? you could just go in the immigration office and say no money in the bank so how much to ignore the fact!

6 minutes ago, Brierley said:

I late edited to add that a command decision and a policy exception are two very different things, especially when a ranking Immi. officer is not in a position to authorize those exceptions. And the fact that the system thrives on bribery, allegedly, doesn't make it any the less illegal. I'm not trying to be righteous on this subject but it might be better just to say that it is illegal but with an acceptable level of risk, for you.

My money is in the bank 100% legit, but I'll stop posting here because a sense of humor is lacking by many.

24 minutes ago, Colin Beech said:

At the moment I don't have the funds in a thai bank 

It is very easy to transfer funds from a foreign bank to a Thai one.

But if you are borassic, then tough. Do it the illegal way.