Immigration promises no cover up after audio clip of "freedom in exchange for cash" hits social media

[Jen65]

12 hours ago, ezzra said:

They can set up 10 committees it will not change a thing, this  is a country that is run on payola, under the table and most cases it is understood that money HAS to change hands to get things moving...

It's called "baksheesh " 

[clivebaxter]

1 hour ago, Joinaman said:

someone is getting ripped off. 10 - 12,000 baht is the going sate in Pattaya 

Where are the extensions from though, in Bkk it's usually from an upcountry office, definitely illegal. If they are from the province you live in paying a bribe for an extension with no funds is not a problem, just corrupt.

[Deez]

12 hours ago, webfact said:

they will face the full force of disciplinary and criminal measures.

Inactive post then?

[clivebaxter]

1 hour ago, Harveyboy said:

haven't most of us   let them continue works for a lot of people who don't meet the criteria

I don't know anyone that has, maybe we could do a poll?

[HandsomeTallFarang]

10 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Been here 31 years now. 

 

This incident was 8 years ago at Samut Prakan Immigration office. Would not extend a foreign employee's visa unless we paid them 17,000thb. Initially they were told to fo, but they wouldn't budge. We used an agent and all our paperwork was in order. Agent was either in on it or useless. 

 

As a result of that we now use a petroleum industry logistics company for all our visas for foreign employees and never had a bother since. We deal only with the one stop shop in Lumphini in Bangkok now. 

Dang dude, that old and love Rick and Morty, big ups ???? 

[Scouse123]

11 hours ago, RJRS1301 said:

Call it what it is" Feeding the beast of corruption"

A scenario.

 

You go early for your extension because the nearest immigration is through the mountains 1.5 hours away from your home. You are there 9.30am. Immigration takes your documents. The place is quiet except for three more who arrived after you.

 

Your documents are in order. 11.30am Immigration announce they are going for lunch and suggest you do the same.

 

At 2pm, they finally decide that your documents are not in order, because your bank letter was dated one day before, even though your bank book  was updated at a local bank that very morning and proves your funds are intact and in order. You have the personal phone number for the lady at the bank who did the letter. They don't want to talk to her.

 

They tell you to go get another letter and return the day after. It is then 1.5 hours home and then 1.5 hours for the return journey the following morning.

 

Do you:-

 

1. Drop two thousand baht to ' sponsor the football team ' , or

 

2. Go home, get the letter and come back the day after in the hope they don't find fault again, sit around for another morning, and waste another day?

 

My life has got easier since my province opened a new immigration office in the city 45 minutes away, but these were the things some of us have faced in the past at immigration offices.

[NeoDinosaw]

12 hours ago, smedly said:

out of all the people I know that live here only two of them get their extensions without going through an agent and of those none of them have the funds in the bank and pay on average 15k for a 12 month extension - fact

so your friends are responsible for feeding corruption in Thailand ............. and, in reality,  they stay here illegally   ?

[Fortean1]

I've used the HHIO (Hua Hin Immigration Office) for 12 years.  The office moves to a new location every 2 or 3 years.  Proof of address 'fee' to get a driver's license reduced from 1,000 baht to 500 baht, no receipts.  New passport 'fee' was 500 baht, no receipt.  I know that mean older woman IO.  Filling out the forms is simple enough, but I've found the 'contractor' in the motel room out back can do your copies, take photos, and answer questions; making the office visit upstairs on the 2nd floor easy as pie. A couple years back the HHIO manager found a way to align the 90 day with the visa extension.  There is a new sheriff in town and that arrangement is out the window.

[NeoDinosaw]

29 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

A scenario.

 

You go early for your extension because the nearest immigration is through the mountains 1.5 hours away from your home. You are there 9.30am. Immigration takes your documents. The place is quiet except for three more who arrived after you.

 

Your documents are in order. 11.30am Immigration announce they are going for lunch and suggest you do the same.

 

At 2pm, they finally decide that your documents are not in order, because your bank letter was dated one day before, even though your bank book  was updated at a local bank that very morning and proves your funds are intact and in order. You have the personal phone number for the lady at the bank who did the letter. They don't want to talk to her.

 

They tell you to go get another letter and return the day after. It is then 1.5 hours home and then 1.5 hours for the return journey the following morning.

 

Do you:-

 

1. Drop two thousand baht to ' sponsor the football team ' , or

 

2. Go home, get the letter and come back the day after in the hope they don't find fault again, sit around for another morning, and waste another day?

 

My life has got easier since my province opened a new immigration office in the city 45 minutes away, but these were the things some of us have faced in the past at immigration offices.

Why not spend a few minutes checking that ALL your paperwork is CORRECT  with no possible tiny points which the eagle-eyed IO  might spot

and thus save yourself a day doing it again !    You KNOW that some officers specialise in finding a flaw to trap you with.  Just keep one step ahead.

[ericthai]

9 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Express Service Sabai Co., Ltd. was the name. Dodgy visas were the game.

 

Never used them but I did use Vinny the Visa and The Wall pub in Silom in the late 90's/early 00's.

I used the wall too. I liked the place, drop off my passport and have lunch.

Man things were soo much easier and we were treated so much better back then.

[ericthai]

4 hours ago, KannikaP said:

Such as?

Before I moved to Thailand I worked for an engineering company.  The project owner 99% of the time would have an agent take care of visas / work permits. The project owner didn't have time for that and no way were they going to have engineering sitting at immigration waiting on paper work. 

[smedly]

41 minutes ago, NeoDinosaw said:

so your friends are responsible for feeding corruption in Thailand ............. and, in reality,  they stay here illegally   ?

who mentioned friends - I didn't 

 

what ya think

[Scouse123]

57 minutes ago, NeoDinosaw said:

Why not spend a few minutes checking that ALL your paperwork is CORRECT  with no possible tiny points which the eagle-eyed IO  might spot

and thus save yourself a day doing it again !    You KNOW that some officers specialise in finding a flaw to trap you with.  Just keep one step ahead.

A bank letter is supposed to be valid five days as far as I am aware. They interpret how they want and if they want to find a fault, they will.

 

The whole concept they want you to ' buy into ' is paying for their service, they do not see themselves as public servants.

[Maestro]

Removed a post that was off topic and contained false information and the replies to it.

[Scouse123]

1 hour ago, NeoDinosaw said:

Why not spend a few minutes checking that ALL your paperwork is CORRECT  with no possible tiny points which the eagle-eyed IO  might spot

and thus save yourself a day doing it again !    You KNOW that some officers specialise in finding a flaw to trap you with.  Just keep one step ahead.

They don't want guys like me with correct paperwork unless we pay, they want people who are prepared to use agents.

 

Kalasin immigration is a lot better and they know us because one lives nearby to our house.

[Albert Zweistein]

12 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

Just the tip.

No tips but bribes are O.K.

[Thunglom]

This could affect hundreds if not thousands of foreigners. I know of loads of businesses om Koh Samui where foreigner just assume they have to pay extra for visas/work permits as their jobs and residency simply don't qualify under Thai rules....paying is just regarded as the standard way to stay in Thailand.

In Pattaya they even have offices right by immigration.

[bobandyson]

12 hours ago, Bert got kinky said:

My first visa when I got here was through an agent based in the Soi Cowboy area, which was advertised in the BP.

I turned up at the agency to be met by a tall Swede named Lars, who only needed my passport, as the only supporting document that were required was paper cash. When my passport came back it had an entry/exit stamp for Brisbane, Australia, despite the fact that I have never been to Australia.

I used a lady in Nana Plaza in the mid 90's for a while. She was supposedly a daughter of a top-cop and had someone take the passports to Penang, Malaysia for visas via Malay/Thai borders. 

At first only needed a copy of marriage paper, then years later had to also show wife's Thai ID card and in later years had to include a copy of a bank book page showing funds.

I think it all came to a halt when a terrorist named Hambali got caught with fake border stamps obtained from a visa service place in Khao San Road.

 

I knew plenty of guys who used the Swede to get visas from Penang but I've never heard of anyone getting visas or entry/exit stamps from Australia though. Somehow I can't see Aussie immigration officials and Thai Embassy/consulate staff being on the take. 

[majhiggins]

All of us who have been here a while know the lay of the land. I've been here 16 years. But do you ever consider what a pickle Thailand would be in without the "back-hander"? There are literally whole sectors of the work force, cops, immigration and even teachers, who simply could not afford to live teir established lifestyle were they required to get by on just their official salary. Corruption is so embedded that if you ask the average Thai what is and is not a corrupt action, they are unlikely to spot even half of the corruption. Everybody gets the "you got stopped by the cops driving when you were drunk" so you paid 2000-3000 baht to them to let you go, but many don't realize that the envelope with 5000-10,000 baht that you present to the admissions official at a reputable public school for your child to get in is even a bribe. 

[TechnikaIII]

But who is there to police the police who police the police, if you know what I mean.

[TechnikaIII]

But who is there to police the police who police the police, if you know what I mean.

Ohh, never mind. I'm just wondering now if there's anything in this for the Guinness World Records. After all, no Thai has ever been nominated for a Nobel Prize.

[fusion58]

Immigration officials accept bribes?

 

What a bombshell - who would’ve guessed ?

[DBath]

19 hours ago, webfact said:

The Thai Immigration Bureau has set up a committee to investigate after an audio clip went viral on social media.

What they really need to set up is a committee that will actually do more than just investigate. 

During the first few months I lived in Thailand I would sometimes get perturbed at how people always seemed to be bashing and dishing out sarcasm regarding the Thai government in general.
 

Now I just get perturbed by how they (Thai gov’t) continuously make no effort to fix any of the problems they create for themselves. 

[bristolgeoff]

The brown evenlopes have always continued,some just get caught every now and then.Made the news and that is where it ends  most time

[QPRFC]

20 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

I have paid bribes to immigration officers before for a visa extension. 

I just shaved my head and dressed as a monk !!

[jacko45k]

15 hours ago, KannikaP said:

Out of all the people I know that live here (where I do), NONE of them use an agent to do their extension, all have funds in the bank, fact.

I know both.... obviously both types exist and there is nothing to argue over. One refuses to keep 800k in a bank account here, and another refuses to pay 15,000 for something that should cost 1900. If I had a medical bill to pay I would likely switch sides too. 

[steve187]

19 hours ago, Bert got kinky said:

My first visa when I got here was through an agent based in the Soi Cowboy area, which was advertised in the BP.

I turned up at the agency to be met by a tall Swede named Lars, who only needed my passport, as the only supporting document that were required was paper cash.

When my passport came back it had an entry/exit stamp for Brisbane, Australia, despite the fact that I have never been to Australia.

The agent went on to set up a website named ThaiVisa. ????

 

more the fool you.

 a lot of people got caught up in the border runs without leaving Pattaya scam, a fake stamp in your passport is asking for trouble down the line, the agent obtained passport stamps now are mostly genuine, just issued by Stevie Wonder

[hotchilli]

21 hours ago, ezzra said:

They can set up 10 committees it will not change a thing, this  is a country that is run on payola, under the table and most cases it is understood that money HAS to change hands to get things moving...

Police, immigration, condo developers... what's next?

[HAPPYNUFF]

6 hours ago, bobandyson said:

I used a lady in Nana Plaza in the mid 90's for a while. She was supposedly a daughter of a top-cop and had someone take the passports to Penang, Malaysia for visas via Malay/Thai borders. 

At first only needed a copy of marriage paper, then years later had to also show wife's Thai ID card and in later years had to include a copy of a bank book page showing funds.

I think it all came to a halt when a terrorist named Hambali got caught with fake border stamps obtained from a visa service place in Khao San Road.

 

I knew plenty of guys who used the Swede to get visas from Penang but I've never heard of anyone getting visas or entry/exit stamps from Australia though. Somehow I can't see Aussie immigration officials and Thai Embassy/consulate staff being on the take. 

 

[HAPPYNUFF]

You obviously havent been into an Immigration Office    from Australia lately...You would have  great trouble finding an Australian working there...Plenty of Chinese, Indians and other nationalities however.     One time    one of them, from a certain  Asian country  started to question my wife.. Even though I realised,  to work in a Commonwealth Government office, you have to be an Australian citizen, even  a naturalised one. I asked  her what right did she, a foreigner in my eyes, have the right to question my wife in such a rude manner.