Blown away at Buriram Office Visa Waiver Extension Experience

[worldexpress]

I came up to Buriram this weekend to catch a United game (misinformed that there was one but they're actually away... but that's another story). While staying at the Amari next to the stadium, I learned that there was an immigration office in the same complex. So I decided to try getting an extension to my visa waiver entry earlier in Jan. I took the 2 minute walk to the Buriram Castle mall where the office is located hidden in an alley behind KFC. As I approached the door, it' was so quiet that I thought it was closed. I walked into the smallish office about 10:45 with 4 others ahead of me with 1 officer manning the desk. The middle aged male officer was cordial, professional and very efficient. My turn came in about 40 minutes and was out the door with my extension in less than 10 minutes from the time I was called. Nothing to fill out and no copies to make! They do everything for you!  I had more trouble buying a bus ticket than the "visa" extension. I might even come back up to Buriram for future extensions, as the hotel and the surroundings are also very pleasant to spend a couple of days in. And also to eventually catch a damn game.

 

Couple of interesting things noticed: The IO didn't have a barrier like other desks and wasn't even masked. ???? One half of his desk was strewn with no less than 4 dozen stamps of varying sizes and he can probably pick out the one he needed with his eyes closed. This guy was good!

Edited January 28, 2022 by worldexpress

[willr]

One of the best kept secrets don't spread it around otherwise everybody wants to come.

[Mutt Daeng]

I've always found both (Chang Stadium and The Town Hall) Immigration Offices in Buriram to be very friendly and helpful. 

[Jaybott]

53 minutes ago, willr said:

One of the best kept secrets don't spread it around otherwise everybody wants to come.

I'm going to tell all my friends about this.

[Boomer6969]

34 minutes ago, Mutt Daeng said:

I've always found both (Chang Stadium and The Town Hall) Immigration Offices in Buriram to be very friendly and helpful. 

Indeed, and there aren't any "Visa agents" in Buriram. Friendly, helpful, yes but also amazingly effective at handling peak workloads.

 

Just make sure you had a good cuddle with your wife before you go there. They don't deserve grumpy old farts.

[Denim]

8 hours ago, worldexpress said:

I walked into the smallish office about 10:45 with 4 others ahead of me

That would be a busy day at my immigration office.

Often I'm the only one there and in an out in 5 minutes.

[Thai Visa Member 999999]

45 minutes ago, Jaybott said:

I'm going to tell all my friends about this.

How many do you have?

[Jaybott]

33 minutes ago, Thai Visa Member 999999 said:

How many do you have?

None 

[BangkokReady]

1 hour ago, Boomer6969 said:

Indeed, and there aren't any "Visa agents" in Buriram. Friendly, helpful, yes but also amazingly effective at handling peak workloads.

 

Just make sure you had a good cuddle with your wife before you go there. They don't deserve grumpy old farts.

"What a nice positive story about something in Thailand, but how can I make it an opportunity to say something negative about other foreigners...?  I know!!!"

 

????

[Sydebolle]

Heard that Buriram is moving its immigration office coming Tuesday. Any details on that? 

[ubonjoe]

39 minutes ago, Sydebolle said:

Heard that Buriram is moving its immigration office coming Tuesday. Any details on that? 

See this topic on the Isaan forum.

https://aseannow.com/topic/1247834-buriram-immigration-moving/

 

[CrunchWrapSupreme]

5 hours ago, willr said:

One of the best kept secrets don't spread it around otherwise everybody wants to come.

Hehe. I'm in a certain, small, modest Issan province, with a small, modest immigration office. They quickly flip through your docs, stamp your passport, and shoo you away to get back to their afternoon TV dramas, or real life gossip drama. Oh yeah.

[Gecko123]

4 hours ago, Boomer6969 said:

Indeed, and there aren't any "Visa agents" in Buriram. Friendly, helpful, yes but also amazingly effective at handling peak workloads.

 

Just make sure you had a good cuddle with your wife before you go there. They don't deserve grumpy old farts.

Do you think that there's a correlation between there being no visa agents and the friendly helpful service people apparently enjoy from the Buriram office?

[Boomer6969]

5 minutes ago, Gecko123 said:

Do you think that there's a correlation between there being no visa agents and the friendly helpful service people apparently enjoy from the Buriram office?

Yes indeed, there is no room for agents in an IO where the process is efficient, friendly and mostly above ground. They can also be very humane, I know of one case where I guy couldn't show the 400k for his extension after he had bought some rubber plantation in his wife name, and the helped him out.

[thecyclist]

Can they speak Thai or English, or do you have to speak Isan Lao or Isan Khmer? ????????????

[worldexpress]

4 hours ago, Sydebolle said:

Heard that Buriram is moving its immigration office coming Tuesday. Any details on that? 

https://www.facebook.com/102191051555789/posts/488213316286892/

Their Facebook page seems to say something about that, although I don't think the Chang Arena branch office is affected by it. What I don't understand is why is their FB page all in Thai? Do they have that many Thais looking to extend their visas?

[IvorBiggun2]

10 hours ago, Boomer6969 said:

Indeed, and there aren't any "Visa agents" in Buriram.

You'll find that Buriram immigration are the only  'visa agents' in Buriram. They control the under the table 'extensions'. You want 'under the table' they will accommodate you in their office. They're as crooked as the next office. And more expensive than the agents in Pattaya.

Edited January 29, 2022 by IvorBiggun2

[IvorBiggun2]

8 hours ago, Sydebolle said:

Heard that Buriram is moving its immigration office coming Tuesday. Any details on that? 

Seems to be true. Since living in Buriram for 16 years immigration has moved office 8 times. They even moved to one location twice during that time. There's got to be some reason for doing so but I'm scratching me head as to why.

[PolarAttack]

So here I am unfortunately bringing bad news. It seems the stadium satellite office no longer has a computer.  (What ?  Yes, that’s what he said) I was there this morning, February 1st to do my extension.  I saw the same office fella as described above. Great guy, said he’s no longer able to do them and I needed to go to the new office which is close to their old existing main office.  In the years coming here prior, I have found this satellite office & manager to be very useful, helpful and knowledgeable. 
Fast forward to the new office. Together we completed all the documents and they told me to come back in a week to get the stamp in my book. I don’t know if this is a new system but it’s new for me.

Wayne

[IvorBiggun2]

51 minutes ago, PolarAttack said:

they told me to come back in a week to get the stamp in my book.

Marriage or Retirement?

[PolarAttack]

7 hours ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

Marriage or Retirement?

Extension of stay.  This trip I came as a tourist. 30 days, I’m extending 30 more.