Do you do immigration business yourself? If so why?

[Presnock]

Well the online system now going to other provinces too should make agents go away as alll one has to do is prepare the paperwork, forward to the io wait for their okay on all and make an appointment for the next day, next week or whenever and then the immigration says 15 minutes only to stamp the new long stay stamp and signature.  Sounds really easier to me and a lot less time to do it legally too.

[BoganInParasite]

Yes, everything for six years starting with the initial three month visa granted in Australia, the subsequent dealings for annual Thai wife related extensions, 90 day reporting, a TM30, certificates of residency and re-entry permits. Caught a few times on unannounced new requirements and there has been some attitude incidents...mostly from the IO side. Annual extension submission day is my least liked day of the year.

[Thingamabob]

20 hours ago, likerdup1 said:

I've done my immigration business for the last 11 years myself.

 

I am on my fourth Non-O Visa with a 1 year extension of stay. Three times before in Chonburi (first time in 2012) and this last time in Bangkok done at Chang Wattana Division 1 completed yesterday.

 

Why do others do immigration business themselves? I do it because I don't want to be involved in graft, be attached to an agent and pay a lot of extra money for what amounts to about $100 an hour for my time if I paid an agent.

 

Why do you do your immigration business yourself?

I have always done annual extensions to my retirement visa myself, most recently at CW last week. In at 0830, out at 1030 with no hassle.

[Muhendis]

20 hours ago, The Cyclist said:

 

1. It is a simple process

 

2.  Because I have never had a problem with immigration.

 

3.  I do my 90 reports / annual extension in person, nearest Friday to report date and spend Friday and Saturday in a hotel.

 

4. When I get to an age where it is no longer a pleasant experience, I will probably seek ou t an agent to do the donkey work for me.

 

 

6. Because it's always nice to see those nice, friendly immigration people.

7. What else should we do with our time if no longer tied to the treadmill of work.

[jensmann]

it's a simple matter of math. cumulated half a day of paperwork, half a day immi. saves me 20000 baht. where else you will earn that in just one day?

just follow the rules!

[JimHuaHin]

Why do you do your immigration business yourself?

 

Easy answer -

 

I know the legal requirements, and meet them.

 

I have copies of all the required forms, and can complete them myself (it will be different when my vision declines), and I can obtain all the required documents myself.

 

I am still able to walk, talk, answer questions, etc. by myself (in a few years/decades this may not be the case).

 

And, I am polite and respectful when I visit Immmigration, and never ever raise my voice.

[CecilM]

I'm cheap and won't pay for an agent. 

[TigerandDog]

22 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

For most it's one of 4.

 

Firstly... inadequate funds.

 

Second.. have funds but prefer to not have it in Thai bank account as can earn ~8% elsewhere.

 

Third....don't want to deal with immigration.

 

Other.... immobility or other health issues. 

 

But you have known that already. 

DrJack, did you actually read the OP's topic. He asked why do people do their Immigration business themselves and why, NOT do they use agents and why. You really do go off topic with many of your comments.

[shackleton]

Yes I do my yearly visa myself

It's easy and simple to do 🥳

[quake]

7 minutes ago, TigerandDog said:

DrJack, did you actually read the OP's topic. He asked why do people do their Immigration business themselves and why, NOT do they use agents and why. You really do go off topic with many of your comments.

 

Be careful his one of the head masters now. 

 

 

Edited December 28, 2023 by quake

[The Cyclist]

2 hours ago, Muhendis said:

6. Because it's always nice to see those nice, friendly immigration people.

 

My Immigration Office is a mixture of nice, smilie, friendly people and others who have serious faces and work efficiently. By going in person 4 times a year you get to build a bit of a rapport with the staff. What I have never had is any hassle or conflict.

 

2 hours ago, Muhendis said:

7. What else should we do with our time if no longer tied to the treadmill of work.

 

I dont have that problem 

[foreverlomsak]

15 hours ago, youreavinalaff said:

You have a printer that doesn't print colour?

 

Who is it made by, Fred  Flintstone Printers. Inc?

Henry Ford, you can have any color so long as it's black, or something like that.

364 days of the year I don't need color.

[foreverlomsak]

13 hours ago, BigStar said:

 

Yes, I am for my yearly retirement extension.

 

1. The  forms I use are the computer forms downloaded from Immigration. They have drop down menus and blanks to fill in. All black-and-white.

2. No handwriting required except the sig. I use blue ink.

3. No house location map required.

 

 

On retirement too.

1. My office will not accept them, think they've lost the stamps & pads

3. Hand-drawn house map is definitely needed, had google maps printout one year which was rejected another year they insisted on the GPS location being added, I kind of forgot next year and nobody said anything.

[quake]

1 minute ago, foreverlomsak said:

3. Hand-drawn house map is definitely needed, had google maps printout one year which was rejected another year they insisted on the GPS location being added, I kind of forgot next year and nobody said anything.

 

That just about sums them up.

[KhunLA]

8 minutes ago, foreverlomsak said:

3. Hand-drawn house map is definitely needed, had google maps printout one year which was rejected another year they insisted on the GPS location being added, I kind of forgot next year and nobody said anything.

That's IO office location dependent.  Hua Hin accepts Gmaps.  I even just submit a map from house to 'local' Imm office (11 kms away), not the one I'm doing extension at (HH/100 kms away), and is accepted

[BigStar]

14 minutes ago, foreverlomsak said:

On retirement too.

1. My office will not accept them, think they've lost the stamps & pads

3. Hand-drawn house map is definitely needed, had google maps printout one year which was rejected another year they insisted on the GPS location being added, I kind of forgot next year and nobody said anything.

 

I dunno what stamps you're talking about. The TM.7 you download here has no stamps.

 

https://www.immigration.go.th/en/?page_id=3202

 

And you can fill it out using an online .pdf editor. I have an older docx format, still good.

 

Nor do the IOs stamp my documents. They use a yellow highlighter to indicate they've checked critical dates.

 

If your office uses its own pre-stamped forms, I'd get a blank copy, scan it to .pdf, fill it out (yearly) w/ .pdf editor, and drop by a print shop to print it in color. I'll do most anything (except pay an agent, ha ha) to avoid filling out a form and especially filling out one by hand.

 

 

 

 

[Scouse123]

23 hours ago, likerdup1 said:

I've done my immigration business for the last 11 years myself.

 

I am on my fourth Non-O Visa with a 1 year extension of stay. Three times before in Chonburi (first time in 2012) and this last time in Bangkok done at Chang Wattana Division 1 completed yesterday.

 

Why do others do immigration business themselves? I do it because I don't want to be involved in graft, be attached to an agent and pay a lot of extra money for what amounts to about $100 an hour for my time if I paid an agent.

 

Why do you do your immigration business yourself?

 

 

I do it for the same reasons as you do, plus it just isn't difficult to do.

[Mike Lister]

3 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

 

 

I do it for the same reasons as you do, plus it just isn't difficult to do.

I love it when posters think that everyone else in the country will have the same experience as them and that behaviours at all Immi offices are identical.

[Andycoops]

To save paying people for nothing.

Also for me it's a day out because my provinces IO is 90kms away and I can do some shopping eat in a restaurant at Robinson's.

The time spent going is immaterial to my lifestyle.

[Will B Good]

1 minute ago, Andycoops said:

To save paying people for nothing.

Also for me it's a day out because my provinces IO is 90kms away and I can do some shopping eat in a restaurant at Robinson's.

The time spent going is immaterial to my lifestyle.

555.....Chaiyaphum by any chance?

[Scouse123]

35 minutes ago, Mike Lister said:

I love it when posters think that everyone else in the country will have the same experience as them and that behaviours at all Immi offices are identical.

 

 

I didn't say people didn't have different experiences. And I have experience of dealing with Pattaya, (both the old immigration offices in town and the new immigration offices at Jomtien), Khonkaen, Sakon Nakhon, Bangkok and Kalasin.

 

Before Kalasin opened the new Immigration office, I used to have to trek to Sakon Nakhon, a fair distance from my house, where there was a particularly corrupt captain.

 

We used to get there in the morning, and he would make us wait until mid-afternoon, he wasn't busy, nor was the office, but wanted money under the table to do his job.

 

My determination not to pay it was equal to his, even if it meant inconveniencing myself.

 

So, what is your point?

[Mike Teavee]

I pay an agent 8,000B (includes the 1,900B immigration fee so 6,100B really) to do my extension purely for the convenience of not having to do it myself (though I do turn up on the day for a quick photo).
 

Some might say I’m wasting money to which I’d reply, show me your spending & I’ll point out where (in my eyes) you’re wasting money, classic example being my 2 mates giving me a lecture about exactly this whilst puffing away on their 150B per day habit (6,100B pa wouldn’t  even cover a pack a week).

 

End of the day it’s “To each his own”. 

Edited December 28, 2023 by Mike Teavee

[donmuang37]

I've been doing my own extensions of stay for 21 years at Chiang Wattana with the assistance of my Thai wife.  The first two years, retirement so I couldn't work.  Changed to supporting Thai wife since then.  Sometimes the queues are fairly long and occasionally we have to run and make an extra copy of something.  Parking can be a little difficult.  But, overall, the Immigration Officers have been fair and polite.  No problems in 21 years.  None!  Happy with the service.

Why should I pay an agent??

[Irish star]

On 12/27/2023 at 11:44 AM, brianthainess said:

Do everything myself marriage extension, it's one day a year of stress but I get over that, what annoyed me this year was the officer trying to get me to do the retirement extension, yet again, and complains to ME it too much paperwork for the married one, I told her it's you and your office that makes that problem not me!

Is there actually any other office with so many rules in Thailand than TRAT? everything must be dated the same day and must take your witness along. I may add photos have to be glossy.

And then to cap it off the TM47 x 2 that wants all the same info on your PP copies and you must write your age 'coz their to dumb to work it out. with exactly the same questions top and bottom. 

 

They hate doing Marriage visas 

[brianthainess]

1 minute ago, Irish star said:

They hate doing Marriage visas 

So right you are, and yet it is them whom make all the overkill paperwork,  I leave with a smug grin, as I know they will spend the next 30min + scanning it all on to their computers, which they could have done by just scanning the originals in the first place. Dumb and Dummer.

 

[Felton Jarvis]

On 12/27/2023 at 10:49 AM, Mike Lister said:

Two other incidents were the catalyst for me to change. The first was when an IO opened my passport and stamped my new visa and skipped several blank pages,. I looked at him in amazement and asked him why he did that. He didn't answer, just tossed my passport across the desk, at me. The second was when an IO at Swampy miss dated my stay until date and tried to correct it with a pen but I didn't notice until much later. When I went to Immi to try and correct the problem, the officer made a very big and loud deal about me making changes to my visa and that was fraudulent and I could go to jail. This was in a room of some 50 or so people waiting to extend their visa's. There was nothing I could do or say except that I hadn't made the changes, he obviously thought  it was funny to intimidate a farang publically.... f'wit.

Laos and Cambodia are easier and lack the open hatred of farang. Visas are a breeze in both.  True, the medical situation is not up to the standard of Thailand, but there's never any question of getting to stay, It's simple fee for service, as it should be.

[BigStar]

1 hour ago, Mike Teavee said:

Some might say I’m wasting money to which I’d reply, show me your spending & I’ll point out where (in my eyes) you’re wasting money, classic example being my 2 mates giving me a lecture about exactly this whilst puffing away on their 150B per day habit (6,100B pa wouldn’t  even cover a pack a week).

 

But your 2 mates would deny they're wasting money. Surely you've heard the saying,

 

I spent most of my money on beer & women. The rest I just wasted.

 

So, do it yourself, spend the B1,900 on the extension and the leftover 6,000 on hookers and blow and call it day.

 

 

[foreverlomsak]

2 hours ago, BigStar said:

I dunno what stamps you're talking about. The TM.7 you download here has no stamps.

Correct the TM7 download has no stamps on it, they are added by the IO while processing your application, there are 3 I think, as they are for the IO I've not paid much attention.

[BigStar]

1 minute ago, foreverlomsak said:

Correct the TM7 download has no stamps on it, they are added by the IO while processing your application, there are 3 I think, as they are for the IO I've not paid much attention.

 

So then their form is the same as the download. Now I'm not clear why you can't use the TM.7 download yourself (as described above) and the IO can add the stamps to that.

[foreverlomsak]

3 hours ago, KhunLA said:

That's IO office location dependent.

As is most things you do, like the need for a 12 month bank statement, when you've already given them a copy of your bank book and there not happy with pages covering the last 2 years they need the whole book which goes all the way back to 2014.