VFS and the Thai immigration Bureau

[Muhendis]

I have a visa extension to do in the not too distant future so I decided to look at arranging an appointment at the Buriram immigration office.

That bit of the web site seems to be non-functional but what I did find was as follows.

It seems that VFS is becoming the preferred agency for document handling on behalf of the immigration bureau.

Although this doesn't apply to me this is news to me. 

Any body seen this before?

Visa categories and Document Information

2.3 Necessity to Stay and Work in A Government Section, State Enterprise or Other Government Agency

Criteria for Consideration

1. Foreigners are required to have a stamp for temporary stay.
2. Receipt of Affidavit or request from the agency or organization.

See Documents needed →

At the Immigration office

As soon as you arrive at immigration with the approved E-Extension visa, follow the steps mentioned below:

• Go to the E-Extension area at immigration and join the queue to the E-Extension counter
• Present the necessary required documents and passport to the officer
• Get the E-Extension visa stamp

Add note: Please be informed that the application process will be completed successfully after applicant get sticker visa at immigration.

Visa fees

The fee payment is the last step of your application process after submitting your details and the other mandatory documents. The fees paid for E-Extension visa would be (NON – refundable online processing fee, inclusive of all charges) as follows:
 

Visa fee: 1,900 THB

 

Service fee as following:

• Regular Service fee: 500 THB to get your E-Extension decision within the next 7 business days.
• Express Service fee: 1,500 THB to get your E-Extension decision within the next 3 business days.

• Super urgent service fee: 5,000 THB *You can also apply for a super urgent service, to get your E-Extension decision within the next day (only business day).

[sandyf]

Yes, it is to do with the e-Extension arrangement that came in a couple of years ago. Run of the mill visas for most expats are not included hence not been much debate.

I have been dealing with VFS since 2009 and not the most ethical of companies, a bit concerning to see them get a foot in the door.

[Muhendis]

8 minutes ago, sandyf said:

Yes, it is to do with the e-Extension arrangement that came in a couple of years ago. Run of the mill visas for most expats are not included hence not been much debate.

I have been dealing with VFS since 2009 and not the most ethical of companies, a bit concerning to see them get a foot in the door.

I wonder how long it will be before VFS will be the "go to" place for us run of the mill folks. Nice if they can speed things up with regard to the 30 day wait for extension approval but there would probably be a sizable fee for that.

[sandyf]

12 minutes ago, Muhendis said:

I wonder how long it will be before VFS will be the "go to" place for us run of the mill folks. Nice if they can speed things up with regard to the 30 day wait for extension approval but there would probably be a sizable fee for that.

Fees are the main priority for  VFS rather than service.

As far as the 30 days is concerned I can't see them circumventing the need to send it to head office so any "priority" service may well be minimal.

When I did my extension recently I was given a phone number and told to check before coming for the 12 month stamp. My wife phoned them twice a day for 3 days before getting a positive reply. One of the IOs told her there was a backlog as they were having to investigate agent applications a bit more to ensure funds were not being manipulated. If there is any validity in that there would be an argument for a 2 tier approach irrespective of VFS.

[Muhendis]

The two tier approach has occured to me also but with something else in mind.

I was thinking along the lines of a visa similar to the one my wife had when we were resident in the UK.

She had an indefinite leave to remain visa. She worked and paid taxes etc. 

I would like to see something similar available to long term non-Thais who are full time resident and contributing to the Thai economy.

Probably never going to happen but it would be nice.

[Maestro]

The text quoted in the OP is not from the website of the Immigration Bureau.

 

As far as I know, applicants for an extension of stay, which the VFS website seems to mean when they write "visa extension", continue to have the choice of applying directly at the local immigration office.

[Muhendis]

The text quoted in the OP is not from the website of the Immigration Bureau.

 

Actually it is from the website if the immigration bureau.

To find it you need to go to the URL below and click on the E-Extension bit.

https://buriram.immigration.go.th/index.php/th-th/

 

Please note the follo0wing 

2.3 Necessity to Stay and Work in A Government Section, State Enterprise or Other Government Agency

It applies only to those foreigners working for the Thai government in Thailand and enables fast track treatment for such.

[Maestro]

7 hours ago, Muhendis said:

...Actually it is from the website if the immigration bureau.

To find it you need to go to the URL below and click on the E-Extension bit.

https://buriram.immigration.go.th/index.php/th-th

...

 

Something must be wrong with my phone. Tapping on the link you posted displays none of the text quoted in th OP.

[Liverpool Lou]

On 2/9/2024 at 3:37 PM, sandyf said:

I have been dealing with VFS since 2009 and not the most ethical of companies

What is it that makes VFS "not ethical"?

[Liverpool Lou]

On 2/9/2024 at 4:21 PM, sandyf said:

Fees are the main priority for VFS rather than service.

Obviously.  It is a commercial business.

[Lemsta69]

6 hours ago, Maestro said:

 

Something must be wrong with my phone. Tapping on the link you posted displays none of the text quoted in th OP.

 

You have to click on the e-extension dialog box on the Buriram Immigration landing page which then redirects to https://thaiextension.vfsevisa.com/

 

Then click on the 'How to apply' button which redirects to https://thaiextension.vfsevisa.com/information

 

So yeah, not on the Immi website at all as you said from the get-go.

[sandyf]

10 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Obviously.  It is a commercial business.

Wrong it is a government supported business. Pritti Patel lied to the House when she said she was doing everything she could for Ukraine refugees, VFS was calling the shots.

Any commercial business has to put service first or they will not have a business.

[sandyf]

20 hours ago, Maestro said:

The text quoted in the OP is not from the website of the Immigration Bureau.

No the text quoted by the OP is on the VFS site https://thaiextension.vfsevisa.com/information and replicated on other sites.

 

The VFS site is linked on this Immigration site promoting the E-Extension.

https://www.immigration.go.th/?avada_portfolio=15-sep-2022-electronics-extension-of-temporary-stay-in-the-kingdom-e-extension#service

 

The URL used by VFS is misleading in that it uses "evisa" as opposed to "e-extension" which could be confused with the MFA e-visa platform.

[Liverpool Lou]

4 hours ago, sandyf said:

15 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Obviously.  It is a commercial business.

Wrong it is a government supported business.

Wrong, it is a private, commercial business with contracts from various governments, owned by Blackstone.

"About Us

Who are we?

VFS Global is a commercial company..." 

 

"What is VFS UK Thailand?

The UK VFS in Thailand is a third party company that collaborates with UK Visas and Immigration..."

Edited February 11 by Liverpool Lou

[sandyf]

2 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Wrong, it is a private, commercial business with contracts from various governments, owned by Blackstone.

There is one born every day, no government ever does business on a commercial basis.

The word used in the last statement nearer the truth, a bunch of collaborators.

[Muhendis]

My original comments seem to have fallen by the wayside.

Curiosity got the better of me, which is not difficult since most things seem to get the better of me these days.

I had a look on the internet for VFS Global and this is what came up.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VFS_Global

 

Regardless of the bad vibes mentioned about VFS, I am very happy they did my passport renewal for me.

 

[Maestro]

13 hours ago, Lemsta69 said:

 

You have to click on the e-extension dialog box on the Buriram Immigration landing page which then redirects to https://thaiextension.vfsevisa.com/

 

Then click on the 'How to apply' button which redirects to https://thaiextension.vfsevisa.com/information

 

So yeah, not on the Immi website at all as you said from the get-go.

 

Thank you. 

 

It makes one wonder whether VFS pays the Buriram immigration office an advertising fee for the placement of the link to their site on a page  of the official website of the Buriram immigration office.

 

P.S. It's even worse. The VFS link and an abvertising message about a special inaugural offer are on a page of the Immigration Bureau's official website immigration.go.th, not just on the site of a provincial office.

 

Edited February 11 by Maestro
added postscript

[Liverpool Lou]

2 hours ago, sandyf said:

4 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Wrong, it is a private, commercial business with contracts from various governments, owned by Blackstone.

There is one born every day, no government ever does business on a commercial basis.

The word used in the last statement nearer the truth, a bunch of collaborators.

There is, indeed, one born every minute, VFS is not a government agency, it is a private organisation that has government-contracted business.  VFS is a commercial business.

[sandyf]

15 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

There is, indeed, one born every minute, VFS is not a government agency, it is a private organisation that has government-contracted business.  VFS is a commercial business.

It is against the forum rules to make things up, at no time have ever said VFS was a government agency. I won't hold my breath on an apology.

VFS is a government puppet and has flourished on gross profiteering. UK Home Office turned a blind eye to the data breach and the offshore status in pursuit of profit and in doing so created a global problem. Ukrainian refugees suffered huge delays because VFS couldn't or wouldn't handle an issue that was the responsibility of the UK government, but you want to shrug that off as commercial business.

The OP is the tip of the iceberg and in due course we will all rue the day Thailand allowed them in the door.

 

Under the contract, obtained by Finance Uncovered through a Freedom of Information request, the Home Office pays VFS contract fees; it also shares the extra revenue derived by VFS from charging applicants these new premium services.

And the UK’s contract was not with “VFS Global”, but with VF Worldwide Holdings, a company registered in Mauritius – an African tax haven where obtaining useful annual corporate accounts is not possible.

https://www.financeuncovered.org/stories/vfs-the-exploitative-dubai-based-firm-fuelling-a-massive-surge-in-home-office-profits-from-uk-visas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sandyf]

17 hours ago, Muhendis said:

Regardless of the bad vibes mentioned about VFS, I am very happy they did my passport renewal for me.

 

It was a bit coincidental  that the HO took overseas passports away from the FCO and gave them to VFS in 2014.

 

In 2014 it won a major contract with the UK to administer around 70% of the UK’s visa applications.

https://www.financeuncovered.org/stories/vfs-the-exploitative-dubai-based-firm-fuelling-a-massive-surge-in-home-office-profits-from-uk-visas

 

I was one of the first customers in April 2014, had to get the Embassy to intervene to get my passport back.

Went back to UK in Sept to do the renewal.

Unfortunately not so easy with visas. since 2009 I have done 11 UK visitor visas, one Canadian and 4 Shengen through VFS and have had a few problems over the years, very difficult company to deal with.

[OJAS]

20 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

"What is VFS UK Thailand?

The UK VFS in Thailand is a third party company that collaborates with UK Visas and Immigration..."

 

And also collaborates closely with His Majesty's Passport Office in making the passport renewal process for local British expats just as cumbersomely, bureaucratically and awkwardly difficult as is humanly possible. A "task" in which it excels itself supremely.

 

[Maestro]

Too many bickering posts.

[treetops]

1 hour ago, Maestro said:

Too many bickering posts.

 

Are you sure?

[Maestro]

4 hours ago, treetops said:

 

Are you sure?

 

Thank you.