New Samut Prakan Immi office, anyone been?

[proton]

Shut for a couple of years now re opened on April first in the original location, total rebuild by the look of it. Is it an improvement, any unexpected new problems? In the original tiny building about 20 years ago they told me they did not really do extensions and to go to Bkk, even though I did not live there. Happily things have got a lot better over the years.

[Kwaibill]

The building seems well laid out. The lift is not obvious, but on asking and because I am obviously disabled we were directed to one in the non public area.

Absolutely no improvement of the dismal parking situation. Again, my obvious decrepitude came into play with some of the vendors there. They cleared a spot on their “turf” and allowed us to park within a cripple’s walking range.

[john donson]

you did not take a picture to share here ?

 

are the same grumpy officers at work, playing phones ?

 

14 desks in bang phlee and only 1 or 2 that actually worked, the rest busy with ...

 

5 hours last time , it took

[proton]

8 hours ago, john donson said:

you did not take a picture to share here ?

 

are the same grumpy officers at work, playing phones ?

 

14 desks in bang phlee and only 1 or 2 that actually worked, the rest busy with ...

 

5 hours last time , it took

 

Going tomorrow, hopefully not - want all PP pages copied even blank ones. Next year I went in with them all done and was accused of wasting the IO's time, you can never win !

[watthong]

Whereaas before it was a big-gish room, now it's an L-shaped room with 2 monitors one at each end. Interestingly, instead of showing the queue number progression, one was playing in loop a swiss train running through snow-covered mountains...the other one luckily was doing what it was supposed to be doing.

 

When you come "into" the premises, the outer room (non-air) has an info counter toward the back. The young trainees will check your documents then if all kosher they'll give you a number. (This area is also the place where in the end you are buzzed to come to and collect your newly stamped passport.) You then go through the sliding door to the L-shaped room (air-con,) more cramped and awkwardly set up than ever b4, and wait for your number to be called. You then go through your interview window where you pay if approved, then the next one to take picture, etc. Of course they still have you go through the routine of running out to make a copy of your receipt which they just issued to you. Finally, they'll give you a buzzer to hold and wait for it to buzz (quite loudly.) At this stage you can hang out either outer room or inner room or go upstairs (I haven't check that one out - looks more like a loft than a floor.)

 

I went in the middle of the week, after lunch. Unfortunely the one number b4 me was an agent handling a group of Chinese workers, 7 or 8 of them. Thus an hour-plus wait, but at least people didn't have to fight for seats. Whereas if you come Monday or Friday I'm sure there'd be more of a flea market atmosphere. One good thing is that the staff including the IO were pretty expedient.

[Heavy Metal]

For the last few years I have used Udon Thani Immigration Office and it is the best and fastest service I have had anywhere. No photocopies, no filling in forms just hand over my passport straight onto the computer and out the building in 2 minutes. Now I am back in Samut Prakan with the insistence on an overload of form filling and more photocopies than I can shake a stick at. Go to this desk, go to that desk,  go back for more photocopies, Power of Attorney, more photocopies, another desk and finally get a queue number. Wait and wait and wait until it's always coffee break time when my number should come up. Actually it was so much better in the temporary accommodation at the Market on Thepharak Road facing Big C. Surely there must be a better system that doesn't involve the destruction of a small forest on a weekly basis providing photocopies. 

[proton]

54 minutes ago, watthong said:

Whereaas before it was a big-gish room, now it's an L-shaped room with 2 monitors one at each end. Interestingly, instead of showing the queue number progression, one was playing in loop a swiss train running through snow-covered mountains...the other one luckily was doing what it was supposed to be doing.

 

When you come "into" the premises, the outer room (non-air) has an info counter toward the back. The young trainees will check your documents then if all kosher they'll give you a number. (This area is also the place where in the end you are buzzed to come to and collect your newly stamped passport.) You then go through the sliding door to the L-shaped room (air-con,) more cramped and awkwardly set up than ever b4, and wait for your number to be called. You then go through your interview window where you pay if approved, then the next one to take picture, etc. Of course they still have you go through the routine of running out to make a copy of your receipt which they just issued to you. Finally, they'll give you a buzzer to hold and wait for it to buzz (quite loudly.) At this stage you can hang out either outer room or inner room or go upstairs (I haven't check that one out - looks more like a loft than a floor.)

 

I went in the middle of the week, after lunch. Unfortunely the one number b4 me was an agent handling a group of Chinese workers, 7 or 8 of them. Thus an hour-plus wait, but at least people didn't have to fight for seats. Whereas if you come Monday or Friday I'm sure there'd be more of a flea market atmosphere. One good thing is that the staff including the IO were pretty expedient.

 

Thanks for that, sounds much the same then

[proton]

9 minutes ago, Heavy Metal said:

For the last few years I have used Udon Thani Immigration Office and it is the best and fastest service I have had anywhere. No photocopies, no filling in forms just hand over my passport straight onto the computer and out the building in 2 minutes. Now I am back in Samut Prakan with the insistence on an overload of form filling and more photocopies than I can shake a stick at. Go to this desk, go to that desk,  go back for more photocopies, Power of Attorney, more photocopies, another desk and finally get a queue number. Wait and wait and wait until it's always coffee break time when my number should come up. Actually it was so much better in the temporary accommodation at the Market on Thepharak Road facing Big C. Surely there must be a better system that doesn't involve the destruction of a small forest on a weekly basis providing photocopies. 

 

Showed them the TM30 entry on the phone once, their own website, no good, had to go and print it out, signed of course and probably with my phone number on as well.

[proton]

17 hours ago, Heavy Metal said:

For the last few years I have used Udon Thani Immigration Office and it is the best and fastest service I have had anywhere. No photocopies, no filling in forms just hand over my passport straight onto the computer and out the building in 2 minutes. Now I am back in Samut Prakan with the insistence on an overload of form filling and more photocopies than I can shake a stick at. Go to this desk, go to that desk,  go back for more photocopies, Power of Attorney, more photocopies, another desk and finally get a queue number. Wait and wait and wait until it's always coffee break time when my number should come up. Actually it was so much better in the temporary accommodation at the Market on Thepharak Road facing Big C. Surely there must be a better system that doesn't involve the destruction of a small forest on a weekly basis providing photocopies. 

 

Nightmare, worst ever. After waiting 90 mins for the Chinese pushing in with agents to clear up, at window 2. First she says no phone number on the form- there is, then no TM30 there is but she will not look for it gives me the pile to dig it out -oh sorry. Then she wants all the pages with stamps copied, that's not one of the asked for items, she says it is. Worst of all although the bank book shows over a million since that last extension she needs to see the bank book before, used in the extension last June, no have. So had to come all the 25k home and have to go again tomorrow. I will have to update the book again and they will probably want a new bank letter.

Either the girls checking the documents were not doing it properly or this officer was being very awkward. mrs seems to think its my fault!

[proton]

19 hours ago, watthong said:

Whereaas before it was a big-gish room, now it's an L-shaped room with 2 monitors one at each end. Interestingly, instead of showing the queue number progression, one was playing in loop a swiss train running through snow-covered mountains...the other one luckily was doing what it was supposed to be doing.

 

When you come "into" the premises, the outer room (non-air) has an info counter toward the back. The young trainees will check your documents then if all kosher they'll give you a number. (This area is also the place where in the end you are buzzed to come to and collect your newly stamped passport.) You then go through the sliding door to the L-shaped room (air-con,) more cramped and awkwardly set up than ever b4, and wait for your number to be called. You then go through your interview window where you pay if approved, then the next one to take picture, etc. Of course they still have you go through the routine of running out to make a copy of your receipt which they just issued to you. Finally, they'll give you a buzzer to hold and wait for it to buzz (quite loudly.) At this stage you can hang out either outer room or inner room or go upstairs (I haven't check that one out - looks more like a loft than a floor.)

 

I went in the middle of the week, after lunch. Unfortunely the one number b4 me was an agent handling a group of Chinese workers, 7 or 8 of them. Thus an hour-plus wait, but at least people didn't have to fight for seats. Whereas if you come Monday or Friday I'm sure there'd be more of a flea market atmosphere. One good thing is that the staff including the IO were pretty expedient.

 

This agent lark is getting out of hand, same for me today, no line numbers they just go straight to the window. Over 2 years and millions of baht and it looks no larger or better than before, they have added toilets though. Soon as I sat down there was a power cut. Have to go again tomorrow, they would not do the extension. Girls giving out the numbers passed all the docs, IO said no!

[watthong]

On 6/11/2024 at 9:02 PM, Heavy Metal said:

Actually it was so much better in the temporary accommodation at the Market on Thepharak Road facing Big C.

 

I agree, and that Bic C was a godsend after the ordeal. But "nothing good is gonna last forever..." btw,  after my 1st year at Samut Prakan the original, I LONGED for Chaeng Wattana, and that's saying something!

Edited June 12 by watthong

[proton]

Went again the added documents, not even looked at! More agents walking straight in with no line numbers.

Mrs helped a guy out from Atlanta Georgia trying to extend his 30 day stamp for another 30 days, I thought this was easy! First they send him to the residence notification, they wont do it without a receipt from his hotel even though he has proof he's staying there, hotel wont send him one. Mrs rings them up and they do email it, she gets that printed out. Back to residence window who then send him down to visa extensions. They give him 4 forms to fill in and tell him what PP copies they want. Mrs fills the forms in for him and got him in the right queue. Think I would have given up. Maybe they want people to use agents?

[DrJack54]

7 minutes ago, proton said:

First they send him to the residence notification, they wont do it without a receipt from his hotel even though he has proof he's staying there, hotel wont send him one.

You complain about your troubles with immigration is couple of threads and now this.

It's plastered almost daily on AseanNow that a TM30 is required for 30 day extension..

The guy you referred to was not prepared. 

[proton]

4 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

You complain about your troubles with immigration is couple of threads and now this.

It's plastered almost daily on AseanNow that a TM30 is required for 30 day extension..

The guy you referred to was not prepared. 

No he was not and had never heard of it, or Asean now, good job we were there. Surely the hotel should have done a TM30 and just given him a copy?

Edited June 14 by proton

[DrJack54]

4 minutes ago, proton said:

. Surely the hotel should have done a TM30 and just given him a copy?

The hotel would give him copy of screenshot of TM30 if he asked.

Doesn't need AseanNow 

Clearly the guy didn't even do simple Google search of requirements for 30 day extension. 

Then blame immigration office 

[proton]

20 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

The hotel would give him copy of screenshot of TM30 if he asked.

Doesn't need AseanNow 

Clearly the guy didn't even do simple Google search of requirements for 30 day extension. 

Then blame immigration office 

 

Turns out he did have a TM30 receipt from the hotel with the immigration logo on it, but they wanted his receipt for payment. he showed them the payment via boooking.com but that was not good enough. Is that a requirement, or up to office/officer? If they want to encourage tourism they need to make things easier and the same at every office.