The downhill trajectory of Chiang Mai immigration

[Packer]

Well, that young Chinese woman did pay 7k, or was it 70k, for a police car escort from Swampy to Pattaya a few years ago. 

 

Just go the agent route, the expensive ones, and it could probably be done like that, perhaps on official 'medical grounds'. I'm sure 50k would see them come to your home and take care of everything.

[CMBob]

2 hours ago, NorthernRyland said:

 

It was inside the mall in its own room surely it had AC. They had overflow in the outside area but that was inside the mall too. I remember it all having AC as you would expect in a mall.

 

That's not the way it was initially.  I do remember (same as Worgeordie) that when the airport Immigration building closed, we had to get to Promenada very early and had to queue up outside with the hope of ending up with a reasonable queue number so we could get the annual extension before the staff's lunch break.  There were even people claiming they actually showed up at 3-4AM and said even then that there were agents (or their "sitters")  already sitting in the first seats with a bagful of passports and various Immigration paperwork.   

Later (once new Immigration building was finished?), the office at Promenada moved upstairs.....but, if I recall right, they no longer did annual extensions out there (not 100% sure of that as from that point on I only went to the airport Immigration building).  

[novacova]

19 hours ago, NorthernRyland said:

 

Not saying it's the worst thing in the world just reflecting on how it's gotten worse over the years and will continue on this path. It's trend in the city and something to consider.

Things tend to get worse for those who tend/refuse to adapt and search for stuff to complain about. Nothing to complain about here for the one day a year at the cm io, though it’s remarkable that some retired folks have rough time finding a quarter-half day out of their busy schedule to do an extension. & hanging on to the past is of absolute no value, it’s gone for good so get over it.

[Will B Good]

The worst aspect for me is no queuing system at all (Chaiyaphum)......people take a seat and just hope they might get the call, might catch someone's eye........we've been in and out in no time and other times been sat there for hours.

 

 

[NorthernRyland]

7 hours ago, NotEinstein said:

At that time people were having to extend etc. at CMI from all over northern Thailand. Just before the Promenada period other Imm branches were opened, e.g. Lamphun, Chiang Rai, so the volume dropped significantly. When 'Big Joke' was in charge of Imm. there was also a huge improvement of service. The IOs were complaining of having to work extra hours for free.....

 

That's interesting thanks. Do the guys way out in Fang all go to the same immigration? That would really suck, you'd have to make a full day trip. 

[NorthernRyland]

6 hours ago, JimGant said:

It was joined at the hip with the parking lot. Thus, not in the AC bubble of the mall.

Yeah I remember it was on the ground floor but within glass. I don't see how they couldn't have AC in there. It would be unbearable otherwise.

[NorthernRyland]

5 hours ago, CMBob said:

That's not the way it was initially.  I do remember (same as Worgeordie) that when the airport Immigration building closed, we had to get to Promenada very early and had to queue up outside with the hope of ending up with a reasonable queue number so we could get the annual extension before the staff's lunch break.  There were even people claiming they actually showed up at 3-4AM and said even then that there were agents (or their "sitters")  already sitting in the first seats with a bagful of passports and various Immigration paperwork.   

 

 

It's been a while now so I don't remember if there was queueing outside but that does kind of ring of bell. 

 

I don't understand the early arrivers unless that's just their schedule anyways. Worst case is you arrive late and miss the lunch break and have to come back. This sucks too because it's another hour of waiting but that's what I'd prefer.

 

Actually I found out for simple extensions I was able to arrive in the afternoon and this beat the crowds because most people were so determined to be the first ones there. Maybe this only works for tourist visa extensions though. I just started doing non-O marriage extensions two ago so I don't have much experience there.

[Nick Carter icp]

1 minute ago, NorthernRyland said:

 

It's been a while now so I don't remember if there was queueing outside but that does kind of ring of bell. 

I don't understand the early arrivers unless that's just their schedule anyways.

 

   They used to serve 50 people per day , and they handed out 50 numbers to the first people in the queue and if you didn't get a ticket, you wouldn't be served that day and you would have to come back the next day and try again . 

   Had to get in the queue by 3 AM to likely get a ticket 

[NorthernRyland]

2 hours ago, novacova said:

Things tend to get worse for those who tend/refuse to adapt and search for stuff to complain about. Nothing to complain about here for the one day a year at the cm io, though it’s remarkable that some retired folks have rough time finding a quarter-half day out of their busy schedule to do an extension. & hanging on to the past is of absolute no value, it’s gone for good so get over it.

 

You can move to other places besides CM though so it's good to consider these things. It's not just immigration, all manor of things become less tenable every year so it's good to keep an eye on the trend and act accordingly.

 

 

[NorthernRyland]

2 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

   They used to serve 50 people per day , and they handed out 50 numbers to the first people in the queue and if you didn't get a ticket, you wouldn't be served that day and you would have to come back the next day and try again . 

   Had to get in the queue by 3 AM to likely get a ticket 

 

Man that's horrible. I wonder why I never had problem. All I had were various kinds of tourists visas back then so maybe they allocated enough of those.

 

Glad to hear immigration is now working better for you guys at least.

[NorthernRyland]

2 hours ago, Will B Good said:

The worst aspect for me is no queuing system at all (Chaiyaphum)......people take a seat and just hope they might get the call, might catch someone's eye........we've been in and out in no time and other times been sat there for hours.

 

 

Thailand really needs to have queues otherwise people swarm and get anxious. Ever see an intersection where the traffic light fails? Suddenly people have no idea how to take turns and it becomes a total free for all with pushing and shoving. It's a really interesting insight into the culture and how well they trust and respect each other.

[Magictoad]

Just send one of your kids to do it!

[Nick Carter icp]

2 minutes ago, NorthernRyland said:

 

Man that's horrible. I wonder why I never had problem. All I had were various kinds of tourists visas back then so maybe they allocated enough of those.

 

Glad to hear immigration is now working better for you guys at least.

 

   Immigration used to serve everyone who showed up and often stayed open to 6 PM and later .

   They then began working to rule and just limiting the amount of customers they could serve per day and closing on time .

   Then not everyone could get served

[Magictoad]

2 minutes ago, NorthernRyland said:

 

Thailand really needs to have queues otherwise people swarm and get anxious. Ever see an intersection where the traffic light fails? Suddenly people have no idea how to take turns and it becomes a total free for all with pushing and shoving. It's a really interesting insight into the culture and how well they trust and respect each other.

I don't think that is particularly true of Thailand. You notice it because you're living here. It would be the same in London or New York if the lights failed.

[Magictoad]

2 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   Immigration used to serve everyone who showed up and often stayed open to 6 PM and later .

   They then began working to rule and just limiting the amount of customers they could serve per day and closing on time .

   Then not everyone could get served

"Working to rule" instead of staying behind and "Working For Free".

What would you choose?

[Nick Carter icp]

Just now, Magictoad said:

"Working to rule" instead of staying behind and "Working For Free".

What would you choose?

 

   I agreed with them , they should be going home at 5 PM . not working overtime every night 

[NorthernRyland]

9 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   Immigration used to serve everyone who showed up and often stayed open to 6 PM and later .

   They then began working to rule and just limiting the amount of customers they could serve per day and closing on time .

   Then not everyone could get served

I don't blame them it just shows the stress on the system. I've always been treated well but there's a tension in the air, tourists included.

 

The influx of Chinese was unexpected also but they did respond nicely by having on-sight translators for them as many seem to not speak English. That must be really frustrating for the IO's too. 

[NorthernRyland]

11 minutes ago, Magictoad said:

I don't think that is particularly true of Thailand. You notice it because you're living here. It would be the same in London or New York if the lights failed.

 

Those cities are filled with immigrants and just random people from everywhere so sure low trust I bet. In the rest of established America if the light fails people revert to the rules at any intersection without a light, which is taking turns, i.e. first in last out.

 

That's what Thailand doesn't have. Any interaction without a light defaults to pushing and shoving. That's just how they are.

[dutch boy]

You could just hire an agent and pay the 2000 BAHT fine and never do the 90 day report. The agent will also go to the Immigration office while you can just relax. I never do the 90 day report or keep 800,000 BAHT in the bank or visit the Immigration office as long as you I have agents to do this.