So Fed Up With New Bangkok Immigration Location

[Gaccha]

So I went for my 90 day notification to the spacious Bangkok Immigration Office. On arrival I immediately requested a complaints form. There are no complaints forms. So I complained about that, and was given a back of a fax sheet to fill in and pop in a Suggestions Box at the exit of the immigration office. I wrote something like this on it:

The journey from my central Bangkok location took me over 2 hours to get here. I typically then have to wait and waste around 1 hour before I can leave. It costs around 200 baht to get here even with a considerable tolerance of walking and sunshine. I come all this way, for all that money, to tell you that I have nothing to tell you. The process is then time-consuming, expensive, and pointless.

Please either:

1. return to the central bangkok location

2. create a website based 90 day notification procedure, or scrap the process

3. allow all 1 year visa holders to use the One Stop Shop in central Bangkok. This was allowed until the catastrophic move of the office to this useless location that led to a massive increase in numbers

I implore you all to join me in this. Please write a complaint and hopefully things will be changed. :jap:

[RKASA]

You can mail in a 90 day report.

[klauswernst198]

If you live in a centric Location in Bangkok it takes somewhere between 60 - 90 minutes to go there and cost 60 Baht you just have to know how to do it

1.) Take the BTS to Mochit Station (maximum fare 40 Baht) Takes a maximum of 30 minutes even if you live at On Nut station which is the furthest away from Mochit

2.) Take the Minivan cost is (15 - 20 Baht) They leave every 5 minute and the trip takes not more than 30 minutes during the day going betwen 13:00 and 14:00 is the best time

3.) The van will drop you off in front of the complex and you can take a free shuttle bus to Immigration.

Once there under one roof you have a efficient System which even during peaktime work much better than Suanplu at its best time. Also without stepping out in the heat or rain you can make copies or go to 7 eleven or even to one of the restaurants.

Compared to Suan plu this location is cheaper to go to by 20 Baht ( Motorbile from Chong nongsi to Suan plu even negotiating hard would cost you at least 40 Baht + 40 for the BTS = 80 Baht

Also the time you spend inside is much less since the process now is much faster than at Suan plu Extension of a tourist visa even doing it at 14:00 at Suan plu it took at least 45 minutes and now you can do it as fast as 15 minutes if you come around 14:00 from Tuesday to Wednesday.

Edited December 1, 2010 by klauswernst198

[Maestro]

From the website of the Immigration Bureau:

Notification by registered mail

1. Copy of all passport pages (up to the latest arrival stamp in the Kingdom or latest visa stamp)
   
2. Copy of arrival/departure card TM.6 (front and back)
   
3. Previous notifications of staying over 90 days (if any)
   
4. Completely filled in and signed notification form TM.47
   
5. Envelope with 5 Baht stamp affixed and return address of foreigner for the officer in charge to send back the lower part of form TM. 47 after having received the notification. This part must be kept for reference and for future notifications of staying over 90 days.
   
6. The above mentioned documents must be sent by registered mail and the receipt of the registration kept by the foreigner.
   Send the mail before the renewal date 7 days to
   90 DAYS REGISTRATION,
   IMMIGRATION DIVISION 1
   120 MOO 3, CHAENGWATTANA ROAD,SOI 7,
   LAKSI, BANGKOK. 10210
   

[PoorSucker]

Som na na.

At least they did not ask you for 5000 baht as in Samui.

[Artisi]

Pleased you have complained, immigration has been waiting on your complaint before they swing into action and change the location of their offfice to suit you.

[beano2274]

I think that you have no valid reason to complain. I live about 5 minutes from the New Immigration office, and it is great, but I cannot use it. I live in Nonthaburi, which is a couple of hundred metres up the road, but it is Nonthaburi, so I have to drive about 30kilometres from my place to my local office.

Suan Phlu was a nightmare for everyone, and reports on here suggest the new office is a lot better.

Hope your wrote your name on your complaint, they might remember it when you go back for an extension....

[mamypoko]

On the bright side, there's that lovely recorded female voice announcing the next number/counter. The way she says "17" has me hypnotized.

[canopy]

I am going to have to go with the OP on this one. I find the new location so incredibly bad that it surprises me there seems to be so few asking why it ended up in the middle of nowhere. It is just hopelessly far away from the rest of Bangkok and just so far out of reach from trains which is astonishing for a facility specifically meant to serve foreigners. It is such an enormous complex the taxi dropped me off at the wrong building far away from the correct one! Even after re-commuting to the correct building immigration occupies just a small pocket inside what seems a million square meters of floor space. I found the queue wait comparable to Suan Plu and perhaps less comfortable with all the announcements and pinging coming from all directions. Restaurants at the new immigration are meager at best which smashed the last hope of trying to salvage something positive about going way out there. Yes Suan Plu was over crowded and smelled bad but if someone gave me the choice between that or wasting a good part of a day driving to the middle of nowhere and back for the same thing I would choose Suan Plu every time. I don't like sitting in Bangkok traffic, much preferring the quickness and convenience of trains so dread those extraordinarily long trips to and from the new immigration building that seems to offer an awful glimpse of what living in Bangkok 20 years ago must have been like.

[beano2274]

Train stops at Laksi, then take a bus or motorcycle to the new complex.

[Guest]

I think that you have no valid reason to complain. I live about 5 minutes from the New Immigration office, and it is great, but I cannot use it. I live in Nonthaburi, which is a couple of hundred metres up the road, but it is Nonthaburi, so I have to drive about 30kilometres from my place to my local office.

Suan Phlu was a nightmare for everyone, and reports on here suggest the new office is a lot better.

Hope your wrote your name on your complaint, they might remember it when you go back for an extension....

Me too (15 minutes), and I would add that before the new office opened those that DON'T live in central Bangkok (and there are plenty of us) had to make that same long trip to Suan Plu for many years. Don't bitch. Its impossible to please everyone and the service(and attitude of the staff)immigration provides has improved hugely over the last year. I can guarantee your complaint has hit the bottom of the garbage bin and you might also find a note tagged to your file. Perhaps you'd like the office to be next door to your place of abode, and to move when ever you do.

Edited December 2, 2010 by Guest

[beano2274]

you can use MRT to Bangsue then take the regular train to Laksi, then buses that stop outside of the train station on Vibhavdi Rangsit go to Immigration, or use a motorcycle

[Gippy]

'Middle of nowhere', 'So far from the rest of Bangkok'. 'Extraordinarily long trips'

You guys don't get out much do you?

I live near the new office and it has never taken over 2 hours to get downtown or home. Did you lose your taxi fare and have to walk?

[Soutpeel]

I see in my crystal ball the OP having problems getting a new extension of stay next year...

Do it by post you silly boy....

[CharlieH]

you can use MRT to Bangsue then take the regular train to Laksi, then buses that stop outside of the train station on Vibhavdi Rangsit go to Immigration, or use a motorcycle

As someone already said somewhere here.............why bother stressing over the transport and the cost and the location and the traffic blah blah blah...........just stick it in an envelope and POST IT ! - done finished, time for a cold beer.

[trogers]

Well, it's new location cannot beat Singapor's, which is in town and next to a MRT station.

[FarangBuddha]

I'm sure the Thai's give a rat's arse where the immigration office is located as by definition, it is not used by them. Like I wouldn't give a hoot where they located such an office in California as I would never have to go there and would in fact prefer that it be built somewhere out in the sticks (maybe Lodi or Merced) as the land and running costs for the facility would be cheaper out there.

[scratt]

Good grief.

Why would anyone complain. It's easy to get to. 20 minutes from BKK. And eminently better then Suan Plu. I send a rep. anyway.

There are far more important things to get worked up about.

[trogers]

I'm sure the Thai's give a rat's arse where the immigration office is located as by definition, it is not used by them. Like I wouldn't give a hoot where they located such an office in California as I would never have to go there and would in fact prefer that it be built somewhere out in the sticks (maybe Lodi or Merced) as the land and running costs for the facility would be cheaper out there.

I did not know that US passports are being issued at your neighborhood's Walmart...

[dave111223]

New location is 1000X better than Suan Plu. Distance wise it's probably only about 25% closer to me, but i can get there in less than half the time, as the traffic is much less and bigger streets.

Parking is abundant, at Suan Plu parking sucked! You had to park all the way down the street in an apartment building and pay ridiculous parking fees (80baht per hour i think it was?)

The new building is impressive; Suan Plu looks like something out of a scene in "Exploring Chernobyl"...

On arrival I immediately requested a complaints form

LOL, can you imagine Somalian guy living on a Visa in the US going into the US immigration office and "immediately requesting a complaint form"....lol we foreigners have some high option of ourselves don't we?

[lopburi3]

I'm sure the Thai's give a rat's arse where the immigration office is located as by definition, it is not used by them. Like I wouldn't give a hoot where they located such an office in California as I would never have to go there and would in fact prefer that it be built somewhere out in the sticks (maybe Lodi or Merced) as the land and running costs for the facility would be cheaper out there.

I did not know that US passports are being issued at your neighborhood's Walmart...

US Passport applications are not an immigration function and application can be made at many locations - http://iafdb.travel.state.gov/

[junkofdavid2]

I immediately requested a complaints form. There are no complaints forms. So I complained about that...

LOL, I hope you then complained that there weren't any complaint forms to complain about there being no complaint forms to begin with.

You seem like a naturally happy guy.

[Digitalbanana]

On the bright side, there's that lovely recorded female voice announcing the next number/counter. The way she says "17" has me hypnotized.

My wife thought it sounded like winning lotto numbers being called out. I could see the irony after having waited over 2hours in the non imm visa queue.

[TAWP]

Worst rant of the week.

Edited December 2, 2010 by Rimmer
Flame

[trogers]

I'm sure the Thai's give a rat's arse where the immigration office is located as by definition, it is not used by them. Like I wouldn't give a hoot where they located such an office in California as I would never have to go there and would in fact prefer that it be built somewhere out in the sticks (maybe Lodi or Merced) as the land and running costs for the facility would be cheaper out there.

I did not know that US passports are being issued at your neighborhood's Walmart...

US Passport applications are not an immigration function and application can be made at many locations - http://iafdb.travel.state.gov/

But Thai and Singapore passports are being issued to locals in the same locations. Thus, local's do give a hoot where it is located.

[samran]

I'm sure the Thai's give a rat's arse where the immigration office is located as by definition, it is not used by them. Like I wouldn't give a hoot where they located such an office in California as I would never have to go there and would in fact prefer that it be built somewhere out in the sticks (maybe Lodi or Merced) as the land and running costs for the facility would be cheaper out there.

So far off the mark, it isn't even funny, as we surely do give a huge rats arse.

- For the spouse that has to tag along for each visa extension based on marriage

- For the multitude of Thai civil servants who work in the building who now can travel to work, usually from outer northern suburbs, who now can avoid having to punch their way through downtown traffic to get to work.

For my family, even though we were located in central BKK, the new location is great, convienent with lots of parking and much better amenities while you are waiting around for the paperwork to be processed

[GarryP]

No problem with the location even though it takes me three times longer to get there on a good day. It is so much better than Suan Plu. Service is quicker, but not friendlier as one poster seems to think. The officer who did my yearly extension was so cold she made ice seem hot, which is very different to my experiences at Suan Plu. Probably just caught her on a bad day though (give her the benefit of the doubt).

I have no problems using public transport so there is no great expense. BTS to Morchit followed by bus for 8 Baht to the entrance to the complex and a nice walk in beside the lakes. I know the complex bus is free and there are motorcycle taxis, but I am one of those strange people who actually enjoy walking and taking in the sights.

After that rosy picture, I must say that I do not see any point in the 90 day report business. I have only been doing it for just over one year, as I feigned ignorance of the whole thing until I could not do so any more, and find it so pointless. I know many others have been doing it since it was introduced, so probably have more reason to complain, but why oh, why is it necessary? I have been living in the same house for the past 9 years. This information is included in my extension each year and yet I still have to let them know I have not moved every 90 days. Wouldn't it make more sense to make a one time report when you change accomodation? Thereafter, the new address will be included in your extension application.

[Guest]

I must say that I do not see any point in the 90 day report business. I have only been doing it for just over one year, as I feigned ignorance of the whole thing until I could not do so any more, and find it so pointless. I know many others have been doing it since it was introduced, so probably have more reason to complain, but why oh, why is it necessary? I have been living in the same house for the past 9 years. This information is included in my extension each year and yet I still have to let them know I have not moved every 90 days. Wouldn't it make more sense to make a one time report when you change accomodation? Thereafter, the new address will be included in your extension application.

Those of who have been here a while can recall that at one time the 90 day reporting was not enforced and no-one bothered about it, until some massive abuses of the immigration system got to the ears of the powers that be and everything was tighten up. Its not our country and if we want to live here we have to accept the rules, whatever we may think of them, and reporting once in three months is no big deal.

[theoldgit]

Have to admit that the idea of being able to do a 90 day report on-line does appeal though.

[onnut]

Pay somebody to go for you and sort everything out. no problems.

I have done that for 8 years now and only have had to go and show my face 3 times. in and out again within 20 minutes.

I think I pay them 1500 baht a time. money well spent.