Monday 7 May was a public holiday, Wednesday 9 May was a government holiday so I knew Tuesday 8 May would be busy but it was the most convenient day I was going to get to Immigration to do my retirement extension, 90 day reporting and get a re-entry permit

I got there at 1:15 PM and there where 150 people ahead of me in the extension queue and with only a few counters open the queue was moving very slowly so after a while I went downstairs for a coffee and snack. When I came back up I got a queue ticket for 90 day reporting, 100 people ahead of me but the queue was moving quickly so by 3:30 PM I was done there and got a queue ticket for the re-entry permit, 120 people ahead of me in the queue - obviously I can't do this before the I get the extension so I am hoping this queue is not moving too fast!

by 4:15 PM I was getting worried as I was not even close to the front of either queue and the office officially closes at 4:30 PM - but the officer at the queue ticket counter assured me all open tickets would be processed

at 5:15 PM I finally got my extension and by 6:30 PM I finally got to the head of the re-entry queue and at 6:45 PM as I was leaving the office most areas were in darkness but there were still some staff in some areas who would not leave till the last person was processed

While I have no sympathy at all for the department with it's arcane and often undocumented procedures - half of the paperwork I had prepared was just ignored - and it's inability to maintain adequate staffing levels, at the airport or at the regional offices, I do have some sympathy for the frontline staff who have to cope with this!

bkkguy

Flame removed.

WIth the Immigration staff having 2 days out of 5 off, it's not surprising they had to work pretty hard for the rest of this week - 40% harder, I assume, if the workload was similar to other weeks. I, too, dislike all the paperwork required for visa extensions and the dreaded 90-day reporting (when will they permit this by computer, I wonder?). In choosing to go on Tuesday, maybe bkkguy1970 might have been served more quickly with an earlier arrival. When I first arrived in Thailand, a friend always advised me not to go to Immigration on a Monday, a Friday or the days before or after a public holiday. Usually I am there 8:30 on a Tuesday or Thursday and am out in well under an hour. It means an early start with the new offices on the outskirts of Bangkok, but it's worth it.