Expats To Discuss With Thai Immigration Bureau

[bubba]

I have a permanent visa (white book, police book etc) and would love it if theywould do what other countries do. Issue a permanent ID card, do away with having to have an extension just because youtake trips, do away with the re-entry permits. These type rules cost me over 5700 Baht a year to "renew" because I live outside of Thailand a lot now. The police book is also garbage! why do you have to stamp a book and also a passport? Makes no sense.

Currently I live in Kuwait and come to Thailand every three months. Here I have a 2 year ID card, no re-entry costs, no immigtration cards to complete, no customs forms (same Thailand now) and no book to stamp along with the passport. Quick and easy entry and exit each time I go on a business or pleasure trip.

At least Thailand lets you keep your work permit. In many other countries, once you were noted as not actually living in that country, they could consider you as having foreited your residency and you would lose your residence status (if you had not become naturalised).

Ooops. Sorry, I said "work permit". I meant "residence permit".

[lopburi3]

1. There is no problem getting an O visa anywhere if you meet the requirements - marriage etc.. And as far as I know there has been no change in Penang and people have used them and reported very recently.

2. The O visa does not allow you to work. The work permit allows you to work. You can obtain a work permit with an O visa.

3. This is a "follow up" meeting to discuss what has happened since those proposals in the PDF were submitted several years ago. So what you see in the PDF is outdated in some cases.

[BlackJack]

so if i read this correctly it should take another 3 or 4 years to discuss this again after this discussion?

[MekhongKurt]

The document may be partly out of date, but it's good the foreign Chambers of Commerce have put some ideas on the table.

If the experiences of quite a few people I know are anything to go by, there is a lot a variation around the country, even at the headquarters here in Bangkok. For example, I knew one guy who went down to Bangkok headquarters to ask what all he needed to apply for a retirement visa. He already had a letter from the U.S. embassy (he was American), his bank passbook, his passport, and some passport photos. Though he hadn't brought in the required 800,000 baht, the officer asked him how much he did have. When my friend told him something in the 100,000 baht range, the officer promptly granted him retirement status -- much to his delighted bewilderment.

Yet I've known other people who've had trouble, including me. In my case, I had well over the minimum money in a local bank, a letter from the bank, etc. (except not the letter from the U.S. embassy -- I didn't think it necessary since I had the bank letter and my passbook). I presented the lot to an officer who read the bank letter, handed everything back to me and said I couldn't apply because the bank letter did not specifically state the money had come from outside the country. I happened to have my bank statements for the preceding few months, so offered to show him the transfer and to use my own phone so he could call my bank and verify the money came from abroad. He plain refused, and wouldn't say anything further.

On the subject of the Thai embassy in Cambodia, I went there once and got a tourist visa with no problem, though the lady did ask why I didn't opt for a retirement visa. I explained I hadn't had the money transferred and wasn't sure when that would be. Then I went back last year. I first asked for a Non-O, but they said no. So I asked if I could apply for a tourist visa in that case. When I went back to get my passport, the Consul-General came out and questioned me at length; he, too, focused on the retirement status. I told him since I couldn't get the right visa there, I had little choice other than either to get a tourist visa from him or settle for a visa-on-arrival. He was very polite, but told me he was going to give me a single tourist visa and that I could neve get another visa there. And he stamped in my passport, on the same page as the visa, words to the effect "Allowed to apply for a visa in Phnom Penh this time only." Don't ask me why; I haven't the faintest notion. I was reasonably well-dressed and groomed, and was polite the entire time. At 54 years old, I'm not likely to be taken as a hel_l-raiser or trouble-maker.

As for Penang, it's been years since I've been there myself, but I never had any problem with the consulate there any of the several times I went to it. I called down there late last year and they said they do issue O visas there, but that could have changed by now.

There may be one other possibility, though I've not been able to find anything out. Apparantly it's fairly easy to get a one-year visa in Cambodia to stay there. When I was down there recently, there was an article in the paper that Thailand and Cambodia have signed an agreement to let nationals of the countries can travel visa-less back and forth. I wonder if any foreigners (other than those who are naturalized Thai or Cambodian citizens, a rare breed) might be affected in any way -- the articles I read were silent on the point, and I've not been able to find anything out.

I do want to note that the Immigration Bureau personnel at the headquarters here in Bangkok have invariably been very friendly to me and efficient -- a far cry from when I arrived in 1994 -- the past several years. Even way back when, the only time I witnessed anyone having truly serious trouble essentially asked for it, demanding, not requesting, shouting silly stuff like "I know my rights!" and so on. I have a friend who works there, and though he is not a visa officer, he knows many foreigners and tries to keep up with the rules -- and even he regularly gets frustrated.

I sure wish they could copy China; last time I worked there I never once went to a police station, immigration office, etc. I had my letter of invitation, handed it, my passport, and some photos over to my employer, who took care of the works. Residency permit, work permit, etc. When the work permit got tied up in the bowels of the bureaucracy, two Immigration officers were sent to see me to tell me the chief wanted me not to worry, and to go right ahead and teach. Heck, one of my students was a police officer -- she could have nailed me, but never said anything about it!

Edited January 16, 2006 by MekhongKurt

[Phil Conners]

Yet I've known other people who've had trouble, including me. In my case, I had well over the minimum money in a local bank, a letter from the bank, etc. (except not the letter from the U.S. embassy -- I didn't think it necessary since I had the bank letter and my passbook). I presented the lot to an officer who read the bank letter, handed everything back to me and said I couldn't apply because the bank letter did not specifically state the money had come from outside the country. I happened to have my bank statements for the preceding few months, so offered to show him the transfer and to use my own phone so he could call my bank and verify the money came from abroad. He plain refused, and wouldn't say anything further.

In a word: Incompetence.

Bangkok applies the rules, all the local offices interpret them. The local officer have no advantage in taking any chances so if there's anything amiss the easy thing is to send you back. TIT.

[dotcom]

Quote: "In a word: Incompetence." - Respectfully Sir: Not True.

Those officers sitting on the ground floor prepare a package of documents - according to the rules in force on the day. Once all the required originals (especially the bank letter) & you & your spouse have signed all the required photostat copies (TaBien Baan etc.) & you have paid the fee, under the new set-up they pass it back one row for the approval (usually one month) of the duty officer.

The actual approval happens upstairs. Anyone who has lived here for very long will tell you that if that package of documents hits the desk of the Deputy Director or whomever on the second floor without ALL the proper documentation a) You will not be approved & the persons involved on the ground floor are going to get a tongue lashing at minimum.

The officers I have dealt with are very courteous & efficient. If I don't have the correct documents they will tell me exactly what I do need. I never wait until the last day, it go in person with my spouse around 2 weeks prior to expiration/renewal.

Original bank letter, TaBien Baan copy etc. are required each & every year. Those who operate inside the rules will have more success than those who bemoan how the system is set up.

[rossigee]

I would certainly be interested to see transcripts of the said discussions. What really gets discussed? In what depth? With who? And what were the responses and/or agreements/action items?

For some reason I don't think it will make the blindest bit of difference. I've generally had a very frustrating and unpleasant experience dealing with visa/work permit/tax issues since I first opened my Thai company a few years ago. Having just spent (wasted?) the over a week at the end of last year gathering and submitting the necessary paperwork required for a 1yr extension (non-, I am starting to see the bigger picture. As far as I'm concerned, it could *all* have been made so much easier.

From what I can see, there are three common problems in the three main agencies (Immigration, Labour Dept, Revenue Dept)

:

1) The rules, regulations, restrictrions and requirements for foreign workers are too strict, and vary from agency to agency.

This probably doesn't apply to anyone working for a largish company as larger companies have accountants and lawyers to take care of things. But if you're just (another) IT consultant like me, making your money from a small existing client base abroad, it's just not worth the hassles of going legal. I didn't mind setting up a company, and applying for a work permit, paying my taxes etc, as I thought it would mean I can stay and work legally in Thailand. However, I'm left wondering why my company needs to employ four Thai staff, or register for VAT just so I can stay and work in the country for more than 90 days at a time. In most other countries (as far as I can see), it would simply be enough that I (and my company) are declaring our earnings properly and paying tax on them.

The Immigration Department have an unnecessarily huge list of unnecessary requirements, some of which conflict with the requirements of the other agencies (e.g. apparently, even though the RD didn't think my company was earning enough to need to be VAT-registered and didn't recommend it, Immigration required it for my 1-yr extension paperwork). Also, whilst the Labour Department fully understood that IT professionals like me don't really need four Thai staff to help them run their company, the Immigration dept does not understand this, so I now have to pay four Thais a few thousand baht a month each to make me cups of coffee, just so my business can be considered 'real'.

And as the other guy pointed out - the scale of expected salaries based on your home country - just how downright racist and greedy is that? When I came across that one at the immigration bureau, I nearly called it a day there and then! Just what difference does it make what country you came from if you're working in Thailand? I also found that while one agency (the Labour Dept) requires you to earn a particular salary to qualify for a visa/work permit (30kB/m), another agency (Immigration) requires a substantially higher amount (50kB/m) before you can qualify for a 1-yr extension. Why?!

And why does it feel like a wild goose chase all the time? For example, you've spent days/weeks setting up your company and gathering this huge pile of paperwork for your visa application, but you can't just submit it at your local immigration office - you have to go and submit it in a Thai embassy outside the country. What's all that about? What an unnecessary waste of time and money!

So it's not surprising to me that so many foreigners (particularly IT workers) decide that it's best to work illegally in Thailand. I wouldn't wish my experience of setting up a company and 'going legal' on anyone, and I am still wondering if I was really doing the right thing by trying to do everything above board in Thailand. I have spoken to a couple of friends who are still working 'underground' and they all just say I'm crazy for going legal. Now I'm thinking 'yeah, they're probably right' - what have I really got for my efforts? Even though I am paying taxes, until I filed for a 1yr extension recently I was being forced out of the country I live and work in (and for!) every 90 days - I mean, what the f#$% is that all about? Even now, I'm forced to go to the local immigration bureau (and then on to the labour office for another 'stamp') every 30 days for the next few months while I wait to see if Bangkok will approve my application. So, how come it takes four months to process a simple and straightforward application like this? Oh yes, that's because...

2) Information systems, lack of.

In any developed country, for the last few decades, computer systems have played a key role in public services. Sadly, as easy as it would be to design and implement, there is apparently no computer system (or systems) connecting all the Thai govt agencies together efficiently. If there was, most (if not all) of the paperwork would be unnecessary, and most queries could be dealt with in one visit (or in some cases, on-line via the web/e-mail).

I'm looking around at these computers sitting on all the desks in the various agency's offices and wondering if they're actually ever used for official business? It seems to me there's no point in them except for the staff to play games between visitors. It could be so different. If the staff at the labour dept had sufficient access to look up an individual or company tax records on the revenue dept's system, or immigration could look up the VAT status of a given company for an extension application, things would be much quicker and easier for all involved.

So, IMHO, information, communication and technology is problem #2. The agencies just don't know how to communicate with each other. Even without an integrated computer system, the labour department staff should at least know how to call the revenue department and request a fax/posted details of a particular individual or company's tax return. Instead, it's made the responsibility of the applicant to have to go fetch them in person. Which brings me round to problem #3...

3) The level of service provided by the front-line staff at the government agencies.

OK, so you've say you're applying for an extension (visa or WP) and forgotten to bring one piece of paperwork, or the piece you've brought is out-of-date, and you ask 'can I send it in the post or fax it when I get back?', you will likely be told 'no - you must bring it yourself and re-apply', despite the fact that you might live 100km away from the nearest office and your visa/WP is due to run out tomorrow (and you've also got impending customer deadlines/schedules to keep up with etc.) So you ask 'why's can't I send it in the post?', and you get told 'pai kit eng' (or 'go figure it out yourself') to the amusement of the other rajagan in earshot. Not the most helpful answer for a frustrated farang. And if at any point you appear even a little stressed by it all, they will just smile and say 'why didn't you get a lawyer to take care of all this for you?'. Of course, I now know exactly why the lawyers fees are substantially more than the actual application fees - it seems lawyers are favoured because they have their own ways of 'smoothing things over'.

At the labour dept, I got sent to get an updated copy of my shareholders statement (or something like that) - they had to get an old manual typewriter out (honestly!) to type it up for me. They even asked my girlfriend if she could type because they didn't want to have to do it themselves! I just sat quietly in disbelief. At the immigration department, I was told a letter I typed contained the information requested, but they couldn't accept it because it didn't look like another letter from a similar application, and I was given a photocopy and told to go and re-type it. I've been up and down the jungwat like a yoyo in the last few weeks, and my work deadlines have all slipped as a result. Again, I was mostly just trying to gather copies of information they should already have had at their side (or could request themselves easily enough), if they were just more organised.

Or maybe I am expecting too much?

****

So, yes I'd like to know what is *really* discussed in these meetings arranged by these well-intentioned people from the JFFTC (or whatever) and whether anything positive actually comes of them, or whether the authorities even listen or care. What chance have these JFFTC people really got of persuading the authorities to get things sorted out properly for us? From my experience, it would involve a lot of changes to be made to various areas of 'the system' by lots of 'officials', and if history is anything to go by I don't hold out much hope of any rapid change or progress in either of those areas

It's a shame our UK immigration/labour officials don't treat Thais the same way when they apply for a work permit to open a Thai restaurant in the UK. I'd like to see all them be told to go file their application at a UK embassy in France, and be ejected back to France every 3 months (unless they can prove they earn and pay tax on 5 times the average UK wage) and see how they like it! (OK, I don't really wish that, but you see my point).

[warriors]

Oh the joy of being over 50+ and having a Retirement visa

[JML]

1. Phnom Penh, Cambodia: Just don't go there to get a visa of any kind, unless you have absolutely have no other Thailand visas in your passport. They will assist "true" backpacker travelers, but not those of us who have been here a while.

Before I had my non-Imm B, I went last year and the Consulate manager was very cold, not quite rude about not giving me a 2 month visa back. Once we switched to Thai, he was much more warm (probably a nice enough guy over a beer), but no less firm. He believes (or states) he has a staffing issue, and does not want anyone, from legit business visa holders to monthly or bi-monthly extenders, going to their consulate to get a visa. He told the guy before me, a teacher at AUA, to tell AUA not to send anyone there again.

Luckily I did not learn Thai from a bar girl, and can be very ปากหวาน when I need to really beg, so he gave me the 2 months, but told me he was blacklisting me - which I hope never has any other implications other than getting a visa from Phnom Penh. Looking at my passport with loads of Thai visas in it, I promptly had the American embassy cancel my passport and bought a new one - so other consulates would not give me the same problem.

2. Does anyone know what the list of complaints this joint chamber committe has? Where to get a look at it? Or where to add to it?

Cheers!

[Grandma Margita]

Many happy returns to everybody 2006!!!!!

Visa in Thailand negotiations..........

I think that there should be a time limit which automatically gives full rights of staying in Thailand if you have been married to a Thai and living in Thailand at least 5 years.

With full rights I mean right to take any kind of job according to your qualification and skills for the job you are looking for.Perhaps even skill in spoken and written Thai would increase this possibility

even if not on an academic level.

To be married in Thailand for 7 years have a daughter with double nationality should be enough so that BOTH parents can work and support the family.Specially now those who loss or otherwise suffered in their businesses by tsunami 2004!

I do not think I am the only one worrying about this......for me personally this is not a problem as I am 55+ with western pre-pension...... but our kids.......

Take care and lets be hopefull!

Margita

[astral]

The fact that this is being raised 3 years after its original inception

shows the high level of importance that the Thai

Immigration department attaches to the views of foreigners.

What a joke!!

Perhaps we should be lobbying our own governments to enact reciprocity for Thais,

but then we would be accused of discrimination

Edited January 16, 2006 by astral

[BigSnake]

Good Luck!! Maybe like talk to your kids, they smile but don't really listen!! TIT!!

[giulio]

my experience personally say that in bangkok official is very good and the law is clear

in phuket,krabi official i think dont'know well the law and make to you anything difficoulty for get right visa

i'm 7 years to thailand,last years i married with my wife ,i have 2 baby here,6 years allready i have work permit,pay anything and more,last years i get in penang my visa non-b multiplee(just married last year),in tsunami in phi phi i lose anythings included work permit e passport,i lose all my business,go to bangkok and get visa THAI WIFE very speed show money 400000 in bank,this year i come to phuket i ask for new visa thai wife and the official speak to me bad and take me 3 hour in office for question,i say now i cannot work because i'm injury before in tsunami but i show money in bank,so is 3 months allready i wait for my visa and 1 time in 1 months i must to go in immigration for get extension 1 month

is right this?I must to consider this mans immigration helpful and friendly?

my thinker is immigration police in bangkok is perfect and great ,but in the rest of thailand.............no comment

Edited January 16, 2006 by giulio

[Rumpole]

At least Thailand lets you keep your work permit. In many other countries, once you were noted as not actually living in that country, they could consider you as having foreited your residency and you would lose your residence status (if you had not become naturalised).

Ooops. Sorry, I said "work permit". I meant "residence permit".

However, many other countries (or least the nine I have lived and worked in) do not make you jump through so many fiery hoops to get legal residence in the first place. All these different government departments, often working in total opposition to each other. I will believe that the Thais, and this administration in particular, wish to make things easier for farang to remain on sacred Thai soil when it actually happens. Until then, I shall not be holding my breath.

[ovenman]

I will believe that the Thais, and this administration in particular, wish to make things easier for farang to remain on sacred Thai soil when it actually happens. Until then, I shall not be holding my breath.

That's pretty much my take on it as well. I've not seen or heard anything that would lead me to believe the powers-that-be are anything less than content with the current status quo in regards foreigners.

[pepsi666]

Oh the joy of being over 50+ and having a Retirement visa

I was hoping to lease or buy a property in Thailand and retire out there, what sort of visa would I need ?

I dont have a Thai wife, (I have an English wife)

Would I have to do a visa run every 90 days ?

What are all these types of visa's ?

[lopburi3]

Oh the joy of being over 50+ and having a Retirement visa

I was hoping to lease or buy a property in Thailand and retire out there, what sort of visa would I need ?

I dont have a Thai wife, (I have an English wife)

Would I have to do a visa run every 90 days ?

What are all these types of visa's ?

A non immigrant visa and an extension of stay after being here 60 days. If over 50 you can do it for retirement with the 800k bank deposit route. Another option is a 3 million baht investment at any age (specific requirements must be met so check with immigration first). No visa runs would be required and the wife would come in on the back of your visa (no separate requirements). A little reading in this forum will provide a great deal of information about them. Be aware you can not own land in Thailand.

[Martin]

The Thai government/administration/monarchy are probably quite relaxed about the present levels of foreigner residence (formally approved, or permitted 'de facto' on consecutive 'tourist' visas), but I would expect that they will keep the ability to take instant control should a big influx threaten.

They have a long history of being very shrewd operators at keeping their culture protected from external threats of one sort and another, and I wouldn't expect them to start slipping up now.

[MekhongKurt]

A recent post mentions the protectiveness Thais feel towards their culture. There may be some [cold] comfort in that fact; after all, look at all the hilltribe people whose families have been here for generations yet are denied Thai nationality.

Since I'm American and not happy with the way Thais are too often treated at my embassy, I'm not completely comfortable for me personally to criticize. That said, a different contributor submits that the officers are, essentially, just following the rules. What puzzles me about that is 2 people talking to 2 officers at the same time about precisely the same set of circumstances may very well get differing, even completely opposing, responses.

Regarding having to submit a bunch of paperwork each year, while I'm certainly not a lawyer, a British friend of mine who has been here nearly 3 decades got tired of filling out the same form each year for a visa renewal when he has worked at the same job almost from the beginning, lived in the same house with his Thai wife and children and so on. One year he went to renew, but had a photocopy of the previous year's paperwork on which he whited out his age and wrote in his current age. The officer refused to accept it. It happens this man's wife is related to a fairly heavyweight Thai immigration attorney. In the end, when the attorney went with my friend, the officer could not point to any rule or law that either required filling in a new form or prohibited the use of a photocopy. Ultimately, the officer accepted it. At least that's my friend's story.

Suggestions have been made in this thread for us to bring up these issues with our own governments, a position I've long held. I've written my representatives over the years.

[Artisi]

So, this so called document was first submitted in 2003, it is now 2006 which means it is between 2 and 3 years since it was presented, sounds something like a Monty Python type joke to me

If it has taken this amount of time to reach the point of discussion (read - possible discussion) then I wouldn't hold my breath for anything worth-while ever happening.

Never ever lose sight of the fact - "This is Thailand" - expect nothing to change except further frustration.

[astor]

The Thai government/administration/monarchy are probably quite relaxed about the present levels of foreigner residence (formally approved, or permitted 'de facto' on consecutive 'tourist' visas), but I would expect that they will keep the ability to take instant control should a big influx threaten.

They have a long history of being very shrewd operators at keeping their culture protected from external threats of one sort and another, and I wouldn't expect them to start slipping up now.

Well I may understand that thais want keep their culture, and I thing this is right. But the problem is, that certain resctrictive suggestions not made from thais but them made from foreigners., and that according to me is a very serious, matter.

Obviously I talking about those guys OF Jfcct .

[BlackJack]

having this week received my retirement visa i would like to add

1. get your lawyer to do it - they have ways

or their agent can do it - about 2000 baht

2. you need a medical certificate now - about 260 baht

3. your passbook from your bank must show the bahts - 800k or 400k ie must be the same date as you apply

4. you need a statement from the bank - no more than 1 week old - (cost 200baht)

then go to immigration

they can see that you have greased the wheels of the Thai system and so normally will grant the Visa

[lopburi3]

having this week received my retirement visa i would like to add

1. get your lawyer to do it - they have ways

or their agent can do it - about 2000 baht

2. you need a medical certificate now - about 260 baht

3. your passbook from your bank must show the bahts - 800k or 400k ie must be the same date as you apply

4. you need a statement from the bank - no more than 1 week old - (cost 200baht)

then go to immigration

they can see that you have greased the wheels of the Thai system and so normally will grant the Visa

You do not need any lawyer to obtain a retirment extension of stay from immigration - you fill out a TM.7 and attach a 4x6 photo and pay the 1,900 baht fee with the documents you list. E A S Y.

[silk123]

Coming into thailand from malayasia one notices how quick and easy the malayasia side is and that they have normal computers (not older than 18 years like the thai side).

The thai side is much slower and with more staff(men usually) and feels harsher and them old computers are older than what i learned on 20 years ago. The big green screens and the big missing 5.25 inch floppy drive(really floppy not hard plastic covered floppy). I think they may be trying to give the appearance of very third world and poor for tourists with them old computers.

It can't be for real. It must be just show.

Anyway it would be good to just slide the passports across scanner and less paperwork and less of all the messing for the Immigration staff.

A 3 month quick visa on arrival is offered in malayasia quickly which makes the thai 1 month visa look mean. I guess the 1 month visa generates a lot more money which would help pay for all the extra thai staff they have and all the extra papers they waste the staffs time on filling and messing around with.

As much as the visa system in thailand is old fashioned and power trippy for them, i still like the place.

Sometimes china's visa system is better but in other ways china is a lot worse.

[BlackJack]

having this week received my retirement visa i would like to add

1. get your lawyer to do it - they have ways

or their agent can do it - about 2000 baht

2. you need a medical certificate now - about 260 baht

3. your passbook from your bank must show the bahts - 800k or 400k ie must be the same date as you apply

4. you need a statement from the bank - no more than 1 week old - (cost 200baht)

then go to immigration

they can see that you have greased the wheels of the Thai system and so normally will grant the Visa

You do not need any lawyer to obtain a retirment extension of stay from immigration - you fill out a TM.7 and attach a 4x6 photo and pay the 1,900 baht fee with the documents you list. E A S Y.

I am not saying you need a lawyer - i am saying that its sometimes easier - this is referring to previous posts from people being refused retirement visa

Edited January 18, 2006 by BlackJack

[bggg]

I agree wholeheartedly with the comment regarding take 2 immigration officers and ask the same question and you will be given 2 different answers. My husband and I prepared all docs last year for a retirement visa according to immigrations instructions ( which seemde to change daily). When we applied they told us I could not get the spouse as I was only 45 and that was too young to have a spouse of a retired person. We went to Penang and got a 6 month multiple entry tourist visa. So this year we perpared docs as guardians of students studying here. We were then told that we each had to apply seperately as 1 guardian per 1 child (we have 2 in school here) thus we needed 800k each in the bank! This we did. When we went to immigration we were told our papers would be sent to Bangkok ( we are in Chiang mai) for approval and until we were approved we would need to come back every 30 days for extensions!! When I asked how long it would take she said maybe 1 month, maybe 2 months maybe more. She then asked why we did not get a retirement visa, I explained about being denied last year she said that was wrong it did not matter how old I was. She then granted our childrens education visas immediately??????? So we went to the hospital for a physical ( as we did not need a physical for guardians of students but did need 1 for retirement????) returned and were granted a retirement and spouse of a retired person visas???? There is a sign at immigration basically saying everything is totally up to the immigration officer and their opinion is final.

[BlackJack]

OK

so the trick is

go in the morning and if denied wait until that officer has lunch then go back whilst they are on lunch and apply to a different officer

[rossigee]

So yesterday afternoon, Immigration called me and said that Bangkok were missing a receipt for the PNgD50, and that (even though I submitted my application at the end of December, and I should have 3 months grace period to prepare them) they're not interested in my 2004 end of year accounts, they want my 2005 set (which I haven't had time to prepare yet). And, if they don't get them by the end of the day, they'll have to turn down my application.

So, I mobilised forces and tried to 'cater to their whims'. Unfortunately, I and the accountant can't seem to find the receipt in question, and getting a new one cut apparently needs to be done in Suratthani (300km away), and there's no much chance of that getting done within 24hrs. I called them to ask them for more time, but was told 'no'. Thanks. What a f***ing waste of the best part of a week last month preparing it all. Perhaps I'm better off without an extension, paying less taxes etc and just doing the border run every 90 days. Or maybe I'm better off not paying taxes at all, and doing the border run every 30 days. Or maybe I'll just sod off and work elsewhere. We'll have to wait and see.

My missus is in tears again.

[Artisi]

The longer I stay in LOS and the more I read here in Thaivisa, the more I am convinced that all the official systems operating in Thailand, with 2 exceptions - the tax dept. and the postal service are designed to impede, obstruct, hinder, hamper, limit, retard, interfer, interupt, block, snag, check, discourage, encumber, shakle, thwart, restrict, challenge, restrain, inconvenience, entangle, intervene, stifle, choke, handicap, brake, cripple, intimidate, deter, dishearten and mar anybody achieving any real satisfaction when having to deal with them.

I appears that the more you try to do the right thing - the more problems you have -- the more you cheat the system the better you can survive in LOS. If you do the right thing you are penalised one way or the other.

Only that most of us nasty, corrupt, culture destroying farangs have to leave the country ocassionally - we should all just disappear into the hill and refuse to have anything to do with the officials -- it's a thought and one day when I have no need to ever leave the country again I might go down that road.

But at the moment, like many others I just have to put up with it and smile nicely.

[giulio]

The longer I stay in LOS and the more I read here in Thaivisa, the more I am convinced that all the official systems operating in Thailand, with 2 exceptions - the tax dept. and the postal service are designed to impede, obstruct, hinder, hamper, limit, retard, interfer, interupt, block, snag, check, discourage, encumber, shakle, thwart, restrict, challenge, restrain, inconvenience, entangle, intervene, stifle, choke, handicap, brake, cripple, intimidate, deter, dishearten and mar anybody achieving any real satisfaction when having to deal with them.

YES

i agree totally

is impossibile that waiting 4 months for get visa thai wife 1 year in southern thailand(in bangkok 1 months everytime)

he say the visa request must to go to hat-yai ........4 months for answer?????????

and everymonths go to immigration and get extension...........business,wife thai,2 baby,7 years of tax pay and work permit..............

NO COMMENT

You do not need any lawyer to obtain a retirment extension of stay from immigration - you fill out a TM.7 and attach a 4x6 photo and pay the 1,900 baht fee with the documents you list. E A S Y.

EASY?????????Only in bangkok EASY

in another place not easy without know somebody can help you(extra)............

but this is thailand

Edited January 18, 2006 by giulio