Pattaya Immigration Office

[fly]

In rgards to the artical about grilling Imigration officials about changes, why not ask why Pattaya officers are so willing to do things ( for a price ) that Bangkok will not do and says are illegal? It could make things a bit more consistant.

[Ron]

In rgards to the artical about grilling Imigration officials about changes, why not ask why Pattaya officers are so willing to do things ( for a price ) that Bangkok will not do and says are illegal? It could make things a bit more consistant.

Mr. Fly better sip up and don't rock the boat, and try to understand Asian government employees. A gift goes along way surely they help people who otherwise would have no where to turn but leave their beloved scenes whatever they might be. The idear is to give a little and not always take from this unusual Kingdom of various life-styles.

[doctormann]

In rgards to the artical about grilling Imigration officials about changes, why not ask why Pattaya officers are so willing to do things ( for a price ) that Bangkok will not do and says are illegal? It could make things a bit more consistant.

What is your gripe, exactly?

Personally, I have always found Pattaya Immigration to be very friendly and helpful. There has never, for me, been any hint of anyone there requiring tea money or other gifts to get things done. There again, I've never asked them for anything that is not strictly kosher.

If you really want to see corruption in action, try getting anything out of a certain other government office in Pattaya, which I shall not name but it's on Suk on the way to Sri Racha and not far from Naklua. The bod in charge there has a cupboard full of JWB and other 'gifts' - choccies and the like - are prominently displayed. No moola - absolutely no cooperation whatsoever!

DM

[naka]

In rgards to the artical about grilling Imigration officials about changes, why not ask why Pattaya officers are so willing to do things ( for a price ) that Bangkok will not do and says are illegal? It could make things a bit more consistant.

Perhaps they have difficulty understanding you. I do

Naka.

[marshbags]

In rgards to the artical about grilling Imigration officials about changes, why not ask why Pattaya officers are so willing to do things ( for a price ) that Bangkok will not do and says are illegal? It could make things a bit more consistant.

In my humble opinion this is a negative post that will only cause problems if it gets to P.Imm.

Be thankful for what you or others get and it doesnt hurt any one else so shhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

No offence fly but this is Thailand swings and roundabouts

marshbags

Edited February 5, 2006 by marshbags

[Maestro]

In rgards to the artical about grilling Imigration officials about changes, why not ask why Pattaya officers are so willing to do things ( for a price ) that Bangkok will not do and says are illegal? It could make things a bit more consistant.

I wonder whether you have the least idea what you are talking about.

Most, not all, services of Immigration are subject to a fee. These fees are prescribed by law or Ministerial regulation.

In many cases, the regulations allow the Immigration officer some degree of discretion. One example is the application for annual extension of stay based on a non-O visa. The regulation gives a list of documents and then goes on to say “The officials reserve the rights to examine or ask for additional documents if necessary.”

Another example is the application for extension of stay based on a tourist visa. The Immigration officer can give you an extension up to 30 days or deny your request altogether, at his discretion. Let’s say the stamp in your passport gives you permission to stay until 12 February 2006, you apply for an extension and show your return ticket with a confirmed flight on 22 February and indicate that this is the date you would like to leave Thailand. There is nothing wrong if the officer gives you an extension only until 22 February (10 days), while another tourist, applying at the same or another office but with different circumstances, is given a longer extension.

This discretionary power of the Immigration officials can and does make for apparent inconsistency in the handling of applications, but the system is designed this way and there is a reason for it. I am sure it is no different in the country where you come from.

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Maestro

[Khutan]

In rgards to the artical about grilling Imigration officials about changes, why not ask why Pattaya officers are so willing to do things ( for a price ) that Bangkok will not do and says are illegal? It could make things a bit more consistant.

I wonder whether you have the least idea what you are talking about.

Most, not all, services of Immigration are subject to a fee. These fees are prescribed by law or Ministerial regulation.<snip>

Meastro, I have to agree with you.

If I need some documents witnessed for a visa extension, the cost of having them witnessed will be more than the cost of the extension.

In general I have found immigration officers more helpful outside Bangkok, probably because they don't have the thousands of people every day to deal with. Its nothing to do with fees just the amount of time each officer has every day.

[Maestro]

In general I have found immigration officers more helpful outside Bangkok, probably because they don't have the thousands of people every day to deal with. Its nothing to do with fees just the amount of time each officer has every day.

True, with the large number of clients being handled at Suan Plu an official’s work becomes more routine, but it also means that each officer has so much more experience and is probably more consistent in handling similar cases the same way. This forum is full of glowing reports about Suan Plu.

In a provincial office, the officials get to know long-term residents over the years and the service gets more personal. For the casual tourist, the officer has more time to deal with an application and to make a discretionary judgement.

The original poster’s rant appears to be about a tourist whose application was rejected at Patthay but subsequently approved at Suan Plu. I, and probably also you, can easily imagine a situation where this would be true, and this imaginary situation will have nothing to do with corruption but perhaps with the tourist’s behaviour, appearance, civility, common decency, etc.

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Maestro