Are The Line Ups At Immigration Choko Blocked These Days

[Meetoo]

Have to renew my 1 year visa before Dec 6 and 5th is a holiday.... Tried since September to get an on line Queue no but no luck... .. Anybody been there for the same in the past few days..?? Do you still have to get there before the crack of dawn to get your name on the list..? Or can you show up in the afternoon with hope of getting through?

[anselpixel]

When I went in October, 7AM was far too late to do business that day.

Went back the next day at 6AM, and ended in 18th position. All paperwork (including 90 day report) finished by noon.

[zippydedodah]

a buddy went in yesterday, got there at 7:15, got a number and was seen just about noon - for renewal of extension for reason of marriage....

[banjo284]

I went on Monday for my 90 day visa(retirement) it was 1st time in Chiang Mai.

Didnt go till approx 2pm was chaotic to say the least but was done in an hour or so.

[lsk]

Just a quick question. Is the Immigration office open on weekends?

Thanks in advance.

[mesquite]

lsk - no

All - make an online appointment if possible.

Edited November 29, 2012 by mesquite

[BB1955]

I went in yesterday at 9 am for extention on marrage visa and was turned away . Told no more today . I will go in the morning again around 7:45 try again I have until the 7th of Dec

[Meetoo]

I went in yesterday at 9 am for extention on marrage visa and was turned away . Told no more today . I will go in the morning again around 7:45 try again I have until the 7th of Dec

Wow ... Painfull to say the least ... ... Thank God this has to be done only once a year,,, ok Sunrise here I come ...

To Banjo284... 90 day reporting is never a problem no matter what time you show up at ... one always gets through ... it's the 1 year extensions that are becoming more and more painful to do

[hellodolly]

When I went in October, 7AM was far too late to do business that day.

Went back the next day at 6AM, and ended in 18th position. All paperwork (including 90 day report) finished by noon.

Are you saying you did your 90 day and got your yearly renewal on the same day.

[Meetoo]

When I went in October, 7AM was far too late to do business that day.

Went back the next day at 6AM, and ended in 18th position. All paperwork (including 90 day report) finished by noon.

Are you saying you did your 90 day and got your yearly renewal on the same day.

as I said the 90 day report is nothing and you can go in at anytime of the day and get it done within a reasonable time ... The 1 year visa extnsion is a different story .. but yea you can do both the same day if within a decent time range of each other ...

[hellodolly]

When I went in October, 7AM was far too late to do business that day.

Went back the next day at 6AM, and ended in 18th position. All paperwork (including 90 day report) finished by noon.

Are you saying you did your 90 day and got your yearly renewal on the same day.

as I said the 90 day report is nothing and you can go in at anytime of the day and get it done within a reasonable time ... The 1 year visa extnsion is a different story .. but yea you can do both the same day if within a decent time range of each other ...

I think I will start using the one week grace period to get them close together. As is they are only 27 days apart And if I play my cards rite next year I can get it all done in one day as I will have a new passport. I can take a large book with me and a bag lunch.

Of course that is a year away. A lot can happen in that time.

[junglechef]

I went yesterday for a 90 day. Got there at 7:30 and was #30 on sign in sheet by the front door near the parking lot. Took an empty seat which happened to be by the back door (near coffee shop). They open that door at around 8 and the Immigration Officer instructed us to enter and then take a sticker (which was a card with a number) and I got #12. Unbeknownst to me they were not using the sign in cue sheet. My number was called first and I was out by 8:30, 1 hr total time.

[junglechef]

While we are on the subject my 1 yr ends in Jan and next 90 day (from yesterday) in Feb and I was told to come back in Jan. to renew and do 90 dy reporting again in Feb. It occurred to me that perhaps I would be starting my 90 day from the beginning of my new annual visa. Any thoughts?

[NancyL]

While we are on the subject my 1 yr ends in Jan and next 90 day (from yesterday) in Feb and I was told to come back in Jan. to renew and do 90 dy reporting again in Feb. It occurred to me that perhaps I would be starting my 90 day from the beginning of my new annual visa. Any thoughts?

Nope, no luck! The timing of the 90 day reports is independent of the timing of the 12-month extension, so it's very easy to get the timing of the 90 day reports and extension process out of sync. It's my understanding that some other provinces restart the 90 day clock with the granting of a new 12-month extension, but not in Chiang Mai.

[Ulysses G.]

I went yesterday for a 90 day. Got there at 7:30 and was #30 on sign in sheet by the front door near the parking lot. Took an empty seat which happened to be by the back door (near coffee shop). They open that door at around 8 and the Immigration Officer instructed us to enter and then take a sticker (which was a card with a number) and I got #12. Unbeknownst to me they were not using the sign in cue sheet. My number was called first and I was out by 8:30, 1 hr total time.

Have they stopped using the machine that issues numbers?

[hml367]

From CNX Immigration web site:

Stop.pdf

[NancyL]

So, how is that new process working? I can see where there would have been problems with third parties coming early and getting someone's name on the paper pre-queue list, but I can also see problems in waiting until 8 am to start to issue queue numbers.

Is there a big crush of people, with shoving & pushing? If so, the situation could be very dangerous for frail or handicapped people.

[junglechef]

No ticket machine this time. I think it's been a little different every time I've been. Don't know about pushing and shoving as I discovered I was in front and just followed the officers instructions direct instructions to me to enter but I believe there were people behind me who arrived earlier so guess not a prefect system either.

[BB1955]

Ok I just got back from my yearly extention based on marrage . I got there at 6:50 signed the list and headed off to sit down. Came back again and picked a spot by the rear door . They now give you a number when you walk in first one in the door gets the first number . That number is called to the front and you tell them what you want and you get another number which is called .There were 5 in front of me for yearly extentions based on marrage . I was done with that part by 10 then had to wait another 2 hours for my passport and change . There are also two new forms wife and I had to sign she had them and filled them out for us to sign and did them in dupicate . Other than that there were no real issues . It was a complete mad house though . 90 day reports after the morning rush where just about in and out ..... Poor lady that did ours people kept dumping more and more stack of papers on her desk and interupting her ... Over worked and my guess is under paid ....

[Mapguy]

..... Poor lady that did ours people kept dumping more and more stack of papers on her desk and interupting her ... Over worked and my guess is under paid ....

+1

[Mapguy]

From CNX Immigration web site:

I have just read this thoughtful (and well-written) note about the change of procedures issued by the Immigration Department. I hope this gets top billing elsewhere. It is a bit lost here on this thread. What about the pinned thread? (Or is it there already?)

Also, I have heard informally that the Immigration Department would appreciate now some assistance from English-speaking volunteers. This was tried some years ago, but the volunteer program (as told me by volunteer) was stopped because volunteers were taking commercial advantage.

Given the "pretty decent English" of the immigration officers, I suspect that the volunteers might be most useful in, first, calming distraught people down but, mainly helping with individual "customers" who don't speak English as their native language, or speak it poorly. Clearly, however, many, many English speakers will cling to such assistants, and they better have most answers to immigration problems readily available.

Another possible way to stave off a total implosion of the process in Chiang Mai would be for an English speaker/writer to help Immigration authorities improve their web site and handouts to be made available at the office. A lot of questions could be answered that way rather than leaning over the counter to respond orally in the midst of all the chaotic chatter. (The notice recently posted is, I think, well-written!)

Finally, in addition to English speakers (and readers) being taken care of with on-deck assistance, an improved web site and hand-outs, the immigration authorities should do the same in Japanese, possibly later in Korean and other languages --- but one step at a time!

Being an assistant is no light job. I would guess that the authorities might "waive" certain regulations regarding retired farang, but I still wonder if health insurance will be offerred or not!

[hellodolly]

From CNX Immigration web site:

I have just read this thoughtful (and well-written) note about the change of procedures issued by the Immigration Department. I hope this gets top billing elsewhere. It is a bit lost here on this thread. What about the pinned thread? (Or is it there already?)

Also, I have heard informally that the Immigration Department would appreciate now some assistance from English-speaking volunteers. This was tried some years ago, but the volunteer program (as told me by volunteer) was stopped because volunteers were taking commercial advantage.

Given the "pretty decent English" of the immigration officers, I suspect that the volunteers might be most useful in, first, calming distraught people down but, mainly helping with individual "customers" who don't speak English as their native language, or speak it poorly. Clearly, however, many, many English speakers will cling to such assistants, and they better have most answers to immigration problems readily available.

Another possible way to stave off a total implosion of the process in Chiang Mai would be for an English speaker/writer to help Immigration authorities improve their web site and handouts to be made available at the office. A lot of questions could be answered that way rather than leaning over the counter to respond orally in the midst of all the chaotic chatter. (The notice recently posted is, I think, well-written!)

Finally, in addition to English speakers (and readers) being taken care of with on-deck assistance, an improved web site and hand-outs, the immigration authorities should do the same in Japanese, possibly later in Korean and other languages --- but one step at a time!

Being an assistant is no light job. I would guess that the authorities might "waive" certain regulations regarding retired farang, but I still wonder if health insurance will be offerred or not!

Good suggestions but all they will be doing is just putting a band aid on the problem. What they need is a lot more space so they can get more room for staff. The way it is now there is not room for the volunteers.

Another suggestion would be have all the mailed in requests sent to a separate department designed to just handle them and another office opened some where else for 90 say reports. They must handle close to 100 of them a day. Moving to another location would not only give them more room to handle all the other matters but would also reduce the over crowding and when people are not prepared and need to go out back for copies or photos less of a traffic jam there. I have no first hand knowledge of what is happening there but I have heard of 20 minute line ups there.

One more suggestion all applications being handled by a organization that takes care of a lot of 90 day reports for others be required to come in after 3:00 in the afternoon.

[Mapguy]

From CNX Immigration web site:

I have just read this thoughtful (and well-written) note about the change of procedures issued by the Immigration Department. I hope this gets top billing elsewhere. It is a bit lost here on this thread. What about the pinned thread? (Or is it there already?)

Also, I have heard informally that the Immigration Department would appreciate now some assistance from English-speaking volunteers. This was tried some years ago, but the volunteer program (as told me by volunteer) was stopped because volunteers were taking commercial advantage.

Given the "pretty decent English" of the immigration officers, I suspect that the volunteers might be most useful in, first, calming distraught people down but, mainly helping with individual "customers" who don't speak English as their native language, or speak it poorly. Clearly, however, many, many English speakers will cling to such assistants, and they better have most answers to immigration problems readily available.

Another possible way to stave off a total implosion of the process in Chiang Mai would be for an English speaker/writer to help Immigration authorities improve their web site and handouts to be made available at the office. A lot of questions could be answered that way rather than leaning over the counter to respond orally in the midst of all the chaotic chatter. (The notice recently posted is, I think, well-written!)

Finally, in addition to English speakers (and readers) being taken care of with on-deck assistance, an improved web site and hand-outs, the immigration authorities should do the same in Japanese, possibly later in Korean and other languages --- but one step at a time!

Being an assistant is no light job. I would guess that the authorities might "waive" certain regulations regarding retired farang, but I still wonder if health insurance will be offerred or not!

Good suggestions but all they will be doing is just putting a band aid on the problem. What they need is a lot more space so they can get more room for staff. The way it is now there is not room for the volunteers.

Another suggestion would be have all the mailed in requests sent to a separate department designed to just handle them and another office opened some where else for 90 say reports. They must handle close to 100 of them a day. Moving to another location would not only give them more room to handle all the other matters but would also reduce the over crowding and when people are not prepared and need to go out back for copies or photos less of a traffic jam there. I have no first hand knowledge of what is happening there but I have heard of 20 minute line ups there.

One more suggestion all applications being handled by a organization that takes care of a lot of 90 day reports for others be required to come in after 3:00 in the afternoon.

Good points, Dolly, but probably budget busters for the present, and involving negotiations with another ministry for space.

[davejones]

lsk - no

All - make an online appointment if possible.

What the website address to make book an appointment?

[zippydedodah]

Ok I just got back from my yearly extention based on marrage . I got there at 6:50 signed the list and headed off to sit down. Came back again and picked a spot by the rear door . They now give you a number when you walk in first one in the door gets the first number . That number is called to the front and you tell them what you want and you get another number which is called .There were 5 in front of me for yearly extentions based on marrage . I was done with that part by 10 then had to wait another 2 hours for my passport and change . There are also two new forms wife and I had to sign she had them and filled them out for us to sign and did them in dupicate . Other than that there were no real issues . It was a complete mad house though . 90 day reports after the morning rush where just about in and out ..... Poor lady that did ours people kept dumping more and more stack of papers on her desk and interupting her ... Over worked and my guess is under paid ....

OK...i just read the "stop" notification and now read this personal acct.

Am i missing something or does this (not) follow what the stop notice proclaimed? Perhaps the poster could clarify if his experience did match the notification process...

[jaideeguy]

What a freaking mess CM immigration has become in the last few years. Used to be an easy in and out the door in no more than 3 hrs. Now it is a nightmare and every attempt to speed the process up fails.

Problem is lack of organization, small staff and small space for work and parking.

figure the solution yourselves....

BTW...another article now running on the Thailand news forum [under] states that the Thai immigration dept makes over 800mil baht per year.....where's it going????

[davejones]

What a freaking mess CM immigration has become in the last few years. Used to be an easy in and out the door in no more than 3 hrs. Now it is a nightmare and every attempt to speed the process up fails.

Problem is lack of organization, small staff and small space for work and parking.

figure the solution yourselves....

BTW...another article now running on the Thailand news forum [under] states that the Thai immigration dept makes over 800mil baht per year.....where's it going????

That's not really much money when you consider they need 100s (perhaps 1000s) of staff, offices, etc. Anyway, what do you mean by 'make'? I assume you mean revenue. But how much of that do the spend?

Edited November 30, 2012 by davejones

[Genericnic]

Hi all. Just did my extension of my permission to stay (OA retirement - first renewal - income based) today and it went well, though it did take a bit longer than I thought it would.

I had done the online cue to secure my spot at 10:00 a.m. and the appointment got started around 10:15. I'd like to thank Lopburi3 for the heads up back in August about the online appointment queue. As a note, the appointment can only be made up to 100 days in advance and they do fill up quickly. I checked today and there are only a few spots left in February 2013. Just as a related note, if you need to schedule something with the U.S. Consulate online, they also have signup window which, I believe, is 60 days from the date you make the reservation. Plan ahead.

The appointment itself went smoothly and took around 10 minutes. I would like to offer a special thanks to Khun Atitaya, the sergeant that handled the extension for me. She is the officer that sits by the window behind the officer handling the 90-day reports. Khun Atitaya was both pleasant and efficient. In addition to processing the extension, the noted that I had a prior multiple entry stamp and an upcoming 90-day report due in about 2 weeks. She told me that I could take care of both of them today which saved me a trip back for the 90-day report.

Once Khun Atitaya took the paperwork to the back for processing, it took until just at lunch time to get my stamped passport back. I took a number at the multiple entry desk for after lunch and then went to get copies and have coffee while I waited. Shortly after 1:00 p.m. I got the 90-day report done and waited for the number to come up for the multiple entry stamp window. That window was a bit like a mini rugby scrum with way too many folks crowding around basically ignoring the officer telling them to have a seat and wait for their number to be called. Reminded me of why I would never want a customer service job. Finally made it to the window, paid the money, got the stamp and was on my way home a little before 3:00 p.m.

While it did take a bit longer than I had anticipated, it was not a bad trip. I managed to get 3 items taken care of instead of the 2 I had planned and got some reading in too. Overall a success.

David

Edited November 30, 2012 by Genericnic

[Mapguy]

Hi all. Just did my extension of my permission to stay (OA retirement - first renewal - income based) today and it went well, though it did take a bit longer than I thought it would.

I had done the online cue to secure my spot at 10:00 a.m. and the appointment got started around 10:15. I'd like to thank Lopburi3 for the heads up back in August about the online appointment queue. As a note, the appointment can only be made up to 100 days in advance and they do fill up quickly. I checked today and there are only a few spots left in February 2013. Just as a related note, if you need to schedule something with the U.S. Consulate online, they also have signup window which, I believe, is 60 days from the date you make the reservation. Plan ahead.

The appointment itself went smoothly and took around 10 minutes. I would like to offer a special thanks to Khun Atitaya, the sergeant that handled the extension for me. She is the officer that sits by the window behind the officer handling the 90-day reports. Khun Atitaya was both pleasant and efficient. In addition to processing the extension, the noted that I had a prior multiple entry stamp and an upcoming 90-day report due in about 2 weeks. She told me that I could take care of both of them today which saved me a trip back for the 90-day report.

Once Khun Atitaya took the paperwork to the back for processing, it took until just at lunch time to get my stamped passport back. I took a number at the multiple entry desk for after lunch and then went to get copies and have coffee while I waited. Shortly after 1:00 p.m. I got the 90-day report done and waited for the number to come up for the multiple entry stamp window. That window was a bit like a mini rugby scrum with way too many folks crowding around basically ignoring the officer telling them to have a seat and wait for their number to be called. Reminded me of why I would never want a customer service job. Finally made it to the window, paid the money, got the stamp and was on my way home a little before 3:00 p.m.

While it did take a bit longer than I had anticipated, it was not a bad trip. I managed to get 3 items taken care of instead of the 2 I had planned and got some reading in too. Overall a success.

David

A very sensible post.

There has very clearly been an influx of nervous retirees emigrating to Chiang Mai (and showing up on Thai Visa) over the past few years, some, I suspect, with little international experience beyond group tours and maybe a brief "scouting trip" or two.

At the same time, Thailand is still dealing with grey-haired, pony-tailed flower children (and ex-Special Forces --- they say!! --- from the late 1960s and 1970s). For this you can mainly thank the Americans., but the Brits, especially, thought Thailand would be heaven on their pensions when the bhat was 50:1 on the pound. Surprise! Surprise!

Add on to that the often younger ones sowing their oats cheating on education visas (or marriage visas), and the occasional pedophile. What do you get? You get a toxic mix of foreigners from rich countries (not just farang) looking for a cheap place to park their bodies until death do us part (or lately, until Myanmar "opens up," but the cheap Rangoon rates are GONE!) on limited pensions or other resources, and most people have no clue at all about Myanmar. The Costa del Sol, maybe Florida, used to be cheaper than today. Depends on when! Many retiring Americans headed for Mexico or Israel (Special legislation!!) ! New Zealand said "We don't want you" years ago! And so on!

There's always Afghanistan! Not much for a hamburger or a real "fry up" breakfast there, I suppose. If you can find either! (Actually you can !!! But you will pay through the nose!!)

So, what's with piling a bunch of sh*t on an overwhelmed staff at Chiang Mai Immigration??!! Just because you are inconvenienced a bit ? Yes (See above posts) there are indeed some things that would simplify things for their staff and NI-Os both. But the officer David refers to knows her business, and I do not believe she deserves the thoughtless sobriquet of "Dragon Lady," which you will find elsewhere on Thai Visa. None of them does!

Of course, Chiang Mai immigration in Chiang Mai (perhaps more broadly, I don't know) needs help becoming more efficient for privileged foreigners who have NO clue as to Immigration's real difficulties with the massive influx over several years of refugees and illegal immigrants looking for a peaceful place to live or a place to earn a minimum, minimum wage just to make some money to send home!

IMHO!!!

Cheers!

Edited November 30, 2012 by Mapguy

[jaideeguy]

When I said 'under stated 800 mil baht', I was being conservative as CM alone could bring in that much, if you counted 'extras', tea money etc. And now it seems that because of the Myanmar 'work bubble' the work loads have been doubled at least. The TW assisted at least a couple of confused immigrant workers as to where to go.

enough of my rant.....good night!!