A Giggle At Immigration!

[schlog]

And the funny thing was it was on my out of phuket. Have to tip to get out of the country?.

[watcharacters]

It's officially free. If they try to charge you for it, it's a bribe and dishonest.

These officers get a salary for the work they do.

Would you pay the postman for each letter delivered when you know he gets paid by the Post Office?

Just because you would do the same, don't think that everyone else has the same morals as you .

No I would not do the same as them, many people would and obviously do!! as far as I am concerned it is a tip for a service exactly the same as if you were in a restaurant and were given good service, is this a bribe, the waiter or waitress also receives a salary!! It's a tip which you do not have to pay!!

You pay a 300 Baht tip at a restaurant? That's more than our bill is usually! I also have never paid immigration anything for their services, other the the amount stated on the form.

The problem is, they know you MUST have the certificate for many things. Eg. drivers/riders licence, buying a car/bike etc.

Maybe you have been lucky. You tell the immigration guy you know it's free, and not 300 baht, but, one day, you might get a guy challenge you and say, "It's 300 baht. You not pay - I not give."

What are you going to do? He knows you need it and he knows you will unhappily pay the 300 baht.

A small thing like this could esculate to some other issues for you. The Thai's have designed the laws for Aliens in such a way that they always hold all the aces, and I do not trust their judical system here anyway.

Like I said in a previous post, I know they are free, I know I am indirectly being scammed and made to pay 300 baht for the certificate, but I just pay without any other issues arising if I was to cause a loss of face to an immigration officer by involving his supervisor.

Also, let's not forget, by the very nature of The Certificate of Residence - he knows where you live.

I respect you, and other members, for mentioning to immigation officials you know it's free and the fact that you do not pay it, but it could turn into something a little nasty one day, all over 300 baht, and it goes against my personal "keep a low profile policy" whilst here in Thailand..

.

I haven't head anyone mention the design of the "we need an address verification letter" concept also includes each agency MUST have it's own original letter and not a photo copy. So multiply the tip by two. I happened to be getting my motorbike license around the same time as buying a car so I ended up needing two copies. Since I don't live in a high rent area, the cost was ฿500 and not the ฿800 as reported above by one member.

The lady at the Immigration office I go to was very clear that the "tip" was mandatory.

[Guest]

Reading through all previous posts, a lot of you seem to forget that we all have to do this for the first time at some point and it can be a bit daunting, so when asked for extra charges you generally end up paying because you are not 100% sure. So when this does happen it is a con, theft or whatever, it is wrong.

You can call it what you want, you are not wrong though as this form should be free! this form is only needed now and again so for me it is better to just pay, I try not to think of it as bribe or anything else, I think of it as a payment for a form I must have! Yes it is dishonest to ask for a fee for something that is free, again you do not have to pay!!

Of course it's a bribe. By paying the extra fee, you make sure it's more profitable to work as an office clerk/admin, demanding the bribes, rather than educate oneself to become for example a teacher.

[phuketsub]

@ Jimi007

Fair call and good luck to you.

My approach is to walk in like a nameless and faceless farang, pay my 300 baht and leave.

I do not want to "know" them, and I do not want them to know me.

Having said that, I might give it a go next time.

If you go in nameless and faceless you get treated like you're nameless and faceless. My Thai has gotten a bit better over the years, and some of the guys know me. I go in dressed nicely and treat them with the respect they are due and try to make it as enjoyable as it can be for an immigration office visit. I'm usually in and and very quickly, compared to most. But then again it helps to have all your paper work in order and filled out before you get there... It can actually lead to mutual respect.

This is my experience there as well. In the past, the main problem I always had was getting them to tell me EXACTLY what documents I needed, in my case for extending my 1-year permit to stay based on marriage. In the past I have often turned up with documents I did not need (prepared at time and expense) and without the ones I did need. The requirements seem to change year-to-year. The volunteers will give you a short list, but it is not comprehensive.

But yesterday I asked for and received a comprehensive list (fortunately I can read Thai) from they guys in the back row, which I expect to make my life a lot easier...

Tangentially, I always find it interesting how Phuket Immigration seems to be set up like an offensive formation in NFL football.

[phuketsub]

On a related topic, I was down at the Land Transport Office yesterday to have my motorbike and car licenses re-issued after(Doh!) losing my wallet. The lady there was extremely helpful and speaks
English well. She explained to me that I needed the Certificate ofResidence to complete these tasks, then mentioned that my DriversLicense was up for renewal in a few weeks time and suggested that I wait
until and do them both at the same time to save on the expense. I asked if my police report for the stolen wallet would suffice if I gotstopped for any reason, and she said that was up to police. I have decided to take the risk, since I don't need to drive that much.

Shealso mentioned that the information on the Gazette website did not specify the Certificate as a requirement, which was a constant source ofwasted time for both applicants and their staff. I took the info fromPhuket Direct website, which also doesn't specify it as a requirement. Anyway, just a heads up for anyone who needs to renew a license or replace a lost one.

[iSabai]

From my very first Immigration visit, I kept notes on my computer when I got back home. I listed what I needed, didn't need, what I did right and what I got wrong. Helped me out each successive visit to make sure I had things in order before sitting with the officer.

I also visit the photo and copy shop before going upstairs to get all that done beforehand. Still occasionally get sent back for one more copy I may have missed, but less frequently now. They do seem to appreciate that you have your stuff ready and in order. And I have never once paid more than the required fee for any service there. And I've never been asked to, or even had hinted to me that I should "tip" anyone for anything.

Though I don't enjoy going there, I've never had a bad experience other than a longish wait at busy times. I go with the attitude that I'm there for however long it takes and don't get stressed over anything at all.

[merijn]

I see others "tip" for a 90 day check in too. Never been asked.

Nor me, in 5 years of 90 day reports, never been asked and never offered. However, last Wednesday/6th, I discovered to my horror that the next 90 day report was supposed to have been on the 16th January, and hence I was 3 weeks late! Never happened before, and I put it down to changing my phone a couple of months ago and not updating the calendar from the old one. It actually says on the bottom of the form you can be fined up to 5000 baht for failing to report, so I went to Immigration expecting the worse. The youngish guy I dealt with was actually quite friendly, and pointed out the 5000 baht charge that he could ask for. He didn't so I thought I'd gotten away with it, until he was giving me my passport back and asked for 1000 baht. No receipt of course, and I wasn't in a position to argue. Hopefully that's the last time it will happen.

Just a few comments,

90 day reporting is always free and i NEVER saw money asked for this as long you are within the time limit.

Reporting to late can be fined up to 5000 baht but normally the 1000 B is excepted as long you don't ask for a receipt and be polite ( the left officer in the front row is the most likely guy to do this ) so here you can save a lot of money if required.

Proof Of residency cost normally 300 Baht each. ( not 500 or 800 as mentioned by some ) and most of the time they will charge for each certificate and sometimes they charge 1 time when you need two.

Yes this 300 Baht is not official required but we all know how it works, you can try to insist of not paying that's up to you.

[KarenBravo]

demanding the bribes, rather than educate oneself to become for example a teacher.

Thai teachers are educated?