Report on 90 Day Report - Phuket Town

[pcliff069]

been 6 months since I did a 90 day report - looks like a whole new experience.

[phuketguyhere74]

I agree with the original post. I went on DEC 23, but I was not aware that they close for an hour at lunch. I had to wait for an hour, but once I found out it was on the first floor, it went quite quickly. A few people in front of me got though fast, but a Korean guy that managed to jump in front of me at the farang volunteer counter who got his number before me, was being scrutinized by the immigration officer. He alone took 20 minutes, but after him, I was up and in 4-5 minutes I was finished. So not a big headache at all.

[LOS1234]

went to immigration to do 90day report. over two hours. total chaos. mostly because foreigners dont have whats needed or filled correctly then argue with immigration officer. after watching for two hours no wonder they want extra fees for al the BS and rudeness they put up with.

attached is what was handed to me to do a one year retirement extension. is this to be completed by me or my landlord? thanks

[stevenl]

went to immigration to do 90day report. over two hours. total chaos. mostly because foreigners dont have whats needed or filled correctly then argue with immigration officer. after watching for two hours no wonder they want extra fees for al the BS and rudeness they put up with.

attached is what was handed to me to do a one year retirement extension. is this to be completed by me or my landlord? thanks

Landlord.

[LOS1234]

went to immigration to do 90day report. over two hours. total chaos. mostly because foreigners dont have whats needed or filled correctly then argue with immigration officer. after watching for two hours no wonder they want extra fees for al the BS and rudeness they put up with.

attached is what was handed to me to do a one year retirement extension. is this to be completed by me or my landlord? thanks

Landlord.

thanks mate

[pcliff069]

went to immigration to do 90day report. over two hours. total chaos. mostly because foreigners dont have whats needed or filled correctly then argue with immigration officer. after watching for two hours no wonder they want extra fees for al the BS and rudeness they put up with.

attached is what was handed to me to do a one year retirement extension. is this to be completed by me or my landlord? thanks

I had previously done 90 day reporting at Jomtien and was generally in and out b4 my bum had a chance to hit the seat.

Phuket was an absolute nightmare - well over an hour to get a simple task done.

To me it was a case of piss poor preparation = piss poor performance.

Besides people arriving with incorrect forms the lack of an effective numbering system made the whole thing an absolute nightmare.

The Immigration Officer was calling numbers but no-one could hear what he was saying and as is human nature everyone (myself included) crowded his desk.

It might be worth the expats of Phuket chipping in for an effective electronic numbering system - it will save hours of heartache.

[LOS1234]

went to immigration to do 90day report. over two hours. total chaos. mostly because foreigners dont have whats needed or filled correctly then argue with immigration officer. after watching for two hours no wonder they want extra fees for al the BS and rudeness they put up with.

attached is what was handed to me to do a one year retirement extension. is this to be completed by me or my landlord? thanks

Landlord.

it also seems it is now a two day visit to immigraion explained to me by the foreign lady upstairs. after getting this landlord formed filled out and returned to immigration. then having immigraton hand you some type of another paper in your pass port then you come back the next day to complete your extension. any one have maybe info on this with in the last week or so?

[LivinginKata]

<snip>

It might be worth the expats of Phuket chipping in for an effective electronic numbering system - it will save hours of heartache.

Phuket had one installed a couple of years ago. Never ever saw it used.

[LivinginKata]

Off topic post and a reply - removed.

[JetsetBkk]

<snip>

It might be worth the expats of Phuket chipping in for an effective electronic numbering system - it will save hours of heartache.

Phuket had one installed a couple of years ago. Never ever saw it used.

I did once - about 7 months ago. The first time I was there, it was switched on but the numbers stopped changing about 6 numbers before mine. So I left. I went back the next day, the numbers were still displayed but the officer was shouting out numbers and not using it.

Not seen it used since.

Perhaps they should go to Kathu Water Authority or any bank and find out how to use the system. Or maybe they want people to jump the queue and slip them a few notes to be processed quicker.

Reminds me of the Immigration VIP lane at the airport - pay money, no queuing.

Such service!

[pcliff069]

I can only go on my experience at Jomtien and the system seemed to work well there and as I said was in and out of there in no time flat. Phuket the other day was absolute chaos and this was one of the choke points.

They do have a numbering system there but don't include 90 days in it.

It seemed to work well with other services.

Anyway that's my last report at Phuket so care factor not high.

[stevehaigh]

i went for my 90 day last thursday thinking it would be a quiet day, wrong!! maybe 50 people waiting to get inside and inside looked like a sardine can. so i got on me bike, went over to patong and was done in 5 mins. next time, i'll skip town whenever possible.

[JetsetBkk]

i went for my 90 day last thursday thinking it would be a quiet day, wrong!! maybe 50 people waiting to get inside and inside looked like a sardine can. so i got on me bike, went over to patong and was done in 5 mins. next time, i'll skip town whenever possible.

Sounds good! So where is the office in Patong? (I've never been there in over a decade! )

[LivinginKata]

i went for my 90 day last thursday thinking it would be a quiet day, wrong!! maybe 50 people waiting to get inside and inside looked like a sardine can. so i got on me bike, went over to patong and was done in 5 mins. next time, i'll skip town whenever possible.

Sounds good! So where is the office in Patong? (I've never been there in over a decade! )

Just past the second McDs (heading north with the one way traffic flow) on the Patong beach road

[JetsetBkk]

i went for my 90 day last thursday thinking it would be a quiet day, wrong!! maybe 50 people waiting to get inside and inside looked like a sardine can. so i got on me bike, went over to patong and was done in 5 mins. next time, i'll skip town whenever possible.

Sounds good! So where is the office in Patong? (I've never been there in over a decade! )

Just past the second McDs (heading north with the one way traffic flow) on the Patong beach road

OK, thanks! (Didn't even know there were two McD's now )

[LivinginKata]

OK, thanks! (Didn't even know there were two McD's now )

There are even more, another in Bangla and a couple in Jungceylon. I count 5 now in Patong.

[hansgruber]

OK, thanks! (Didn't even know there were two McD's now )

There are even more, another in Bangla and a couple in Jungceylon. I count 5 now in Patong.

2 on beach road, 2 jungceylon and Bangla.

I'd glad there isn't one in the south as I'd most likely become a victim.

[JetsetBkk]

OK, thanks! (Didn't even know there were two McD's now )

There are even more, another in Bangla and a couple in Jungceylon. I count 5 now in Patong.

2 on beach road, 2 jungceylon and Bangla.

I'd glad there isn't one in the south as I'd most likely become a victim.

I went to the (only) McD once in 2002. After eating I asked the tuk-tuk driver outside how much to go to the Sea Pearl Hotel down the road in the south of Patong Beach. He said something like 200 baht so I said "Never mind, I'll walk".

That was when I became aware of the hatred that some of these guys have for tourists: "Yes, you walk!" he shouted back at me with pure vitriol.

Never took a tuk-tuk after that.

[Badrabbit]

Had to go to immigration for two certificate of residences today, arrived at 14.00 and was finished by 14.15 fantastic service by the certificate guy, he told me it would be 20 mins but it was about 5 mins, cost me 500฿ for both which I didn't mind paying!

[LivinginKata]

Had to go to immigration for two certificate of residences today, arrived at 14.00 and was finished by 14.15 fantastic service by the certificate guy, he told me it would be 20 mins but it was about 5 mins, cost me 500฿ for both which I didn't mind paying!

Recent news report in the PG highlighting this scam. Let's see if the so called fee stays in place.

[Badrabbit]

Had to go to immigration for two certificate of residences today, arrived at 14.00 and was finished by 14.15 fantastic service by the certificate guy, he told me it would be 20 mins but it was about 5 mins, cost me 500฿ for both which I didn't mind paying!

Recent news report in the PG highlighting this scam. Let's see if the so called fee stays in place.

Yes its a so called scam, I dont want any problems so I paid willingly.

[falkan]

Had to go to immigration for two certificate of residences today, arrived at 14.00 and was finished by 14.15 fantastic service by the certificate guy, he told me it would be 20 mins but it was about 5 mins, cost me 500฿ for both which I didn't mind paying!

I was there not long ago and it was free, maybe you want to buy me dinner to, seems like you enjoying spending your money

[JetsetBkk]

Had to go to immigration for two certificate of residences today, arrived at 14.00 and was finished by 14.15 fantastic service by the certificate guy, he told me it would be 20 mins but it was about 5 mins, cost me 500฿ for both which I didn't mind paying!

I was there not long ago and it was free, maybe you want to buy me dinner to, seems like you enjoying spending your money

What's that hackneyed saying?: "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem."

[madmitch]

I went on Friday afternoon to do my 90 day report at Patong. After negotiating the road at the side of the office in my car (never again!) and failing to find somewhere to park, I eventually made it to the office to be told the computer was down and I'd have to return on Monday.

So, as I had to go to Phuket town this afternoon, I decided to do it there. Big mistake. What a zoo that place has become. Standing room only inside and out, I asked the volunteers how long the report would take. They had no idea, just told me there were four officers working. Given that there must have been over 100 people inside, even taking into account the fact that some may have been waiting for passports to be returned I reckoned on at least a two hour wait. No chance. I'll take my chance tomorrow morning instead.

I was so surprised at how busy the place was. It was never that busy when all the processes took place on one floor. Are they deliberately making things more difficult for long-stayers?

I did amuse myself for the few minutes I stood there by watching the staff in the office diligently entering the information from the departure and arrival cards onto their computers. I suppose they have to start somewhere to work their way up the ladder to hopefully forge a career in extorting cash from unsuspecting foreigners.

[JetsetBkk]

I'm off again tomorrow. Fingers crossed there won't be too much of a crowd, but a friend who went earlier today said, and I quote, "a packed full zoo topside and on ground floor. Found U had to go to ground floor where mob was seething around the volunteers."

But the good news was, and I quote again, "The Immigration dudes were notably courteous".

So some light at the end of the tunnel.

Hopefully, not a train coming.

Edited February 25, 2015 by JetsetBkk

[bubblegum]

Utter chaos today, took more than 1 hour, looks like the day of "in-out in 5 min" are over

[tif]

I went on Friday afternoon to do my 90 day report at Patong. After negotiating the road at the side of the office in my car (never again!) and failing to find somewhere to park, I eventually made it to the office to be told the computer was down and I'd have to return on Monday.

So, as I had to go to Phuket town this afternoon, I decided to do it there. Big mistake. What a zoo that place has become. Standing room only inside and out, I asked the volunteers how long the report would take. They had no idea, just told me there were four officers working. Given that there must have been over 100 people inside, even taking into account the fact that some may have been waiting for passports to be returned I reckoned on at least a two hour wait. No chance. I'll take my chance tomorrow morning instead.

I was so surprised at how busy the place was. It was never that busy when all the processes took place on one floor. Are they deliberately making things more difficult for long-stayers?

I did amuse myself for the few minutes I stood there by watching the staff in the office diligently entering the information from the departure and arrival cards onto their computers. I suppose they have to start somewhere to work their way up the ladder to hopefully forge a career in extorting cash from unsuspecting foreigners.

The refugee camp that is now Phuket Immigration, coupled with the beach fiasco, does indeed appear to follow the Thai thinking that 'if the foreigners weren't here, we wouldn't have any problems'. Perhaps the General has Phuket in his sights as his own personal holiday retreat, much alike his counterpart in neighbouring Burma.

[tif]

Utter chaos today, took more than 1 hour, looks like the day of "in-out in 5 min" are over

Only an hour you say?

[Badrabbit]

6 yrs I have been going to Phuket town immigration and not once have I had a problem or a long wait, my last 90 day report in December took 10 mins, every time I have read posts complaining about Immigration they have not been true, my next report is in March, I wonder if the latest bout of complaints will be true this time!!

[madmitch]

6 yrs I have been going to Phuket town immigration and not once have I had a problem or a long wait, my last 90 day report in December took 10 mins, every time I have read posts complaining about Immigration they have not been true, my next report is in March, I wonder if the latest bout of complaints will be true this time!!

I thought the same until my last visit. It's changed. Good luck. Please report back how it was.

I've planned overseas trips now so no 90 day reports until at least November! Still have to do the extension of stay and later get everything transferred to a new passport so unfortunately will still have to visit the zoo office a couple of times.