Popular Post willyumiii Posted January 16, 2015 Popular Post Share Posted January 16, 2015 Have you noticed that whenever you get a paper from the immigration office with instructions on how to fill out forms or a list of what documents are required, it is always written in the Thai language? Not many Thai people have a need to file for a visa to stay in Thailand! I know some who are here on visas do speak and read the Thai language, but I am sure the vast majority of us do not read Thai. If I did not have a Thai wife to translate for me, I would be totally lost! In California, where I come from government information, including ballots are available in something like 14 different languages. How difficult could it be for the Immigration office to provide information in the languages used by most people applying for visas? 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesofSmiles Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 It's due to either arrogance, ignorance, or some combination of the two. Australia is similar in having documents translated in many languages. There's also a 24/7 free service where you can call and get a qualified translator for phone calls with government. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post mesquite Posted January 16, 2015 Popular Post Share Posted January 16, 2015 OP, if that's you're only problem with Immigration, you're in great shape. Come on over to Chiang Mai to find out what real Immigration Dept. problems are. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachproperty Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Willyumiii said ..."In California, where I come from government information, including ballots are available in something like 14 different languages." And did it ever occur to you how much it costs Calif. to translate and print all those forms .....millions! and you wonder why its so expenses to live in the West.....Taxes to pay for such 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post MilesofSmiles Posted January 17, 2015 Popular Post Share Posted January 17, 2015 And did it ever occur to you how much it costs Calif. to translate and print all those forms .....millions! and you wonder why its so expenses to live in the West.....Taxes to pay for such yes, but you get what you pay for. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post willyumiii Posted January 17, 2015 Author Popular Post Share Posted January 17, 2015 (edited) Willyumiii said ..."In California, where I come from government information, including ballots are available in something like 14 different languages." And did it ever occur to you how much it costs Calif. to translate and print all those forms .....millions! and you wonder why its so expenses to live in the West.....Taxes to pay for such It is worth every penny to assure that everybody understands the government and the rules and regulations they need to know about. The non English speaking people pay taxes too! Good government is not free. Democracy is worth more than money... Unless you are a Republican. Edited January 17, 2015 by willyumiii 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post villagefarang Posted January 17, 2015 Popular Post Share Posted January 17, 2015 The forms I use are alway in English and Thai. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post h90 Posted January 17, 2015 Popular Post Share Posted January 17, 2015 And did it ever occur to you how much it costs Calif. to translate and print all those forms .....millions! and you wonder why its so expenses to live in the West.....Taxes to pay for such yes, but you get what you pay for. no you don't get what you pay for, most of the tax money is always wasted. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h90 Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Willyumiii said ..."In California, where I come from government information, including ballots are available in something like 14 different languages." And did it ever occur to you how much it costs Calif. to translate and print all those forms .....millions! and you wonder why its so expenses to live in the West.....Taxes to pay for such It is worth every penny to assure that everybody understands the government and the rules and regulations they need to know about. The non English speaking people pay taxes too! Good government is not free. Democracy is worth more than money... Unless you are a Republican. It has nothing to do with Democracy. You can have a dictatorship with high taxes and good service and you can have a democracy with very cheap setup. Democracy is just the method on how you get the leader. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post AYJAYDEE Posted January 17, 2015 Popular Post Share Posted January 17, 2015 what visa is an immigration office offering to stay in thailand? all the instructions and forms for extensions and reporting i see on the internet are in english as well. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post aTomsLife Posted January 17, 2015 Popular Post Share Posted January 17, 2015 All the forms I've ever filled out are in both English and Thai. Figured the Thai script was to make the jobs of the Thais more convenient. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gk10002000 Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 I have been to Thailand over one dozen times. Love the place. But this topic makes me think back to what my grandparents had to deal with when they came over to the USA from Greece back around 1900. There were no bi-lingual anythings. I know my maternal grandmother never picked up English either written or verbal. My other grand parents did. This just kind of puts things in perspective. I enjoyed the OPs post about the Visas being in Thai is a bit of an oxy moron, but not really. If they were in English, the Thai workers would have to know how to read English! It is especially amusing to me because of the old saying here in the USA "It's all Greek to me". Kind of funny because I can still read some greek 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCPhuket Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 The Phuket Immigration website is all in Thai language only...did not used to be that way. If it were in English only it would serve the largest number of people. Being in Thai only just shows us they don't really care too much if it is difficulet for farangs to use. Just bring money. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHamon Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 It's due to either arrogance, ignorance, or some combination of the two. Australia is similar in having documents translated in many languages. There's also a 24/7 free service where you can call and get a qualified translator for phone calls with government. Of course the cost of the visa is usually a lot more... maybe reflected by extra services. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Deli Posted January 17, 2015 Popular Post Share Posted January 17, 2015 They don't give a flying sh... if you can read it. As less people apply for a visa, as less they have to work. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdanielmcev Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 It's the immigration office. Immigrants are supposed to be learning the language to assimilate into society. And Thai really isn't that hard to get the basics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachproperty Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Willyumiii said ..."In California, where I come from government information, including ballots are available in something like 14 different languages." And did it ever occur to you how much it costs Calif. to translate and print all those forms .....millions! and you wonder why its so expenses to live in the West.....Taxes to pay for such It is worth every penny to assure that everybody understands the government and the rules and regulations they need to know about. The non English speaking people pay taxes too! Good government is not free. Democracy is worth more than money... Unless you are a Republican. Not sure why you have the need to use "labels" (ie Republican -Democrat)....Most if not all people Hate paying taxes, which unfortunately is wasted by most governments and not used efficiently. I for one DO feel if you want to emigrate somewhere ....learn the language. As for tourism and related forms ...add a small entry tax from those countries that have the highest tourist counts and use the funds for such translated forms. As for Good government ... . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike324 Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 yup, its pretty stupid that most things forms / signs are in Thai. Why not just translate it in English and make their jobs easier too, so visa applicants won't have to ask them the same questions everyday and not bring specific documents. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesofSmiles Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 It has nothing to do with Democracy. You can have a dictatorship with high taxes and good service and you can have a democracy with very cheap setup. Democracy is just the method on how you get the leader. It's more than just elections, it's being involved between elections and throughout the policy process. It's also having input from public and private bodies, and the freedom to express citizen's thoughts on the matter. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post mesquite Posted January 17, 2015 Popular Post Share Posted January 17, 2015 It's the immigration office. Immigrants are supposed to be learning the language to assimilate into society. And Thai really isn't that hard to get the basics. Except most of us are non-immigrants. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post 12DrinkMore Posted January 17, 2015 Popular Post Share Posted January 17, 2015 I cannot understand why the OP is having such trouble. Here it is, in English, a step by step guide, with pictures to help too. http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/en/base.php?page=step 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wowfactor10 Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Yes you right.... When i was here at the land office there was only one sign in english and it said : pay here ! all the other signs were in thai signs only...So only the pay here sign was in englsih somewhat makes me wonder why that sign in english When i was at the locale amphur here all signs only in thai...They do it on purpose so they can screw you better and make you feel lost in the process without any decent information.. This allows them to make sure thaise will always get benefited over you the farang.. Giving you any information is not what they want.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willyumiii Posted January 17, 2015 Author Share Posted January 17, 2015 (edited) Maybe the problem is office specific, or even officer specific. When I first applied for my non immigrant Type O visa, I was provided instructions and a list of required documents written in Thai. I asked if I could please have the same written in English and explained that I can not read the Thai language. I was told, " You have Thai wife, she can read for you. From this thread, it sounds like others at other offices have been provided an English translation. I think we are all aware that not all immigration offices or officers are the same. Not a problem for me now. I just keep copying and turning in the same updated forms and documents every year. It works! I am not requesting help. I am just pointing out that it seems like a strange way to do business when dealing mostly with people who do not read the Thai language. Thanks for the input. Edited January 17, 2015 by willyumiii 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willyumiii Posted January 17, 2015 Author Share Posted January 17, 2015 (edited) Yes you right.... When i was here at the land office there was only one sign in english and it said : pay here ! all the other signs were in thai signs only...So only the pay here sign was in englsih somewhat makes me wonder why that sign in english When i was at the locale amphur here all signs only in thai...They do it on purpose so they can screw you better and make you feel lost in the process without any decent information.. This allows them to make sure thaise will always get benefited over you the farang.. Giving you any information is not what they want.. Maybe you are correct. I have noticed that when at places like zoos, parks and temples where they have double pricing, The Farang price is posted in English and the Thai price is often posted in Thai. It is the only time I have seen Thai numbers on a sign....They almost always use arabic numbers like the rest of the world on everything else. Shhh! Don't let farang know we screw him! 555 Edited January 17, 2015 by willyumiii 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suitcase Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Since when does a Thai need a non-immigrant visa, a re-entry stamp, and an extension of a tourist visa and/or visa exempt? Maybe it is for the immigration officer who does not know Eglish!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willyumiii Posted January 17, 2015 Author Share Posted January 17, 2015 (edited) Since when does a Thai need a non-immigrant visa, a re-entry stamp, and an extension of a tourist visa and/or visa exempt? Maybe it is for the immigration officer who does not know Eglish!? It would be very easy to provide the officers with forms in Thai that are in sync withthe english forms provided to the applicants. I also think any officer who deals with the same forms day in and day out would know what was going on without a translation. They all seem to speak English...as they should! Edited January 17, 2015 by willyumiii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachproperty Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 I also think any officer who deals with the same forms day in and day out would know what was going on without a translation. They all seem to speak English...as they should! A little naive on your part I think....guess they should all speak Russian and Chinese TOO! Also not sure what office you go to where they all speak English....the only English I know that all Thai's speak is "Hello" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Aleman Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 C'mon, all this time here and you really expect any Thai agency, particularly immigration, to do anything the right way ! Doing it wrong creates more jobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John1thru10 Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 It's the immigration office. Immigrants are supposed to be learning the language to assimilate into society. And Thai really isn't that hard to get the basics. I find it extremely difficult to read Thai, actually. I don't think I'm so alone in that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billd766 Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Yes you right.... When i was here at the land office there was only one sign in english and it said : pay here ! all the other signs were in thai signs only...So only the pay here sign was in englsih somewhat makes me wonder why that sign in english When i was at the locale amphur here all signs only in thai...They do it on purpose so they can screw you better and make you feel lost in the process without any decent information.. This allows them to make sure thaise will always get benefited over you the farang.. Giving you any information is not what they want.. Why wouldn't the signs in the local amphur be in Thai. It is there for the Thai people and if farangs need to go there then take your wife, girlfriend or a friend to help you out. It is the same in most countries in the world. If another language is used as well then the cost for that has to be paid for somewhere by the taxpayers. I have no problem in my local amphur, the local hospital, bank etc as even though my spoken Thai is poor due to deafness, I can always find someone to help me or perhaps I would call my wife. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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