this morning there are dozens of Police and other uniforms around Immigration

does anyone know whats going on?

Why didn't you go and ask them!

Because it's very unlikely that he would get an answer

It's a secret underground operation now if we tol'd you it wouldn't be secret anymore.

It was a "plain clothes" raid

I did ask and nothing but silence

thanks for all the really intelligent answer

you guys really know your stuff

Free donuts?

I did ask and nothing but silence

thanks for all the really intelligent answer

you guys really know your stuff

Well you should have said that you had asked then. Shouldn't you!

well I honestly thought I would get an answer from some farang that actually worked there

how wrong I was

not difficult to figure out:

a visit by a high-ranking official

Maybe they were all there to see the arrest of the Immigration officials that just jacked my friend for 20,000Bt.?

Wishful thinking....

What happened to your friend?

A crack down ;-)

I went in at 1PM and they were filming for a TV show or something. The fake smiles and wai's of the staff was quite amusing in front of the cameras. They were also walking around asking different nationalities to talk to the camera and tell of there experience.

The whole place has been re-done with everyone wearing new official uniforms and all the desks etc re-shuffled.

didnt you have photo day when you went to school???

I went in at 1PM and they were filming for a TV show or something. The fake smiles and wai's of the staff was quite amusing in front of the cameras. They were also walking around asking different nationalities to talk to the camera and tell of there experience.

The whole place has been re-done with everyone wearing new official uniforms and all the desks etc re-shuffled.

"The fake smiles and wai's of the staff ..."

Considering the things posted here by farang who feel stressed out at the effort to pretend to be polite to Thai people generally, it's somewhat ironic that those who have to force themselves to "act" politely would see insincerity in others.

Whenever I've been there, there have smiles, acknowledgements of greetings and wais when appropriate for those meriting them. Not everyone of course. In any fairly large government office there'll be a wide range of personalities and good & bad days for individuals (and these officers have to deal with a boatload of farang everyday, many of whom would drive the most pleasant person up a wall).

If they were descended upon by high ranking officials and were being filmed, it seems quite natural that they would want to project a positive image ... as would any of us in a similar situation. I've also found the majority of people there to be quite pleasant to deal with. I find them to be civil by nature and not fake.

Moved out of visa section to local

well I honestly thought I would get an answer from some farang that actually worked there

how wrong I was

Why would a farlung be working there? Needs a work permit!

I was there on 22 and also lots of police,

From what i gathered they came out from some meeting as all piled out from the second floor.

So may be some kind of seminar or training

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I did ask and nothing but silence

thanks for all the really intelligent answer

you guys really know your stuff

I agree with you mate there seem to be a lot of plonkers here

I asked for body guard when I go to immigration.

sorry guys, but you have to understand that I m vip.

An unidentified source assured me that the reason they were gathered at Jomtien Immigration is that the word came down about a mafia crime about to take place on beach road...so they all went to the 2nd floor of immigration to observe from a distance...

With any hope they are they are visiting from some of the less efficient places to learn how to do it better!

I went in at 1PM and they were filming for a TV show or something. The fake smiles and wai's of the staff was quite amusing in front of the cameras. They were also walking around asking different nationalities to talk to the camera and tell of there experience.

The whole place has been re-done with everyone wearing new official uniforms and all the desks etc re-shuffled.

"The fake smiles and wai's of the staff ..."

Considering the things posted here by farang who feel stressed out at the effort to pretend to be polite to Thai people generally, it's somewhat ironic that those who have to force themselves to "act" politely would see insincerity in others.

Whenever I've been there, there have smiles, acknowledgements of greetings and wais when appropriate for those meriting them. Not everyone of course. In any fairly large government office there'll be a wide range of personalities and good & bad days for individuals (and these officers have to deal with a boatload of farang everyday, many of whom would drive the most pleasant person up a wall).

If they were descended upon by high ranking officials and were being filmed, it seems quite natural that they would want to project a positive image ... as would any of us in a similar situation. I've also found the majority of people there to be quite pleasant to deal with. I find them to be civil by nature and not fake.

With the exception of that guy at the front desk when you walk in (an absurd situation given the narrow doorway and the queues to either get forms or present them to get the all-important number), I concur. The workload in that office could easily make for the kind of soul-destroying job we see people doing in motor vehicle registries and the like all over our home countries, but when your number is finally called you rarely find yourself faced with anyone like our friend at the front desk. I wonder how many of us could summon a smile, fake or otherwise, after as little as a month working under those conditions ?

For those who consider this the stance of an apologist, I'm more than happy to share my opinion of the RTP and several retail outlets in Pattaya - for now, lets keep it positive shall we ? Much happier to deal with Immigration here than any of the bozos at Consulates throughout the region.

A brown envelope share out maybe

I was there on 22 and also lots of police,

From what i gathered they came out from some meeting as all piled out from the second floor.

So may be some kind of seminar or training

More likely the day they are sharing the proceeds for the new 5000 baht education visa "vip" service.

I went in at 1PM and they were filming for a TV show or something. The fake smiles and wai's of the staff was quite amusing in front of the cameras. They were also walking around asking different nationalities to talk to the camera and tell of there experience.

The whole place has been re-done with everyone wearing new official uniforms and all the desks etc re-shuffled.

I went yesterday about 13.15 and seen nothing. The officer refereed to here has moved from the counter on the left to the one directly in front of the entrance. Cannot really see an improvement from the re-shuffle. The electronic numbers boards are not yet operational, so difficult enough to hear them calling it out, although they do call it out over a microphone also but not very effective.

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please close as no answers to OP

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