Interview about new Chiangmai Immigration office

[NancyL]

Despite what CMNightRider might think, the on-line queue stayed open for several weeks after Promenada opened. And, if he wants us to "draw our own conclusions" then why is it that CLL and CEC can arrange a private opening of the office this Saturday and totally bypass the visa agents? Hmm?

I think we have to accept Col. Rutjapong at his word that he doesn't want all of the customers using visa agents.

Edited September 21, 2015 by NancyL

[chingmai331]

Smith, plz tell me, if any person, on a retirement extension here in CM, let's say for the second or third year, and barring some error or faulty paperwork of the retiree, MUST visit Prom more than once per year to satisfy the Immig requirements?

I agree this operation of Immig is not of our choosing but why you seem to insist we must keep going to Prom/Immig is incorrect, IMO.

I am talking only of ONE person, as stated above. I have no real interest in counting by ones, or multiplication, the total number of persons who do go to Prom/Immig, as many functions are provided. I thought we were on retirement extensions only, not Tourist extensions, not reentry stamps, not generally Medical Extensions.

And a bit of a rub, the word 'people' is usually considered a collective noun, like 'orchestra'. Thus such a word would use the singular modifier, 'number'. eg, "The number of people in China is staggering."

rgrds

[CMNightRider]

Despite what CMNightRider might think, the on-line queue stayed open for several weeks after Promenada opened. And, if he wants us to "draw our own conclusions" then why is it that CLL and CEC can arrange a private opening of the office this Saturday and totally bypass the visa agents? Hmm?

I think we have to accept Col. Rutjapong at his word that he doesn't want all of the customers using visa agents.

Hmm......Please refer to post 115.

[Mapguy]

So much useless angst among English-speaking expats, probably 95% from inhabitants of fomer colonies of the British Empire as well as Britain! Deal with it! You are here; not there, wherever that might be!

Edited September 21, 2015 by Mapguy

[northernjohn]

As I type this I just realized I could have given my Granddaughter a chance to make 300 baht for standing in a line for 4 to 5 hours. She would have jumped at the chance. Bad me

You let your grand daughter drive somewhere and hang out in the dark at 4 or 5 am ??

She is a big girl and can take care of herself probably you to.

I see Nancy is in on this. I wonder what inappropriate things she has witnessed there? I actually find it strange that you are the first one in over 500 posts to suggest it could be a problem. Also I guess maybe you are new in Chiang Mai and unaware of the traffic. 5:00 in the morning would be a much better time to be on the road.

[masuk]

imho,immigration services in the past was not perfect but okay, one could get bye and achieve your needs (90 day ext of stay),until the do so called gooders,got on there band wagon,and started to make waves,thinking there way was more important than there hosts,thai culture do not like interference or be dictated to by a outsider,or questioned for that matter,just my two pennys worth.

At present I totally agree!

I never had much of an issue with the old office, I knew the quirks and the expected wait times (a couple of hours now and then) and with online queue for extensions you could plan accordingly.

It now seems complaints to the immigration department and the questioning of their efficiency have led us to an even worse off situation.

At least the old office had a 'waiting room', cramped as it might have been.

I suspect that this small matter was an oversight when Promenda was chosen as the site for the new Immigration offices. Space for the desks and staff, but no actual place for customers.

[Trujillo]

From a management point of view, you have to ask: Why only move a portion of the office to the new location?

The way you move a business is to find a suitable place, populate it with the hardware and material necessary for operations and then move the entire staff there.

It makes no business sense to retain a defunct node of operations. My guess is that they had paid rent through the rest of this year on the old building and the powers that be felt that "abandoning" space you are still renting would be like having spent money for nothing.

I am still scratching my head over the fact, as has been pointed out by others, that the giant building where immigration processes the Burmese would be a perfect place to move all immigration activities -- the place is monolithic, mostly vacant, has indoor/breezeway waiting areas and parking. What's the deal with that?

[LivinLOS]

What's the deal with that?

Harder to renegotiate the kickback into an old deal..

[NancyL]

From a management point of view, you have to ask: Why only move a portion of the office to the new location?

The way you move a business is to find a suitable place, populate it with the hardware and material necessary for operations and then move the entire staff there.

It makes no business sense to retain a defunct node of operations. My guess is that they had paid rent through the rest of this year on the old building and the powers that be felt that "abandoning" space you are still renting would be like having spent money for nothing.

I am still scratching my head over the fact, as has been pointed out by others, that the giant building where immigration processes the Burmese would be a perfect place to move all immigration activities -- the place is monolithic, mostly vacant, has indoor/breezeway waiting areas and parking. What's the deal with that?

Tuijilo, re-read the interview. What you're saying makes sense if there were a budget for the move. But Col. Rutjapong claims there is no budget for the move or the new office. They're doing this "on the fly" and moving the entire operation over in stages. Next up -- ED visas coming soon to Promenada.

[Trujillo]

I don't think you understand what you are saying, believe it or not.

My point is that moving a business operation ANYWHERE is something you do (unless it's a major manufacturer) all at once. You don't discombobulate your operations, but it appears that is exactly what has been done with immigration.

I spoke with an immigration officer today involved with retirement visas at Promenada. She is aware of the absurdity of having to come stand in line two-and-a-half hours before the office opens and STILL not get a number for the day (as was the situation this morning).

I said, "Some of these foreigners are pretty old -- 70 to 80 years old; would you feel right if your grandfather had to come to some government office at 6am and wait (in the dark) until 8:30am only to be told he can't even get a number?"

Sure, it was a loaded question, but one that brought the point home. (As for that, she made a face when she pictured it -- her grandfather out there -- but still had the attitude that bespoke the sentiment of: "But they're farang; whatever.")

We spoke about the reservation system (not likely to return) and how you can't make a booking in person (ever); we spoke about standing in line in the middle of the night; and we spoke of why they have a big building to process the Burmese in but don't take up any other of the generous space for anything else.

At 3:30pm and again at 4:30pm there were fewer than six foreigners there, and the place did not look busy at all. At the latter time, a university student intern was reviewing a stack of applications or some other forms (free labor, I assume). The retirement extension person had nothing to do at that time, that I could see. It really made me wonder about the system, whereby everything (and everyone) is crammed into the "before lunch time" and after that, it seems like ... well, it seems like a "day" there finishes about 3pm or so.

Granted, there did not seem to be a great many people working there as well. So there is that too....

But all my questions and comments were fielded with, "It's the policy of the boss."

And the more I heard this, and the more I looked around, the more I thought, "Well, someone really needs to speak to the boss's boss in Bangkok to get to the bottom of what's really going on."

The idea, accepted as whole cloth it seems, is that grumpy/stingy 'ol Bangkok won't give poor Chiang Mai any more money for anything. We are to believe this blindly without even thinking about whether this makes sense or not, and without validating the claim. (It comes from the head of immigration in Chiang Mai, it must be wholly true....)

I don't know why NancyL is such an apologist for the immigration office here (She's gone so far as to blame the foreigners for the problem because we come too early). I fear there is much more to this story than we are getting from the immigration chief in Chiang Mai. Someone with connections to one of the national English-language papers should steer a reporter in this direction and have a feature story written about the real whys and hows from the Bangkok boss's mouth (and photos of elderly folks huddling at 4am in Chiang Mai just to maybe get a number for the day -- that alone ought to make the "happiness" government heads take notice).

The information we are given might in fact be wholly true; it could be that the head honchos in Bangkok are -- for thus far mysterious reasons -- withholding much needed funds. But my Thailand Spidey sense is tingling...as they say, "One tale's good until another is told."

[LivinLOS]

The idea, accepted as whole cloth it seems, is that grumpy/stingy 'ol Bangkok won't give poor Chiang Mai any more money for anything. We are to believe this blindly without even thinking about whether this makes sense or not, and without validating the claim. (It comes from the head of immigration in Chiang Mai, it must be wholly true....)

...

The information we are given might in fact be wholly true; it could be that the head honchos in Bangkok are -- for thus far mysterious reasons -- withholding much needed funds. But my Thailand Spidey sense is tingling...as they say, "One tale's good until another is told."

The fact is many of the things they say simply dont stack up..

We cant run the online system because its 2 locations.. And yet when you made a online reservation you told them what visa class you were applying for.. So they cant send one copy to promenada for the retirement folks.. and a second copy to the airport for the marriage folks.. I mean why not ?? So perhaps that leaves 'holes' in the appointments ?? So then just process a walk in queue number..

Its patently untrue.. Its not even a convincing lie.. Its one of those 'heres a reason that makes no sense but dont ask any further as its not polite to call people out on their lies' lie..

[Ozziepat]

Visited Promenada today. There were chairs inside Immigration, with vacancies, at 0915. The 90-day desk had two officers processing papers at a combined rate of roughly one every two minutes using the computer system now. The re-entry desk ran out of customers around 1000 or 1030 - I wasn't really paying much attention to them. The retirement visa desk looked to be staffed with only one officer with a helper. This might well be the only bottleneck in the whole operation at the moment. Otherwise all was quiet and comfortable. There were more chairs outside with a couple of large fans providing relief.

Just generally speaking, it appeared that if the office adds one retirement-visa officer, most complaints will have been addressed. And if a substantial number of people choose either the mail-in or special CEC process route, those might become the problem while the Immigration office becomes a quiet and efficient place to get things done. That would indeed be ironic.

[NancyL]

Well Truijilo, sounds like you had an informative afternoon at Immigration Promenada talking with one of the officers and probably only reinforcing her belief that English-speaking foreigners are rude and have an over-inflated sense of their own importance. I only hope you were fairly well groomed and kept your voice down or you probably also reinforced her belief that we smell bad and talk too loudly.

You and others have called me an "apologist" for the CM Immigration office. I'd prefer to think of myself as a "realist", working to try to understand reality, what the situation really is and how we can realistically affect change and improve conditions. I hope that by explaining "reality" to other expats, I can help them to understand what is needed to work within the system rather than continuing to butt their heads against a brick wall. For example, my observation that there really isn't much point in coming to Imm. Prom much before 6 am -- that it's the English-speaking customers who are coming early, not the agents.

Truijilo -- you said "someone" should steer one of the English speaking newspapers into doing something? I'm not sure what. Well, why not be that "someone"? Channel your frustration and (maybe) anger into something more realistic than providing an afternoon's amusement for an Immigration officer and insulting someone on an internet forum -- someone who is trying to work within the system to improve conditions, with the hand we've been dealt. If you think getting a newspaper involved would help -- then go do it! What's stopping you?

[CMBob]

......I fear there is much more to this story than we are getting from the immigration chief in Chiang Mai. Someone with connections to one of the national English-language papers should steer a reporter in this direction and have a feature story written about the real whys and hows from the Bangkok boss's mouth (and photos of elderly folks huddling at 4am in Chiang Mai just to maybe get a number for the day -- that alone ought to make the "happiness" government heads take notice).

I'm not sure how you really can say that and then end your post saying that what the immigration chief said "might in fact be wholly true."

The real answer to resolving your "fear" just might be on the grassy knoll in Dallas....

[true blue]

complaining, moaning,bickering,confronting imm underlings an senior officers imho,only aggrevates imm personal, i shudder to think what they percieve about us,bet they wished they could see the back of us all,especially them confronting them on a regular basis,why dont you just put up what the system is at the moment,and let the thais sort it out,im 100%sure they no what the proplems are.without some one on a ego trip telling them every day.

[Mapguy]

I don't think you understand what you are saying, believe it or not.

My point is that moving a business operation ANYWHERE is something you do (unless it's a major manufacturer) all at once. You don't discombobulate your operations, but it appears that is exactly what has been done with immigration.

I spoke with an immigration officer today involved with retirement visas at Promenada. She is aware of the absurdity of having to come stand in line two-and-a-half hours before the office opens and STILL not get a number for the day (as was the situation this morning).

I said, "Some of these foreigners are pretty old -- 70 to 80 years old; would you feel right if your grandfather had to come to some government office at 6am and wait (in the dark) until 8:30am only to be told he can't even get a number?"

Sure, it was a loaded question, but one that brought the point home. (As for that, she made a face when she pictured it -- her grandfather out there -- but still had the attitude that bespoke the sentiment of: "But they're farang; whatever.")

We spoke about the reservation system (not likely to return) and how you can't make a booking in person (ever); we spoke about standing in line in the middle of the night; and we spoke of why they have a big building to process the Burmese in but don't take up any other of the generous space for anything else.

At 3:30pm and again at 4:30pm there were fewer than six foreigners there, and the place did not look busy at all. At the latter time, a university student intern was reviewing a stack of applications or some other forms (free labor, I assume). The retirement extension person had nothing to do at that time, that I could see. It really made me wonder about the system, whereby everything (and everyone) is crammed into the "before lunch time" and after that, it seems like ... well, it seems like a "day" there finishes about 3pm or so.

Granted, there did not seem to be a great many people working there as well. So there is that too....

But all my questions and comments were fielded with, "It's the policy of the boss."

And the more I heard this, and the more I looked around, the more I thought, "Well, someone really needs to speak to the boss's boss in Bangkok to get to the bottom of what's really going on."

The idea, accepted as whole cloth it seems, is that grumpy/stingy 'ol Bangkok won't give poor Chiang Mai any more money for anything. We are to believe this blindly without even thinking about whether this makes sense or not, and without validating the claim. (It comes from the head of immigration in Chiang Mai, it must be wholly true....)

I don't know why NancyL is such an apologist for the immigration office here (She's gone so far as to blame the foreigners for the problem because we come too early). I fear there is much more to this story than we are getting from the immigration chief in Chiang Mai. Someone with connections to one of the national English-language papers should steer a reporter in this direction and have a feature story written about the real whys and hows from the Bangkok boss's mouth (and photos of elderly folks huddling at 4am in Chiang Mai just to maybe get a number for the day -- that alone ought to make the "happiness" government heads take notice).

The information we are given might in fact be wholly true; it could be that the head honchos in Bangkok are -- for thus far mysterious reasons -- withholding much needed funds. But my Thailand Spidey sense is tingling...as they say, "One tale's good until another is told."

Trujillo, there are some useful suggestions which can be made from time to time to increase efficiency --- and that is the sort of thing that NancyL is working at.

Your conversation, as you reported it, was not polite. It was pushy and, as you wrote, with some "loaded" questions. That's downright rude in polite company in Thailand just as some other forms of local farang behavior are inappropriate. Browbeating a junior officer and later presuming she was goofing off was over the top.

Then this:

The idea, accepted as whole cloth it seems, is that grumpy/stingy 'ol Bangkok won't give poor Chiang Mai any more money for anything. We are to believe this blindly without even thinking about whether this makes sense or not, and without validating the claim. (It comes from the head of immigration in Chiang Mai, it must be wholly true....)

That's also over the top. How do you suppose going about "validating the claim"? How is questioning the judgment or veracity of the local head of Immigration helpful? You don't really have a clue about the scope of his responsibilities, and they go well beyond the concerns of self-important farang.

I'm as frustrated sometimes as the next fellow. You can call me an apologist, if you wish, but your approach is not at all helpful in Thailand where successful interpersonal relationships are handled quite differently than reflected by your behavior, as you reported it. You haven't been helpful at all.

Want to be helpful? Start with apologizing to NancyL, then join her learning and assisting with the procedures with applicants necessary for the experimental monthly procedures. If you want improvements, you'd best change your style.

[fang37]

I just wish to know the truth & nothing but the truth.

I am so confused this year that I will use an agent for the first time.

[NancyL]

I just wish to know the truth & nothing but the truth.

I am so confused this year that I will use an agent for the first time.

Fang37, you've been here long enough to know that in Thailand, nothing is as it appears.

There is no "truth" or "right and wrong" or "black and white". It all "depends".

You'll drive yourself crazy trying to see Thailand thru a western lens.

Given your difficulties in living so far from the Immigration office, a visa agent may be a wise investment for you.

Edited September 23, 2015 by NancyL

[Mapguy]

I just wish to know the truth & nothing but the truth.

I am so confused this year that I will use an agent for the first time.

Fang37, you've been here long enough to know that in Thailand, nothing is as it appears.

There is no "truth" or "right and wrong" or "black and white". It all "depends".

You'll drive yourself crazy trying to see Thailand thru a western lens.

Given your difficulties in living so far from the Immigration office, a visa agent may be a wise investment for you.

Confusion generally comes from so much inaccurate, incomplete or just noisy flapdoodle from bar stool to barstool or on TV Chiang Mai.

I'm not sure what "western eyes" are, but there are different ways of behaving and going about things successfully in Thailand --- and getting done what needs to be done, and they aren't that different, really, than what is effective in the "West." I basically agree that, given current circumstances, a reliable agent for annual extensions could be a very reasonable choice coupled with making 90-Day reports by mail. If getting to the post office is a struggle, then setting up an annual program with an established agent will probably work better for you.

[fang37]

90 day reporting - too easy - Fang. 5 minutes max.

Annual extension. 3am kickoff is not for me so my choices are but few. ie visa agent or visa agent.

I think that it is extortion/collusion but what I think has no relevance.

Visa agent - yes sir, no sir - whatever pleases you, Sir.

[Dante99]

I don't think you understand what you are saying, believe it or not.

My point is that moving a business operation ANYWHERE is something you do (unless it's a major manufacturer) all at once. You don't discombobulate your operations, but it appears that is exactly what has been done with immigration.

I spoke with an immigration officer today involved with retirement visas at Promenada. She is aware of the absurdity of having to come stand in line two-and-a-half hours before the office opens and STILL not get a number for the day (as was the situation this morning).

I said, "Some of these foreigners are pretty old -- 70 to 80 years old; would you feel right if your grandfather had to come to some government office at 6am and wait (in the dark) until 8:30am only to be told he can't even get a number?"

Sure, it was a loaded question, but one that brought the point home. (As for that, she made a face when she pictured it -- her grandfather out there -- but still had the attitude that bespoke the sentiment of: "But they're farang; whatever.")

We spoke about the reservation system (not likely to return) and how you can't make a booking in person (ever); we spoke about standing in line in the middle of the night; and we spoke of why they have a big building to process the Burmese in but don't take up any other of the generous space for anything else.

At 3:30pm and again at 4:30pm there were fewer than six foreigners there, and the place did not look busy at all. At the latter time, a university student intern was reviewing a stack of applications or some other forms (free labor, I assume). The retirement extension person had nothing to do at that time, that I could see. It really made me wonder about the system, whereby everything (and everyone) is crammed into the "before lunch time" and after that, it seems like ... well, it seems like a "day" there finishes about 3pm or so.

Granted, there did not seem to be a great many people working there as well. So there is that too....

But all my questions and comments were fielded with, "It's the policy of the boss."

And the more I heard this, and the more I looked around, the more I thought, "Well, someone really needs to speak to the boss's boss in Bangkok to get to the bottom of what's really going on."

The idea, accepted as whole cloth it seems, is that grumpy/stingy 'ol Bangkok won't give poor Chiang Mai any more money for anything. We are to believe this blindly without even thinking about whether this makes sense or not, and without validating the claim. (It comes from the head of immigration in Chiang Mai, it must be wholly true....)

I don't know why NancyL is such an apologist for the immigration office here (She's gone so far as to blame the foreigners for the problem because we come too early). I fear there is much more to this story than we are getting from the immigration chief in Chiang Mai. Someone with connections to one of the national English-language papers should steer a reporter in this direction and have a feature story written about the real whys and hows from the Bangkok boss's mouth (and photos of elderly folks huddling at 4am in Chiang Mai just to maybe get a number for the day -- that alone ought to make the "happiness" government heads take notice).

The information we are given might in fact be wholly true; it could be that the head honchos in Bangkok are -- for thus far mysterious reasons -- withholding much needed funds. But my Thailand Spidey sense is tingling...as they say, "One tale's good until another is told."

Trujillo, there are some useful suggestions which can be made from time to time to increase efficiency --- and that is the sort of thing that NancyL is working at.

Your conversation, as you reported it, was not polite. It was pushy and, as you wrote, with some "loaded" questions. That's downright rude in polite company in Thailand just as some other forms of local farang behavior are inappropriate. Browbeating a junior officer and later presuming she was goofing off was over the top.

Then this:

The idea, accepted as whole cloth it seems, is that grumpy/stingy 'ol Bangkok won't give poor Chiang Mai any more money for anything. We are to believe this blindly without even thinking about whether this makes sense or not, and without validating the claim. (It comes from the head of immigration in Chiang Mai, it must be wholly true....)

That's also over the top. How do you suppose going about "validating the claim"? How is questioning the judgment or veracity of the local head of Immigration helpful? You don't really have a clue about the scope of his responsibilities, and they go well beyond the concerns of self-important farang.

I'm as frustrated sometimes as the next fellow. You can call me an apologist, if you wish, but your approach is not at all helpful in Thailand where successful interpersonal relationships are handled quite differently than reflected by your behavior, as you reported it. You haven't been helpful at all.

Want to be helpful? Start with apologizing to NancyL, then join her learning and assisting with the procedures with applicants necessary for the experimental monthly procedures. If you want improvements, you'd best change your style.

Great Mapguy, it took you a lot of words to attempt to politely tell Trujillo that he/she really did not understand much, was arrogant, presumptuous, culturally and socially inept and truely making the problem worse but you did it well.

It is also very welcome that you have grown out of your old immigration bashing self or at least have put it on mute.

Beers on me next time we cross paths.

[harpman88]

Are retirement extensions really seasonal?

Do they really think retired people only need extensions in high season?

BS or stupidity?

. The fact is it really boils down to a daily crapshoot.,regardless of "season". Some days there just happen to be a lot more people/demand than other days. My outlook is to always be mentally prepared for any situation I find on that particular day. One thing for sure,you can NEVER give much credence to these posts of what happened to so and so on any given day,as your experience,even for the same service,could very well be radically different the next day,or whenever.My experiences with the many retire exts.,90 day reports etc. Ive done run the gamut from seamless to downright horrible.Again,be ready for anything.

[northernjohn]

Are retirement extensions really seasonal?

Do they really think retired people only need extensions in high season?

BS or stupidity?

. The fact is it really boils down to a daily crapshoot.,regardless of "season". Some days there just happen to be a lot more people/demand than other days. My outlook is to always be mentally prepared for any situation I find on that particular day. One thing for sure,you can NEVER give much credence to these posts of what happened to so and so on any given day,as your experience,even for the same service,could very well be radically different the next day,or whenever.My experiences with the many retire exts.,90 day reports etc. Ive done run the gamut from seamless to downright horrible.Again,be ready for anything.

Thank you for the touch of reality. Seems like a lot of people take their bad experience to be the reality for all. When ever I go in I take a book with me to be prepared. Some times I get to read it some times a lot some times not. I even went in once at 9:30 in the morning for my yearly extension and was told to come back at 3:00. I was fully prepared to be told come back tomorrow. It is a crap shoot different every day and depending on how many people are properly prepared.

[JaseTheBass]

From a management point of view, you have to ask: Why only move a portion of the office to the new location?

The way you move a business is to find a suitable place, populate it with the hardware and material necessary for operations and then move the entire staff there.

It makes no business sense to retain a defunct node of operations. My guess is that they had paid rent through the rest of this year on the old building and the powers that be felt that "abandoning" space you are still renting would be like having spent money for nothing.

I am still scratching my head over the fact, as has been pointed out by others, that the giant building where immigration processes the Burmese would be a perfect place to move all immigration activities -- the place is monolithic, mostly vacant, has indoor/breezeway waiting areas and parking. What's the deal with that?

Tuijilo, re-read the interview. What you're saying makes sense if there were a budget for the move. But Col. Rutjapong claims there is no budget for the move or the new office. They're doing this "on the fly" and moving the entire operation over in stages. Next up -- ED visas coming soon to Promenada.

Surely renting space at Promenada costs more than using space they own/rent?

[NancyL]

It's not obvious from the Original Post, but it wasn't Don from Don's Life in Thailand blog who conducted the Interviews with the manager of Promenada Mall and the head of CM Immigration. I did and reported it in the newsletter of the Chiang Mai Expats Club on September 14th: https://madmimi.com/p/b65ba6?fe=1&pact=33054517539 Scroll down thru the newsletter for the complete article.

Don copied the interview and put it in his own newsletter and that's what got posted here in ThaiVisa.

Now, to answer the question about "Surely renting space at Promenada costs more than using space they own/rent?"

Immigration is full at their office near the airport. They don't have unused space available. I am under the impression that Promenada mall extended a very good rental rate to the Immigration office, because in the interview Col. Rutjapong mentioned that other provinces are considering similar arrangements with malls. Why own and operate buildings when you can rent more cheaply?

[bangmai]

Nancy....how come there has been no mention of another CEC sponsored day with Immigration? If it is still going to continue, is there a calendar? Will it be monthly? Seems to have gone real quiet.

Edited October 31, 2015 by bangmai

[NancyL]

Bangmai, the special Saturday session at Immigration in September was well received by the members of the Japanese Chiangmai Longstay Life Club (CLL), Chiangmai Expats Club (CEC) and CM Immigration who participated. However, Immigration has been tasked with increased enforcement tasks since the Bangkok bombings -- some reported here on Thai visa -- and they have said they can't spare the manpower for a Saturday session, at least for a while. So, we haven't set a schedule for future sessions.

So, at this time, we don't know if or when a future special session will be scheduled.

[cyberfarang]

Bangmai, the special Saturday session at Immigration in September was well received by the members of the Japanese Chiangmai Longstay Life Club (CLL), Chiangmai Expats Club (CEC) and CM Immigration who participated. However, Immigration has been tasked with increased enforcement tasks since the Bangkok bombings -- some reported here on Thai visa -- and they have said they can't spare the manpower for a Saturday session, at least for a while. So, we haven't set a schedule for future sessions.

So, at this time, we don't know if or when a future special session will be scheduled.

just selling u more porky pies

a very nice late afternoon to all

evenstevens, I don't know if you're saying the CEC is selling porky pies or Immigration is.

If anyone joined CEC since mid-September for the sole reason that they thought they'd have easy access to Immigration, then we'll be happy to refund their Lifetime Membership fee.

Incidentally, the survey CEC conducted about the Immigration on-line queue has been distributed to the Consulates and some Embassies. There are several Embassies that are taking the issue of the on-line queue quite seriously, based in part on this survey and the comments submitted.

http://www.chiangmaiexpatsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/cec_2015_survey.pdf

http://www.chiangmaiexpatsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/immigration_survey_comments.pdf

http://www.chiangmaiexpatsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/immigration_survey_details_comments.pdf

CEC is continuing to try to improve conditions for expats at Imm. Prom. even if we're aren't able to schedule another special Saturday sessions. We're not "selling anyone porkie pies"

Read your pdf files and you have described the situation and feelings of expats exactly. I personally love you to bits for it.

If I maybe so bold to make a contribution in these posts by saying; we as those that need to use the services of immigration also have a duty to assist by not being selfish and throwing spanners into the works. I think the people who are unsure how to complete their paperwork should use the services of the agents or at least ask friends in the know to help before turning up at immigration expecting a member of staff to do it all for them. The other thing is, if immigration do decide to reinstall their online booking system is to do the right things and never abuse it. If they play the game fairly with us, then it`s our duty not only to immigration but also to each other, to play the game fairly with them, otherwise it`s going to be, abuse it and lose it, that will make the hard work the Expats club has put into this all in vain.

[connda]

I'm afraid I gave up believing anything that comes from an Immigration spokesperson a long time ago.

Immigration offices are a gold mine for any ruling Government.CM is no exception.

It takes, on average, an officer 10-15 minutes to process a retirement extension.The online system had 10 slots for a whole day.

CM is Thailands second biggest city with a ratio of expats to Thais that would far exceed Bangkok.Go figure.

Just to clear up a popular fallacy - Chiang Mai is not Thailand's second largest city. It lies number 7 after Korat.

Bangkok 5,104,476 Samut Prakan 388,920 Mueang Nonthaburi 291,555 Udon Thani 247,231 Chon Buri 219,164 Nakhon Ratchasima 208,781 Chiang Mai 200,952

Lies, da*mn lies, and Statistics.

What I'd really like to see is the geographical area served by each Immigration District along with data on the number of 'customers' that each Immigration District services on a yearly basis. Do you think we can get those figures? Probably not.

The hell with the population figures, which are essentially the number of people in the immediate downtown (Muang) area and does not account for the population in the immediate and intermediate areas surrounding the downtown area which can be pretty densely populated. So population means little.

How many foreigners are serviced annually by each Immigration District, and how many of us have to drive in from Timbuctoo to get to immigration and have the honor of standing in line at Zero Dark Thirty.

Does Udon Thani have our problems: No (I know people there)

Does Chon Buri have our problems: No (I know people there)

Does Korat have our problems: No (I use to live there)

Bangkok: No (Not that we hear of on TV)

Samut Prakan: No (Not that we hear of on TV)

Nonthaburi: No (Not that we hear of on TV)

So why are we the "Red-headed step child" of the Thai Immigration system?

Maybe someone can ask Prayut (as soon as hell freezes over I assume).

[connda]

I'm baffled by the anger about the move. The airport location was small, cramped and chaotic. There was no parking. The small waiting area was hot and uncomfortable. I find the new office to be better organized, faster and much less stressful.

I guess haters are going to hate, no matter what....

I'm amazed at the ignorance of individuals who are unable to tell the difference between hate, and valid criticism and frustration.

Generalizing and lumping everyone with a dissenting opinion as a 'hater' is in itself, a type of hate speech. It's pejorative, vitriolic, and aimed at creating and environment of hate through the use of ridicule.

Try another tactic. I know who the hater is. You should have stopped at "...faster and much less stressful.", instead of trolling. Everything you said up to that point was valid. But you had to name-call. Pathetic.