Immigration Promenada One Stop Service 2016-2017

[jeffandgop]

I went to get my retirement extension today. Arrived at 5am and #8 in line. First 2 were "que" sitters for clients.  #3 was a retiree who had been camping out since midnight. Office opened at 08:30 with all stations manned except retirement. The officer arrived to work at 09:10. He processed 4 applicants and then left for almost 15 minutes. Just after #7 was finished an agent without a que# jumped in at the desk and was processed. Finally I was called at 10:15am and was finished 9 minutes later and then had to wait for the return of my passport while it sat on the desk another 25 minutes. I did not include a TM30 in my documents nor was one asked for. I also noted that a few retirees represented by agents with que #'s 25+ were being served ahead of those with lower que #'s. 

[rawhod]

Went to Immigration at Promenada yesterday, Monday  29 May, to do my Retirement Extension of Stay.

 

Arrived at 0645 hrs. There were 4 "stools" in the Retirement Queue before me .

At 0830 they immigration started dealing with people and by 0845 I had Green Ticket Number 4 (one person discovered that he should go to office No 3 for his Spouse Extension)

By 0920 hrs I was being dealt with and was finished by 0930 hrs.

A further 10 minutes for my photo and stamp being signed, and I was on my way by 0940 hrs.

 

My wife said that a total of 7 (seven) tickets were issued whilst we were there

[NancyL]

38 minutes ago, rawhod said:

Went to Immigration at Promenada yesterday, Monday  29 May, to do my Retirement Extension of Stay.

 

Arrived at 0645 hrs. There were 4 "stools" in the Retirement Queue before me .

At 0830 they immigration started dealing with people and by 0845 I had Green Ticket Number 4 (one person discovered that he should go to office No 3 for his Spouse Extension)

By 0920 hrs I was being dealt with and was finished by 0930 hrs.

A further 10 minutes for my photo and stamp being signed, and I was on my way by 0940 hrs.

 

My wife said that a total of 7 (seven) tickets were issued whilst we were there

Wow, only seven queue tickets for retirement extensions were issued on Monday.  So, it seems you could have arrived at 8:30 am and still probably have been done by lunchtime.  It's looking more and more like some of the "problem" with people arriving at zero dark thirty for retirement extension queue is of everyone's own making.  If people arrived at a more reasonable hour, like say, 8 am, they'd still get served that day.

 

Remember, the visa agents have been taken out of the "retail" queue and are served by their own desk in the second floor office.  That has freed up queue tickets for regular, normal customers.

[opalred]

i was there Monday check on posted 90day as was 2 weeks 

but OK the post was slow on return and received today

the wife and i went for walk

14yrs here never saw so few people there

10 30  no one in 90day/ a hand full in main part office

so all the b/s and scary mongering that goes on  about the immigration 

is only to get people to go to second floor mob to pay money

did i see nancy l at the 2nd floor mob

[CNXBKKMAN]

14 minutes ago, opalred said:

i was there Monday check on posted 90day as was 2 weeks 

but OK the post was slow on return and received today

the wife and i went for walk

14yrs here never saw so few people there

10 30  no one in 90day/ a hand full in main part office

so all the b/s and scary mongering that goes on  about the immigration 

is only to get people to go to second floor mob to pay money

did i see nancy l at the 2nd floor mob

I wish I could do my annual extension at this time of the year because as you say it's not as busy. I did my 90 day last week and at 14:00 there was two people ahead of me. In and out in 10 mins. Unfortunately it is not like this all year round. I do my extension in August and it is very busy. Turn up at 06:00 and you are too late. It's happened to me more than once. 

[misterkeeperofthereef]

On 1/8/2016 at 3:24 PM, camsouth said:

greeting all

well here is my report on the im office at prom . now my wife and i had to both go in for our 90 day. we had to file in person because we started our new extension in november ,tried to do it on line but no go . so we got there around 8 30 am. ha ha well nothing has changed much got in back of the line and yes there where a lot there so we didn't get our 90 day Q number. and i am glad i did not . so i went to the visa agent next door . lmao ok so at 9 am we gave all our paper work to them. asked how much 300 bah each so thats $17.11 usd for us both took him ten min to get the new 90 day day and we where done .

Now it seems to me that' s a pretty good idea. so by 9 30 am we where done and on our to the mall and shop, so i ask you is it worth it to go in at 5 am sit there till 8;00 am when they start giving out numbers .( i have done that as well )and i must say this is much easier and less stress full . and then sit and wait some more depending on number to be called some times afternoon or pay 300 bah . be done in 10 min.

So as i looked back as we where leaving and the office at im, and it was packed with people waiting, all of that to save a small 300 bah which is just under 2 caramel macchiato venti 's at starbucks . and some country's like russia you can only use visa agents. so all in all i am now sold on using the agent next door . To me makes no difference , the whys and hows of it ,they provide a service for a good price. cheaper than most others. for what ever the reason and how its set up i could care less/ i value my time just as much . so that's it .

Wonder who has there hands in that little cookie jar 55555

[misterkeeperofthereef]

Thank god i am leaving this country after spending 8 years playing the stand in line game. Going from a Country with a happness rating of 30th to a country listed as number 10 on the happiness scale. What the hell took me so long to figure it out . Maybe it was getting robbed and beaten by the neighbors that finally made me realize that fa longs are just pawns in the machine. I guess i should be happy that they didnt kill me and was just a joke 

[roo860]

Thank god i am leaving this country after spending 8 years playing the stand in line game. Going from a Country with a happness rating of 30th to a country listed as number 10 on the happiness scale. What the hell took me so long to figure it out . Maybe it was getting robbed and beaten by the neighbors that finally made me realize that fa longs are just pawns in the machine. I guess i should be happy that they didnt kill me and was just a joke 

Bloody hell, what was the "joke" about? But it seems like you got the "punch" line!!!!!!!!!
That's serious!

Sent from my SM-G920F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[jeffandgop]

13 hours ago, NancyL said:

Wow, only seven queue tickets for retirement extensions were issued on Monday.  So, it seems you could have arrived at 8:30 am and still probably have been done by lunchtime.  It's looking more and more like some of the "problem" with people arriving at zero dark thirty for retirement extension queue is of everyone's own making.  If people arrived at a more reasonable hour, like say, 8 am, they'd still get served that day.

 

Remember, the visa agents have been taken out of the "retail" queue and are served by their own desk in the second floor office.  That has freed up queue tickets for regular, normal customers.

Hi Nancy.  During my extension of stay processing 2 weeks ago, an agent was served when she walked to the retirement extension of stay desk downstairs just before my que number was called; and I saw "that a few retirees represented by agents with que #'s 25+ were being served ahead of those with lower que #'s" at the same desk (see my post above).

Additionally, when the office opened on my day, by 08:30 there were were some 30 people in the retirement line...

all the best!

Edited May 30, 2017 by jeffandgop
add info

[misterkeeperofthereef]

17 hours ago, roo860 said:

 

Bloody hell, what was the "joke" about? But it seems like you got the "punch" line!!!!!!!!!
That's serious!

Sent from my SM-G920F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

 

At least i will be saving 15 % on my benifits  payments just not having to live here !!!!

[balo]

At least i will be saving 15 % on my benifits  payments just not having to live here !!!!

So what happened ? Did your neigbor just attack you without any provokation from you ? I mean this is not normal in Thailand unless the neigbor lost face .

[scottiejohn]

19 hours ago, misterkeeperofthereef said:

Thank god i am leaving this country after spending 8 years playing the stand in line game. Going from a Country with a happness rating of 30th to a country listed as number 10 on the happiness scale. What the hell took me so long to figure it out . Maybe it was getting robbed and beaten by the neighbors that finally made me realize that fa longs are just pawns in the machine. I guess i should be happy that they didnt kill me and was just a joke 

Whilst I ‘may’ have sympathy with your ‘alleged’ attacks on yourself, what has it got to do with this Topic/Thread about ‘Immigration Promenada’?

 

If you wish to make a statement about your ‘alleged attack’ why not start your own thread and not divert this one?

[trainman34014]

Anyone done a marriage extension recently; if so how long were the queue's and how many a day are they processing ?

[grin]

Has the TM30 requirement changed your travel plans?

 

I do some work in Asia and in some cases it might be a 2 week stint in a location where it would be easy to return home for the intervening weekend. I have wondered what would happen if I returned for a weekend and due to immigration not being open over the weekend I was not able to update my TM30 receipt. What would happen on my subsequent return to Chiang Mai? Would they still update my TM30 without a fine? They would obviously be able to see that my previous return was on a weekend when immigration was not open. Has this happened to anyone else?

 

This is not a frequent occurrence as I seldom work more than a week at a time in Asia so our solution is for my wife to come stay with me for the weekend or we will just meet for the weekend in some other easy to get to location in Asia.

 

[rawhod]

On 5/30/2017 at 3:04 PM, rawhod said:

Went to Immigration at Promenada yesterday, Monday  29 May, to do my Retirement Extension of Stay.

 

Arrived at 0645 hrs. There were 4 "stools" in the Retirement Queue before me .

At 0830 they immigration started dealing with people and by 0845 I had Green Ticket Number 4 (one person discovered that he should go to office No 3 for his Spouse Extension)

By 0920 hrs I was being dealt with and was finished by 0930 hrs.

A further 10 minutes for my photo and stamp being signed, and I was on my way by 0940 hrs.

 

My wife said that a total of 7 (seven) tickets were issued whilst we were there

 

On 5/31/2017 at 6:51 PM, trainman34014 said:

Anyone done a marriage extension recently; if so how long were the queue's and how many a day are they processing ?

See my post above...

[trainman34014]

13 hours ago, rawhod said:

 

See my post above...

You talked of Retirement extension....not the same as Marriage extension !

[EricTh]

I went to Promenada today and the Chinese student (yes, Chinese) fronting the counter told me that the earliest date to renew retirement visa is 45 days.

 

Does anyone know whether does the final day counts as 1 day?

 

For example, if expiry date is until 16 Dec, what is the earliest date? 16 Dec is actually a Saturday.

 

Is it 1st or 2nd November?

 

PS. It seems that immigration allows Chinese students from China to help them in unpaid work as trainees.  

 

 

Edited June 7, 2017 by EricTh

[HullyGully]

When counting days for IMM processing they are all inclusive

 

The first and last date are 2, plus the dates in between

[rawhod]

On 6/6/2017 at 10:36 AM, trainman34014 said:

You talked of Retirement extension....not the same as Marriage extension !

My apologies ...

[EricTh]

18 hours ago, HullyGully said:

When counting days for IMM processing they are all inclusive

 

The first and last date are 2, plus the dates in between

Bummer! I was hoping they won't include the last day.

 

Thanks  for the info.

[EricTh]

I can confirm the free shuttle bus to Promenada is no longer in operation!

 

Does anyone know whether there are other public taxis besides the expensive red taxis going to Promenada from the city center?

 

 

Edited June 10, 2017 by EricTh

[Rimmer]

A racist rant  has been trashed

[sanemax]

6 hours ago, EricTh said:

I can confirm the free shuttle bus to Promenada is no longer in operation!

 

Does anyone know whether there are other public taxis besides the expensive red taxis going to Promenada from the city center?

 

 

I did notice that there was a public bus stop quite close to Prominada , about five minutes away , across the main road heading back to CM .

    Not sure about times or whether its actually in service , I just recall walking past a bus stop as I was walking home 

[Sparkles]

6 hours ago, EricTh said:

I can confirm the free shuttle bus to Promenada is no longer in operation!

 

Does anyone know whether there are other public taxis besides the expensive red taxis going to Promenada from the city center?

 

 

Uber would probably be cheaper,more comfortable and quicker

[grin]

Visited Promenada today to get stuff transferred to my new passport, renew my retirement extension and get a new multi re-entry permit.  

 

I arrived late but around 11:00 AM they took my passports and papers at door number 3 and there was only about 10 minutes wait for them to do the transfers. The transfer requirements were a bit different than I remember from last time. They required a one page transfer form, copies from the old passport of the first page and every page that had a Thai stamp of any kind on it, and copies from the new passport of the first page and the TM6 departure slip and the TM30 receipt.

 

I spoke with people that came as early as 5:00 AM to queue up at the info desk for doors 1, 2, and 3. I had come down to that desk a week ago before having lunch at Promenada one day to see if I could get the transfer done ahead of time. Even though it was just before noon they said they were not giving out any more queue numbers for the day. So for that desk I advise coming between 10:30 and 11:00.

 

During the wait I went to the other desk to see if I could get a queue number for the retirement extension. They would not give me a number until the transfer was completed but they did check my papers and said they would not accept my pre-filled and printed TM7 and TM8 forms. The only difference I could see between the forms they gave me and mine was pagination but it only took a few minutes to fill them out. Fortunately I hadn't glued my pictures on the forms.

 

So after the transfers were done I went back and got queue number 16 for my retirement extension and they told me to come back at 1:00. I had a nice lunch and came back at 1:00. They started with number 14 and called me at 1:30. I think they only processed one more retirement visa after me so the total number was probably only 17. I got my passport back just before 2:00 and then the fun began.

 

I got copies for my re-entry permit and then got queue number 49. They were really slow in processing 46 and 47 and then someone showed up with drinks and snacks and they took a break at 2:15. Then nothing happened for a while. I asked and they said their system was down. Finally around 3:15 they started up again and I finally made it out of there around 3:30.

Edited June 14, 2017 by grin
spelling

[CMBob]

39 minutes ago, grin said:

.... they did check my papers and said they would not accept my pre-filled and printed TM7 and TM8 forms. The only difference I could see between the forms they gave me and mine was pagination.... 

Would appreciate it if you could be a little more specific as to the problem with the forms you first presented (as your info might help some others avoid the same error.

(1)  With respect to the TM 7 form, did you print yours out on one page (front and back)?  Was that the problem (if not, what was it)?

(2)  The TM8 form is only one page so I'm totally confused as to why you thought "pagination" was the problem with that form.  Can you advise?

[EricTh]

5 hours ago, grin said:

Visited Promenada today to get stuff transferred to my new passport, renew my retirement extension and get a new multi re-entry permit.  

 

I arrived late but around 11:00 AM

In the past, if we come after 9 am, all the retirement queue numbers would have been taken.

 

It is because this is low season or something else?

Edited June 14, 2017 by EricTh

[grin]

7 hours ago, CMBob said:

Would appreciate it if you could be a little more specific as to the problem with the forms you first presented (as your info might help some others avoid the same error.

(1)  With respect to the TM 7 form, did you print yours out on one page (front and back)?  Was that the problem (if not, what was it)?

(2)  The TM8 form is only one page so I'm totally confused as to why you thought "pagination" was the problem with that form.  Can you advise?

Both forms are two sided and were printed out on one page. The same forms were used last year successfully. I only made a few necessary edits this year. I didn't ask for extra copies of the new forms so I don't have them in front of me.

 

The only difference I could see on the TM7 form was on the first page where my form had "issued at" in English, their form had a Thai word that I can't remember.

 

My TM8 form had the line for Month, Year, Valid until date, Month, Year at the bottom of the first page. On the form they gave me this line and the one above appear at the top of the second page.

 

(edit 1) Actually there was another difference that just occurred to me. The boxes for the picture were larger on both new forms, much closer to the actual size. Now that I recall the last line in the boxes also had "4 x 6" instead of Thai numerals. That would explain how they noticed so quickly as the box sizes were so much different. My guess is that people were using smaller pictures to match the box size and did not realize that the Thai numerals translated to "4 x 6 cm".

 

(edit 2) Assuming the picture box size was the reason then it was me who screwed up. If I had already pasted my pictures on both forms then they could not have seen the small boxes underneath.

Edited June 15, 2017 by grin
new paragraphs

[grin]

Not able to edit my previous post now. It was a bit muddled as was my train of thought. To simplify, the TM8 is now two pages, asking for exactly the same information. I thought the TM7 pages might have been split at a different line than before, but I'm not sure. And the TM7 was asking for exactly the same information.

 

But in any case I think it was the box size for the pictures that they didn't like.

[HullyGully]

The TM 7 and TM 8 forms were modified in January 2017