Immigration Promenada One Stop Service 2016-2017

[EricTh]

4 minutes ago, Konini said:

 

 

They charge 3,000 baht. Your moral choice on using the service.

 

So you guys pay 3000 baht more on top of the 1900 baht just to cut queue?

 

If almost everybody has to pay an extra 3000 baht , then why not ask the government to make the official fee as 4900 baht instead? That would be extra revenue for the government and everyone would be treated equally.

 

Somehow I find this as quite disturbing that a priviledged company is allowed to cut queue.

 

[Konini]

54 minutes ago, xng said:

 

Online appointment would have been great considering that this is the 21st century and people don't sit on chairs waiting at ungodly hours like in the early 20th century.

 

I wonder whether it's because there is a subtle message given by some powerful government officials?

 

How much more do we have to pay extra to G4T and where is this agent company situated?

 

 

 

The online appointment WAS great.  It was taken offline at the same time G4T opened. As did the number of people processed every day. If you go after the allocated number of queue spots are gone, the girls at the desk will tell you that you can either come back tomorrow or go to G4T, who are very conveniently located next door.  

 

 I would consider paying them for their service if the ownership details and the relationship between the company and Immigration were to be released in some verifiable form.  Other agents around town don't appear to have the same access as G4T.

 

They charge 3,000 baht. Your moral choice on using the service.

[Konini]

 

3 minutes ago, xng said:

 

So you guys pay 3000 baht more on top of the 1900 baht just to cut queue?

 

If almost everybody has to pay an extra 3000 baht , then why not ask the government to make the official fee as 4900 baht instead? That would be extra revenue for the government and everyone would be treated equally.

 

Somehow I find this as quite disturbing that a priviledged company is allowed to cut queue.

 

 

No, some guys pay 3,000 baht to cut the queue.  Some of us adhere to a higher moral standard that disallows such things.  And what stops us is not that there is what appears to be a privileged company, but the ownership of said company and the way the online appointment system stopped, the new online system has been blocked and the far fewer number of queue tickets handed out each day when the company in question opened, with the unlucky ones being directed to the agency or come back again tomorrow morning at 4.30; my husband was there at 4.15 and number 11 in the queue.  With no lights on - I think that may have changed now after a few people hurt themselves.  

 

One can only draw conclusions from the evidence we have - what we know and what we don't know.

[EricTh]

 

If the problem really is a lack of staff, then why don't they remove the 90 days reporting queue and redeploy the staff elsewhere.

 

I fail to see why people have to physically queue up and do extra paperwork every 3 months. 

 

 

[Konini]

When the guy on the 'x' visa counter doesn't have customers, s/he doesn't take the next retirement person waiting. S/he plays with her/his phone until the next 'x' visa customer comes.  I forget how many they have, definitely tourist, retirement, medical, reenty permit.  Lots of phone playing going on every time I pass by.

[evenstevens]

1 hour ago, Konini said:

 

Not knocking them, just telling it like it is.  Like it was is a little bit different.  Online appointments, 40 or 50 at least processed every day. G4T opened up shop nex tdoor to Immigration at the same time online appointments stopped and processing 20 people per day started. Nancy put in a lot of effort (and expense, getting there at 5am isn't cheap when you don't have your own transport), reported constantly on a post on here how many people she witnessed waiting in queues, how many people were processed, got on to various ambassadors and consulates like a dog with a bone and in the end was told not to present herself at immigration for any reason other than her own extension or reporting.  She did manage to get the numbers up to 25 though.  It went up to 30 after a letter to the editor from Spakles was printed in the Bankgok Post, seems that the number is dropping again.  Given what Nancy has done I find your tone a little harsh.

 

G4T is without doubt the easiest way to get your extension at the moment.  However, you appear to be new and don't know the history behind the general resistance to use G4T.   A lack of transparency over the ownership of G4T, has been a matter of much speculation and concern, although I'm not suggesting anything improper is happening  .

 

if you are not sugesting anything  is  improper is happening  at  G4T

why post  anything at all, towards them  ,and let the punter decide which road to take,

and a very polite reminder, Nancy L posted on this board ,very   harsh  tactics to say the least,  to  combat immgr depts poor services provided in c/mai,and from memory around the same time as the B/koks bombings, surely not a fitting time to do so,, which led her to be red carded unless on her own business,and her   husband( in her own words)  had to seek a visa agent for his own visa,s etc etc, to miss any cross fire which may have resulted from those tactics, ,and being red carded, very lucky section 44 was not used J.M.O.

E/S has posted, long ago, that a suttle approach is needed,or softly softly ,and full  respect, given  to the immgr dept(right or wrong), perhaps this diplomatic  dialogue may start in the up and coming meeting, certainly hope so for all expats in C,Mai,

a very nice late evening,and pleasant dreams to all

[HullyGully]

To improve the situation at IMM

 

Issue Retirement Extensions for 2, 3, 5 or 10 years as per Malaysia and Indonesia etc.

 

Cut out the 90 day reporting

 

Does IMM BKK really think bad guys report etc.

 

ALL IMM BKK has done is make more and more rules for the goods guys

 

How many times do we report our address etc.,

 

ON ARRIVAL

VISA EXTENSION

90 DAY REPORT

RE-ENTRY PERMIT

NATIONAL ID FORM with every IMM TRANSACTION

TM28

TM30

 

If IMM had a decent system and a NATIONAL ID card for Expats, maybe we would NOT need the above

 

AND you have to keep YOUR MANUAL record

[EricTh]

24 minutes ago, HullyGully said:

To improve the situation at IMM

 

Issue Retirement Extensions for 2, 3, 5 or 10 years as per Malaysia and Indonesia etc.

 

Cut out the 90 day reporting

ON ARRIVAL

VISA EXTENSION

90 DAY REPORT

RE-ENTRY PERMIT

NATIONAL ID FORM with every IMM TRANSACTION

TM28

TM30

 

If IMM had a decent system and a NATIONAL ID card for Expats, maybe we would NOT need the above

 

AND you have to keep YOUR MANUAL record

 

It seems like a big mess and absolutely unnecessary in this age of cheap hard disk space and advanced computer software.

 

Can't they just retrieve our details from their database instead of asking us to fill up all the time?

 

Edited October 17, 2016 by xng

[EricTh]

 

My experience in getting a resident certificate from Promenada was also not pleasant but at least I don't have to queue at ungodly hours.

 

The first time I had to make an appointment just to submit my application one week later. (There was only around less than 10 slots for submission per day)

 

The second time I submitted my application but was made to wait for 2 weeks to get my resident's certificate.

 

I'm not sure what will happen on my third visit there after 2 weeks..... It takes 3 weeks just to get a resident's certificate when my condo management has already reported my presence to immigration when I first moved in.

[NancyL]

23 minutes ago, xng said:

 

My experience in getting a resident certificate from Promenada was also not pleasant but at least I don't have to queue at ungodly hours.

 

The first time I had to make an appointment just to submit my application one week later. (There was only around less than 10 slots for submission per day)

 

The second time I submitted my application but was made to wait for 2 weeks to get my resident's certificate.

 

I'm not sure what will happen on my third visit there after 2 weeks..... It takes 3 weeks just to get a resident's certificate when my condo management has already reported my presence to immigration when I first moved in.

 

Whoa, this is interesting, xng.  Are you saying, there's a queue for applying for a free Cert. of Res. and they only accept 10 applications per day and accept appointments for future applications for the free Cert. of Res.?  

 

If they can handle appointments for future Cert of Res. then I wonder why they can't handle appointments for future retirement visa extensions?  Wouldn't it be nice to take the mall's free shuttle out to Prom, make an appointment for your visa extension next month, watch a movie and then come back the following month for your visa extension appointment?  Who says they need an on-line appointment system for visa extensions?  After all, it seems Imm. can handle a paper-and-pencil system for something like a Cert. of Res. application.

[CMBob]

10 hours ago, delboy said:

 

Moderator - please delete (I started a reply but failed to post it and that act prevents other replies).  Thanks.

[CMBob]

2 hours ago, Konini said:

 

 

No, some guys pay 3,000 baht to cut the queue.  Some of us adhere to a higher moral standard that disallows such things.  And what stops us is not that there is what appears to be a privileged company, but the ownership of said company ...

I have written and deleted responses to these comments several time, having deleted mainly comments about ownership of other outfits and "extra" money being paid by other outfits.  I shouldn't go there and don't want to create problems.

 

But I will say that anyone claiming to hold higher moral standards because they won't use one of the visa agents is simply ludicrous and beyond the pale.

 

 

[Konini]

I've been careful with my wording, I'm confident I have not done any wrong.

 

I don't make claim to higher standards - my visa is taken care of at a Thai embassy overseas, but many people in my circle of friends have told me that even though they are cutting their nose off to spite their face, they are either getting up early or paying one of the more established agencies in town.

 

I respect your opinion, and indeed your right to have an opinion on this as it is such a contentious issue, but I don't agree with it.  

[Ricardo]

On a positive note, the old online appointment-booking system was excellent, I happily used it for three or four years running.

 

It would be very helpful if Chiang Mai Immigration could restart that system, and even more helpful if they could increase the capacity and offer more appointments, to allow more of us to help Immigration by arriving in a steady controlled-stream  ?

 

I believe that the new top-man has promised to improve things for the elderly or disabled, I myself walk with a stick & had to stand for two hours in the early-morning to get a number, having been turned-away the previous day,  IMO this would be an excellent place to make a start, please ! 

[CMBob]

1 hour ago, Konini said:

I've been careful with my wording, I'm confident I have not done any wrong.

 

I don't make claim to higher standards - my visa is taken care of at a Thai embassy overseas, but many people in my circle of friends have told me that even though they are cutting their nose off to spite their face, they are either getting up early or paying one of the more established agencies in town.

 

I respect your opinion, and indeed your right to have an opinion on this as it is such a contentious issue, but I don't agree with it.  

 

I don't suggest you did anything wrong but I firmly (but respectfully) disagree with your view that somebody who chooses to use the one outfit to extend his/her visa [thus saving  2000 baht+ and time (requiring only one trip to Promenada)] is making either a bad choice or an immoral choice.   But, sorry, I'm not going into the why on this board as we've both touched upon issues that are problematic in this country........other than to say that I don't see much difference in any of the various visa outfits other than a couple of them do offer a higher level of service and price to some expats who need or want that level of care.

 

I do remain hopeful (the eternal but foolish optimist?) that things will get more efficient and easier at Immigration and maybe the seminar this coming Friday will lead to some improvements.  One post mentions that one officer was slated to handle 26 extensions that day (which, given how much time it takes to process one,  is not at all a heavy workload in my opinion) and it would seem that the simple solution of having two officers handling extensions would solve all or most of our extension problems.  But I guess that solution hasn't been apparent to the boss for some reason or other....

[HullyGully]

Before PROM, at the airport IMM had 2 people processing retirement extensions

 

All IMM issues mentioned on this board are easy and quick to resolve, IF THE AUTHORITIES WANT TO

 

Its not rocket science

[Thailand]

19 minutes ago, CMBob said:

 

I don't suggest you did anything wrong but I firmly (but respectfully) disagree with your view that somebody who chooses to use the one outfit to extend his/her visa [thus saving  2000 baht+ and time (requiring only one trip to Promenada)] is making either a bad choice or an immoral choice.   But, sorry, I'm not going into the why on this board as we've both touched upon issues that are problematic in this country........other than to say that I don't see much difference in any of the various visa outfits other than a couple of them do offer a higher level of service and price to some expats who need or want that level of care.

 

I do remain hopeful (the eternal but foolish optimist?) that things will get more efficient and easier at Immigration and maybe the seminar this coming Friday will lead to some improvements.  One post mentions that one officer was slated to handle 26 extensions that day (which, given how much time it takes to process one,  is not at all a heavy workload in my opinion) and it would seem that the simple solution of having two officers handling extensions would solve all or most of our extension problems.  But I guess that solution hasn't been apparent to the boss for some reason or other....

I don't see how applying logic to this situation is going to help.

 

If that was done here this thread would probably only have half a dozen posts and most people would be happy and that will not do.

[Konini]

2 minutes ago, HullyGully said:

Before PROM, at the airport IMM had 2 people processing retirement extensions

 

All IMM issues mentioned on this board are easy and quick to resolve, IF THE AUTHORITIES WANT TO

 

Its not rocket science

 

Ah, but would you like to be an astronautt in the first Thai made rocket?  

[Sparkles]

41 minutes ago, HullyGully said:

Before PROM, at the airport IMM had 2 people processing retirement extensions

 

All IMM issues mentioned on this board are easy and quick to resolve, IF THE AUTHORITIES WANT TO

 

Its not rocket science

Actually the last time I did an extension for retirement at the Airport Office, with an online appointment, there were 3 officers, 2 at the front and one out the back.                         Miss Curley,remember her ? was running the 90 day reporting  at the front, with great efficiency and a smile, and it ran like clockwork. Those were the good old days 

[EricTh]

11 hours ago, NancyL said:

 

Whoa, this is interesting, xng.  Are you saying, there's a queue for applying for a free Cert. of Res. and they only accept 10 applications per day and accept appointments for future applications for the free Cert. of Res.?  

 

 

Yes, I reached Promenada 10 minutes before 11 am and I had to ask my way to a obscure, small and hidden immigration office upstairs. By the time, I found the place, it was just 11 am but there were several tables there so I moved from one table to another table (there were no signs on the table) until the right table at just after 11 am. At first, she refused to even give me an appointment because it was 2 minutes after 11 am but I argued that I reached the office at 11 am and I couldn't find the right table.

 

Then I was shocked to hear her say that it takes one week to make an appointment to submit. I wanted an earlier appointment but she showed me a little book with all the appointments and I counted to be roughly 7 or so applicants per day. It seems that she only accept submissions in the morning and not in the afternoon.

 

After one week, my submission was pretty quick at around 5 minutes for her to check the documents so I don't understand why submission can't be more than 10 per day.

 

If I had reached the office after 11 am (say 12) that day, I would have to make 4 trips instead of 3 trips just to get a residence cert. I find this to be highly inefficient.

Edited October 18, 2016 by xng

[EricTh]

1 hour ago, CMBob said:

 

 One post mentions that one officer was slated to handle 26 extensions that day (which, given how much time it takes to process one,  is not at all a heavy workload in my opinion) a

 

Like what the previous article has stated, the immigration's main policy is to keep the bad guys out (namely terrorists) and not visa extension. 

 

My conjecture is that the 90 days reporting system was created just to track the bad guys but we 'good guys' have to suffer along. Just like we can't carry our own water or knifes into our plane because of a few bad guys. I still don't understand the purpose of this 90 days reporting system other than to track the bad guys.

 

The recent bombing at Bangkok and southern Thailand were the catalysts.

[CMBob]

To me, the 90-day deal is no problem at all.  I just use the mail and, given I go on a side-trip out of the country once or twice a year, I usually don't have to even do that more than once or twice a year.  The 90-day deal has been around for a lot longer time period than the "good guys in, bad guys out" policy came into being and, frankly, even a dumb bad guy won't get caught reporting an address (true or false) every 90 days. But I don't have a problem with the reporting requirement as it's so easy to do.

 

But, if they improved the online reporting system, it would seem that alone ought to free up an officer to handle another 26 extensions a day.  It would be nice if Immigration would hire some 15-year-old techie to fix and simplify the system.  Heck, it ought to be set up so that you enter only your last name and a number (a passport number would do), all your prior information would pop up, and then you'd hit a button if your address stayed the same and print out the receipt (or, if you hit the "changed my address button", then you'd just enter your new address, print a receipt, and be on your merry way).  It could be so simple.

[HullyGully]

Thailand is right, if IMM provided a good service then the amount of posts to this thread would be greatly reduced

 

A good example

IMM = 27 PAGES

DRIVING = 10 PAGES

 

Nearly 200% less - WHY - good services at the Driving License office

[Lizard2010]

13 hours ago, HullyGully said:

To improve the situation at IMM

 

Issue Retirement Extensions for 2, 3, 5 or 10 years as per Malaysia and Indonesia etc.

 

Cut out the 90 day reporting

 

Does IMM BKK really think bad guys report etc.

 

ALL IMM BKK has done is make more and more rules for the goods guys

 

How many times do we report our address etc.,

 

ON ARRIVAL

VISA EXTENSION

90 DAY REPORT

RE-ENTRY PERMIT

NATIONAL ID FORM with every IMM TRANSACTION

TM28

TM30

 

If IMM had a decent system and a NATIONAL ID card for Expats, maybe we would NOT need the above

 

AND you have to keep YOUR MANUAL record

Come on You should know better

 

this the way the Thai people work Asian Style

Us westerners are brought up to think

Not just do what they have to

Many times things have been suggested

including a member a couple of years ago about a swipe card to use at 711

Then all the work that has been done locally by the various committees

It seem that the head of the Chiang Mai Immigration Office

Plus the head of the Northern Area for all the Immigration officers

need to be trained our way

Maybe the Tourist minister and ythe immigration head that comes Wil here it all

Maybe when the offices are built thing might get better

maybe in the mean time all staff need to be re educated to know what they are doing

Plus stop these using you phone in work time

Let us wait till the end of next year will anything change?

 

XNG

With G4T

They are still operating in the main building

After you have been here a while you find out everything

Go to a few meeting then you might here more

Because we can not post too much here

because we will be causing inflammatory remark

 

They have not closed

 

[Touch wood]

1 hour ago, xng said:

 

Like what the previous article has stated, the immigration's main policy is to keep the bad guys out (namely terrorists) and not visa extension. 

 

My conjecture is that the 90 days reporting system was created just to track the bad guys but we 'good guys' have to suffer along. Just like we can't carry our own water or knifes into our plane because of a few bad guys. I still don't understand the purpose of this 90 days reporting system other than to track the bad guys.

 

The recent bombing at Bangkok and southern Thailand were the catalysts.

The terrorist are in the deep south not Chiang Mai, the terrorist are in Bangkok not Chiang Mai, you do not know what you're talking about Alien, only the people in Chiang Mai are being forced to do TM30 and fined money, no where else in the country this is happening.

[Sparkles]

1 hour ago, xng said:

 

Like what the previous article has stated, the immigration's main policy is to keep the bad guys out (namely terrorists) and not visa extension. 

 

My conjecture is that the 90 days reporting system was created just to track the bad guys but we 'good guys' have to suffer along. Just like we can't carry our own water or knifes into our plane because of a few bad guys. I still don't understand the purpose of this 90 days reporting system other than to track the bad guys.

 

The recent bombing at Bangkok and southern Thailand were the catalysts.

90 day reporting has been around for at least 2 decades,probaly longer,I've been doing it for close on 17 years. Had nothing to do with the bombing.In fact even now you could write any address, if you were a "bad" guy,you wont get a visit to check what you have written.

So  I am sorry your conjecture is totally wrong. If you want to keep bad guys out the place to do that is when they enter the country or overstay their visa, the date of which should be in a system somewhere. 

Sadly they neither have the staff,inclination  or  expertise to develop computer programs to save the endless paper work and mistrust.

[NancyL]

2 hours ago, xng said:

 

Yes, I reached Promenada 10 minutes before 11 am and I had to ask my way to a obscure, small and hidden immigration office upstairs. By the time, I found the place, it was just 11 am but there were several tables there so I moved from one table to another table (there were no signs on the table) until the right table at just after 11 am. At first, she refused to even give me an appointment because it was 2 minutes after 11 am but I argued that I reached the office at 11 am and I couldn't find the right table.

 

Then I was shocked to hear her say that it takes one week to make an appointment to submit. I wanted an earlier appointment but she showed me a little book with all the appointments and I counted to be roughly 7 or so applicants per day. It seems that she only accept submissions in the morning and not in the afternoon.

 

After one week, my submission was pretty quick at around 5 minutes for her to check the documents so I don't understand why submission can't be more than 10 per day.

 

If I had reached the office after 11 am (say 12) that day, I would have to make 4 trips instead of 3 trips just to get a residence cert. I find this to be highly inefficient.

Cleverly designed system so that you can't use the free Promenada mall shuttle to come in person to make your "appointment" to return a week later to apply for your Cert. of Res. and then wait two weeks to return again to pick it up.  Absolutely ludicrous that they're limiting the "free" cert.  applications to 10 per day when it seems to take 5 minutes to process.  So, unless you have your own transport, it almost makes sense to pay G4T 500 baht just to avoid one round trip.

 

I'm glad the U.S. Consulate is here and I can pay them $50 and get a Cert. of Res. on the spot.  Nice, orderly on-line system and the same cheerful folks who notarize the Cert. of Res. at the U.S. Consulate are the one who come help expats in need at the hospitals and in prison and assist families when an American citizen dies here.  I'd much rather see their cheerful faces and give them $50.  

[Sparkles]

XNG That is not a small obscure Immigration officce upstairs its GT4.    CM Immigration is at ground level. Residence letters take about 5 minutes to process.Simple matter of inserting date, name and address on a standard template on computer and print out

[Thailand]

I believe there is another new immigration office very near G4T 's new offices.

 

An old friend had his extension done there about 3 weeks ago on the basis that this was the place for the over 60's and infirm ( 90% I would guess ) 

Even had his picture taken with the big boss to show how they look after invalids etc.

 

I said at the time it shows that there is at least one other person capable of doing extensions there already.

 

[HullyGully]

As most people know the C of R is filled out from a template, it takes a few minutes to print out and we'll say 10 minutes total to check your paperwork

 

So why did IMM PRO created such a NON FREIENDLY SYSTEM, which requires 3 or 4 trips to finally get your C of R

 

Yep go to G4T and no issues

 

This can be solved overnight issue C of R while you wait - WALK IN

 

This is IMM creating the situation

 

Now in the next breath, there's a big meeting to sort out CM IMM issues

 

I am hopeful things may change, but are not optimistic

Edited October 18, 2016 by HullyGully