Immigration Promenada One Stop Service 2016-2017

[Lizard2010]

5 minutes ago, xng said:

I have another question that I have trouble communicating with the staff there which is the 80,000 baht requirement.

 

Must we have a minimum of 80K for everyday of the past 3 months or can the balance drop to around 78K (not a lot) for about one to two weeks and then we top up to over 80K before getting the letter from the bank?

 

Are they really strict on this requirement?

 

Does the immigration officer really look at all the pages of our bank book or just the balance 3 months ago and the balance at the time of submission? 

 

You have seen what is Required

Just do as asked

Yes you need the 800,000 Baht in the bank 3 months before you apply for your Visa Or Visa Extension

 

Go to the Immigration Website

There many PDF Files to download there

to tell you What is required

 

Most of us  have already found this out from the website

Plus applying to the Thai Embassy Overseas

 

Google is a good tool to use

I use it

 

Plus we all know what is happening with the Chiang Mai Immigration Office

We all wait to see what changes happen next

 

[ThaiPauly]

I went this morning, they returned one queue number so everyone got a number.

 

All went well at the Immigration desk, the officer I saw was the only long term official I have seen down the years.

He asked me to fill in the lifestyle form, but only parts 1 and 2, in Thai, so my wife did it.

 

Great that my passport was returned half an hour later, that's new, normally I am asked to return in the pm to collect it.

 

Hmmm, don't think I mentioned I got there at 2.30am and got ticket number 5, but hey I am a happy camper I got my visa and was out before 10am

[ThaiPauly]

10 hours ago, xng said:

 

2.30 am and you queued for 6 hours? Quite torturous

 

If you are married to a Thai, shouldn't that be a different queue than the retirement queue?

 

No a marriage visa is totally different to a retirement one.

 

Yes it's an ungodly hour to start queing but if you go at 6am and are lucky enough to get a ticket then you are likely to have to spend all day there.

 

It'just that I choose to be an early bird, being out by 10ish means I have most of the day left.

[NancyL]

14 hours ago, ThaiPauly said:

I went this morning, they returned one queue number so everyone got a number.

 

All went well at the Immigration desk, the officer I saw was the only long term official I have seen down the years.

He asked me to fill in the lifestyle form, but only parts 1 and 2, in Thai, so my wife did it.

 

Great that my passport was returned half an hour later, that's new, normally I am asked to return in the pm to collect it.

 

Hmmm, don't think I mentioned I got there at 2.30am and got ticket number 5, but hey I am a happy camper I got my visa and was out before 10am

Thank you for the report, ThaiPauly.  I take it you were applying for a retirement visa, right?

You realize, of course, you could have arrived at 8:30 am and still received a queue number.  But you wouldn't have been seen until the afternoon, so I guess it's about the same.  Either arrive at 2:30 am and get out at 10 am, or arrive at 8:30 am and get out at 3:30 pm.  

 

We can apply up to 45 days in advance of expiration of our extension without "losing time" since the new date is one year from expiration of the current extension.  So, this year I went out to Imm. Prom 44 days in advance of my expiration and joined the queue at 8:45 am when they were already checking documents. Amazingly, I got a ticket and was seen that afternoon.  I spent the day killing time in the mall.  Not as bad as getting up at zero-dark-stupid and killing time sitting around in the dark swatting mosquitoes, wondering if the toilet was unlocked. 

 

 

[EricTh]

48 minutes ago, NancyL said:

 

 So, this year I went out to Imm. Prom 44 days in advance of my expiration and joined the queue at 8:45 am when they were already checking documents. Amazingly, I got a ticket and was seen that afternoon. 

 

 

 

Wow! You're really lucky that you got a ticket at 8:45 am.

 

May I ask how long did the officer take to check your bank account book? I heard that we also need a bank letter (valid for 7 days( in addition to the bank account. Do they really check every withdrawal and deposit transaction for the last 3 months? 

 

Edited October 27, 2016 by xng

[Ricardo]

1 hour ago, xng said:

 

Wow! You're really lucky that you got a ticket at 8:45 am.

 

May I ask how long did the officer take to check your bank account book? I heard that we also need a bank letter (valid for 7 days( in addition to the bank account. Do they really check every withdrawal and deposit transaction for the last 3 months? 

 

 

They're checking that the total didn't fall below 800k, at any point during the 3-months, and that it did come from overseas.

 

I've always had to provide photocopies of the relevant bank-book pages, plus the front page, and find it helpful to high-light the balance & overseas-source code on the entries. In addition to the bank-letter itself. Whatever it takes, to tick the boxes !

[NancyL]

to answer xhg's questions - no, I think that most days you'll get a queue ticket if you join the queue at 8:45 am, but it will be a high number and you won't be seen until the afternoon.

 

Yes, you need a bank letter in addition to a bank book and copies of relevant pages of the book.  Your balance can't fall below 800,000 baht for even one second during the 3 month window before application for the extension.  I simply leave the 800,000 baht in the account year-round and don't touch it, so there's not much for the officer to check in the bank book.  Some years they ask how I live since I never touch the money, so I show them the joint passbook of Hubby and me and say we live off his pensions.  They've never wanted to look at that joint passbook and are satisfied with the explanation that I'm a "kept woman".

 

And, a marriage extension is considered by many to be more "difficult" to obtain than a retirement extension.  Sure, the financial requirements are lower, but there is more paperwork, home visits, etc.

[Ricardo]

I could do marriage-extensions myself, but much prefer to do retirement-basis (despite the higher cash-requirement), as I know the same-day that it is approved & in my passport, rather than having to wait for up to a month before I'm reassured it's OK once again.

 

A friend, who'd been here fifteen years on marriage-extensions, was recently rejected over a minor paperwork glitch  ...  hence my concern about ticking all their boxes, and he had only a few days left in which to make things right.  Older people don't need that sort of hassle.

 

So better to do a retirement-extension, if you can satisfy the requirements, and at least 30-days before your current permission-to-stay expires ! I don't understand people who let things go down-to-the-wire.

 

And I don't think Immigration cares much, one way or another, about my wife or kids  ...  that's my responsibility, not theirs.

[ChiangraiTony]

Things at CM immigration have changed considerably. I arrived yesterday morning at 6:45am to do my annual retirement. I was extremely surprised to see the size of the line that was already formed. Knowing that the cue number would be high and the possibility of taking no the entire day, I decided to use the agent service located within the shopping mall. I had all my documents in order along with the required photos. The fee was 4,900baht and I still have to come back the next day.

 

Note: The past 4 years cost 1,900, waiting in line not more than 1 hour.  It sure does appear that the waiting line and the processing times have increased considerably. 

The foreigner that pays a fee using the agent services definitely gets processed and gets priority over everyone waiting in line for a cue number. Not sure if most recognize that fact. 

[NancyL]

9 minutes ago, ChiangraiTony said:

Things at CM immigration have changed considerably. I arrived yesterday morning at 6:45am to do my annual retirement. I was extremely surprised to see the size of the line that was already formed. Knowing that the cue number would be high and the possibility of taking no the entire day, I decided to use the agent service located within the shopping mall. I had all my documents in order along with the required photos. The fee was 4,900baht and I still have to come back the next day.

 

Note: The past 4 years cost 1,900, waiting in line not more than 1 hour.  It sure does appear that the waiting line and the processing times have increased considerably. 

The foreigner that pays a fee using the agent services definitely gets processed and gets priority over everyone waiting in line for a cue number. Not sure if most recognize that fact. 

Interesting report.  

So, were you able to access the "visa agent service located within the shopping mall" at 6:45 am?  Why didn't you just wait around until 8:30 am to see for yourself if you were going to get a queue number for the day, rather than having to come back the next day and paying another 3000 baht?

 

It is interesting news that the "visa agent within the mall" wasn't able to promise you same day service.  That's a new development they used to be able to deliver same day service.

[ChiangraiTony]

49 minutes ago, NancyL said:

Interesting report.  

So, were you able to access the "visa agent service located within the shopping mall" at 6:45 am?  Why didn't you just wait around until 8:30 am to see for yourself if you were going to get a queue number for the day, rather than having to come back the next day and paying another 3000 baht?

 

It is interesting news that the "visa agent within the mall" wasn't able to promise you same day service.  That's a new development they used to be able to deliver same day service.

Yes correct, the agency opens at 8:30. I came back at 2:00pm. yesterday afternoon. Provided my passport, bank book, Yellow book and bank letter along with two photos. Paid them 3,000 baht. They provided me a receipt also indicating that they are in possession of my passport. They also made me sign a "power of attorney" document. The agent mentioned that things have changed there in the past month. Now you have to make an appointment.  So, today at 12:45 pm is my appointment. Once I arrive at the shop, they will provide me a cue number and will walk me down to the immigration office for. 1:00pm appointment. When asked how long it will take, the agent stated between 30 minutes to 1 hour maximum. It all depends on when the immigration boss gets back into the office to stamp the passports.  Hope this helps clarify some of the questions. 

[ThaiPauly]

4 hours ago, ChiangraiTony said:

Yes correct, the agency opens at 8:30. I came back at 2:00pm. yesterday afternoon. Provided my passport, bank book, Yellow book and bank letter along with two photos. Paid them 3,000 baht. They provided me a receipt also indicating that they are in possession of my passport. They also made me sign a "power of attorney" document. The agent mentioned that things have changed there in the past month. Now you have to make an appointment.  So, today at 12:45 pm is my appointment. Once I arrive at the shop, they will provide me a cue number and will walk me down to the immigration office for. 1:00pm appointment. When asked how long it will take, the agent stated between 30 minutes to 1 hour maximum. It all depends on when the immigration boss gets back into the office to stamp the passports.  Hope this helps clarify some of the questions. 

Why did you need your yellow book and 2 pictures?

 

I have never been asked to supply a yellow book or 2 pics, just the one that I stick on the application form.

 

 I hope you don't mind me asking but I am slightly confused.

 

Anyway, glad you got it sorted, but I would rather get up at zero dark thirty than pay those agents 3k, that's a lot of money for a small job.

Edited October 28, 2016 by ThaiPauly

[Thailand]

4 hours ago, ChiangraiTony said:

Yes correct, the agency opens at 8:30. I came back at 2:00pm. yesterday afternoon. Provided my passport, bank book, Yellow book and bank letter along with two photos. Paid them 3,000 baht. They provided me a receipt also indicating that they are in possession of my passport. They also made me sign a "power of attorney" document. The agent mentioned that things have changed there in the past month. Now you have to make an appointment.  So, today at 12:45 pm is my appointment. Once I arrive at the shop, they will provide me a cue number and will walk me down to the immigration office for. 1:00pm appointment. When asked how long it will take, the agent stated between 30 minutes to 1 hour maximum. It all depends on when the immigration boss gets back into the office to stamp the passports.  Hope this helps clarify some of the questions. 

Looks like the agency is starting to come up against a few problems nowadays, somebody getting a little jumpy in the hierarchy perhaps?

 

But confirms what I saw last month, appointments are being made in addition to queue numbers being issued, guess there are still some special access routes.

[ChiangraiTony]

On 10/28/2016 at 3:35 PM, ThaiPauly said:

Why did you need your yellow book and 2 pictures?

 

I have never been asked to supply a yellow book or 2 pics, just the one that I stick on the application form.

 

 I hope you don't mind me asking but I am slightly confused.

 

Anyway, glad you got it sorted, but I would rather get up at zero dark thirty than pay those agents 3k, that's a lot of money for a small job.

I provided two photos which they took but it's possible that they only needed one photo. I did observe the agent applying glue to the back-side on one of the photos which were then applied to the application document.

 

As for the Yellow book. I don't think that the book is a requirement. However, by providing my Yellow book, I didn't have to show any other documents to prove my residence.  I believe some have to get a letter of some sort if they live in a condo. They Yellow book saves me one or two steps that I wouldn't have to do if I didn't have a Yellow book.

 

 

[ChiangraiTony]

On 10/28/2016 at 4:59 PM, xng said:

 

According to Nancy, everyone who queued up by 8:30 am should get a queue number.

 

But the reality is different ...... How many were turned away? Do you know?

 

Personally I didn't see anyone being turned away.  If one gets in line early morning, from my understanding, they still have to come back in the afternoon to pick-up their stamped passport.  Everyone has to wait for the immigration boss to sign the passports. The boss generally arrives later in the morning and late after lunch. So no matter how fast your documents are provided at the immigration office, everyone still has to wait until the boss signs his approval.

[ChiangraiTony]

On 10/28/2016 at 10:37 AM, NancyL said:

Interesting report.  

So, were you able to access the "visa agent service located within the shopping mall" at 6:45 am?  Why didn't you just wait around until 8:30 am to see for yourself if you were going to get a queue number for the day, rather than having to come back the next day and paying another 3000 baht?

 

It is interesting news that the "visa agent within the mall" wasn't able to promise you same day service.  That's a new development they used to be able to deliver same day service.

This is a follow up from yesterday's comments.  Yesterday I arrived at the visa service shop for my immigration appointment. The agent walked me down to the immigration office with paper in hand. When we arrived just before 1:00pm I was asked to sit down for a few minutes until I was called. After about 5 minutes they called me, the agent and I went to sit at the desk of the immigration officer.  Everything was in order. Even they had a photo copy, they asked to see my bankbook.  The officers was very talkative and nice asking me about my family name and the country in which my surname originated.  After about 15 minutes, I got up and went over to where they take your photo. Holding the completed immigration documents up in front of me they took my photo. After that the agent told me to go back to the visa service shop and wait for him to return with my signed approved passport. 

At 2:20 PM the agent handed me back my passport which is good for 1-year to remain in Thailand. So even using the visa service, it took 1 hour and 30 minutes to get everything completed. The agent did tell me that they had to wait for the boss to give final approval with his signature.

 

Comment: additional information. I spoke with the immigration officer and he did confirm that in about 1 1/2 years when the new building is complete, the immigration office will move back to near the CM airport.  He also indicated that the current office at Promonade may remain a smaller sub-office.

 

Additionally, after speaking with the visa service manager/boss, she stated that when the immigration office moves back to the airport area location, the visa service business will NOT move too.  When I inquired further as to why not, she stated that her business in public and not government and so her business cannot move to the airport area location because it is only for government related.  Therefore, it is possible that in the future that the visa service will be quite a distance from the airport immigration location. That is of course, if they actually relocate back there later on down the road.

[ThaiPauly]

1 hour ago, ChiangraiTony said:

Personally I didn't see anyone being turned away.  If one gets in line early morning, from my understanding, they still have to come back in the afternoon to pick-up their stamped passport.  Everyone has to wait for the immigration boss to sign the passports. The boss generally arrives later in the morning and late after lunch. So no matter how fast your documents are provided at the immigration office, everyone still has to wait until the boss signs his approval.

Not so in my case, the Top Dog must have been in attendance, she was the only officer wearing uniform. I got my passport in back 20 minutes after my completed form was processed.

Edited October 29, 2016 by ThaiPauly

[cmsally]

This isn't about the Promenade queue , it is about the Airport immigration queue but thought it should be mentioned.

The queue for the Education visa was only successful on third try which meant turning up at midnight !!

5am was a complete failure, way too many ahead and at 3am (second try) already about 50 in the queue. Turning up at midnight still 10 people waiting some of whom had been there since 2130 !

It seems they are giving out 40 queue numbers per day.

I think any ideas for the education hub might have hit the stumbling block !

[ChiangraiTony]

19 hours ago, xng said:

 

If nobody got turned away, why do you have to engage an external company to submit your visa application? I am sure the paperwork is easy for you since this is not your first time.

 

The purpose of a visa agent company like GT4 is to cut the queue and/or give us consultation and help us on the paperwork required if this is our first time in Thailand.

 

 

Sorry! I thought it was somewhat obvious. I don't like sitting in line for hours, and I can afford for GT4 to process. When you've been in Thailand for as long as me, and when you're old, some just don't enjoy sitting in line in one spot waiting for hours. It's really up to each individual and what they choose. The other reason is to learn more information on how things work. When using GT4 service, watching them process and answer questions, I can learn more about how things work with how Thai immigration and this agency work. Sitting on a small hard chair in the early morning hours of darkness doesn't really do it for me. 

[moe666]

Can you do the TM28 reporting at Promenada Imm.or does it have to be submitted at Airport Imm.

[HullyGully]

Reporting for TM28 and TM30 is done at the Airport office, building 3

[Thailand]

On 29 October 2016 at 5:38 PM, ChiangraiTony said:

This is a follow up from yesterday's comments.  Yesterday I arrived at the visa service shop for my immigration appointment. The agent walked me down to the immigration office with paper in hand. When we arrived just before 1:00pm I was asked to sit down for a few minutes until I was called. After about 5 minutes they called me, the agent and I went to sit at the desk of the immigration officer.  Everything was in order. Even they had a photo copy, they asked to see my bankbook.  The officers was very talkative and nice asking me about my family name and the country in which my surname originated.  After about 15 minutes, I got up and went over to where they take your photo. Holding the completed immigration documents up in front of me they took my photo. After that the agent told me to go back to the visa service shop and wait for him to return with my signed approved passport. 

At 2:20 PM the agent handed me back my passport which is good for 1-year to remain in Thailand. So even using the visa service, it took 1 hour and 30 minutes to get everything completed. The agent did tell me that they had to wait for the boss to give final approval with his signature.

 

Comment: additional information. I spoke with the immigration officer and he did confirm that in about 1 1/2 years when the new building is complete, the immigration office will move back to near the CM airport.  He also indicated that the current office at Promonade may remain a smaller sub-office.

 

Additionally, after speaking with the visa service manager/boss, she stated that when the immigration office moves back to the airport area location, the visa service business will NOT move too.  When I inquired further as to why not, she stated that her business in public and not government and so her business cannot move to the airport area location because it is only for government related.  Therefore, it is possible that in the future that the visa service will be quite a distance from the airport immigration location. That is of course, if they actually relocate back there later on down the road.

Certainly confirms what I had seen, agency making direct appointments and bypassing the queue system. Can all the agencies make appointments?

[roo860]

Reporting for TM28 and TM30 is done at the Airport office, building 3

Done mine today and made my contribution to the government fund.

[Thailand]

On 10/31/2016 at 8:07 AM, cmsally said:

This isn't about the Promenade queue , it is about the Airport immigration queue but thought it should be mentioned.

The queue for the Education visa was only successful on third try which meant turning up at midnight !!

5am was a complete failure, way too many ahead and at 3am (second try) already about 50 in the queue. Turning up at midnight still 10 people waiting some of whom had been there since 2130 !

It seems they are giving out 40 queue numbers per day.

I think any ideas for the education hub might have hit the stumbling block !

Scandalous, just imagine the chaos when the planned move back from Prom takes place.

 

This is worse than Prom and immigration should be ashamed of themselves creating    

such an all around <deleted>!

Edited November 1, 2016 by metisdead
Please discontinue your efforts to post in a profane manner.

[moe666]

10 hours ago, xng said:

 

How many queues are there at Promenada? If my memory serve me right- 4 queues ie. retirement, 90 day report, volunteer, re-entry permit?

 

So education visa queue is at the airport instead? There are so many westerners trying to 'study' Thai or doing TEFL in Thailand but the main reason is that they want to stay in Thailand. 

 

The problem is that those teaching Thai teach 'Bangkok standard Thai' and it's not used as much in Chiang Mai so you can't really understand what they are saying. They should teach Lanna Thai instead.

 

Furthermore, a lot of Thai teachers teach formal Thai that is impractical in everyday life. Eg. People don't use 'Khun' in everyday real life, it sounds too formal. 

 

There is no volunteer line it is tourist visa extension

[delboy]

Applications made through G4T do get regular queue numbers.  I used them a few weeks ago and got number 16.  You now have to make an appointment with them at least the day before, and the agent told me that they send staff to queue and get a number.  You have to leave your passport and documents with them overnight so that the person who queues can get a number.

Edited October 31, 2016 by delboy

[Genericnic]

9 hours ago, delboy said:

Applications made through G4T do get regular queue numbers.  I used them a few weeks ago and got number 16.  You now have to make an appointment with them at least the day before, and the agent told me that they send staff to queue and get a number.  You have to leave your passport and documents with them overnight so that the person who queues can get a number.

As far as I can tell, that is not the case, at least as far as leaving the passport overnight. I went last week to get information about the paperwork necessary for extending my retirement permission to stay this month. They looked over what I had and told me what I needed. They set an appointment for me to come back on the first day I could do the extension (45 days before the current permission expires). No requirement that I come in the day before and drop off the passport. 

 

David

 

[EricTh]

5 hours ago, Genericnic said:

They set an appointment for me to come back on the first day I could do the extension (45 days before the current permission expires). No requirement that I come in the day before and drop off the passport. 

 

 

 

On that same day of appointment, what time did you give your documents to GT4 and did you get a queue number on the same day?

 

[Genericnic]

13 minutes ago, xng said:

 

On that same day of appointment, what time did you give your documents to GT4 and did you get a queue number on the same day?

 

Since my appointment is still a couple of weeks away, I did not get a queue number. They asked me to show up about 30 minutes before the appointment to make a last check of all the documents. I am planning to show up about an hour before just in case.

 

David

 

[moe666]

On ‎10‎/‎30‎/‎2016 at 11:24 PM, moe666 said:

Can you do the TM28 reporting at Promenada Imm.or does it have to be submitted at Airport Imm.

Went to airport Immigration yesterday to present TM28 and had also filled out a TM30 to present as well (landlady doesn't want to come). They could care less about a TM28 all they were interested in was the 30 and where is landlady, I tell them she refuse to come. We need landlady, I say good luck on that. I tell the lady I will call wife you talk to her ok, yes ok. I put the wife on the phone lots of talk, phone handed back, my wife on the way over to sign for me. O geeze my mother has to sign for me again.

  Well the wife gets there she is handed another TM30 fill this out, she puts in the land ladies name and signs for her, we make copies, see the boss, pay the money and leave. While I was out making copies the Landlady calls back the wife puts the female immigration officer on the phone and tells her to come in and sign up or it will be a 1600b fine everyday after tomorrow.. The TM28 not even sure you need one or if they care about it, they just focused on the TM30