Immigration Promenada One Stop Service 2016-2017

[Dmaxdan]

Has anybody renewed  their marriage extension at the Promenada recently?  My renewal is fast approaching and it would be good to have some up-to-date information regards what time we need to arrive in order to be processed (hopefully) in the morning. I do appreciate that this varies from day to day and people will have different experiences. Reading some of the posts above, it would appear that people are now no longer needing to arrive in the small hours for retirement extensions, but nothing current regards marriage extensions.

 

Thanks in advance.

[HullyGully]

I would suggest obtaining a 3 month type 'O' single entry, and within the 3 month deposit 800,000 B into a Thai Bank, then change the 3 months visa into a visa extension based on retirement

[jimmym40]

My experiences at Prom Immigration 4 and 5 Jul.

 

4 Jul -  Arrived at 0815.    In line for retirement ext.    Turned out to be #18 and only one other person behind me.    Was told to come back after 1 p.m.    I believe they told all numbers after #16 to come back in afternoon.     I arrived back at 1:10 p.m.   There was already one person in front of the officer.   After that individual left, officer called #16, then #17, both no shows.    I was next.   Went smoothly.  Handed back passport at 2:25 p.m. and on my way.  It seemed as if there were only maybe 3-4 others there for retirement extensions when I left.

 

5 Jul -   I didn't want to wait and do my re-entry yesterday so went back today.    Arrived at 12:55 p.m.   All total about 20-25 people lingering around.     Went to check in desk for them to check the paperwork and get a queue number.    #38, went inside, only two people ahead of me.    Was out of there at 1:25, and again only noticed two other people that had red queue cards for re-entry stamps.   Very SLOW day.

 

What is really surprising.    There were NO people coming in for retirement/medical extensions.   Absolutely no one.     Officer and crew just mingling around.    Even when I left there was no one at the desk.   

 

90 day report people were all handled  by  time I left.

 

Actually, when I left there were hardly any people waiting for anything, UNBELIEVABLE!!!

 

 

[EricTh]

4 hours ago, HullyGully said:

I would suggest obtaining a 3 month type 'O' single entry, and within the 3 month deposit 800,000 B into a Thai Bank, then change the 3 months visa into a visa extension based on retirement

 

Why not go directly?

Edited July 5, 2017 by EricTh

[EricTh]

3 hours ago, jimmym40 said:

5 Jul -   

 

What is really surprising.    There were NO people coming in for retirement/medical extensions.   Absolutely no one.     Officer and crew just mingling around.    Even when I left there was no one at the desk.   

 

 

Did you mean on the 5 July, there were NOBODY coming in for retirement visas?

 

Maybe they have decided to go to other countries instead.

[jimmym40]

Maybe not so clear.     What I meant was that in the afternoon, 1 p.m. when they opened back up after lunch, at that time there was no one waiting for retirement extensions.    

 

The day before when I did my extension, I figured there were only 21 people that obtained extensions total up to that point..    That's based on when I left there at 2:25 there was no one waiting.    

[Lizard2010]

10 minutes ago, jimmym40 said:

Maybe not so clear.     What I meant was that in the afternoon, 1 p.m. when they opened back up after lunch, at that time there was no one waiting for retirement extensions.    

 

The day before when I did my extension, I figured there were only 21 people that obtained extensions total up to that point..    That's based on when I left there at 2:25 there was no one waiting.    

Same as me on Monday 3rd July

I went in the afternoon it was quiet for my Re Entry Permit

No Visa Extensions

A few Re Entry Permit like me i was no 38 too

90 Day Reporting about 15 people

Was very quiet

But as Evenstevans said earlier

Wait till the Peak Season starts in November it will start to get busy Till end of April

 

[EricTh]

2 hours ago, Lizard2010 said:

 

Wait till the Peak Season starts in November it will start to get busy Till end of April

 

 

Why end of April? Isn't March and April the hottest months in Thailand?

 

[Lizard2010]

1 hour ago, EricTh said:

 

Why end of April? Isn't March and April the hottest months in Thailand?

 

After Songkran

As many people also come for that festivity

[opalred]

how far is this 2nd floor crap going to go to get money

still angry after over the years 50plus times in and out on retirement visa and same address in yellow book

then get hit 1600b for not filling a form in on return last time

even after airport immigration always  tell you when to go to visit next

90day or 1yr 

then when you are a at 2nd floor where do they tell you to go and get copy's  etc 

let you guess

the next thing i think will happen when you go away for visit to another area  in los 

and book into hotel and have to show passport 

on return will have to go and fill in form or cop-another 1600b fine

[NancyL]

12 hours ago, opalred said:

how far is this 2nd floor crap going to go to get money

still angry after over the years 50plus times in and out on retirement visa and same address in yellow book

then get hit 1600b for not filling a form in on return last time

even after airport immigration always  tell you when to go to visit next

90day or 1yr 

then when you are a at 2nd floor where do they tell you to go and get copy's  etc 

let you guess

the next thing i think will happen when you go away for visit to another area  in los 

and book into hotel and have to show passport 

on return will have to go and fill in form or cop-another 1600b fine

Technically, you should go and "update" your TM30 when you return from a trip within Thailand where a hotel made a copy of your passport and input a TM30 reporting your stay.  At that point the most recent address on file for you will be the hotel address.  I know someone who got fined for not doing this, when his workplace was busted by Immigration and this was the only infraction they could find for him and his employees.

 

Yet, when I went to 2nd floor Prom. Imm. after a recent trip to Bangkok where I know for sure the hotel input a TM30 for me, I was told "no need" to report.  I asked them to look in their computer and see what address was on file for my TM30.  They did and said, yes it was the hotel's address.  Why then did they say, no need to update after travel in Thailand?

[davehowden]

' Why then did they say, no need to update after travel in Thailand? "

 

Cos they are keen to get your 1600 at a later date ?

[opalred]

maybe 2nd floor will soon be issuing frangs with

ankle monitoring bracelets

[CMBob]

13 hours ago, NancyL said:

Yet, when I went to 2nd floor Prom. Imm. after a recent trip to Bangkok where I know for sure the hotel input a TM30 for me, I was told "no need" to report.  I asked them to look in their computer and see what address was on file for my TM30.  They did and said, yes it was the hotel's address.  Why then did they say, no need to update after travel in Thailand?

As I've mentioned before, they confirmed that different officers were saying different things (some saying you only need to "update" when returning to the country and others saying you need to "update" when simply being away from CM for 24+ hours).  And, when I then said "well, what should I do!?!", the response I've gotten from two different officers was "up to you!"   So I only update when I'm returning to the country.  And I've had stayed at hotels in different parts of Thailand in between updates (where surely they filed TM30s for me) and nobody at Immigration has made note of that to me.

 

By the way, others have confirmed that Building 3 (old Immigration site) is still open for business and will do the usual update in their usual 5 minutes or so.  Much easier choice than going through the Promenada queue process.

[NancyL]

2 hours ago, CMBob said:

As I've mentioned before, they confirmed that different officers were saying different things (some saying you only need to "update" when returning to the country and others saying you need to "update" when simply being away from CM for 24+ hours).  And, when I then said "well, what should I do!?!", the response I've gotten from two different officers was "up to you!"   So I only update when I'm returning to the country.  And I've had stayed at hotels in different parts of Thailand in between updates (where surely they filed TM30s for me) and nobody at Immigration has made note of that to me.

 

By the way, others have confirmed that Building 3 (old Immigration site) is still open for business and will do the usual update in their usual 5 minutes or so.  Much easier choice than going through the Promenada queue process.

Just goes to show you they "make up the rules" as they go and they can also impose the fines as they go, also.  Is it little wonder that the retirement extension queue is becoming smaller and smaller?  

[EricTh]

10 hours ago, NancyL said:

Just goes to show you they "make up the rules" as they go and they can also impose the fines as they go, also.  Is it little wonder that the retirement extension queue is becoming smaller and smaller?  

Somebody else (on another thread) wanted to know which states in Malaysia are non-Muslim majority so they can also consider Malaysia.

 

Maybe the peak for retirement extension is on Nov and Dec?

Edited July 8, 2017 by EricTh

[chuang]

47 minutes ago, EricTh said:

Somebody else (on another thread) wanted to know which states in Malaysia are non-Muslim majority so they can also consider Malaysia.

 

Maybe the peak for retirement extension is on Nov and Dec?

I think Penang...

[elektrified]

Did the extension last week. Tried a different approach this time and showed up at 14:50. The large room was almost empty. There were only about 3 customers in there, although the other rooms (2 and 3) were busy. A very lovely and friendly young lady out front examined my documents and said "everything looked good". She went inside and about 2 minutes later she came back with an Immigration Officer - a very modern looking, fairly young guy with kind of a Clark Kent look. I hadn't seen him before - I don't think. He was very nice and very friendly. He immediately pointed out that my TM-7 document I have been using for the last 10 years was out of date and asked me to fill out a new one by hand which I did. He said that he would be handling my extension this year and that he would do it right then. The whole process took about 5-7 minutes. The only quirk was that he asked me to go to the photocopy shop and make 2 copies of my 90-day report. In all the years, I have never been asked for even one copy of that! I sat down and waited until about 15:45. At that point it was obvious I was the last customer of the day and all of the staff had split off in groups and were talking, laughing, and eating snacks together. It appeared my Officer was gone, so I asked someone what was happening and the girl apologized and sent someone to retrieve my passport which had been taken to another office? Five minutes later I had my passport and was out of there by 16:00. So a new record...one hour and ten minutes....

 

AND....nobody ever asked me for that form that people go on and on about......just as I had predicted. I've said it once and I'll say it again, dress nicely, be polite, speak polite Thai, have your documents in order and the whole thing is a breeze. I hope things never change at C.M. Immigration!

[NancyL]

20 hours ago, chuang said:

I think Penang...

Penang and Sarawak have non-Muslim majorities.  Also, in Sabah, which nominally has a Muslim majority it is legal for other religions to proselytize Muslims, so there is a very visible Christian scene.  Proselytizing of Muslims is legal only in Penang, Sawarak, Sabah and the Federal territories in Malaysia.  

 

Most people wrongly draw their opinion of Malaysia based on travels in west Malaysia.  There is an entirely different vibe in Borneo.

[thaibeachlovers]

14 hours ago, elektrified said:

Did the extension last week. Tried a different approach this time and showed up at 14:50. The large room was almost empty. There were only about 3 customers in there, although the other rooms (2 and 3) were busy. A very lovely and friendly young lady out front examined my documents and said "everything looked good". She went inside and about 2 minutes later she came back with an Immigration Officer - a very modern looking, fairly young guy with kind of a Clark Kent look. I hadn't seen him before - I don't think. He was very nice and very friendly. He immediately pointed out that my TM-7 document I have been using for the last 10 years was out of date and asked me to fill out a new one by hand which I did. He said that he would be handling my extension this year and that he would do it right then. The whole process took about 5-7 minutes. The only quirk was that he asked me to go to the photocopy shop and make 2 copies of my 90-day report. In all the years, I have never been asked for even one copy of that! I sat down and waited until about 15:45. At that point it was obvious I was the last customer of the day and all of the staff had split off in groups and were talking, laughing, and eating snacks together. It appeared my Officer was gone, so I asked someone what was happening and the girl apologized and sent someone to retrieve my passport which had been taken to another office? Five minutes later I had my passport and was out of there by 16:00. So a new record...one hour and ten minutes....

 

AND....nobody ever asked me for that form that people go on and on about......just as I had predicted. I've said it once and I'll say it again, dress nicely, be polite, speak polite Thai, have your documents in order and the whole thing is a breeze. I hope things never change at C.M. Immigration!

"That form" is no longer required.

 

If speaking Thai was a requirement not many would be obtaining extensions.

Can we please get off the "must speak Thai" bandwagon- it's NOT a requirement for living in LOS.

 

My experience has always been bad till I used the agency. Then it WAS a breeze. Worth every satang.

Edited July 9, 2017 by thaibeachlovers

[elektrified]

27 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

"That form" is no longer required.

 

If speaking Thai was a requirement not many would be obtaining extensions.

Can we please get off the "must speak Thai" bandwagon- it's NOT a requirement for living in LOS.

 

My experience has always been bad till I used the agency. Then it WAS a breeze. Worth every satang.

That's interesting because only one week ago you said in ID: 1334 "I received my extension based on retirement recently. I used the company based in Promenada. Not sure if I can name them on here.

I had to provide passport, copy of TM30..."  So apparently the form is still required for people that don't understand the way things work here...

 

I've never had a single problem in 11 years now at Immigration and only ever had to spend more than 90 minutes once a year there, in all the years.

[Lizard2010]

6 minutes ago, elektrified said:

That's interesting because only one week ago you said in ID: 1334 "I received my extension based on retirement recently. I used the company based in Promenada. Not sure if I can name them on here.

I had to provide passport, copy of TM30..."  So apparently the form is still required for people that don't understand the way things work here...

 

I've never had a single problem in 11 years now at Immigration and only ever had to spend more than 90 minutes once a year there, in all the years.

Not sure where you are coming from

The Form is what I would have called the Foreigner Form

The TM 30

IS now required most time

So it is always better to

Photocopy everything

That way all I copied

I did with no problems

This was done my self at Immigration

I do not need a Agent as I am quite capable of doing things myself

Edited July 9, 2017 by Lizard2010

[roo860]

"That form" is no longer required.
 
If speaking Thai was a requirement not many would be obtaining extensions.
Can we please get off the "must speak Thai" bandwagon- it's NOT a requirement for living in LOS.
 
My experience has always been bad till I used the agency. Then it WAS a breeze. Worth every satang.

He probably means saying 'hello' and 'thank you' in Thai.

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

[EricTh]

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

 

 

If speaking Thai was a requirement not many would be obtaining extensions.

Can we please get off the "must speak Thai" bandwagon- it's NOT a requirement for living in LOS.

 

 

 

Foreigners who migrate to English speaking countries must pass their IELTS English test so why not Thailand? Just kidding...

[EricTh]

22 minutes ago, roo860 said:

 

He probably means saying 'hello' and 'thank you' in Thai.


 

 

 

Do you really think that speaking two simple words of Thai is going to impress anyone?

[roo860]

 
Do you really think that speaking two simple words of Thai is going to impress anyone?

They are probably used to it at immigration.

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

[evenstevens]

4 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

 

 

My experience has always been bad till I used the agency. Then it WAS a breeze. Worth every satang.

yes,  its in a superb location at Promenada,( if needed ),2 floors above the Immgr Dept,with speedy  connections to secure those breezy  visa,s etc etc

its a  Roy  Orbinson  late arvo to all

[Thailand]

2 hours ago, evenstevens said:

yes,  its in a superb location at Promenada,( if needed ),2 floors above the Immgr Dept,with speedy  connections to secure those breezy  visa,s etc etc

its a  Roy  Orbinson  late arvo to all

It is isn't!

 

You would have thought at least one or two of the many other agencies would have chosen a similar location.

[cusanus]

21 hours ago, elektrified said:

Did the extension last week. Tried a different approach this time and showed up at 14:50. The large room was almost empty. There were only about 3 customers in there, although the other rooms (2 and 3) were busy. A very lovely and friendly young lady out front examined my documents and said "everything looked good". She went inside and about 2 minutes later she came back with an Immigration Officer - a very modern looking, fairly young guy with kind of a Clark Kent look. I hadn't seen him before - I don't think. He was very nice and very friendly. He immediately pointed out that my TM-7 document I have been using for the last 10 years was out of date and asked me to fill out a new one by hand which I did. He said that he would be handling my extension this year and that he would do it right then. The whole process took about 5-7 minutes. The only quirk was that he asked me to go to the photocopy shop and make 2 copies of my 90-day report. In all the years, I have never been asked for even one copy of that! I sat down and waited until about 15:45. At that point it was obvious I was the last customer of the day and all of the staff had split off in groups and were talking, laughing, and eating snacks together. It appeared my Officer was gone, so I asked someone what was happening and the girl apologized and sent someone to retrieve my passport which had been taken to another office? Five minutes later I had my passport and was out of there by 16:00. So a new record...one hour and ten minutes....

 

AND....nobody ever asked me for that form that people go on and on about......just as I had predicted. I've said it once and I'll say it again, dress nicely, be polite, speak polite Thai, have your documents in order and the whole thing is a breeze. I hope things never change at C.M. Immigration!

Twelve years here, never had a problem, they've been great every time. 

[evenstevens]

4 hours ago, evenstevens said:

yes,  its in a superb location at Promenada,( if needed ),2 floors above the Immgr Dept,with speedy  connections to secure those breezy  visa,s etc etc

its a  Roy  Orbinson  late arvo to all

 

2 hours ago, Thailand said:

It is isn't!

 

You would have thought at least one or two of the many other agencies would have chosen a similar location.

perhaps from your view point as a D.I.Y.  punter,    it is"t

but from my side of the fence,being a visa agent punter it certainly is,   as my business can be taken care of .  in one throw of the dice,  apart from my   retirement extension, which  MAY  require two throws at best, my former visa agent required additional  throws  to  G4T   present service

as to  you asking,,  why there are  not more  visa agencys at Promenada,  E/S  is just a paying punter, looking for the best available services to meet  my present visa needs,and to this point of time G4T certainly fills that capacity,  therefore  E/S has,nt  any  idea !!! ,why there are not more v/agents at Promenada, perhaps  you can share your thoughts on this matter

its a Everly Brothers  nice  evening to all

Edited July 9, 2017 by evenstevens