Using agency to renew Non O extension in C M?

[thaibeachlovers]

Reposted from the Visa forum as not many replies there.

Looks like I'll be using a company in C M to renew my retirement extension in May. Can anyone done one recently with a company please tell me exactly what documents I will need to do so please?

While it would be good to know what is required if doing so in person, I really want to know what is required by a company, as may be different.

I also need to know how much time I need to allow before previous one expires as I'll have to book my flight to get back in time

Be good to know any recommends for companies, and the cost.

Thank you.

[thaibeachlovers]

PS please don't be offended if I don't acknowledge replies straight away. I'll be off the grid for a couple of weeks.

[Sparkles]

Do a search on this forum its been discussed relentlessly for months.

One is a sponsor look on right of page.

[fcgprg]

Do a search on this forum its been discussed relentlessly for months.

One is a sponsor look on right of page.

Even better Two are sponsors.

[JannerBoy]

Assist Thai Visa; in Chiangmailand. Know many who use these guys.

Professional service; English speaking staff (and a few are actually English too which helps for explanations). They also take care of all the required copies; photographs and obtaining an appointment at immigration itself.

Have seen others on here complain about having to pay for an agent; but they also the same types who complain about paying 80 baht for a bottle of Chang instead of 70 baht. Each to their own.

[NancyL]

Yes, Assist Thai Visa in Chiang Mai Land is good and so is O.S. Thai Visa on one of the Nimman sois. That's who my husband used a few months ago. The ladies there are very professional and speak English well. The owner and her daughter spent many years in Australia. O.S. Thai Visa is the other sponsor of this ThaiVisa forum.

To me, it's really a matter of which visa agent is more convenient for you, because you're going to have to visit them in person with your passport for photos and to fill out forms. We live within walking distance of O.S. Thai Visa, so it was very easy for Hubby to walk over for the photos and form filling session a week before his trip to Imm. Prom and then on the appointed day, they called him in the morning to tell him what time his queue number would be served. So, we walked to their office and one of their staffers took him to Prom for his brief session with the Imm. officers and then drove him back home. The next day he returned to their office to pick up his passport, although they offer to drop it off at our condo. He said he enjoyed the exercise (and seeing the rest of the staff, I think!)

[opalred]

after 10000posts/ free add again

thai first works for me same speak english no rip off

[MissIndy]

How much does it cost to use an agency?

Trisha

[northernjohn]

How much does it cost to use an agency?

Trisha

One I believe is 5,000 baht and the other 5,500 baht. These two agencies have other deals that they do for you like the 90 day report for a cheaper price if you use them to renew . I am sure some one will be here to tell you the prices and correct me if I am wrong on the extension prices. I could be 500 baht off.

There is an agency two doors down from immigration that costs 3,000 baht. In between it and immigration there is a shop that will photocopy any information you need out of your passport and take your picture. This agency charges 300 baht for the 90 day reports.

There will maybe be some along to tell you not to use the cheap one.

[JannerBoy]

How much does it cost to use an agency?

Trisha

One I believe is 5,000 baht and the other 5,500 baht. These two agencies have other deals that they do for you like the 90 day report for a cheaper price if you use them to renew . I am sure some one will be here to tell you the prices and correct me if I am wrong on the extension prices. I could be 500 baht off.

There is an agency two doors down from immigration that costs 3,000 baht. In between it and immigration there is a shop that will photocopy any information you need out of your passport and take your picture. This agency charges 300 baht for the 90 day reports.

There will maybe be some along to tell you not to use the cheap one.

Personally wouldn't use the agency by the Promenada on principle; has been explained on this forum multiple times previously regards to this.

Always have found Assist to be reasonable with regards what they charge. Willing to pay to save time/energy; which for me is more important than paying a small fee.

[LivinLOS]

How much does it cost to use an agency?

Trisha

One I believe is 5,000 baht and the other 5,500 baht. These two agencies have other deals that they do for you like the 90 day report for a cheaper price if you use them to renew . I am sure some one will be here to tell you the prices and correct me if I am wrong on the extension prices. I could be 500 baht off.

There is an agency two doors down from immigration that costs 3,000 baht. In between it and immigration there is a shop that will photocopy any information you need out of your passport and take your picture. This agency charges 300 baht for the 90 day reports.

There will maybe be some along to tell you not to use the cheap one.

Personally wouldn't use the agency by the Promenada on principle; has been explained on this forum multiple times previously regards to this.

Always have found Assist to be reasonable with regards what they charge. Willing to pay to save time/energy; which for me is more important than paying a small fee.

As if all the others are not paying similar bribes..

[Dante99]

How much does it cost to use an agency?

Trisha

One I believe is 5,000 baht and the other 5,500 baht. These two agencies have other deals that they do for you like the 90 day report for a cheaper price if you use them to renew . I am sure some one will be here to tell you the prices and correct me if I am wrong on the extension prices. I could be 500 baht off.

There is an agency two doors down from immigration that costs 3,000 baht. In between it and immigration there is a shop that will photocopy any information you need out of your passport and take your picture. This agency charges 300 baht for the 90 day reports.

There will maybe be some along to tell you not to use the cheap one.

Personally wouldn't use the agency by the Promenada on principle; has been explained on this forum multiple times previously regards to this.

Always have found Assist to be reasonable with regards what they charge. Willing to pay to save time/energy; which for me is more important than paying a small fee.

As if all the others are not paying similar bribes..

Yes, there was sure a lot of talk saying that even before the Promanada agency existed.

[northernjohn]

How much does it cost to use an agency?

Trisha

One I believe is 5,000 baht and the other 5,500 baht. These two agencies have other deals that they do for you like the 90 day report for a cheaper price if you use them to renew . I am sure some one will be here to tell you the prices and correct me if I am wrong on the extension prices. I could be 500 baht off.

There is an agency two doors down from immigration that costs 3,000 baht. In between it and immigration there is a shop that will photocopy any information you need out of your passport and take your picture. This agency charges 300 baht for the 90 day reports.

There will maybe be some along to tell you not to use the cheap one.

Personally wouldn't use the agency by the Promenada on principle; has been explained on this forum multiple times previously regards to this.

Always have found Assist to be reasonable with regards what they charge. Willing to pay to save time/energy; which for me is more important than paying a small fee.

The question was how much not what your principals are.

Would you pay the 200 baht on the spot bribe for not wearing a helmet or insist on the 400 baht ticket so you can go out of your way and go to the police station which you might not know the location of.

I only quoted three of them there are others. I have heard of two that do it but only charged 3,000 baht. The people who used them gave me no details. One did say it involved a marriage and a working permit for 3,000 baht.

[MrBrad]

I just inquired at Star Visa (west of the US Consulate), and they quoted their rates as:

• Retirement extension - Fee at Immigration of 1,900 plus Star service charge of 4,500 = 6,400 baht
• 90 day report = 800 baht
• Re-entry permit - Fee at Immigration of 1,000 (single entry) plus Star service charge of 2,500 = 3,500 baht

These rates appear to be quite a bit higher than I've paid at other places, so I will be returning to my old visa service.

--------------------------------------

On another note, however, does anyone know the rate of exchange that Immigration is using to convert US dollars to baht these days? Thanks.

[northernjohn]

I just inquired at Star Visa (west of the US Consulate), and they quoted their rates as:

• Retirement extension - Fee at Immigration of 1,900 plus Star service charge of 4,500 = 6,400 baht
• 90 day report = 800 baht
• Re-entry permit - Fee at Immigration of 1,000 (single entry) plus Star service charge of 2,500 = 3,500 baht

These rates appear to be quite a bit higher than I've paid at other places, so I will be returning to my old visa service.

--------------------------------------

On another note, however, does anyone know the rate of exchange that Immigration is using to convert US dollars to baht these days? Thanks.

Star visa does not really want the Farong business. They specialize in Visas for Thais to other countries. I used them to get my wife a Visa to the states. They said they could get me a single entry and never bothered to call me on it. I will be using them again for Visa for the wife to go to Canada.

I believe they also do translation work there.

The retirement extension price you quoted is correct. I had a friend use them once. He didn't say why but he is not going to use them again.

Forgot to mention their rate for the retirement extension is also cheaper that the other two agents that people recommend.

As MrBrad said the other rates are very high.

Edited March 29, 2016 by northernjohn

[Dante99]

That great agent at Promanada quotes retirement extension 3,000 and re-entry permit (single or multiple) 500 plus the usual immigration department fees and fast service (call the day before so they can get the queue, next day visit the office at 10 am for about 12 minutes of paperwork, visit immigration with them for photo at about 2 pm same day, finished) Did not ask about 90 day reports because they are so easy to do yourself now.

[NancyL]

I just inquired at Star Visa (west of the US Consulate), and they quoted their rates as:

• Retirement extension - Fee at Immigration of 1,900 plus Star service charge of 4,500 = 6,400 baht
• 90 day report = 800 baht
• Re-entry permit - Fee at Immigration of 1,000 (single entry) plus Star service charge of 2,500 = 3,500 baht

These rates appear to be quite a bit higher than I've paid at other places, so I will be returning to my old visa service.

--------------------------------------

On another note, however, does anyone know the rate of exchange that Immigration is using to convert US dollars to baht these days? Thanks.

Star visa does not really want the Farong business. They specialize in Visas for Thais to other countries. I used them to get my wife a Visa to the states. They said they could get me a single entry and never bothered to call me on it. I will be using them again for Visa for the wife to go to Canada.

I believe they also do translation work there.

The retirement extension price you quoted is correct. I had a friend use them once. He didn't say why but he is not going to use them again.

Forgot to mention their rate for the retirement extension is also cheaper that the other two agents that people recommend.

As MrBrad said the other rates are very high.

Star Visa's rates for translation of routine documents like Thai death certificates into English and English language marriage certificates into Thai is very, very reasonable and quick. Not all their rates are high -- just their rates for visa services for foreigners. As NorthernJohn said the "Visa" part of their name is that they specialize in getting visas for Thai people not vise versa.

[mesquite]

Was going to use assist TV to do mine this year, they wanted 7000 THB for it. They informed that they would contact my accountant to request the documents needed to use Thai income, so I passed them the contact details. A few weeks go by and I hear nothing from them, so I enquire about it and they ASKED ME if their staff was in contact with my accountant!! I said is that not a question that YOU should know or be asking your staff??

Turns out they were not in contact. Then after leaving me in the dark for several days they sent me a list IN THAI of what was needed. My accountant only highlighting a few off the list, I had no idea what was outstanding, and what I needed to prepare.

Politely informed them that I would not be using their services and then received an email from them asking me where they should send the bill for the work completed!! I told them to send it to the billing address on the contract I signed with them. I did not sign any contract with them so was looking forward to NOT receiving their bill. They then took the time to send more emails scolding me for doing bad business with them! Unreal.

I ended up getting the visa done for 3000 THB with great service where another company came to my condo to pick up the passport, get papers signed and dropped everything back at my condo! Not me needing to run everywhere to drop off documents.

Assist Thai Visa kept trying to get me to do their work for them, fill out paperwork, go get picture, etc. and I had to push back several times. They also botched the paperwork on the RE permit. They did not sit with me at Immigration while the Officer ridiculed the paperwork and made necessary changes or when another one told me I was too early and had to come back a week later (despite being told by ATV that I was not too early). They did, though, meet me at agreed-to times at Immigration. A total of three trips to Immigration.

OS Thai Visa did all the important stuff without trying to pass it off on me, but did not meet me at Immigration as promised. I had to call the office who then called the agent who then came out of hiding and met me. I got BS face-saving excuses from both the office and the agent. But this was not a show stopper. A total of one trip to Immigration. They did sit with me at Immigration and it went well. Much cheaper than Assist Thai Visa.

Clear winner for me: OS Thai Visa.

Next year, though, I will try the one VIBE used. Pickup and delivery sounds great and it looks like it is even cheaper than OS.

Edited March 29, 2016 by mesquite

[JannerBoy]

Was going to use assist TV to do mine this year, they wanted 7000 THB for it. They informed that they would contact my accountant to request the documents needed to use Thai income, so I passed them the contact details. A few weeks go by and I hear nothing from them, so I enquire about it and they ASKED ME if their staff was in contact with my accountant!! I said is that not a question that YOU should know or be asking your staff??

Turns out they were not in contact. Then after leaving me in the dark for several days they sent me a list IN THAI of what was needed. My accountant only highlighting a few off the list, I had no idea what was outstanding, and what I needed to prepare.

Politely informed them that I would not be using their services and then received an email from them asking me where they should send the bill for the work completed!! I told them to send it to the billing address on the contract I signed with them. I did not sign any contract with them so was looking forward to NOT receiving their bill. They then took the time to send more emails scolding me for doing bad business with them! Unreal.

I ended up getting the visa done for 3000 THB with great service where another company came to my condo to pick up the passport, get papers signed and dropped everything back at my condo! Not me needing to run everywhere to drop off documents.

It's always a difficult one judging something or someone by just one opinion. Also when you only get half a story being available.

Personally have always found them very professional and efficient; the same applies for many friends of mine who use them for company paperworks; marriage visas and retirement.

Choosing an agent is an individual choice; however don't feel it is fair to pass judgement simply based on this one opinion. Every time I visit the office it always is busy; which speaks alot for their popularity among the Chiang Mai community.

[JannerBoy]

Was going to use assist TV to do mine this year, they wanted 7000 THB for it. They informed that they would contact my accountant to request the documents needed to use Thai income, so I passed them the contact details. A few weeks go by and I hear nothing from them, so I enquire about it and they ASKED ME if their staff was in contact with my accountant!! I said is that not a question that YOU should know or be asking your staff??

Turns out they were not in contact. Then after leaving me in the dark for several days they sent me a list IN THAI of what was needed. My accountant only highlighting a few off the list, I had no idea what was outstanding, and what I needed to prepare.

Politely informed them that I would not be using their services and then received an email from them asking me where they should send the bill for the work completed!! I told them to send it to the billing address on the contract I signed with them. I did not sign any contract with them so was looking forward to NOT receiving their bill. They then took the time to send more emails scolding me for doing bad business with them! Unreal.

I ended up getting the visa done for 3000 THB with great service where another company came to my condo to pick up the passport, get papers signed and dropped everything back at my condo! Not me needing to run everywhere to drop off documents.

Assist Thai Visa kept trying to get me to do their work for them, fill out paperwork, go get picture, etc. and I had to push back several times. They also botched the paperwork on the RE permit. They did not sit with me at Immigration while the Officer ridiculed the paperwork and made necessary changes or when another one told me I was too early and had to come back a week later (despite being told by ATV that I was not too early). They did, though, meet me at agreed-to times at Immigration. A total of three trips to Immigration.

OS Thai Visa did all the important stuff without trying to pass it off on me, but did not meet me at Immigration as promised. I had to call the office who then called the agent who then came out of hiding and met me. I got BS face-saving excuses from both the office and the agent. But this was not a show stopper. A total of one trip to Immigration. They did sit with me at Immigration and it went well. Much cheaper than Assist Thai Visa.

Clear winner for me: OS Thai Visa.

Next year, though, I will try the one VIBE used. Pickup and delivery sounds great and it looks like it is even cheaper than OS.

Assist TV take your photograph at their office; have never come across them getting someone to fill in their own paperwork; unless it is a signature or details about a company etc.

Seems that their were some problems in some form when preparing the documents or paperwork; which it seems that the other company OS just needed to look over and submit for you. Each to their own but as we know Immigration rules are always changing; so even in the best circumstances their can still be problems.

[AssistThaiVisa]

We are always happy to help. When dealing everyday with immigration there are often unexpected changes that cant be foreseen. However in the majority of cases there are never any issues and things go as they should. If anyone is not happy they are always welcome to come to our office to explain why. We do indeed always make our appointments and are always happy to Assist the expats here in Chiang Mai.

[mesquite]

Was going to use assist TV to do mine this year, they wanted 7000 THB for it. They informed that they would contact my accountant to request the documents needed to use Thai income, so I passed them the contact details. A few weeks go by and I hear nothing from them, so I enquire about it and they ASKED ME if their staff was in contact with my accountant!! I said is that not a question that YOU should know or be asking your staff??

Turns out they were not in contact. Then after leaving me in the dark for several days they sent me a list IN THAI of what was needed. My accountant only highlighting a few off the list, I had no idea what was outstanding, and what I needed to prepare.

Politely informed them that I would not be using their services and then received an email from them asking me where they should send the bill for the work completed!! I told them to send it to the billing address on the contract I signed with them. I did not sign any contract with them so was looking forward to NOT receiving their bill. They then took the time to send more emails scolding me for doing bad business with them! Unreal.

I ended up getting the visa done for 3000 THB with great service where another company came to my condo to pick up the passport, get papers signed and dropped everything back at my condo! Not me needing to run everywhere to drop off documents.

Assist Thai Visa kept trying to get me to do their work for them, fill out paperwork, go get picture, etc. and I had to push back several times. They also botched the paperwork on the RE permit. They did not sit with me at Immigration while the Officer ridiculed the paperwork and made necessary changes or when another one told me I was too early and had to come back a week later (despite being told by ATV that I was not too early). They did, though, meet me at agreed-to times at Immigration. A total of three trips to Immigration.

OS Thai Visa did all the important stuff without trying to pass it off on me, but did not meet me at Immigration as promised. I had to call the office who then called the agent who then came out of hiding and met me. I got BS face-saving excuses from both the office and the agent. But this was not a show stopper. A total of one trip to Immigration. They did sit with me at Immigration and it went well. Much cheaper than Assist Thai Visa.

Clear winner for me: OS Thai Visa.

Next year, though, I will try the one VIBE used. Pickup and delivery sounds great and it looks like it is even cheaper than OS.

Assist TV take your photograph at their office; have never come across them getting someone to fill in their own paperwork; unless it is a signature or details about a company etc.

Seems that their were some problems in some form when preparing the documents or paperwork; which it seems that the other company OS just needed to look over and submit for you. Each to their own but as we know Immigration rules are always changing; so even in the best circumstances their can still be problems.

All this happened way before you were a member of Thaivisa.

[JannerBoy]

Was going to use assist TV to do mine this year, they wanted 7000 THB for it. They informed that they would contact my accountant to request the documents needed to use Thai income, so I passed them the contact details. A few weeks go by and I hear nothing from them, so I enquire about it and they ASKED ME if their staff was in contact with my accountant!! I said is that not a question that YOU should know or be asking your staff??

Turns out they were not in contact. Then after leaving me in the dark for several days they sent me a list IN THAI of what was needed. My accountant only highlighting a few off the list, I had no idea what was outstanding, and what I needed to prepare.

Politely informed them that I would not be using their services and then received an email from them asking me where they should send the bill for the work completed!! I told them to send it to the billing address on the contract I signed with them. I did not sign any contract with them so was looking forward to NOT receiving their bill. They then took the time to send more emails scolding me for doing bad business with them! Unreal.

I ended up getting the visa done for 3000 THB with great service where another company came to my condo to pick up the passport, get papers signed and dropped everything back at my condo! Not me needing to run everywhere to drop off documents.

Assist Thai Visa kept trying to get me to do their work for them, fill out paperwork, go get picture, etc. and I had to push back several times. They also botched the paperwork on the RE permit. They did not sit with me at Immigration while the Officer ridiculed the paperwork and made necessary changes or when another one told me I was too early and had to come back a week later (despite being told by ATV that I was not too early). They did, though, meet me at agreed-to times at Immigration. A total of three trips to Immigration.

OS Thai Visa did all the important stuff without trying to pass it off on me, but did not meet me at Immigration as promised. I had to call the office who then called the agent who then came out of hiding and met me. I got BS face-saving excuses from both the office and the agent. But this was not a show stopper. A total of one trip to Immigration. They did sit with me at Immigration and it went well. Much cheaper than Assist Thai Visa.

Clear winner for me: OS Thai Visa.

Next year, though, I will try the one VIBE used. Pickup and delivery sounds great and it looks like it is even cheaper than OS.

Assist TV take your photograph at their office; have never come across them getting someone to fill in their own paperwork; unless it is a signature or details about a company etc.

Seems that their were some problems in some form when preparing the documents or paperwork; which it seems that the other company OS just needed to look over and submit for you. Each to their own but as we know Immigration rules are always changing; so even in the best circumstances their can still be problems.

All this happened way before you were a member of Thaivisa.

I struggle to see the relevance of duration of membership of a forum to what a company does.

It seems to be a regular phenomenon that many will choose to complain and share negative opinions over sharing good experiences.

[chuang]

I think ThaiVisa.com should start an agency to cater to its members....555555

[AssistThaiVisa]

Hi Vibe,

Yes we have reviewed your case and this is what occurred.

You were told we would contact your accountants, however you did not provide any details to contact them, you had also not paid any deposit or money for your case. You then emailed to ask what was being done, and were informed we would need your accountants details, after this they were contacted and told what documents to arrange. You then sent an email from a different address than you had been using and so it went to the junk folder as wasnt replied to.

So in effect you paid no money and ended up using a service you were more happy with, I fail to see why you are still upset. We wish you all the luck with your business of offering "massage and energy healing" services in chiang mai. Maybe you can also sponsor Thai visa I am sure a lot of members would love to use your service.

Thanks and good vibes to you and you business!

We are always happy to help. When dealing everyday with immigration there are often unexpected changes that cant be foreseen. However in the majority of cases there are never any issues and things go as they should. If anyone is not happy they are always welcome to come to our office to explain why. We do indeed always make our appointments and are always happy to Assist the expats here in Chiang Mai.

You may be always happy to help but I was shocked at the poor level of attention to my case even though your rate of 7000 THB was higher then other agents. Left me thinking for weeks that your firm was working on my application, and it was not until I contacted you again that I found out you had not even initiated contact with my accountant yet. This, caused me undue stress as time was now against me and I had to rush to prepare the documents.

Even MORE shocked when you demanded payment from me when you did not even have any paper work from me yet, and then to go on sending a sarcastic email to me. In my opinion, you should have questioned WHY I would no longer use your service after I politely informed you so as to address the issues and provide better service, instead of asking for payment. It reflects very badly on you company and is unprofessional. Had you taken the time to ask me why I was not happy with the service, I would consider using you in the future, but after the shocking email asking for payment, I will never do business with you again. Further more, I will advise my friends on the good service I received from the other agency.

As I said in a previous post, the agent that I ended up using was very professional, had door to door services and was less then half the price of assistthaivisa.

[Rancid]

@tva I thought your rebuttal quite good until the end. Not sure you will win customers by the sarcastic comments about and description of his business. Ouch.

[Dante99]

Assist Thai Visa advised me that they would not give me a receipt for my passport when they needed it for a few days. They said they had never lost one and that was their reason for refusing to give a receipt. Did not make sense to me, what do you think?

[mesquite]

Assist Thai Visa advised me that they would not give me a receipt for my passport when they needed it for a few days. They said they had never lost one and that was their reason for refusing to give a receipt. Did not make sense to me, what do you think?

This is one of the things they tried with me. When I said I wanted a receipt, they did write on my payment receipt that they had my passport.

They should just give you a receipt for the passport. You shouldn't have to argue with them about it.

[Genericnic]

Assist Thai Visa advised me that they would not give me a receipt for my passport when they needed it for a few days. They said they had never lost one and that was their reason for refusing to give a receipt. Did not make sense to me, what do you think?

Interesting. I used the service next door to immigration last December to renew my Non O and they didn't have to keep my passport. When I went it, they copied what they needed and returned the passport to me. No need for a receipt. When I went back to see the immigration officer, I presented my passport, was stamped and back on the road in less than 30 minutes. Seems that having to keep your passport may be more for their convenience than any other reason.

Just my experience.

David

[mesquite]

Assist Thai Visa advised me that they would not give me a receipt for my passport when they needed it for a few days. They said they had never lost one and that was their reason for refusing to give a receipt. Did not make sense to me, what do you think?

Interesting. I used the service next door to immigration last December to renew my Non O and they didn't have to keep my passport. When I went it, they copied what they needed and returned the passport to me. No need for a receipt. When I went back to see the immigration officer, I presented my passport, was stamped and back on the road in less than 30 minutes. Seems that having to keep your passport may be more for their convenience than any other reason.

Just my experience.

David

More and more it is looking like the place next to Immigration is the place to go.