Which Immigration Offices Follow the Rules, Which Don't?

[Kasset Tak]

Never had any one ask for money. 

BUT I would tell you to stay away from

Mae Sot (immigration office, not the border crossing) and Sukhothai immigration as they are doing everything they can to make it hard for you by implementing ALL new and local things from other immigration offices.

Phitsanulok, Nakorn Sawan and Mukdahan has always worked well when I have been there.

 

[Munotlaw]

Using a visa agent helps to eliminate all visa problems. You pay his fee and in 1 - 3 days you can collect your passeport with the needed visa. All happy, you, (a little poorer)  the agent, the immigration, in many cases Bangkok Bank (a little richer). You also can go directly to Pattaya Immigration (ask in the copy shop what officer to contact), pay 16k and walk out with your visa. (This only applies for a Non-O and the following 1 year retirement extension)

Munotlaw

[stereolab]

Nong Khai have started asking for details of wife,copy of Thai I.D. Card, copy of passport, when applying for an extension of stay (retirement). This was not in previous 4 years required. So this year I will pop in and get the latest requirements before attending on the actual day, and I will apply on the earliest day possible just in case. Generally speaking no problems at NK, certainly no additional fees have ever been requested. It is also a quiet office , so no long queues, or 0300 hours arrival times.

 

 

[OJAS]

On 8/24/2016 at 7:22 PM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Just an update from today re Chaengwattana Immigration in Bangkok.

 

Went there today as an American doing my retirement extension of stay via consulate income letter and re-entry permit. Everything by the book and rules, nothing out of the ordinary, happy to report.

 

And curiously:

--This was my first in-person visit to Immigration since they began doing the "Personal Information Form." And, I wasn't asked to fill out that form anywhere during my visit, nor did I see anyone else around me with the form or in the process of filling one out.

 

--Unlike some of the oddball reports surfacing lately from outlying Immigration offices like Hua Hin, my U.S. consulate income latter was accepted without question. No request to have it certified by the MFA.

 

 

I was certainly asked to fill out the "Personal Information Form" when I did my last retirement extension at Maptaput Immigration last July. However, I gather from a fellow TV member that he wasn't asked for this form when he did his retirement extension there last week. This would appear to indicate that this particular form is no longer the flavour of the month at our immigration office at any rate. Is this also true of other offices?

 

As regards the non-requirement for MFA certification of Embassy income letters at Chaengwattana, the cynic in me suggests that this might be because it is far more convenient for an officer there to pop next door to the MFA to check the authenticity of a consular signature than it is for an officer at Hua Hin, etc!

 

[Munotlaw]

Using a visa agent helps to eliminate all visa problems. You pay his fee and in 1 - 3 days you can collect your passeport with the needed visa. All happy, you, (a little poorer)  the agent, the immigration, in many cases Bangkok Bank (a little richer). You also can go directly to Pattaya Immigration (ask in the copy shop what officer to contact), pay 16k and walk out with your visa. (This only applies for a Non-O and the following 1 year retirement extension)

Munotlaw

 

To answer a few questions I received by email: This service is for us older folks who sometimes forget how much is in the bank account or don't like to travel to our embassy for an income confirmation letter. Because we are already old, we also prefer  immigration officers who are blind and don't like to have a lot of documents on their table.

Munotlaw

[thai3]

1 hour ago, Munotlaw said:

Using a visa agent helps to eliminate all visa problems. You pay his fee and in 1 - 3 days you can collect your passeport with the needed visa. All happy, you, (a little poorer)  the agent, the immigration, in many cases Bangkok Bank (a little richer). You also can go directly to Pattaya Immigration (ask in the copy shop what officer to contact), pay 16k and walk out with your visa. (This only applies for a Non-O and the following 1 year retirement extension)

Munotlaw

You only pay 16k if you obtained an extension via corruption

[Munotlaw]

You only pay 16k if you obtained an extension via corruption

 

Immigration makes me an offer, I can accept or refuse. In Thailand to discuss about corruption don't make sense. its quite normal here.(Was working in Bangkok from 1991 - 2010 and had to deal with government agencies)

Munotlaw

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

5 hours ago, OJAS said:

As regards the non-requirement for MFA certification of Embassy income letters at Chaengwattana, the cynic in me suggests that this might be because it is far more convenient for an officer there to pop next door to the MFA to check the authenticity of a consular signature than it is for an officer at Hua Hin, etc!

 

Re BKK Immigration at CW, AFAIK, the MFA office is not in the same building as Immigration, or even in the same Government Complex. MFA is out on the main CW Road, a ways further beyond where you turn into CW Soi 7 to go to Immigration.

 

[OJAS]

22 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Re BKK Immigration at CW, AFAIK, the MFA office is not in the same building as Immigration, or even in the same Government Complex. MFA is out on the main CW Road, a ways further beyond where you turn into CW Soi 7 to go to Immigration.

 

Thanks for the clarification.