Re-entry Permit SCAM - don't fall for it

[ubonjoe]

4 minutes ago, ajarngreg said:

BTW, the service wasn't available a few years ago. Here are two photos of the place.

 

OP, are you talking about the same place?

No they moved the office to a location after security in November of last year. They moved the office last April to the departure hall from where it is at now

[bhatmasterson]

15 hours ago, c0der said:

 

Nowhere is it stated that the government's Re-entry Permit service at the airport is to cater for emergencies.

 

Based on your thinking, shouldn't it be  written everywhere that there is an additional fee if applying for a re-entry permit at the airport? The AOT Re-Entry Visa web page only states the official 1k and 3.8k THB fees for the permits. This implies that the extra 200 THB is unofficial. Note though that the office location next to the Customs Inspection office as shown on that page has been closed (for renovation?). Was the additional 200 THB fee charged there?

 

 

They are not the only 2 options. You can get the Re-entry Permit at the airport without needing to pay the 200 THB fee.

 

Exactly. I've done this many times at different times of the day and evening. There has always been people on duty.

[louse1953]

My immi has heaps of different forms available for free.I just take a handful of what i need.

[Ijustcashier]

Well,you mad if you pay that for a beer.

If you come by train and not in a hurry you can get beer at the 7/11 as you walk into the airport for normal prices, even a seating area.

[ddavidovsky]

41 minutes ago, Ijustcashier said:

Same here, walked past everyone to a little office and handed my form to an immigration officer, no extra charge

Fine. I think that's all we needed to know.

 

People who like being duped can pay their 200 at the desk.

The rest of us can can just walk past the desk and pay the official fee at the office.

[uptoyoumyfriend]

there was always -when i checked -a reentry permit place after immigration before security-is that gone?

[transam]

21 minutes ago, Ijustcashier said:

 

If you come by train and not in a hurry you can get beer at the 7/11 as you walk into the airport for normal prices, even a seating area.

 

Fink we all no that, but I like to get stuff out the way and settle after going through all the immigration crap to relax......There prices are daft..........

[Sooo Upto Me]

16 hours ago, NanLaew said:

Oh dear, a newbie 'discovers' the re-entry desk at Suvarnabhumi and is appalled at the 200 baht levied for their service.

 

It has ALWAYS been there and has ALWAYS charged extra for the service because the service is ostensibly to serve passengers traveling urgently, in an emergency or otherwise at short notice and thus unable to avail themselves of the formal re-entry procedure at their local immigration office. In my case, my father died while I was offshore Vietnam and by the time I had made my domestic Thai shuffle to change from work gear to something more suitable, it was the weekend. Two hundred baht versus waiting 3 days to catch the local Immigration office was not up for debate.

 

Non-scam of the year story.

 

No, it IS a scam. It only takes 1min to fill out the form. No difficult questions.

I'm sure even u could manage it.

An just coz he's a newbie on TVF, doesn't mean he's not a long term or regular visitor to Thailand.

But like others said it's a lot easier getting it from ur local immigration office.

 

[Ijustcashier]

Fink we all no that, but I like to get stuff out the way and settle after going through all the immigration crap to relax......There prices are daft..........

I like both ends. A few at the 7/11 makes standing at check in more bearable [emoji12]

[natway09]

THIS IS NOT A SCAM

It is normal business practice by people providing a service for those people who are caught in an emergency

or the  stupid ones not smart enough or too lazy  to get their affairs in order before they travel.

Have a look at visa applications for GB, Australia NZ  that I know of  all using "agents" (bloody efficient too)

They charge about 600Bht for a great service.

I think you are a newbie & it shows your silly tight ar,,,, attitude to anything Thai

Go get a life

[c0der]

4 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Complaining about the 200 baht is a bit OTT. It would probably cost that much to make a trip to a immigration office to get the re-entry permit. Plus the cost of copies and photos.

As I and others have already described, to avoid the 200 THB fee you only need to walk a further 10m or so from the desk in the immigration hall to deal directly with a real immigration officer instead of the agency service.

 

[c0der]

7 minutes ago, natway09 said:

THIS IS NOT A SCAM

It is normal business practice by people providing a service for those people who are caught in an emergency

or the  stupid ones not smart enough or too lazy  to get their affairs in order before they travel.

Where does it state that the Re-Entry Permit service at the airports are specifically "for those people who are caught in an emergency or the stupid ones not smart enough or too lazy to get their affairs in order before they travel"?

 

They can be used on an as-needed basis, which has nothing to do with emergencies or laziness.

 

[c0der]

2 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

I will eat my humble pie, it appears it once was a service offered then withdrawn, then reinstated in 2012 for the 200 baht fee: http://tastythailand.com/possible-to-get-re-entry-permit-at-suvarnabhumi-airport/

That page correctly states that the 200 THB fee is for "the cost of your photograph and paperwork". It should have also mentioned that if you already have the photo and paperwork or can complete the form yourself then you are not obliged to pay for such services offered by the agent.

[c0der]

1 hour ago, ajarngreg said:

   

 

That place was boarded up with a sign that said toilet is being renovated.

 

My post is referring to the desk in the departures immigration hall (after clearing security check).

Edited April 11, 2017 by c0der

[c0der]

2 hours ago, Thaidream said:

The only point of difference at Swampy is that the re-entry official desk is not well delineated and I believe this is on purpose so people will use the service desk instead and pay the extra money.

This is exactly the case. The first desk that everyone sees is the agency desk masquerading as an official Re-Entry Permit processing and issuing desk. The real Re-Entry Permit desk is nowhere to be seen unless you go looking and ask if you didn't know where it is already. Such placement is obviously to maximize profit for the agency business. Where does all the profit go? More likely into the well-connected business owner(s) bank accounts than government accounts.

Edited April 11, 2017 by c0der

[c0der]

2 hours ago, Bill Miller said:

if I did not already have a re-entry permit, 200 baht would be a small ( under $6.00!) price to pay for the convenience, versus spending most of a day and transportation costs, probably lunch out, etc., etc.

Completing the form yourself and bringing your own photo to submit the application at the airport directly to the real immigration officer (a further 10m walk from the fake Re-Entry Permit desk) is not difficult and would save you the 200 THB expense or a day out at an in-town immigration center.

 

[Bundaberg Baxter]

It does seem it is set up to mislead all into thinking they HAVE to pay the fee when we do not. There should be a clear message that states if you need the nanny service it's 200 baht, but if you have the form etc proceed to the officer and hand it over with 1000 baht. It's all a bit sly.

[c0der]

 

34 minutes ago, Bundaberg Baxter said:

There should be a clear message that states if you need the nanny service it's 200 baht, but if you have the form etc proceed to the officer and hand it over with 1000 baht.

Yes, and the desk should not pretend to be an official desk, as it only does what an agent or middleman does, and the government is not in the visa agent or middleman line of business. Currently the desk has clearly visible signs that say "Re-Entry Visa", making everyone think that this is the one and only place to get a Re-Entry Permit.

 

34 minutes ago, Bundaberg Baxter said:

It's all a bit sly.

... and such a deceptive operation is happening 24h per day in an officially secure area. If this is not corruption or a conflict-of-interest or a scam then what is it?

 

Edited April 11, 2017 by c0der

[ddavidovsky]

So the 'emergency' desk service (with 200 baht fee) is 24 hours, right? And the ordinary office service (no fee) is presumably available 5 am to midnight like before?

[c0der]

8 minutes ago, ddavidovsky said:

So the 'emergency' desk service (with 200 baht fee) is 24 hours, right? And the ordinary office service (no fee) is presumably available 5 am to midnight like before?

Is the "ordinary office service" the one next to the Customs Inspection office? I went to that one first but it has been closed for renovation as I mentioned earlier. Did that office charge an additional fee? I would not have expected so if I had got my permit there.

 

Is the desk (either the fake or real one) in the immigration hall actually called an "emergency" desk?

[ddavidovsky]

2 minutes ago, c0der said:

Is the "ordinary office service" the one next to the Customs Inspection office? I went to that one first but it has been closed for renovation as I mentioned earlier. Did that office charge an additional fee? I would not have expected so if I had got my permit there.

 

Is the desk (either the fake or real one) in the immigration hall actually called an "emergency" desk?

I only know what I'm gleaning from comments herein, but I can confirm from experience that the old immigration office in the main hall used to provide re-entry permits without an additional fee:

 

I now gather the following:

- There is a desk in the immigration hall that provides a special re-entry service (24hrs, photo and paperwork provided) for a 200 baht fee.

- There is an 'ordinary' immigration office tucked away a few metres behind this desk which provides the re-entry permit without fee (presumably not 24hrs).

 

Final and conclusive confirmation of the latter by anyone would be appreciated.

[Ijustcashier]

I only know what I'm gleaning from comments herein, but I can confirm from experience that the old immigration office in the main hall used to provide re-entry permits without an additional fee:

 

I now gather the following:

- There is a desk in the immigration hall that provides a special re-entry service (24hrs, photo and paperwork provided) for a 200 baht fee.

- There is an 'ordinary' immigration office tucked away a few metres behind this desk which provides the re-entry permit without fee (presumably not 24hrs).

 

Final and conclusive confirmation of the latter by anyone would be appreciated.

You got it right. Many are not aware that the tiny office is behind the immigration counter so they go straight to the the guy that charges them 200 even if you have everything filled out, the 200 baht is just a "walking" fee because he had to get up and walk 10 meters.

Not bad work if you can get it [emoji15] [emoji15]

 

[c0der]

20 minutes ago, ddavidovsky said:

I now gather the following:

- There is a desk in the immigration hall that provides a special re-entry service (24hrs, photo and paperwork provided) for a 200 baht fee.

- There is an 'ordinary' immigration office tucked away a few metres behind this desk which provides the re-entry permit without fee (presumably not 24hrs).

The real but hidden Re-Entry Permit desk is really just a desk with a computer in a small mostly empty room. It would need to be open 24h per day if the fake desk (or agent service desk) is open 24h per day, otherwise the agent service employees (pretending to appear like immigration officers) would not be able to submit the applications to the real immigration officer for actual processing.

Edited April 11, 2017 by c0der

[ddavidovsky]

9 minutes ago, c0der said:

The real but hidden Re-Entry Permit desk is really just a desk with a computer in a small mostly empty room. It would need to be open 24h per day if the fake desk (or agent service desk) is open 24h per day, otherwise the agent service employees (pretending to appear like immigration officers) would not be able to submit the applications to the real immigration officer for actual processing.

Good point.

[c0der]

As you wait at the real desk for your application to be processed, an agent service employee may come and place new applications onto the desk. This shows that they really have no actual authority to process applications or issue Re-Entry Permits. If you don't need a photo (everyone should be carrying spare photos with their passport anyway), they are useless.

Edited April 11, 2017 by c0der

[ddavidovsky]

18 minutes ago, c0der said:

As you wait at the real desk for your application to be processed, an agent service employee may come and place new applications onto the desk. This shows that they really have no actual authority to process applications or issue Re-Entry Permits. If you don't need a photo (everyone should be carrying spare photos with their passport anyway), they are useless.

How easy is it to get past the desk to the real office? I see in the OP you said there is a 'no entry' gate.

[Ijustcashier]

How easy is it to get past the desk to the real office? I see in the OP you said there is a 'no entry' gate.

If that's true then perhaps it something that has just been implemented.

 

 

 

 

 

[c0der]

15 minutes ago, ddavidovsky said:

How easy is it to get past the desk to the real office? I see in the OP you said there is a 'no entry' gate.

As the agent service desk and employee uniforms are designed to look official government style, most people would instinctively be hesitant to freely walk past it. But now that you know that it is just an agency business, and the employees have no authority to control your movement, you can do so without fear, up to the no entry gate. The desk and room is just beside the gate. You could simply open it yourself (it's not even locked, I assume so that the agent service employees can easily hand over new applications all day and night), but in order not to break any rules, it's better to get permission first from an immigration officer nearby (or the one at the desk by simply calling out "hello").

 

Edited April 11, 2017 by c0der

[bazza73]

If the OP is worried about 200 baht for a service, perhaps he should not be here.

[c0der]

48 minutes ago, Ijustcashier said:

If that's true then perhaps it something that has just been implemented.

... to strengthen the illusion of lack of option. It's clever of them, but not fair and transparent.

 

Could the deception rate be as high as 90%? Judging by a lot of the responses here it could be as high as that.