In the past renewing my one year visa was a breeze. I'd go to the bank, get documents assuring I had the 800,000 baht on deposit for one year. That part went well. Then I'd whip off to Immigration along with my tm7, proof of residence, and passport where copies were made of relevant pages and a photo was taken. That was it and I was always told to return the next day to retrieve my passport and new one year visa.
Not this time!!!! The bank procedure went smoothly. Immigration, not so much. Upon arriving the entire outside area was packed with farang who had no idea what we were supposed to do. All seats were taken and there was no one giving instructions. Eventually I joined a queue of about a hundred people in hopes that it ended up at a xerox machine. It didn't. At the end I was given several blank forms and told to fill them out. Of course no one told me what to do with them once completed. Note there were still close to a hundred people waving these forms around.
It was hot, no place to sit and no tables to use to fill out the forms. Having finished with the forms I went to the building door to ask what to do next. The doorman told me sit down and wait for my number to be called. Of course, I had no number so he told me to just sit down.
Being smarter than that I took my piles of paper to the guy behind the desk to ask for a number. He just said he didn't have any numbers and for me to just hand him my pile of papers. I did so and he had me signed paper after paper, eventually taking my passport telling me come back to tomorrow to get it back along with my new visa. For all I know the room is still filled with farang waiting for nonexistent numbers to be called.
Anyway, it was a nightmare.
Immigration Hell
Re: Immigration Hell
Anyone would think they're trying to get you to use an agency. Complete with an additional payment to grease the wheels.
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Gaybutton
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Re: Immigration Hell
If you do use an agency, make sure it is a reputable one.
See also: viewtopic.php?p=112264#p112264
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Over 100 Tourists Allegedly Duped in Passport Scam, Agent in Pattaya Faces Legal Action
By Tanakorn Panyadee
20 December, 2023
Over 100 foreign tourists in Pattaya were allegedly scammed by a visa agent who promised to handle their passport extensions. However, the agent reportedly kept the passports far past agreed upon dates, without processing the extensions, leading to some of the tourists overstaying their stays in Thailand and keeping money paid by the tourists.
The incident came to light on December 19th, 2023, when a group of 30 tourists, accompanied by their representative Ms. Chanidapa Thosakul (36), brought Ms. Supawadee, whose last name was withheld pending an ongoing investigation, (33) under custody to the Pattaya Police Station.
Ms. Chanidapa revealed that the 30 tourists were allegedly lured by Ms. Supawadee’s promise to deal with their passport extensions with Royal Thai Immigration. The tourists paid around 32,000 baht each for Ms. Supawadee’s services. However, the tourists alleged that Ms. Supawadee took their passports and never returned the documents, nor processed their extensions, which were for a variety of reasons but mostly education visas.
The situation worsened when it emerged that over 100 tourists from more than 10 countries were reportedly impacted, some allegedly having their passports confiscated by Ms. Supawadee far beyond their authorized stay of 30-90 days in Thailand. This forced several tourists to face legal action and potential deportation, Ms. Chanidapa said.
Determined to reclaim their passports and hold the suspect accountable, the affected individuals led by Ms. Chanidapa confronted Ms. Supawadee to negotiate the return of their documents.
They later alerted the Pattaya police to come and arrest the suspect, leading to the discovery that Ms. Supawadee allegedly held over 40 passports of the foreign tourists and had allegedly planned to discard them. Fortunately, through further negotiations, a number of passports were returned to the tourists.
Despite the accusations, the suspect, Ms. Supawadee, has denied any wrongdoing and says she is entirely innocent and was working on resolving the tourist’s passport issues. However, Pattaya police remain skeptical and are actively gathering evidence to pursue legal action against the agent.
Pattaya police and Chonburi Immigration are working with the tourists affected by the agent and now on overstay to reach a positive resolution for the tourists without them facing legal action or deportation.
TPN media notes that a language school the agent in question had previously been associated with released a statement saying that the agent in question had been terminated in early November and as a result they were not liable for any damages. The name of the school has been withheld as well pending police investigation.
Story and photos: https://thepattayanews.com/2023/12/20/o ... al-action/
See also: viewtopic.php?p=112264#p112264
___________________________________________________________________________
Over 100 Tourists Allegedly Duped in Passport Scam, Agent in Pattaya Faces Legal Action
By Tanakorn Panyadee
20 December, 2023
Over 100 foreign tourists in Pattaya were allegedly scammed by a visa agent who promised to handle their passport extensions. However, the agent reportedly kept the passports far past agreed upon dates, without processing the extensions, leading to some of the tourists overstaying their stays in Thailand and keeping money paid by the tourists.
The incident came to light on December 19th, 2023, when a group of 30 tourists, accompanied by their representative Ms. Chanidapa Thosakul (36), brought Ms. Supawadee, whose last name was withheld pending an ongoing investigation, (33) under custody to the Pattaya Police Station.
Ms. Chanidapa revealed that the 30 tourists were allegedly lured by Ms. Supawadee’s promise to deal with their passport extensions with Royal Thai Immigration. The tourists paid around 32,000 baht each for Ms. Supawadee’s services. However, the tourists alleged that Ms. Supawadee took their passports and never returned the documents, nor processed their extensions, which were for a variety of reasons but mostly education visas.
The situation worsened when it emerged that over 100 tourists from more than 10 countries were reportedly impacted, some allegedly having their passports confiscated by Ms. Supawadee far beyond their authorized stay of 30-90 days in Thailand. This forced several tourists to face legal action and potential deportation, Ms. Chanidapa said.
Determined to reclaim their passports and hold the suspect accountable, the affected individuals led by Ms. Chanidapa confronted Ms. Supawadee to negotiate the return of their documents.
They later alerted the Pattaya police to come and arrest the suspect, leading to the discovery that Ms. Supawadee allegedly held over 40 passports of the foreign tourists and had allegedly planned to discard them. Fortunately, through further negotiations, a number of passports were returned to the tourists.
Despite the accusations, the suspect, Ms. Supawadee, has denied any wrongdoing and says she is entirely innocent and was working on resolving the tourist’s passport issues. However, Pattaya police remain skeptical and are actively gathering evidence to pursue legal action against the agent.
Pattaya police and Chonburi Immigration are working with the tourists affected by the agent and now on overstay to reach a positive resolution for the tourists without them facing legal action or deportation.
TPN media notes that a language school the agent in question had previously been associated with released a statement saying that the agent in question had been terminated in early November and as a result they were not liable for any damages. The name of the school has been withheld as well pending police investigation.
Story and photos: https://thepattayanews.com/2023/12/20/o ... al-action/
Re: Immigration Hell
From what expats have been telling me the going rate charged by agents to handle visa extensions ranges from 12,500 THB - 14,500 THB. I've heard of agents charging between 32,000 THB - 35,000 THB for those wanting to convert O-A visas to O-visas.
Another Thai mystery!
Another Thai mystery!
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Gaybutton
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Re: Immigration Hell
To me the real mystery is why are they able to do things and get results that we are not able to do on our own?
Come to think of it, at their prices maybe it isn't such a mystery after all . . .
Re: Immigration Hell
Back in the days when a visa run would have involved covid tests, I went into a couple of visa agents just to see what could be done to slightly extend my stay.
The price for the retirement visa was approx 14,500 without needing proof of income or 800,000 in a bank account for months.
It's remarkable what tea money can achieve.
Some of us know of a young lad from another Asean country who handed his passport to a lady in Pattaya for a visa extension & suffered the same fate. No visa extension and she kept his passport.Pattaya News wrote: ↑Thu Dec 21, 2023 5:06 am Ms. Chanidapa revealed that the 30 tourists were allegedly lured by Ms. Supawadee’s promise to deal with their passport extensions with Royal Thai Immigration. The tourists paid around 32,000 baht each for Ms. Supawadee’s services. However, the tourists alleged that Ms. Supawadee took their passports and never returned the documents, nor processed their extensions, which were for a variety of reasons but mostly education visas.
I can hardly believe people would hand their passport and money to some random lady on the street.
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richsilver
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Re: Immigration Hell
Many people are not aware that Google Maps has reviews of businesses throughout Thailand.
Open the app on your phone or go to the website on your desktop and type in the name of the business in the search bar. Once you find the business you want, you will find a Reviews tab. These can be very informative and will help you avoid duds. Key Visa, for example, has 254 reviews, getting 4.3 out of five stars; VIP Visa (my favorite) has 81 reviews and gets 4.9 out of five.
Open the app on your phone or go to the website on your desktop and type in the name of the business in the search bar. Once you find the business you want, you will find a Reviews tab. These can be very informative and will help you avoid duds. Key Visa, for example, has 254 reviews, getting 4.3 out of five stars; VIP Visa (my favorite) has 81 reviews and gets 4.9 out of five.
Re: Immigration Hell
I would definitely check google maps before using this type of business.
The one thing to be aware of is that google maps welcome the positive reviews, but they are less receptive to reports of problems.
I've never had a problem posting numerous positive reviews.
They love to hear about my favourite coffee shops or restaurants. However, just as soon as I post a review mentioning I was sick 3 times after eating at a Mexican restaurant in Spain, not only does the bot delete my review, but it's also deleted all my other reviews. So the worst customer experiences and people who are prepared to share them may be filtered out.
I don't see why this is necessary, as customers can interpret the information themselves & see how many people report a particular problem. IF google allow it to be posted.
The one thing to be aware of is that google maps welcome the positive reviews, but they are less receptive to reports of problems.
I've never had a problem posting numerous positive reviews.
They love to hear about my favourite coffee shops or restaurants. However, just as soon as I post a review mentioning I was sick 3 times after eating at a Mexican restaurant in Spain, not only does the bot delete my review, but it's also deleted all my other reviews. So the worst customer experiences and people who are prepared to share them may be filtered out.
I don't see why this is necessary, as customers can interpret the information themselves & see how many people report a particular problem. IF google allow it to be posted.
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Gaybutton
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Re: Immigration Hell
I don't know about Spain, but in Thailand you need to be very careful about posting a negative review due to Thailand's libel and defamation laws. It doesn't matter whether you're telling the truth and can prove what you say. Under Thai law you are still held liable.
About a year or so ago a farang posted a negative review about a Thai hotel. The hotel sued and won. The farang lost a huge bundle of money and was forced to post a retraction and apology.
That may be the reason why Google does as it does and that's also why I'm strict about what I allow to be posted on this board.