CM Immigration Q&A (2018)

[peterpop]

OLD AGE HAS BENEFITS. Wednesday went to CM Immigration for 90 day renewal.  It was 1030 am.  Car Park full but as we drove in a car pulled out right in front of us.  Lucky me.  The queue was out of the building about 30 people long.  I said to my wife ''let's come another day''.  She said no, try your Priority.  I am 76 yrs old.  I was done and dusted in 5 minutes flat.  It helped that I had all the right papers.  Lucky me.

[trainman34014]

On 10/16/2018 at 1:22 PM, Hugh Jarse said:

Good luck, please let us know how you got on.

Arrived yesterday for final stamp on Marriage Extension.   Intended to be there at 1pm as guessed should be more room in car park as people left at 12pm from morning session. Got that right, three spaces available and i was early arriving at 12.30.    Three Student Girls surprisingly checking papers outside the door during lunch hour so i approached them and a Young Man who works inside normally heard me say what i was there for and he then said 'Follow Me', whereupon we walked inside the office and he went to a desk behind position 10, sat down and did all the relevant stamps and entries etc and asked me to wait for Senior Officer to sign things off.    Said Senior Officer was still working at a nearby desk even though it was lunch hour and she duly came over and signed my extension off and the Young Man gave me back my Passport for which i thanked him profusely for such great service, total time taken 15 minutes !

 

Alas; that is where the really good news ends for yesterday, because i also needed to do a 90 Day Report as well but needed my new stamp to get a copy first, no problem, 2 minutes at Photocopy Shop.  By this time it was just on 1pmish and i joined what had become a large queue for paper checking and number ticket.    The Girls outside the door had gone and the queue was now at the 'Information' desk inside.  The queue grew to more than 60 people and suddenly we were sent back outside to three different Students.   After almost an hour of waiting in the heat with no fans or other helpful assistance arrived at the desk to be told '90 day full, come back tomollow'. I said to them  ''Why don't you put a sign up to that effect rather than have half a queue of angry people by the time they get to your desk ?''  Reply was ''We asked Boss to put up sign but he said No''.     Normally i do my 90 day by post and for sure i will be returning to that system next time.   The only reason i decided to do it yesterday was because i had to go there anyway.

 

Having to return today i decided to go earlier and get a Re-Entry Permit as well and if it took all day then so be it.  Got there at 9.15, no parking spaces, ran over to the Shops opposite and parked up.  Got my papers checked and two line tickets and both jobs done and out in 45 minutes, back to the car and gone in 50 minutes, positive result but the whole thing is 'hit and miss', 'lucky or unlucky', and it should be a smooth operation on a day to day basis with EVERYONE who attends the office getting served on the day.   It's a shiny new office but everyone and everything in it is still same old, same old........basically; just not good enough in 2018 !

....

[Sparkles]

2 hours ago, peterpop said:

OLD AGE HAS BENEFITS. Wednesday went to CM Immigration for 90 day renewal.  It was 1030 am.  Car Park full but as we drove in a car pulled out right in front of us.  Lucky me.  The queue was out of the building about 30 people long.  I said to my wife ''let's come another day''.  She said no, try your Priority.  I am 76 yrs old.  I was done and dusted in 5 minutes flat.  It helped that I had all the right papers.  Lucky me.

Can you expand on that as many of us are eligible for visa extensions in the Priority Lane.Was it on the second floor? Is it the case no appt is required just roll up and I mean for yearly extension not 90 day reports which are not an extension. 

 

Not sure why you would go there when you can do 90 day online or by mail.Once a year is more than enough.

 

Look forward to update

[maximuss99]

6 minutes ago, Sparkles said:

No luck involved in 90 day reporting by mail or online .Been doing it succesfully by mail for more than a decade.What was the charge against 30 baht in the post ?

Absoulatey.

 Very happy for you.

In my case the Online System has never worked!!!

And sadly in  our   district the postal service is So So.

The only time. that i have used the mail in system.(some yrs back) it failed me.

BTW

being a D.I Y. or Agency user( .as I.am.)

has many advantages.

Just think about it

 

 

[worgeordie]

16 hours ago, maximuss99 said:

Absoulatey.

 Very happy for you.

In my case the Online System has never worked!!!

And sadly in  our   district the postal service is So So.

The only time. that i have used the mail in system.(some yrs back) it failed me.

BTW

being a D.I Y. or Agency user( .as I.am.)

has many advantages.

Just think about it

 

 

I cannot think of any advantages at all,what are they ???,

If you send the post by registered mail you can track it,

try the online again,they have new website that is https,

not the old one where they signed the certificate themselves,

so it was always seen as a dodgy site,did it online yesterday

it was APPROVED the same day,that's much better than spending

300 THB on an agent, plus time involved.

regards Worgeordie

[McTavish]

Was at CM Immi on Thurs pm when the new cheese arrived with a huge entourage.  Inquiry revealed the old cheese has been set aside whilst a streamlining of services takes place.  Not holding my breath but we live in hope.

 

Q system works ok, aircon too.  Nice new premises, just needs The Dukes as a lunch venue. 55

[trainman34014]

1 hour ago, McTavish said:

Was at CM Immi on Thurs pm when the new cheese arrived with a huge entourage.  Inquiry revealed the old cheese has been set aside whilst a streamlining of services takes place.  Not holding my breath but we live in hope.

 

Q system works ok, aircon too.  Nice new premises, just needs The Dukes as a lunch venue. 55

Perhaps he could put that 'Huge Entourage' to work serving customers for a start as that's what's needed.

 

As my last three visits to The Dukes have been less than half the good experience they used to be i would prefer KFC to move in next door !

[cusanus]

14 hours ago, McTavish said:

Was at CM Immi on Thurs pm when the new cheese arrived with a huge entourage.  Inquiry revealed the old cheese has been set aside whilst a streamlining of services takes place.  Not holding my breath but we live in hope.

 

Q system works ok, aircon too.  Nice new premises, just needs The Dukes as a lunch venue. 55

Who is the "new cheese" and who was the "old cheese?"

[Thailand]

20 minutes ago, cusanus said:

Who is the "new cheese" and who was the "old cheese?"

Have you not heard of Big Joke?

[Sparkles]

4 hours ago, Thailand said:

Have you not heard of Big Joke?

Problem is  "Big Joke" is based in Bangkok and will stay there.He's set a target of shipping out all illegal overstayers and we should applaud that.

Only hope is he has read read the riot act to CM and will allocate an additional  budget for more staff and monitor the situation otherwise it will be back to square one.

 

Can't see extended hours being continued without a load of new officers .How do you "streamline?" the operation without more staff.

[Thailand]

45 minutes ago, Sparkles said:

Problem is  "Big Joke" is based in Bangkok and will stay there.He's set a target of shipping out all illegal overstayers and we should applaud that.

Only hope is he has read read the riot act to CM and will allocate an additional  budget for more staff and monitor the situation otherwise it will be back to square one.

 

Can't see extended hours being continued without a load of new officers .How do you "streamline?" the operation without more staff.

He was actually here on Thursday, at least I think it was him,plenty of hangers on.

Downside he seems to be a photo op guy and no doubt already looking for his next promotion. 

The next few weeks will determine if there is any substance.

[placnx]

I'm doing a retirement extension this week, and normally I give a friend a power of attorney (POA) to get a queue number. Last week on another thread there were apparently cases where stand-ins with POAs could not get a queue number. If anyone has experience this week, please provide feedback.

 

[Thailand]

FYI

If you feel the need to discuss the merits or otherwise of this service which is perfect for the elderly and disabled in particular you can go here.

 

 

[Thailand]

8 minutes ago, Hugh Jarse said:

 

You could try reading the post perhaps?

[EricTh]

18 hours ago, placnx said:

I'm doing a retirement extension this week, and normally I give a friend a power of attorney (POA) to get a queue number. Last week on another thread there were apparently cases where stand-ins with POAs could not get a queue number. If anyone has experience this week, please provide feedback.

 

Is there such a thing as POA for queue number? I think an original passport will suffice.

 

Do post your experience here please.

 

 

[Thailand]

18 hours ago, placnx said:

I'm doing a retirement extension this week, and normally I give a friend a power of attorney (POA) to get a queue number. Last week on another thread there were apparently cases where stand-ins with POAs could not get a queue number. If anyone has experience this week, please provide feedback.

 

 

[EricTh]

 

Can somebody confirm what is the earliest time we can queue after the 'relaunch' by Big Joke?

 

I hope that I don't have to bring my camping gear to sleep there at the beginning of next month. This is getting ridiculous. LOL.

[NotEinstein]

As per this article: http://www.chiangmaicitylife.com/news/immigration-office-solve-long-queue/

"The office opens at 4am for those who wish to start the queue and will officially operate at 6am. He explained that the office will deny processing documents for those who miss the queue and if the person waiting in queue is not the applicant."

Can somebody following this 'new arrangement' advise on when the cut-off time is for getting a number for the day. 6am is implied, wheras the marriage extension paperwork says before 8am.

Thanks

[davehowden]

From the article in Chiang Mai City Life:

 

  http://www.chiangmaicitylife.com/news/immigration-office-solve-long-queue/ 

 

  "He explained that the office will deny processing documents for those who miss the queue and if the person waiting in queue is not the applicant."

 

Does this mean no more agents ?

[NancyL]

5 minutes ago, davehowden said:

From the article in Chiang Mai City Life:

 

  http://www.chiangmaicitylife.com/news/immigration-office-solve-long-queue/ 

 

  "He explained that the office will deny processing documents for those who miss the queue and if the person waiting in queue is not the applicant."

 

Does this mean no more agents ?

The agents have had their own separate channel for over a year, where they don't send someone to wait in the queue, but instead can make an appointment.  Hubby is slated to do his annual extension using a well-known agent next week -- something he's done for years.  They had originally told him his time slot was last Friday, but then notified him because of recent changes at CM Immigration, his time was rescheduled.  We'll see what happens next week.  If he's told he has to show up at a zero-dark-stupid to get his own queue number, then there really is no point in paying an agent, is there?

[EricTh]

2 hours ago, NotEinstein said:

As per this article: http://www.chiangmaicitylife.com/news/immigration-office-solve-long-queue/

"The office opens at 4am for those who wish to start the queue and will officially operate at 6am. He explained that the office will deny processing documents for those who miss the queue and if the person waiting in queue is not the applicant."

Can somebody following this 'new arrangement' advise on when the cut-off time is for getting a number for the day. 6am is implied, wheras the marriage extension paperwork says before 8am.

Thanks

 

What does that mean? Does that mean the queue numbers are given out at 6am?

 

If we arrived after 6 am (eg. 6:30 am), does that mean that we have to come back tomorrow?

 

[EricTh]

1 hour ago, davehowden said:

From the article in Chiang Mai City Life:

 

  http://www.chiangmaicitylife.com/news/immigration-office-solve-long-queue/ 

 

  "He explained that the office will deny processing documents for those who miss the queue and if the person waiting in queue is not the applicant."

 

Does this mean no more agents ?

 

There are two types of agents.

 

1. Those with connection to the officers inside (possibly getting commission) , they don't need to queue because they go to the back door.

 

2. Those who are not connected to the officers inside, they queue like everyone else but on behalf of the applicants. This group will be affected.

 

 

 

[Thailand]

1 hour ago, davehowden said:

From the article in Chiang Mai City Life:

 

  http://www.chiangmaicitylife.com/news/immigration-office-solve-long-queue/ 

 

  "He explained that the office will deny processing documents for those who miss the queue and if the person waiting in queue is not the applicant."

 

Does this mean no more agents ?

I think it means that queuing at 4am is acceptable which resolves nothing. 200 people could join the queue at that time.

Almost a godsend for agents who will clean up even more.

[CharlieH]

A number of posts have been removed.

 

Please can we keep this thread factual and informative, relevant to CM Immigration issues/requirements and experience.

 

Try to avoid rambling off at a tangent, suggesting changes/improvements or giving an essay about your visit and history.

 

Thank you.

[Thailand]

As the story unfolds.

 

My friends "line sitting" provider called him today and subsequently returned the fee saying with the new changes at immigration it is no longer necessary,simply roll up before 6am and get your number for later processing, up to 8pm at night.

Interestingly I have also just has a pm from a member who said he sent a staff member this morning  with his documents for extension of stay (retirement) and after checking the documents the staff member was given a ticket to pass on to the person actually doing the extension, so "proxy" is still allowed.

[Greenside]

I'm not clear from your description if you mean that there is now an Immigration staff member who hands out the tickets to those with the appropriate documents who arrive before a certain time.  If that is 06:00, what happens between 06:00 and when the doors open for processing.  Can you put it more plainly, please?

[Thailand]

19 minutes ago, Greenside said:

I'm not clear from your description if you mean that there is now an Immigration staff member who hands out the tickets to those with the appropriate documents who arrive before a certain time.  If that is 06:00, what happens between 06:00 and when the doors open for processing.  Can you put it more plainly, please?

I have not been there but opening hours are now 6am - 8pm.

My friend was told by the agent this morning to get there around 6am and they would get a ticket for later in the day.

The member who pm'd me said a proxy took his documents this morning and got a ticket for him.

[placnx]

On ‎10‎/‎11‎/‎2018 at 12:15 PM, CMMCB said:

Brief report on my retirement extension of stay today: left home as soon as the rain stopped and arrived about 06.20 to find the retirement/education queue much the longest and snaking almost exactly half way around the new building, but almost all those in that queue were younger people there for the education route.  The queue started shuffling forward about 08.00. About 08.15 a member of staff came round the outside of the building and told the retirees to form another queue, bypassing the education queue, and go straight to the outside desk to the right of the entrance door, where we were quickly given queue numbers. I was pleased to get no.7 and be sent to wait near counter 8. (Counters 6 and 7 seem to be for education). Got called to the desk about 09.40, I think, and received my passport back around 10.20.

 

Then photocopied the new stamp and queued again for a re-entry permit - all complete by 10.50-ish. All seemed quite efficient and brisk, even cheerful, with ticket numbers for all the 13 counters being announced every few seconds; some were up in the 70s by the time I left. 

 

BTW, a copy of the TM30 report was needed along with the other photocopies. Phone number needed to be added just under the application form second page signature. YMMV. 

 

Ah, also next Monday, Oct 15th, is a national holiday and Immigration will be closed. 

This morning my assistant with a POA got a queue number at 7:40 for reporting around 9:30. I arrived somewhat late and got the passport back around 11:10. Then is took around a further 20 minutes to complete the re-entry permit process. Impressively efficient!

[placnx]

57 minutes ago, Greenside said:

I'm not clear from your description if you mean that there is now an Immigration staff member who hands out the tickets to those with the appropriate documents who arrive before a certain time.  If that is 06:00, what happens between 06:00 and when the doors open for processing.  Can you put it more plainly, please?

This morning it was fine to get a morning queue number for retirement soon before 8 AM, but I suspect that you could arrive some time after 8 if you are OK with an afternoon appointment.

[vogie]

I currently live just outside Pattaya and have been doing my reports at Jomptian, however my wife has decided that she would like to go live near her sister just north of Tak, just below The Bhumipol Dam, a village called Sam Ngao. The reports of CM Imm doesn't make good reading, is there any way to miss out all the queuing, maybe use an agent, and does does the online 90 report work ok there.