Legallity of visa agents

[beautifulthailand99 4,010]

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

I have heard of visa agents who will do this. The going rate is apparently 25 - 30 K baht.

They are operating illegally, and in the event of either the agent or a corrupt Immigration officer being caught, will drag the extension applicant down with them.

They work in cohorts with the local banks who provide fake statements. In Pattaya I have heard of two big name banks who are in on the deal. So the paperwork presented to immigration is all kosher and imm have no reason to dig deeper cos everybody gets a bite. 

Edited October 17, 2019 by beautifulthailand99

[Lacessit 23,369]

2 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

This is not a western country.

False thinking and will never happen.

Some of you just do not get it.

It is accepted and encouraged by Immigration.

Millions of baht spread throughout the entire system.

The agents will never never never go away and in fact are becoming more a part of the system as things change.

Same question. How do you get your retirement extension?

[SCOTT FITZGERSLD 1,320]

17 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

Unless he is really laundering money, there is no way somebody can be accused of laundering money and put in jail. I simply don't beleive the storey. And if the person had hundreds of millions of dollars, why did he bring all his money to tthailand? Did he plan to buy 100 brothels (aka bars)?

you can read about this story if you search "dutch man 100 years thai jail".

it was 100's of millions of baht, not dollars.

he propably brought all this money to thailand to save it from confiscation

by EU atax authorities (he had some tax problems in his home country), but

thai law say that tax evasion is not a reason for money laundry.

the bottom line of this story is that the verdict this dutch man got

was not according to the thai law. later his 100 years sentence was reduced to 70

years, and later to 20 years. why?

because that is how the "senior officers" felt like. that is the problem

with flexible rule of law like thailand's. it might feel nice

to get shortcuts like those semi legal visa agents, but it can

get nasty when the unsystematic system turns it's table on you.

[The Fat Controller 460]

This is the table of fees from an agent !

[bkk6060 13,431]

2 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Same question. How do you get your retirement extension?

Well, the topic is about agents, not my extension.

I know several agents and immigration officers.

It is all about the money that in turn is supporting RTP lifestyles.

I actually have no problem with it as several people I know are wealthy, working, busy and have no time to spend at immigration so they hire agents to complete the process.

In fact, I would not be surprised if they make it mandatory at some point over the next several years to have an agent represent everyone.  It is much more efficient and easier for them to process.

But, if you think everyone is going to jail using agents, well good luck with that thought.

 

[Lacessit 23,369]

6 minutes ago, SCOTT FITZGERSLD said:

you can read about this story if you search "dutch man 100 years thai jail".

it was 100's of millions of baht, not dollars.

he propably brought all this money to thailand to save it from confiscation

by EU atax authorities (he had some tax problems in his home country), but

thai law say that tax evasion is not a reason for money laundry.

the bottom line of this story is that the verdict this dutch man got

was not according to the thai law. later his 100 years sentence was reduced to 70

years, and later to 20 years. why?

because that is how the "senior officers" felt like. that is the problem

with flexible rule of law like thailand's. it might feel nice

to get shortcuts like those semi legal visa agents, but it can

get nasty when the unsystematic system turns it's table on you.

Will he or won't he? Looks like you are undecided. Good luck with your choices.

[Lacessit 23,369]

Just now, bkk6060 said:

Well, the topic is about agents, not my extension.

I know several agents and immigration officers.

It is all about the money that in turn is supporting RTP lifestyles.

I actually have no problem with it as several people I know are wealthy, working, busy and have no time to spend at immigration so they hire agents to complete the process.

In fact, I would not be surprised if they make it mandatory at some point over the next several years to have an agent represent everyone.  It is much more efficient and easier for them to process.

But, if you think everyone is going to jail using agents, well good luck with that thought.

 

In other words, you choose not to answer.

I use an agent myself; however, I play a straight bat. Strictly legit.

I will be applying tomorrow for an extension without the usual agent. Another thread could be coming up.

[moontang 2,294]

27 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Until the senior officer in charge gets fired, as happened at CM. Then all bets are off.

I can understand where the OP is coming from. I find the 800K baht earning 0.5% interest irritating too. However, he has to decide if the risk is worth it. I've already made the decision that it's not.

Does misrepresenting bank interest in Thailand really help anyone?  

[Lacessit 23,369]

1 minute ago, moontang said:

Does misrepresenting bank interest in Thailand really help anyone?  

Please elaborate. That's what I get on a savings account. Yes, one can get higher rates on a term deposit, but then Immigration looks askance at that because it is not immediately available.

[beautifulthailand99 4,010]

16 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Well, the topic is about agents, not my extension.

I know several agents and immigration officers.

It is all about the money that in turn is supporting RTP lifestyles.

I actually have no problem with it as several people I know are wealthy, working, busy and have no time to spend at immigration so they hire agents to complete the process.

In fact, I would not be surprised if they make it mandatory at some point over the next several years to have an agent represent everyone.  It is much more efficient and easier for them to process.

But, if you think everyone is going to jail using agents, well good luck with that thought.

 

In my overwintering condo in Jomtien - two immigration officers very helpfully came to assist an elderly gentlemen who lived down the corridor with his visa extension. What a friendly and accomodating service. 

[Jingthing 71,188]

i don't care if it's illegal or imoral. all i care about is if it will not
get ME into trouble.

Probably won't but no guarantees.

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Lacessit 23,369]

4 minutes ago, beautifulthailand99 said:

In my overwintering condo in Jomtien - two immigration officers very helpfully came to assist an elderly gentlemen who lived down the corridor with his visa extension. What a friendly and accomodating service. 

Different IO's at CM. I was told no special treatment for people over 70. Or in other words, <deleted> off.

[moontang 2,294]

13 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Please elaborate. That's what I get on a savings account. Yes, one can get higher rates on a term deposit, but then Immigration looks askance at that because it is not immediately available.

CIMB and Krungsri both offer savings accounts in the 1.3% range.  A high percentage of offices accept FD, which simply call for a forfeiture of some interest if redeemed early. 

[SCOTT FITZGERSLD 1,320]

2 minutes ago, moontang said:

CIMB and Krungsri both offer savings accounts in the 1.3% range.  A high percentage of offices accept FD, which simply call for a forfeiture of some interest if redeemed early. 

how about buying foreign investment / securities via thai banks?

i own shares in SHELL company, which pays 6.5% annual dividend.

i saw that SCB offer offshore investment account, with quite

god fees, and access to stock markets in many countries.

does anyone know if those foreign trading accounts are allowed also for

foreigners on retirement extention? and if other thai banks offer them?

http://www.scbs.com/en/product/product-offshore/

[Gweiloman 5,278]

1 hour ago, SCOTT FITZGERSLD said:

i don't care if it's illegal or imoral. all i care about is if it will not

get ME into trouble.

Since you don’t have hundreds of millions of baht to transfer, don’t worry about it. Transferring Thb800k into Thailand won’t get you into trouble. I doubt if anyone, especially at the BOT will even notice. 
I would say that using an agent is more likely to get you into trouble compared to doing it yourself.