Thread: Ppossible MAJOR hiccup for retirement extensions out at Chaengwattana

Just had a major wrench in the gears out at Chaengwattana this morning.

I got there at 6AM and was the 10th person in line outside their door. My friend showed up at 8:15 and when we went in at 8:30 he got #1 for section L where you do extensions for retirement, marriage & raising kids. He was done with his everything except the final signature by 8:40AM.
BUT
Then the 3 stripe gurl in the back of that section said they changed the policy and that you couldn't pick up your passport until after 2PM because it had to go upstairs to be signed off by someone upstairs!

I asked why this was and the gurl said, they'd transferred a bunch of staff and the new head honcho started this "send the passports upstairs to be signed" last week.

I was lead to believe this wasn't just because the head was in a meeting but it's gonna be like this ALL the time now.

I gotta go back out there Wednesday (and will confirm it's still that way), but that sorta defeats the purpose of me getting there at 6:00AM to get in line outside so when we go inside we get a low queue number IF they don't give you the extension right on the spot but make you come back after 2PM for it.

If anyone goes to Chaengwattana this week for a yearly extension of stay based on retirement, could you weigh in and lemme know if you got the passport right back or had to come back to get it?

There goes my cunning (or not so cunning ) plan to become a professional-waiter-in-line out there to get people low numbers when they open at 8:30..

I waited for 5 or so people the other week and they were all done by 9:10! It was so fast that we hit rush hour traffic comin' back into bangkok!

Hmm, I wonder if "professional waiter in line" is a prohibited trade for foreigners?

UPDATE;
It's been confirmed by a couple people online (and me again as I was out there today) that this isn't a once-off but new policy.

They did do a higher up "shake up" of the sections there. I'm speculating here but maybe the head guy wants to see how many b/s documentation, wink-n-nod, say-no-more back door extensions they issue so he's sure to get the correct cut each month.

BTW: The friend who went back at 2PM the other day to pick up his passport said it was waiting for him at the desk.
Unfortunately, after he picked up his passport he needed a re-entry permit. He pulled number 150 while they were serving number 80 and finally got the re-entry permit stamped into his passport at 5:45PM. . Even though they close at 4:30, they serve everyone with a queue number.

This doesn't affect people getting yearly extensions based on marriage or raising kids here because those extensions go under consideration for 30 days before you go back out and get the extension stamped into your passport. It's only throwing people under the buss who get extensions based on being over 50...

I do wanna know what happens if you're out there in the afternoon say at 2-3:30, I mean do you have to come back the next day or what?

seems to get worse every year, though it's no come back at 2 at samut prakan. There you have to do the tm30 with copies of blue book first mrs id and two more forms that you filled in 10 mins ago downstairs before they sent you upstairs to do another tm30. Back downstairs where sometimes they ask for every page in pp, even blanks, sometimes not. 90 day they wanted 5 copies of pp and yet another pic for the 'one off' info on the foreigner form, I only put name and address so not much info gathered there. Next year it will be another new form or time wasting.

The Chonburi office returns the passport either the following day or after two days. Frankly, offering a same day service is unheard of anywhere else in the developed world except as a premium route for which one usually pays handsomely.
Waiting for a re-entry visa to be issued up at Laksi is just plain stupid when one can get it at the airport in 30 minutes.

MAJOR hickup? MAJOR as in all upper case MAJOR.
Can't get your extension immediately, what has the world become.

Does not seem that bad to me.........

You guys are correct and perhaps I could have phrased the title better.

What I meant is, for the last 7+ years when I've gotten my own extensions of stay based on being over 50 (called retirement), they've been issued on the spot in Bangkok, as have the hundreds of acquaintances I've "shepherded" thru the process out there.

Honestly, I don't give a flyin' f*ck with the other immigration offices scattered here and there around the country do or don't do. I also don't care in the least, what "real countries" do in regards to issuing visas. Last time I checked we weren't in a western country but here in the glorious "Land 'O Thais"..

They changed this policy with no notice, no warning to us that it would change.

My take on this is;
There is a new "head honcho" in that section (sitting upstairs). Seeing as both marriage and raising children extensions go under consideration for 30 days, allowing them to review the documentation and sign off on those. It might be entirely plausible that they wanna see retirement extensions (which were issued on the spot) now is to see how many b/s, under-the-table, no documentation wink-n-nod, say-no-more extensions agents are pushing thru so that they know what their cut should be.
Of course that is pure speculation on my part.

Telling us to come back the next day would be a far sight better than making us hanging around out there for hours and hours.

UPDATE (not that anyone particularly cares): They appear to have rescinded the come back at 2PM policy.

Last week a guy I was with applied for his yearly extension, was done by 8:50 and got his passport back by 9:15 or so..

FWIW: the interns (the thai volunteers wearing the red vests) out at Chaengwattana are handing out that "personal information form" to everyone in every section that gives extensions of stay..
That would be sections;
J-30 day visa exempt
K-60-day tourist visa
L-retirement, marriage & raising kids
M-business
N1-students & N2-teachers.

Funny thing was even though the person I was with was given the form while waiting for his queue number to be called, the officer never asked for it when he got his extension!

I saw a lot of people comin' out after they'd gotten various extensions and they almost all still had the personal information form with them..

I guess it's mandatory you fill it out, but not that you turn it in!