Udon Thani Immigration Office

[pienmash]

I usually tip with a pack of digetive biscuits or custard creams ,,,,,, cheap and enuff to go around , even the imo trouts love em so i get procesed sharpish .......tho the rather ravishing number 2 has noew departed theres little there to make ones boxers twitch unless you like zits n a mass of pubic hair ............ me first me first ,

mash ..lonely planet visa guide

[merchant seaman]

If not falling pray to a greedy IO makes me a cheap charlie to some than so be it. One thing for certain I know I contribute more to the local Thai economy than the average Thai. We shop almost daily at the local market. Eat out mostly at Thai run eating establishments. Fuel my pickup and motorbike at the local fuel stop. Almost every day I stop and buy fresh cut fruit from the lady with the fruit cart in front of the 7-11. All of these vendors I generously tip for their "services".

And so does most every other farlang that lives here, so what is your point? that you are better then the average Thai?

[gudtymchuk]

If not falling pray to a greedy IO makes me a cheap charlie to some than so be it. One thing for certain I know I contribute more to the local Thai economy than the average Thai. We shop almost daily at the local market. Eat out mostly at Thai run eating establishments. Fuel my pickup and motorbike at the local fuel stop. Almost every day I stop and buy fresh cut fruit from the lady with the fruit cart in front of the 7-11. All of these vendors I generously tip for their "services".

And so does most every other farlang that lives here, so what is your point? that you are better then the average Thai?

I was going to suggest you re-read my post with the intelligent side of your brain before starting a ---- fight but obviously that part of your brain is still out to sea..... :-" :-" :-"

[parrot]

Mod Note:
Folks, the subject of the thread is "Udon Thani Immigration Office". As a service to the hundreds of people who read this thread for news about the "UTIO", kindly keep your comments on topic.

[Khun Paul]

In order to bring some sanity back to the OP, I would say that I am sure that many of us have our own horror stories about dealing with the Immigration dept, and so many of us have also stories that would bring smiles not tears, they are not all bad and most are seeming OK persons ( no gender difference here folks ) .

For one I have found that a smile and a nice hello works 99% of the time with little hassle and even less problems. having said that I have seen complete dorks attempting to circumnavigate the system both European as a well as other nationalities and I am sure it is those people that basically F*** the IO's up and we have to bear the brunt of their bad days as well as be pleased by them on their good days.

So those of you who wish to proceed along the path you have chosen so be it, we do not really want a day by day of your approach to living in Thailand but we all have to at least once a year pay court to the immigration office and its staff at some point, how we individually deal with them, is something we have all learnt over the years, and in the main I am sure they know the A'holes amongst us and treat them accordingly.

It is wrong to underestimate the IO's at any stage of the game , as one pointed out some posts ago, we are in fact a guest in this country , but deep down they also know how invaluable our input is ( financially I mean ) , so lets us not rock the boat but rather lets all try to row in the same direction, and keep our personal thoughts to ourselves rather than blow everything out of all proportion.

End of the sermon chaps .........................lol

[DaveUdon]

I stopped in late pm to extend my non-o. Two officers were on duty: the friendly lady first on the left and a more grumpy-looking older lady further on. Empty customer area. The first lady remembered me well from my last visit in Jan when I followed fdimike's advice and asked for a 500B receipt after transferring visas to a new passport. ("500B, no receipt" -- "Here's 300B for new TV" -- "500B, no receipt" --> round and round, until I got up to go and she came around the table to hand me my 300B.)

She invited me to sit, took my papers, asked pleasantly how things were going, all the while stapling, stamping -- and -- writing out a receipt! She finished in 6 minutes, took everything to the supervisor for his approval, and returned to ask with a smile, "How much will you give me this time?" I laid 2000B on the table, smiled, and replied, "If you had asked me for 2000B, I would have given you 1900. If you asked for 1900, I would have given 2000." -- Bigger smile: "Of course, up to you!"

I had other questions to ask about visiting family members with eastern european passports who would like to visit Lao and return before departing Bkk. She was very helpful, suggesting that they stop in before going to Lao and she could extend their 16-day visa's a bit for the NKhai return. (Question to me: wouldn't a tip at that time be appreciated?)

This is the same lady who granted a special 90-day non-o extension to an ex-pat friend who is paralyzed in bed at home with a stroke and has absolutely NO income. (I applied with his g/f on his behalf: needed letter from doctor, photo of him in bed, letter from him stating his condition and requesting a visa.) She said he could re-apply in 90 days with same paperwork: 2000B from the g/f...

Ok, when I departed the money was still untouched on the table, and no receipt was offered. (Question to me: was the tip worth it? Knowing how this officer tries to be helpful beyond the norm, I think so.)

[Asiaphile]

... helpful beyond the norm ...

That's the guiding principle behind tips in my point of view!

[lee]

In the continuously changing world of Immigration & Visas it was decided that it may be a good idea lock this thread and start the topic again from scratch to contain just the latest information.

The new thread can be found here: http://www.udonmap.com/udonthaniforum/u ... 24687.html