News Forum - Thai Consulate Savannakhet: No more walk-in services

[Thaiger]

THAI CONSULATE SAVANNAKHET POLICY CHANGE The Royal Thai Consulate in Savannakhet, Laos, will go to online appointment booking only effective June 1st (actually on Tuesday June 5th which is the first day they’re open after the holiday). The consulate will no longer allow walk up service, you have to book an appointment to get in the … …

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[SnapDragon]

Bad news for many farang.

[Pinetree]

  On 5/29/2024 at 12:15 AM, SnapDragon said:

Bad news for many farang.

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Why? Why is booking an appointment a bad thing? 

[SnapDragon]

  On 5/29/2024 at 2:11 AM, Pinetree said:

Why? Why is booking an appointment a bad thing? 

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Yes!! It is bad. Just walking in is easier.

[Pinetree]

  On 5/29/2024 at 6:24 AM, SnapDragon said:

Yes!! It is bad. Just walking in is easier.

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You still walk in, but with a guaranteed appointment, how is that bad?  Unless you are a complete numb nuts, who  can't make and keep an appointment. 

[SnapDragon]

  On 5/29/2024 at 8:26 AM, Pinetree said:

You still walk in, but with a guaranteed appointment, how is that bad?  Unless you are a complete numb nuts, who  can't make and keep an appointment. 

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Some people don't have smart phones or computers. 

[Pinetree]

  On 5/29/2024 at 8:28 AM, SnapDragon said:

Some people don't have smart phones or computers. 

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Give me a break mate.  So anyone wanting to use that service, a farang, doesn't have at least one of each?  Are you for real? 

[SnapDragon]

  On 5/29/2024 at 8:45 AM, Pinetree said:

Give me a break mate.  So anyone wanting to use that service, a farang, doesn't have at least one of each?  Are you for real? 

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I guess this new appointment thing is for all those that want a visa.

Just a slave to IT. To make things simple for them and difficult for us. What about public service?

[SnapDragon]

  On 5/29/2024 at 8:45 AM, Pinetree said:

Give me a break mate.  So anyone wanting to use that service, a farang, doesn't have at least one of each?  Are you for real? 

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One day the penny will drop with the Thai authorities.

There is a trade off. Issue the farang with a visa extension, but then reap the reward of billions of baht - from oversees - being spent in Thailand. In many, many instances lifting Thai families out of poverty and supplying work for locals.

Why make it hard? Should know what the benefits of integrity are.

[Pinetree]

  On 6/2/2024 at 2:16 AM, SnapDragon said:

One day the penny will drop with the Thai authorities.

There is a trade off. Issue the farang with a visa extension, but then reap the reward of billions of baht - from oversees - being spent in Thailand. In many, many instances lifting Thai families out of poverty and supplying work for locals.

Why make it hard? Should know what the benefits of integrity are.

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Get it into your head, two things, one, an appointment system is always better than a free for all.  Two, the Thai Immigration people don't care about the views of others and will do what is best for them and this system is good for controlling their workload. People who are spending millions in the Thai economy don't go to Loas for their visas. 

[AussieBob]

When I read some time ago (last year?) that Expats were going there to get a new Visa rather than extending their Visa here in Thailand, I knew it would not be long until they found out and closed this 'loophole'.  This is probably just the first step - and the next one will be designed to stop it.

My advice is that when you hear of something good that gets around the Thai corrupt idiocy called their bureaucracy, stop posting about it and talking all about it on public forums. Keep it to yourself and your mates - then it will slowly spread.  Putting it on a forum, and talking about it, and making it into a 'social media' issue, will only draw their attention. If I know of a way around things, or a cheap dodgy IPTV service that works well and has every thing, or anything else like that - I keep it to myself and I only tell close mates.

Close this thread and the one on AN and say no more about it is my advice.  But clicks are clicks. 

[SnapDragon]

  On 6/2/2024 at 2:43 AM, Pinetree said:

Get it into your head, two things, one, an appointment system is always better than a free for all.  Two, the Thai Immigration people don't care about the views of others and will do what is best for them and this system is good for controlling their workload. People who are spending millions in the Thai economy don't go to Loas for their visas. 

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Quite cynical that Mr Pinetree. How did the IOs managed before the new appointment system?!

Some IOs do listen to complaints. Seen it myself once in Nong Khai.

Of course farang go to Laos for their extensions. Collectively we keep the country serene.

[BlueSphinx]

  On 6/2/2024 at 2:59 AM, AussieBob said:

When I read some time ago (last year?) that Expats were going there to get a new Visa rather than extending their Visa here in Thailand, I knew it would not be long until they found out and closed this 'loophole'.  This is probably just the first step - and the next one will be designed to stop it.

My advice is that when you hear of something good that gets around the Thai corrupt idiocy called their bureaucracy, stop posting about it and talking all about it on public forums. Keep it to yourself and your mates - then it will slowly spread.  Putting it on a forum, and talking about it, and making it into a 'social media' issue, will only draw their attention. If I know of a way around things, or a cheap dodgy IPTV service that works well and has every thing, or anything else like that - I keep it to myself and I only tell close mates.

Close this thread and the one on AN and say no more about it is my advice.  But clicks are clicks. 

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Don't agree on that one.

What about newbies to Thailand?  When everybody keeps useful info on Thai immigration only for himself or very close friends, they would have to rely on the official Thai channels and everybody knows how clear and reliable those are.  Thank God there are people that share their experience on social media.  And on top of that it would be only those that are actively seeking for such information that would benefit from it.

[BlueSphinx]

  On 6/2/2024 at 2:43 AM, Pinetree said:

two things, one, an appointment system is always better than a free for all.  Two, the Thai Immigration people don't care about the views of others and will do what is best for them and this system is good for controlling their workload.

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I am all for a well-thought out appointment system, which depending on the specific service you want to apply for, allows you to pick an available time-slot to present yourself there.  Such system avoids having to wait for hours for your turn, with even the risk of not being served that day and having to come back next day.

And of course there should still be a desk for those whose request is not standard, or who are unfamiliar with using an on-line appointment system.

In Belgium - my home-country - every community has such a system and it works flawlessly.  And if the earliest available time-slot for the service you require is too late for you, you can surf the websites of other communities in the province to find one with earlier availability for the specific service you need.

Those systems have been set-up with the CUSTOMER in mind and to prevent the wasted time of them having to wait in sometimes long queues.  And of course it also allows to balance the community staff work-load as it must be stressful seeing a room full of customers waiting to be served.

But I have no illusion that such systems will get their equivalent in Thailand...