Thai Immigration has mixed up my identity!

[plahgat]

Hi!

 

I have now been in Thailand and Pattaya for almost two months (9 March), and it is time again to extend my 60 days tourist visa with another 30 days.

 

I had some serious problems last year when my passport disappeared in the Immigration Office in Chomthien, and it took some time and help to get it back,

so I thought that this year I will use a visa-travel agency to make the extension for me from the beginning so that I don't have to go through all the hassle at Chomtien Immigration again!

 

Four days ago I gave my passport and a photo to a visa-travel agency on Soi Bua Khao, and it would cost 1100 baht for their services and 1900 baht for the visa extension itself.

 

Today I went to the their office to pick it up, but the guy in charge said they had some major problems with my passport and the visa didn't go through!

 

According to the immigration officers, when they had checked my name in their computer-register, it came up showing a photo with another face than mine!?

Immigration said that the photo I gave them and the photo that showed up wasn't of the same person, so they couldn't extend my visa!!! WTF!!!???

 

Instead they had adviced me to go to the Immigration at the airport myself, because they suspect that someone in there has mixed up my and another tourists photo, and put them with the wrong person's passport information when I arrived almost two months ago!

 

So tomorrow I while have to take a bus to Suwannapoom and try to have this straightened out!

If for some reasons they can't or won't change my photo in my personal datafiles, I'll have to leave Thailand on 9th of March.

 

Don't know if their old computerfiles will be dismissed when I leave, and new files will be made when I re-enter, or if this problem will follow me and give me problems entering Thailand again!?

 

Anyone ever had this problem?

According to the guy in the visashop he had never encountered or heard of anyone having this problem before, that immigration has mixed up tourists identities like this!

 

What has happened in the first place is probably that the immigration officer that stamped my passport when I arrived has mixed up my photo taken with their webcam, with some other guy's passport info and viceversa, probably standing infront or behind me in the same queue.

If it get solved I just hope I will have time to try another extension, before my date runs out on Friday 7 of March, because Immigration will be closed on my two last days because of the weekend.

 

I will take the opportunity to stay 3 nights in Bangkok in case it will take longer to solve than I expect, so I don't have to go and come back to Pattaya every day!

It will also give me some time to check out the nightlife at Nana Plaza.

 

Will see how it goes!

 

Plahgat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[socrates]

Is it possible that when it went missing last year something fishy happened and it has now come to light?

[asmodeus]

I visited the airport when, after the fact, they gave me the wrong stamp.... It was quick and painless. They're probably used to dealing with admin problems like that

[plahgat]

I visited the airport when, after the fact, they gave me the wrong stamp.... It was quick and painless. They're probably used to dealing with admin problems like that

That's the first encouraging answer I've got so far about this problem, Thanks!

 

Plahgat

Is it possible that when it went missing last year something fishy happened and it has now come to light?

That was my first thought too, that the gay Immigration Officer at Chomthien from last year has spotted my passport and now is making life tough for me! 

But when I mentioned this to the guy at the travel agency he said it was a female officer who informed him about my problem, so he seriously didn't believe that was the problem.

 

Plahgat

[zenzen11]

?????

I do not understand ...???

 

To extend for another 30 days you just go in person to the immigration office in Jomtien.

... No need for a visa service.

 

Why did you give anyone your passport? ... And leave it with them for 4 days?

 

I hope this is easy to work out ...

... Sounds like it could be ...

????

[plahgat]

Just been to the airport and got my problem fixed!

Two shy and friendly woman immigration officers did it for me in less than an hour and no money payed!

As I already expected they somehow had mixed up my and another guys photos and put them in the wrong guys passport-files in their computer!

They found out that the other guy had already left Thailand via Phuket, so they telephoned to the Phuket Immigration to clear up the matter so they would know who of us is still in Thailand and who has left.

They said that there shouldn't be any problem longer with extending my visa, but just in case they gave me a phone number Pattaya Immigration can call if they need more info.

I'm now in a hotelroom in Nana BKK, and plan to go back to Pattaya on Tuesday morning, so I hope there will stil be time to get the extension at Pattaya Immigration so I have the extension in my passport at Friday the latest!

 

Plahgat

[plahgat]

?????

I do not understand ...???

 

To extend for another 30 days you just go in person to the immigration office in Jomtien.

... No need for a visa service.

 

Why did you give anyone your passport? ... And leave it with them for 4 days?

 

I hope this is easy to work out ...

... Sounds like it could be ...

????

I always used to do that until last year, when this happened ....

 

http://www.pattaya-addicts.com/forum/topic/140358-lost-my-passport-at-chomtien-immigration-office/?p=2075659

 

plahgat

[zenzen11]

Wow ...

... you have some bad luck with passports and Thailand ...

...

Glad this one worked out too ..

..

[plahgat]

A last update!

I finally got my passport back from Pattaya Immigration yesterday with an 30 days extension stamp in it!

 

Plahgat

[udontony]

My wife accompanied me on a visa run to Loas one time and had a similar problem. The lady in front of my wife in the queue was turned back and refused permission to enter Laos.  My wife had photo taken etc and let through.  When we came back to Thailand two days later they stopped her because the photo on their records was obviously not her! It was the lady that had been refused permission before her in the queue.  Fortunately my wife remembered her and the circumstances why she was refused etc and eventually after a very long delay they managed to sort it out, so mistakes do happen even with Thai nationals at the borders.