Frank Timmons’ Blog

I am privileged to have received Thailand Permanent Resident Status last year. This means I have permission to stay in Thailand indefinitely, and hold an immigrant visa. As the name implies, this privilege is permanent, but it is subject to a few important restrictions. One of which is that I must visit the Immigration Department each year on or before the expiration date of my visa to have the visa renewed and to confirm my residence and status in the country.

I have been dealing with the Thailand Immigration Department, both the main office in Bangkok and the Pattaya and Jomtien branches for more than 10 years. I have always found the officers at all offices to be courteous, efficient, and polite. This seems to be in great contrast to the experience of some other westerners, at least the vocal minority, who complain greatly about poor service and all manner of problems experienced. Perhaps my experience has been somewhat different because I have always been sure to treat the Immigration Officers with respect, just as I would hope that I am treated. I find that this simple philosophy works well for me when I am managing staff in an office environment, employees on the factory floor, or in most any other type of typical human interaction.

During the short time I spent at the Immigration Department I was quite disappointed to hear quite a lot of complaining and cursing by my fellow farangs. One guy was quite enraged because there were not enough pens at the writing desk for filling out immigration forms. This same guy, and a few others in my vicinity, were long overdue for a shower and some deodorant, which certainly didn’t put me in a particularly good disposition towards them. Being that it was barely mid-morning, there was hardly any excuse for such a ripe aroma.

After successfully and painlessly completing my business at the Immigration Department, my next stop was at the District Police Station. Foreigners living in Thailand under the typical tourist or non-immigrant (work permit) visa don’t need to visit the Police Station. However, as a Permanent Resident, I am required to also be registered with our local police station, and have an Alien Registration Booklet. The policeman in charge of maintaining this register and for signing my Alien Registration Booket is titled the “Alien Control Officer”. I found myself smiling as I read the sign in English, because it quickly brought to mind the movie “Men in Black”. In our case, the MiB Team would stand for Men in Brown, but I suppose most other aspects of the job are not too different from the popular movie.

Being fresh from my visit to the Immigration Department, I couldn’t help but think that some of us Farangs do seem to be more than a bit “alien”. Strangely bloated bodies, reeking of harsh sour aromas, and speaking in languages very strange to the Thai ear, some of us really do work hard to live up to the “alien” description.

I suppose since Permanent Residence Status is somewhat unusual, the Alien Control Officer always reminds me of the old Maytag Repair Man. In these old American washing machine commercials, the Maytag Repair Man was always cheerfully waiting in his office hoping that some customer might visit him to break his harsh isolation and boredom. Unfortunately for him, Maytag Washing Machines were highly reliable, dooming him to a boring, lonely existance. Same with my friend the Alien Control Officer.

As with the Immigration Department, the Alien Control Officer was most pleasant and efficient. This year he stamped my Alien Registration Booklet with a 5 year stamp, meaning that unless I change address or job, I don’t need to visit him again for 5 years. This certainly put a smile on my face, though since I am presently between contracts, I suppose (or I certainly hope) that I’ll be getting a new job soon and will need to visit him again to report my new place of employment.

Thailand is generally a wonderful place to live and do business. However, relationships and attitudes are very important. If one chooses to be arogant, demeaning, harsh, or smelly, one will receive commensurate service and cooperation. So, for optimum service, be sure to put on a fresh attitude, and a fresh shirt.

Frank T.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 4th, 2007 at 7:11 pm and is filed under Thailand, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.