A new section has been opened at the previously empty lower floor of the two-story offices, specifically to handle procedures for short-term visitors, such as re-entry stamps, 90-day reporting and submitting accommodation references.
Foreigners on long-term visits are now processed separately on the upper floor.
Dividing the short- and long-term visitors has dramatically reduced the ‘chaos’ of immigration visits, said Phuket Immigration Superintendent, Pol Col Sunchai Chokkajaykij.
“It’s not so bad during the low season, when we only deal with about 100 people a day, but we have had to deal with up to 500 a day since the start of this high season.
Procedures for short-term visitors usually only take 10 to 15 minutes, while one-year visa applications, for example, can take up to 30 minutes, said Col Sunchai.
It’s not fair that people here just to get a quick stamp are held up by others sorting out long-term issues. The change makes the process quicker for everyone, he said.
Two more volunteers have been brought in as well as more admin staff to speed up the paperwork.
“I will see at the end of the month if manpower needs to be increased,” said the Superintendent
Asked about a ‘maximum 30 tickets per day’ notice on the desk manned by volunteers, the superintendent insisted that was never policy of the office and immediately had the sign removed.