soisanuk

If you use Wise to transfer the 65k to Bangkok Bank AND show the purpose from their drop down menu as Long Stay Thailand, Wis should send the transfer to Bangkok Bank and not another banking partner. Bangkok Bank uses the "FTT" code for such transfers (Foreign Telegraphic Transfer). I renewed my extension in June at Immigration's Pattaya Office. They require a separate letter from your bank listing all foreign deposits. There was no problem in getting the letter from a Bangkok Branch (other than they needed bank statements for the period as my passbook had some "consolidated entries") - they listed all deposits with the FTT code.

If it is more than one year since your Thai license expired then you do have to take the written test. If it is more than 3 years, you have to do the written test and the practical (driving) test.

It is my understanding that a Thai lawyer admitted to the Bar in Thailand is the only one who can act for you before a Thai court (probate). I am not sure if you must attend as the executor - best to obtain advice from a Thai lawyer. Likewise, they can advise you about the validity of a UK will in Thailand. It is also my understanding that foreign wills can be valid provided they meet Thailand requirements for such documents AND they must be translated into Thai for the Court. If in Pattaya, send me a private message and I can recommend someone knowledgeable about what will be required - they are an English speaking person whose Thai wife is a lawyer admitted to the Bar and can practice before Thai courts.

Joeb Wise to ask for more information - unfortunately, as another poster mentioned, if you asked the "someone" they will refer to another "someone" but rare to get first hand report. Jomtien Immigration will accept evidence of funds in a Thai bank from any bank, not just Bangkok Bank. Richard 2020 This may be your personal experience, but for citizens of the USA, Australia, and UK, they can no longer get such Embassy letters. Thus, using the monthly income method they must show Immigration evidence that they have transferred 65k baht into their Thai bank account each month. What that evidence is, depends on the Immigration Office being used for the retirement extension. KhunBENQ Correct as I mention above. I use the 65k per month transfer into my Bangkok Bank account for my extensions. When the US Embassy quit issuing the Income Letter, for my next extension at Jomtien Immigration Office, I obtained 12 months of bank statements certified by the Bangkok Bank branch. This was NOT ACCEPTABLE to the Immigration Officer - they wanted a letter from Bangkok Bank listing each transfer for the past 12 months - note this is in addition to the bank letter verifying the account and current balance which all applying for an extension must have. Yes it does take 5 business days for Bangkok Bank branch to obtain 12 months of statements as apparently the Branch computer system can only provide statements for the past 6 months. Since I am aware of this, I go to the their location in Tesco Lotus South 3 weeks before my extension is due and request the statements then do some shopping. A week later, I go back to the Tesco Lotus Bangkok Bank location to pick up the bank statements AND have them prepare the two bank letters - the one verifying the account and current balance & the one listing international deposits (those showing the FTT code on the bank statements) then either do some more shopping or grab a meal in the food court. The following day, about 2 weeks before my renewal date I go to Jomtien Immigration and do my extension. So no problem for me in the one week wait. For those renewing based on 800k in a Thai bank, Jomtien Immigration will require evidence that for the previous 12 months, that the 800k remained in the bank for at least 3 months after the previous renewal, the 800k has been on deposit for the 2 months prior to the current application for extension and for the interim never went below 400k. It is my understanding that Jomtien Immigration will accept copies of the passbook showing all transactions for the past 12 months PROVIDED there are no "consolidated entries" - these occur when the passbook is not regularly updated and do not show the individual transactions. If there are consolidated entries in the passbook, they will want to see the statements from the bank. lopburi3 There can be many reasons for not using SWIFT transfers from your USA bank - in my case, my bank charges US$40 for international wire transfers and some paperwork - they also offer in their online banking a "Global Transfer" for a fee US$5, but they do the conversion to baht at much less exchange rate than that of Wise. I compared the two methods sometime back for transferring US$2,000 - the result was even with the fee of about US$16 charged by Wise, the amount Wise would deposit in my account was 1,600 baht more than if done by my bank. What method to use depends on how easy it is to do the SWIFT transfer and the fees your bank will charge. Since I have had a Bangkok Bank account for the past 20 years, I used to send my transfers via their New York Branch by domestic ACH transfer - I switched to Wise when the NY Branch had to cease accepting domestic ACH transfer and required they be International ACH transfers which are generally only available to commercial accounts thus not available to retail (personal) account holders. Using Bangkok Bank also proved useful when as mentioned above, I could no longer get a US Embassy monthly income letter. Wise uses their own existing account at Thai partner banks to actually provide funds into your account. Even so, Bangkok Bank records them if they are the funding bank as International transfers using their FTT code. Thus much easier to get the bank letter listing the foreign transfers. Wise will send instructions to fund the transfer to Bangkok Bank provided you select the long stay in Thailand from their drop down menu on the purpose of the transfer. Also, if no one is in a hurry to get the funds transferred, US bank account holders can still use another method for Bangkok Bank's NY Branch to send funds in Thai baht for the same fees they charge for International ACH transfers - the difference being the NY Branch does the conversion to Thai baht before transferring the fund - their exchange rate equates to the one used if the conversion was done by Bangkok Bank here in Thailand. It is their Baht Remittance Service. I've used it once, but it took about 11 days to get the funds - You can complete and email the application, but to fund the transfer required using my US bank's online banking to send a paper check payable to the NY Branch by postal mail. When the NY Branch received the check they waited until it cleared before making the transfer to my Thailand Bangkok Bank account. Also, they require you mail the original of the application and copy of passport to them. They make the transfer based on the ones you email, but advise that if they don't subsequently receive the original by mail, they will make no future transfers until it is received.

As mentioned, a Re-Entry permit can be obtained at Suvarnabhumi Airport - but as also mentioned the location of the desk to get the Permit is located in a secure area that you probably cannot enter without a flight ticket:

Wuvu2 Why bother with a Thai forwarding company if you are ordering from Amazon USA. Unless it is from a shop that does not deliver to Thailand. For shipping address shown in upper left, I click and note delivery is to Thailand. I then do my search query so only items that can be delivered to Thailand will display along with shipping cost and customs deposit. A few times, Amazon has refunded a small portion of the customs deposit when the duty was less than the deposit - so far, I've never been billed for any additional customs charges. Why Me True. I have only ordered some house slippers through Amazon and fortunately they fit. However, in the past I have ordered some shirts that didn't fit. I didn't bother returning, just gave them away to someone who could wear them.

I wear size 46. I have been able to find that size in Central Department Store here in Pattaya, but type of shoe is limited. I tend to order large sizes for clothing and shoes from Amazon in US -- they cost more of course when you add shipping cost. Also, when ordering Amazon also includes a deposit for custom duty.

As mentioned, the need for the International Driving Permit (IDP) is dependent upon the requirements of the country where you plan to drive except in the USA - there it is dependent upon each State's requirements - it has been some time ago, but when I checked on what Texas requires, as I recall, they do require an IDP and guess what, they accept that only if you are under the certain age - 70 as I recall. As to getting an IDP if you are in Pattaya, you will need to go to Chonburi DLT to obtain one - as mentioned, your Thai license will need to be a 5 year one. Banglamung DLT which is where those in Pattaya obtain their Thai driving license, will not issue an IDP. You can find more information on how to get one at Chonburi from the Pattaya City Expats Club website - go to www.pcec.club - move your cursor to hover over the "Living in Thailand" topic, from the drop down menu, hover over "Driving/Vehicles" for another drop down menu - click on the "International Driving Permit" for the information.

It is my understanding that getting the 60 day Covid extension is not automatic, but at the discretion of the Immigration Officer -- of course, worth the try, since if it is not granted, you can still do the border run - so you may not want to wait to the last minute to apply for a Covid extension. Also, remember that you can enter Visa Exempt at a land border on twice during a year.

It is a two step process - first you apply at Thai Immigration for the Non-Immigrant O Visa which needs to be done at least 15 days before your permission to stay ends or 21 depending on the Immigration Office used. Once issued, it gives you a 90 day permission to stay. After 60 days, you then apply for a one year extension of stay based on retirement. You mention having 12 month deposit in Kasikorn bank -- unfortunately, to do the first step you will need the full 800k in a Thai bank OR an embassy letter attesting to the pension income - the US Embassy no longer issues such letters, so showing you deposited the required 65k per month will not qualify to get the Visa. However, it can be used when applying for the one year extension.

Although Re-Entry Permits are not renewed, a new one has to be applied for when the old one expires, which is also the date your Permission to Stay expires. The Re-Entry Permit, whether single or multiple, can be applied for at anytime before a planned trip out of Thailand at a Thai Immigration Office or at the airport before departing.

Prior to SSA including Thailand in the countries eligible for International Direct Deposit (IDD), the only way to get funds deposited direct was the Bangkok Bank Program which did require a separate account, no debit card, and a trip to a Bank branch to withdraw or transfer funds. As mentioned, this changed a couple of years ago with the advent of IDD for Thailand. With IDD you can designate your bank in Thailand, it does not have to be Bangkok Bank, and your SS payment will be sent to your Thai bank for deposit - there are no restrictions on that account. Another way to get SS payments is to use Wise transfer service. You create a Wise Account which will have a US Automated Clearinghouse (ACH) Number which you use to designate the Wise bank and your Wise bank account number for SS to direct deposit your monthly payment in US dollars. After it is deposited, you can log in to Wise and have all or a portion transferred to your Thai Bank account in baht (exchange rate is about the same as would be used by the Thai bank if the transfer was in US$). There are some nominal fees involved. I don't use this method, but a friend of mine has used this method for several years now with no problem. I have my SS payment as well as monthly pension deposited in my USA bank account and use Wise to transfer the funds I need to my Bangkok Bank account. Also, since I use the monthly income method for my retirement extensions, I select the "living in Thailand" reason in the drop down menu to note the purpose of the transfer (it is the last item on the list) so that it gets sent to Bangkok Bank rather than one of their other partner banks -- this ensures it shows up with the code "FTT" denoting it came from outside of Thailand rather than a domestic transfer from a partner bank (usually Kasikorn). A caveat - Wise will limit the transfer to no more than 50,000 baht unless it is to one of 3 specific Thai banks (as I recall) which is due to Thai rules. Bangkok Bank is one of the 3 where this limit does not apply.

I agree that dealing with Pattaya Immigration is usually easy and quick - depending of course on how many are the queue. For my annual extensions, I am usually anywhere from first to sixth in the queue. The time I was sixth, I was still in and out within 30 minutes - but if using Pattaya Immigration, you do have to go back the next day to pick up the passport. The key of course is having all your documents in order. I also find the fees are reasonable. Although many westerners complain about Thai Immigration, maybe they should compare the hassle and cost that those dealing with their home country's immigration offices to our experiences with Thai Immigration. Some of my friends in USA that had to deal with US Immigration offices faced long lines, lots of paperwork, and high fees. In my previous employment, I had cause to visit Federal Buildings in different major cities -- I noted that for many, there were often block long lines waiting outside the Federal building to get in the door to where the US Immigration office was located.

You don't need an agent unless you would rather pay one then go to Immigration yourself. As mentioned, you can get the Re-Entry Permit at the airport - just be sure to allow a little additional time. As to single vs multiple Re-Entry Permits, they both will expire on the date your current extension of stay until date. The fee is 1,000 baht for single and 3,800 baht for multiple. Which to get depends on your travel plans. If you plan for as many as 3 trips, you may want go ahead and pay the extra 800 baht for a multiple as it is only one stamp taking up space in your passport instead of 3 stamps.

My first 2 doses was AstraZeneca vaccine (first at Bang Sue in Bangkok & second at Sports Stadium in Pattaya). I have since had 2 boosters. The first was Pfizer, also provided free by the Thai Government. For the second booster I wanted Moderna which I obtained at Jomtien Hospital in Pattaya (part of the BDMS (Bangkok Hospital) group. The price was the same as charged by Bangkok Hospital Pattaya - 1,200 baht - done on a walk in basis. I had heard both 6 month and 5 month as being the interval between the Pfizer and Moderna - but upon inquiry prior to going there, Jomtien Hospital said I could get the Moderna vaccine so long as 4 months had elapsed since the Pfizer. I had no side effects from the initial AZ vaccines and only a sore arm at the injection site for a few days with the Pfizer and Moderna doses. In all cases my Mor Prom record was updated within a day or two of getting the dose.

The validity period for the Visa as mentioned is 6 months from date of issue. However, your permission to stay in Thailand be 60 days from the date of entry which can be extended for another 30 days at Thai Immigration. If you depart and return to Thailand prior to the expiration date of the "Visa", you again receive 60 days which can again be extended. For example, if your METV "Visa" expires on October 15, 2022 and you enter Thailand on October 14, 2022, your permission to stay stamp will be until October 12, 2022 and extended for an additional 30 days until January 12, 2023.

Back when Chase introduced their Global Transfer, I did a comparison using it vs using Wise. Although Chase's fee was only US$5 (all transfers) to Wise's cost of around US$15+ for about US$2,000, Chase converts the dollars to baht before the transfer. Their fee may be low, but their exchange rate is in essence a hidden fee due to their exchange rate resulting in less baht actually being received when compared to Wise. When I did my comparison for a transfer on the same date, Wise even after their higher fee would have deposited the 1,600 more baht in my Bangkok Bank account.

As mentioned, the O-A visa cannot be obtained in other than your country of residence. However, as also mentioned you can accomplish your desire to retire in Thailand by obtaining the "O" category visa in Thailand which will grant you a 90 day permission to stay from the date it is issued by Thai Immigration. You wait for 60 days then you apply for a one year extension for the purpose of retirement. A big advantage to obtaining the "O" Visa in Thailand over the "O-A" obtained in your country of residence is there is no health insurance requirement to obtain the "O" Visa or extend your stay. If you obtain the "O-A" there is a requirement for you to have the equivalent of US$100,000 health cover to obtain it (from Thai Embassy/Consulate, the policy can be non-Thai - however, to extend your stay in Thailand, Thai Immigration currently requires holders of "O-A" Visas to show proof of health insurance from a Thai company -- this could change as there has been some news articles about this happening in October this year, but there is no assurance that it will).

Correct for Chonburi (Pattaya) Immigration. There is really no need to pay an agent to do it for you, although that of course is up to an individual's preference. So long as you have the required documents, obtaining a renewal of a retirement extensions is fairly easy - for myself, it has never taken more than 25 minutes including the time i was #6 in the queue. The Pattaya City Expats Club provides a checklist for documents needed at Pattaya Immigration - go to their website (www.pcec.club) and hover your mouse over the "Thai Immigration" topic to see another drop down menu - then hover it over "Extending Your Stay" and click on "Checklists" to go to the page with the information on documents required.

Although having proof of onward travel within the initial 30 days of a "Visa Exempt" entry is a requirement for entry, it is seldom if ever checked by Thai Immigration. The above is correct - many airlines will deny boarding if you can't show a ticket for onward travel within 30 days of your arrival because their computer system shows it is required for entry into Thailand unless you have a "Visa" (Tourist, Non-Immigrant, etc.). They don't know that Thai Immigration doesn't enforce this requirement. As far as they know, you could be denied entry and the airline would be on the hook for putting you on another flight (their cost) and possibly get a fine. Many facing this situation just buy a cheap throw away ticket to a neighboring country so they can show evidence of onward travel while others buy a refundable ticket they can later cancel.

Free government provided vaccine doses including boosters are available until 31 July at Royal Garden shopping mall, 1st floor - from 11:00-15:00 on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday . You can choose the type of vaccine you wish to inject, Phizer, Astrazeneca, Sinopharm, or Covovax.

Marcos in Jomtien - https://www.marcospattaya.com/

A good question as each Immigration Office has their own requirements. Chonburi (Pattaya) Immigration does not require you to attach photo to TM.7 - they do it for you (I usually get my photo next door just before going in to do my extension without attaching it). Further, they require only one photo for retirement extensions.

That it may, BUT each Immigration Office has their own requirements which may differ as to what type of document they may accept. To get more accurate information, it helps if the poster states which Immigration Office they will be using which may result in a response from someone who has used that particular Office for the same purpose(s).

Dependents of those granted extensions for retirement, education, etc. need to obtain a Non-Immigrant Visa from a Thai Embassy or Consulate outside of Thailand.