johnny1966

Non O multi entry marriage, permission to stay until April 14th 2020. If a border run was done say, 15th July, (presuming borders are open), or a 60 day extension done on the same date, when would the 90 or 60 days be counted from? April 14th or 15th July?

7 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

That is certainly not a requirement at the embassy or the consulate in Sydney. One of the honorary consulates might ask for it.

No mention of it here. http://www.thaiembassy.org/sydney/en/other/96010-NON-IMMIGRANT-VISA.html

Edit: Same here for Melrourne: 

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/564565b4e4b03880a2ff050f/t/5d50dd7f65aed9000156cbfc/1565580676061/Spouse_12082019.pdf

One of the requirements for non o Melbourne application according to the form above is "copy of visa, work permit, of a spouse or parent currently working in Thailand". Does this mean a visa or work permit of my wife? If she isn't working?

29 minutes ago, fuzziwas said:

You will need a current bank statement showing 40000bht.

Also important is to have a signed letter of invitation by wife.. I have had 3 of them  visas that is.

Been.obtained from .either melb or canberra

You need to show 400k for a single entry non o?

On 3/11/2020 at 10:29 AM, AussieBob18 said:

Last first - yes they deliberately provide vaque information that is not too specific, because each claim/case is assessed based on its own merits, because everyone has different circumstances.  That is the official reason - but the real reason is so that they can minimise your payments and/or reject your claim.  Unlike the ATO who provide legal and binding information (to all people) and have official sanctioned/qualified advisers (accountants etc.), CLink will not give definitive information - either over phone, in writing, or on via their web site. CLink advice is always informal - you have to lodge a claim - then you get definitive advice.  So therefore my advice is the same as any official qualified CLink adviser - and there is none ????

 

1.  The proceeds from selling your house in Australia do not affect your income or asset amounts, which as you should know determine how much pension you are entitled to receive, if you commit to CLink that you are going to purchase a new home and you do that within 12 months.  BUT - does this apply if you are going to be purchasing a 'main residence' overseas - I do not know and have never got an answer - several phone calls - lots of web searches. 

 

1A - The amount of pension you get is determined by your assets and income.  If you own a home the assets limit is $XXX AUD and if you dont own a home the assets limit is $YYY AUD.  Many assets that are not your home are considered to be a 'financial asset' and they are 'deemed' - CLink determines an arbitrary rate of interest and that amount is added to your annual income.  My read of all the possible scenarios is that you want to have a lot more assets than you do income - it is much easier to go over the income limits if the $value of your home becomes a financial asset than it is to go over the assets limits for that same amoutn of $value - for most people.   

 

2. Yes - if you get married and advise CLink then you will be paid at the married rate.  Most Expats overseas dont 'officially' get married (via Embassy) for that reason, and because any relationship in Thailand is not official unless you do officially get married. Most Expats stay single as far as their advice to CLink and they dont say they are living with anyone long term either.  But if they do live with sdomeone and get 'caught' they plead ignorance and say they thought because it was not a marriage as it is not legal in Thaland (unlike in Aust). 

 

If you have been living in Australia for 10 years prior to getting pension you can take it overseas - you should call CLink before you leave to make sure you have 'portability' (before you even buy a ticket etc) - but dont tell them you are going to do it - say you are thinking about it in a few years and would like to know.

 

You will get 100% of age pension (minus a few small items) when overseas if you have been in Aust for 35+ years prior to applying - lesser amounts down to 10/35 for 10 yrs - nil if less than 10 years if you go overseas. If you tell CLink that you are going and never coming back, they will immediately reduce the payment to wehatever percentage based on the number of years in country, and also remove some small payments (electricity bonus etc.).  If you say you are going and probably coming back after 3-6 months (you dont know), they will automatically reduce it after 26 weeks if you are still overseas - best to tell them if you have decided to stay after about 5 months - especially if you were living in Australia for less than 35 years.

 

Great insight. So, if I lived in Australia from birth till 34yo, then in Thailand from 34 to 60, then Australia till pension age, Im not entitled. Is that right?

Does anyone know if Melbourne still issue non o visas for marriage to a Thai?

23 hours ago, scorecard said:

Your birthdate for Age Pension       Age Date to claim 

 

1 January 1954 to 30 June 1955      66 years old 

1 July 1955 to 31 December 1956    66 years and 6 months old

On or after 1 January 1957             67 years old 

 

Australian Working Life Residence (AWLR). A person is able to continue receiving the full amount overseas that they are eligible for within Australia if they have an AWLR of 35 years of more.

 

It's not calculated by how many years tax has been paid.

 

It's calculated by years a citizen was in Australia from 16th birthday.  

 

The applicant must have the classification of 'resident' to be able to apply, and must physically be in Australia on the date of lodging the application.

 

For people born outside of Australia these rules can be a bit different especially if the person lived in another country and then migrated to Australia and that person is entitled to some form of pension/allowance from the other country. See the Centrelink website for more details. 

 

Centrelink has a permanent live link to Australian Immigration which means they have an ongoing continuously building file on your movements every time you leave and return to Australia but they don't know where you go when your out of Australia.

 

If you achieve 'portability' they will pay you the full basic pension and they will transfer the funds to a bank outside of Australia every 4 weeks (every second fortnight). But you don't receive other allowances like the electricity allowance. The bank account you nominate outside of Australia can be an account in your name or it can be a joint account, you and another person.  

Thanks for the detailed advice. So, according to what you've stated, if I lived in Australia from birth till 34 years old, and have been living abroad ever since, (I'm now 53) I will not be eligible for the pension, even if I move back to Australia. Correct?

Apologies if this has already been answered, but does anyone know the exact number of years one has to have lived in Australia, and, how long one has to have paid tax in Australia, as an Australian resident in order to be eligible for the old age pension?

The Australian government has allowed Australian residents early access to superannuation, maximum amount $10,000 tax free. Applications open 20th April. I will be applying for it as I am now unemployed. I was employed by a Thai company in November 2019, work permit etc, however during the period November 2019 to March 2020 when the company made me redundant my taxable income was never more than 25,000 baht per month. I'm wondering my obligations in regard to the ATO, what information will be collected by them from Thailand and, if I open an Australian bank account (currently I do not have one) should I notify the Australian bank about this 5 month period of paying tax in Thailand?

8 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Many border crossing will not let you leave with a long overstay. If they let you leave, paid the fine and your overstay was 90 days or less there would be no ban.

As I wrote before at this time you can stay in the country until the emergency situation is over. When it is over is when the border crossings will open again.

Let's hope that when land borders reopen the io understands the Amnesty clearly and doesn't start slapping people with overstay fines where they're not due.

5 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

It should not be a big problem to extend the ministerial order when the emergency decree is extended since the authority for it is under the emergency decree. They could even include it the order to extend the emergency decree.

 

You are, as I am fairly confident it will be extended. Always a chance that it will not be extended past 30th April but slim.

On 4/9/2020 at 1:11 PM, Tanoshi said:

My guess is the amnesty will extend slightly beyond borders opening and flights resuming to allow those who need to leave, do a border run, or obtain a new Visa, to do so.

Keep an eye out for further announcements on the situation.

It'll be interesting to see when the Amnesty is extended to. I'd say May 30th if I had to guess.  Does this process require the pm's signature, publishing in the gazette etc?

Following confirmation from two immigration officers at cw today that non o multi holders whose 90 day permission to stay expires after march 26 ARE covered under the Amnesty, I personally will not be doing a 60 day extension with the Mrs until the Amnesty ends. What I don't know, and perhaps of minor importance, is do I need to go there and submit an updated tm30 now or can this wait until I do the extension at the end of the Amnesty?

1 hour ago, talahtnut said:

Yes ubonjoe, I am married to a Thai, she went with

me to Imm. Office,  and we have a 19year old son.

Many thanks for your patience.

I've lost mine.

 

Interested as to why they did not approve your extension.

2 hours ago, sateuk said:

I have a non o visa already extended by 60 days at immigration which runs out on 18th april as borders are shut im covered till the 30th as already used up my 60 day extension, I think if you on a non o via marriage like me and you haven't extended yet by 60 days at your local immigration office you are not covered by the amnesty but if like me you have done that already you are covered as there is no other options to extend as uk embassy no longer issuing letters as not needed thats my take on it anyway

"Your take on it "is why there is confusion. Everyone has "their take on it" As ubonjoe stated, a 60 day extension is not mandatory and therefore those who have not done a 60 day extension are still covered. Non immigrant O multi entry holders who do 90 day border bounces are covered under the Amnesty. This is the take from two CW immigration officers this morning.

4 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

Hi Johnny,

Indeed that's a legitimate concern.

If the interpretation by border-immigration or your local IO is different than the intended meaning of the ambiguously formulated amnesty announcement, you can find yourself in trouble.

It seems to be the perpetual dilemma when staying longer term in Thailand to first decypher what the rules/regulations actually mean, and then to hope the immigration officer that crosses your way interprets it in the same way.

Also note that if you do go to your local IO for an extension of stay and they say 'no need' to do so, that border-immigration might still interpret it differently (claiming that your particular Visa-situation was not eligible for the amnesty in spite of what your local IO told you) and slam you with an overstay fine.

For VisaExempt and Tourist Visa entries there can be no doubt > they are eligible for the amnesty.  But those on 90-day permissions of stay from a Non Imm O Visa are somewhat in the twilight zone, even though they are also eligible for the amnesty.

   

Precisely. Thus the dilemma as to whether or not do the 60 day extension prior to expiry of permission to stay. No-one I believe can categorically answer the above. 

49 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

Yes, that's correct.

Thank you Peter. I suppose many readers main concern is that at the end of the Amnesty period an io whether it be at a border crossing or immigration office says " you should have gone to immigration to extend 60 days before your permission to stay expired, you had that opportunity but you didn't go" and proceeds to slap an ugly overstay fine. There seems to be an uncertainty among immigration offices (and I would imagine border posts when they reopen), as to the above. This uncertainty is of course reported by posters on this and other forums, not directly from the horses mouth.

8 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

When you are on a 1-year Multi-Entry Non Imm O Visa you are only provided (short-stay) 90 days permissions to stay on entering Thailand, after which you are expected to leave the country again.  So those on that Visa type are eligible for the Amnesty (since they are not able to leave the country).

 

Thanks Peter. This is even though those holders have the option of extending 60 days or 1 year and can use this option under the current environment? Amnesty still covers such holders correct?

45 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

@JimGant

Hi Jim,

I was also confused at first having only read the Amnesty Announcement posted on the IO website.

It's message as I understood it at first, was that all foreigners with a permission to stay expiring after 26 March would be eligible for the amnesty.

However, it appears that IO limited the amnesty only to those foreigners that would normally leave the country by the end of their permission to stay, and are now unable to do so because of border-closures. 

As a result the 'certain group of foreigners' eligible for the amnesty only consists of those that entered Thailand Visa Exempt, on a Tourists Visa (SETV or METV) or a short-stay Non Imm O Visa that provides a 90-day permission to stay. 

The implicit thinking behind the exclusion is that those foreigners on long-stay Non Imm O or O-A Visa or extensions of those, do not need to exit the country at the end of their permission to stay, as they can apply for a 1-year extension based on their present Visa.  And so they are excluded from the amnesty, and are required to apply for their 'normal' 1-year extension of stay at their local IO at the end of their permission to stay.

So those that had planned to exit the country - like yourself - to 'kill' their present O-A Visa and then apply for a Non Imm O - retirement Visa, are now stuck and will probably be forced to apply for the 1-year extension. 

Note: Your case is special and might invoke an IO exception because at your age you are not able to meet the mandatory thai IO-approved health-insurance requirement.  The 'standard' advice by IO for those that could not get thai IO-approved health-insurance was 'to exit the country and apply for the Non Imm O - retirement Visa' (which is now not possible due to border-closure).

referring to long stay non imm o visa holders in your post, this means those on multi entry non imm o visas who leave the country every 90 days and whose permission to stay ends after march 26th are NOT included in the Amnesty as they can go to immigration to apply for a 1 year extension or 60 day extension? This means they will be overstay after their permission to stay ends if they do not extend at immigration? This is how I read your post. Excuse me if I'm wrong.

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

That is not correct.

There is nothing that states those that qualify for the 60 day extension has to apply for one.

They don't want people going to immigration for an extension unless they do not qualify under the ministerial order.

The only ones that have to apply for an extension are those that are not affected by the inability to leave the country. That being those on long term extensions and etc. If they do not qualify for their normal extensions they will have to apply for the special 30 day extension.

I agree. Given that the Amnesty will extend well beyond the 30th April it would seem pointless to go to CW now. The only benefit would be to avoid the crowds after the Amnesty ends although I imagine that will be staggered somehow to prevent a mass going there at once.

From most opinions here on this forum, those people on a non immigrant O multi entry visa whose 90 day permission to stay stamp expired after March 28th (in my case April 14th) are covered under the Amnesty and do not need to go to immigration to apply for a 60 day extension to visit wife. One "expert" on Facebook who will remain unnamed claims that this is not true and that we need to go to apply for a 60 day extension before the permission to stay stamp ends or we will effectively be on overstay after the permission stamp date. I hope that someone can categorically say he is wrong. I don't want to go to immigration if "we" are covered.

3 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

It is not my point it is what is written in the ministerial order.

Those that entered the country using a non immigrant visa on or before the March 26th are included since they could not leave the country to get a new entry or apply for another visa. 

 

Those that are here on an extension of stay can apply for a new extension of stay and do not need to leave the country to do it.

 

Considering your point regarding non immigrant visas, in particular ME non O visas, to be crystal clear to the holders of such, we would be best advised to sit tight whilst the Amnesty is in effect, even if one's permission to stay expires in April, and apply for a 60 day extension or border hop when the Amnesty ends. Correct?

4 hours ago, ace000 said:

People , stop creating stress for yourself and putting people and Staff that have no choice but to go to the immigration department in harms way . It’s a amnesty, thats means a period of time that’s granted without people being punished It been past by the government its law. I’ll also like to think that if you do show up there , you be told to go away . Stop over thinking its simple directive .

I think there's no question why the Amnesty is in place. The question which I think cannot be answered unequivocally is can one extend a non o visa for 60 days after the expiration date of an entry stamp, say for example mid April, (within the Amnesty period), or do a border hop giving a 90 day stay after such Amnesty ends and what restrictions if any are there on the above.

2 hours ago, time2093 said:

I'm in the same boat as well Johnny, There is to many conflicting reports going around about who gets the automatic visa extension as the term 'VISA' is thrown around very loosely with Thai immigration. As my 90 day expires in couple of weeks I will go next week to my local immigration office in Kalasin and ask in person about the visa amnesty and the 60 day extension or to wait it out til the 30th as I want to here it from the horses mouth just to make sure as I dont want to get a nice overstay surprise after.

 

Its better safe then sorry as I see it.

Let us know how you get on.

2 hours ago, gregsmithy said:

Letseng - you are feeding my paranoia.

 

I am hopeful that when Thai borders are opened so will those of places like Laos and Cambodia but as I said no one will know until it is too late to do much about it,  at the moment my resolve is holding and I am sticking to the advice of the likes of Tanoshi and UbonJoe but my nerve may fail me next week. 

 

 

Gregsmithy, it looks like our situations are almost identical. My paranoia also wakes me up in the middle of the night telling me to go to cw on Monday to get a 60 day extension given my permission to stay ends Tuesday midnight. I also will sit it out, slightly worried about what will happen when the Amnesty ends.