bangkokgalaxy

I've received a full 2-dose Pfizer vaccine in Thailand. I need to travel to France, Germany and Italy and (possibly) the UK

in early 2022. Does anyone know how to covert or register with my Thai vaccine certificate to ensure easy and universal

access while entering these countries, eating out, going to museums, flying regionally, etc? 

Did US donate vaccine with short shelve life? I am inclined to think so. Saying that, it worked out well for me, I am happy and I am under 60.

Good news. As a US citizen, it would be great some of my own vaccine (short shelf life or not). How did you book with Bangkok Hospital being under 60? I assumed ExpatVac only scheduled vaccines to those over 60 or with special health conditions. 

I am a foreigner in good health. I have good insurance. It covers Covid treatment, and stays in private hospitals.

However, I want to ensure - If I ever contract Covid - I will not be "forced" into a government facility

I worry that  - in a rush - an uninformed bureaucrat might insist I am required go to a state facility (football stadium) for treatment.

I want to ensure I go to a private hospital like Bumrungrad, who partners with Anantara Hotel for Covid positive patient stays.

Anyone know about this?

I use the 65k method and use Transferwise to bring monthly funds into Thailand. I choose the option in Transferwise that says "For Retirement" that is "supposed" to ensure your funds are coded correctly as FFT (foreign funds transfer) or "International" on your bank statements. 

However, they've made mistakes. I had several bank statements that did not say FFT and instead said "SMART" or something that indicates they first passed through another bank on the way to my bank and look to immigration like domestic transfers, which will cause problems.

Check your statements/bank book closely. If any transfers are not properly coded as foreign transfers, call your bank and ask them which third party Thai bank was involved in moving the money between Transferwise and your own bank.

Then, go to that bank and get a letter and/or a credit advice saying that these were received from outside Thailand via Transferwise.

Last year, I had four months that were not properly coded as FFT. I had to combine a letter from my bank confirming all FFT transfers they received, and more documentation from a third party Thai bank to confirm the other months.

PM me if you have any questions.

The remaining question is what happens when people use agents. Does anyone have first-hand experience with FBAR after using an agent?  Are their tax implications?

Has anyone had to deal with this when keeping 800k in a Thai bank, or when using visa agents for financial requirements? 

Has anything changed recently for new retirement extensions using the 65k international bank transfer method?

Last year, I only needed 12 months bank statements, showing monthly international wire transfers, and a letter from the

bank confirming all information.

Anyone know if US citizens working for US companies overseas (who've laid them off because of corona situation) are eligible to apply for unemployment benefits?

I have not been to the US for 9 months. Can I enter Cambodia? The government's notice "seems" to say it's only an issue if one has been in the US in the past 14 days. Can anyone clarify or provide first-hand experience?

2 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

So the question is:

>> Will IO at CW accept a record of at least 1 monthly-income transfer of at least 65K with foreign origins proven, as sufficient for meeting the financial requirement when applying for the 90-day Non Imm O - retirement Visa?  Or do they also require that the source of that foreign income, comes from pension, and/or that it backed-up by an embassy-issued income-letter?

Anybody willing to share experience on the above?

Thanks, everyone, for your help.

My top option, if possible, is still getting an O (vs an OA) without returning back to the USA.

If anyone has experience applying for a first time Non Imm O in Bangkok (or anywhere else in the Thailand or SE Asia), using Thai bank statements only showing international transfers, no proof of pension, and no embassy letter or income affidavit, feedback would be most appreciated.

12 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

2. Apply for the cheapest possible thai IO-approved health-insurance policy (6.000 THB premium from LGM Insurance), which will be good for 1 year stay, and might be extended for a 2nd year so that you can benefit from the OA Visa benefits (no need for money in a thai bank-account) also during the 2nd year

....and, keep my current Cigna plan to ensure I have sufficient coverage. BTW, I've checked with Cigna, and there's no issue having 2 insurance policies as long as you only make claims on one policy at a time. 

6 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

b) Just recently - andfinally - a somewhat affordable thai IO-approved health-insurance policy is on offer which only costs 6.000 THB for people in the 51-60 age bracket.  Content-wise that policy is worthless, but you could consider it simply as an entrance-ticket to meet the OA health-insurance requirement.

Thank you. I hadn't heard about that.

But, I did get a quote for good coverage from Luma that meets the immigration long-stay requirements. An Aetna Platinum Plan with

THB 30,000,000 per injury/ illness and 40k Outpatient runs 110,00 Baht a year (which is about 25% more than the expat plan we currently have with Cigna). 



6 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

but some offices like Saraburi, Petchabun and Jomtien insist on a pension statement accompanied with an embassy income-statement when using the monthly-income-transfer method

The income is not from a pension or social security. Almost nobody has a pension in the US anymore, let alone at 50 years old. And being a US citizen, can no longer get an income verification letter from the embassy.

Had planned on applying in Bangkok, using a record of international transfers to a local Thai Bank. Will this work?

For the record, this for a US citizen (no more income affidavits).

So, to use the 65k income method, do the following:

1) Upon turning 50, enter Thailand on a Visa Exempt, go to immigration with the necessary paperwork and (to the point) include copies of Thai bank statements showing international transfers into a Thai bank (in our case, it will be 12 months)

or

2) Upon turning 50, go to a local consulate (Kuala Lumpur? other?), submit paperwork and copies of Thai bank statements showing international transfers into a Thai bank? 



I was recently told that, for first timers, there's no way to use the income method when you apply for an O Visa

inside Thailand. So, even if you've been putting 65k a month into a Thai bank for 12 months, you'll still have to

use the 800k method with no other options for using 65k than getting an OA in your home country.

Is this true? How can someone use the 65k/month method to get an O Visa for the first time? Does the UK

or any other consulate provide O Visas for US citizens?

Moreover, if one does get a first time retirement OA visa in their home country (where a consulate accepts

local monthly income statements) can one later convert that OA to a O using monthly income method?

Would welcome any clarification.

Anyone know about this recent announcement? My hotel owner told me 4 long-term foreign residents already received visa extensions.

https://www.santaferelo.com/en/mobility-insights/news-and-blog/immigration-update-thailand-visa-extension-for-foreign-nationals-impacted-by-covid-19/

Addendum to my original post:

I called the law firm that (I thought) suggested the new double entry visa as a good option for my friend (a US citizen). They clarified their advice (I misunderstood - they were not suggesting the "new" double entry visa).

In short, they said because my friend had only 2 Ed Visas in last 1.5 years, and no history of back to back tourist visas, she could go to the UK, apply online for a tourist visa, and select "2" for the "Number of Entries" field.

Once the UK embassy approved the visa, then it would be possible to:

reenter Thailand by air for 60 days

go to immigration and get a 30 extension

leave and come back for another 60 days

go to immigration and extend for 30 days

TOTAL = 180 days on a tourist visa 

He suggested it would "probably" work, and even if they pressed, they'd most likely only issue a warning and let her in anyway.

Does this sound plausible?

I just read about this new visa but can't find anything on how (or where) to actually get one. A local lawyer

mentioned this was a good option if I can travel to a consulate outside of SE Asia (Europe, USA, etc).

Has anyone had one of these new visas and where did you get it? Are these available in France, Spain or UK?

https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/tourism/thai-government-confirms-introduction-of-double-entry-tourist-visa

I originally had an O Visa.

For the first issue with TransferWise, my bookkeeper didn't properly allocate the transfers as "For long-term stay" and they coded several as domestic transfers. To get documentation, I went to my bank, Bangkok Bank, and got a letter showing all the properly coded transfers were from the US. Then, I went to Kasikorn (the partner, 'pass through' bank used by Transferwise) and got a letter showing that the improperly coded transfers were indeed international because money flowed from the USA, to Kasikorn to Bangkok Bank. 

For the second issue, the IO showed leniency on my only having 11 total transfers (I missed Jan 2019). 

Siam Legal wasn't exactly cheap (30k), but it worked. I was ready to give up after another local legal firm (to remain unnamed), told me there was no way an IO would bend on either of my issues. So, whatever happened it worked. And I didn't have to fly back to the USA to get an OA, along with Thai health insurance, etc. So, I'm happy.  

Hello Everyone. After a lot of worrying, I got my 1-year retirement extension last month at BKK immigration.

I had two issues that could have given me big problems: I only had 11 months of bank statements showing international transfers; and, I'd used Transferwise all year to wire money from overseas, but several of my bank statements were not coded properly to show they were international transfers.

I ended up using Siam Legal and was satisfied with their service. For anyone facing similar issues, I can vouch that, as least in my case, that they got the job done. 

Hello Everyone,

Can anyone confirm that the KL Thai consulate offers Non-O visas for retirement? My lawyer has suggested they do, and that one of his recent clients was able to get a 3-month Non-O (using the 65k per month income method, and with only 6-months of bank statements vs 12 months).

Can anyone confirm this, including that they only require 6 months of bank statements? I can't find this anywhere on the consulate website. And they also do not answer their phones. 

**One last question: Is it true that the US Embassy in KL still offers income affidavits? This was mentioned in a recent post (but nobody verified)

Hello,

In April, my friend wants to attend a school to take advanced an Thai language course. She's already studied beginning Thai (9 months) and beginning Chinese (going on 9 months)) on consecutive Ed Visas, the second of which ends on April 1. 

She now wants to take an advanced Thai language program when her current visa ends in April. She is serious about wanting to become fluent in Thai over the next 18 months as she will retire here in November 2020 (after her 50th birthday).

She's currently attending an accredited local language school, but given the pushback from immigration over the past 6 months she's worried this will be an issue when she applies for advanced Thai in a couple months. Her school has warned all studies to expect pushback from immigration on Ed Visas.

That said, my friend is serious about wanting to become fluent in Thai. She wants find schools with more advanced studies in Thai language, and is willing to commit the extra time and money to both learn the language (and also face less scrutiny from immigration).

What schools or universities offer these types of programs that are accepted by immigration in 2019? Is it only schools like Chulaongkorn with Bachelor and Master's degrees, or are there other schools that are not considered 'visa mills' and offer top notch learning and are taken seriously by immigration? How does one know the difference? 

On 12/4/2019 at 4:44 PM, ubonjoe said:

If you enrolled in a school that offered more advanced studies than you current school you should not have a problem getting another non-ed visa and extensions.

 

Which specific schools have "more advanced studies" in Thai language? (and face less scrutiny from immigration?) 

My friend wants to get her second Ed Visa for advanced Thai in April and wants to become fluent as she will retire here in November 2020 (after her 50th birthday).

Hello everyone. I've been dutifully transferring 65k into my Bangkok Bank account from the US for the past year. I'm going to immigration soon to get an retirement extension.

But...I noticed my bank statements say "Interbank Transfer via SMART" not FFT. I've also read that Bangkok Bank can't/won't provide a letter verifying that these are indeed originating in the US (because they've passed through a third party Thai bank before making it to my Bangkok Bank account).

Has Bangkok Bank found a way to provide the documentation that states these are international transfers? If not, what are my options before visiting immigration?

"I rushed to SCB and got a letter from them showing the 3 transfers to BKK Bank as international, and went back the following Monday to CM Immigration, and they refused to look at it. And as my previous Extension had expired the day before (on a Sunday), they told me I needed to leave the country..."

Did they refuse to look at the bank letter because "your previous extension had expired" or because they won't accept the bank letter that confirmed your international transfers? I

I have the same issue with my bank statements (they show as SMART transfers) Today, a visa agent insisted that I get a bank letter that will clarify that all my transfers came from international sources would suffice. 

Does anyone know if immigration accept the bank letter?