attrayant

Do FD accounts gets passbooks?  I didn't think so.  I have a CD with Kasikorn and never got a passbook for it.  Doesn't immigration need to see a passbook/register when yo go for the extension or will a printout/statement from the bank suffice?

[edit - I assume FD and CD are essentially the same. My paperwork from Kasikorn says "certificate of fixed deposit".]

1 minute ago, thaitero said:

There are a lot of people living on retirement extensions who do not have glue about  requirements to get retirement extension by real rules because they have used agents to get their stamps. 

 

Now it is time to learn ????

Why is now the time to learn?  I assume if they've been using agents this long, they'll just continue to use them.  The agents & immigration officers don't want to lose that gravy train.

1 hour ago, Jim7777 said:

Don’t be giving Ubonjoe a hard time he’s a good guy.  

 

I'm grateful for his advice and I thanked him each time I replied.  Which of my posts did you interpret as giving him a hard time?  If anything, I am giving the consulate websites and legal websites a hard time for posting their incorrect information.

57 minutes ago, Toca said:

I paid the ultimate penalty because I was silly enough to take my cash out of the Kasikorn bank and bought a condo (mortgage free).

When my visa consultant contacted immigration to renew my retirement visa they informed her that holding a mortgage free condo was not enough proof of financial stability and that I need B800,000 cash in the bank !!

Do I now sell my condo ? @%$&*_ 

I suggest you start a new discussion.  Not many will see your post buried at the bottom of page two of this one.

I apologize for the confusion, but the phrasing on the Thai consulates websites certainly does not help.  According to Penang:
 

"Type O: This type of visa is issued to applicants who wish to accompany spouse or family members working, studying or living in Thailand."

And under documents required it says nothing about showing the 800K that we are all accustomed to.  It mentions wife's documents, marriage cert, etc.

"Type O-A: This type of visa is issued to applicants aged 50 years and over who wish to stay in Thailand for a period not exceeding one year..."

That certainly sounds like retirement.  Under documents required it mentions the 800K that we all associate with a "retirement visa".

So if I was unclear, it's because the embassy/consulate sites themselves have done a poor job of describing what the various visas are for.

What I have learned from this is that a non-O is not a "marriage visa" and a non-OA is not a "retirement visa", rather both types are "long stay" visas and the type you get depends on where you are when you apply for it.  If I'm in my home country and want to retire in Thailand, I'll ask for a non-immigrant O-A.  If I'm in any other country and want to retire in Thailand, I'll ask for a non-immigrant-O visa.  Then once I'm in Thailand on either of these two types of visa, I can extend it based on my personal situation (either retirement or marriage).

Is that all correct?

25 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

You asked about an O Visa, not an O-A Visa.  Different as chalk and cheese.

Chalk sandwiches are no good, so I wouldn't want to mix those up.  But in post #8, ubonjoe said this:

"Also you might want to check with the embassy or the consulate in Vietnam. I have seen no reports of them issuing a non-o visa for being 50 or over for retirement."

So it's pretty clear from my posts that I am referring to that which most of us commonly refer to as a "retirement visa".  In post #9 I asked:

"Are you aware of any bordering countries that will issue the non-o for retirement?"

To which ubonjoe replied in post #15:

"Savannakhet Laos and Penang Malaysia with proof of the 800k baht and proof you are retired. Vientiane if you have a Thai police clearance certificate a medical certificate from a clinic with the 800k baht in the bank proof."

So to be clear, which type(s) of non-immigrant visa can I get in nearby countries, which can then be either converted or extended into a full one-year retirement status after arriving in Thailand?

I'm looking at the website for the Thai consulate in Penang and I just want to say that their "inforgraphic" on the various types of visas offered is a site to behold: http://www.thaiembassy.org/penang/contents/files/services-20140508-110623-169095.pdf

However the page about who is eligible for an O-A says the same thing that Viet nam's says:

Do they just not enforce this?

On the next page they also says something about needing a criminal background check from the USA.  That's nonsensical.  The whole point of going to Penang is so that I can save a trip back to the states!

14 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Savannakhet Laos and Penang Malaysia with proof of the 800k baht and proof you are retired.

 

Thanks.  What constitutes "proof you are retired"?  My passport has back-to-back retirement extensions since 2015.  Would that be proof enough?

From the Google-translated Thai consulate web site in Savannakhet:

So I'll need to go to the US embassy here in Thailand and get some sort of certificate of retirement?  I never hear of such a thing.  Is that one of those deals where they'll certify whatever I swear to?

Just now, KarlS said:

Information found on commercial websites is often WRONG. The website you cite is not a Thai Government/Immigration site.

Yes that was the first thing that made me skeptical.  So much bad information out there.

I just want to confirm that the information at immigrationbangkok-dot-com is not correct:
 

When applying for a Thai retirement visa within Thailand (Non-Immigrant O-Long Stay Visa):

You must start the application process by applying for a 90-day non-immigrant visa from a Thai embassy or consulate outside of Thailand, after which you can make an application for a retirement visa in Thailand (you cannot apply for a Thai retirement visa while in Thailand on a 30 day entry stamp or Tourist Visa).

You must then be in Thailand for at least 60 days (or within the last 30 days of your current visa stamp expiry) before submitting your retirement visa application at an immigration office.

The immigration bureau web site posted earlier by ubonjoe clearly contradicts that by saying:
 

1. 1.1 Form TM.86 for the foreigner, who has Tourist and Transit Visa and applies for Visa Status Alteration and applies for non-immigrant visa; or
   1.2 Form TM.87 for the foreigner, who enters into Thailand without visa, but is allowed to stay in Thailand with a permit of stay for a period of 15 day, 30 days, 90 days and applies for non-immigrant visa.

I guess they mean "tourist OR transit visa".

13 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Did you notice that is on the immigration website.  Embassies and consulates do not ask for it.

 

I did notice that but didn't think it was possible to get a visa while IN Thailand (isn't a visa a document that gives you permission to enter a country?)  SO I thought they were giving information on how to first obtain the non-imm-o while abroad.

13 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Also you might want to check with the embassy or the consulate in Vietnam. I have seen no reports of them issuing a non-o visa for being 50 or over for retirement.

Yikes I hadn't thought of that.  It looks like they do, but only for Vietnamese citizens:

So if I made the mistake of going to Viet nam, I'd need to come back into Thailand on a 30-day visa-exempt entry and go to immigration for the conversion to retirement.  This puts me back into the situation of having to prove that I wired sufficient money into Thailand back in 2011.  I guess I should get that letter from Kasikorn in case I ever need it.

Are you aware of any bordering countries that will issue the non-o for retirement?  I thought there used to be a pinned thread about this but I don't see it.

This is the part that confuses me:

DOCUMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED IN SUPPORT OF THE APPLICATION FOR VISA

Doesn't "application for visa" describe what I would be doing in Viet nam if I needed a new non-imm-o to get back into Thailand?

I see. Thanks again.

Incidentally, I just looked at my Kasikorn bank register and it goes back only to 2015.  The first entry is B/F, which I assume is "balance forward" from an older register.  It's that older register where my very first overseas transfer would have been recorded.  I no longer have that older register but hopefully Kasikorn would still have the record and be able to issue a letter confirming the overseas transfer I made back in December 2011, in case immigration ever asked to see it.

Thanks.  Then what is the requirement to prove origin of funds?  When does it come into play?  I don't remember having to do that when I got my first retirement extension (I think I did a conversion from a B extension).

This is a snapshot from Siam Legal:

"...a bank letter stating that the money had been deposited to the account from an overseas source for not less than two months."

What are they referring to?

In another discussion, the question of proving your bank balance came from abroad was raised:

On 2/24/2018 at 8:50 AM, ubonjoe said:

On 2/24/2018 at 6:48 AM, bud7 said:

Does the deposit have to come from abroad, or can I accumulate it while on my Business Visa here in Thailand?

 

You don't need to show proof it came for abroad to apply for an extension of stay. It is only required if applying  for a non immigrant visa at immigration. But if you have proof that it was legally earned here in the country that would be accepted.

If I am already on retirement extensions in Thailand, and travel to a nearby country and (for whatever reason) need to get a new non-immigrant visa to get back into Thailand, would they still require this?  In the above quote, ubonjoe says this is "only required if applying  for a non immigrant visa at immigration."  Does that mean it does NOT apply to me applying for a new non-immigrant visa in Viet nam?

I've been here since November 2011 (came during the great flood) and have four back-to-back retirement extensions in my passport, so my 800K has already been here for a long time.  Suppose I went to Viet Nam and forgot to get my re-entry permit as I left Thailand.  Oops, my retirement extension is canceled!  No problem, I just get a new non-immigrant visa at the Thai embassy in Saigon and start all over again. How could I prove to them that all my funds (which I have had for almost the entire 8 years I've been here) originally came from the USA?

10 minutes ago, MJKT2014 said:

I have moved back and forth with CW as one of my retirement ext IOs. I just mail in my address change with a SAE and get it back about 8 days later in post.

I knew you could do the 90-day report by mail, but didn't know an address change could be done that way too.  

Oh right, I think my next 90 day report is in mid-April.  I guess I'll do the address change and the 90 day report at the same time, then I'll be all set for the extension renewal in May.

Besides, how would then even know?  I could go into CW and tell them I just moved from Roi Et back to Bangkok a few days ago and now I'm doing my address change.

By the way, glancing at some other discussions about address change, I'm not totally clear on which form to use.  Is it TM28 or TM30?

My family's main residence is in Bangkok, but my last two retirement extensions were done in Roi Et because my family moves around Thailand a lot and it just so happened that in 2017 & 2018 we were in Roi Et when it came time to renew my extension, so that's where I did it.  

I had anticipated we'd be traveling to the same place again this year, but a few weeks ago I sprained my lower back (might have a herniated disc, too) and I'm not too excited about the prospect of traveling on Thailand's bumpy roads with lower back pain, so I think I'll stay in Bangkok this year while most of the family goes back to Roi Et.

That means I'll be doing my extension in Chaengwathana this year.  I have seen in other discussions where you're supposed to do an address change when you move from one immigration district to another.  Should I rush to CW and do it ASAP or can I just wait until May when my renewal is due, and do both the address change and extension at the same time?

2 hours ago, Redmond said:

It's a deposit account (I call it that because I have been making annual deposits into it for five years) that gives me medical insurance and life insurance benefits as long as I deposit a certain amount of money into it each year.  It also pays me an annual dividend based on my balance.  I could cash it in at any time and get the money, but then I'd lose the medical coverage.

Is this what you have?  Life Insurance: Whole Life 99/5

I don't think it's a fixed deposit account, although it seems to function like one in that you make regular deposits, get a return on your balance, have a maturity date, etc. I don't know if immigration will accept this as a fixed deposit account.  This is probably one of those things where you won't know if it'll be accepted until you try.

[edit] and if you don't have a reliable plan B, I wouldn't risk trying.

6 minutes ago, roobaa01 said:

the amounts out of jomtien as of yesterday 18k, 23k plus 500 baht after 90 days.

 

 

Meaning a total of 41,500?  Why split it up into three amounts?

On 2/23/2019 at 5:26 PM, ghworker2010 said:

We are sorry, but the item you selected may not be purchased due to seller shipping restrictions or due to country-specific import/export or other relevant restrictions

In 7-8 years here, with my buying from eBay several times a month on average, I have seen this message only once when I wanted to buy a live-action anime movie.  It was made in Japan but for some reason, warehoused and shipped from Malaysia.  I contacted the seller and he said he has no country-specific shipping restrictions and has sold his DVDs to people in Thailand many times before.

*shrug* I gave up trying to figure it out.

I just want to add that boils are awful.  I had never had one before, but since I've been in Thailand I get two or three a year.  I don't know if it's the heat or excessive sweating or what.  I know it's just common staph bacteria that always present on the skin, but don't know how it's getting under my skin so often.

Anyway there is no cream that will draw-out pus.  Boils and cysts need to be lanced and drained manually if you don't want to wait for your immune system (often assisted by amoxicillin) to do the job.   Some clinics have a suction device that's similar to this home version, which I have and works reasonably well provided you can get a good seal around the area to be drained:

I got it on eBay for around $10, I think.

22 minutes ago, Gecko123 said:

I currently have a receipt showing that the housemaster has reported my residence where I live, so for the time being I am reasonably confident that I am in compliance with the TM-30 regulation.

Isn't the onus entirely on the head of household to do the reporting?  If they fail to do it, it's on them.  I don't even know if my Father in law has done this.

That's way too much.  Usually just one grain is enough.  I first learned to do this in Vietnam on some postage stamps that had no adhesive on them.