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bprhodes

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    Transferwise international transfers heads up

    in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits

    Posted

    I received this from TW today....I have enough for one more 65,000K transfer this month, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this works...

     

    Thank you for contacting us. 

    I was able to look into your request, in fact we have had few contacts about this situation. We have a solution for it and I was able to add a special tag on your THB account. This tag will allow your payments to your THB account to be routed with one of partner's whose deposit will show as an international transfer. 

    I would like to add that this does not 100% guarantee that all your payments to THB will be sent with that same partner. Due to our automated system, it could happen that we use a different partner to send the funds if there are some issues with the other partner. In case this happens and your transfer shows as domestic then you will be able to request a form from our partner and provide it to the Thai police in order to recognize it as a foreign transfer. 

    Should you have any questions, please let us know. We are always here and happy to help!

    Best regards, 

    Alioune

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    Transferwise.. No Guarantee

    in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits

    Posted

    Yes we can.  The issues with coding are a direct result of TW changing the way they do the transfers.  They have admitted that they changed things this month and that they are aware of the issues that these changes could cause.  There only answer was that they want to make transfers "easier and cheaper".  I am very sure that the changes benefited TW and not us.

     

    This is a business decision on their part. Transfers to retirees are most likely a minuscule part of their global revenue. Do you really expect them to stick to a less efficient model just to help us out? We can vote with our feet, but unfortunately, there aren’t any better places to run to.

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    Transferwise.. No Guarantee

    in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits

    Posted

    My 2 baht worth: We can not vilify Transferwise. Their business model depends on consolidating transfers using accounts they have at partner banks and then distributing the funds via local transfers. Looking at Xoom and OFX websites it looks like they operate in a similar fashion.

    The solution will have to come from Thai immigration. My renewal is in March. I will apply 45 days in advance with all the paperwork I can reasonably muster, and I will be prepared to patiently explain the situation. I will have time then to obtain any additional paperwork they require and/or escalate the issue up the ladder.

    I have no other option really. My credit union in the US requires my presence at a branch to do a wire transfer. Transferwise is still my best (and nearly only) option. 800k in the bank for me is impossible.

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    Report: Extension of Stay at CM Immigration

    in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits

    Posted

    OP is exaggerating significantly. My retirement extension ( I am British) was renewed yesteray at Chiang Mai in 30 minutes. All I needed was the British Embassy letter, Letter from my Pension Provider confirming my annual income, and certification of my residence in Chiang Mai.
     
    No bank statements, spreadsheets, or any of that guff!
     
    My only concern now going forward is can I bring "210,000" for three months, or do I need to bring "70,000" every single month. Nobody seems to KNOW the answer on this. Everyone has a view, but based on guesstimates not practical fact!

    My IO said the total of transfers has to be 800,000 for the year. Not 65,000 every month. YMMV
    • Like 1

    Report: Extension of Stay at CM Immigration

    in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits

    Posted

     
    Can you expand on this? This was a statement you requested from Bangkok Bank? How long did it take to get? Is it signed/stamped? Did you do the highlighting?
     
    Did the monthly transfers exactly match the sum of your SocSec/CalPERS net or gross disbursements? (My guess would be no, hence providing these without prompting may be unnecessary?)
     
     

    It was an official statement with stamp and signature on each page. I requested it at my branch, it took 1 week and cost 200 baht.
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    Report: Extension of Stay at CM Immigration

    in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits

    Posted

    Last Thursday I successfully completed my 1 year extension at CM immigration using the income method.  I had an affidavit from the US consulate, but I prepared my paperwork as if I did not.

     

    1. I had a bank statement for the last 15 months from BKK Bank, with all foreign deposits highlighted.  

    2. I prepared a summary spread sheet summarizing my monthly deposits from USA.  I had 2 months with less than 65,000 baht, but my average was well over that amount.  The IO said that didn't matter as long as the total for the year was more than 800,000 baht.  Mine was comfortably above that.

    3. I had the last 2 pages of my bankbook copied that showed transaction that came after the statement was printed.

    4. I had a letter from US Social Security showing my monthly allotment (printed from their website)

    5. I had a letter from my California Pension showing my monthly amount (printed from their website)

    6.  Had my affidavit (IO hardly looked at it - she was more interested in the bank statement).

     

    I did not have my tax return printed, but will next year.

     

    The IO complemented me on my organized paperwork.  She went through my bank statement and underlined all the deposits, but unless she was a math savant, she did not do any addition - she apparently accepted my spreadsheet totals.  She organized all my paperwork together, including SS and pension letters, she appeared to recognize these straight away for what they were, perhaps because of the training from the US consulate?

     

    The IO was businesslike and friendly - everything done in 20 min (although I did wait a long time for my Q number to get called - in at 9:15, called at about 12:45, out by 2:45 after getting re-entry permit). 

     

    My experience was similar to every trip to the CM IO - businesslike but always friendly.  From my viewpoint, CM IO has an undeserved bad reputation.

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    Too many black/brown outs

    in Chiang Mai

    Posted

    Since moving north of CM (not far from City Hall and Baan Tau) my neighborhood has had too frequent black outs (well actually most are brown outs, I'm getting 40 volts now).  With the daily rains, they are now almost a daily occurrence and last from a few minutes to 2-3 hours or more.  Anyone else experiencing this?  What to do?  I'm thinking about getting a back up generator, tired of having everything in my freezer thawing out on a weekly basis.  It is getting so that I can't keep any frozen foods here.  How much would a back up generator cost for a 3- bed 4 AC house? 

     

    Need an engraved plaque

    in Chiang Mai

    Posted · Edited by bprhodes
    mispelling

    Anyone know where to go to order an engraved plaque?  Can be either metal or stone.  Its for a dedication to be placed on the outside of a building.  Something similar to these photos.  Thanks!

    20160727__28RHACornerstonew~1.jpg

    images.jpg

    Iolani_Palace_centennial_cornerstone.jpg

    Can I do TM-30 myself?

    in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits

    Posted

    I am currently renting a house from the wife of a deceased friend.  She has moved back to her village in Esarn and my only contact with her is via text messaging in Thai (I do read/write thai).  She lives far from any immigration office, and has zero IT skills (no computer or smart phone).  I am quite sure that she has never reported that she has a farang living in her house.  My permission-to-stay renewal is coming up next month, and I would like to be up-to-date regarding TM-30 issues.  Can I report myself to immigration?  Can I do this online?  What is my best option?  Getting her to do anything is probably not an option.  In case it matters, I live in Chiang Mai.

    more banned web sites now in CM

    in Chiang Mai

    Posted

    22 minutes ago, cmsally said:

    same website ?  chicagotribune.com

     

    clicked on various bits and back to homepage - no problem

     

    Seems that their method of blocking varies from ISP to ISP.  I tried this too.  I can read all the sports but going back to front page gets me the banned message.

    more banned web sites now in CM

    in Chiang Mai

    Posted

    1 hour ago, scottiejohn said:

    Just use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) and tell it you are in the country that you want to watch/read the content from. If you want to read the Daily Mail (I suppose some people do) just tell the VPN you are in the UK.

     

    No, this did not work for me using the Hola VPN.  Still get same message.

     

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