BritTim

You should have no problems. It seems all your planned entries into Thailand will be by air and (as you say) you are clearly a short stay tourist. With travel plans like yours, the only concern would be if you wanted more than two entries through land crossings.

1 hour ago, timoti said:

It's also mentioned here by someone else. It's from thai visa center. I thought that place was advertised here a lot.

 

 

That thread was highly confusing. On the face of it, he received a one-year extension of his permission to stay from a visa exempt entry without the previous necessary Non Immigrant visa. That would be out and out illegal, not just dubious.

1 minute ago, DrJack54 said:

Has he even looked at requirements to set up a company.

Rhetorical question.

No such animal that you describe. 

Scam 

Such a scheme would be possible but, as I posted earlier, dubious. They make you a director of a Thai company and provide the documentation for a multiple entry Non B visa as a director of the company. If the scheme gains traction, a crackdown is likely.

Just now, timoti said:

I was quoted 110K for the first year because of the initial things that needs to be done.

There are also ongoing costs. In the past, a Thailand Elite visa worked out cheaper. With recent changes, Thailand Elite is a less attractive option than before.

1 minute ago, timoti said:

That makes sense. Another friend said he set up an actual company by a lawyer so I guess that's more legit compared to this one.

That is definitely more legit, but also a lot more expensive if actually paying the required four Thai staff. It is never a good solution unless you want to actually run a business here.

23 minutes ago, Liquorice said:

The main two requisitions I find banks want these days are a personal reference and to confirm your address, either a Yellow Tabien Baan or a residence certificate issued by Immigration. The days of accepting a landlords TB and ID card now seem defunct.

Those definitely help. They do not make or break an application. I have this year opened an account without either. It is hard.

58 minutes ago, Middle Aged Grouch said:

Amazon also had issues a few days ago with their double authentification OTP sms that was down.

 

Looks that there is a load of issues or problem either technical with all the recent updates due to eventual cyber attacks ?

 

Gets scary to use an Android phone as they sometimes seem to need almost daily updates on the apps.

 

iPhones seem the most secure...for the moment.

 

Of course you will always have the nerd comming over, not minding his business and claiming it's not true, that iPhones are bad and ugly and bla bla...but seeing how many updates are needed on an Android, I prefer by far my iPhone that seems to have better protection agains all the cyber criminal scum.

That is one point of view. The other is that apps that are promptly updated to address security issues are lower risk than those where security updates only occur months after an exploit is reported. The fact is that all online systems are potentially vulnerable. Apple has tighter controls which (from a security viewpoint) lowers risk. Android is more transparent and addresses critical issues faster once reported.

5 hours ago, Nedrapter said:

So reading all this about the banks has lead me to new confusion (and I thought I finally had things sorted out)... Reading the requirements for a foreigner to open a bank account in Thailand, I found these in multiple sites:
 

• Your visa or a work permit. (assuming a METV works, this is fine?)
• Your passport. (that's fine)
• Proof that you’re living here in Thailand, such as a lease or rental agreement. (that should be fine too)
• A letter from your employer confirming your name and title, and that you are currently employed in Thailand. (that seems impossible as I will not be employed in Thailand...)
• A reference from the bank account you have in your home country, or embassy. (is this easily obtainable? I'm not aware?)

 

So if the marriage visa ultimately needs a bank account 2 months prior (at least) but I'm not able to work in Thailand prior to getting the marriage visa... how does this work?

Opening a bank account these days is tricky. Most banks will (at least initially) tell you you can only open a bank account if you have a work permit. The requirements, in fact, are not cast in stone. Using an agent is simplest. If you want to do it yourself, be well groomed, explain that you need the account to deposit a large sum of money for immigration purposes, and will be maintaining a large balance. Then, sweeten the deal by stating that you will buy bank accident insurance (about a 3,000 to 5,000 baht premium) if they will open the account. The insurance is not completely worthless. (The bank employees get a small commission for selling insurance.) This will not always be sufficient, but will sometimes work.

8 hours ago, camko said:

I'm planning to go to Japan from the US before heading to Thailand. Would there be an issue if my flight on the visa application was from Japan instead of my home country? Or would it be better to apply instead while in Japan to the local embassy?

Do not think of trying that (unless you have a Japanese residence permit). The Thai embassy in Tokyo does not accept applications from foreigners.

11 hours ago, Skipalongcassidy said:

Actually, you have read more into what I posted than what was actually posted... you painted my statement with a broad brush rather than understanding that my comment was not about "everyone" but limited to those who, and there are many, who abuse the system.

You specifically identified those applying for multiple entry visas in Savannakhet as an example of abusers of the system, and (by implication) accused consular officials at the Savannakhet consulate as guilty of corruption without any evidence.

9 hours ago, Liquorice said:

You can apply for the Non Imm O single entry and the same for your wife from London.

https://london.thaiembassy.org/en/page/retirement-visa

The problem is that an application for a Non O (dependant) visa will be rejected unless the spouse already has a long term extension of stay or a Non O-A (long stay) visa. It is a bit of a catch 22 situation.

A nonsense post in all caps has been removed

I had the same problem trying to use a card to pay for my UK passport renewal. Bangkok Bank swore blind that there was no record of any attempted transaction. The charge was denied four times, once when I was actually on the phone with the HMPO (His Majesty's Passport Office). In the end, as transferring the money directly to the British Home Office account from my Thai bank account proved almost impossible (they would only transfer money to personal accounts) I had my brother pay HMPO and transferred money to him to cover it. Very irritating.

5 minutes ago, briley said:

I'm following the same route. 

 

My wife was my dependent on my retirement visa. To do the same again I am told that we must get a visa before entering Thailand. This visa can (maybe) have my wife as dependant but it seems this visa will be a non-OA and will need medical insurance. Difficult at my age.

 

Doing a visa conversion from a visa free entry, or a tourist visa, in country and you can not have your wife as a dependent. You have to get a retirement visa each, I.e. you both have the 800,000 baht in the bank on the day of applying for a conversion to a non-O visa. And your wife must transfer the money from her account to her sole account in Thailand . No joint accounts. 

 

I'm ok for myself as I have the 800K in my account. Appears my wife will have to transfer to her account in Thailand, luckily we had opened such an account before covid.

 

I might be wrong but I have been following things for the last year.

 

One thing has changed. If you enter on a visa free 30 day entry and you must get to immigration with 21 days remaining that is a rush. But immigration will give you a 30 day extension on your visa free entry, so you have 38 days to sort things things out and still apply with 21 days left on your stay.

A possible alternative:

1. You, one way or another, get a Non O visa based on retirement, while your wife is initially here as a tourist.
2. You get a one-year extension of stay based on retirement.
3. You both travel to Savannakhet and, based on your one-year permission to stay, get a Non O (dependant) visa for your wife.
4. You and your wife are all set to apply for extensions in Thailand.

If the money for separate Non O (retirement) visas is inconsequential for you, that is obviously less complicated. To simplify the situation when one of you passes away, you could discuss matters with your local immigration office to see if they will allow you to both apply using the same (joint) bank account with 1,600,000 baht in it. Some offices do allow that.

10 hours ago, whaleboneman said:

With income letter, I believe there are no requirements for transfers.

That varies between immigration offices. Some offices can hassle you for all kinds of documentation showing how you support yourself in Thailand.

9 hours ago, Phillip9 said:

I don't think the income method is available to US citizens.

While US citizens cannot get an income letter, extensions of stay based on retirement are possible with regular monthly transfers to your Thai bank account of 65k+ baht. If you want the initial Non O visa as a US national without depositing 800k baht in a Thai bank account, it is best to get the initial Non O visa in home country.

9 hours ago, Middle Aged Grouch said:

Then you have been scammed.

If that is what the rental agreement specifies, it is all perfectly legal. Fwiiw, it is the most common kind of long term rental agreement in Thailand.

2 hours ago, MangoKorat said:

Thanks for that, when did London start issuing Multis again?  They refused me in February 2020. Just out of interest really as I'm divorced now.

 

Also, prior to E Visa, although the info on their site stated they required financial evidence, they didn't actually require it. I'm guessing its a requirement of the E Visa system?

London has been known to offer multiple Non O visas to visit your Thai spouse and also multiple entry Non O as pensioner visas this year. Dealing with the London embassy is a bit of a lottery. I think it depends on the official who gets to process your application whether it goes smoothly. I am pretty sure they will require financial proof, though that is up to the individual embassy.

2 minutes ago, TravelerEastWest said:

Good thinking and what if I didn't send it but my mother gifted the tuition to my kids?

Creative thinking can greatly reduce your tax liabilities. Many years ago, when I had a regular job with IBM, a friendly tax official in the UK advised me on various deductions I could legally claim. One example was for conservative business attire which was a requirement at the time when working for IBM.

3 hours ago, K2938 said:

While making detection a little more difficult, this is highly unlikely to be a legal way around the remittance taxation.  However, as there currently is no detailed guidance from the Thai Revenue Department nobody really knows

I am not an expert but, especially if the transfer was done when not in Thailand, it might be legal tax avoidance. Presumably, they would not demand income tax on all funds used to purchase Thai products and services while outside Thailand.

4 hours ago, Skipalongcassidy said:

What are you smoking... you must have a guilty conscious... I am only "accusing" those who game the system as being the reason that IO's are making it more and more difficult for the rest of us who follow the rules... if you walk like a duck, and quack like a duck... my guess is that you are a duck. 

You have stated that those applying for multiple entry Non O visas in Savannakhet are "gaming the system" and availing themselves of the "continuing corruption" at the Savannakhet consulate. You appear to do this based on the illogical view that people should only apply for visas at locations that impose the most onerous requirements, and that consulates that are friendlier to applicants are somehow corrupt because they do not exhibit the requisite level of xenophobia. If you have any proof of your "corruption" claims, let's hear them.

5 minutes ago, Sigmund said:

Never seen a country that harasses foreigners as much.

The bureaucracy here is annoying, but Thailand is nowhere near at xenophobic as many other countries.