cliveshep

My old passport only got it's corner chopped off when I went in to pick up the new one.

According to the BBC's online news site it's the American people who are paying for Trump's foray into international relations, with price increases due to tariffs being born pretty much exclusively by his own citizens. Countries exporting to the US remain relatively unaffected by his tariffs and can laugh them off. Any 5yr old could have predicted this but clearly the <derogatory nickname edited out> intellect is so stunted by ego that he failed to see the inevitable outcome. I'm now waiting expectantly for the equally inevitable push-back by the US electorate who were not feeling happy about the rising prices even before they foolishly allowed Trump back into office.

I also cannot see how it is legal although par for the course given the corruption levels we keep hearing about. But one thing it clearly is - it is blackmail. 'Either sign the form agreeing to the freeze or no letter!" So they are holding a person's immigration extension to ransom. As another poster says - if you got an emergency you cannot access your own money. Moreover - suppose I want to close the account and move that money to another bank - I assume they will point blank refuse.

I always thought you had to take out or pay in a small amount to show the account was 'live' but had to do it on the day. But you and others say I can get the letter a few days before the appointment? Still, I think I would like a different bank to BBL if I knew what banks there are there.

Seems like BBL are out on a possibly illegal limb with this stunt but that doesn't help those of us caught in their net of locked accounts. I got a question those using the Government Complex Immigration Offices at Chaeng Wattana and familiar with the facilities there. Apart from the odious and perhaps criminal Bangkok Bank, what other banks are downstairs at CW? My wife does not want me to close the BBL account because having BBL downstairs at CW makes it so easy to get the statements, update passbook, and get that required letter and frankly that convenience is important to us. I know Kasikorn sadly do not have a branch there. But I have lost all faith in BBL and I want to close that account but only if there is a safe alternative bank downstairs at CW. Google advise the other reasonable option - Siam Commercial Bank - have already pulled out from CW so can anyone advise on any other safe bank located there that I might open an account with to transfer my 400,000 into where I can use the money as before up to 2 months before extension day? I like Kasikorn and want to retain that account for day to day banking but keep the bigger money somewhere convenient for Immigration extension day yet retain the access for emergencies, something BBL now denies me. So what other banks are downstairs in CW please?

4 month freeze is not a deal breaker for my wife and I, but it does leave another who I, now mistakenly, promised to bail out of financial trouble once the extension was completed but they will still be in a hole. I feel bad about that on their behalf but I cannot realistically do it as promised as the money is locked up. As for taxation, not a red herring. Ok, I cannot change to the monthly transfer method so that would be irrelevant I agree. But the total amount I do transfer every month would put me into the Thai income tax bracket given I also support two others elsewhere. That is why I transfer individually to myself, my wife and two others every month direct from my UK bank so none of the individual totals are liable for tax at year end in Thailand. If I transferred the total to my bank and then disbursed it here I would certainly fall foul of the Thai taxman. My money is already taxed in the UK because of this crap new government we got there. I've done my sums properly. I agree - BBL is no longer ideal, and now I see why you guys seem to advise against them, but SWMBO (if you understand the acronym, not sure what country you hail from) meaning She Who Must Be Obeyed from Rumpole of the Bailey books has made her orders plain. We'll avoid a repeat of today by keeping the 400k in BBL and run with Kasikorn for all transfers and daily needs. They take seconds only whereas BBL takes hours if not days sometimes to show the money in my account. For visa extensions they are convenient as they can do the letter Immigration need and are downstairs in the Government Building below Immigration. There is no Kasikorn there, they are not close to us at home either.

Why am I typing nonsense Dr J? That is an unfair comment from someone whose opinions I have sought previously and respect.

This is, for better or worse - now my home. We managed this for 10 years, now we have a financial plan we've worked out we will carry on as indicated - using BB as little as possible, leaving the money alone where it is which is a shame because in past years once the visa was extended we had the use of that money for the next 9 or 10 months but clearly BB have cottoned on to that - we are not alone in wanting to use our own money outside of Immigration's requirements and they clearly want to prevent that by insisting the money must be in their bank for 4 months not the 2 months required by Immigration. There is it seems nothing we can do to circumvent this, sending over 40k a month to my account as an alternative would attract taxation here. Right now tax is paid in the UK on the total, the money is then transferred from there directly using WISE to myself and 2 other different recipients in Thailand I support and no individual total attracts taxation. No one is getting rich either but we all have food on the table and a roof over our heads.

If you got 800,000 to do a retirement extension lucky you, I have not and after 10 years of supporting all & sundry we are by the Grace of God still somehow managing the marriage extension although it has meant some belt tightening in the last months before renewal over the last 3 or 4 years.

Thanks, but I think we have calmed down and formulated our way forward that includes going home as home is irrevocably here and I have replied to the Thai Visa Centre explaining our future plans which do not include violence on BB much as I wish them a meteor strike at the very least!

Dr Jack - home is Khlong Sam Wa, no agent as stated, Not going to let BB freeze the account as talking with my wife I'll just pretty much abandon the BB account with just minimum movements and we'll manage using the Kasikorn account only. I'd love to burn the BB down but that is dreaming only, but if money is in the BB for the year then they have no need to freeze it. We'll just have to tighten our belts and so will the other family I also support. Hopefully PP manage to find a decent leader and win in February and force out the current lot of mongrels as I suspect things will improve then.

Office was Chang Wattana, sorry, intention was not to start 3 threads on same issue, Bkk Bank issue was one, Paranoia over Immigration is another. Paying for an agent is not a financially possible option. When one is on a small UK pension that under the new UK Labour Government is now taxed it is challenging to say the least given how the exchange rate has tanked. The English voting citizens are mostly too young to remember how the last Labour Government caused economic chaos when in office. Be that as it may the exchange rate has eaten away a pension already shrunk by rising costs so please understand how some of us struggle especially if like me they burnt their bridges to be with their wives when the then Home Secretary 10 years ago imposed draconian financial burdens on English spouses with foreign wives. My wife had to leave so I sold up and we left together and I have nothing to go back to now. That's our situation now.

My visa extension based on Thai Wife expires on January 16th 2026 so we trooped in today to apply for my 11th year extension. Normally they tell us (me) to come back on the day of expiry but this time I was told to come in on the 8th January. Well, I rolled in in a wheelchair, my wife trooped pushing me! I am 80 on Christmas Day (really) and as stated in another post my 400,000 has been locked up until next April by Bkk Bank. So if this is to give me a final week to pack and leave I got no money to do so. No reason to be scared really but compassion is not a thing with Immigration whereas paranoia at age 80 is my thing as I have no place to go after being here for over 10 years. I asked the Immigration lady if there was a problem or if everything was ok as I was worried that being told to come in a week early might be because they would refuse the extension and give me time to go. If they did my only option available would be to jump off a bridge. The lady told my wife (who translated being bloody clever) that things were ok, no problem. Everything was as before, ticked all their boxes as before, my wife handled everything as usual and made sure all their requirements were met but.............??? I know how like Bkk Bank they change the rules but don't tell anyone until one gets caught by the changes.

Do I HAVE to have a letter from my bank proving my 400,000? I ask because Bangkok Bank have locked my 400,000 baht until April after I paid 200 baht (a100% increase since March) for a letter for my Marriage Visa extension this morning. The money is already almost 3 months, well over the 2 month requirement. This pisses me off big time and if my bank book and online statements are sufficient then sod them in future. I use the CW (Chang Wattana) Immigration in the Government complex there.

My wife phoned Kasikorn Bank where I have an account as well, it seems they do not have the same requirement yet but expect to sometime next year.

Went into CW this morning to apply for my Visa extension based on marriage and in support of that, although money has been in my Bangkok Bank account just under 3 months and by the time I need to go back for the stamp will be well over 3 months there is no issue with immigration. However, it appears that by asking confirmation letter as usual from Bangkok Bank and paying not the usual fee as in previous years, (earlier this year in March the fee was only 100 baht but today it was 200 baht) they blithely informed me that my account would be locked until April to maintain the 400,000 baht balance. Indeed my on line app now shows only an available balance over the 400,000. They gave me some garbage story that this was in case I had borrowed the money and as soon as I got their letter I would pay it back although my account has been at or close to the 400,000 for over 10 years. It goes beyond saying I am very very angry at the injustice of this but the bank just smugly ignored my complaint, I either agreed or no letter and thanks for the 200 baht fee! So I was effectively held to ransom over my visa extension by the bank. Had I known this ahead of time I would not have got the letter just provided proof via bank books and photocopies showing the balance. Like others, during the year I often need to use that money as my safety net, always bringing the balance back to 'season' the money in time for the Immigration appointment. I want to close the account as I have a Kasikorn account as well, indeed I now use Kasikorn to receive my pension money because where Bangkok bank take their time, hours or days, Kasikorn transfers take seconds only from the UK via Wise. So I intend to see if Kasikorn have the same rules and if not I will close my Bangkok Bank account - always assuming they actually allow me to do that with their 4 month account lock of my 400,000. The poor sod at the next window was told they are locking his money for 6 months - where the hell do these people get off? So a heads up people - once your money is in the bank it seems it may no longer be yours, at least for a time. Meanwhile, do I have to get a bank letter or is it sufficient to show my bank book balance with photo-copies to satisfy CW Immigration?

I Just checked - no change and no comments apart from in the Opinion section.

When one opens Bangkok Post's main page on a pc there are loads of Thailand-related articles BUT suddenly the comments section on every article is blank - no one can comment. Looks like a selective censorship because in the sub-section News only the Opinion section now permits comments without which it would be pretty useless of course. As Bangkok Post seem to be tight-lipped on this does anyone know if this is a permanent "shut yer gob foreigner" action or one of those software failures we are all used to?

Ha - that's great. Thank you.

My go to program for pretty much everything is MS Publisher, great for text as well as images. Now the swine say they are stopping it. In fact the message that popped up recently when I opened it suggests that they'll actually delete it from my pc but I cannot see that being true. Even so it is a bit worrying, for over 20 years I have been using Publisher in it's various incarnations and upgrades and of course I purchased the software so no poisoned dwarf in MAGA's LaLa Land is going to take it away from me. Nevertheless the loss of upgrades is going to tell eventually. So - is there other software out there that will run .pub files properly and could take over from MS Pub if they kill it (silly sods!)

Exciting stuff perhaps if I knew what CIF meant! Whatever it is it makes no sense to pay tax twice by different countries on the same money..

A few years back I ordered a door gasket for my UK washing machine. Thai Customs demanded 100% import duty plus the thieving g**s also taxed the postage costs at 100%. I had to pay or lose my spare part. They are the ones that assess the value to charge duty on, they have no interest in proof of cost, take a wild guess and double it. Official corruption is government sanctioned and there seems no oversight. So a 1000 baht item should cost 1 baht and 1050 baht postage but the greedy s.o.b's will simply tax the postage like they did to me. I am below the tax threshold, simply because I send pension money from the UK via WISE individually to the family members I support, so no one gets close to the Thai taxable limit, it's all done before the money leaves my home country bank so no paper trail for scumbags to follow. It's already taxed in my home country anyway. The DTA is no help as Thailand has different and far higher tax rates on pensions than does the UK so it saves me real money by doing this and the aggregate WISE fees are very little more.

Why not? I'm puzzled by that and I heard the same elsewhere? I've used them for financial proof for Immigration for 10 years so please , what is the issue?

Over the last few months transferring money via Wise to my Bkk account from the UK is taking many hours when it used to be almost instant. Anyone shed any light on why this might be when transfers to Kasikorn bank are still almost instant? Wondering if opening an account with Kasikorn might make more sense than staying with Bangkok Bank who I've been with for 10 years now with no trouble. Or perhaps keeping the Bkk account, opening a Kasikorn account to receive Wise transfers then doing online transfers from that to Bkk bank which are instant still?

Just checked - my wife is wrong, debt is a civil and not a criminal matter! Anyone ever tried to change a Thai woman's mind if she insists she is right?