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On 1/31/2019 at 10:48 PM, Khaeng Mak said:

You obviously haven't read the latest:

 

 

You are obviously a born worrier The new regs dont start until March and as far as I can see will only be checked when you go to renew your extension. Not 3 monthly or with the 90 day reports as some have suggested. Enjoy your time here and stop worrying.

2 hours ago, Bears said:

Thanks for the reply, I really appreciate it. Where or how do I PM you? I'm new to thaivisa. Can I give you an email or number here?

Click on the members name and you will see an envelope which is the PM (personal message) option. As I said on the other thread you need an agent.

22 minutes ago, Bears said:

No, I can not. I have no relevant proof of income which I declared on the affidavit.

So you have been lying to get your extension. I am sorry but I have no sympathy for you. Better get ready to use an agent.

2 hours ago, Tanoshi said:

We may be taking the wording 'transfer from overseas' to literally.

 

A friend who renewed his extension based on marriage this month with no Embassy letter, just a letter and 12 months bank statements from Kasikorn, was obviously concerned about the coding.

Immigration stated they were only checking the min monthly deposits met the requirements and not really concerned with the coding. If your obviously not working in Thailand, then the funds must have come from an overseas source.

His pensions have always been paid directly into his Thai bank account.

Just goes to show what I have said before. 65k in and out every month will work. Forget about expensive transfers of 65k internationally and worrying about the coding. You wait and see. They will not want to get into details about this. Bank letter and 65k deposited from anywhere each month will work. Watch this space.

2 hours ago, cracker1 said:

I have had OA Retirement Visa's for 15 years and I get them in my country annually from Thai Embassy. I present a letter from my bank attesting to the required level of income over the previous three months, and this has always been accepted.

If "graemeaylward" is making annual visits home then perhaps he could do as I do ?

I agree with you and be moving to an OA visa in 2020. Puzzled why you get a new visa annually. If you use it right you can get 2 years out of the the visa by entering Thailand just before the expiry date and getting a re entry permit.

11 minutes ago, JLCrab said:

The current Police Order does not contain the words "Evidence of Pension" although it is in the support document thing. They could have left those words completely out of the new regs if what you seriously believe is true. Who knows at this point. The fact that you suggest 2 Thai bank accounts means that people like you think there is a need to obfuscate what you are actually doing.

 

Good for you.

I am not actually going to do that, just suggesting it might be a way forward for some. Personally moving 65k monthly in my Thai bank account from the UK monthly is a no no for me as I only stay here 7 months a year. I bring over cash with me and use my no fee Halifax Clarity Credit Card for most purchases. This April I will use my British embassy letter, based on my company pension. From April 2020 I plan to get a Non OA visa from London that will last up to 2 years. As I am in the UK for 4 - 5 months this should be easy to plan. 

14 minutes ago, JLCrab said:

Someone from the (Thai I presume) government has told you that?

You seem to have yourself sorted out and I respect that. However there are loads of posts from people saying that TI will want this or want that. I seriously believe most officers are not going to care or be capable of looking in depth to where your money comes from. I believe that all they want is a simple letter from the bank backed up by a copy of the bank book that 65k comes into your account each month. Forget about stupid codes like FTT etc. If you pay in 65k each month thats all they will want to see. Have 2 Thai bank accounts with different banks and transfer it back and forwards. I may be totally wrong but I think TI are not capable of doing much else.

To the OP whilst I can sympathise with you for not having an income to enable you to be flexible with your money, I do believe that you are worrying to much. You say you are trapped here but also that you go back to the UK. As suggested whilst in the UK either use your pension to get a Non O from the UK and pop out of the country every 90 days, not that expensive if you travel cheap. Or get a Non OA from the UK using your financial proof, police clearence and medical form signed off by a doctor. If you use this visa right it can last for up to 2 years. If you plan there are ways around this, you certainly are not trapped.

1 hour ago, Jorgendk said:

A bit off topic, as it is about marriage extension.

 

My wife was told by the emigration, that if I wanted to use the income method, I would need 40.000 a month transferred to my bank account for 12 month before the extension.

 

They do not care where it comes from, and some of it can be transferred from my pension from oversees, and the rest can come from her income. (Transferred from her Thai bank account.)

 

As long as 40.000 went into my Thai bank account, they would be happy.
We could of cause use of it for living, as that is the main purpose for it.

 

I think you may have got incorrect information. Tell your wife to try asking Immigration next time.

2 hours ago, Kerryd said:

 

I agree.

Couple years ago, a friend back in Canada posted a pic of a head of cauliflower she'd bought in Canada - cost her $8.00 (about 230 baht at the time).

I went to the local market and bought some vegetables. Potatoes, onions, tomatoes, garlic, red chilies, green beans and straw mushrooms. Enough to last me a week.

 

Cost me 180 baht for the lot. (Yes, I laid it all out on the counter, took a pic and posted it on her Facebook page.)

 

Few years ago I had a root canal and a filing done at a Thai dentist on South Pattaya road. Cost me the equivalent of about $90 Canadian. I was told that the same thing in Canada would have cost around $1,800 Canadian.

 

Took a trip back home one summer. Stopped at a "big box" supermarket to get some food for the weekend. Nothing fancy, some hamburgers, hotdogs, buns, condiments (small relish/ketchup/mustard) butter, bacon, eggs, bread.

Just enough to last me from Friday evening until Sunday afternoon. Walked out with one bag of groceries - almost $300 Canadian (nearly 9,000 baht at the time) !

 

Just came back from my weekly shopping trip to Tops. Veggies, some chicken, pork and beef. Yogurts, cheese, eggs, bread. Very little junk food, no sodas or alcohol. 

Cost me just over 2,000 baht (about $75 Canadian). Got enough to last me a week.

Had an electrician come to the house one time to replace a wonky circuit breaker. Ended up replacing 2 of them. Took about an hour total (including going to get the new circuit breakers. Cost 500 baht total (about $20 Canadian). You wouldn't even get an electrician to your door for that much in Canada.

 

Some things are frikken expensive though but I've found that it's usually the "imported" stuff that is the priciest. Like the imported cherries, blackberries and strawberries at Foodland. Or the imported cheeses and other "farang" foods.

Which is really NO different than "back home" when you go to buy stuff like imported Japanese oranges or Thai coconuts or French cheese. Those things are usually more expensive than the "local" stuff back home, just like imported items here tend to be.

And for the record, for anyone who has actually researched the matter (like I've done) - Thailand is considerably cheaper to live in than Canada. There are a number of websites out there that track all manner of "cost of living" factors and produce stats on which countries are cheaper to live in and, consistently, Thailand ranks well above Canada in almost every category (and on every site) when it comes to which place is cheaper to live in.

You think its cheap and you are shopping at Tops which is expensive. Yes agree imported Strawbwlerries very expensive 250 baht small box. I have been buying them out of the back of a truck in Pattaya. 80 - 120 baht a kilo.

3 hours ago, thaiguzzi said:

If you live here, especially away from the bright lights, and tourist zones, there is a helluva life to live.

Perhaps you can share with us where this place is?

4 hours ago, moutamine said:

Khlong Toei's wet market is pretty disgusting. My wife went twice but just can't anymore because of the smell.  From now on, it's Villa Market even though it's 3-5 times more expansive.  Our health is worth it.

No wonder you think its expensive (or as you said expansive) over here. Today I went for the first time to the new Villa Market in Pattaya. Although I was impressed with the range of imported goods on sale, the prices were absolutely ridiculous. There were 10 times more service people then customers. You can get exactly the same products in Big C, Tesco Lotus and Macro. For fresh meat meat the many markets offer great value and the meat is actually much fresher than any of the big supermarkets. 

2 minutes ago, Spidey said:

Wanted it on my laptop. Struggled so completed signup on Android tablet. No problem and can now access on laptop. Strange that I was asked for a copy of my passport when signing up on laptop. Not asked for passport or any ID when completing signup on Android.  Exchange rate looks good. Will use in anger next month.

Nice one thats pretty much how I remembered it.

@7by7 and @theoldgit. Gentlemen thank you both for your comments. It has definately given me something to think about. I had a feeling they had to have information regarding exits from somewhere. What you have said makes sense. Whether they would actually use this information or even care to look, would be interesting to find out.

The reason why I have been thinking of going this route is because although my wife has been successful in getting the family visit visa and staying with me in the UK for 5 months in every 12 months, I dont know if one day they might turn her down. So far on our visits the IO at Heathrow has just asked a couple of quick questions and in we go. Also in the future, I am 62 now, one never knows how things will be healthwise, I may have to stay in the UK for an extended period. It would be a nightmare if my wife had to leave the country due to her visa restrictions. I will keep what you have said in mind and make a decision at some point. Thanks again.

27 minutes ago, Kadilo said:

Really. I did it on the app. Took minutes. I’m not sure what the rules are re limits but I’ve never shown them my passport etc and send 65,000/month no problem from my UK.bank. 

Edit. Just looked back. I sent them a photo of my passport page. 

I signed up with TW a couple if years ago via the app, I cant remember it being that onerous. Easy to send money, once transaction carried out on the app, payment to TW is done via faster payments direct from my UK bank account. Always arrives pretty quickly in my Bangkok Bank account.

1 hour ago, Spidey said:

Made my first SWIFT transfer from my UK account to my Bangkok Bank account last week. Took exactly 3 days to reach my account, shows as "International Transfer" on my online statement. Charged £9.50 by my UK bank and possibly 200 baht by Bangkok Bank (not certain).

 

Biggest downside was that I asked for the money to be sent in Baht and got a rate of 39.6 Baht/GBP.

 

I had withdrawn the same amount using my UK CC 4 weeks earlier and got a rate of 41.2. No bank charges at either end.

 

Easy enough to do, less convenient and noticeably more expensive.

 

Big question is: Do I get the best rate sending the money in GBP or THB, and how can I check the respective rates before making a transfer?

Spidey, if you do transfers always always send money in GBP. It gets converted in Thailand normally at the TT rate. If you send in baht it gets converted at a poor rate of exchange in the UK.

I am thinking of applying for a settlement visa for my Thai wife over the next couple of years. 

Firstly a bit of background. We currently spend about 7 months in Thailand and 5 in the UK. My wife has had 3 general 1 year visas granted and is currently halfway through a 5 year family visit visa. Whilst this works well for us, I want to explore options as I am not getting any younger. Now I know the rules and requirements in obtaining a settlement visa, but if we continue with our current rotation of 7 months in Thailand and 5 in the UK, I am not sure if she would qualify as she is expected to live predominantly in the UK. The question I would like an opinion on is this. The UK does not have any exit border checks, if my wife was granted a settlement visa, how would immigration know how long she is actually staying in the UK. I know you get stamped in every time you come but they would have no way of knowing how long she will have been out of the country. 

I would be grateful for any constructive thoughts especially from @7by7 and @theoldgit Thanks.