Liquorice

I'd like to explore the practical side of your suggestions, re marriage and living in the UK. In your opening post, you stated; You are aware that the current financial requirement for a family visitor visa is £29,000 per annum from spring of this year. It's a 5-year route to obtaining ILR (permanent residency). She has to pass the English language test to level A1 for the initial visa application, then level A2 and B1 and pass the Knowledge of Life in the UK test to obtain ILR. The £29,000 current requirement is set to rise to £34,500, then £38,700 (dates yet to be confirmed) It seems to me, if you can meet those financial requirements, why don't you have much in savings. Visitor visas for the UK are far easier to obtain than those for the US or Australia. From the details you've already supplied about your g/f circumstances, she would qualify.

A Condo is a private residence, not a hotel. The Immigration Act states it's the responsibility of the housemaster, owner or possessor of the residence. Section 4 defines a housemaster as any persons who is the chief possessor of a house, whether in the capacity of owner, tenant, or in any other capacity whatsoever. So that makes you just as responsible as the owner, which is why Immigration can fine the foreigner for non-compliance of filing a TM30. It's also why you don't have to be a Thai national to register to file a TM30.

Where do you intend obtaining this Non Imm O ME visa from?

Why?

Any local Amphoe should be able to issue a Yellow Tabien Baan, but some are less experienced than others. The Provincial Amphoe should be familiar with the procedure. You should first check the exact requirements with your local Amphoe office as requirements can vary throughout Provinces within Thailand. Most Amphoes at minimum will request an Embassy certified copy of your Passport, translated into Thai, then legalised by Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (Easier to do this when you land in Bangkok) You may need to pre-book appointments in advance, Passport photo for the application form. Wife Tabien Baan. Wife ID card. Certain Amphoes have also been known to request an Embassy certified copy of your birth certificate, which may also need translating and legalising by the MFA.

I suspect it depends if the child has the same surname and using the same nationality passport as the parent. I had 4 kids, single parent, never once asked where the Mother was.

I think the expectation by Immigration is that the balance on the letter, should match the balance on the statement/passbook. Whilst waiting for the statement to arrive, ensure you have enough cash on hand and don't have to make a withdrawal, then a mini statement shouldn't be required to explain the difference in the balances. They should then match.

They to are foreigners (aliens) as far as Thailand is concerned. Very few tourists actually take out any Insurance cover. Accidents happen to others, never to themselves. Then there is the situation where the hospital won't deal directly with foreign Insurers. This happened to me once. I had to settle the bill in cash, and the Insurer reimbursed me. I do wonder what happens if the patient can't afford to settle the bill in cash. The Thai government run a scheme known as the 'Health Insurance for Foreigners' which prior to 2014 many foreigners signed up for. You had, and paid for a full medical check, then an annual fee, the total cost being less than 3,000 BHT. You received a photo card similar to a driving licence, which you just presented to any government hospital. Around 2015, the hospitals discovered, due to some ambiguous wording, the scheme was specifically meant for Lao, Cambodian and Myanmar workers and not for all foreigners. Such a scheme for all long term foreigners would go a long way to solving unpaid hospital bills. I don't think many foreigners would object, in fact welcome such a scheme. Imaging the revenue if such a policy only cost 1,000 BHT a month. I discussed this at length at my hospital, and they are in total agreement. A proposal was put forward to the government, but nothing ever materialised from it.

Aware of that. The law provides an interim period for the foreigner to elect a Thai to be named on the Chanote, usually a family member, but I would further advise in these situations the foreigner should confide in a solicitor regarding a usufruct, superficies or right of habitation to protect his right to live in the house on the land.

A friend oof the wife who is a lawyer in Bangkok, supplied me with a copy of a very comprehensive draft Will, where you can fill in the blanks or omit sections not relevant to your situation. She also noted there should be two Thai witness that sign the Will, along with copies of their Tabien Baan and ID card. If anyone would like a copy of this draft Will, please send me a PM.

I had no interest in his estate and therefore did not need to file a petition. The Court and bank acknowledged me as the executor of the Will. In this case, the beneficiary of the Will was not an automatic heir, having no relation to the deceased, other than an unmarried partner. I agree a Court order is required for transfer of land, but as you are aware a foreigner cannot own land, so in the context where we discuss the foreigners' estate, that would include personal possessions, bank accounts and vehicles, but certainly not land. I'd agree in principle with that overview, each situation is different, however having been involved with the affairs of 3 foreigners who passed away, not a single case went to probate. This may be down to the fact written Wills were in place and no parties contested the Wills.

I recall whilst submitting an extension application on behalf of a disabled expat, even though I supplied a 12-month bank statement and an updated passbook, my IO insisted on a letter from Bangkok bank detailing the monthly transfers as you've listed. They gave me an example of the letter, but on returning to BKK the manager went into meltdown. He phoned Immigration and stated they'd supplied an annual statement, and it was their job to pick the 12 monthly transfers from it, not to be lazy and request the bank to do their job, as they were too busy and had better things to do. They never requested such a letter again. Jomtien is a real piece of work.

That depends on how many transactions you make over any given period. I rarely update my passbook, but when I do, I do it in branch, so all transactions are listed.

A UK P60 provided by Inland revenue details all pensions providers and tax deducted.

They can, but where there is a legal heir by law, they are unlikely to succeed, unless a Will names someone other than who would be entitled to it under Thailand's law of ascension. Like @JimGant I have a Savings and Fixed term account where my wife is added as a co-signature to both accounts. She also has a debit card for the Savings account. You are correct that a POA cease on the death of the donor. My wife is rightful heir to my estate under Thai law, but I also made a Will naming her as the beneficiary. According to the bank, on production of my Passport, Will and her ID, funds would be release to her without a Court order being required, because by law she is the rightful heir. There would be no repercussions if she withdrew funds from the Savings account to pay cremation expenses, as again she is the legal heir under the law. The bank even informed their advice to the spouse of a deceased Thai, is if you know their pin, withdraw any funds before you officially notify us of the death. It's different in the case of an unmarried partner, who would be committing fraud by withdrawing funds until the law establishes who is entitled to an estate.

By partner, I assume you are unmarried. In the case of a partner, firstly you should make a Will making them the beneficiary. A good friend was diagnosed with terminal cancer last year, living with an unmarried partner and wanted to leave all his assets to her, which included funds in his Thai savings account and 800K in a Fixed term account. I drafted a Will in English then had it translated to Thai, both were then signed by Thai witnesses, attaching copies of their Tabien Baan and ID cards. She was named as the beneficiary whilst I was named as the Executor. Sadly, he passed away in October last year. I advised his Embassy of his death and contact details for his family, who I'd already been in contact with. I knew his partner required a Court order to release funds in his bank account, so approached the Courts. They advised me a solicitor had to submit an application for a hearing. I approached a recommended solicitor, who advised his fee was 3,000 BHT. We had an appointment for a hearing within 2 weeks. At the hearing the judges, who had previously been supplied copies of the Will granted the order, but it's held for 30 days to allow anyone who wishes to contest the Will to do so, before being released to the solicitor. 30 days later they released the order, which his partner took to the bank, who then transferred funds from both his accounts to her account. The whole process took 6 weeks. **Statement removed by Moderation**. I may add, something I wasn't previously aware of, is that when a foreigner passes in Thailand a cremation cannot proceed without a letter from his Embassy authorising the Wat to carry out the cremation. The Embassy contact his next of kin to ensure they have no objections, before issuing the letter.

The Thai Inheritance laws don't.

And a simple clause in a Will can sort that out. This is Thailand. Under the laws of ascension in the event of death of a spouse, the surviving spouse is the automatic heir.

Absolutely spot on, Jim. You sign the bank's power of attorney to add your spouse as a co-signature. Only your name appears on the account for Immigration purposes. In our case, the wife does have an ATM card for the Savings account. If your wife is a co-signature and a Will is in place naming her as the beneficiary, it is maybe unorthodox, but not illegal, as under Thai law even without a Will your wife is the beneficiary. A spouse has never been prosecuted for withdrawing or transferring what is legally hers prior to notifying the bank of the death.

At my IO, no! Their interpretation is that by having 800K for 2 months prior, 3 months after, then 400K for 7 months (=12 months) that ends the requirement using funds. Other IO's may vary, so ask your local IO.

Your payments go through the Bank of Thailand using the Bahtnet system, coded BNT, which provides a better exchange rate and lower transfer costs than Wise. They should be recognised as an Internation transfers and BKK should be able to provide proof, or explain it to your IO. I suspect you update via an ATM, which can't automatically turn pages. In branch can update all transactions by turning pages. You'll need that as well. Immigration often requests proof the source of your income is from a pension.

I highly suspect that was a private hospital, Mike. I had a similar experience at a local private hospital, for a small surgical procedure, where they first asked if I had Insurance or a Thai bank account. I've always preferred to self Insure, but informed them I had a Thai bank account with sufficient funds. They then wanted to know how much in funds, at which point I walked away. I'm a volunteer at a local Government hospital, where it's a different story. No questions asked, they treat all in good faith, but foreigners do take advantage. Although not a tourist area, we do get a lot of foreign visitors, who due to falls, accidents, or minor surgery, require medical treatment and visit the local government hospital. Bills can vary from just a couple of thousand bahts to 25K, but quite a few don't have sufficient funds at hand, promising to return after a visit to an ATM. Many never return to settle their debt. By far the worst culprits are long term stayers, particularly those on long term visas, or extensions of stay based on retirement. Stroke, heart attack, road traffic accidents can leave patients in induced comas or in ICU, are incapacitated and unable to access any funds. I personally know of a number of cases where the patients deceased, leaving huge unpaid bills. In certain cases, the hospital can obtain a court order giving them access to any funds the foreigner may have in a Thai bank account, but that often doesn't cover the bill. The reasoning behind that was simple. You're at more of a risk of having an accident or requiring medical attention in a twelve-month period (the length of stay permitted on an O-A visa) than a tourist averaging a 3 week stay. There is also no requirement to have a Thai bank account with the O-A visa. If incapacitated or in the event of death, the hospital have no means of recovering the costs, hence they introduced a mandatory Health Insurance policy. Why do you think in 2019, Immigration changed the financial requirements regarding funds in the bank for retirees? Prior to 2019 the requirement was 800K for 2 months prior to the date of the very first application, and 3 months prior to the date of application thereafter. In 2019 Immigration issued a new order 548/2562, which now required retirees using the funds method to have 800K in the bank for 2 months prior to the date of application, then maintain that balance of 800K for 3 months after the extension was issued, at which point they could withdraw half the funds, but must maintain a balance of 400K thereafter. This was no fluke, it was to ensure as far as possible in the event of emergency, retirees at least had a certain amount of funds to cover bills. There are of course still loopholes in the system. I know of 2 foreigners cared for in ICU that eventually passed, but although they had a Thai bank account, there was little in either account. They obtained extensions by virtue of an Embassy Income letter and only transferred funds as required. In the course of a year this amounts to hundreds of thousand, even millions, owed to just one government hospital.

You need to order a 12-month bank statement at your local branch, which can only be issued by the HQ for proof of 12 x 65K overseas transfers. Takes 3-5 working days. Your local branch can only issue a 6-month statement. The standard letter for Immigration merely confirms the account name, number and the balance. You'll have to meet both the requirements for your current extension based on funds in the bank, and the requirements to switch to the monthly overseas transfers.

It's always been a requirement to file a TM30 for aliens. In your case, it should be the responsibility of the guest house to file it. Ask them for a copy of proof of filing. Without a TM30 on file, you may be refused services, such as a 30 day extension, which was probably the case with your friend. He should have requested the guest house filed one. Immigration Act. Section 38 : The house – master , the owner or the possessor of the residence , or the hotel manager where the alien , receiving permission to stay temporary in the Kingdom has stayed , must notify the competent official of the Immigration Office located in the same area with that hours , dwelling place or hotel, within 24 hours from the time of arrival of the alien concerned.

My experience is that of a government hospital, standard Thai prices, not inflated.