Chongalulu

22 hours ago, Thailand said:

An immigration clusterf--k of epic proportions.

A PREDICTABLE immigration clusterf....

On 2/3/2019 at 8:03 PM, OJAS said:

 

I have a Bangkok Bank account and made several TransferWise transfers into it. In all but 1 case, these transfers were also routed through Bangkok Bank and ended up coded FTT in my passbook. In the remaining case, though, the transfer was routed through TMB and ended up coded SMT in my passbook - which, I was advised in response to an enquiry I initiated on the banking forum, stood for the following:- 

SMT

System for Managing Automated Retail Funds Transfer

Service for interbank funds transfer via online order submission

Clearly not even a teeny-weeny whiff of any "international transfer" odour about it! For this reason I have stopped using TransferWise for my future 65k+ monthly transfers from the UK.

 

 

 

 

I use a similar fx company with the same issues - I have 3 uk bank accounts and one (first direct) unlike the other 2 (£25)have no transfer fees. However today as I was about to transfer equivalent  65k gave an exchange rate of 0.5 baht per £ less than World first currency = £23 on the transaction ...so the equivalent of a fee! So at best you’re going to incur costs of an additional £276 per annum . I’ll be reverting to marriage visa next January.

On 2/4/2019 at 11:12 AM, ubonjoe said:

You will have to have your marriage certificate legalized and then translated to Thai. Then the  translation will have to be certified by the Department of Consular Affairs of the MFA in Bangkok. Then you will need to go to a Amphoe to register your foreign marriage to get a Kor Ror 22 marriage registry that immigration requires to apply for the extension of stay based upon marriage.

Indeed,on my next extension January 2020 I will also switch back to marriage visa having switched from that to retirement based on income letter. The one advantage (as it stands, but who knows going forward?) is that after the extension is confirmed I can use the 400k until 2 months before the next extension. 

Someone suggested that the 40k per month income requirement for marriage doesn’t have to show it coming from abroad but I’m not sure that’s right- can you confirm that ? Reason for asking is that although I bring more than that in I use fx company rather than a bank who’s rates and charges add considerably to the cost over a full year. Fx companies transfers are showing as domestic transfer into my Kasikorn account.

2 hours ago, wgdanson said:

Not if you highlighted say £1000 on a Transferwise statement on 1st Feb, and a deposit into your Bkk Bank for Bht 40xxx on 2nd Feb. Surely even an IO would understand that

I recently extended my visa on income letter and raised this subject with the IO showing her a complete paper audit trail - I might as well have been talking Greek- now imagine showing 12 sets of audit trails at the next renewal......

What you THINK would be common sense and what is acceptable....well TIT ! 

1 minute ago, worgeordie said:

People seem to be making a big fuss about the changes,

which really only boil down to having the cash in the bank

a bit longer,only go to immigration once a year,90 days done

online,been here 31 years and Thailand has been very good

to me,so hopefully i will die here,and stay here,as i already

have a grave bought in the foreign cemetery.

regards worgeordie

Not only a 'bit longer' (3 months after visa issued) but 400k permanently untouchable- so not useable in an emergency 

45 minutes ago, TheThai said:

I did not see anything that stated you have to PROVE the transfers were from abroad.  That is pure speculation by forum members.  It only states having monthly income transfers of 65k a month.  Period.

Read the original police order more carefully-it IS transfers from abroad, hence the other threads about many fx companies like Transferwise transactions appearing on your statement as domestic because of the intermediary bank used before arriving in your Thai bank account. You could (if you have an account) use a normal bank to do the transfers but their charges are up to £25 (1000 baht) per transaction so an extra 12000 per year to use ,and a worse exchange rate. You cannot rely on statements from Transferwise to prove the transaction to immigration officers- for most it will be too complicated to understand.

In answer to the OP...Do you really think Immigration have thought this aspect through when they didn’t the original order ? Hence 2 different orders in January.They’re just making it up as they go along !

6 hours ago, gentlemanjackdarby said:

Damn, that was a harsh reply to what was a good point.

 

And I'm not sure why you think tracker funds (what we in the U.S. call 'index funds') have less risk than an individual stock- the whole point of an index fund is to buy the market as a whole or possibly a small target slice of the market and I can tell you from experience, when the market takes a nosedive as it did a couple of months ago, most of the time index funds take a bigger fall (or rise in a rising market) than some actively managed funds or individual stocks.

 

There's a saying in investing - 'when the market dives, the good stocks get beat up along with the bad' and that goes double when one owns the whole market.

 

His point assumed an investment in a single share (very naive). Of course trackers/ index funds reflect by and large the movement in the market but they insulate younfrom from the scenario the other poster painted (all your eggs in one basket) a basic rule of investment. One does not make stock assessments on 2/3 months spans but over 5 year minimum performance. On that basis you can take any 5 year period in history and stocks have always outperformed bank deposits. The latter are a slow motion car crash destined to reduce it’s purchasing power due to the ravages of inflation. My 40 year investment performance has well outperformed any deposit.

5 hours ago, Jingthing said:

It's opinions at this point. People are speculating based on assumptions and not enough information and clarification.

So as it is opinions now I will share mine.

The acceptability of combo applications with and without embassy letters is now under some doubt. Greater doubt for those without embassy letters.

Why demand premature certainty when it just doesn't exist? That is a false comfort.

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Then my opinion is that the ill thought through regulations that have already been changed at least once (why couldn’t it all have been done at once?) have complicated the calculations to the point where many IOs are simply not going to understand how to calculate the combination method especially the application of the amount now needing to be held for 3 months after the visa as far as it’s implications for the following year’s visa is concerned. My plan is to revert to the marriage visa but what’s the betting that in another afterthought similar post visa fund requirement won’t be forthcoming. Another typically Thai unholy mess! 

51 minutes ago, Ctkong said:

If you got to figure out the best investment plan for a mere ‘$25,000 investment’ that buy you peace of mind, you might not qualify to retire in Thailand ....

It’s an investment strategy that applies to all amounts. It’s how you get to the investment position I’m now in. 

1 hour ago, Roy Baht said:

It's not a level playing field. But you have a choice: live with it or leave.

The usual last resort comment of one who has lost the argument- 'take it or leave it'.

This is a discussion forum on the implications and validity of the rules.

29 minutes ago, wgdanson said:

So how do YOU get your extension without 800k in bank or 65k monthly transfer?

I just got my extension with the BE income letter so I’m ok for a year

1 minute ago, giddyup said:

Who cares, I'm 76 with more than enough to see me through, no need for me to be chasing every dollar. If the 800K is what you need to remain here with no hassles it's a small price to pay.

Who cares? Those who are investment savvy. You don’t know how long you will live or what other unforeseen changes will happen that may neccesitate you needing more than you planned for. I’ll health etc.?

14 minutes ago, giddyup said:

With all your investments plus house rental and yet you can't lay your hands on a measly 800,000 baht? I don't know what kind of interest that amount can generate in your investment of choice, but surely it's not substantially more than the 1.75% a Thai bank will pay? OK, so you might lose a few percentage points a year, but it still can't be a substantial amount of money.

I can easily liquidate assets for 800k but given that my investment in a tax free sheltered ISA has appreciated by 20% over the past 2 years you do the maths...

9 minutes ago, giddyup said:

It's not as though the 800K earns no interest here, I believe I get 1.75% on my account.

That’s less than the rate of inflation,so you’ve lost money. In the last 2 years I’ve had 20% growth in a tax free sheltered ISA.

1 minute ago, Roy Baht said:

When you rent out your house in UK for £3500 per month (140,000 baht per month), I assume you ask your tenant for a deposit? How much? Of course putting money in a bank account where is earns no interest is an "appalling investment" but 800K baht is not so much money and I suggest you think of it not as an investment (which it isn't) but as a deposit, allowing you to live in Thailand, just as you ask the tenants who rent your house for a deposit, allowing them to live there.

Poor analogy. The rental deposit is held in a legally required tenancy deposit scheme to cover potential  damages to the property,and to which I have no access. The point of the immigration rules is to ensure you have sufficient resources to support yourself here. I can certainly do that without tying up 800k. And those whose embassies still support the income letter and not putting down a deposit or even showing money coming into Thailand  so it’s not a level playing field .

4 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

All stocks have risk. It only takes one incoming CEO with delusions of grandeur to send a company's share price into the toilet. Or a more nimble competitor.

You do get this week's trophy for the look-at-me post.

 

Investment trusts,tracker funds, ISAs etc. beyond your comprehension? P.S. they spread your investment so you’re not just buying into one company. 

You get the trophy for the economically illiterate.

14 hours ago, mlkik said:

800.000 baht is not very much if you genuinely have retired and have committed to living in Thailand.

Maybe the people getting worried do not really have enough to retire here? I know many people worry about the exchange rates,if that is the case again maybe they are not financially ready for retirement here?

I am far from being well off but I have put enough money in a Thai account to ensure a worry free retirement.

Interest rates here are no worse than my home country. I am not wealthy enough to speculate and possibly lose on the investment of stocks and shares . Therefore I see no reason not to have savings here.

 

Your comment may explain why you are not very well off. Tying up 800k in a low interest paying bank account is an appalling investment. Investment in the stock market in low risk stocks over any 5 year period has ALWAYS beaten bank deposits. Just look at the last couple of years. I do not have 800k to put into a Thai bank account- but does that mean you’re better off than me. I have a large mortgage free house in  UK which I rent out for £3500 per month (140,000 baht per month) plus dividends from stocks and retirement pensions taking my income up to circa 200k baht. And a substantial SIPP which I’m not cashing in because from an investment and tax viewpoint, it is better left invested. 

So you have a measly 800k or thereabouts and imply that you can afford to retire here and I cannot???

1 minute ago, Tanoshi said:

What day is the world going to end.  ????

For you,quite possibly the next time you venture onto the Thai roads ... ???? 

I had a marriage visa extension for 2 years,then switched to retirement for 2 years .If I switch back will I have to go through the procedures again associated with the initial marriage extension (home visits etc) or is it dependent on the particular office?. I’m  Korat office.