David Walden
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Posts posted by David Walden
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7 hours ago, Olmate said:
Oz OAP is less than 40k per month now, not 45.
I expect you are forgetting that there are mostly 31 days in a month sometimes only 30 day and Feb only 28.
If you live in Australia and received no reductions your yearly Australian Aged Pension (AAP) will be for 365 days will be Aus $23,862.40 that amounts to Aus$65.38 per day with no rent assistance for a single person. At Bt23 to the Aus $= Bt548,007 a year. Used to be Bt600,000+.
After moving to Thailand after 6 weeks your Australian pension will be reduced to Aus $22,308 which amounts to Aus $60.86 per day or Bt23 to Aus dollar =Bt513,084 for a year no rent assistance is available when you live outside Aus. This means for a 31 day month= Bt42,757 for 30 days=Bt41993 per month and a 28 day month Bt39228.00 or$513.084 per year with 6 monthly reviews. I think you have overlooked that Centrelink payments in Thailand are made every 4 weeks but there are 13 four (4) weekly periods in a year. Yes, it has dropped down 2 or 3 bt in the last month. Sorry about that.
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5 hours ago, xylophone said:
I'm getting confused (age probably or too much red wine) but as I understand it the Thai Immigration still need a letter from The Oz embassy to verify your pension amount but they have stopped issuing that letter, so as I see it this method won't work.....??
Still early days Thailand has not yet released any details for any new procedures for getting a Retirement visa., coming soon? There appears to be no new procedures yet. It has been a long time an option that you can declare the value of any pension you get and put into a Thai bank a/c a balance where the 2/3/4 amounts add up to Bt800,000. The same I am told does apply in Australia if you are getting your visa there. It would seem you will not need the letter or stat dec signed at the Aus US or UK Embassy you would need to be able to prove to Thai Immigration for Australians and others that you have a AAP of Bt500,000 and you put Bt300,000 either in a Aus bank a/c or a Thailand bank a/c. Wait and see but I would hope that this will satisfy Thai Immigration...TIT. This option has been available for 18 years very few people have used it and it's finished up in the too hard basket but it may turn out to be the best option. If you're a pensioner getting Bt500,000P/Y pension like the AAP or others and you haven't the Bt300,000 and you can't beg steal or borrow it well that's tough...sorry.
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On 1/1/2019 at 11:14 PM, David Walden said:
You can get a Retirement Visa extension in Thailand for a retirement visa you obtain in Australia, the extension is only issued in Thailand. I would think that is relevant to Retirement visa discussions on this site. Most people do not know you can get a O-A M retirement visa in your home country as long as you have the Bt800.000 or the Bt65,000 p/m or use a Surrender value of your retirement fund as long as it is more than Bt800.000. This way you don't have to have any money in Thailand. I just thought that information might be useful to people contemplating living long-term retirement in Thailand. It is useless information for people who do not have the Bt800.000.
Further to this post of mine, it appears that with the requirements to obtain a retirement visa either in Australia or most other countries the combination method or combo method will be preserved. For Australians, this would mean if applying in Thailand or Australia or any country you would need about Bt45,000 P/M as is AAP = Bt500.000 P/A (Australian Aged Pension living in Thailand) plus another Bt300,000 for 3 months in a Thai bank account to qualify. Very little discussion has ever appeared on websites regarding this quite attractive other available legal method of getting a retirement visa. It may well be a very useful procedure for some of my friends Aussies and others who are expecting to return to their home country because they don't have the Bt800,000 which too hard for them. Bt300,000 in a Thai bank should be well do-able and legal even if the money is borrowed for 3 months only...yes, things are looking better? I might get into the money lending business in Thailand and pigs might fly.
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1 hour ago, Pattaya46 said:
Why do you bring - again - Australia in this thread ?
This thread is about Retirement Extension,
something you cannot get abroad,
but only in an Immigration Office in Thailand.
You can get a Retirement Visa extension in Thailand for a retirement visa you obtain in Australia, the extension is only issued in Thailand. I would think that is relevant to Retirement visa discussions on this site. Most people do not know you can get a O-A M retirement visa in your home country as long as you have the Bt800.000 or the Bt65,000 p/m or use a Surrender value of your retirement fund as long as it is more than Bt800.000. This way you don't have to have any money in Thailand. I just thought that information might be useful to people contemplating living long-term retirement in Thailand. It is useless information for people who do not have the Bt800.000.
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2 hours ago, Olmate said:
So make sure the info apparently only your aware of is correct would be the first priority pal. Your bending the rules observation is merely that and is about as accurate as your the 99% of members unaware of the changes,that puts you in the 1% ? Next try not to pass off your mistakes as stimulating comment and sharing info, too many here know what BS is
3Everything I write on this website is a result of my own personal experience. That is it is first hand experiences. It may be that new requirements have been announced in November which I have been aware of but they will not begin to be introduced until 01/01/2019 and afterward for all the legations in Thailand. You simply appear to be pedantic in all your comments. Why don't make some useful inputs instead of looking around to find something to complain about?
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20 minutes ago, Olmate said:
It appears, if you have read the various threads about the many differing scenarios from people using the former letter, you don’t have a clue.Suggest you get up to speed before posting. The information and your typical response are old news, as was your post earlier today about new info on the Oz embassy website.
Get a life pal. I repeat only people who don't have the money are the ones bending the rules...the rules are complicated but been around for years and have not changed...my efforts here are to help stimulate comments and share information with others.
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1 hour ago, JackThompson said:
In the interview, he states that the "combo method" is going to be preserved.
If you apply for your Retirement Visa in Australia at the Thai Embassy and you use the combo method as I could. To qualify you will need the Australian Aged Pension (AAP) of about Bt47,000 P/M and the rest Bt18,000, you will need to provide a record of payments which you can get from your retirement fund. If you show that you are getting this money for an extended time all will be OK, like a year or 2, 2 years is better. If you have only been getting the payment once well that will raise alarm bells.
You know it is quite possible and legal for an Aussie to start a retirement fund with a large reputable retirement fund and put say put Aus $4000 or more and request that the fund pay you equal to Bt18000 P/M until it runs out. I believe all will do it. The Bt47,000 plus Bt18,000 adds up to Bt65,000 per month surprise surprise! You should be able to do the same if applying in Thailand. Nothing illegal with this.
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5 hours ago, Olmate said:
Yes posted November, nothing new
Most of this information and charges become current from 01/01/2019. 99% of contributors to this site would not have seen this information. I would think it would about the 1st time in history that a JP or CD could influence what a person can attest to in a Statutory declaration. They are only there to witness that you signed the document. If Thai immigration will no longer accept your sworne declaration well that is their business. For a long time now Stat Dec's to Thai immigration have often contained blatant BS. Looks like too many people killed the goose that laid the golden egg. It appears up to now that only those people who do not have the required funds are the ones requesting these false declarations.
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10 minutes ago, Olmate said:
I don’t see it, last one November?
10 minutes ago, Olmate said:I don’t see it, last one November?
10 minutes ago, Olmate said:I don’t see it, last one November?
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8 minutes ago, JLCrab said:
Unless the RTP IMM have a notion otherwise.
Yes, plenty of traps for young players.
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There appears to be some new information on the Australian Embassy in Bangkok as of today regarding Stat Dec's and new charges for various services.
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3 hours ago, JackThompson said:
According to the US Consul, who saw the approved-draft of the new Police Order on this issue, the money must be deposited into a Thai Bank to qualify.
At least some portion of that 65K would be used to live on, so only a portion could be sent back. As well, as the rule is "income" - folks will have to be able to pay bills out of their income, some of which will be in their passport-country.
As to likelihood of folks doing the round-robin, consider that the rule seems to require monthly-xferrs (vs quarterly, etc) with fees going both directions on those, plus the trouble. Immigration's calculus may be that their preferred agent-applications will be easier for most, and likely not much more than the xfer-fees for a year, so they will have accomplished their goal.
If you create a round robin you only need Bt 65,000 in a never ending story.
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1 hour ago, snooky said:
When I first received my retirement extension, and for several years after, all I needed to prove income were copies of statements from my US bank showing the monthly deposits. After about the third year, they looked at my file and I did not have to show the statements even though I had them with me. In later years they started using the income verification letter from the embassy.
I don't know, as yet, of any change in the legal requirements although there might be, so possibly all one would need is to show your bank statement in your home country the amount equivalent to 65000 bt being deposited to ones account each month. Let us hope so, it would simplify matters greatly.
In Australia, you may be required to prove that you are not creating a round robin, that is you put the Bt65,000 in a bank in your home country send it to your account in Thailand that month, you then send back to your home country and the next month the same Bt65,000 appears in your Thai bank a/c again and again. Not sure if Thais are a wake up to this yet ( I think so but see no evil, hear no evil and say no evil) This is an old trick, Retirement funds in Australia as is mine and I think most countries you cannot put money into after turn 65 y/o. You can start a new fund. You can only download pension payments as required so you cannot create a round robin but there are ways. At any time I require a record to prove each payment is a new payment the fund will provide it. If your pension payments come from your retirement fund they are always new downloaded payments. This sort of thing can create doubt about pension fund payments.
and I'm sure pennies to a pound it happens.
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1 hour ago, onera1961 said:
10% interest is too low. Americans scam economically desperate Americans for far more than that and with the sanction of the laws through their lobbying arms.
They charge 10% interest and you only need the loan for 3 months but they make you take the loan out for a full year. The loan is fully secured it will never leave the bank, withdrawal slips have to be co-signed by a bank officer. This really equates to 40% P/A interest on money that doesn't exist. The really good part about it is they do actually pay interest of 2.8% on the non-existent money which your bank book shows you have and that actually reduces your interest down to 7.2%. Anyway 7.2% interest on money that doesn't exist is still good. I do have a couple of friends that have done things that way (quietly). Later friends have stepped in and loaned them the money in the account as co-signatories and only made the loan for 3 months as required. They have received the 10% plus the 2.8% which by today's interest rates is very good. Everyone happy.
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3 hours ago, Olmate said:
Thanks for the easy Oz retirement update! No answer to my question tho I didn’t really expect you to know the answer, just like the 5000.Enjoy your retirement ( for 2 years at least) and be ready when the goal posts move!
The 5000 + letters are from people mostly trying to beat the system and they appear to be creating pressure and extra work for those applicants that do have the money and are playing it straight. It may well be that all of them can still stay in the country, they have 3 choices. Beg, steal or borrow the money. There are ways of making it happen as I have suggested. Not so hard if you think about it. The AAP is about Bt500,000P/A so it may well be that only Bt300,000 is required in a bank a/c to achieve their aims. Having a combination is as stated is an acceptable way to establish your Bt800,000 requirement.
About the goal post move...I'll cross that river if and when I come to it. A bridge a bit too far?
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4 hours ago, Olmate said:
The, 5000 letters, are not about doing the job at home, that’s the problem.It won’t help being deaf, dumb or blind either, Fred! What’s your simple answer to doing the extension here when your money is in Oz bank and your on Oz pension? Where talking Immigration not Embassy !
The one-year extension is automatic. My situation is I have a one year O-known known as a multi-entry (M) retirement visa issued at the Thai Embassy in Canberra, it cost Aus $275 plus the cost of the police report + a simple medical report, no social diseases etc my doctor didn't charge me for this as she had a good laugh at the document (real lady by the way and just lovely). This O-A M Retirement Visa was issued on the 6th of Sept 1017. I arrived in Thailand the stamp received on 3rd Oct 2017 shows I can stay till 3 Oct 2018. OK. I go back to Aus leave Thailand 11 Dec 2017 and arrive back in Thailand DMK 22 Mar 2018. The Visa is now nearly 7 months old but it is stamped to say including the extension until 21st March 2019 OK. This means I could stay a total of 18 months. I now depart Thailand to go back to Aus on 18th July 2018. When departing immigration officer at Hue Hin about 6 of them reminded me that as I wanted to come back must do by 5th Sept 2018 not! not! the 6th Sept, Visa lapses 1 second past midnight (TIT). OK. I arrive back in Thailand DMK on 28th August 2018 (28/08/2018), 9 days before my Retirement Visa O-A M lapses. My passport shows I can remain in Thailand till 28th August 2019 that is another 364 days, the extension is included in the stamp I received. So provided I leave Thailand and return one day before the visa expires the extension is granted as you enter the country. My several trips back to Aus and return took care of the requirement to leave and return just before the original visa expired. On the visa I received it is quite possible to stay in Thailand for one year and 363 days provided you make at least one border run a day or 2 before the 1st year O-A M visa expires.
But remember you cannot get an extension during the extension period. I am in Thailand in my extension period if I leave Thailand now I will have to start all over again and get a new one-year retirement visa. I will, back in Australia.......Yes, this is Thailand.
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1 hour ago, Olmate said:
The, 5000 letters, are not about doing the job at home, that’s the problem.It won’t help being deaf, dumb or blind either, Fred! What’s your simple answer to doing the extension here when your money is in Oz bank and your on Oz pension? Where talking Immigration not Embassy !
I have given examples of how people can live in Australia on the aged pension of Aus $1040 per fortnight including rent assistance and live in modest condition get mostly free transport. almost free medicine, free doctors services, free hospital services of the highest standards free drivers licenses the list goes on. Some are not happy but by world standards, Australia Aged Pension (AAP) recipients are well within the highest 10% of incomes per persons in the world.
Now if you want to go and live in another country by choice, so be it. There will be a price to pay and that price apart from all the things you don't get which you would get if you remained in Australia is that Thailand requires that you prove that you have Bt800.000 to live on comfortably in their country. This is the price...like I say what's new. Try living in Malaysia, China, Japan, USA, Australia if not a citizen, England, Europe Canada etc.etc... "As I've said before and I'll say it again if things don't change they'll just be the same." Very good advice form someone, I know not who. Thailand is saying now if you don't have the money don't come.
However, I can already see a new lot of scams popping up all over Thailand like genuine Bt800,000 loans from real banks over a 90 day period where the banks keep the money and keeps on lending the same Bt800,000 to a hundred different people at 10% interest. The real money never leaves the bank. God how the money rolls in. (this is already happening so I've been told...don't tell anyone Mums the word). And it would all be legal in Thailand.
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16 hours ago, Olmate said:
Not willing participants at all. System set in place to force you to the agents if you were formally reliant on the letter, in other cases non existent “extras” requ and ired to process extensions, long bow to say were to blame, in fact rubbish. And to speak of honesty in this context,common!
4Getting a Thailand Retirement Visa and all the difficulties associated with it is a bit like trying to establish blame about prostitution. Is it the girl's fault or is it the customer's fault after 10,000years there is still no answer. "You can get a Retirement Visa either in Thailand or your home country. There are very few rules, the main rules are you have to be of good character and you have to have enough money to live OK for the following 12 month namely Bt800.000. These rules have not changed in more than 15 years. If you apply in Thailand you now have to show clear evidence that you have that money."(Embassies can no longer help with BS ) "If you apply in your own country the rules are the same you have to show the Bt800,000 clearly...that is it, end of story." This is a quote from the lady I dealt with at the Thai Embassy in Canberra when I applied and received my Retirement Visa in about 5 days, hence the inverted comers.
It is very simple to get a Thai Retirement Visa for 12 months, you just have to be able to prove you have the money, yes you have to be able to prove it...simple. deaf dumb and blind Freddie knows that. The 5000 or so letters on this subject on this site are all for nothing.
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On 12/27/2018 at 12:04 PM, JackThompson said:
No, many of us have the required income, but we no longer have a known way to prove it without income-letters from our embassies - which are currently Required as the Primary Document to use that method at almost every immigration office in the country.
Hopefully, the "show deposits into a Thai bank" scheme (discussed as in the draft Police-Order by the US Consul) will be all that is required - in which case we are set.
Most scamming is done by agents in cahoots with Immigration, themselves. IOs in some offices even make it difficult or impossible to get a service w/o paying them agent-laundered money, to spite having every requirement met / document in-hand.
My primary concern is that getting rid of embassy letters was a way to maximize agent-laundered payoffs, and a new rule-set may be designed to facilitate that - rather than anything honest.
There are no handouts for foreigners here, and all money being spent by non-employed expats is foreign-sourced capital/currency, which bolsters Thailand's wealth directly. Therefore, how is someone who spends less than the minimum here - maybe someone retired with a pension of 45K Baht/mo - "not good" for Thailand's economy?
Jack, when I applied to the Thai Embassy in Canberra for my retirement visa which was granted. I had money in a bank account, I had an aged pension from Australia and I have money in a Bank managed Retirement fund. This fund is made of hundreds of blue-chip shares in Australia. There is no way I could spread my very modest investment over the AX200 which consists of the top 200 blue chip companies in Aus, so the retirement funds do it for me. My part is just a small amount in a 100 billion dollars or more fund. My investment, some is held by the Reserve Bank Of Aus, parts are in international shares. The fund manager combines all the investments and issue units in these funds which just simplifies all these complicated across the board investment into a single figure made up of perhaps 20,000units at $10 each. The fund manager in my case takes 0.5% of the value P/A of my fund as a commission and perhaps more which they don't tell me about which is all coming out with the Royal Commission into the Finance industry in Australia about to be concluded.
Now if you decide that you want to live in a foreign country Thailand it is almost an impossible task trying to convince Thai immigration that you have Bt800.000 in assets somewhere in the world spread over 500 different companies as I do...so my it's retirement fund spreads my money over these 500 different companies and I buy 20,000 units at $10 each and that's the value of my fund ( I wish). The amount is really more than the Bt800,000 required.
If you apply for a Retirement Visa in your home country all that the people at the Thail Embassy will require is a statement showing the surrender value of this fund or bank account. If that value is Bt800,000 or more in your home country that is all you need. The lady or man at your Thai Embassy may say if your retirement fund value is OK ''don't worry about telling us you have money in the bank, don't worry about your Govt Pension don't worry about telling us you own 3 investment properties you have enough with your Retirement Pension Fund to get the required visa''. So if you want to get a trouble-free Retirement visa to Thailand and you have a million dollars of assets or more just make sure you have a retirement fund or bank account in your country with at least BT 800.000 as a surrender value you can give to the Thai Embassy. That is all they want. THAT MAKES ALL QUITE SIMPLE. Thai Bt 800,000 is all you need. Beg steal or borrow it if you have to. My comments are based on my own personal experience in Australia.
I'm sorry for all those people that don't have the Bt800,000. In Australia, if you want a Retirement Visa about $2,000,000 is about the amount required +++ all sorts of things. If you want to retire in Thailand you will need a modest amount of money...so what's new.
PS... The lady at the Thai Embassy chatted and said my Bt800,000 proof is very good and simple. She said ''some people come in with very complicated information about their money and want to take all day explaining about all, we cannot do, in a bank or pension fund is better and very simple''
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8 minutes ago, JackThompson said:
I think you meant British and Danish, where they look at documents, but do not verify the amounts directly from sources.
The USA is/was more like the Australian system - "under penalty of perjury" system - a felony-offense risk hardly worth taking to get a 1-year permitted stay in Thailand - especially when a payment to immigration through an agent can obtain the same thing without all the trouble of getting the letter nor severity of risk.
Perhaps the issuing of these letter of income from the Embassies suggesting Embassies would never make anything up when attesting to the validity of the information supplied to create a letter of asset or income, which may be provided on unsubstantiated information is just as corrupt as anything that the Thais can dish up. It is clear to me and I'm sure to deaf, dumb and blind Freddie this is the case as well as thousands of other people. If you have the money you don't need the letter. The letters up till now appear to be based on just wild made up guesses with these assets, yes, made up information...it is now being corrected. Blast! Looks like the end for the goose that laid the golden eggs.
And yes it is clear that some Aussies have put what they like in their Stat Dec, this is unlikely to be allowed from now on. All the Embassies have to do when witnessing a stat. dec is to remind those signing that proof Thai immigration may demand random checks and precise evidence to support there claim and not just your word ( as is the case in most other countries). See how many greasy palms that creates...my god how the money rolls in.
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2 hours ago, cleverman said:
Tell the 4 Ozzies to go to the embassy or their consul and ask there If they will certify documents proving income after they cut off the stat decs. Don't take any notice of anything you may be told on here about that matter. Tell them to just do it.
I really can't understand why people don't understand about Statutory Declaration (Stat. Dec). Unlike the British and US situation where the those requiring evidence as to proof of income, both of these Embassies give you a letter from them indicating that they are satisfied that you have provided a true account of your assets and/or income. They have looked into it and state they believe the information is true Hmmm This may be true or not true it is often B/S.
With Australia, we fill out a Stat Dec which is a statement where we make and sware the under oath and penalty of up to 4 year gaol that the information we have provided contained in the document provided by the applicant is absolutely correct, that we have the funds in a pension fund or whatever and we sign in front of a JP or CD (commissioner for declarations) and make a solemn declaration that this information is true. The JP or CD will need to identify that you are really the person signing, that is the person named on the document. The JP or CD has no idea if that information mentioned in the document is true or not, it's not his/her job, doesn't care. Some documents a JP or CD might be 2000 pages long full of highly complex technical information. The JP or CD are not signing anything as to the validity of the information is true they are just saying they saw you sign it. End of story. Yes the Australian Embassy in Thailand charges Bt3000 for 20 seconds work witnessing you signed. And you think Thais can rip people off? The Aus embassies are experts at it. Thai immigration I believe has no idea what a Stat Dec is either.
The information about the enforcement of Thai requirements with Retirement Visas has not changed for Australia and I have not seen where Thai Retirement Visa requirements have changed in any way. There is little or no comment yet.
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On 12/25/2018 at 3:28 PM, Negita43 said:
My apologies - my q1 was not clear.
The question should have been can I show proof that I have the equivalent of 800,000 in a bank in my own country to the Thai immigration in Thailand.
You could once, I tried at Aus Embassy in Bankok paid the then Bt1900 (Bt3000 now) for the stat, dec they said it would be OK but didn't work...long story. That's what prompted me to get my retirement visa in Australia after returning. All would have been quite simple is I paid Bt25,000 to a Thai legal firm in Thailand or a scammer or put the cash in a Thai Bank, very difficult opening a Thai bank account on a Thai Tourist Visa then.
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19 hours ago, LosLobo said:
Debit card would require too many transactions with lots of issues like what would happen if the ATM swallowed your card or maybe your thai bank would get nervous about the size of the overseas transactions and cancel your card.
I have PayPal connected to my thai bank but the charges are horrendous. Don't know much about DeeMoney.
A bank Application for Online International Outwards seems only to cater for repatriation of salary earned in Thailand.
Setting up of Power of Attorney with all of your banking documents seems a bit over the top.
Obviously Thailand doesn't want to give you your money back! ????
Maybe someone who has solved this riddle can offer advice.
You 1st Question answer....I have three debit cards one from ANZ Bank in Aus, never use it as they charge any fee they can think of ( I have to have it as ANZ will only pay my pension monthly payment into an ANZ debit card) it's OK as a back up if I loose my other debit cards. I have another debit card from Citibank issued in Aus and one from ING Bank also issued in Aus. ANZ fees for transactions is really bad. Fees for Citibank account are nil, cards they are issued free (you have to have some money in it and you get no interest). They pay the daily exchange rate with no fee for service and ATM fees nil. ING BANK is the best debit card I have this is where I keep my spare cash, they are the only bank who pay 2.8% interest on the balance and their fees are nil. Yes, I recently lost my ING Bank debit card, left it in an ATM. The banks in Thailand are confusing customers using ATMs by making useless commercial offers on the screen which are often hard to read before the transaction is complete and distracting customers. Sometimes you can spend some time getting your glasses on trying to read these commercial messages as the sun and glare can be so strong.
Also, some banks in Thailand have adjusted their ATMs to only dispense Bt5000 at a time thus for people like me who usually like to take Bt10,000at a time I now have to make 2 transactions with an ATM fee of Aus$9.50. each time=$19.00 ATM fee for Bt10,000. Thankfully Citibank and ING BANK refund these fees to me (not ANZ they charge like wounded bulls). How long these Western banks will put up with this RIP off to them I don't know. Maybe they have an arrangement where they do not pay anyway.
At the time of the ATM transaction, the fee is shown on the ATM docket that I have been charged that ATM fee but this amount is immediately credited back to my account and appears as a separate credit transaction.
If you have the money in a bank in your home country and want to retire in Thailand as said there is no need to have any money in a Thai bank, there are ways you can fix this with your family. Once you show the money to the Embassy in a bank statement and get your retirement visa, the money in your home country bank a/c is free to do what you like with it, pay it back or spend it? See my above post this arrangement has been available for donkey's years, Thailand's Embassy in Aus welcomes this method. The only downside I can see is you would need to return to your home country at least once at the end of the 2 year period or you can make as many trips home as you like during the 12 months retirement visa period. That is your 1st year being "The VISA" not the second year extension period. Which is what I do. At the end of 2 years you would have to return to your home country and start the whole process over again. Bit of a Blast but mostly can be a positive.
I return to Perth in Western Australia, stock up on free medicine, have medical checkups and then return to LOS. Saves money and the govt really pays my fare home and more as my required medicines are almost free when back in Aus. ( about $150 per month, so I save $900 on my trip home) I can take 6 month supply out of Australia for my next extended holiday legally. Then my gov pension returns to a higher rate upon return to Aus and the 6 weeks when I return to Thailand, adding another several hundred dollars to assist me for the trip home (yes a profit?).
The only people who are upset about recent developments with income statements from Embassies are those that do not have the required money. The requirements for this part of a retirement Visa applications have not changed in about 15 years. Plenty of scams about but Thailand looks like it's trying to do something about these now? If you don't have the required amount that is not good for Thailands economy. However many Australians can live quite OK on a basic Australian Aged Pension (AAP) ( Bt500,000 presently). But it seems to be not so in the future many Australian Aged Pensioners may have to return to Aus permanently in the future. Or go to Cambodia or Vietnam which appears to be simpler now.
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2 hours ago, khunPer said:
I think OP is asking for extension of stay based on retirement, and not a Visa, and in that case the funds need to be deposited in a Thai bank and matured for three month; i.e. have been in deposit for three month before applying for extension of stay, or before the date for extension of stay (can be different in some immigration offices).
I have a retirement visa issued in Australia and no money whatsoever in Thailand and pay the fees as stated above. I use my Statement from my bank managed retirement fund which shows a surrender value more the required Bt800,000 or can be in an Aus bank or Bt65,000 per month for at least 12 months. The visa I receive is multi-entry, I can come and go as often as I like for during the visa year (1st year) and there is no re-entry fee. I made 3 trips home to Aus recently with the visa, each time I returned to Thailand my passport is/was stamped for a 12 months extension. As shown above and as described in the link to the Thai Embassy in Aus or anywhere. At the conclusion of the first year as long as I get back to Thailand at least one day before it expires and I pass through Thai Immigration it will be stamped with an extension to allow me to stay in Thailand for further 12 months. Once you leave Thailand during the extension period ( 2nd year) you must obtain a new visa and star all over again if you want to come back. If you have equal to Bt800.000 in a bank, retirement fund or can prove you have Bt65,000 coming into your Australian bank Account, do the medical report and get a real police report (Aus W.A. $75) and fill out the 6 pages of information times 3, get everything signed by a CD or JP put all in order and pay $275 to the Thai Embassy you will get a visa that with an extension later by leaving and returning to Thailand just before the Visa expires (1st year) You will get the one year extensions later (2nd year ) and all good to go almost 2 years. Once done once not so bad next time.
2 q's about 800,000 baht for retirement visa extension
in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits
Posted · Edited by David Walden
I never said you can apply for a Thai visa in Thailand using money in Australia or your home country. I tried it did not work. Aus Embassy said it would work but it was not to be. You can use money in a home country bank account to apply for a visa in your home country (Australia and others). Either in a bank account, an Australian pension +Bt20,000 or so = to Bt 65,000 or a Australian retirement fund with a current surrender value= to Bt800.000 as I have done. When you finish the required process you will receive an O-A M. Being multi-entry retirement visa the price is Aus $275 plus the cost of a police report and a medical. You apply at the Thai Embassy in Canberra or your home country.
Anytime in the first 12 months, you can come and go as many times as you like to Thailand. If you depart and return, each time you return your permission to stay will be extended for 12 months. If you leave and return to Thailand after 364 days on your visa your passport will be stamped to allow you to stay in Thailand for another 364 days. Altogether that 1 year O-A M visa will allow you to be in retirement for almost 2 years in Thailand with as many trips as you like home only in the first year. I do it that way, my last arrival after several trips back to Aus was on the 28th Aus 2018 it was almost 12 months old then. My passport was stamped without me even requesting it till 27 Aug 2019. If I leave during the extension period my visa and extension conclude and I have to start all over again Aus $275 +police report +medical etc. Not so bad once you have done it once.