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Falconator
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Posts posted by Falconator
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But how would a "Make Thailand Great Again" or "Thaiexit" approach to migrant workers benefit the country? It ultimately generates more problems than it solves.
They're going to come anyways. Might as well regulate and monitor them, similar to what the Arab Gulf countries are doing.
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1 hour ago, Eindhoven said:They are literally the most miserable introduction to any country I have visited and I have visited a lot of countries, many times.
Why you would want to massage the egos of those miserable bunch of misfits?
Yes, many are openly rude. Waving their hands to dismiss is openly rude and disrespectful, make no mistake.
This from a country that needs tourism like no other. Disgusting.
That's hyperbole.
With Thai immigration, you just have to be patient, and maybe have a bit of cash in hand.
But US immigration can treat innocent people as if they're dangerous criminals.
Their fierce interrogations can never compare to Thai immigration interviews.
I have been to about 20 countries, and I have never seen immigration or police anywhere like in the US.
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Which kinds of people does immigration pick on more?
- Nice old married retired guy from Northern Europe
- "Sexpat" type guy with a Chang beer vest
- East Asian guy (like Japanese or Singaporeans) who behave somewhat more like Thais
- Young white guy, backpacker/digital nomad crowd
- Burmese and Cambodians migrant workers
- Filipino teachers and other workers
- Mainland Chinese businesspeople
Like immigration anywhere, I am sure they profile people and behave differently towards different groups.
Some types might be easier to extract direct cash from or to force down the visa agent route according to their thinking.
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27 minutes ago, fondue zoo said:
It's a repetitive bureaucratic public facing office job, almost nobody in there is achieving their dreams, job satisfaction and or life goals.
Plus, you can find 'heads up their a*se' government service personnel in any country. My only wish would be that they all get on the same page when it comes to requirements/rules.
You are thinking like a farang.
This is a dream job for most ordinary Asians, who prize stable, secure (although repetitive) jobs over "interesting" jobs. Government and police jobs are highly coveted because they are seen as highly secure, and loans are very easy to secure for people working in the public sector. Plus you can easily make connections with important people.
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Unfortunately the good days of border bouncing are now practically over, even for married people.
The only practical options:
1. 400,000 baht in the bank to get a 1-year extension with little hassle
2. 40,000 baht per month to get a 1-year extension with more hassle
Sorry, but no money, no honey.
It's not only Thailand, but also the UK, US, Denmark, and scores of other countries. They just copy these rules from each other, same as they do with lockdown rules. Bureaucracy says come up with the cash, or leave. Can't change the way things work.
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1 hour ago, jwest10 said:
Total rubbish and find them in the main very helpful and friendly and granted my last 90 day reporting a junior member asked fo my bank book but always have my dear wife with and we did not have it and last time was not asked for it.
However, please bring it next time and very polite both ways.It also comes down to luck. Sometimes one office is harder than the neighboring one.
And different officers at different offices can be different.
Keep in mind that most immigration officers you talk to are subordinates who don't want to get into trouble with their bosses.
Try to put yourselves in their shoes. Think of it this way: "What can I do to make everything easy and straightforward for them so that they can keep their jobs and not lose face?"
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I just used the 400k baht method, and most of the money was withdrawn from local Thai ATMs.
No need to prove that it had come from abroad.
You only need to proof of overseas transfers for the regular income method to show that you are not gaining regular income from within Thailand.
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Try Star Visa. Always good experiences with them.
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1 hour ago, IvorBiggun2 said:
Them immigration officers are becoming even more deceitful. Last year I hadn't seasoned my monies long enough by about a week. No problem to go away and come back in a week. The officers started writing on a piece of paper. Then passes it to the wife. He'd written '15,000' will make the problem go away. I refused.
PS. That was at the football stadium Buriram.
I've heard Buriram regularly does this. Handing slips of paper under the table, with requested amounts like 10,000-20,000 to Thai wives.
Never heard this in Chiang Mai, where I'm based at.
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6 minutes ago, FarFlungFalang said:
Could be seen as a bribe by them or anybody could be dangerous!Could be like burly for sharks.
Nah. The calling office had already made the suggestion by phone so we were safe to go. It was quite a blatant suggestion though, and they weren't being indirect or trying to hide anything.
Of course I don't recommend doing anything could make anyone lose face.
The officers were happy. "Wow the angbao is colorful and pretty! We wish you and your family many years of wealth and prosperity! Khop khun khap!"
Better than having them think "Farang khii-niaw" in the backs of their minds.
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The officers only asked the witness a few procedural questions, such as:
- How long have you known him? ("About 2 years") (Actually I've never seen the witness and later asked my wife, who was that?!)
- So they really love each other and live together regularly, traveling together everywhere ("Yes they do")
- Where do you live? ("That mooban in the back")
- Can you sign this? ("Yes")
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Just now, SteveK said:
You shouldn't have given a penny.
The visiting officers never asked for anything. The calling office only made a suggestion and never acted like they were forcing us to do something.
But, it beats having to use an agency for later extensions.
What I want to know is if others have had similar experiences with giving gifts to visiting officers? Or was my case more unique?
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Home visit report, took about 30 minutes:
A few days earlier, immigration called in, saying 3 officers will be visiting our home at this exact time and date. The caller even suggested to us that we had the option of providing the visiting officers with something so that our subsequent extensions would be much easier. So I prepared 3 angbao (red envelopes).
On the day of the home visit, the immigration office called again. They said only 2 Immigration officers would come, because one other officer was busy somewhere else.
The 2 immigration officers came in with a laptop and printer. Gave them water and opened the air conditioning. Wife got a random witness, a random vegetable seller from the local market that she often talked to.
The officers did not even walk around and check anything, nor did they talk to any neighbors. One officer was just typing things on his laptop and the other just sat by, occasionally asking to take a few photos of us, and a photo of the witness too.
They asked a few questions like whether my wife has been to the US (we said, not possible due to COVID), how things are in the US (I said, healthcare is unaffordable now), where my relatives live in the US and what they do. Seemed like curious personal questions rather than an actual required interview. They didn't even ask what I did for a living and why I wanted to live in Thailand.
While reading the forms, they also smiled and laughed at the fact that my wife was older, teasing her "You like kids huh?" She responded with a friendly laugh, and so did the witness. But they were not suspicious of anything at all, and didn't ask any questions about age gaps.
Angbaos with 1,000 baht each were provided to each officer. Some friendly greetings and they were off on their way.
Does anyone have any experience with being asked to provide the visiting officers with envelopes? Or maybe they took a risk and figured that I was likely more open to giving them gifts?
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On 7/31/2020 at 5:53 AM, BritManToo said:
All these questions are unusual.
They never asked me any of that, and if they had the answer would have been, "Not your business".
In fact, the 4 or 5 times I endured them, they didn't speak to me at all.
And my misses wouldn't have been able to give them any of that information.
The questions were asked by a clerk filling out blanks in an application.
Perhaps your case was the unusual one? I can't really imagine immigration not asking you a single question for your first extension.
I guess you couldn't (or didn't want to) speak Thai to them. Or maybe you were referring to later extensions.
As for the 400,000 baht deposit, they just highlighted the 400,000 baht shown on the passbook photocopy in yellow. No questions asked.
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My experiences at Thai immigration offices have always been better than at the California DMV.
Hats off indeed! (No sarcasm intended)
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Short answer to the OP's question, to the best of my knowledge:
Yes
I did just did the switch from a non-O ME border bounce visa to a yearly extension, and it worked quite well for me. Now I don't have to worry about not being able to stay in Thailand. Yes, it was not easy coming up with 400,000 baht, but you just have to find some way to get those funds.
There was no other alternative option other than the 40,000 monthly deposit.
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The most common mistakes I saw from other applicants:
- 2 sets for only some, but not all documents
- Bank passbook not updated either today or yesterday (yesterday is also OK)
- Bank letter not obtained within the last 7 days (Bangkok Bank charges 100 baht for it, done within 5 minutes)
- Forgot either the KR.3 (rose border) or KR.2 (detailed form) marriage certificate - you need both!
- Forms written in black, not blue, ink
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CM immigration report: 1st time 1-year marriage visa extension. I'm on a 90-day multiple-entry O visa obtained at Savannakhet last year.
Make sure to have 2 sets of everything, all signed!
Here's what I did:- Wrote out everything in blue ink
- 2 sets of all required documents, including 2 visa application forms written out by hand. The 2 sets of documents were neatly organized.
- 2 STM forms also signed, along with the COVID amnesty agreement form given by the immigration office that I signed.
- Family photos printed out on A4 paper (5 baht each at local print shops around Chiang Mai), 2 sets x 4 photos (I gave them 6 and they were OK with it)
- I signed everything except for my photos and wife's/landlord's IDs and marriage certificates
- Bank passbook updated on the same day (although yesterday is also OK). 400,000 baht had been deposited exactly 60 days before.
- Wife forgot to photocopy the KR.2 marriage certificate, so we had to do photocopies of that that on site. Immigration wanted the original KR.2 marriage certificate and said we should get another one.
The process:- Dressed neatly and respectably like for church/office/school.
- Some English/Chinese-speaking church volunteers staffing the front of the immigration office (airport location) checked all of my documents to make sure they were OK. The documents were all in order.
- Came in just after 1 pm. 2 hour wait time. I was then called in for an interview that took just 10 minutes with a nice lady who was just there to fill out forms, not interrogate anyone. The entire interview was done in Thai, though you could opt to do it in English if you want to.
- Immigration didn't bat an eye about the fact that my wife is (a lot) older than me and acted like we were a typical couple. Other countries would probably interrogate such couples a lot more. I guess Thai immigration sees all kinds of couples and don't care about how weird they are. Questions included where we had first met, how long we had lived together, our estimated monthly income, my parents' names, my siblings' names and residences, who lives in our house, our occupations, and other basic information. They even let my wife and I collaborate on the answers and think about what to say.
- Online work for foreign clients isn't a problem at all. They accepted that and said it was OK.
- Got a stamp telling me to come back exactly one month later. Immigration said a house visit would be made in 10-15 days and that I should have my phone on at all times to get ready for their call.
- Witnesses can be any friend or relative, and don't have to be neighbors.
There was no attempt to delay the process by saying we were missing such-and-such documents when we had everything we needed, no intrusive questions, and no unreasonable wait times. There was no "what are doing here, why don't you go back to your home country" kind of attitude.
Easy, straightforward process. Nothing to fear, and nothing compared to filing US taxes.
Good job Chiang Mai immigration office!
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My question is which other countries are similar in this regard.
I already deposited 400k baht. But guys married to women in the Philippines and Vietnam just told me I got ripped off.
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On 6/6/2020 at 2:35 AM, finnishmen said:
you go marry yopu not need anythink deposit or money in bank. only 2000 B money and go to made marry papers at goverment distric office, no need more, VISA need 400 000 B 1 year visa after you has marry thai. 2 month before need be in THAILAND BANK ACCOUNT, and 1 month about AFTER visa you go take passport stam back . immiogration looking 2 month before and AFTER when you go back immigration and take back you stamped passport immigration check you bank account, this need certified bank paper both time, need be new same day made papers. i has made marry visa last 4 year i know sure how and what need be.
Translation from Finnish? A bit hard to read.
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I'm curious to know:
For marriage visas or residency, which other countries have financial requirements like requiring the foreign spouse to deposit 400,000 baht in a local bank?
The US and UK have financial requirements, but those are income requirements rather than fixed deposits.
I'm asking because I'm wondering if Thailand is the outlier, or if this is a pretty standard practice.
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10 hours ago, Kmoore said:
15 USD a month on your investment is high yield? Or is there really another reason you do not have the money in Thailand?
Because Amurrica is #1 right? (sarcasm)
And the yield is 1.5 percent. Do the math. Over $150, not $15.
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Much of my income is from Upwork. They have many FAQs available online. The reason I need to set my location as the US is because many jobs on Upwork are US-only jobs.
When searching for tax professionals, many competing companies show up. Have any of you guys used these?
https://www.greenbacktaxservices.com/
https://www.cpasforexpats.com/
https://www.taxesforexpats.com/
https://www.ustaxconsultants.net/
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24 minutes ago, GinBoy2 said:
Thanks. I've checked this out, and am looking at a few other options. $200 per year may be worth it in this case. But I need a good location to put on my online work profiles, and banks should hopefully have no problem with them.
4 minutes ago, ChouDoufu said:you need professional advice.
I keep getting advised, "find a tax professional." Where do I start? Intuit and H&R Block keep saying they have live agents. There are "taxes for expats" websites everywhere. You get quotes from $100 to $1,000. Then some people say it's best to just use TurboTax software and not hire anyone.
Any leads would be greatly appreciated. Or even better, tax professionals that you have personally worked with and would recommend.
Why are people staying in Thailand when then can't meet TI's financial requirements?
in ASEAN NOW Community Pub
Posted
?!?!?!?!?!
In the US we pay way, way more than that for medical insurance. Thai health insurance is dirt cheap!