sumrit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6

16 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Have never used income letter. Always money in bank. Previously just made sure the 800 was there for 3 months then just lived off it for next several months. I really hate these new requirements but I accept as I wish to live here. 

 

Slightly unrelated. After the money in bank changes (800 for 3 month after then min 400k), I hatched a plan to obtain my next extension with money in bank, with no intention of maintaining it in bank after extension granted. Then just prior to permission expire return to Au and obtain a non O-A. 

Then they introduced the compulsory insurance for O-A. Maybe they are more clever than I imagined.

Yes, these 'minor changes' can be really disruptive for some. I've watched 'minor' changes to the various visa/extension rules over the years and think 'today's' changes are just a small part of a long term plan to update and streamline the outdated system we have at the moment.   I think the new 800k rules actually make the income method a more attractive option than money in the bank. contrary to popular belief on TV I actually think encouraging the income method is the preferred option for the powers that be and the 800k option would only remain available (and more controllable) to those who don't have the required monthly income. 

Could that not be an alternative option for you?

But back to your initial problem. You shouldn't have to, but do you know another Thai person (other than your wife who has a BB account at a different branch? Then go, with him, to his branch and start by saying the Au letter isn't an option but your friend will offer his reference as the preferred option right from the start instead of just asking them to state what your options are. The bank has a list of reference options and, if an Au letter or Au bank letter is listed before a friends reference you can never get to it unless you offer the friend option before they look at the list.

I hope this makes sense.

1 minute ago, DrJack54 said:

Thanks David. Went to both branch with her. No success. 

Did you get an income letter before they were stopped in December or do you use the 800k method for your extensions?

3 hours ago, stillhereandlovinit said:

Youve had longer to save though lol????????

And more time to get those 'pre-existing conditions' that are exempted under that more expensive insurance policy.......so we're paying more for less 555 ????????

10 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Why the big difference in cost? 

Plus the standard policy is not available to new applicants that are over the age of sixty-five, so us over that age would have no option other than to pay the higher premiums.

3 hours ago, brewsterbudgen said:

The NHS is great. Your mate's "bird" didn't really get treated for free, as Settlement visas require a NHS fee of (I think £400) to be paid, for the initial visa and then again for LTR. But it's still good value.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
 

That £400 went up to £600 for the initial 2.5 years with another £600 for the next 2.5 years.............and I believe each of those £600 payments increased to £900 as from last month.

 

 

 

 

3

2 minutes ago, yodsak said:

To OP.  You opened a BB AC in Bangkok.  Did you put 800k in it.?

 

You then got some kind of  visa from TI in Bangkok.  NON-O ? 

 

You then went to Pattaya and the IO said you must open another BB AC in Pattaya.

 

Did you open one, and put 800k in it ?    or was the 800k flashed in/out by the lawyer staff ?

 

The only reason to travel to Pattaya is if you don't have 800k. 

Avoid lawyers, use agents.  

 

Do it yourself, costs just 1900 baht.

If you are unsure and need advice, ask Ubonjoe on this forum. He will describe exactly what you need to do, wherever in Thailand you're living, to do and supply a link to all the documents you need.

3 hours ago, Jingthing said:

 

 

 

2

3 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Dude, I'm only saying it's UNCLEAR and anyone at this point with the information that has been released at this point that says things are definite shouldn't be taken seriously. 

 

Where you're at I don't think is reasonable. You're looking this from a legalist POV when in reality the press coverage and language even in official announcements in English here is notoriously vague and flawed.

I fail to see why you think my quoting what has been officially said is unreasonable when, throughout this thread and others currently running, you have made comments that have definitely not been said or even suggested yet treat them as accurate information without any foundation and yet you think your comments are reasonable. 

2 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Seriously? You seriously thinks that clear this up?!?

“Current holders of this visa will have to produce proof of their health insurance for visa renewal

At least I'm quoting what is actually written in the report, not quoting your assumption that has never been quoted on any report.

Please show me any official report that states expats on extensions will be included in this health insurance change. 

19 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Renewal means extensions obviously. 

Applications for annual retirement extensions are exactly the same thing if you started with an O-A or started with an O.

It's really hard to believe that they don't mean ALL retirement extensions. But why they had to confuse things by saying O-A is the problem. 

Read again: Firstly it specifically states it applies to applicants of O-A visas then states holders of this visa will have to provide proof of health insurance.

Nowhere does it mention extensions or existing holders of O-A visas that have extended their permission of stay before the implementation date.

She said that once the rule is implemented, applicants for the non-immigrant O-A visa, which is valid for one year from the date of issue, would be required to buy health insurance. 

“Current holders of this visa will have to produce proof of their health insurance for visa renewal

Taken from this article:

https://news.thaivisa.com/article/35306/mandatory-health-insurance-for-retirement-visa-holders-likely-to-take-effect-in-july

 

 

 

Quote

 

Approved by the Cabinet last month, the new regulation will require expats on the long-stay non-immigrant O-A visa to have health insurance that offers Bt40,000 coverage for outpatient treatment and Bt400,000 for inpatient. 

 

The requirement was introduced because foreign expats have piled up unpaid medical bills of more than Bt300 million since 2016. 

 

Once the rule is implemented, applicants for the non-immigrant O-A visa, which is valid for one year from the date of issue, would be required to buy health insurance. 

 

“Current holders of this visa will have to produce proof of their health insurance for visa renewal

 

So, once implemented, will only apply to new applicants applying for an O-A visa, who will also have to show current health insurance when applying a for visa renewal. 

1 hour ago, HampiK said:

Can I ask at which DLT you do the new 5 year DL? 
Last time I was at Mo-Chit and they also used the yellow book and everything, but still wanted the passport as well so on the driver license is the passport number..

Did you supply a pink ID card as well as the yellow book? It's the ID card that replaces the passport in order to show your ID number, instead of your passport number, on your new DL. The Yellow book replaces your proof of residence.

Works exactly the same as it does for Thai nationals.

21 hours ago, malagateddy said:

I am not a gossip monger..

But you are. Unless you provide accurate facts and sources to back up your comments, what you have written in your post is just pure gossip, plain and simple.

8 minutes ago, JAS21 said:

TransferWise have set up my transfers from the UK to go direct to Bangkock Bank every time ... thus it shows FTT in my bank Book ... This Jean person is not quite right in what she says ...unless I misunderstand the topic.

'Jeane' was describing what needs to be done to ensure your transfer is routed via the correct partner bank.

I agree, from the UK at least, transfers currently appear to go via the Bangkok Bank anyway. When I phoned them up in January to request transfers are routed via the BB I was told the request would be flagged up on my account so I wouldn't need to phone them every time, but that was relayed over the phone and I never had it in writing. Every transfer since then has gone via the BB though. 

My next year's renewal will be a marriage extension, which is more flexible because the total transfers only have to average the 40k baht over the year, the odd month can be under. So I decided to make two transfers per month without phoning them each time just to see if, over the year, all transfers go via the BB. They have done so far but, if one should get routed differently, the excess that I transfer each month will more than cover the odd one showing a domestic transfer.

It's all working smoothly so far, time will tell. 

4 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

Thanks, as I thought it would be but where did they get the English version of your name from ? 

Probably from the driving licence application form you filled in. It would also be on file in their computer records from your previous application.

2 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

"I'm sorry it took us some time to answer your email."

You are lucky you got them answered, the first time it took five days.

The second time I had to send them reminders four times before they 

finally answered. 

They took a full week to send my funds from my UK bank to my Bangkok bank.

Phone their UK office instead of emailing them. Takes less than a minute.

3 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Old news. Transferwise have obviously changed their mind as the process is too manual, I don't blame them

Not old news. The OP started this thread today because he'd just contacted TW and received the same reply others have had IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS. He posted to ask if anybody else, who had contacted TW, had received the same or a different response from them.

TW are obviously still giving the same advice to esure transfers are sent to the correct partner bank so they have DEFINITELY NOT CHANGED THEIR MINDS. And, compared to the hoops some US citizens have to jump through in order to make a simple foreign transfer, in the UK a simple online bank transfer to TW (30 seconds) plus a 30 second phone call to them to request the correct partner bank is is not too manual, it's easier than a walk in the park.????

 

 

 

 

 

 

5

20 hours ago, Pib said:

So far you have been lucky that TW has chosen Bangkok Bank as their partner bank for transfers to your Bangkok Bank account.  But that does not mean they will every time.  Unless you have setup a tagging arrangement with TW, eventually some of your transfers will be routed thru K-bank or TMB to your Bangkok Bank account and then you will not receive the FTT/International Transfer coding on your Bangkok Bank account...it will instead just be reflected as a regular domestic transfer.   

 

Quite a few TW related posts where people having TW transfers going to their Bangkok Bank account stated they did not get the FTT/International Transfer coding because TW used Kbank or TMB.   

 

A person needs to keep in mind that TW has agreements with its three Thailand partner banks and each time a partner bank is involved in a transfer they get a small fee from TW for processing the transfer.   And I expect TW likes to spread around the transfers among it's partner banks to keep them all happy versus favoring one....plus I expect TW does not really like tagging as it creates more work for them and makes it harder for them to spread the transfers among all three partner banks.

YOU ARE WRONG WITH THESE STATEMENTS!

Have you contacted TW directly yourself???

Why do you not read what the OP, myself and several others have posted at various times on this forum after contacting TW directly to ask about transfers:  

 

 

1

Quote

 

I sent an email to TransferWise (TW) asking if all their monthly transfers to me could be sent to Bangkok Bank, explaining the TI rules on monthly income method. Here's their reply:

 

"Thank you for getting in touch with us. I'm sorry it took us some time to answer your email.

Unfortunately, we currently have no means to allow your future transfers be automatically sent via a particular bank. This has to be done manually. Here are the steps you need to follow if you want to route your payment to Bangkok Bank:

Set up the transfer
Give us a call
Send your funds to us

Once we receive your request, we will try to manually route the payment to your chosen bank. 

I hope this helps, but if you have any questions or something needs to be clarified, please write back to us. 

 

Set up the transfer
Give us a call
Send your funds to us

Once we receive your request, we will try to manually route the payment to your chosen bank

This was exactly the same response I had from the Transferwise UK office when I contacted them in January. I've been making two transfers a month since then and every single one has gone directly to my Bangkok bank account.????

14 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Off topic, but the NHS have no way to enforce payment of any bill to any person.

It's just trash you throw in the bin, if you don't feel like paying.

Off topic, I agree, but I was just trying to show what happens in practice to counter inaccurate posts.

You can do what you like with the bill, throw it wherever you want, BUT, the UK authorities are no longer ignoring unpaid bills so, if ever you do return to the UK (as this couple will do when his contract finishes) you will be pursued for the money. 

A lot of UK citizens have, in the past, assumed they can return to the UK  to receive NHS treatment. So, from the point of having access to medical care, it is relevant to this topic.

6 minutes ago, anchadian said:

Not correct.  You would receive immediate NHS treatment if you returned to live in the UK.

BUT, you have to be back in the UK for six months before it is accepted that you have returned to live and are not just a 'medical migrant'.

Last year a married woman went to S. Africa for six months because her husband went to work there. She came back (pregnant) for Christmas then had problems with the pregnancy and the baby was delivered early, by cesarian. She was presented with a bill for over £10,000 by the NHS because she was deemed no longer a UK resident'. 

1 minute ago, brewsterbudgen said:

You will get free NHS treatment if you can show that you have returned to the UK to live there.

And I was told that would be after you had returned to the UK for more than six months.