Jim7777

On 3/31/2019 at 11:51 AM, ubonjoe said:

They are not asking for proof of your funds still being in the bank for 90 day reports

People who applied after March 1st are being notified to return 3 months after the day they to show their bank book still shows 800k baht in the account.

Most people who have done 90 day reports state they only needed their current report receipt and their passport to do the report.

Using the 800K Baht in the bank method for retirement extensions sounds like a real pain.  

5 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Every office has different requirements.

Some offices do not require witnesses. 

I know at my Immigration Office the two witnesses are only required for your first extension unless you move to a different province or something.  So for your next extension next year you shouldn’t need to have witnesses ever again unless you move to a different area or something.  I know for my first extension at my home Immigration Office I needed 2 witnesses who were not related to my wife and I was lucky to find to old guys who knew my wife when she was a little girl still living here.  They had to come to immigration with us and bring their Tamien Baans and their Thai ID cards to verify their identity and to verify that they weren’t related to my wife, and it went really smoothly.  I took them both out to lunch afterwards for their trouble.  One of them is a retired Thai cop I don’t know if that made a difference or not.  

At first I was concerned because I was wondering who would be willing to go with us to Immigration from outside our family.  But I spoke to my wife’s sister and she put me in touch with the two older gentlemen that we actually do know from our neighborhood who have known my wife since she was first born here and they agreed to act as our witnesses for immigration.  It wasn’t that hard.  If you and your wife and family really keep to themselves and don’t know very many people then it could be a bit of a challenge finding two witnesses but that’s unusual in Thailand most strong families in Thailand are really close with other families and friends in your local area so it shouldn’t be that difficult.  After I spoke to my wife’s sister I found our witnesses from outside our family really easy.  Maybe find a few people who have known you and your wife for a while and maybe offer to buy lunch or something after your visit to immigration that’s pretty much what I did.  On the way back from Immigration I paid for their gas and took everyone out to eat as my way of saying thanks for their help.  

I was told that next year when I do my next extension in 2020 I won’t need any witnesses next time. I’ve been here almost 5 years now but this year was the first year I ever did my own extension myself without using an agent at my actual home Immigration Office so it was as if I was actually doing my first extension and it actually was my first extension done at my home Immigration Office.  So now I’m on the right track thanks to the new Immigration rules.  I’ll never use an agent ever again and I never really needed to in the first place although I’m glad I did for my first extension at least because the first year here the agent took care of transferring our US marriage certificate to a Thai marriage certificate KOR ROR 22, and I have more than one official original copy including one official original copy translated to English.  I have like 4 original copies of our Thai marriage certificate from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs so the agent was definitely useful for my first extension at least but after that I was really wasting money on the agent every year until this year because I do my own extensions from now on.  So now I don’t really feel I need an agent anymore after doing it myself this year.  

Anyway yes I had to have two witnesses as well who are not related to my wife just for my first extension only and they had to bring their Tambien Baans and Thai ID Cards with them.  Next year you shouldn’t have to have witnesses again when you do your extensions from now on unless you move to a different area under a different Immigration Office.  I’m assuming that this must be your first extension if you needed the two witnesses.  

Ubonjoe advised me that most Immigration Offices will either require the two witnesses or do a home inspection for your first extension and he was right.  

3 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

That is the standard denial of entry stamp. Poipet is notorious for erroneous denials of entry. 

It may not cause any problems when you try to enter the country again. But if an officer notices it you might be question about it.

My first year living here on my initial marriage visa before I got my first extension I used to do border crossings every 90 days at the Poipet border crossing and back then Poipet was awesome.  Now I get my extensions every year so I don’t have to do border runs anymore but I heard that Poipet has drastically changed since 2015 ever since the Bangkok bomber was caught trying to escape across the Poipet border.  Apparently the Bangkok bomber illegally entered Thailand across the Poipet border crossing using an obvious fake passport and he apparently bribed his way into the country supposedly.  Ever since that incident Poipet started drastically changing and they started moving immigration Officers around and getting a lot tougher about border crossings at Poipet from what I heard.  

The Bangkok bomber didn’t have a very good escape and evasion plan if he was trying to escape the same way he illegally entered the country in the first place that was stupid.  But most people who do heinous things like he did are usually not the brightest and even the smart and calculating one’s usually get caught eventually.  Anyway that’s why Poipet isn’t a very good place to cross the border anymore it used to be one of the best places to do a border run but apparently not anymore.  I remember whenever I used to do my border runs at Poipet before I started getting my extensions every year I’d be waiting in line behind just about every back packer from all over the world mostly Europe.  Back then Poipet was a very friendly place but from what I understand not anymore ever since the incident back in 2015.  That one incident is what caused Poipet to change although that incident was a pretty big deal a terrorist illegally entered Thailand over the Poipet border crossing and was also apprehended there trying to escape apparently on the Cambodian side of the border so he almost got away.  I think that really ruined it for everyone as far as the Poipet border crossing but that’s why they kind of needed some immigration reform although unfortunately sometimes it negatively affects good people but supposedly they are working on fixing that as well to make things easier for those of us who are the “good guys”.  

15 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

He needed them for the extension application but apparently was told he did not need to show them when he goes back for his extension stamp in 30 days 

 

 

Yeah exactly just like when you told me when I went back for mine that all I needed to bring with me was my passport on the day I finally got my actual one year stamp for this year’s extension till 2020 and you were exactly right.  Although I don’t use the 400K option I use the monthly income option.  Although the initial extension application is a lot of paperwork but it’s worth it to stay here and it’s only once a year.  

WoW that “prison room” is nicer than some houses that some Thai people actually live in everyday.   

Never leave immigration until you’ve checked everything in your passport.  

1 hour ago, mosan said:

You're right about the changes being out for a long time, however, DFAS is not sending direct deposits to Thailand...

Nope neither DFAS or the VA is on board I checked into it back in December you just have to do your International wire transfers manually every month on payday that’s what I’ve been doing.  I receive pensions from both the VA and DFAS.  I currently use SCB here in Thailand and Pentagon Federal Credit Union in the States which handles my International wire transfers very well every month, I do them manually over the phone every payday and so does Navy Federal Credit Union they process International wire transfers very well even better than PenFed does.  And PenFed charges a $30 dollar fee for International wire transfers and Navy Federal Credit Union only charges a $20 dollar fee per International wire transfer, which I hear is a lot cheaper than what most banks charge.  Someone told me that those fees are unusually low.  Well because they’re military Federal Credit Unions that’s why they’re cheaper.  

7 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

It has been discussed many times since time since Bangkok Bank first announced what is on the website last October.

The SSA has been doing the transfers in the IAT format for some time now. From info posted about 80% of them going into NY are in the IAT format. If you set it up now you need to sure your registered address for the SSA is for here and that the SF1199a direct deposit form s sent to Manila for processing.

In a few months their may be other banks offering SSA direct deposit since the they have approved IDD for Thailand but it is not know yet which banks.

The Military and others are not fully onboard for the IAT format as far as I know.

“The Military and others are not fully onboard for the IAT format as far as I know.”

They’re not I looked into this as an option back in December and I quickly dismissed it as a possible option.  So I just do mine over the phone by International wire transfer every month to SCB and it’s been going really well so far.  It’s only once a month on payday, no big deal.  

1 hour ago, ttrd said:

During the night - hence nightmare ...

Probably because he had to get out of bed that day to get it done.  

On 3/22/2019 at 2:35 PM, Juan B Tong said:

Nah, maybe just you?

What’s the point of being so confrontational with everyone?  Especially Ubonjoe who’s just trying to help people?  

38 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Average income is only possible for an extension of stay based upon marriage. Note the amounts shown in my post. Also it has to be an average over 12 months.

For retirement the average is not allowed. You have to transfer at least 65k baht every month. 

Ubonjoe I just want you to know that there are probably thousands of people on this forum including myself who sincerely appreciate you.  I for one have the upmost respect for you.  Thanks for everything you do for people.  I didn’t like the way the OP replied to you after you just gave him friendly advice to help him.  

Additionally you are not boxed into a corner you do have options.  Even if all else failed the worst thing that could happen is that you would just leave Thailand for about two days and just get a new visa at a Thai Embassy and that’s the worst thing that could happen as long as you don’t overstay your current extension make sure you don’t do that.  This transition period is confusing for a lot of people I’m just glad that I don’t have to do my next extension till 2020.  Just listen to Ubonjoe, have a plan, and you’ll be okay.  You definitely have options you just have to evaluate your situation and figure it out but I recommend that you do that based on Ubonjoe’s advice.  My advice might have been helpful as well but I don’t know your entire situation and Ubonjoe knows more about these things then anyone I’ve ever talked to.  So trust me send Ubonjoe a private message and explain to him your entire situation and take his advice.  And be sure and have a backup plan.  

OP trust me I’ve been living here for five years and I’ve been using Thaivisas for even longer just listen to Ubonjoe and no one else.  If you have to just send Ubonjoe a private message he’ll reply to you and he is the best subject matter expert on immigration, visa, and extension matters that I’ve ever found online who’s willing to give free advice that most visa agents actually charge money for.  Trust me I’ve been asking him for advice for years over 5 years and he’s almost never wrong about these things.  

Unonjoe is definitely right about your option number one unless you’re on Social Security or another type of pension where the New York branch of Bangkok Bank would do that for you.  

Personally I recommend that you open a new bank account and there are some banks that will open new accounts over the phone from overseas.  I know because I just switched US banks back in January right over the phone in only 5 minutes as if I had been there in person.  Although I'm retired military and I switched over from Navy Federal Credit Union to Pentagon Federal Credit Union right over the phone with no problems.  And yes Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed) does do overseas International Wire Transfers for only a $30 dollar fee per International wire transfer, I do them every month.  

The good news is that Pentagon Federal Credit Union is also available to the general public and not only just Active Duty Military, retired military as I am, and Veterans you can open an account with them as well right over the phone from here in Thailand.  I did have to send them the signature cards required by law but not for two months after they opened my account and I already had my Direct Deposits going to PenFed.  PenFed didn’t even ask for copies of my identification it was easy.  

So I just gave you a potential option that I think might work depending on your situation but definitely listen to Ubonjoe and if he tells you anything different than what I have listen to him instead.  

6 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

If you apply for the extension after March 1st the rules are in effect for you now.

If not then when you apply for your next extension the 800k baht will only need to be in the bank for 2 months on the date you apply and then remain in the bank for 3 months after you do the application.

After 3 months you can lower the balance to 400k baht until the day you top up the account to 800k baht.

I’m on a marriage visa extension but I am retired here and if I was on a retirement visa extension I definitely would not want to use that option unless I was rich, I’d still use my monthly income option because I would not want anyone telling me when I’m allowed to access my own money.  I make more than enough monthly income to qualify for either marriage or retirement maybe I’ll switch to a retirement visa someday when I hit the big 50.  But I don’t really have any reason to switch even if I were over 50 now.  I think the marriage visa extension is just as good to retire on as long as you are married to a Thai citizen of course.  

If I wasn’t on a monthly pension I would not be retired unless I was rich because I definitely would not want to live on my savings either unless I was a lot older like maybe in my 70’s.  But everyone has different financial situations.  I’m just lucky I was able to retire in my 40’s.  I never thought I’d be totally retired this early I always thought I’d be working into my 60’s.  It’s just because I’m retired military and a disabled veteran so I retired young.  If I were not receiving my monthly pension payments I’d still be working for sure because I make more income a month than most military retirees since I’m rated at 100% Disabled Permanent and Total.  I’m very lucky but it was bad luck that allowed me to retire in my 40’s.  

The curse is that I can’t do all the extreme physical stuff that I used to love to do so much like marathons, climbing mountains, sky diving, and lots of other stuff.  Although I can still swim really good.  Sometimes I try to do some of the physical stuff and I end up getting injured like I did yesterday because I attempted to go white water rafting yesterday that was a bad idea.  Now my shoulder is dislocated I was in the hospital last night all night long and my whole body hurts including old injuries that I aggravated.  I still had fun yesterday regardless of the pain I try not to let it hold me back to much.  But there are just some things I can’t do anymore.  I wish I could go hiking trekking and running again but at least I can still walk and I’m alive and happy.  

Anyway I definitely would not like that option if I were on a retirement visa unless I was rich because I would not want anyone telling me how much I’m allowed to withdraw and when.  That’s probably the only Immigration rule that I totally disagree with.  That’s really gotta suck for people who use the money saved option on a retirement visa extension.  

For the most part I think the new immigration changes have made things easier for us except for people on retirement visas who go by the 800K in the bank option depending on their financial situation obviously.  

On 3/16/2019 at 2:37 PM, ubonjoe said:

Perhaps you could do the combination of annual income and money in a Thai bank to reach a total of 800k baht would be possible.

I don’t know if this helps but the Italian Embassy I believe still gives Income Affidavits but I definitely would NOT encourage lying on the Affidavit.  Or maybe leave the country and get a new visa at a Thai Embassy.  I’m just spit baling Ubonjoe is the subject matter expert on these things not me.  I’m just throwing out some hypotheticals.  Good luck I hope it works out for you.  

Just know the immigration rules for your specific type of visa or extension, follow those rules, and you shouldn’t end up in that situation in the first place.  Just do the right thing or rather the legal thing.  

7 hours ago, attrayant said:

 

Yes that was the first thing that made me skeptical.  So much bad information out there.

Dude I’ve been taking advice from Ubonjoe for almost 5 years now and he’s right 99.9% of the time.  From my experience if you ask Ubonjoe anything about visas, extensions, or anything immigration related including even some other non-immigration related issues and if he gives you advice you can take it to the bank because it is almost certainly the right answers he’s giving you.  He has never steered me wrong.  

The only time I’ve ever got an incorrect answer from him was a few years ago when I asked him if Immigration was open on a particular Thai holiday (not an important holiday) and he said that immigration would be closed but it was actually open.  Other than that one time Ubonjoe has always advised me correctly and I have been asking Ubonjoe questions for almost 5 years now and I’ve asked him A HELL OF A LOT OF QUESTIONS and he has always been right about everything I’ve ever asked him except for one little tiny thing one day.  

I’ve probably leaned on Ubonjoe more than anybody on this website for advice because when I first retired here on my marriage visa all I knew were just the basic Thai Visa Laws and not much more than that.  Pretty much everything I’ve learned about immigration matters in the last 5 years I’ve learned from Ubonjoe.  I owe him I feel like I do anyway for all of his free advice that’s literally worth money.  There are visa agencies that charge A LOT OF MONEY for the advice that Ubonjoe gives for free and it’s good advice to, it’s almost always legitimate information that you can take to the bank.....

Don’t be giving Ubonjoe a hard time he’s a good guy.  

23 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

I think you are correct but I suggest you contact them about it. If the answer is no then get it in writing from them. There have already been reports of immigration refusing the money going into the bank for a person whose embassy still issued them.

That’s another one of many reasons why I’m now glad that our Embassy stopped issuing them.  I was very worried about it in the beginning but now that I understand the new monthly income verification rules for our annual extensions now I’m actually happy about it.  I actually like the new rules but not everyone else does it just depends on your personal situation.  I’m sure next year after the transition period things will seem a lot easier for most people.  

On 3/14/2019 at 11:47 AM, ubonjoe said:

The new rules for proof of income went into effect in December when an amendment was issued. It allows proof of 65k baht going into your account or proof of income from your embassy it you are from a country that still issue them.

March 1st was for the 800k baht in the bank and or combination of income and money in the bank.

The head of immigration sent out a memorandum instructing offices to be lenient and flexible for the proof of income this year.

They should accept 6 months of the 65k baht being transferred into your account when you apply for your extension. 

 

I thought I remembered reading that in the new immigration rules for the first year during the transition period away from the income affidavits.  Although that doesn’t apply to me because I do my next extension in around January 2020 and by then I’ll have a full 12 months of monthly wire transfers into my Thai bank account.  The timing worked out perfectly for me I was just lucky.

Even if Immigration did give the OP a hard time about not having the full 12 months of monthly wire transfers that doesn’t mean you’re “done in Thailand” worst case scenario you would just leave the country, go to a Thai Embassy abroad, get a NEW VISA, and then just simply return to Thailand in a few days with your new visa. But you shouldn’t even have to do that that’s just worst case scenario.  

Ubonjoe is almost always right about these things and I’m sure you’ll have no problems getting your extension.  Trust me Joe has given me lots of advice over the years and he has been right 99.9% of the time.  

Immigration isn’t “moving the goal post” or changing anything it’s still 40K Baht a month minimum monthly income requirement for marriage visa extensions and it’s still 65K Baht a month minimum monthly income requirement for retirement visa extensions it has been the same for years.  The only difference now is that now you actually have to prove it for real.  

They are not changing the requirements but they are currently going through a transition period because the United States, British, Australia, and I believe Denmark as well has stopped providing income affidavits and right now immigration is right in the middle of transitioning from income affidavits to the new monthly income verification requirements.  The income affidavits are valid for six months after the date of completion and a lot of people got their last income affidavits provided in December 2018 by their embassies.  So the transition period is slowly coming to an end very soon and not everyone has had a Thai bank account for 12 full months yet, but immigration is supposed to be working with people on that for the first year.  I was very lucky with the timing of mine because when I do my next extension in January or February 2020 by then I’ll have the full 12 months of monthly wire transfers to show from my bank in the States from my monthly pension payments.  If I were in your shoes I might MIGHT have done the same thing depending on when your extension is due especially if it’s due after June and before December or November.  But probably not because the monthly income option is so much easier especially with the exchange rates and for the first year if I’m not mistaken I believe you don’t have to show the full 12 months of monthly wire transfers during the first year because of the transition period but I forgot what the police orders said about that exactly because that doesn’t apply to my situation.  

The monthly income option is so much easier.  

6 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

It is certainly not written in the amendment to the police order.

But as most people are aware immigration can ask for additional proof if they think it is needed.

It is not clear what they were asking for in that one report of it. Proof of where the money is being transferred from might be enough proof if they suspected your were earning the money here and sending it out of the country and then back again.

Yeah exactly Immigration hasn’t “moved the goal post”, nothing has changed since the last finalized police orders.  This is just business as usual now it appears.  

15 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

One of the bad things about relying on PenFed, depending on how you use their account, is their checking debit card has I believe a 2% foreign currency fee when used outside the U.S. or for foreign source purchases, which is higher than I'd expect for a military related FCU.

 

One of the good things about dealing with Navy Fed is lately they've had a running succession of very good CD special offers. I think one of the more recent ones as a 17 month, 3.25% CD. And they've had another one that I believe hit 4% for multiple years, but it was only for IRA funds, not regular funds.

 

YES, that’s also true about PenFed when I use my PenFed debit card there is a higher foreign transaction fee and I have noticed that but I very rarely ever use my PenFed debit card in Thailand I mostly just use it for iTunes and online shopping but every once in a while I might use it here in Thailand.  I mostly just use my local SCB debit card with the Master Card logo on it so I usually don’t have to worry about foreign transaction fees which is another advantage to using a Thai bank account.  There are pros and cons to everything nothing is ever gonna be perfect.  

4 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

I'd say the normal range for international wires from the U.S. is from about $25 on the low end up to $60 or so on the high end at some places...  And probably the larger mega banks mostly in the $40-$60 range...  Offset by some brokerages that offer free or very low cost international xfers, and a few smaller banks and some CU's that have the $25 to $30 fees.

 

The problem is, even a lot of U.S. expats, for reasons that totally escape me, still do their retail banking with the BofAs, Chases, Citis, Wells Fargos, etc etc... And they're some of the worst when it comes to high intl wire transfer fees.

 

 

I never knew that the regular banks charged that much for International wire transfer fees.  I’ll definitely be staying with PenFed and Navy Federal for sure.  Thanks.  

And again I highly recommend that the OP call PenFed and try to open an account over the phone as I did back in January.  Like I said I didn’t have to show any identification I only had to send them the signature cards that are required by US law and that was it.  PenFed opened my accounts over the phone in literally five minutes and I wasn’t expecting it to be that easy.  

I had my VA and my retired military pension payments set up by Direct Deposits before I even sent them back the signature cards, and I already had my new debit card before I even sent them the signature cards, so it’s definitely worth a try for the OP he has till April 1st so he still has time and yes PenFed is open to the public as well.  Now that I fully understand his situation I think it’s good advice for him.