Jim7777

On 3/8/2019 at 11:58 AM, Spidey said:

In Pattaya, it's being dispensed by the MTB guys.

I’ve been curious about this whole topic myself but I haven’t done hardly any research on it at all and I’m actually curious about this as well.  I saw what Sheryl wrote which sounds about right.  I remember hearing something about April 1st.  I have a nephew who works at a Thai Army Hospital who told me that it’s only for cancer patients but then again he does work at an Army hospital so I take that with a grain of salt.  I haven’t asked the good hospital about it yet or my doctor.  I’m interested in it.  

Who are the MTB guys?  And are they only in Pattaya?  And most importantly are they legally dispensing it?  

15 hours ago, Sheryl said:

If I were you I would first try going back to CW, might get a different IO this time and a different outcome. Don't mention the prior trip, just go in, hand them all documentation including your TM30 receipt and tabian ban or condo papers and see what happens.

 

Worst they can do is refuse but AFAIK there is no valid reason for them to do so. Unless there is some rule that first extension has to be at same office as the visa -- @UbonJoe?

That’s something you should try very soon and if it doesn’t work I recommend going to the Thai Embassy which is just over the border of Savannakhét, Laos and just apply for a whole new retirement visa.  I’ve never needed to use it but I’ve heard great things about the Thai Embassy in Savannakhét and they have always been my back up plan if I ever had an extension problem which luckily I have not in almost 5 years living here in Thailand.  That’s probably your best option but maybe try what Sheryl said first and if that doesn’t work leave the country, get a whole new retirement visa at a Thai Embassy, and then just come back to Thailand with your new visa.  Like I said Savannakhét is probably your best option.  

Also message a guy on this website named ubonjoe he is one of the site moderators and he’s an expert on these matters, no one here knows as much as he does about these things at least not anyone willing to give extremely good advice for free.  Talk to Ubonjoe first he’ll never steer you wrong he honestly knows what he’s talking about and absolutely no BS.  He has well over a decade of experience dealing with these things and he’s willing to help people.  He’s given me great advice on several occasions over the past 5 years.  Ubonjoe is the only person on this website that I fully trust to ask advice about visa and extension matters and even some other things as well he knows Thailand better than anyone else I have ever spoken to online.  

I bet Ubonjoe will probably tell you the same thing I did or something very similar but you should still ask him first because I might be totally missing something about your situation that Ubonjoe definitely will not miss.  He’s really good at these things as long as you clearly explain the situation so he knows all the facts.  If you take nothing else at all from my post at least trust me and ask Ubonjoe he doesn’t mind giving very good free advice.  And it will be very good advise I assure you.  

I’m not sure what your nationality is but if it’s United States, British, Australian, or Denmark you should have obtained one last Income Affidavit in December before the Embassies stopped issuing them back in December through January, because they are still valid till June at the latest, they’re valid for six months after the date of completion.  I’ve heard that some immigration offices make their own rules but I don’t know anything about that because my local immigration office doesn’t do that.  I’m also on a marriage visa extension.

My local immigration office accepted my last income affidavit back in December and my under consideration period just ended earlier this week and I received my full one year extension stamp within 5 minutes earlier this week with no issues.  They didn’t ask for bank statements or anything my income affidavit was good enough.  I don’t like advertising my location but I live somewhere in the North East in Division 4.  

Ever since January I began preparing for my next extension that I’ll do in probably mid January 2020.  I go by the monthly income method because my pension is pretty big even by US cost of living standards.  So I just do my wire transfers every month on payday from my bank in the States to my Thai bank account and I have my pass book updated and my deposit statements printed as well once a month after I do my monthly wire transfers.  I actually like the new rules better for me it’s easier.  I’m 21 years retired military and a 100% disabled veteran so I do pretty well here and the medical care is pretty good as well.

Anyway if you are a citizen of one of the countries that stopped providing the income affidavits and if you didn't already get an income affidavit back in December obviously it’s too late now because they have already stopped issuing them.  

That might be why immigration is questioning you because technically you are still supposed to use the income affidavit we’re still technically in the transition period.  Although the transition period is soon coming to an end.  Plus if you are using the money saved in the bank option instead of the monthly income option I’ve read a lot of stories on here about how immigration questions the money saved in the bank option a lot more than the monthly income option.  But I could be wrong because I don’t know your entire situation either.  

Thai airways has always been horrible about excess baggage.  That’s why we never fly Thai airways anymore.  I remember back in 2010 when I was flying here from Tokyo Japan Thai airways charged me over $300 USD in Japanese Yen just for 10 kilos of excess baggage and we only had like two carry on suitcases for my wife and I.  We never flew Thai airways ever since.  Last time when we flew Emirates Airways I had tons of excess baggage and I was expecting to pay a fortune but they didn’t charge me a dime.  Emirates Airways is probably my favorite airline I’ve flown with them many times.  

Trust me just try a different bank you’ll find one, sometimes you have to shop around banks.  I didn’t find the right bank branch till my second try at my local SCB branch and they’re awesome.  If you’re set on Bangkok Bank just try a different branch or a different bank like SCB.  All the bank branches have their own rules you just have to find the right bank for you.  

My immigration Office isn’t doing that at all as far as I know but I think I’ll bring my pass book with me anyway when I do my next 90 day report since I just got my next one year extension stamp only a few days ago just in case.  

The current government would like to ban alcohol outright if they could but that’ll never happen because it would crush their economy here and lead to lots of other problems and mass civil disobedience and possibly even violence and rioting because people would just be pissed off.  It’s never gonna happen.  Study your history about all the problems prohibition caused in the United States, prohibition in the United States Back in the 1920’s didn’t last long overall before it was eventually repealed by a constitutional amendment.  Can you imagine how the Thai people would react if that happened?  Thai people take a lot of crap but they will only be pushed so far until they react violently the riots prior to the coup in 2014 are a good example of that.  Unfortunately those riots led to the military coup that we’re under now which is the only reason why they ever even have any temporary alcohol bans in the first place.  Even when they do have the temporary alcohol bans during some holidays and other events there are still places that sell it, and you can still drink at most restaurants and bars as well.  Depending on the election (hopefully it’s a real election) all that might go away soon. Currently they’re pushing for the legalization of marijuana so there’s no way they’d ever completely ban alcohol.  I wouldn’t worry about it dude.    

There are some people in the world who just shouldn’t travel abroad and just stay home.  

8 hours ago, CelticBhoy said:

"He said that weddings and parties could still be organised at this time but there must be no alcohol."

 

Killjoys with a capital "K."  A party with no bevy  . . . . ???? ????

You just buy your alcohol early dude or just buy it from one of the mom and pop shops because they’ll still sell it to you but if you want the good imported stuff you’ll have to buy it early.  People still drink during the no alcohol days they can’t stop you.  

4 hours ago, bender92 said:

My VPN says I am in california

Yeah I use VPN as well sometimes that can make it look like I’m in almost any major city in the United States and around the world because even now there are some websites that I can’t access from Thailand for whatever reason but when I use VPN it’s no problem I can access whatever I want with VPN and I don’t get that restricted access sign.  I can just open up whatever restricted website it is no problem.  It’s usually only one government website from my home city in the States for some reason but it doesn’t matter because VPN allows me to access any website I want.  As far as the Internet monitoring I don’t really care if the government is watching me I have nothing I want to hide, when you’re surfing the Internet or Social Media or whatever online I think everyone knows by now that there is no privacy anymore online and when you access certain websites especially Social Media you actually give up your expectation of privacy because if you post anything online anonymously or not everyone can see it and your IP address can be traced back to you.  Also VPN doesn’t really hide your real IP address if someone is really looking for who you really are hard enough.  That’s a common misconception that you can hide behind VPN, but it will at least fool your Internet browser into thinking that you’re somewhere else which allows us to access whatever websites we want regardless of restrictions.  

26 minutes ago, tso310 said:

You can take off and land after midnight at LHR. 5800 are allowed per year for circumstances such as today or bad weather etc.

The flight routing is now clearer. Bangkok - Kunming - Chengdu - Lanzhou - Urumqi then Russia. You might right about 2 hours more flight time. Certainly longer than flying over Dubai etc.

I would not want to be flying over that part of the world right now.  

3 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

"Look ma. a mushroom", said Johnny from beside the window of the plane !

I was just thinking that.  India and Pakistan hate each other and right now the two countries might literally be on the brink of war and both India and Pakistan have had nuclear weapons since the late 90’s.  I remember when both countries conducted their first nuclear test I believe in 1999.  This could potentially be really bad and I’m surprised the News isn’t more focused on it.  

Right now all they’re talking about on my AIS News channels Fox News, CNN, and others is Trump’s meeting with Kim Jung Un which took place in Hanoi, Vietnam which was a total waste of time.  At least he’s trying something new but you can’t reason with someone like Kim Jung Un who has people tortured and killed literally every day.  He’s worse than his father and grandfather although Kim Jung Un doesn’t have any kids yet maybe if they get rid of him he can be replaced with someone willing to open up North Korea to the world.  I personally didn’t like how friendly Trump was with Kim Jung Un at all referring to him as a “friend”.  I never thought I’d say this but imagine what Fox News would be saying if that had been Obama being so friendly with Kim Jung Un in that case Fox News and CNN would be saying the opposite as they are now since it’s Trump.  I really hate politics especially political news.  

Sounds like he just got lucky and the immigration officers at the Thai/Lao border just didn’t properly check thoroughly enough in the computer or biometrics system and now he’s probably in Thailand illegally.  I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes.  Sounds like he just got lucky.  

On 2/27/2019 at 2:28 PM, scubascuba3 said:

Try different branches and banks. It took me 3 to find a friendly bank

That’s kind of how it worked for me as well it took me 2 to find a friendly bank, I spoke with 2 different managers at two different banks.  For me ironically it turned out to be my local SCB branch that is best for me where I live but it depends on what branch you use and more specifically the manager of your local bank branches.  In my case SCB is a million times better than Bangkok Bank but again it just depends on what branch and especially the specific bank manager.  It really does because where I live the Bangkok Bank branch manager was kind of a dick, but the SCB branch manager where I live was extremely helpful she was totally awesome.  

If they give you a hard time ask to speak with the manager and if the manager also gives you a hard time then don’t waste your time just go to a different bank or branch.  That worked for me as well and I’m very happy with my local SCB branch.  

22 hours ago, CharlieH said:

Dont put up with it, go to another bank/branch, they are all like franchises and operate differently.

You could go in there tomorrow and see someone else and get a totally different response. Happens more than you would think.

That’s true, it really is I’ve seen that many times in life as well, but from my experience dealing with Thai banks it depends a lot on the bank manager.  Sometimes you do just have to go to a different branch or a different bank.  

Depending on where you live in Thailand and your local bank branches you just have to find the best one for you.  

3 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

I think what was wanted was proof a person was staying here long term. Residency perhaps was not exactly that was being asked for.

A one year extension of stay stamp or a entry OA long stay visa would prove that.

In my case they could see that have not been out of the country for years.

Same for me at my local SCB branch as it was for you, except they also asked me for the Tambien Baan and my lease agreement and my wife’s Thai ID Card but I was still able to open the account in my name only in only 30 minutes with no paperwork from immigration at all.  They did make copies of my original visa in my old passport and copies of my extension stamps and all of my exit and entry stamps in my new passport and my old passport so you’re right.  

Although I do think they have added some new rules since you opened your account I remember when I opened my first Bangkok Bank Account back in 2015 it was a lot easier back then but again that was a joint account with my wife.  

My current SCB account is in my name only and from what I understand it has to be in my name only for immigration purposes which was why I opened the new SCB account in the first place, and I’m glad I did because I’ve found that SCB is a lot better than Bangkok Bank at least from my own personal experience where I live anyway dealing with my local branches of both banks.  I think it really does depend on the bank branch because I’ve seen that for myself as well.  I know that back in the day it was a lot easier to open any Thai bank account but they really have gotten a bit stricter, again depending on what branch you use.  I’m happy with my SCB account.  

2 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Has nothing to do with the question.

Does it show that you are a resident which is what the OP is asking about?

Coming in and out of the country with stamps on your passport has nothing to do with showing or proving residency.

It was not a guessing game but a specific question I believe.

 

 

 

Well read my first post not all banks here require information from immigration my passport stamps were accepted at my local SCB branch when I opened my SCB account there.  I didn’t have to show anything from immigration just our Tambien Baan and my lease agreement and a lot of other paperwork but it was all paperwork that I had readily available and that most other people living here on a long stay visa extension would also have readily available.  I didn’t have to ask immigration for anything but I would have if I had to.  

I opened my SCB account in only 30 minutes in one day with NO PAPERWORK FROM IMMIGRATION but like I said that was just my personal experience at my local SCB branch.  Apparently a lot of other bank branches are different which I’ve also seen for myself as well just read my first post about my experience opening a Thai bank account in my name only.  Sometimes you just have to go bank shopping or just get the paperwork from immigration I guess I’m sure it’s not that hard to get.  Luckily I didn’t have to go through all that extra hassle when I opened my SCB account but again that’s just my own personal experience where I live.  

In fact I should be paid here real soon since I’m retired military and a disabled veteran and I use a Federal Credit Union in the States so I get paid a day early so I’ll be making my next monthly wire transfer by about 7PM tonight.  But my pension payments are probably in the account now if not they will be in about an hour or two. So I think I’ll check on that here pretty soon.  I just realized today is payday YES!!! Maybe I’ll take my wife out tonight if she’s feeling better unfortunately I can’t drink right now because of a few flare ups of some medical problems.  

31 minutes ago, EricTh said:

Look at this thread here on SCB. It's easier to open a bank account at Bangkok Bank

 

 

I’ve actually found SCB to be a lot better than Bangkok Bank but that’s just my own personal experience at my local branches where I live sounds like they’re all different sometimes.  

33 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

It is FATCA requirements. 

I figured it was something like that or an agreement with the United States FTC or something like that but it was a lot like opening a bank account in the States.  Honestly I don’t know off hand what the FATCA is but I know that all International wire transfers do go through the Federal Trade Commission in the States that’s what my bank in the States told me anyway a few times.  

I’ve actually found SCB to be a lot better than Bangkok Bank but that’s just my personal experience at my local branches.  

2 hours ago, OzMan said:

I cam here two months ago on a retirement visa. Walked into SCB in Terminal 21 and asked to open an account. Filled in some forms, and the lady said she would need to ask head office if I could open account and get back to me. Next morning I had an SMS saying head office had approved my account and I opened it that afternoon.

I actually had an easier time then that at my local SCB branch at my local mall when I opened my SCB account, but it sounds like it just depends on what branch you are using for any Thai bank and more specifically I think it depends on the bank manager.  The female manager at my local SCB branch was awesome and the male manager at my local Bangkok Bank branch was a bit of a dick.  Just read my last post.  I’ve also noticed whenever I’m taking care of any kind of business around here the females treat us better usually then the men, not always but quite often they do.  Even somewhat at immigration as well but at my local immigration office they are all extremely helpful as long as you are following the rules male or female IO’s.  I did have one male IO cut me a break one day because I was doing my 90 day report and I had forgotten the original copy of the Tambien Baan that day, but instead of making me go back home and get it he gave me my new report date anyway and he just said “make sure you remember to bring it next time”.  That was the last time I reported before I did my last extension last year if I remember right.

I can’t really complain about anything here in Thailand except for maybe that bank manager at my local Bangkok Bank branch but that was an easy fix I just opened an account at my local SCB branch instead and their service is a lot better, even my monthly international wire transfers post to my SCB account faster so I’m actually glad I went to SCB instead.  

Overall I’ve been treated really well here in Thailand I can’t complain and I have been living here for almost 5 years.  That’s why when I read so many people complaining about everything on here I wonder if it’s the whole story.  I’ve had to figure out a lot of stuff by trial and error and I’ve had to ask for a lot of advice from someone very experienced living here but overall I love it here.  When living in a foreign country obviously there is going to be at least a little bit of red tape to get through but it’s really not that bad.  I’ve had to ask a lot of questions because this is my first time living abroad as a civilian I’m retired military and I’ve been all over the world and I’ve lived in Asia before but in the military you don’t have to worry about immigration and all that stuff except for when traveling and going through airports and I used to travel all over Asia when I was living in Tokyo especially Seoul, Korea.  I’ve been pulled into secondary many times when I was in the military mainly because I was a frequent flier always in civilian clothes and I was constantly traveling all over this part of the world.  I’ve been selected for surprise baggage inspections a few times when traveling through Seoul in secondary and have been questioned quite a bit in secondary but that was when I used to constantly travel in the military with a special type of unit almost always traveling alone.  This was also the first time I’ve ever had to personally open a foreign bank account so that was also a learning experience for me along with immigration and everything else in life as a civilian living abroad.  In my old job sometimes I traveled TDY under the guise as a civilian but it was still nothing like actually living abroad as a real civilian I learned quickly how different it really is then living abroad in the military.  But overall it’s not that difficult just renewing my extension once a year and the 90 day reports, and now having a Thai bank account I’m actually saving a lot of money by using my SCB account instead of my United States bank account all the time.  

22 hours ago, norbra said:

I showed them every extension (5)in my current Passport but they still want imm letter

That’s interesting because my local Bangkok Bank Branch wanted similar information from me as well the thing from immigration that they asked you for, a letter from the embassy, and my Social Security Card.  So ironically that’s exactly why I opened an account at my local SCB branch instead of Bangkok Bank and I’ve had nothing but great experiences with my local SCB branch.  

So I guess it’s true each Thai bank branch do make their own rules but then again it’s not that much different back home in the States.  Just try a different bank or a different SCB branch until you find the right one.

When I opened my account at SCB they were able to get my immigration information off of my passport and my proof of residency off of my wife’s Tambien Baan and my lease agreement, my wife was with me and they asked to see her Thai ID Card as well.  But the account is still in my name only which I have heard is an immigration requirement and that it can’t be a joint account that’s another reason why I opened my own account at SCB in my name only.  We still have our joint account at Bangkok Bank but I use my SCB account in my name only for my monthly international wire transfers.  SCB did require me to fill out a lot of paperwork and provide copies of a lot of paperwork but at least it was paperwork that I had readily available and I didn’t have to get anything from immigration, the Embassy, or show my Social Security Card which I can’t even find lol.  Obviously if I have a passport I could not have got it unless the Embassy and or the State Department was able to verify my SSN.  I don’t know if you’re a US citizen or not but that’s how it works for us.

When I was opening my SCB account I actually did have to provide my Social Security Number when filling out some of the forms but I didn’t have to show my actual Social Security Card.  I actually had to fill out United States IRS forms and provide my SSN on the IRS forms, which totally surprised me I guess it’s a Thai bank account not a Swiss Bank Account or a Caribbean Bank Account LoL.  Apparently the Thai banks have an agreement with our Federal Trade Commission in the United States so I definitely would not try to hide money here in Thailand if I owed the IRS any back taxes which I don’t thank God.  Although it does make me feel more secure putting my money into a Thai bank account knowing that the Thai banks have an agreement with our FTC.  

At my local SCB branch the service is actually great, and their online banking is awesome they even set it up for me right there at the bank in 5 minutes the online banking.  I have a debit card with the MasterCard logo on it and it works when shopping when I swipe it it’s great.  I only pay a 300 Baht a year fee which is a little less than Bangkok Bank which charges 500 Baht a year for a savings account.  

Personally I highly recommend SCB if you can find another SCB branch that doesn’t require all that then great if not then just go bank shopping like I did the day I opened my SCB account.  I got really lucky that day because the manager at my local SCB branch was extremely helpful she was great.  Or maybe just go to immigration and try asking for that document if you have to I know I almost did until I walked into my local SCB branch that day.  

I remember when my local Bangkok Bank branch manager was giving me a hard time that day and telling me that he needed all that stuff from immigration, the Embassy, and my Social Security Card he said that “any other bank would tell me the same thing”, well that was BS because my local SCB branch didn’t and I had my SCB account opened in less than 30 minutes.  I even had to go back and see that manager at my local Bangkok Bank branch and show him my SCB debit card and pass book and I told him “no actually they didn’t tell me the same thing I opened the account really fast and their service was great”.  I usually don’t do stuff like that around here but I couldn’t resist that day because that Bangkok Bank manager was just being an a hole.  So I just had to show him that he was wrong I couldn’t resist.  He looked at my SCB debit card and pass book with a surprised look on his face and said that he was just following instructions from his superiors, and I said nicely that I can understand that because I’m retired military but I also told him that as a result Bangkok Bank just lost my business and SCB just gained my business.  And we parted ways on a good note at least but I did show him that he was wrong.  And honestly I like SCB a lot better than Bangkok Bank and I highly recommend SCB, but if you can’t find a decent SCB branch wherever you are then just go Bank shopping as I did that day I opened my SCB account in my name only.  If you have to then I guess just go to Immigration and ask them for what they want I almost ended up doing that but I didn’t have to.  If I would have had to get any documentation from immigration to open a bank account it only would have been a bit of an inconvenience but not really a big deal luckily I didn’t have to and I was able to quickly open my SCB account with no hassle.  I guess it’s true it just depends on what bank branch not even the specific bank but each branch has their own rules. But like I said we deal with the same BS in the States when trying to take care of business it’s just life stuff we all deal with.  

4 minutes ago, Kadilo said:

You need to do some reading first before posting. Processing fee?  

Yeah I did we all pay the same processing fees for the same things at immigration.  Then again you did say that it was your first extension so you probably just don’t know the process yet I guess I’ve been there myself as well but I didn’t complain about it.  You have to be fully prepared at immigration.  It’s not totally free but it’s not expensive either 500 Baht is definitely not exactly tea money.