onera1961

14 minutes ago, elviajero said:

Again... Section 12.2 effectively allows the IO to deny entry because the person has stayed in the country a long time without proving -- through normal channels -- their financial standing to continue that long stay.

What those normal channels will be for someone with a tourist visa (like an elite visa)?

26 minutes ago, JackThompson said:

No, but they needed to make a public-statement that the letters they had been accepting without issue for years  are not going the be accepted any more at some point in the future. 

How can they make a blanket statement that they are not going to accept those letters in the future, affecting citizens of all other countries that still have no problems issuing income letters? 

13 minutes ago, BertM said:

I currently transfer about $45k per year from my Chase acct in US to my Citibank Thailand acct.

If have a few questions.

1. How much money is required to open a Citi bank account in Thailand. Can I open with an O-A visa? I already have chase and Citi bank accounts in the US.

2. Is the Citi bank account in dollar or Thai baht?

3. What is the interest rate in Thai Citi bank? Can I get at least 2% like Ally bank in the US.

4. How do you transfer from Chase bank to Citi bank (obviously not ACH transfer like in the US)?

18 minutes ago, BertM said:

I use my Citi debit card to withdraw THB from any ATM

Does it entail Thai bank's ridiculous ATM fee if you use Thai Citi debit card or it is cheap like Bangkok Bank's (15 baht for out of zone and other bank's ATM or something like that)

2 minutes ago, Gilsh said:

I dont know if i want to stay for 5 years. if i did i would have done it but 15K usd for 1-2 years is too much

Agree. It does not make sense for a few years. Your best bet would to enroll in a language class for ED visa. I am not sure what is the requirement now. In 2013 when I had ED visa, I paid 20K for a Thai language course that included visa in Time Square building, Bangkok (opposite Sukumvit 15). I had to get the visa from Penang but after that I did not leave Thailand for one year. They will remind you and arrange all the papers to renew it at CW every three months. It was smooth compared to my prior two years of visa runs on tourist visas and exemptions. 

I want to purchase a life insurance combined with a health insurance. Can knowledgeable people comment on LH Bank's CI Super Care Insurance? Here is there URL

It seems to cover life + health after 10 years of approximate 60K/year payment. The death benefit is one million. Am I interpreting it right? 

https://www.lhbank.co.th/Person/Lists/Life_Insurance-LH_Bank_Health_Lifetime-CI_SuperCare/3/29

14 minutes ago, tifino said:

... and if one claims to have a foreign card that one claims has funds in it, then simply attend the currconvcounter to convert some of that out to cash! Where is the problem? 

I am not sure. Do you think one can get Thai baht from a currency conversion counter using credit or debit Visa/MC?I will try it out in Pattaya. If it is so, than there is no need for ATM, I agree.

23 minutes ago, elviajero said:

There are no ATM’s because they aren’t needed by 99.99% of visitors, and the lack of certainly isn’t anything to do with an immigration ploy!

But they have a currency conversion booth. And I had seen a few people at the counter most of the time when I came to BKK airport. 

28 minutes ago, mvdf said:

BRING CASH! Why is it so difficult for English-speaking expats to understand this!? Tourists bring cash with them. No bona fide tourist travels totally cashless! Maligning the Kingdom's border watchdogs for performing their duties is plain wrong. If you all want to avoid problems, follow the rules, instead of challenging them!

I think it becomes a habit. When people have access to cash anywhere in the world, they don't think about keeping cash with them. It is just a ploy by the immigration not to install at least one ATM machine before entry. They have currency conversion booth before immigration but no ATM machine. And I bet banks will compete to install ATM machines (because of their ridiculous ATM fee) to have their machines before immigration.

Even multiple entry METVs are under attack.

So, I guess, OP has four METV from his home country and he had only extended his entries to stay 9 months/year. OP may attempt to do a land crossing if his passport allows visa exempt entry. His best course of action will be to go back to his home country, get a new passport, and get another METV to enter Thailand.

Bottom line, for young folks, there is really no best option left for long-term stay in Thailand (OP does not want elite or cannot afford). Those days are coming to an end. Not sure if it is a temporary thing or something that immigration wants to make it permanent. 

I think OP is a remote worker, and if so, he can look into iglu or coffee asia for a B visa with WP. Without an elite, this is the only course left for remote worker. 

14 hours ago, the guest said:

Try getting in Europe without proper insurance or a good income  !

For visa exempt entry in Schengen zone, you don't need insurance or need to show any income. However, IO may ask you about your onward flights out of Schengen area. as I was asked once.  I told her I have one from Portugal (I was entering Zurich) on a different airlines but she did not check the ticket. They may also ask how long you want to stay.

Once hospitalized in Amsterdam and account lady won't allow me to leave hospital unless I put a deposit of $2000 euro on my credit card or call somebody in Netherland who can vouch and responsible for all payments.

14 hours ago, Delight said:

The official advised that the letter would be acceptable if the British Embassy  stamped  it.

How can British embassy stamp the letter as genuine? Only the proper legislation office can apostille it. May be BE will facilitate an apostille service and then stamp it as apostilled as TI will require some form of BE stamp on the letter. But it will cover people who have a pension and not other forms of incomes. Again why BE will be facilitating a service that helps only a certain group of people and exclude other groups for the same end-goal? That will be discriminatory, I think

1 hour ago, gk10002000 said:

Now see, this is an example of people bending the rules, moving money in then out.  Granted it meets the current 90 day seasoning requirement.  But how would that reconcile with the supposed new income proofs where they want or may want 65k a month transferred in?  Seems obvious money could be shell gamed in ways even I have not thought of.

I don't understand. How is it a shell game? He is moving money from one of his account to another account for seasoning purposes only (if I understand correctly). No game is involved here. I think the poster is doing 800K money method not income method for his extension.

 

On 3/24/2017 at 5:53 AM, wgdanson said:

But once you are here must it be in Thai bank?

My 800K will never see a Thai bank. People in the USA have gotten O-A visas using statements of their investment accounts. Next time I will try it. My first O-A is based on my Ally bank savings account where I keep around 25K for emergency purposes. 

What a joke in the land of bizarro. She is a willing participant and did not force the customer to pay money and grab her boobs unlike in go go bars that almost force customers to buy lady drinks to enrich the bosses. This country just mazes me. 

9 hours ago, KneeDeep said:

It's sad, how on this forum westerners are quick to defend the lowliest of behaviour from the locals, whilst attacking their fellow tourists who choose to stand up and be counted,

Because the fellow tourist does not look like their uncles or does not behave like their old uncles buying lady drinks to enrich the bar owners, deprived of sex and women's companions in their home land and find it too expensive to make trips to thousands of nudie bars spread across the western world. When I go to strip clubs in Soho, I take the lady to the bar and pay exactly what the price is in the menu. There is no push to buy any drinks for her, her friends, and mamasan. 

On 11/15/2018 at 10:53 PM, GeorgeCross said:

so much for the BJ anti-corruption clean-up

But you knew this before settling here. Not a new revelation. Corruption is rampant in the society. When National Anti-Corruption Commission brushes aside high profile cases and focuses on political cases, you know corruption runs deep to the highest highest level. 

15 hours ago, KhunFred said:

Pay up and SHUT UP!!

Why he should pay up? He did not want to buy lady drinks to enrich the bar owner. He just came to the bar to enjoy bikini clad women dancing. Happens all over the world. Moreover he is not an old man deprived of sex in his own country and came to Pattaya for some cheap sex and women's companions because it is more expensive in London's soho district strip clubs. It will now spread all over Chinese social media and even less young people from china would come to Pattaya and visit go go bars.

On 5/10/2018 at 7:17 PM, sanemax said:

Had the divorce been finalised, she would have lost the right to his pension

Does a foreign spouse get a pension in the UK if she had never set foot in the UK?

In the US, a Thai spouse won't get social security unless she had lived in the US for five years at least.

Under totalization treaty, foreign spouse of 25 countries will get spousal social security even if they have never set foot in the US.

Spousal social security is 50% of husband's social security payment and it starts at age 62. The spouse does not have to die for the other spouse to start getting social security and  even an unmarried divorced spouse get spousal benefits if married for at least five years.

1 hour ago, johng said:

What's a phone card ????   do you mean banking via their app on a phone AKA online banking ?

Yes phone banking. No online banking on Tourist visa. They gave access to online banking after I came back again with an O-A visa.

NO before and after picture? And face hiding. 

On 5/10/2018 at 5:58 PM, ezzra said:

bar girl has a boyfriend on the side using the old guy money to support him,

And support his meth addiction. I don't have any problem people giving money or buying stuff for bar girls but give only what you could afford to lose in a casino. Don't bankrupt yourself for a bar girl. The old saying is still valid - "you cannot buy love". 

1 hour ago, KhunFred said:

I live on my income and have no other source of funds. My total income is about 80 thousand baht a month, MORE than enough to qualify me.

I'm sure you will find a way and they will also make it available to people like you. 80K is lots of income to live in Thailand. Some may not agree but I think so. If their intention is to push people with that kind of income and without savings to agents, so be it. Use it. People who earn around 30/40K without savings will find it hard using an agent. For them, Ecuador may be better option.

19 minutes ago, cyberfarang said:

then as far as fees are concerned, the sky`s the limit. Next year it becomes 30000 baht, then 50000 baht and even 100000, who knows.

I think what market can bear is the limit. I can't see anybody paying 50K or 100K for a one year extension. They will price them out. 

20 minutes ago, cyberfarang said:

Imagine what a hub for criminals Thailand is going to become, fugitives running from justice from their own countries and foreign criminal gangs in Thailand. 

What is preventing them to come here now? Embassy letter?

9 minutes ago, JLCrab said:

And for the last 10 years I haven't put 800K baht in a Thai bank and the yearly extension costs me 1900 baht plus 1750 baht for the income affidavit and maybe one or 2 days without the beach and pina coladas out of 365.

I think the discussion is about what one could do in the future not what one did in the past. After all, we are mere mortals not time lords ????

13 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

It seems to me that your best option is to apply for a OA long stay visa at the embassy in DC or one of the official consulates.

You could show your income from your investments to meet the 65k baht requirement or proof of the equivalent of 800k baht in a US financial institution.

You could travel as much as you want since the visa allow unlimited one year entry for a year from the date it is issued. You can get a multiple re-entry permit prior to visa expiring to keep the last entry valid after your the visa expires can allow a total stay of over a year.

I did exactly the same for my first O-A visa from Washington, DC. But I had around 30K USD in my ally bank savings account that I used. I was reading the French embassy O-A visa requirements, it says that for the second and subsequent O-A visas, it requires 800K baht in a Thai bank. Washington DC website does not mention such requirements. Not sure what Washington DC will require  when I apply for my second O-A around March 2020. We will see.