Peasandmash

very sad. i hope you manage to work things out.

18 hours ago, Chicksaw said:

Thanks, I did think of that but home is the US which I left more than 30 years ago. Pretty much no place to stay nor friends/relatives. Which is why I want to change my status here if possible.

I am in a similar situation with places to stay in US. But I would seriously consider spending money on a Vegas holiday to qualify  for my visa over paying an agent for ? ? ?

A lot of stuff here.

I try to keep it all in perspective. And to be honest it can be challenging at times.

It's one day a year I go to immigration. Maybe more if I want a certificate or leave the country, etc.

800k baht.. Is it a lot of money? I'm grateful for what I have, I know there are many that have far less.

Life presents situations that can be perceived as problems no matter where I live or what I have. Why should I use my energy to focus on these few things instead of the many things I do have. My health, enjoying the beautiful and tolerant Thai people and their wonderful country. Being able to actually see the air that I breath ????, etc, etc...

Best Wishes..

Sa wa dii pii mai

25 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

She would since she is the owner.

Does the office you report to want one if you leave and reenter the country? Several do not want one unless you change your address.

when i rented a new house i submitted the paperwork and not the owner. then when i went out of the country I again went to immigration and made the report of back in country. from these experiences i have the opinion immigration doesn't care who provides the report they just want the report. fwiw - both times cm immigration..

How awful. I've flown in and out of Thailand many times although I go to Macau.  I've never had a problem with immigration at either end. Maybe it's because I don't wear trainers? Who knows? 

 i don't need to replace the batteries.. lol.. mind your cents and your dollars will take care of themselves..

I keep the 800k in a bank and rent a new 2 bedroom, 3 bathroom townhouse. the interest I make on the 800k pays for nearly 90% of the annual rent.

I've had over 800k in a fixed Thai Bank account continuously since 2013. In the past I've taken the interest payment, but now I think I will let it ride (haha) as I'm sure in the near future more money will be needed to continue to live in this beautiful country.

Anyway, when I do go to Immigration to renew my retirement visa I'll be curious to see if anyone makes any comment to me whatsoever about checking my balance in 90 days.

" I could switch to the 800k method but i don't really want to but with Immigration moving the goal posts all the time it may be the only option. So that's 3 months of me transferring in 65k+ a waste of time and money "

It takes me about 10 seconds to initiate a bank transfer via internet banking... If I were to include the time it takes to login into the bank account and time I take to snap a pic of the confirmation code it could take nearly 30 seconds... as far as wasted money goes,,,, I earn more in my Thai fixed account than in my money market account, plus Thailand doesn't tax the interest.

he seems like he's in shock. Alone and dying of cancer is very sad. May God have mercy on his soul.

I just sent 10K USD from my US bank to my BKK account. No problem.

23 minutes ago, nausea said:

Sh*t, Bert M, you have me tagged totally, apart from a rather smart p/up in the drive - my SO's pride and joy. Anyway, it's fairly obvious the 800k requirement is designed to prop up the Thai economy, and has little to do with actual spending. Personally, I think it's gonna hurt when all the UK expats go home. My sister has a room ready, ha! Can't say I really disagree, it's probably better to spend the money in the home economy rather than waste it here for personal enjoyment. Four dogs and an SO are gonna miss me though, and I have some other income streams coming online, just not now. By the way, my spending here has been way over the 800,000 benchmark, and probably would be in the future. But you can't spend it and have it hanging around in a bank.

The 2017 Thai GDP is nearly $500 billion (dollars). If there are 100K expats living in Thailand each with ฿800K (baht) in a Thai bank account it would be a couple percent of the GDP.  Not much of a prop up. Furthermore, you claim to spend ฿800K (baht) is that a year? And yet you can't save ฿800K (baht)? You and the guy that claims he spends ฿8000 baht a month should get together and compare budgets and spending habits. LOL

I keep hearing the ฿800K will be going up to ฿ 1 Million. Not sure if there will be a change for those that are married to a Thai. 

Opps... I meant to say this does NOT include our international travel expenses. We love going to Macau and staying at the Wynn.  for what it's worth, I would highly recommend any of the Wynn properties in Macau.

I retired at 47 years old after working for a large American company for 25 years. Now I receive a pension each month, four times a year I receive dividends from 5 different investments (20 total payments) and monthly I earn interest on each of my savings and money market accounts.  My total expenses for our home (I'm married to lovely Thai woman) including cars, motorbike, groceries, utilities, dining, pet care, entertainment, etc, have never exceeded 40,000 baht a month (this does include our international travel expenses.). But according to this new rule I would have to bring into the country an additional 25,000 each month to qualify for a retirement visa? This seems like a losing proposition to me. I really don't see how this is a better option than just putting ฿400K into a Thai bank?  But what's really concerned me is in a few years I will begin collecting social security and then in another 10? years I will be forced to withdrawal money from my retirement savings accounts. Why does the US and now the Thai gov't want me to spend money when I have no need for it?

Im sorry I don't have the time to read all of this, but anyway, if not already offered, I will happily give u the 55 satang.

Merry Christmas

On 12/13/2018 at 2:43 PM, scorecard said:

Interesting point and I do wonder how much they make. Most Thai banks have a quite poor track record (compared to other countries) in terms of overdue / never paid commercial loans, mortgages, car loans, and credit cards debt is enormous, one of the worst, by country, in the world, so yes an interesting question in terms of what returns they make when they use your / my deposits to try to make money.  

 

the premium earned on loaned money is called interest. Banks make money by charging customers interest on loans and people who save money in banks get paid interest. Something to consider is that nearly all the "legal (aka taxed)" money in the world spends most of the time in a bank somewhere.

There is a lot of valuable information here. Someone looking to solve their problems may find help just by reading the postings.

I've decided just to put another million baht into my Thai Bank account just in case the requirement for savings on deposit goes up as is being reported here.

--- "I do not want to put 800k in a thai bank however, too many horror stories over the years."---

More bs... I've never heard of a thai bank taking some farang's 800k bank deposit.

What you should be fearful of is that very soon the deposit requirement will go up to 1 million baht.

The good news is, that those who currently have 800K on in a thai bank will be "grandfathered in". and meet the new requirement. 

Enjoy Vietnam

 thank you for taking the time to post this valuable information.

why don't u just get married again in thailand?

thank you for sharing your experience and new found wisdom.

Applying for the elite visa is easy, quick and very affordable. You may even be able to do it online. My $0.02,  go that route, your problem is solved ? and you don't have to worry about this kinda stuff again, at least for awhile. fwiw, while you may not know today that you'll stay in thailand for 5 years, you also don't know that you won't so don't worry so much about the future. We only live in the present moment?

Welcome to Thailand...

Cheers 

i got three bank accounts here. no problem. even getting the tax back they withhold on the interest is straight forward, quick and easy.