10 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 Exactly the same for me yesterday...

 

I was a bit worried, because the line IO kept my bank book and passport when we walked out.. And I was afraid maybe she had mislayed my bank book (I didn't know she'd need or want to keep it).  But sure enough, the bank book AND the passport were handed back to me together later after having been signed off by the supervisor..

 

Lol, I was nearly given somebody else's TMB book instead of my Bangkok Bank book by the officer that does the initial document check, but the 2 are quite different so I pointed the mistake out to her. 

Could have been a different story if the other person had a Bangkok Bank account, I wouldn't have noticed as I had no need to look at the book... 

12 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

That's Krungsri (AKA Bank of Ayudhya-yellow)... A friend here I believe told me BKKB's typical time for issuing the deposit letters at BKK CW runs more in the neighborhood of an half hour wait.

It took a couple of minutes (after a 5 min wait for my number to be called) to get my letter from Bangkok Bank stating I had the 800K in the account...  

Maybe takes longer if you using the income method? 

22 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

BTW, somewhat to my surprise, my officer at BKK CW today was handing out an EN translation version of their September 2019 updated rules for retirement extensions. Always surprised when I get anything meaningful from them in their own English translation...

 

Ret Exten Reqs in EN from Immigration - Sept 2019 version.pdf 512.39 kB · 39 downloads

I'm feeling left out, I didn't have to sign anything (except at the Bank) or get one of these notifications...

22 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Then on the way back, if you need to travel from MTT back to BTS Mahathat, that was about a 90 baht taxi trip that took about 35 minutes with a lot of congestion along Chaengwattana Road.

I took a Taxi from CW to Mo Chit (I knew the new extension was closer but I couldn't remember the name of the station save it started with Wat ???? ) - Meter was 113 THB & it took around 20mins... 

20 hours ago, John Drake said:

By the time I got to the 90 Day office I was ready to blow. It probably showed. I know I was raising my voice. I do that because I have difficulty hearing and can't help myself. But my expression this time also probably put them on guard. As you know they hand out "A" cards and pink "B" cards. Because I was being "difficult" I got a pink B card. That turned out okay. Because I didn't need to wait. I was just sent right upstairs. Once there, the IO on the first desk for the A cards nodded to me while I was second in line for the B line. I went over there and got my duplicate 90 Day issued. That is when they told me they had mailed the original to me 16 days ago. So I was in and out quickly. But all those people who have been promising in other threads thata 90 days reporting would only take you five minutes are full of it. Today would easily have been an hour's wait. And I might even have hit the lunch break before going through. And, yes, anybody expecting to waltz through the Government Complex building in just a few minutes for their retirement extension can revise those plans too. Without an appointment, I would have been Number 50.

Went to CW to do my extension yesterday and was in & out in 30 minutes...

• 11:20 arrived 
• 11:30 had letter from Bangkok Bank + photo copy of updated passbook 
• 11:40 I was in front of the officer checking the documents then passed straight to the actual immigration officer 
• 11:50 I'm on my way home

It helps being assisted by an Agent as they wait around to pick-up your passport / bankbook etc... otherwise I'd have been there at least another hour as everything closes for lunch at 12PM

I did my extension on exactly the same date last year, arrived at roughly the same time, got all the documents together and a queue number (I noticed we went straight past the queue counter this time so am assuming the agent made an appointment online) before lunch, back in at 1PM and was finished around 2:30PM (Again, left it to the agent to collect my passport / bank book).

Have to say there were very few Farangs around compared to the same date last year, I think having the 90 days done in a different building really helped here, though I don't envy anybody who has to go to the new building (Again, I used an Agent to do mine ???? )... Do envy the guys in Jomtien/Pattaya though as their immigration office is a doddle to get to (& has a reasonable restaurant next door). 

5 hours ago, ThreeEyedRaven said:

Does anyone in these ministries have a brain? Travel bubble no good, so we will replace it with a "twinning Country" system, which is essentially the same thing, but because it has a different name, all will apparently be well?

Could it be similar to the recent "Green Lane" announced between Malaysia & Singapore... 

Haven't got too many details on it, just had an email from Air Asia announcing it was being/had been launched but as I'm now in Thailand I didn't take too much notice... 

Quick google search brings back this https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3097723/singapore-malaysia-begin-limited-cross-border-travel

2 hours ago, revgreen said:

Thanks! 2500 is cheaper than taking another 2 days off work to hike out to CW. I'll contact and hope they can assist.

Hope it all goes well for you, please do update the thread to let us know how you get on

2 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Mike, currently the 90 day report is being done at Muang Thong immigration.

You will need go there first do your report.

It's not crowded and very quick. Then you can take report receipt to CW and do your extension.

Thanks, the agent is doing my 90-day & I think (hope) that they did it yesterday as they go there everyday doing 90 Day reports / Visa Extensions etc... but either way, they provide transport to/from CW as part of the package so I'll just be lead by the nose ????  

Am hoping CW is quiet though, it was crazily busy on this date (I do my extension 30 days early, have noticed that CW will now accept 45 days early) last year but that was around about the time TM30s were a hot topic so loads of people in there doing those. 

5 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

I can understand your angst. 

Spare me a thought....I had to come back from Rayong to do the 90 day report.

Some experts suggest that it's only a immigration directive to do the 90 report in person during August if you skipped during amnesty (as per government directives in gazette). 

Problem is it will be an IO that I will deal with in future for my next extension, not the government. 

Ouch... It's bad enough going to CW when you live in Bangkok (On Nut) never mind having to come all the way in from Rayong, a lovely part of the country to live though, am looking at places near the coast there, from Bang Saray to Ban Phe ????  

I was told by an agent that I could either do my 90 day in person for free or I could pay 1,500 "Service Charge" and they could do it for me, as I'm going to CW tomorrow to do my retirement extension & didn't fancy having to mess around doing an extra trip to a different office to do the 90 day, I decided to get them to do it for me. 

My main concern was also that I would need the 90 day report to do my extension & I didn't fancy the stress of having to do something I've never done before (am usually out of the country at least once every 90 days) or having to navigate my way to/around an office that I've never been to before, then having to go through the extension process.

I see from a post above that I didn't need the 90 day to do the extension so could have at least had a go at doing it myself after I'd done the extension, oh well you live & learn, hoping I will be able to do the next one online - Actually I'm hoping we'll be able to travel again before then by think there's very little chance of that

1 hour ago, gt162 said:

I keep getting notice from Transferwise to sign up for borderless account. Is it worth it?

I like it, it's free to have & you can hold zero balances in there when you're not using it.

Can be used to store up cash ready for your holiday like you might use a charge card or use it to dabble in many different currencies if you think the exchange rates are good without having to open different currency accounts.

You do need to be mindful that there is a withdrawal fee of 2% on anything over £200 per month as well as the usual currency conversions fees (either when adding the money into the pots or withdrawing it from a none native currency pot) but even this is less than bank's like Barclays charge (2.75% on every £) for using a debit card overseas plus you'll get a better FX rate. 

The one thing I do hate is it's a lime green colour, so it gets hidden behind my other cards ( ???? I am joking about hiding the card but it is a pretty awful colour) 

Edit There are better accounts that will refund your ATM withdrawal fees (including the ones from the Thai bank) if that's your main priority but these appeared after I left the UK so I'm not sure which ones are best or what strings are attached to the accounts, but I do like the overall convenience of Transferwise when moving money between countries & currencies. 

47 minutes ago, Matzzon said:

You are not going against the grain. What you are recommending is a proven and safe way of transfering money that have the right transfer code for a visa extension. Can´t be better. If losing a couple of pound? So what?

If people consider that they can afford living in a foreign country, they should not need to look at every cent to be able to reach up to the requirements and their own needs to live a comfortable life.

It´s just lunatics and amateurs that do such foolish things.

Your recommendation is clearly the best one.

I hold multiple accounts (in multiple currencies) in UK & Singapore and find it easier to use Transferwise when choosing which is the best account / currency to transfer from. 

I also hold balances in GBP & SGD in my TW borderless account which I can use to withdraw cash from at any Mastercard ATM, they automatically withdraw from the "Home" currency pot and I believe will withdraw from the currency pot that's offering the best exchange rate but have only used it in SG & UK so always been SGD & GBP.

I can't remember the Barclays fees as I haven't transferred anything from my Barclays accounts in > 10 years but do know I was not impressed at how much it costs me to take out USD$ in Cambodia.   I do know that the Citibank FX rates aren't great (though you do get free withdrawals from their ATMs) & they charge a flat fee of s$25 SGD  (approx £14.30) when transferring overseas (even GBP from an SG GBP Account to a UK GBP one).  

Blindly using your current account bank to transfer money abroad is both foolish & amateurish

Edit to add that for the s$25 SGD my SWIFT Transfer from SG was initiated at approx 2PM (Thai time) on a Friday, & didn't hit my UK account until 3PM (Thai Time) on the Monday (Citi didn't even confirm it until Saturday afternoon).... so hardly "Instant"... Sending via Transferwise is usually more or less instantaneous though it does seems to take longer if sending over 10,000, not sure if there's extra AML checks being done.

1 hour ago, OJAS said:

While a few of the regular posters to whom you refer have certainly contributed to the 4 intervening pages of this thread, none of them have addressed the specific issue I was raising. Make of that what you will!

As I posted, an extra 2,500 THB on top of the normal 15,000 for an agent to help with your extension will make the Non-OA insurance requirements go away... 

10 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I thought tax on pensions was 20% basic rate ...........

I know it is up to the Top of the lower rate tax band but I always assumed it would be taxed as per any other income...

Another item to add to the list of things to look Further into ???? 

Edit: interestingly this gov site...  https://www.gov.uk/tax-on-pension/tax-when-you-live-abroad

... Says... 

Tax when you live abroad

45 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

It's not about numbers, it's about how secure your pension provider is.

If your pension company appears shaky ... take out the cash.

90% of the Pension is protected by the UK Pension authority so its more about whether taking the money & investing it elsewhere will give me a better return and/or be more Tax efficient.

To use the OP’s figures, £55K pa would see you being taxed £9,500 so getting £45,500 net.

If you reduce the lump sum (& so income) by 25% you have £41,250 pa which would see £5,750 in tax (All at basic rate) giving you £35,500 net.

Its £10,000 pa difference so depends on how much the lump sum is, for a £55K pa pension I’m guesstimating a transfer out value of around £1.8 - £2 million which would give you a lump sum of £450 - £500K... NB I’m still unsure as to how/whether the £1 million cap affects pensions over this amount, I think it’s contributions rather than benefits, another thing in my list to look into in January.

On 8/9/2020 at 2:49 AM, Clive said:

Im 53 and when Im 55 I will be able to draw on my private pension giving me around £55k annuall

Retired here 6 months ago after spending 18 months splitting my time 10 days in Singapore & 5 days in Bangkok, at the time I had a house with my (now) Ex in Kapalong (couple of hours north of Davao City) so it was  a toss up between Thailand & Philippines, in the end Thailand won just because I like it more here (love the Philippines & prefer Filipinas but love Thailand even more) so obviously I would (and did) still move to Thailand. 

I’m 54.5 so will be doing the maths on whether to take my final salary / defined benefits pension early next year or wait until it fully matures at 60 (have planned for enough savings/passive income to last me beyond that), have a similar budget to you of around 120K pm (although I’m trying to stick to 80K at the moment due to a couple of dividend streams drying up because of CV19) & it’s more than enough for a great life here + the added safety net of knowing you have enough to upsticks & move somewhere else, as long as you don’t cash-in any of your income stream(s)... but another thing I’m trying to decide on is whether to take 25% of the pension as a tax free lump sum & put the money into some other income providing assets... Again, will see what the numbers come out as.

I think it depends on your budget.

If you’re moving here because you have a limited budget & it was so cheap all those years ago then you’re in for a rude awakening as not only have prices increased but your home currency has almost certainly gone down a lot since you were last here.

Whilst money can”t buy you happiness I’d say that most people who have a comfortable budget are happy & content here, people who have been battered by FX rate changes & are struggling to meet the financial requirements for their visa are (in general) not.

Forget any ideas that involve Using your second passport without leaving/re-entering Thailand as this could get you into serious trouble maybe even blacklisted from entering Thailand.

Volunteer Visa might be a good option or if you can find the 400K for the visa can you find 500K for an Elite VISA which would solve your visa problems out for the next 5-6 years.

3 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Two would be the best option if you have already moved to Jomtien.

Have the owner file a TM30 report to change your address.

You might still be asked for a rental agreement with copies of the owners house book ID card signed by them attached when you apply for the extension.

Thanks Joe, haven’t moved yet & the unit is owned by a family friend of the GF so can time the move as suits me best.

I’m thinking get the lease from the 27th August so my address change is registered before the 90 day due date then do the extension in Jomtien.

can I just confirm that if the new owner registers my new address I don’t have to do anything (they own several units in Jomtien so am sure they know what to do when it comes to their side of immigration reporting, it’s me that’s not sure what I have to do from my side).

Looking for some advice on how best to handle an upcoming move given my extension & 90 day report are due around about the same time.

My current permission to stay (extension from Non-O) ends on 19th September & I normally extend 30 days before.  I’ve never done a 90 day report (usually out of Thailand at least once every 3 months) but this was originally due 19th May & I believe I now need to do it before the end of August, I have done a TM30 though this was several Exit/Enter Thailand back, address has been the same (save for holidays in Thailand) for 2 years.

I think my options are...

1. Extension & 90 day report at CW, move then change of address in Jomtien

2. Register New address in Jomtien (am assuming this would mean no need for 90 day report) & do extension there.

Current condo lease is up at the end of August & I can start the new lease anytime I want so I can time things either way

I’m leaning towards option 2 as it feels the easiest way but would welcome any thoughts/advice (including the TM forms that need to be completed) on how best to Do/Time things 
 

Also appreciate any recommendations for Visa Agents to help with the process, I meet the requirements for extending the Non-O but prefer to have somebody who will help ensure it gets done as painless as possible.