Mike Teavee

I used a Fixed Deposit account for the 1st time this year and was told that I needed to make a small Deposit (100B was mentioned but Bangkok Bank Mobile App wouldn't let me Xfer less than 10,000B) before getting the Book updated & photocopied for Immigration, did you not have to do this? Also, just curious to know whether doing a transfer the other way (FD-2-Savings account) would do the job, I don't see why not as it seems Immigration just want to see some movement on the account around about the time your doing your extension.

When I worked in SG I needed to have an Employment Pass & condo lease agreement to open my Citibank account, IIRC I just needed the EP when I was opening a POSB account, am pretty sure you wouldn't be able to open an account there if you didn't have a longterm permission to stay (EP, PR etc...). On the other hand I left SG 3.5 years ago & cannot get Citi to close my account, seems they're happy for me to have a Thai address (Sent my new Debit Card here) & Thai Phone number (Which I use for OTP via SMS) so I just leave it ticking over with a few SGD in it.

If you don't mind me asking, what are the monthly fees & minimum credit balance for an account like that.

Pretty sure the larger fine (5,000B & 200B per day) is if you are "caught" not doing your 90 Day report (Though I can't think how you could be), if you voluntarily go into Immigration and do it you should get a 2,000B fine & that's the end of it, No "naughty" stamp in your passport or anything like that. Am sure if you went with your mother they'd be very sympathetic to her forgetting to do it. Alternatively you could go to an Agent and ask them to do it for you, I've no idea how much it would cost but a normal 90 Day Report is usually 1-200B.

Have seen a few condos advertised in Pattaya Tower Apartment on Soi 4which I think is one of the quieter Sois near Beach Road.

Yep, actual arrival date in Thailand so if you’ve been here on Extensions without leaving for 20 years today, it would be 17/08/2003

Naughty Naughty, Very Naughty... Has anybody got any Veras... Lovely...

No I didn't excuse corruption, I said that there were reasons why somebody could go below the 400/800K limits & there should be a process whereby they can still get their extension if this happens. OK so somebody letting a small unforeseen transaction take them under their limit or giving somebody else access to their Bank account could be considered stupid, but what about somebody who has to pre-pay for medical care before getting the money back from their insurance OR somebody who's victim of a bank mistake/fraud, shouldn't these guys have a legitimate channel for getting their Extension? I know there must be a process for "legitimately" getting an Extension if your account falls below limits as Senior IO Officers have the "Power" to approve it, but I've never heard of anybody saying they went through that process & am sure we'd all appreciate it if somebody could share their experience or at least explain the process. Feels a bit schadenfreude to want to clamp down on people using "Agent Assisted Finance" extensions but if I'm honest, the ones that probably annoy me (slightly) are the ones who gloat that they get 5% on their 800K in their home country so it's better for them to keep the money there... No denying the maths but feels like it is taking the p155 somewhat - But they are probably the guys that according to you "Should be Here"... I truly hope you don't have a Medical/Bank Issue that sees your account go below the level and need to revert to an "Agent Assisted Finance" extension despite it not being your fault.

I thought it was only the Government Banks (GF goes to the “Pink” bank to cash her winnings) & seem to recall their commission is 2.5% (100b on 4,000 winnings) which gives them a decent margin over the government rate of 0.5%

Not tough at all, I was used to attending CW in person & the IO taking my picture with their webcam but last year my Agent said I didn’t need to attend Jomtien & they took the photo there. I am the sort of guy that follows rules & regulations (to the point where I attended Jomtien IO in long trousers, collared shirt & shoes) & I know ignorance of a regulation is no excuse for not following it but “This is Thailand” where we know that different IO offices follow different rules which change almost every year so it wasn’t a surprise to me that last year I didn’t have to attend & this year I did… I also wouldn’t be too quick to push for the removal of “Agent Assisted Finance” Extensions, any one of us could find ourselves in a position where for some reason we’ve dipped below the level (thinking of guys who have a health emergency & their insurance won’t pay out or guys who run their account right on the limits such that a new debit card payment takes them below, or 1 guy who’s wife had access to his account & took out some money without realising it would screw up his extension. Could happen to anybody, & in circumstances like those, I think the agents offer a much needed service.

Funny you should say that as she asked me to meet their representatives just inside the door to the side of the main office (IIRC it's labelled for the Elite Visa extensions)

My 1st Extension at Jomtien was last year & I had my photo taken at the Agents so didn't need to attend in person.

Quick update, went to see my Agent yesterday & they’ve told me I need to meet them at Jomtien Immigration today (Office was closed yesterday) to have my photo taken so it does look like they’re tightening up the rules around attending in person this year. Would be interesting to know whether guys who use “Agent Assisted Finances” also have to attend.

I was transferring from my other BKK account using their Mobile App & it didn’t seem to like 1,136.03 THB (was trying to get my FD account to a nice round number) so I tried 10,134.03 (messed up the nice round number by 2b!) & it worked. Maybe different amounts when depositing in person to the mobile app?

Just a quick update, I went in to see my Agent today to arrange for my extension (completely forgot it was a Public Holiday & Immigration was closed today) & they said that they cannot help with the conversion from Non-IMM O to Nom-IMM OX but suggested that I should speak to immigration if I was interested in doing it & they felt it would be possible to do it there. And on that note, they also told me that I need to attend Jomtien Immigration tomorrow to have my photo taken there (last year I didn't need to attend but had the photo taken in the Agents office).

As you know I am one of those people who have in the past been adamant that you need to maintain the T&Cs of your current extension (i.e. keep 800K for 3 months, 400K for 7 months & then 800K for 2 months) to get a new one BUT I am just back from my agents to arrange for my next extension (I keep 800K in the bank all year around but use an Agent to do the paperwork & stay on top of any changes to requirements) & they told me I only had to show a 3 month bank statement (Plus usual certificate that you have X amount in the account as at today) so I am starting to believe that you might be right & they don't really care what you do after you get your extension & up to the point where you need to have the 800K again, & an immediate switch to the Income Method might be possible as long as you religiously put the 65K in the bank for 12 months beforehand. I guess somebody who was planning to use the Income method could test it out, if worse comes to the worse they could always fall back on an Agent assisted extension (or in @DrJack54case use the 800K he has in the Bank) NB, I was also told that I need to visit Jomtien IO in person to have the Photo taken, last year I was able to do the photo at the Agents office so would be interested in hearing if guys using "Agent Assisted Financed" extensions are also required to attend Immigration (I guess not if these are done up-country). 1 final point, I was able to use a Fixed Deposit account BUT I had to make a small! (Minimum transfer in value seemed to be 10K) deposit & get the book updated before getting the statement/certificate.

Or he watched the "Poisoned" documentary on Netflix & realised the least thing healthy thing for him to eat is Leafy Greens...

We'll agree to disagree... & I look forward to the day somebody comes along to say they used an Agent for the 800K in the bank & were able to switch to Income the next year & I'll be proven totally wrong. I won't be holding my breath. Your last point about people previously Using Income then switching to "Money in the Bank" is not valid as the "Income" method is solely based on your previous 12 months transfers & has no requirements for future transfers, whereas the "Deposit" in the bank has rules for what needs to happen over the following (at least) 3 to 12 months. You could get an extension based on "Income", then do nothing until 2-3 months (Depending on IO) before your Extension was due, stick 800K in the bank & then follow the deposit rules...

I'm not sure I understand your point but... Firstly, you haven't qualified for your last extension until you have (at least) kept 800K in the Bank for 3 months after it... Agreed? But I think it goes way beyond that & If you do an extension based on money (800K) in the bank then I think they will check to see you've met the conditions of that for the full year so need to have maintained (at least) 800K in the bank 3 months after, 400K for 7 months after that, I don't know whether they will insist on the final 2 months having 800K but it wouldn't surprise me if they did. So yes, I believe that if you want to switch to the Income method then you'll need to show both (800K & 65K pm) the 1st time, after that you should be ok with 65K No idea how you evidence between the 2 which is why I suggested he used an Agent for his 1st “Income” extension.... But if I was doing it myself I would have all the evidence of the 12 month transfers in 1 hand & if challenged, proof that I met the previous money in the bank extension in the other.

I’m assuming by the paperwork that was used to support the extension… 12 Month statement showing 65K pm…. “Income” Bank Statement showing 800K, “Deposit”

Wow, how did you manage to get around not doing one for the past 3-4 years? Out of interest how much did the Agent charge? Seem to recall my 1st TM30 cost me 1,500b via an Agent even though I arrived in Thailand that day so had no fine to pay, would have cost me 1,200b in Taxis getting to/from CW so still worth it to me.

I think for the 1st Extension based on Income he would need to show that he met the conditions for his previous extension as well as meeting the conditions to do his new extension which by the sounds of it he’s not going to be in a position to do so needs to use an Agent to get an Extension based on him doing 12 months transfers. Once he’s got the extension based on Income, there are no requirements other than to maintain the transfers each month so after another 12 months of extensions he should be good to do it himself.

As Immigration would check to see that he has kept the 800K for 3 months after his previous extension, 400K for 7 months after that & has had 800K for 2 months after that & assuming he plans on starting his Transfers in Oct 2023 then I think have he would have to. Extend via an Agent using the 800K in the Bank Method Make 12 x 65K transfers Oct 2023 - Oct 2024 Use an Agent to get his extension based on the Income Method (Without an Agent, Immigration would check back to make sure he kept the money in place following the 2023 extension). Extend based on Income in 2025 Either that or leave the country & come back with a new Non-IMM O (Laos & Vietnam seem to be the best place for doing it locally) as doing a Conversion in-country would still require him to have the 800K in the bank).

Who knows why Immigration do 1/2 the things they do Really bugs me when I do my extension & get a multi re-entry permit at the same time, Extension goes in, uses 1/2 a page of my passport, then gets stamped over & the MRP goes in & another 1/2 page of my passport is used ???? @MPollmust be one of (if not the) 1st people to move an LTR to a new Passport so it wouldn't surprise me if Immigration aren't moving the Non-IMM O/OA Visa automatically & then adding on the LTR.

I thought it was 45 Days. I always do mine 40-45 days beforehand, in fact I'm going in on Tuesday which will be 42 days before it's due (26th September) but I do use an Agent (for convenience) so it could be different if you're doing it yourself. Mate of mine who uses an Agent (to assist with the Finances) went in to get them to do his 90 day report & they asked if he wanted his extension at the same time, this was 90 days before it was due.