JohnnyBD

I used TSL & Associates last year (legal extension). They are located across street from US embassy in Sindhorn building. I will use them again this year. They take you to CW immigration, someone meets you at the vehicle, escorts you in and then takes you back to office or home. I didn't have to wait long. Only had to go inside to take my pic, then went drink coffee while waiting to get my multiple re-entry & 90-day report done too. Private message me for contact info if you decide to use. Good luck... To each his own...

Great job Ubonjoe explaining the OP's options. I'm sure that will be helpful to many others as well. 

So nice that someone is feeling so good about moving some money here long ago that they have to share with the TVF world. I moved several MM here too when I came at the end of 2016 when the THB/USD was around 36/1, but i never felt the need to share that with strangers and make others feel bad. People still have to move money over now periodically to live on even if they moved money over years ago. So, what's the point of bragging about it to the world. Just enjoy your good fortune and try to be considerate of others who may not be so fortunate. Good luck to all. I've had enough social media... Going enjoy my remaining years... ????

1 hour ago, JohnnyBD said:

He is looking for a bono attorney who will work for free though if anyone wants to help. His bad luck... End of story...

Sorry, pro-bono may not be the correct terminology. He is looking for someone to take the case on contingency. Will get paid if & when they collect. Told him good luck with that in Thailand...

1 hour ago, DILLIGAD said:

In court the starting point in negotiations is a 50/50 split, assuming there are no kids.


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My friend understands he can fight it in court and the most he would get is 1/2 of the value as per the attorney he consulted and it would cost a lot of money to fight it. He can't force a sale as per the attorney because it's in her name and no Thai judge is going to make her sell. So, his best case scenario is she would have to pay him back 1/2 slowly. He said he is not going to throw away more good money after bad money fighting it because she is saying it was a gift since it was put in her name. The attorney told him it would be an uphill battle because they didn't have anything in writing. So, bottom line is, he lost his money. He is looking for a bono attorney who will work for free though if anyone wants to help. His bad luck... End of story...

1 hour ago, Pilotman said:

No, we bought a house together with our money

A friend of mine bought a house with his wife 2 yrs ago with his money of course and since a foreigner's name cannot be on the title, the house & property it sits on legally belongs to her. I cautioned him about doing that and suggested he buy a condo in his name, but he succumbed to his wife's wishes and bought the house. Well, now they are getting a divorce and the house and property is hers. He lost his money and has to start over. Feel sorry for him, but he knew the risk. Probably a common occurrence here. Just a cautionary story for newbies.

Is this very common, people flying in & out, making border runs & doing 30-day extensions continually in order to live here full-time? Are there lots of people doing this, percentage-wise? Seems to me, it would be quite expensive for visas, extensions, flights, hotels, border runs, etc. and a lot of anxiety associated with living like this. Always wanted to ask to get an idea if lots of people are doing this or is it more of a short-term thing. Kindly...

Taxes are not deducted by anyone on any monies i transfer from the US. That includes my retirement savings, regular savings, brokerage account, company pension and gov't SS. For me, the only taxes withheld in Thailand are the 15% withholding tax on the interest earned in my Thai savings accounts. Should be the same for the you...

6 minutes ago, fvw53 said:

If you read my OP again it was certainly not my intention to create animosity ...but only to warn others about changes in the rules IO applied to me.

The Thai authorities are sovereign in writing and enforcing the rules to be respected by foreigners in order to be allowed to enter or stay in their country. 

Your original posting was just fine and I appreciate you posting.

1 hour ago, glegolo said:

the only change there is, is the change that hit you guys in usa uk and austyraliua the rest of us are good and our lives can go on..

 

glegolo

Not everyone who are UK, US or AUS citizens are affected by the changes. I'm a US citizen and the changes have not affected me at all. I use the 800k bank method, have over $10,000 USD per month in retirement income and haven't even started my gov't SS pension yet. When I do start my SS in 4 years, that will be another $3,000 USD per month or more with cost of living adjustments.

So, my life is very good and it can go on just like yours and many other UK, US & AUS citizens. Wish everyone well.

1 minute ago, glegolo said:

 elviajero, who I quoted was stating something else..... read it..

 

glegolo

Ok... I take back my post...

28 minutes ago, glegolo said:

in Sweden we are not working with homemade documents like you then do in america..... the affadavit is written of course on a letter with a proper letterhead of swedish embassy. I dont care what you guys screams about,, worthless and all that... It is working for us in the rest of the world, and it is NOT working for you in the USA because you have lied far too much and too long and misused the system.. you are now paying for that...

 

GLEGOLO

Ok... I take back my post.

19 minutes ago, david555 said:

Here is an example how a affidavit from Belgium Embassy look .  this affidavit from the last moment I made it because combo method or bank method that time 2015 (made it for reserve option) 

As you can see there is no header , but they put a kind of sticker down under my statement 

I removed my I.D.'s

So, the Belgian embassy is not really verifying income. Maybe, that's why Thai IM wouldn't accept the OPs affidavit and asked for proof of monthly transfers. At least the US embassy affidavits were on official letterhead, although, they didn't verify income either. I suspect many embassies are not verifying income but are still issuing affidavits.

1 hour ago, fvw53 said:

Application for retirement extension.

This to inform the Forum members that Chaengwattana office of Immigration has rejected was is called in this forum an "Embassy Letter" about my income.

The reason is .....that this letter does not certify my income but only legalised my signature on an affidavit made by myself : this is correct, indeed my Embassy does NOT certify the content of a document but only the person who signs it ..... but that is how I got retirement extensions for the last 10 years.

I was informed by IO that I should still use this "affidavit" in future but that I need as a support the 12 print outs made by my bank about the monthly transfers.

To-day a Forum member made available one single letter (not 12 monthly transfers) made by Bangkok Bank to certify his income : do some members have similar "single letters" from other banks and were they accepted?

Just FYI, you don't need your own made-up income affidavit. You only need what most need who are using the income method and that is proof of 12 monthly transfers into a Thai bank account using an updated bank book & an official bank letter. In 2019, you should he able to renew with less than 12 transfers since the rules just went into effect in December. If you don't have the 65k in monthly transfers, you may want to check with your embassy to see if they can issue an official embassy affidavit if they still do them. They may want proof of your income.

13 minutes ago, khastan said:

For what it's worth three months also in Nong Khai no matter what the rules say. Has I have said on previous occasions unless you want a shock I would ensure that you season for 3 months not two if you can.

Thanks for the advice... will do 3 mths. Better safe than sorry... I do in CW.

2 hours ago, connda said:

Ok.  I'm confused by ya'll who are saying Jomtiem has been checking retiree extension applicants by requiring them to return after 90 days to show a bankbook.  How's that?
The requirement didn't come into effect until March 1, 2019.  So only those applying on or after March 1st should be subject to the change.  Assuming someone applied on March 1st, he wouldn't be required to 'return in 90 days' until May 30th.  

Is the cart ahead of the horse here?  

They haven't been checking yet, but have been giving people a piece of paper stamped with the date for them to report back with bank book. Some have posted a copy of the paper on the forum. Just have to browse some posts to see.

20 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

2 months according to the amended rules.

 

You can't get a 30 day extension to a 1 year extension.

Yes, I know what the rules state. He said on his post that he was rejected with having only 2 mths seasoning in CM. I was asking him to clarify for me that they told him he needed 3 mths because he wasn't very clear. I guess that's why they told him to go to back to America because he couldn't get an extension. Sounds kind of rude to me for an IO to say that.

15 minutes ago, Hummingbird said:

I was pre-warned by a friend who had a similar experience in CM. I anticipated that I might have a challenge therefore I wanted to be as prepared as possible. Thus I printed out the new law and had a friend as a second set of ears and if necessary, to argue my point. The IO kept smiling and told me better if I go to America. I politely questioned him several times. I wrote this simply to tell of my experience and that of a friend. 

Why would the IO tell you to go to America? Like telling you to leave the country. And, to be clear, they told you that you needed 3 mths seasoning, correct? Just asking.. 

49 minutes ago, Tony125 said:

Don't see a problem for those that have real estate, stocks, money, pension or rental incomes in a foreign country as they don't have to deposit 800,000 baht and keep it in a Thai bank just transfer over 65,000 baht to your Thai Bank every month. US, Britain and Australia embassies don't give out Income Letters any more but all other embassies do and Immigration will accept bank statements of monthly deposits (of 65,000) from the countries that don't give out letters anymore.

The problem for some is they don't live here full-time and don't want to xfer monies here when they are not here. That's why the embassy affidavits were so nice. You didn't have to actually xfer any monies and in truth, you really did not need to have 65k of income.

2 hours ago, weelegs said:

Like others, I don't like having to essentially give away at least 400K. You would need it on deposit for as long as you live in Thailand and I doubt your wife would get it back if you died. 

Easy enough to solve. My wife has my KBank app loaded on her phone and she can xfer the remaining balance of 800k or 400k to her KBank or SCB account before my body is cold if something should happen to me.

1 hour ago, cmarshall said:

I suppose that might work, but it could be that the official looking at your two schemes says, "Fine.  You get an extension on the 800k.  See you next year."  

Except, they wouldn't give an extension based on the 800k method because the old account would only have 400k left. You would use the income method with the new account showing 12 monthly transfers. See my quote below...

Quote

That way when you apply for your extension, you present the monthly transfer bank book & bank letter. If they want to see that you kept the 400k the entire year, then you can show them the other bank book & bank letter

Just suggesting a way to keep things separate to make it more simple. It may work just as well using the same account. I plan to continue using the 800k/400k method until such time I'm ready to leave, then I will draw & use the 400k and then draw out the final 400k before I leave. I never planned to live here forever anyway.

1 hour ago, cmarshall said:

I am also planning to switch from the 800k method to monthly transfers when my current year is up next Feb.  It seems logical to me to interpret the requirements as follows:

 

1.  The requirement to maintain 800k for 3 months following the last extension is a feature of that last extension.  So, you have to maintain the 800k for 3 months.

2.  You also have to maintain the 400k for the rest of the year since that is also a feature of the last extension.

3.  Since your next extension will be based on the income method you don't need to top it back up to 800k before the next extension.

4.  You need to show at least 65k coming in every month for the year.

 

So, that seems to me the only reasonable interpretation of the two sets of rules.  However, we don't know whether the official will take this view or another interpretation.  If one wanted to take the safest possible approach, he could make the 65k transfers every month as well as meet the 800k/400k requirements including for 2/3 months before the renewal.  Presumably the extension would go through without a problem, but as far as I remember from last time the official reviews the documents and grants the extension or not.  There is no declaration of the method under which you are applying.  So, if you meet both conditions the official could grant the extension on the basis of the 800k deposits and then next year you are back in the same boat.

 

So, the answer to the question is we don't know.  Although we will hear about more cases as time goes by, there may never be a definitive answer.

Great explanation... the only thing I would add would be to use two separate bank accounts to make it very clear that you want to use the income method, so, have the old account with the 400k left in it and the new account with the 65k monthly transfers. That way when you apply for your extension, you present the monthly transfer bank book & bank letter. If they want to see that you kept the 400k the entire year, then you can show them the other bank book & bank letter. I think it would be better not to comingle the monies in the same account.

5 hours ago, poppysdad said:

My objection is saying goodbye to 400,000 baht which is what it means. I have no intention of leaving Thailand so I never get that money back nor can I use it even for an emergency without probably losing my right to stay and having to start the process over again. The only good thing about it is that my Thai wife is guaranteed 400,000 but then she would be getting it anyway along with the rest of my assets.

I'm like you. I don't like having to lock up 400k either, but it's not a big deal for me. I set aside money for my wife each year anyway, so basically I just use some of the money I have set aside for her to satisfy my yearly extensions. She's happy to see me setting money aside for her and I get to use it for my yearly renewals. So, it's a win-win for both of us.

I could easily do the monthly swift transfers (without paying any wire fees due to my Private Client status), but since I already have enough money here it makes no sense to bother with the income method.

49 minutes ago, gk10002000 said:

The thing is a mess.  As I get closer to heading over there, and having monitored the situation it just makes me sick.  Frankly I probably may just end up getting two SETVs each year, getting a 30 day extension and staying for 90 days on each with a long break in between in some other country or back in the USA.  I can afford the Elite visa and I like the convenience of it, but trust the Thai system even less now and would hate to put that money out there.  If I decide to fully punch out of the USA well, that is still a year or so away so will just wait and see.  I am over 50 and don't really see the need to justify paying for the Elite so its glamour has gone down in my eyes.  The income reporting transfer is nonsense.   

 

   The best solution would be for the US embassy to just do the income letter and have somebody set up some ground rules or procedure to satisfy the Thais that the letter has teeth and there really is income, or have the embassy create some process to verify some sort of income.  Maybe hire some 3rd party company that will charge some nominal fee and will inspect records and documents and back up what you are affirming in the income letter?  I don't mind paying for something reasonable that works.  My suggested guidelines for income letter being issued are:

1:  Proof of pension, government, military, private company, social security.  Some documentation that may vary but should not be too hard to supply and validate.

2:  Proof of income from non wage activities:

Rental property, Stock dividends, Fund dividends.  Show IRS 1040, 1099 and bank statements with current holdings.  In my mind my stock and fund income and dividends are more reliable than many pension funds that are poorly funded.  And in my case, while I will have Social security in a year or two, my portfolio income I get is almost $70,000 USD now. 

3.  Other types of income NOT just distributions from a 401k or IRA.  I up front would expect and accept that while the IRS treats distributions from IRAs and 401ks as "income" that is not the steady type of income the Thais probably expected when Income method was allowed.

 

Just park 800k THB in a Thai bank account. Use 400k during the year and bring back up to 800k if you want to stay another year. If you ever decide to leave, you can convert & cash out the 400k remaining balance into USD and carry it home. I use the 800k method. Easy peasy...

24 minutes ago, hapy2rtire said:

At one condo I was explaining how I intend to travel and leave at least every 90 days. She did they would submit the TM30's online for me every time I re-enter... to just let them know.

I'm not sure what the official rules are, but I have been here 3 yrs and have never filed a TM30 and have never informed my condo leasing company when I travel. The leasing company never told me I needed to inform them either. I only had to file one 90-day report due to timing of my trips, so I travel often. Never was questioned by IM either. Maybe the TM6 form at the airport is sufficient. I don't know anyone who runs down to IM within 24 hrs after returning and I don't anyone who tells their leasing company every time they return.