BertM

Cannot believe the OP was started in May 2007 and is still going with 286 pages of comments... This thread should be terminated... this person may no longer be alive...

25 minutes ago, BlueSkyCowboy said:

For the retirement visa I need copies of the book for 12 months and at least 800000 for 3 months

Yes... your bankbook with bank letter. Don't know if TI accepts only copies.

Wow... sorry you had such a bad time... Last year (2017), I renewed in Jomtien even though I had already moved to BKK 6 mths earlier and it took under an hour at Immigration and they let me renew even though I had moved to BKK. This year (2018) in Sep, I decided to renew in CW instead of spending the extra money on trip to Jomtien, so I used an agent because I figured the wait times were longer in BKK. Using the agent, it took about 2 hrs total time. He got me the 1 yr extension, a multiple re-entry permit & did my 90-day report which I assume he had to do at different desks. I only had to go inside when it was time to take my pic. I signed all the papers outside with the agent. For me, it was well worth the money at least the first time. I was planning to do myself in 2019, but with all the changes & more scrutiny going on, I may just use the agent again or try Jomtien if I happen to be there when it's time to renew. I will legitimately use the 800k THB in bank method for 2019, so I would only be using the agent to expedite the process. Oh, the agent also took me there and took me home.

1 hour ago, Moonlover said:

Roger, you haven't given us a lot of clues as to your circumstances. However as you're living here, like many of us are, on pensions, you must have been getting an income letter from the embassy. To do that your pensions must be meeting the required minimum of 40k or 65k per month.

 

If that's the case what are you worried about? You won't need to put 400k or 800k in the bank, providing you're able to prove to TI that you have the income to meet the criteria.

 

Don't be panicked by all the gloom and doom. I'm in a similar situation as you and I'm not worried 

He may have been one of the many whose incomes didn't meet the 40k or 65k requirements, but was able to get the income letters all these years to be able to stay in Thailand even though his income didn't meet the requirements. You can always ask him for his pension income and if it meets, then he shouldn't have anything to worry about.

32 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

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)?

 

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)

 

 

1. When I opened in 2016, it was minimum 200k THB, but I think it went up to 1mm to open (a friend told me earlier this year). But, once the account is open, the balance can fall below the initial opening amount. I'm sure you can open with O-A, I opened when I was visiting (visa exempt) before my retirement.

2. I have Citi USD acct and a Citi THB acct. That way, I can xfer USD over and then convert at Citibank Thailand at much better rates. Chase cuts too much when they convert in US...

3. I don't know what the time deposit rates are at Citibank or the minimum amounts required.

4. I transfer Chase to Citibank visa international wire xfer (no fees) because I have a Private Client account with Chase. Citi doesn't charge for incoming wire xfers.

5. My Citi debit/atm card transactions have no fees when used in Thailand even if I use other bank atms like SCB, KBank, Bangkok Bank, etc.

On ‎12‎/‎1‎/‎2018 at 8:54 AM, onera1961 said:

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.

 

You are correct with your understanding. It is NOT a shell game as the gk10002000 poster insinuated. The law does not require anyone to leave the 800k in their Thai bank after the extension is approved. I currently transfer about $45k USD per year from the US into my Citibank Thailand acct. Then, I convert the USD to THB at my discretion when I'm satisfied with currency rates. I use my Citi debit card to withdraw THB from any ATM in Thailand, pay all my bills using bill pay and make electronic xfers from my Citi THB acct. I cannot use Citi for my extension renewals because they do not have passbooks. So, I opened a KBank acct and will xfer 800k from Citi to KBank in June for the 3 month seasoning so I can use the 800k bank account method in Sep 2019. After my extension is approved, I can either xfer the money back to Citi, withdraw it slowly as needed using my KBank debit card or can set up my bill payees at KBank. But, setting up bill pay at KBank is a lot of work when I can just move the 800k back to Citi and continue paying everyone from Citi. My plans may change if TI issues some directives on the income method before my renewal comes due. It's up to TI... I can go either way because I have a US company pension, a US government social security & stock dividend income, each one separately over the 65k income threshold. Good luck to all...

1 hour ago, gk10002000 said:

Missing something?  Yes.  800 k baht is 25K USD which is safe and secure in the USA earning dividend and interest.  Also, not having > 10K USD in a foreign account eliminates the need for any financial reporting to the USA.  And most importantly I wouldn't trust any significant amount of money or any asset in Thailand.  Just My likes and dislikes

I understand, it's your personal preference. I used the income affidavit & income method before because it was so easy, but will use the 800k bank account method in 2019. I move about $45k to Citibank Thailand in 3 moves ($15k ea.) during the year for my THB spending needs, so I'm over the 10k limit anyway. It only takes me about 10 min to do the FBAR reporting, so not a problem for me. Now, I will just move $25k twice a year and xfer one of the $25k moves to KBank 3 mths prior to my renewal then xfer it back to Citi after the renewal. I'm not concerned about the loss of interest on the $25k because I keep that much in cash anyway for emergencies. Best of luck...

4 hours ago, yodsak said:

no, never expect logic,,,TIT. + it's a thai outfit,,  i went to the old place myself,,   then asked the lads at nickys,,,,     

Just curious what the TIT means... it doesn't appear to be a standard acronym...

16 hours ago, gk10002000 said:

But I should not have to pay for the elite when all I need is the basic retirement extension, especially since I will only be planning to be in  Thailand about 6 months total for a year, maybe more, maybe less depending on events.

You seem to have been a member of TVF since 2004 and have over 7,000 posts, so I'm sure you know you don't need to pay for an Elite visa... unless I'm missing the intent of your comment. I don't know what you have been using and don't want to start reading back thru all the posts to see, but you can do what most people will have to do when the income affidavits are no longer issued, is to open a Thai bank account, xfer 800k THB to it and then get your extension after the 3 mths of seasoning. If you have the 1mm USD in investments, then using 25k to park in a Thai bank shouldn't be a big problem. Am I missing something? Best regards...

2 minutes ago, bubba said:

Form 1099 shows a lump sum, annualised income, correct? So TI would use an average that shows in excess of 65K/month since the 1099 does not show monthly income?

 

If that is the case, then apparently TI do accept a 12 month average of annualised income.

Not so fast... he probably submitted the income affidavit and the 1099 as backup. I asked him to clarify...

54 minutes ago, BoBoTheClown said:

I used mine at TI in Chiang Mai on Nov 3rd. It was accepted and my extension of stay was granted. 

So, your 1099 was accepted as backup proof to the income affidavit from the US embassy? Or, are you saying that you didn't need to submit the income affidavit and you ONLY submitted the 1099?

20 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

Sorry it was my mistake. Morning hangover. Well, 1099 can also be faked. I created my own 1009-MISC to send to freelancers who I have paid to when I had a business. I could create one for myself and not report to IRS.

You are correct... You can easily edit a document with the proper pdf program or you can convert to word & edit, but sometimes the format changes a little... Most of my 1099s come electronically and not by mail, so they can be easily edited.

This entire situation is and will be the biggest SNAFU when the income letters are no longer accepted.

Hi everyone,

Just wondering what the normal wait times are at CW for an extension. I went for first time and was lucky to have some assistance from an agent my wife knows. We got there I think about 11 am and gave him the paperwork and went get some coffee. He came to get me when it was time to take my pic, then told us to go to lunch and come back after lunch. I didn't know they closed for lunch or I would have gone earlier. I guess he had to go back in to get the multiple re-entry permit & 90-day reporting stamp from a different counter. We were out of there pretty quick after lunch.

Just wondering what the normal wait times are for next time if I want to do the 90-day reports or next year's extension by myself. After lunch the wait line was very long. I don't know how long the line was in the morning since we didn't arrive until 11 am. Any advice would be appreciated especially on arrival time...