Khaeng Mak

33 minutes ago, Spellforce said:

There is a really interesting investment offered at CIMB Thai: https://www.cimbthai.com/en/personal/news-and-promotions/promotions/promotion/promo-021111.html

 

Fixed deposit max 1 MB, 24 month

Interests = 2,4% pa paid monthly

 

Does that mean if you make a deposit in that bank (800,000 bahts) = 2 years visa + good interest rates ?

 

I was unaware that a 2.4% return was...good.

4 minutes ago, rott said:

Never knew anyone have an IO mobile before.

The first thing you need to do is calm down. You are coming across as near hysterical and that aint helping you. Nothing can be sorted before Monday, the very worst option would appear to be that you return to your home country and apply for an O-A. Not convenient but not the end of the world.

For the moment the advice is that this is unnecessary. But calm down, go and speak to Imm next week. No panic. It is not possible for you to get the money here for 1st March anyway so that is off the table.

 

For the record my situation is similar to yours. We could turn out to be the lucky ones with one year's grace.

 

 

Now I have to question whether you even live here.

I have always obtained the personal mobile numbers of the Immigration officers that I have dealt with over the years. They have changed bosses and staff a good many times as well.  Not a single one of them have refused to provide me with their number.

1 minute ago, elviajero said:

I get that, but you're suggesting permission to stay based on investment, not retirement. That already exists and requires investment of 10M min.

 

I agree to a point, however, the 800K was a minimum amount.

I am not talking about an investment visa.

I am talking about retirement extensions.

We now have to have a minimum of 400K deposited in a Thai bank all year.

Why can that money not be invested in another asset besides cash.

For example. the ssrv retirement program also requires a cash bond, but you can use it to buy a condo.

1 hour ago, MadMuhammad said:

Everyone seems to be making out that 800K is all they have to live off and that’s it, nothing more.

 If that’s the case I’d be more concerned about the rest of my life than a visa extension. 

 

Thanks for your helpful input.

I am not broke.  I just need to manage my money carefully to take care of me and my family. The strategy I was using was perfectly fine up until a week ago. Now because of this recent change I am exposed to a risk of being on more then 6 months overstay which could result in me banned from Thailand for 5 years.

2 hours ago, natway09 said:

7 of the 8 could happen in any country, including your own/

Scaremonger

Thanks for your helpful comment.

6 minutes ago, Retiredandhappyhere said:

 

It seems that it is a plan to increase deposits in Thai bank and that is all.

 

Trouble ahead and need to bolster Thai banks with immovable foreign cash?

2 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

I will take a stab at what the poll stats reveal.

 

Yes, I will almost certainly have to leave = 7.72%. These are the guys without a pot to p!ss in regardless of what fiscal providence is required. It was only a matter of time anyway and at least they have the sense to know when their time is up and withdraw with grace.

 

No, I will not have to leave = 69.49%. Have enough of a financial cushion to handle this minor storm. Whether through smart savings, savvy investments or just common sense. Bring it on!

 

My future for staying in Thailand is seriously jeopardized = 22.79%. These are the ones that have been using agents. Their magic carpet has crashed and burned horribly and the pigeons of their early-retirement, ATM-to-mouth, visa-exempt, fools paradise are coming home to roost.

 

No you are entirely misguided and rather self centered.  I have never used a magic carpet. Always done my extensions in person and according to the law. Sheryl (a moderator here) faces the same problem I do.

23 minutes ago, elviajero said:

An extension of stay based on investment is currently possible if you buy a new condo valued at 10M baht or over.

 

For your idea to work the retiree would still need to show an income or other money to live on. 

No. Under these current new changes. My 400K is locked up. No need to show any income for living expenses.

Immigration can not lock my money up and then tell me it is for living expenses. That line no longer stands up to logical scrutiny.

36 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Fiction and speculation. Wait for facts.

I need the facts right now. Or I could potentially face a 5 year ban for overstay.

14 minutes ago, rott said:

Who did she speak to on a Saturday and Sunday?

I did not realise they were open.

We have mobile phone number.

Thanks for your helpful comment.

12 minutes ago, skatewash said:

It's drastic, but perhaps return to your home country and get a NON-IMM O-A (longterm stay) Visa which would be good for nearly 2 years and you could use the existing money in your home country accounts to satisfy the financial requirements for that visa.

Just for the record, I am old, sick (cancer) and disabled.

37 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

While I agree that the reasonable interpretation is that the minimum

balance comes into effect only for extensions made after 1 March I am not sure I would count on all IOs understanding this fact in the same way. It is not clearly spelled out.

 

I am directly affected by this as I did an 800k extension last July and now have less than 400K in the bank. I am thinking of moving up the date I do a transfer to top up, or possibly making an additional smaller transfer, before 1 March just to be on the safe side i.e. get balance over 400k from 1 March onward. It will be highly inconvenient, and not necessary  by any rational reading of the regs, but unless TI issues a further clarification that removes room for doubt, I will do so - better safe than sorry.

Sheryl

I am in exactly the same pickle. I just did my extension a week or so ago. I then transferred my money offshore and put in an invest account that has a 6 month term and A ONE MONTH grace period if I want to break the term and get at my money.  I have other fixed income investments that provide me with money for my monthly expenses but it might be impossible for me to get my hands on 400K before 1 march.

Many other people on this website are making fun of my situation and posting some horrible and poisonous comments.

I am not broke.

I am not an illegal person as one other poster called me.

I am just an old guy with a family and I must manage my money closely.

I need absolute clarity regarding the same issue as you.  Do I need to transfer the equivalent of 400Kthb back into my FCD account before March 1.

Sawan called immigration yesterday and again this morning for me.  The said they are not aware of any new rule.

Where to from here?

EDIT: I should (for clarity) add that the investment income I get each month and use for my living expenses is less than 65K thb.

I could perhaps borrow the money (or put it on a credit card) to make the top up to 400K. But that is a ridiculous and very expensive option. Thus my urgent request for help.

47 minutes ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Totally agree. 

 

And each Immigration Office boss will have his/her own ideas of how to interpret and enforce the rules. Officers will then have to follow their local boss's rules, which they will interpret and apply!

 

As the months progress and this gets implemented we'll be able to comment on how each office is handling this and compare the differences.

 

 

That wont help me. I have just done me extension last week and then transferred my money back offshore. I want to know if I have to transfer 400K back in before March 1 to avoid being on overstay. Which would amount to more than 6 months overstay by my next extension, with possible arrest, deportation and banned from visiting my family for 5 years as a consequence.

I need clarity right now.

43 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Another new topic to add to all your others....total value zip.

Thanks for your valuable input.

33 minutes ago, DPKANKAN said:

Don't forget being 'ex-Thai wifed!!!' That is the biggest expense and loss!!!! Trust me on that one!!

All ready mentioned back in the thread.  And the fact one cannot insure against the risk.

4 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

So, send money to Thailand, get paypal out from thai bank, paypal to uk bank, top up and send again. wonder if the charges beat moving ?  Thai banks paypalable ?

Can't withdraw money via paypal from Thai Bank. You can (of course) deposit it.

2 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

The problem is not what they do so much now, but what they may do in the future. I am quite lucky, I can from this year get enough from renting my uk house out and combine it with my pension to meet 65k a month - and most importantly have an escape route by not madly selling my house and moving 100% to Thailand. This said , I do fear an exodus - from what I read of the poll above 30% would be leaving - that is not a small amount and will seriously impact on the local economy of small businesses. Also I would say at least  - at least - 90% of my friends will fall foul of this demand if they cannot use agents. They are not just Brits, but Aussies, Irish, Europeans and other country citizens - they all have family who are soon going to be potless and there is little they can do to support them. 

And what of the loss of expat "community". How will Thailand attract any new retirees if there is no other expats for them to hang out with. The gradual decline in retirement extension renewals will gain moment quickly and turn into a full blow rush for the exits.  Just the old and sick like me will remain.

20 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

It's like a tax by stealth. They haven't officially changed the minimum fiscal requirements like so many doomsayers say is an inevitability. By asking the retiree to bank the same 800 k and not touch it, they know that in all practicality he/she will need yet ANOTHER 800 k to live on, thus they have covertly doubled the income requirements for long-stayers without having it wrote in any statutes.

Yes. I already posted this on another thread.  That's exactly what this is a "defacto" doubling of the required amount.

42 minutes ago, Khaeng Mak said:

With respect Sheryl, too complicated. Not everyone is as smart as you.

 

Thais authorities and banks will never handle the logistics and the average retiree punter wont understand the details.

 

A simple solution is to just let us use the 800K to purchase a property or a business in our name. And make it retrospective. 

 

That is, anyone who has already purchased a condo (worth more than 800K) in their name need only show their chanote to get their extension.

 

But such a policy would make it easier for many retirees and we all know that that is not the intended outcome of these recent changes.

EDIT:

I have just started a new thread on this idea as I think it is worth exploring.  If the Thai authorities want us to lock up our money all year why can't we lock it up in a the purchase of a condo or business. Your comments and thoughts are welcomed:

3 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

The more I think about this, the harder it is to understand what these new rules re 800K are expected to achieve.

 

If the problem is foreigners living here without adequate means to support themselves (and I agree that happens and is a concern), how does tying up people's money so they can't spend it under any circumstance help with that? On the contrary I would say that by requiring what amounts to a 400K bond, all you do is deplete people's savings by 400K thereby likely increasing the numbers of people without adequate financial buffer to fall back on.

 

If the problem is illegal extensions being granted, nothing in this law addresses that.  Agents abetted by corrupt IOs will get around these new requirements just as easily as they did the old.

Yes Sheryl I just had the same epiphany also.  If immigration wont let us get at our money why cant we lock up up in a condo or business purchase? That is why I just started the following thread.  I would welcome your comments: