john terry1001

6 hours ago, Led Lolly Yellow Lolly said:

It's getting weirder. A couple of days ago I went to make a complaint to the police about a robbery. The police weren't interested in my passport for their report, they wanted my pink ID card. It's like some switch has been flicked and everyone wants me to show it now. Got to admit I'm scratching my head.

The paperwork the police use is designed to be completed using a thai id card, not a passport that will have a different number or digits. The lazy officer probably doesn't know how to complete lt using not enough/too many digits for the number of boxes provided on the form. 

59 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

No, Anutin wants to vaccinate foreigners, of course. 

When they needed to register Thai Nationals for covid injections the Mor Prom app was set set up and registration options completed or ALL 50 MILLION Thai nationals within about 48 hours.

For expats, Anutin has still trying to say that, after three weeks, for just a few thousand expats, they are still just in the process of setting up a register......and you still suggest he wants to vaccinate expats.????

On 2/3/2021 at 3:40 PM, Sujo said:

But what is she required to do once approved. 

Repeat the process twice more at thirty month intervals, plus pass various English exams at various times during those first five years in the UK, longer if they fail to pass one of those exams.

You would not be left without a passport. When applying for a new passport at Trendy you retain you existing passport as an active one until you collect your new passport when it arrives a Trendy from the UK.

You don't say where you live, but the whole process would involve two journeys, each lasting less than an an hour. The first to deliver the application and the second to collect the new passport. Everything else is completed via email, and, as Upnotover says, you can nominate a friend to complete those journeys. 

1 minute ago, Suphawk said:

How many months do you need to have the 65K coming in before applying for retirement extention?

Assuming it's a new/virgin extension application and you haven't had a previous extension you should be ok with three months. But if you've had a previous extension, even if there has been a break (for return to your home country, because of covid,etc) you will need to twelve months of transfers, or the 800/400K money in the bank option.

There has been examples of people leaving Thailand for a relatively short time then returning to get a new visa (usually in order to try and change from an O-A visa to an O visa and have found they must show the 800/400K money in the bank.  

12 minutes ago, Suphawk said:

Can I just transfer 65K from my overseas bank each month and call it good? Or do they want to see some proof it's from a pension?

You can transfer from overseas each month, but make sure it is at least 65/40 K each and every month. You can't send short one month then make it up in another month, or visa versa. And it must originate from overseas.

You may sometimes be asked to show details/proof of where your income originates from when applying for an extension. eg: from a pension, rental income, etc.

44 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

I forget the exact option, is it "funds for long term stay" or is it "long term living expenses"? I'm pretty sure I chose living expenses recently and it was classed as International 

Its the last one in the list of options.

6 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

That wasn't necessary 3/4 years ago. 

It most definitely was two months ago.

 I renewed my UK passport in November and was given the required BE letter at Trendy at the same time they gave me me new passport (and cut the corners off the old one).

I always copy any official documents I am using to my laptop, in case of damage/loss etc, so copied the BE letter I was given. When I went to Sri Racha Immigration with the letter and both old and new passports, they initially refused to transfer the stamps because I had mistakenly given them the copy of the BE letter instead of the original. They notice immediately noticed the letter didn't have the embossed stamp and refused it. Fortunately I also had the original in my folder so the did transfer the relevant stamps. They did explain that, although not accurate, it was a way of checking the new passport. Not many people would go to the BE with a forged passport to risk asking for the official letter.

1 minute ago, Neeranam said:

I presume he went to immigration. 

I got my passport from an agent recently but don't need to go to immigration this time as I've changed nationality to Thai. 

He needs take a letter to Immigration from the BE and that letter needs to have an embossed BE  stamp on it before Thai Immigration will accept the new passport as legal and add the relevant stamps to it.

14 minutes ago, ETatBKK said:

anyone so kind that putting the conditions and documents side-by-side, between retirement visa and marriage visa ?

marriage extension requirements (at Sri Racha)

Marriage ext documents required at Si Racha (English).pdf

and retirement requirements

visa extension based on retirement.pdf

1 hour ago, Neeranam said:

My mate renewed in Thailand online.

He just lied about a couple of things and got it sent to his sister in the UK. 

How did he get the correct visa/extension stamps etc added into his new passport??

gkok bank

On 2/2/2021 at 7:28 PM, Chill27 said:

Partner Bank for the Transfer has normally been quoted as Kasikorn, now the last transfer is shown as being from Deebank.

So my question is, how can I transfer funds to my own Bangkok Bank Account, from either the UK, or Australia, and be sure that it has the required International Transfer Coding ? What does this coding even look like?

I would open an account with Kasikorn if that would help, but now the partner Bank seems to have changed to Deebank!

Many thanks if someone could clarify things for me.

I use TW to transfer my pensions from my UK bank account to my Bangkok bank account every month and its always recorded as a 'FTT' international transfer and accepted as that by Immigration so the land registry office should also accept it. It also shows as a direct transfer from TW to the Bangkok bank each time on the transfer details on the PDF that's downloadable from TW. 'Deebank' is not even mentioned. If you want to, you can also ask the Bangkok bank to supply you with a Credit advice receipt for that transfer and that will provide you with the total journey of the transaction from TW to the Bangkok bank as further proof.

If you are using your own Bangkok account,to make sure everything is set up correctly, firstly phone TW and ask that your Bangkok account is recorded in their system as your preferred route for your future transfers (this only has to be done once, not for every transfer), PLUS choose the funds for long term stay in Thailand as the reason for the transfer. TW told me directly (over the phone) that you must do both of these instructions to ensure the transfer goes directly to the Bangkok bank and not via another of their partner banks (Kasikorn or TMB) in order that 'FTT' is recorded for the transfer.

On 2/6/2020 at 7:48 PM, Pib said:

Back to the transfer I did launch.  The transfer launched at 9:25am did post to my Bangkok Bank acct today at 2pm....basically the transfer took approx 4.5 hours. 

IF TW confirm the transfer is completed/sent before 9:30 am (Thailand time) it will arrive in the Thai bank account the same day. If the confirmation 'sent' email arrives after 9:30am it will arrive in your Thai account the following working day.

The 9:25am transfer would have been completed and arrived at the Bangkok bank at that time...but.... Bangkok bank always update their customers personal accounts at about 2:05pm. That's the time it will actually show in your account. The actual update time can vary with other Thai banks.

Times are approximate and can vary slightly.

I renewed my UK Passport at Trendy in November. Very efficient. If your hotel booking is a (semi) permanent address that is acceptable. Once you have completed your application, all communication between Trendy and yourself is done via email and telephone, they don't normally contact you via your hotel. 

When you collect your new passport at Trendy they will automatically ask you if need  a letter for Thai immigration to transfer any visas, etc. into your new passport and, if you do, they will supply that to you at the same time. 

Be aware though that the letter they supply has an embossed BE stamp on it and Immigration will need to have that original letter. They will not accept a photo copy. Takes about 5-10 minutes to complete the transfer at Thai Immigration.

7 minutes ago, bodga said:

The issue  is I MUST wear it correctly to ENTER their stores, so the staff should also comply.

Where do you live? All the stores here where we live basically comply with the rules, even though the virus is virtually non existent. Unlike in the UK  where very, very few even wear a mask (correctly or otherwise) and temperature testing is non exististent. Even though the system isn't perfect, I know where I feel safer........and it's definitely not the UK.

22 minutes ago, UWEB said:

Will start to use monthly Transfers for my next Extension by using an Income Letter from my Embassy, but Jomtien requires evidence related to said Income (e.g.Letter from Company/Organization). Can anybbody tell me what is sufficient for Immigration as I'm just transfering money from my savings in Germany.

Personally, I receive an annual statement from my pensions to confirm my income for that current year and supply them. I also supply my UK bank statements to show those payments have been received by me.

54 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

Enforcing 15-days quarantine on anyone crossing the border is not sustainable, so sooner or later those restrictions have to be softened.

It probably won't be a full return to previous 'normal' and immigration might make use of the situation to weed out what they consider incorrect use of Visa or Exempt-entries.

I wasn't suggesting a 15 day quarantine to stop people crossing the border, rather preventing people from using repeated visa exempt, etc, options for entering Thailand and suggesting that, in a similar way that repeated 30 day land border runs were limited to two per year, repeated visa/tourist/exempt entries could be rejected/limited (to maybe two per year) with an extension required to reset the clock before doing a land another border application.

1 hour ago, Peter Denis said:

But I do think that if somebody would be in the situation like the Norwegian man having his 1-year extension denied because ON TOP of his embassy-issued income letter he could not show that he transferred more than 800K from abroad during the previous 12 months, that it would be possible in a couple of months to do a 'border-run' allowing him to return Visa Exempt or on a Tourist Visa and starting from scratch again. 

  If you read the Norwegian's story he simply didn't qualify under the current rules, even by totalling up his total year's transfers.  The IO was bending the rules with even suggesting a marriage extension option. He hadn't read to rules that were actually in place.

If the system is (possibly) going to be tightened up, the lesson is to understand what is actually required to apply for an extension. We can't expect immigration to tighten everything up then relax certain parts because we don't abide by what they require.

51 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

True, but in normal times without border-restrictions, it would be quite annoying but not such a big deal.  Doing a border-hop and applying from scratch on your Visa Exempt entry would solve the matter.

 

And do you really think those 'normal times' are going to return in the 'near' future? I nothing else, Covid 19 has caused Immigration options have started to tighten up. It's started by insisting people needing the correct 'O' visa. Just going to immigration to convert a 'tourist type visa' was stopped during lockdown. In my opinion,  simply 'doing a border-hop and applying from scratch on your Visa Exempt entry' will not be straight forward in the future.

Just as an example, in recent times immigration have updated the rules to restrict border hops, by restricting land entry visas to (I think) two per year This was primarily to stop continual monthly 30 day exempt entries, but it worked.

Similarly, some people wanting to stay (semi) permanently have chosen to repeatedly go to HCMC and Savanakhet to get a 'new' non O visa. By simply restricting the number of these visa entries each year would restrict people continually staying without applying for the correct visa extension in order to stay. And immigration have already done that when tweaking the lockdown rules. 

Of course, for those of us who do things legally, according to the rules, plus, for those who can legally obtain an extension, it would have no effect whatsoever.

So, with the option of immigration tightening the system up, do you really think those 'normal times' are going to return in the 'near' future?

2 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

That's a very scary story for anybody making use of the Embassy-issued income letter!

But of course it is the odd exception instead of the rule because normally embassy-issued income letters are accepted 'no other questions asked'.

'the odd exception' isn't very helpful if, like the Norwegian, you happen to be the the one that is questioned by the IO about your financial information. 

2 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

It's also strange that they told him to reapply based on marriage because most IOs resent the associated paperwork with a marriage extension and they could have easily provided him the retirement extension on the spot.

Perhaps he was just lucky that he came up against an honest IO.

When I did my marriage extension earlier this year, using the monthly income method, all my income documents were accurate and up to date, with each transfer averaging at least 70k. However, the IO suggested that, for an extra payment of 15k, I could be given a 'retirement' extension (plus a multi re-entry permit) and they would complete all required documentation and issue the extension straight away instead of me having to wait for the 30 day 'under consideration' requirement. I just suggested what they were offering wasn't 'technically' legal.

 So, while thanking them for for their offer, I declined, pointing out that I have had an extension for fifteen years and. like my current application, each one one was 100% legal, so didn't want to start using an 'illegal' method now, when I didn't need to. 

On 12/9/2020 at 11:10 AM, AlfHuy said:

Sorry, me again.

 

Where is the best place to make passport photos which would be accepted?

If I book an appointment, does my daughter to be present (passport is for her) or can I handle everything for her?

There is passport photo machine outside a visa shop less than 50 yards from Trendy building on Soi 13. The options also include selecting the correct photo size for the country you need.

On 12/3/2020 at 10:42 AM, KhunKenAP said:

Does anyone know if they will accept a Yellow book and/or Pink Thai ID for foreigners, as proof of address, or do I have to go to Jomtien Immigration?

There are many offices around the country that will accept a Yellow book and/or Pink Thai ID but, sadly, the Pattaya office isn't one of them. There you have to pay 500 baht at Jomtien to get a free 'proof of residence' letter.

Of course, you don't have go to your local office to renew your licence, you can go to one that does  accept a Yellow book and Pink Thai ID  

7 hours ago, VBF said:

Surely the whole point of having any vaccine is that even if you do get and pass on the virus, it won't harm you?

Therefore if enough people are vaccinated it doesn't matter if they pass it around between them - i.e. transmit it to another vaccinated individual

I don't think you can assume the process is that straight forward. These vaccines are reputed to be 90% effective and that may well be true, with the 70% effective guideline also being acceptable. In fact, most virus vaccines available today are les than 80% effective, with some as low as under 60%. And passing on an infection to another vaccinated person does NOT mean that infection is any less serious. It can be equally, or even more, serious, even after vaccinations.

For example, in the UK, almost all people currently  under about 45-50 had a TB vaccine when around 12-14 years old and were advised at the time, immunity was for life (although now quoted as 40 years). I myself was vaccinated in 1963 but caught TB from a Thai person in 1993. My son then caught TB from me, just seven years after having his own TB vaccination.

One of my lungs was severely and permanently damaged by the TB and is now useless, plus, although not as bad, my son's lung was also permanently damaged.

So it's definitely possible to still catch a virus after having a vaccination, and that virus can definitely still be just as serious, even after having a proven inoculation. 

4 minutes ago, AlfHuy said:

The only thing what worries is the fact that on the PDF it comes up as a local transfer, using BKK bank.

TW has three partner Thai banks (Bangkok, Kasikorn and TMB and all transfers will go via one of those banks. If they are not one of your requested banks, the transfer will be immediately transferred internally to your own bank using the Thai banking system.

Your TW PDF merely shows which partner bank TW used to initially transfer the money into Thailand  

10 minutes ago, AlfHuy said:

I am not working with BKK bank. I use UOB.

I checked my PDF receipt and it stated that it is a "local transfer" using BKK bank.

I ticked as reason for transfer "longterm stay".

Probably the reason is that I exchange GBP to my THB account with TransferWise (multi currency account) and then transfer to UOB.

UOB is not one of TW's partner banks so it's quite possible the that that there was a 'one off' delay in transfer from the Bangkok bank to UOB. 

4 minutes ago, AlfHuy said:

The money I did send today will be available on 08th. That's not next working day.

The one I did today is expected to be credited on 08th.

Was done after 9am.

So you would expect todays transfer to arrive the next working day.

4th - Friday, Today 

5th - Saturday

6th - Sunday

7th - Monday (original holiday)

8th - Tuesday .......The next working day.

The dates/timeline I posted was a guideline to ensure transfers were received when expected.

Last year I spent a lot of time and effort with transfers to Thailand try to confirm when transfers would arrive from my UK Bank to my Bangkok Bank when using TW. An American poster (I think his name is Pib) did a similar thing with transfers from the US (with similarish results).

Although, over a period of months, times did vary a little (and a couple of transfers sent as late as 10:00+ arrived the same day) I found that to (virtually) guarantee a same day transfer, I had to initiate a transfer by around 9:00AM, THAILAND TIME, so that's that's the guideline time I use when giving general advice.

I'm sorry if this info didn't match your experience exactly but this type of timeline can never be given down to the last minute. The intension was to advise people on the best time to initiate a transfer to suit their requirements, most of which have been very happy. Sorry if it didn't meet yours.