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MPoll

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Posts posted by MPoll

  1. 12 hours ago, Negita43 said:

    is i possible to get one in the USA without the 800,000 Baht and then come and open a bank account and then do a visa extensions subsequently over here?.

    Thanks

     

    There is another answer to this question and that is to get an OA visa in the USA. I am an American who came to Thailand on an OA visa in 2017. In 2019 the Thai government added a health insurance requirement so I am not necessarily recommending this visa now but it is something a US citizen is going to see on the Thai consulate website in the US. He can get this visa using funds in his US bank accounts. It is a one year visa and the other features are a bit complicated. If the insurance requirement, for both the visa and subsequent extensions, doesn't bother him then it is an option that is out there. I had an OA and extensions for 6 years and then switch to a pensioner LTR visa and the Thai insurance I used for my OA visa also qualified me for the LTR. It would be a bit of a chore but he could switch to an O visa without the insurance requirement sometime in the future.

     

    So . . . I am not recommending the OA over the O but he should be aware of the two visas. I got my OA visa and all my subsequent extensions myself so I am not really recommending agents either but (before everyone jumps on me for this comment) lots of people use agents and swear by them. 

    • Like 1
  2. 53 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

    Are you sure about that?  It has often been reported CW requires same day letter of account balance/ownership and people with accounts at banks that are no longer located at that location have had real issues getting.   But perhaps they have been talking the passbook update process rather than the letter itself?

    The first time I had to present an insurance certificate to extend my OA visa there was some confusion and I had to leave and return a couple of days later after I sorted out the insurance certificate issue. The senior Immigration officer told me that they would keep my document package and that I should return within 7 days. Other than that experience I always obtained my bank letter and year bank statement at my local Kasikorn branch in Phra Khanong and went to CW 2 or 3 days later. When I arrived at CW I would withdraw 1000 baht at the Kasikorn ATM and then update my bank book at the update machine. This was the only time all year that I would update my bank book. I assumed that the same day bank book update was covering any transactions between the date of the bank letter and year statement and when I arrived at CW to apply for the extension. I did this process 5 years in a row.

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  3. 22 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

    Actually at CW they will also require a bank letter of account ownership/current balance issued the same day, copy of account book for the year including current day and if using income from country not providing Embassy confirmation letters a one year bank statement covering the previous 12 months of required deposits.  For Bangkok Bank customers one year statement can not be obtained from branch banks so normally takes few days to obtain.

    At CW the bank letter is good for 7 days. They want a same day transaction and your updated bankbook. This is easily done at the bank branches downstairs even before the banks open in the morning. I am able to get a 1 year bank statement from Kasikorn same day but it is also good for several days, probably 7. I would get it at my local branch a few days before I went to CW. If Bangkok bank is one of those banks the make you wait a week to get a 1 year bank statement then just plan accordingly. You can apply for a 1 year extension at CW 45 days before your current extension expires. Go as early as you can. Don't wait until the last minute.

  4. I did five OA extensions at CW myself. The IO’s were always professional. I always brought my condo lease and copies of the landlord’s ID but I don’t recall them ever asking to see them. There was never any hint of wanting a bribe. The IO’s were not friendly or unfriendly. They were serious about working through mountains of paperwork. For my first extension I didn’t have the bank letter so she wrote me a note to take to Kasikorn downstairs and I sorted it out. She was being helpful. The IO’s rarely said anything but when they did they weren’t rude.

     

    I can only conclude that the OP was unlucky and is in a tough situation regarding his housing. With my multiple interactions at CW and those of everyone I knew in Bangkok for 6 years I don’t think this is a common occurrence. 

    This is just about my 1 year anniversary of my LTR so CW in in my rear view mirror.

     

    • Like 1
  5. 9 hours ago, K2938 said:

    "Those who obtain the LTR visa are exempted from paying personal income tax on their foreign assets or earnings.

     

    Since the launch of the scheme in September 2022, over 3,000 LTRs have been granted to foreigners. In the weeks since the Sep 15 announcement of the new tax regulation, there has been a 14 per cent increase in LTR applications, according to sources."

     

    https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/international/asean/thailands-tweak-tax-regulation-foreign-income-sparks-confusion-worries

     

    I am cautiously optimistic about this but I am still going to keep a close eye on this topic next year as interpretations of the tax law become clearer. 

  6. At the end of your 2nd year you can also leave and return on a visa exempt entry and then apply for the O visa inside Thailand. 90 days later you can then extend that for 1 year with no insurance requirement and with the 800,000k in the bank. Also, during that 2nd year you can leave at any time without an re-entry permit and that will finished your extra 1 yr permission to stay stamp. I only suggest this because you might want to time your future yearly extension date to a convenient time of the year.

     

    Have you looked at the requirements for the 10-yr pensioner LTR (Long Term Residency) visa? It does not have banking requirements. You do need health insurance but the insurance I had for my previous OA qualified. You also need to have an $80,000/yr passive income. What qualifies as passive income is described on the LTR website. There is also a $40.000/yr + investment option. You can read about the LTR visa on the website for the Thailand Board of Investment.

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    • Agree 1
  7. 21 hours ago, JoeP2 said:

    Can anyone who has collected their Wealthy Retirement Visa from One Stop BOI in Bangkok kindly explain what happens at the appointment and how long it takes on the day - is it like an hour or several? And do you really need a proper shirt and trousers!

     

    Secondly, did anyone NOT collect it within the 60 days ? -  does the whole process start all over again?

     

    Must say, for a visa system everything worked incredibly smoothly - if you qualify for it, I think its by far the best option!

     

     


    Yes, dress decently like you supposedly do at any immigration office. You will be incredibly pleased at how well the BOI staff will help you. You will eventually be escorted across the hall to the Immigration office which is typically pretty crowded so how long you wait will vary. 

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  8. 18 hours ago, Rdrokit said:

    Sorry I have not read the previous 85 pages. I plan on filing for the Wealthy Pensioners Visa after the first of the year. I have 3 pensions which puts me over the 80,000 limit and a 5 million health insurance policy with Pacific Cross. I was wondering if anyone has filed with similar qualifications and what if any problems you ran into. 

    Thanks,

    rokit

    I have a pension that is more than $80,000 and Pacifist Cross insurance. I applied for the pensioner LTR in Oct 2022 and got it with no problems at all. I submitted my US tax return to verify my income and never got additional questions about it. I submitted my Pacific Cross insurance certificate and they accepted that as well. You should have no problems. If they ask for more information just give them what they ask. Your situation, and mine, are as simple as it can get and exactly what they ask for on the BOI website.

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  9. I got a new passport from the US embassy in Bangkok last June. I am in Sisaket province and completed the application online. I got stuck a few times until I realized that the payment of the fee was actually on a different State Department website. So that was confusing to me at the time. Since June I heard that they charged the method of paying for the return envelope to an online vendor and that that website is not simple. Aside from that I got my new passport in 36 days.

     

    Sorry to hear you are in some endless loop. I think you are going to have to be very specific about where you are stuck to get any real help.

  10. I think those of us that have gone through the wedding experience in Thailand will know what is what. When you register your marriage at the district office you will walk out with the official marriage certificate. We did this first before the village ceremony. We also did the registration with the assistance of a law firm.

     

     The village ceremony was about a week later. There were no documents signed or issued at the village ceremony. As for sin sod - that is a very important element of the village ceremony. 
     

    What I don’t know is whether anyone has paid a sin sod while only having the district official registration. At our registration sin sod was never mentioned. Maybe some people have a side agreement separate from the registration. 

  11.  Sin sod is a part of Thai marriage tradition. Archaic? Sure. A tradition observed in many ways from show to serious. Other countries observe a bride price or dowry too. Western countries have all sorts of archaic traditions. In the US the bride’s family is supposed to pay for the wedding which could be a very expensive obligation. The brides father “gives” her away as if she is property. What actually happens is all a negotiation about traditions and who can afford what and what it all means for all involved. 

     

    Is it all about money? If you are going to marry into a Thai family and live in Thailand then get used to money being a part of the vast complications that go along with the concept of “Face”. In any case, when have western marriages not been about money? You won’t even get a date with her if you make less money than her much less get married. Money figures into the high divorce rate in the US and the divorce settlement. 

     

    I paid a sin sod of 100k and 100k for the Thai wedding. The village wedding was fascinating, moving, and beautiful and well worth 200k. I don’t care what the sin sod is for or what it means and I can’t imagine what a similar wedding in the US would cost. My first wedding in the US in 1980 probably cost more. For that wedding my fiancé and I paid for it ourselves so our parents wouldn’t be involved with the wedding plans. My parents paid for my sister’s wedding but my sister and mother nearly came to blows during the planning. In some ways wedding joy and conflicts are similar worldwide.

     

    My wife’s cousin got married two years later in the same house with a similar ceremony. . He paid a sin sod of 50k. They were young Thai factory workers so that 50k was probably a much bigger deal. No, the family did not return his or my sin sod. The family is a poor farming family. Nobody is getting rich with sin sods in this family. 

     

    I am simultaneously sad and amused to read westerner write comments as if their traditions and moral standing are superior. Get married or not . . . up to you. Just don’t be so high and mighty about. It is no better or worse in your home country if you bothered to look at it.

    • Thanks 2
  12. 9 minutes ago, corona said:

    Interesting . . . The OA you can only apply for in the US and requires qualifying health insurance. However, you can get about 2 years of use out of it. That might fit your timeline for getting your wife back to the US. I had an OA and now have an LTR. The 10 year LTR was really easy to get if you have a simple pension income of $80,000/year.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  13. 48 minutes ago, Ben Zioner said:

    No,  I said this  could be a potential issue as a comment to @Mpoll report on the transfer of his LTR visa into his new passport; why did they have to record he arrived in Thailand in 2017 on an OA?

    My thoughts were that they were recording my first visa entry into Thailand plus my first LTR permission to stay on my old passport. I think they are just historical notes. Who knows? I just wanted people to get a glimpse of what I got when switching to a new passport.

     

    My last entry into Thailand on my OA was September 2019. I got my LTR stamped into my passport in Bangkok in January 2023. I made a trip to the US May/June this year on the LTR. Then I applied for my new passport and had the visa transferred.

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