TaoNow

As I understand it, the 800K baht and 65K baht/month amounts are somewhat arbitrary amounts to show that the applicant has significant financial resources. Apparently, in the past, some ex-pats on retirement extensions left the country (not to return) with outstanding medical or legal (or other) financial obligations to Thai entities. So, Immo wants some sort of advance guarantee that the ex-pat seeking a retirement extension has the financial security to cover unexpectedly large claims. Thus, the amount is not to check that the ex-pat is spending 65K baht a month or more. In fact, in decades of doing these extensions (at Immo/CW) they have never checked or asked how much I spend per month, or from what account I cover daily/monthly expenses. Other Immo offices may do that, but it is nonsense. My final observation on this issue is this: If you have a problem holding 20-25,000 euro or USD in a Thai bank as a form of "bond" or guarantee for living in Thailand for 12 months at a time, then you cannot afford to retire here.

Outside of Immigration, I have found that the situations when staff ask to see my passport, it ls when they will ask a Thai for their national ID card. IOW, the request if for formal identification, not to check whether your passport is valid or whether you have overstayed your permit-to-stay date. I resist showing my passport since I do not want to have to carry it outside the house, unless necessary. Thus, at the post office when mailing EMS or registered mail, I just show my driver's license when they ask for my PP. Same when checking in for a domestic flight. Also, when at the bank, they sometimes ask to see my passport when I am withdrawing funds or requesting a new passbook for my savings accounts. But, I believe that they want the passport for signature verification -- not policing immigration status. (I realize it is different when opening a new bank account.) Thus, if you have a Thai DL, I encourage you to use that, even if you've brought your PP. That way, perhaps, we can reduce the expectation that we ex-pats will always have our PP on hand.

The issue of the one-year statement: I use SCB and it costs 200 baht to produce the statement. While it may not be required, each year the Immo/CW officer scrutinizes the annual statement, and uses a yellow highlighter pen for certain lines. She only glances at the passbook to verify beginning and end totals. If the bank account is simple (i.e., only used for retirement extension, with only a couple of withdrawals and deposits to update the balance) then it is easier for the Immo officer to scan the balances over the year to ensure that they didn't go under 800K. Since I have to go to the bank anyway for the account verification letter and bankbook update, the annual statement only adds a few minutes to the process and reduces any performance anxiety.

So many posters on this and other threads seem to think that they are the only ex-pats of interest to Thai Immigration. If you paid any attention to the local news, there are millions of ex-pats from Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, China, and other Asian nationalities here at any given moment. In the case of this thread, Immigration is much more concerned about the exploitation/collusion of gangs with Thai citizens who may open "mule" accounts to launder funds in amounts that would dwarf the bank accounts of Farang ex-pats with measly 400K and 800K baht deposits. Stop thinking that you are God's gift to Thailand for being here, and recognize that you are just one small minnow in the sea of ex-pats living, working, and scamming here.

Relying on the quarterly up-dates in the (fixed acct) bank book could be risky, at least at Immo/CW. To be safe, as Dr. Jack recommends, you should update the bank book on the day you are applying for an extension (retirement) by depositing/withdrawing a nominal amount to generate an entry in the bank book. It is no trouble to do so, since you also have to go to the bank to get the account verification letter and annual bank statement. Since my fixed account is with SCB, I go to the nearest SCB branch on the morning when I process my annual extension to do the bank book update, letter confirming the account balance, and annual statement. It costs me 400 baht and has never failed.

Just responding to Caldera and a few others: We all know that there are certain Immo offices that bend the requirements in order to bill ex-pats for services that should be free (or not beyond the published fee). I once lived in a province that required a 300 baht payment for a Certificate of Residence, even though the service is supposedly free according to the Immo national website. I always do my extensions at Immo/CW, and they seem to have policies in place to prevent graft. For example, they rotate the front-line and supervisory officers throughout the year which means that it would be very difficult to set up a kick-back network to overlook the 800K baht requirement for retirement extensions. Plus, I have never observed any suspicious activity of some type of Thai agent jumping the queue and depositing passorts to be expedited and bypassing the required documentation, But, how would I know for sure? I don't. But, all I know is that, over decades of doing extensions for work/marriage/retirement, I have never been pressured by Immo/Bangkok to seek an agent or pay graft in order to get a routine, annual extension . To me, that says that corruption is not a way of life at Division 1. YMMV

For me, the main reason to do the retirement extension (versus the marriage ext) is the ability to be totally self-reliant. Processing the retirement extension requires only you, the ex-pat, and your Thai bank account. No one else needs to be involved, and that reduces potential complications or mishaps. In general, I think successful, retired ex-pats -- wherever they settle, should be able to do all the necessary administrative procedures required by the adoptive country. If, having mastered those procedures, the ex-pat may then wish to use the services of an agent or other helper to save time in preparing the documentation, standing in line, or other nuisance. But, in sum, Rule #1 of a successful overseas retirement is this: Know the local rules, and be able to fully comply with those rules on your own, with no help or involvement of anyone else.

Nothing in OP's post indicated that the Immo officers were shaking him down for a bribe. Unless you have some objective proof of the graft racket at Thai airports, then you should stop rumor-mongering.

It still amazes me that people who post on this forum still do not understand that, no matter what visa you may have obtained outside the county, it is up to the Immo officer at the border you cross to decide whether to let you in or not. Thai Immo officers are gatekeepers -- not a welcoming committee. Entry is not a right. It is a privilege. Act accordingly.

Then it would appear that you are not a legitimate retiree in Thailand. People who choose Thailand to end their life in should be willing to post a "bond" of 21,000 euro to show the honesty of their intentions and ability to be financially independent of the state.

OP should have told the Immo officer that he was a student in a Thai boxing course -- and could demonstrate the basics right there and then.

I agree with all the advice about transfer of Immo stamps for extension of stay from old to new passport. But, just a historical note about where to file the 90-day address reports (since it came up in a few of the posts): During 2008-2011, I lived in Phuket, but did my annual extensions (retirement) in Bangkok, since that is where I had always done them, and where my "permanent" address was registered. However, during the year, Iived in Phuket, and I did my quarterly 90-day address reports to the local Immo office there, giving my apartment in Phuket town as my (temporary) residence. That seemed to be fine with Immo/Phuket as well as Immo/CW (since they never checked the TM47 in those days). Not sure if that would work these days, however.

Yes, DrJack, I provided photocopies of my latest TM47 and TM30, and she seemed to expect it, and kept the docs.

DrJack: I also use an FD account (SCB), and did my annual extension (retirement) at Immo/CW this past Tuesday. While the annual statement may not be required, the officer reviewing my paperwork went over that statement with a fine-toothed comb, and used a highlighter pen to single out balances in about 6 places. So, if it isn't required, they certainly seem to use it. That has been my experience each year, for about the last 5 years.

Just a side note: It is a problem for me to do a same-day transaction that appears in my fixed savings account book, since that has to be done over-the-counter -- can't be done through an ATM. Thus, on the day of my appointment with IMMO/CW for an annual extension of retirement (money in the bank) I need to go to the SCB bank in the morning and update my bank book, even thiough the letter authorizing the bank account can be done several days before hand (as Dr. Jack noted). Ever since SCB closed their branch at the Government Complex, I have to go to the next-nearest branch to do the pass book update on the day of my extension appointment. Thus, I (and many others I suspect) would greatly appreciate it if IMMO would allow bank account statements and passbook up-dates to be dated one or two days before submitting the application to extend. I think that is a reasonable proposition. But, a la Bernard the Trink, TIT.