mosan

On 3/23/2019 at 8:49 PM, Danthai said:

Not sure where you get the idea DFAS is not sending military pension through NY to Direct deposit account in Thailand.I think you are mistaken, DFAS is the pay center for Retired military, If you have a military retirement they will send your retired military pay to a Bangkok Direct Deposit account through the BKK Bank NY with no problem. Started mine and first direct deposit was made BKK Bank NY within 15 days in time for Feb 1 payment since I changed it before middle of January. Second direct payment to BKK Bank NY from both military and SS came through on 3 March like clockwork. Made the DFAS change of direct deposit on line directly in my DFAS account. It shows up as foreign deposit showing the amount transferred and baht rate used. ( I am referring to retired military pension, not some other Government office or some other bank) 

They send out payments to retired military all over the world in many countries.

You need to go back and read my post.  I did not say DFAS is not sending military pensions to NY. I said they were sending ACH deposits to Bangkok NY just like they can to any other bank located in the United States. You're confusing sending a deposit to a Bank located in the United States with sending a direct deposit to Thailand with no intermediate stops in between--which DFAS does not do.  And, yes they do send direct deposits to other countries, like the UK, Germany, etc., etc.  You're not follow the flow of the conversation. I suggest you go back and re-read a few of the previous posts...please!

I received an email from Defense Accounting And Finance today...

3 hours ago, LarryB said:

I would really just like to know why South Africans in particular have become a problem for Thai immigration. 

I'd like to think they were referring to the African continent in general (maybe even Nigerians-everyone acts like the Nigerians are the only bad actors here because they're black, and because they seem to take out more money than they bring in). Generally the locals like to finger anyone who has dark skin, even their own citizens.

On 3/14/2019 at 8:43 AM, jacko45k said:

I was under the impression the FIRST time extension was also  regarded as being a 90 day report. 

A 90 day report form says "FORM FOR ALIEN TO NOTIFY OF STAYING LONGER THAN 90 DAYS" which means that you have resided in the Kingdom or 90 consecutive days--hence, 90 Day Report.  It may coincide with your extension date, or immigrations may issue you a new report receipt on the occasion of you doing your initial extension, but mostly, some IO's do that so you're cognizant of the fact that you're do to report in 90 days...it's a courtesy.  In all likely hood, sometime in the future those dates will never match up because you can do a 90 day report early, or you may be late filing a report at some point in time.

On 3/26/2019 at 9:10 AM, ThaiBunny said:

I know for a fact the Thai family I stay with in a village in Isaan never bother to report my presence.  My friend's brother is the deputy headman and just laughs whenever the topic is raised

I hope your "friend's" brother doesn't have any enemies...

Just now, phuketrichard said:

ahhhhh< so

if one travels with his thai wife/GF an she checks into hotel does the farang also need register???

If you want to cover your behind, then I would say yes. You're the one who will be caught out. Most Thais can wiggle out of many instances by claiming ignorance--foreigners, not so much.

15 hours ago, Danthai said:

Not sure where you get the idea DFAS is not sending military pension through NY to Direct deposit account in Thailand.I think you are mistaken, DFAS is the pay center for Retired military, If you have a military retirement they will send your retired military pay to a Bangkok Direct Deposit account through the BKK Bank NY with no problem. Started mine and first direct deposit was made BKK Bank NY within 15 days in time for Feb 1 payment since I changed it before middle of January. Second direct payment to BKK Bank NY from both military and SS came through on 3 March like clockwork. Made the DFAS change of direct deposit on line directly in my DFAS account. It shows up as foreign deposit showing the amount transferred and baht rate used. ( I am referring to retired military pension, not some other Government office or some other bank) 

They send out payments to retired military all over the world in many countries.

You need to go back and read my post.  I did not say DFAS is not sending military pensions to NY. I said they were sending ACH deposits to Bangkok NY just like they can to any other bank located in the United States. You're confusing sending a deposit to a Bank located in the United States with sending a direct deposit to Thailand with no intermediate stops in between--which DFAS does not do.  And, yes they do send direct deposits to other countries, like the UK, Germany, etc., etc.  You're not follow the flow of the conversation. I suggest you go back and re-read a few of the previous posts...please!

2 minutes ago, Danthai said:

I think the changes have been out long enough that the federal government agencies that pay gov pensions are aware of the new requirements. The reason for changing was so the Give could monitor fir money laundering.

You're right about the changes being out for a long time, however, DFAS is not sending direct deposits to Thailand...

1 minute ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

It's not just up to BKKB and how the paperwork is filled out at their end.

 

It's also up to the paying entity (pick your federal government agency) as to whether their payroll systems have been updated to allow them to fully do all of their monthly payments in the IAT required format. Remember, for most of their payees in the U.S., the whole IAT thing is irrelevant, since those are not international fund transfers.

 

And that is why I went to the source of our funds; Defense Finance Accounting System (DFAS). I'm not sure they are doing IAT format because they've never supported direct deposits to Thailand.  Sending funds to Bangkok Bank in NY is another animal because it's in the US and as such can participate in the ACH system. And as you say, Bangkok Bank forms do not control whether DFAS is coding in IAT format or not...and those forms only apply to Social Security, and maybe some other entities, as far as I know.

2 hours ago, Kelsall said:

And the deposits will be in IAT format?

I submitted a ticket to the DFAS customer service website moments ago asking for a clarification on whether ACH deposits sent to Bangkok Bank, NY are in IAT format.

It is an automated system, so as soon as I get a reply, I'll report back. 

With only about 9 days before deposits are to occur, there is not enough time to get a quick fix in place. But we may at least get a heads up as to whether the change has been made.  

For the record, my deposits are sent to my credit union. I have been sending amounts via online banking (using ACH) through Bangkok, NY.  This allowed me to control how much I wanted to send and when--so I could take advantage of exchange rates...

Thanks hml367

All one can ask for is a little evidence...

As you can see by this snapshot of historical rates, we get caught by the prevailing exchange rate. Others say they are not worried about a few Baht.  But common sense says to shoot for the highest rate available...

1 hour ago, Kelsall said:

I went to the Chiang Mai police and got fingerprinted.  Used that for the FBI report.  No problem.

At the FBI are not particular about where you get the fingerprint card done, only that it's done by a professional organization and it meets their requirements. However, The Thai Embassy in Washington D.C. does require a signed federal or state FBI report.

Said requirements are located here:

[email protected] 

On 3/21/2019 at 4:02 AM, donnacha said:

Why, exactly, would anyone lie about any of this stuff?

I am sorry Mosan but you are, very clearly, picking fights.

If you are happy with your current method of transferring money to Thailand, terrific, keep doing that. The difference is only a thousand baht or so per month.

Personally, I am glad when someone on this forum reveals a more efficient way to do things, I always welcome more options, and folks have outlined quite a few options in this thread. My currency has fallen relative to the baht in recent years, so, for me, that saved money fills a gap.

Call it what you want. I don't ever claim to be happy. But I do see a problem with people not exactly telling the whole story behind their "great" way of doing things. Blog and forum posts make it easy to spout off great feel good phrases without providing substance. I'd like to think I'm digging for more substance--we don't have to agree about how that happens.

4 hours ago, hml367 said:

Mosan,

The rate charged by Visa (I don't know about Mastercard) is a charge to the card issuing financial institution. It actually consists of 2 charges and the last time I checked it totaled 1 percent.  It is up to the financial institution and its regulators if it is passed on to the cardholder.  In the regulations MAY also be allowed adding a percentage amount to the amount charged to the financial institution.

 

As for what one gets here on an over the counter cash advance: for years I have been getting cash advances from my Visa branded credit card with no cash conversion fee at all, including not even the percentage charged to the financial institution, and no fees charged by the card issuing financial institution.  I get the rate that is quoted on the US Visa Corporate exchange rate for the date the transaction is settled. If I use an ATM, then I must pay the Thai fee, which was 220 baht just the other day.  After the cash advance is posted to my account I transfer the amount from checking to my credit card account, so I don't even pay a finance charge.

 

There are cards in the US which do not have a currency conversion fee.  I have another Visa card which does not have a conversion fee, however, that card has a cash advance fee - I don't use that card for cash advances.  

 

 

I'm not going to doubt what you say, many on here claim they are paying no fees, however unlike the guy above, you do not want to or forgot to say which institution you use, so that others may verify what you say is true.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not picking a fight, it's just that if you say you've never paid fees, then go the extra step and tell us exactly what card and financial institution.  It's kind of like someone saying my brother-in-law is a policeman so I don't have to pay for my traffic tickets... 

28 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

The are shown on the appointment website. But I suspect many embassies and official consulates will want them to be done in person.

I suspect that in very large countries (e.g. the USA) making a trip from Florida, Nebraska, or Texas to a very expensive city like L.A. New York, or Washington, D.C. would be very limiting--considering that now, in Washington, D.C., applying in person may take up to 5 days. 

2 hours ago, donnacha said:

 

I do the same with my N26 debit card (Mastercard), but I always use a regular desk in Thai banks, not the currency exchange one. They simply treat it as a cash advance denominated in baht, you get the current interbank rate of exchange (what Google shows when you do an exchange query) and no cash advance fee or any other fee.

This is always better than Transferwise because, although they, too, offer roughly the interbank rate, they also charge you a fee. With N26 and similar new online banks, there is no fee, either for cash withdrawals or card purchases. The Transferwise fee isn't terrible - on a 50,000 baht transfer, you will only lose around $24, or €7, or £10 - but, yeah, I would rather spend that on a meal or massage.

The more important advantage of N26 is that it is immediate: you walk in with your card and passport, and you walk out five minutes later with your money, no fees, no deductions, you get exactly what Google said you would.

With Transferwise, you have to wait for their process and, then, for the bank transfer to complete. I don't want to have all that hanging over me for half a week. I am surprised that more expats and regular visitors to Thailand don't use the new online banks, especially as they are free.

You can find out more on the N26 site (here is a link to it), just select your country: Ireland, United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Italy, France, Spain, and early access registration is now available for residents of the United States.

You can complete the entire registration from anywhere, I did mine in Thailand, and you can use any passport as ID, but they will need to send your debit card to a postal address in one of those countries.

America might be tougher but, for the European countries, you do not need to prove residency, and you can use a forwarding service or get a friend who will mail it to you. All my close Thai friends have their own accounts now.

From the N26 website link you provided ... "Make international transfers right from your phone in 19 currencies using TransferWise—and save up to 6x more"

...And, by the way, MasterCard and VISA both incorporate a percentage transaction charge for using their network. Even when you take money over the counter at a bank.  Check real closely and you'll see it reflected in either the exchange rate you actually get or it will be deducted from your amount at the sending or receiving end of your transaction (it's not always transparent, but it is there).

https://docs.n26.com/legal/06+EU/01+Account/en/13account-pricelist-en.pdf?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=cpo&utm_campaign=ho&utm_term=1830

On 3/16/2019 at 10:08 PM, berybert said:

If you sell the house and put the money in the bank how do you prove the money came from abroad ? 

In most cases, one had to import the money to buy the house in the first place unless they paid as they went and the imported funds are not documented. However, you can send the money back to your home country...for a cost. Then you can bring it back in as needed.

Thank you for making my point for me.  Another individual on here said I was making it up that 30 day under considerations did not require the 400K to be maintained during the period.  I only omitted the fact that there were other possibilities...

The only extensions that are subject to the 30 day under consideration are extensions based on marriage...and occasionally one or two for retirees, but those were the exception not the rule.  Consequently, since about 5 months ago, there have been several reports about checks during the under consideration period.  All is not lost...you can always get another Non-Imm O and re-apply if necessary. 

But, there are at least two post on here, and no, I didn't bookmark them, where one individual was told by their particular immigrations office to make sure they do not let their balance fall below the 400K mark until their extension is approved and asked them to bring back their bank book to prove as much.  Additionally, the second poster's office told the individual not to touch the money for an additional 30 days (up to 60 days now) because a decision had not been made on his extension yet. So, as in the original post in this thread, both of these cases involved extensions based on marriage...  

23 minutes ago, mosan said:

Absolutely not. I guess you did not take the time to do a minor search on the topic...