OJAS

Can definitely confirm that you will be, based on my personal experience of flying from CDG to BKK a couple of months ago. Thankfully I had a valid re-entry permit which did the trick in lieu of a return/onward flight ticket!????

If so then presumably those making EUR/THB transfers are currently being specifically advised by Wise that the xrates upon which their transfers would be based would be subject to short-notice variation (or words to that effect), just as those making GBP/THB transfers were a few months ago when the GBP/THB xrate was yo-yoing violently. Perhaps the OP and/or @KhunBENQ could let us know whether or not this is the case?

Or clearing the cache if the OP hasn't already tried this?

What a load of baloney! In the increasingly electronic and automated age in which we are now living , it is surely possible for NatWest to provide their "great" services to any account holder of theirs living anywhere on this great planet of ours without having to bust a gut!!

What a cheek! Barclays are closing your onshore accounts but expecting you to do their dirty work for them, it would seem!! Suggest that you open an international account with another offshore bank and then close your Barclays one - thus making it possible for you to tell Barclays to get royally stuffed in no uncertain terms!!! EDIT#1: As a matter of principle, would you really want to have an offshore account with a bank which has gleefully closed your onshore ones with them? EDIT#2: Apologies, @scubascuba3, I was actually replying to @doctormann!

In response to Mr Confused, I would merely say that my preceding post sounds crystal clear to me!

I personally would not bank on this still being the case these days. Historic OA visa holders seeking fresh retirement extensions were, generally speaking, not exempted from the mandatory health insurance requirements introduced 4 years ago through any "grandfathering" (except in the case of those obtaining their retirement extensions at the Phuket Immigration Office).

This was certainly made clear to me for the first time when I applied for my latest retirement extension at Rayong in July. I am seriously wondering whether some edict has recently gone out to immigration offices from the Immigration Bureau hierarchy covering both this requirement and also the need for 12-month bank statements in the case of those offices who haven't already been requesting these (this was another unwelcome surprise which was sprung on me last July). Expect more reports on here in connection with other offices, I think!

Another problem with passbook entries, such as I have just experienced with my dedicated Krungsri 800k account, is overprinting.

If I were you I would be far more concerned about the OP's initial use of incorrect terminology through referring to a "Non-Immigrant O (Retirement Visa)" for his dad, bearing in mind that, in the case of retirement, immigration offices issue fresh non-O visas (based on conversions of recent entries into Thailand) as well as fresh annual extensions of stay.

Unless the OP is American, Australian or British (and his references to Europe and the EUR currency would appear to indicate that he is none of these 3 nationalities), he might be able to obtain a suitable income confirmation letter/affidavit from his home country embassy in Bangkok in lieu of making physical monthly transfers. EDIT: But that said, however, his clear preference is to go down the 800k/400k route instead.

In that case I would strongly recommend that you allow at least 15-20 minutes to get from your car to the VFS office should you decide to renew in person. Quite apart from your physical limitations (which don't sound all that dissimilar to mine), you might well find yourself having to endure a lengthy wait for the lift to convey you from the 5th to 8th floors, if my experiences a few months ago were typical!

While the postal method may well be available for those whose home countries offer reasonably easy and graceful passport renewal services to its expat nationals living in LOS (as in the USA's case for instance), it is, unfortunately, a complete no-no as far as we Brits are concerned. Instead we are required to make physical trips in person, regardless of our state of health (or have agents undertake these trips on our behalf) to offices in Bangkok or Chiang Mai in order to (1) deliver our renewal applications, and (2) collect our replacement passports several weeks later. Don't ask me why snail mail postal methods dating back around 200 years are considered far too hi-tech by those clowns in His Majesty's Passport Office back in the UK who are responsible for the cumbersomely bureaucratic passport renewal procedures which have been inflicted on us Brits living in LOS!

I can definitely confirm on the basis of personal experience (from when I subjected myself to the dreaded With-It Tower Passport Renewal Experience 6 months ago) that parking for VFS customers is available on the 5th Floor of With-It Tower. It is, however, then a bit of a walk to the lift which will convey you to the VFS office on the 8th Floor, followed by a further bit of a walk to said office. Please note, however, that there are absolutely no loos that you will encounter between the car park and the VFS office (or at least none that I could locate despite encouraging notices to the contrary). And there are no loos in the VFS office itself. In addition, if you arrive for your appointment early, you'll need to stew in your car since the miserable bozos in charge of the car park won't allow you to keep your car's engine running to power its aircon. Finally, please hang on to the ticket which will be issued when you enter the car park, and take it to the VFS Office with you to get it stamped so as to secure a not insignificant reduction in the parking charge when you eventually leave. I missed out on doing this for the first trip!

Yep, I was also moaned at in no uncertain terms for the lack of monthly transactions at Rayong on 20 July. As a result I've now set up token 20 THB transfers (which, thankfully, don't attract any supplementary bank charges these days) into my dedicated Krungsri account on 20 August, 20 September and 20 October to cover the 3-month post-application 800k seasoning requirement. In due course I'll be setting up token transfers for November, January, February, March, April and May (these shouldn't be needed for December or June, though, since these are the months when Krungsri makes interest payments into my dedicated account). @Eff1n2ret - to be aware of this further Rayong requirement (which unfortunately I forgot to mention previously).

Very few of whom are to be found sat behind windows at immigration offices, though, unfortunately.☹️

But unfortunately almost certainly not for an equally - if not considerably more - dim-witted check-in assistant at LHR who will almost certainly derive considerable pleasure from gleefully denying him permission to board his outbound flight to BKK solely on account of the spelling inconsistencies!

As already said, perfectly possible to switch from retirement to marriage as the reason for annual extensions of stay. It should, however, be noted that, in the year in which the switch is made, the new marriage extension will be dated from when it is applied for rather than from when the permission to stay granted under the previous retirement extension expires.

Sounds fishy to me.

You can actually apply for a new extension of stay up to 30 days before your current permission to stay expires at most offices - and even up to 45 days beforehand at some (e.g. Chaengwattana and Chiang Mai). And retirement extensions are normally processed and issued on the spot at most offices, with no need to leave your passport with them overnight (Jomtien are the notable exception in that regard, though).

I was never required to have my British Embassy income confirmation letters notarised in this way.

Agreed - use it or lose it as the old adage goes!

For the future you might instead wish to consider obtaining consecutive 6-month statements (which Bangkok Bank branches can issue on the spot) at 6-monthly intervals. That's certainly something I did when using the 65,000 THB monthly income method for my retirement extensions based on my Bangkok Bank account, with no adverse reaction from Immigration.

Assuming that your wife is Thai, are you really that skint that you can't even afford a legitimate marriage extension?

It strikes me that, in the case of those of us who have already lived in Thailand for several years, a Thai criminal records check would be more appropriate. But, since immigration offices are part of the Royal Thai Police, one would like to think that they would have ready access to Thai criminal records pertaining to recalcitrant foreign retirees in any event. That said, though, this is, of course, Thailand, lest we forget..........