OJAS

Well I thought from the title that this thread would be all about flogging retirement visas on Amazon, Etsy (never heard of them) and Ebay. Most disappointed that it isn't as I'm sure that there must be a market for such visas from retirees who can't afford the minimum financial requirements!????

And below is a link to the official Immigration Bureau guidance:- https://www.immigration.go.th/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/9.FOR-RETIREMENT-PURPOSES-50-YEARS-OLD-NON-O.pdf Not that it's slavishly followed to the letter by each and every immigration office in practice, of course. In particular in the context of this thread, Jomtien appear to have seen fit to impose an unofficial rogue 60-day seasoning requirement on applicants using the 800k method, as noted by the PCEC.

Not to mention that the whole Life Cert process is wide open to abuse anyway, it seems to me. What's to stop a State Pensioner in Thailand upon receiving this form to, say, get a family member to impersonate a completely fictitious Thai individual purporting to work in an acceptable occupation at a completely fictitious Thai address for witnessing purposes? I somehow doubt whether DWP are sufficiently resourced to undertake the necessary in-depth checks of the credentials of each and every Life Cert witnesser. In any event, it strikes me that said State Pensioner is doing nothing wrong as he is still in the land of the living and, hence, still entitled to receive the State Pension. Would be a different matter, though, of course, if he had popped his clogs before the new Life Cert had been received. DWP are IMHO so hung up on security that it appears to act as a blindfold in devising methods to prove that we are still in the land of the living for State Pension purposes, which more appropriately reflect the fact that we are nearly a quarter of the way through the 21st - not 19th - Century! Would you believe it, they apparently destroy all emails after 3 months for security purposes, so they told me recently!!

When a new Life Cert is on its way to us from DWP, it would appear to need to go through 4 customs checks, which could well add to the delay in its receipt:- (1) UK outbound (2) Netherlands receipt (3) Netherlands outbound (4) Thailand receipt

Have you tried tracking it on the Royal Mail tracker? In my experience that provides much more detail on current whereabouts in the UK than its Thailand Post counterpart.

Could equally be the fault of the UK and/or Thai Customs services, through whom all incoming and outgoing international mail is routed, I gather.

The OP appears to be suggesting that the 65k monthly income method for retirement extensions is no longer deemed acceptable by Jomtien. But @doctormann's recent experience contradicts this assertion!

Unfortunately your UK bank might prove insistent on your providing them with some sort of local TIN, though. One way in which you might be able to fob them off, however, without having to make a special trip to your local RD office (which, in turn, could set alarm bells ringing at their end, as you say) would simply be to provide your UK bank with the 13-digit "ID card number" on your latest COVID vaccination certificate (60xxxxxxxxxxx in my case). I distinctly recall it being stated somewhere on here some time ago that the TIN for a Thai national is the same as their ID card number.

It would appear from this thread that the TM6 form is still required for border bounces. So presumably prospective border bouncers who last entered Thailand by air since the TM6 requirement was scrapped for incoming air travellers a year ago will need to provide freshly-completed TM6 forms both before exiting Thailand and again upon re-entry?

Did you have to include a hand-drawn map showing the way from the immigration office to your humble abode with your latest retirement extension application?

Well you and your acolytes on here certainly appear to hold Thai people in sneeringly patronising contempt with a "Me Mr High & Mighty Ultra-Perfect Westerner" attitude, don't you? Maybe you all need to give serious consideration to relocating from Thailand if you really do despise the locals so much - perhaps after penning scathing reviews of various Thai establishments as your respective swansongs?

Many of whom are, I strongly suspect, fully paid up members of the Thai bashing brigade on here.

And arrival. Also if disabled.

Maybe you were trying to call them when they were closed??

With regard to your other thread on the Visas forum, why not tell him that you'll only give him a payslip if he'll give you a completed TM30?????

Yes, it is clear to me from this thread that you and other expats based in Bangkok are having to run the risk of dealing with a potentially rogue office on TM30-related issues - albeit that this roguery appears to come and go in fits and starts (rather like sunspot cycles, I suppose).

Either that, or the plain fact could be that, when it comes to issues relating to the TM30 form, Chaengwattana are a ROGUE OFFICE PAR EXCELLENCE.

Trouble with cash is that you more often than not need that particular scourge of the banking world worldwide (and not just in Thailand) known as the ATM machine to lay your hands on any of the stuff!

Whereas banks back in your home country are, on the other hand, models of 1,000,000% perfection, right?

I strongly suspect that the face-saving tactics which most of us have experienced in Thailand would probably pale into insignificance when compared to the outrageous and blinkered "in-denial" approach adopted by PO hierarchy for ages in that particular instance until the truth finally came out of the woodwork.

Yep, I bet that there are zilllions of Bangkok Bank customers just itching to scan QR codes with the app between these times!

Probably not a good idea to hold 3 accounts with 1 bank IMHO in view of the DPA scheme 1m limit to which I have just referred.

I wholeheartedly endorse the view that it is best to open a second account with no internet access or card linked to it in order to house the 800,000 THB minimum balance needed for retirement extension purposes. In your case, though, I would strongly advise you against opening a second account with Bangkok Bank since the Deposit Protection Agency's guarantee scheme limit of 1,000,000 THB covers ALL accounts which you might hold with that particular bank.

To view the official requirements for Australian OA visa applications as set out on the website of the Royal Thai Embassy in Canberra, do the following:- (1) Click on https://canberra.thaiembassy.org/visa-categories (2) Scroll down and click on RETIREMENT VISA CATEGORIES (3) Select second option (Retirement Visa valid for 1 year) These indicate that there have not, in fact, been any recent changes to the financial requirements - contrary to what Integrity Legal may be alleging in the context of that wondrous (and purely fictitious-sounding) organisation called "The Thai Australian Consulate"!

Whereas a Thai who, in your eyes, has the nerve to work illegally in your home country should, of course, have the book thrown at them without mercy or fear, right?