Mattd

Then I do apologise if I misunderstood the article, for me it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever as to why any bank would close an account or have a rule that the account must have 100,000 GBP in it if a person banks from overseas, there must be more to this than just that, the article specifically states:

A spokesman for Barclays told the Cyprus Mail: “This isn’t about not providing services to expats, it’s about a de-risking programme that was put in place at the end of 2013 to review and reduce the number of countries we operate in.

Which suggests to me that they were providing some sort of banking service from within Cyprus and surrounding countries.

In today's banking world, it makes no odds to the bank where the customer is physically located, so long as the account is active, most customers would transact via Internet Banking nowadays, which is a saving to the bank and absolutely no reason for the bank to operate in any other country.

In answer to why does the bank require a TIN for Thailand, I'd imagine it is simply because that is part of the criteria that they have been told to gather and it seems that this has not been that well thought out when it comes to countries such as Thailand, where people have legitimately retired and are not subject to Thai income tax under normal circumstances and the banks are not able to bend to understand this.

The British Government's attitude is that a person must be paying income tax somewhere and if not why not.

As stated in one of my earlier posts, I do have a Thai TIN and I do pay Thai income tax, so not quite in the same circumstances as most here, so difficult for me to advise, other than to obtain a Thai TIN just for this purpose and to satisfy the bank if they insist.

There are other threads where folks have argued with their banks that Thailand is not yet participating in CRS, so the TIN is N/A.

2 minutes ago, partington said:

This is all quite correct except for the banks not being able to do anything. They can simply close your account. Depending on your need for it and use you make of it this can represent  a serious problem.

 

Most banks in their terms and conditions have a clause saying they can close accounts for no reason or any reason. Complaining usually does not do anything and can take many months or years and the damage is done.

 

See for example Barclays decision to simply close accounts of expats living in Cyprus a few years back.

http://cyprus-mail.com/2015/07/22/expats-left-reeling-as-barclays-close-accounts-under-100000/

This article refers to closing Barclays Cyprus accounts and not UK based accounts.

I would agree that a bank could possibly deem to close an account, but normally would need to have sufficient reasons to do so.

It is doubtful that a person's non-conformance to CRS would be reason, the only reason the banks are panicking to get this info is due to the deadline set by the UK Government to have this all in place by 31st December 2017 for individual accounts of less than 250,000 USD or the equivalent local currency.

The attached goes a long way to explaining.

Understanding CRS.pdf

3 minutes ago, Fat Prophet said:

Customs "might" try to claim that you couldn't bring B60,000 into Thailand legally if you hadn't taken it out of the country illegally.

I do not think (nor was I implying) that this will be an issue at all, as stated there is no restriction on the amount of THB cash that a person can legally bring in to the country, only amounts over the equivalent of 20,000 USD would have to be declared.

Even in the extremely unlikely event that customs stopped the OP, then it is even less likely that they would ask and even if they did, then the OP can always say he exchanged the money in the overseas airport prior to travelling.

15 hours ago, partington said:

 EDIT: Deleted my original post, as post #22  above says she can use her Thai ID card number as a TIN, and this is a better solution than the one I suggested.

A Thai's ID number is their TIN by default.

As has been mentioned in the thread, anybody can get a Thai TIN issued by the revenue department, a lot of folks do in order to claim any tax deducted from bank interest.

For those worried about the CRS form, then perhaps that would be the best way to go, obtain a TIN here and provide your bank with this.

I do actually work and pay Thai income tax, when I got the CRS Tax residency letter from Lloyds Bank, then I gave them all this info, plus copies of work permit, residency letter from the British Embassy etc. this was initially rejected by Lloyds, so I rang them and asked why and what was I supposed to provide them with, the lady on the phone was actually really nice and took my details there and then, after which she told me that all was done and if I get anymore letters off them to just ignore them!

The worst thing that the banks can do is inform HRMC, for most this should not be an issue, I cannot see that they can do anything with your account and if they did then there are grounds to complain, especially if the account has been held for a long time and was opened whilst resident in the UK at that time, there are no such rules for Lloyds (example) as to having to be resident in the UK after the account is already open.

26 minutes ago, stewyk71 said:

as immigration dont extend their visa

Is this correct, do immigration not process extensions of stay for children?

They certainly do in the case of education.

2 minutes ago, overherebc said:

What we need now is a close up of open/closed times. ?

I suspect it closes at midnight.

6 hours ago, hawker9000 said:

Can somebody verify that there even ARE any exchange booths prior to immigration?  I seem to remember at least one in that main corridor just before the turn into one of the arrival halls, but am not at all sure.

I am 90% sure there is at least one exchange booth prior to immigration in BKK airport, K Bank if I remember correctly.

Found this on Google.

Just now, alexlm said:

Thank you but I read on the immigration website that when you are late you can't send someone and have to be in person.

Oh dear, didn't realise that, then that is a problem.

Too late now unfortunately, however, If in the future this were to happen, then it is worth noting that anybody can submit a 90 day report, it does not have to be in person (if on time) and if making an online report and there has been no confirmation by a day or so before the report due date, then it is probably worth using this option if unable to do it by yourself.

Do you have somebody that can go and make the report on your behalf?

As you are now late for reporting then you may well have to pay a fine even though you did try to make the report online.

2 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

But you will need the long-form version of your own birth certificate.

This will have your parents name on it and is why it is needed.

17 hours ago, davejonesbkk said:

Mothers birth certificate - so my wife says that birth certificates are not kept once I child has grown as they have national ID cards, is this true?

Absolutely not true, sounds like she has lost it, she can get a new one from the district office where she was born.

Whilst I agree that enforcement of the laws and meaningful fines would assist, it is by no means the core of the issue.

ONE of the issues is that a lot of Thai's drive or ride as they treat life, they just do not think at all, there is absolutely no looking ahead and predicting.

There is no feeling of mortality or fear, partly because they don't see it coming.

They are generally selfish and extremely impatient whilst on the roads.

Most will drive and see something that epitomises this several times during that drive, undertaking whilst approaching a merging junction, pulling out without looking, tailgating and constantly having to brake coz they are too close, over braking, braking for no reason, checking line or facebook constantly.

A lot of the time I am not even sure that they realise there are other road users, the look of surprise on their face when they realise!

People comment about the parents responsibility and I entirely agree, the hurdle there is that the parents are the same or worse and see absolutely nothing wrong with what their children do, same as why do the school authorities just let young kids turn up at school on a clapped out motorbike with no helmet, coz they don't care either!

This is a cultural thing that no amount of fines will resolve and TBH I am not entirely sure how to even start to make the changes, education from a very young age is perhaps a start.

If your wife enters Thailand on her US passport, then ideally she should also exit on it as well.

She can, as a Thai, get a one year extension of stay in order to do all the business she needs to do in Thailand without any overstay.

Once she has her new Thai passport, then then next time she enters Thailand it can be on this passport.

I used two British passports for years and never had a problem.

The regulations state that you can bring in to Thailand an unlimited amount of THB or a Foreign Currency, however amounts over 20,000 USD or equivalent must be declared upon arrival.

However, departing, unless you are travelling to a neighbouring country, then you are not allowed to take out more than 50,000 THB in cash, you are allowed to take out foreign currency exceeding that amount, again above 20,000 USD or equivalent needs to be declared.

So OP, you can bring back the THB that technically you should not have taken out in the first place 

Unless things have changed I have never had to provide anything at all for a renewal, the company has to, but the individual normally not.

11 minutes ago, AndyJo said:

The best would be to book an expensive ticket which can be cancelled and fully refunded if he doesn’t want to leave Thailand. 

That very much depends on the OP's circumstances, as it would mean an upfront cost and could take a while to get refunded, though I do agree if he can do this it would be better, as the cheap airlines such as AirAsia are not that cheap in the latter part of December.

It sounds like it would still be cheaper than him having to traipse somewhere to get a visa.

Just now, ubonjoe said:

Mine all show FTT (foreign telex transfer) in my bank book and on the mobile app it says international transfer.

Fair enough, mine definitely doesn't differentiate.

This aside, cash or TC's is what immigration require, so it is a mute point and I really don't think showing a Thai account would be wise.

1 minute ago, JackThompson said:

The incoming funds in my Thai Bank Book all indicate they are "foreign transfers" - which makes it easy to prove I don't need income from working in Thailand.  In a sane-world, showing this, with a healthy-balance, would be the end of any questioning/suspicion - smiles all around and "Welcome back!"

I personally do not know of any bank code that is printed in the book that specifically states that the TT is from overseas, that being said, then if yours does then some must, however, how are you going to explain the meaning of that code entry to an IO at an immigration booth who may not be familiar with these codes? The point of my comment was to state that if entering Thailand as a tourist and it is at a point that the IO wants proof of funds producing, then he is already suspicious of the intentions, showing a Thai bank book would not IMO dispel those suspicions, in fact it may even increase them, normal tourists do not open bank accounts in the country of destination, granted we are not discussing normal tourists in that sense.

Tourism is important to Thailand, no doubt about that, the only reason being foreign revenue, so money from outside Thailand being spent in Thailand, hence why showing a Thai account isn't really strengthening the position.

I am in no way saying that there is an official limit to the amount of times a tourist can visit Thailand, or what folks do in that way is wrong, in the late eighties and most of the nineties I did exactly this, worked 6 weeks offshore and then entered here as a tourist for the time off.

What I am saying is that times have changed and so has the attitude of immigration regarding long term tourists.

13 hours ago, Barefoot said:

Baan and Beyond is a "home improvement center" that appears to be very similar to Homeworks

And judging by their website is also owned by Central Group, so same same, different name!

Yes, it is possible to get a reentry permit on a single non o entry, this would keep the original 90 days permission to stay alive, it would not extend that original 90 days.

AS ubonjoe states, your easiest and cheapest option would be to purchase a cheap one way ticket departing Thailand within 30 days of your Emirates flight arrival in to Thailand, via one of the low cost airline websites, then use this to show Emirates upon boarding.

Enter Thailand on the 30 day visa exempt entry, extend this entry by a further 30 days at the immigration office local to where you will be staying in Thailand, then proceed as you planned for Penang.

I tend to agree that showing a Thai bank account, if asked about cash, to an IO upon arrival as a tourist isn't a great idea, to their mind, why would a genuine tourist have, or even need, a Thai bank account. It would be extremely difficult to show deposits have come from overseas whilst at a booth in immigration.

I wonder if it possible to withdraw cash from a Thai account using the Visa or Mastercard part of the debit card from that account at an exchange booth prior to immigration, certainly possible with a foreign issued debit card?

7 minutes ago, sanemax said:

Birth certificates are given to all Children born in Thailand, regardless of where the Parents come from .

    If the Child isnt Thai , its written on the B/C "Non Thai Citizen" .

Not sure whether having the B/C when leaving Thailand will be that important , as you have to obtain a Court order allowing him/her to leave

I understand that part, I was just wondering if the fact that the OP's partner is technically stateless had any effect on the issuing of the birth certificate.

I didn't realise that a court order would be needed to allow the child to leave, my understanding that a child born to non Thai parents and holding a foreign passport needed to show the Thai BC upon departure, to prove that the child was born in Thailand, hence why there is no record of entry in the immigration system or passport.

@champair79 As a matter of interest, I'm assuming that your son was born in Thailand, did you have any issues getting a Thai birth certificate for him, considering your partner's situation citizenship, or lack of, wise?

This birth certificate will be critical when the time comes for him to leave Thailand on his newly acquired British passport, congratulations on that part BTW!

Just now, JackThompson said:

Yes - see here:

Roger that, I was also making sure that the OP was aware of this requirement and is compliant