800k -- source of funds?

[el jefe]

My wife (USA citizen) will be applying for an Extension of Stay Based on Retirement in December at Chiang Mai Immigration. She has about 500,000 baht in a Thai bank account left over from the last time she had a retirement extension, almost 3 years ago. I'm going to transfer funds now to make up the balance. Will they accept the 500k that has never been touched so that I only have to transfer 300,000 in new funds from the US or do I have to transfer the full 800k to be able to prove it came from outside Thailand?

[Maestro]

Topping up the account to 800k will be acceptable to immigration.

 

[allane]

But, that having been said, I think you should produce whatever documentation you can, to show where the B 500,000 came from. They gave me a hard time in similar circumstances.

[amvet]

28 minutes ago, allane said:

But, that having been said, I think you should produce whatever documentation you can, to show where the B 500,000 came from. They gave me a hard time in similar circumstances.

They can see where it came from looking in bank book

[el jefe]

29 minutes ago, allane said:

But, that having been said, I think you should produce whatever documentation you can, to show where the B 500,000 came from. They gave me a hard time in similar circumstances.

There is little chance I can produce banking/investment statements that Immigration will be able to follow to show the flow of funds from 3+ years ago. If I can get those documents at all. There have been no additions to the account for over 3 years. Only withdrawals.

They gave you a hard time? What was the end result?

[steve187]

does she have a non immigrant visa now

[el jefe]

6 minutes ago, steve187 said:

does she have a non immigrant visa now

Yes, of course.

[ubonjoe]

There is no requirement to prove where the funds came from to apply for an extension of stay based upon retirement.

The proof that the funds came from abroad is only needed if applying for a 90 day non immigrant visa (category O) based upon qualifying for an extension of stay based upon retirement.

[steve187]

Just now, el jefe said:

Yes, of course.

then as ubon posted no need to prove funds, unless as a conversion to a non imm

[el jefe]

2 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

There is no requirement to prove where the funds came from to apply for an extension of stay based upon retirement.

The proof that the funds came from is only needed if applying for a 90 day non immigrant visa (category O) based upon qualify for an extension of stay based upon retirement.

So I can just transfer the funds from my account to hers? As long as the funds are there for more than 60 days (1st time), there will be no problem?

Thanks.

[Phuket Man]

3 minutes ago, el jefe said:

So I can just transfer the funds from my account to hers? As long as the funds are there for more than 60 days (1st time), there will be no problem?

Thanks.

No problem at all.

[ubonjoe]

1 minute ago, el jefe said:

So I can just transfer the funds from my account to hers? As long as the funds are there for more than 60 days (1st time), there will be no problem?

Not a problem. The funds need to be in the bank for 60 days on the date she applies for the extension is the only requirement.

[allane]

In my case, I was funding the entire B 800,000 using money I had earned and saved in Thailand. Immigration was implying that I had been engaged in some sort of illegal activity. I provided them with copies of five years Income tax returns, which was enough to satisfy them.

[el jefe]

Thanks, everyone.

[catman20]

4 hours ago, el jefe said:

My wife (USA citizen) will be applying for an Extension of Stay Based on Retirement in December at Chiang Mai Immigration. She has about 500,000 baht in a Thai bank account left over from the last time she had a retirement extension, almost 3 years ago. I'm going to transfer funds now to make up the balance. Will they accept the 500k that has never been touched so that I only have to transfer 300,000 in new funds from the US or do I have to transfer the full 800k to be able to prove it came from outside Thailand?

dose all of the 800,000 not have to be in the account for a full 2 or 3 months? 

[ubonjoe]

17 minutes ago, catman20 said:

dose all of the 800,000 not have to be in the account for a full 2 or 3 months? 

Of course it does.

[amvet]

4 hours ago, el jefe said:

There is little chance I can produce banking/investment statements that Immigration will be able to follow to show the flow of funds from 3+ years ago. If I can get those documents at all. There have been no additions to the account for over 3 years. Only withdrawals.

They gave you a hard time? What was the end result?

You don't have a bank book?  No need for banking/investment statements.  A simple bank book each deposit and withdrawal has a code

[Mattd]

10 minutes ago, amvet said:

You don't have a bank book?  No need for banking/investment statements.  A simple bank book each deposit and withdrawal has a code

But do those codes differentiate as to where the money comes from, i.e. International or domestic and would immigration be able to decipher the codes?

[amvet]

5 minutes ago, Mattd said:

But do those codes differentiate as to where the money comes from, i.e. International or domestic and would immigration be able to decipher the codes?

Yes and immigration will know

[Gold Star]

Would they accept the deposit about 300,000 baht cash into my account from a portion of my Thai girlfriend's lottery winnings as part of my 800,000 requirement? 

[ubonjoe]

9 minutes ago, Gold Star said:

Would they accept the deposit about 300,000 baht cash into my account from a portion of my Thai girlfriend's lottery winnings as part of my 800,000 requirement? 

You would not be asked to prove where the funds came from when you apply for an extension of stay based upon retirement.

[Tanoshi]

4 hours ago, catman20 said:

dose all of the 800,000 not have to be in the account for a full 2 or 3 months? 

On the filing date, the applicant must have funds deposited in a bank in Thailand of no
less than Baht 800,000 for the past three months. For the first year only, the applicant must
have proof of a deposit account in which said amount of funds has been maintained for no
less than 60 days prior to the filing date: or
Must have an annual earning and fluids deposited with a bank totalling no less than
Baht 800,0000 as of the filing date.

[el jefe]

8 hours ago, catman20 said:

dose all of the 800,000 not have to be in the account for a full 2 or 3 months? 

Yes.

the deposit to bring the balance up to 800k will be made next week. The application for the extension will be made in December, 15-30 days before her "permitted to stay" date on the Non-O visa is reached.

[el jefe]

8 hours ago, amvet said:

You don't have a bank book?  No need for banking/investment statements.  A simple bank book each deposit and withdrawal has a code

This is all moot since I now know we don't have to prove the source of the funds, but to answer your question:

IF I can find the 3 year old bank book all it will show is several internet transfers and a cash deposit. All of those can be matched to transfers and withdrawals from my Thai bank account. The funds originally came from transfers from my investment account outside Thailand and ATM withdrawals from my US bank account. IF I needed to prove that those funds came from outside Thailand I would have to show the 3 year old statements with corresponding withdrawals and transfers out of my investment and bank accounts and then find my 3 year old bank book to show corresponding deposits into my Thai bank account.

So, not as simple as you say. But fortunately, I don't have to do any of that.

 

[amvet]

1 hour ago, el jefe said:

This is all moot since I now know we don't have to prove the source of the funds, but to answer your question:

IF I can find the 3 year old bank book all it will show is several internet transfers and a cash deposit. All of those can be matched to transfers and withdrawals from my Thai bank account. The funds originally came from transfers from my investment account outside Thailand and ATM withdrawals from my US bank account. IF I needed to prove that those funds came from outside Thailand I would have to show the 3 year old statements with corresponding withdrawals and transfers out of my investment and bank accounts and then find my 3 year old bank book to show corresponding deposits into my Thai bank account.

So, not as simple as you say. But fortunately, I don't have to do any of that.

 

I get it.  You took the cash out of your US account by ATM and then deposited the cash in a Thai bank account as opposed to making a bank transfer from your offshore account into a Thai bank.  If you had made any kind of bank transfer the source would show up in your deposit recorded in the Thai Bank book or be available from your Thai bank in a bank statement. I've transferred millions of baht into Thai banks but have never done it by ATM as it is very expensive per small transfer so it never occurred to me anyone else would do it that way.   

[el jefe]

9 hours ago, amvet said:

I get it.  You took the cash out of your US account by ATM and then deposited the cash in a Thai bank account as opposed to making a bank transfer from your offshore account into a Thai bank.  If you had made any kind of bank transfer the source would show up in your deposit recorded in the Thai Bank book or be available from your Thai bank in a bank statement. I've transferred millions of baht into Thai banks but have never done it by ATM as it is very expensive per small transfer so it never occurred to me anyone else would do it that way.   

Yes, some of the 800k was in cash. (All of my ATM fees are refunded so that is a better exchange rate than ACH/EFT/Swift transfers. Or it was 3-4 years ago.) The majority of the funds came as a transfer from my US investment account to my Thai bank account. Those funds were then transferred from my Thai account to my wife's Thai  account.  I don't know how they were coded 3 years ago but current transactions of this type are coded as "transfer" via "internet banking". At Bangkok Bank there is no indication of domestic vs foreign. Fortunately, I don't have to look for the statements to prove this flow of funds.

[Cranky]

As long as you produce a bank letter (produced the same day or day before applying) stating at least 800k baht has been in her account for 3 months prior to applying they don't give a toss where it came from.  

 

Be aware that if it is a joint account there must be 1.6 million.  

 

I got caught out last year with a joint account - with a Thai wife - still had to be 1.6M ( account had just over 1m in it) so I had to go to the bank, remove her from the account, get a new letter and re-apply.

[Phuket Man]

7 minutes ago, Cranky said:

As long as you produce a bank letter (produced the same day or day before applying) stating at least 800k baht has been in her account for 3 months prior to applying they don't give a toss where it came from.  

 

Be aware that if it is a joint account there must be 1.6 million.  

 

I got caught out last year with a joint account - with a Thai wife - still had to be 1.6M ( account had just over 1m in it) so I had to go to the bank, remove her from the account, get a new letter and re-apply.

Some offices will not accept that.

It has to be in your account. Not joint. No matter how much is in there.

[Cranky]

Typically Thai.  No consistency, my experience was Pattaya.

[Tanoshi]

1 hour ago, Phuket Man said:

Some offices will not accept that.

It has to be in your account. Not joint. No matter how much is in there.

 

The person named on the account and the persons who can withdraw from the account can be completely different.

 

You can have the account in your sole name, but sign an authorisation form for another named person to withdraw from the account.

You can also both have debit cards for that account.