Two bits of possibly needless advice!

[cliveshep]

The time has come for my annual Extension of Stay based on Marriage to a Thai so as this is my 3rd now we consider ourselves old hands at this.

 

Wrong, pride hath it's fall!

 

We transfer money monthly from the UK to our Bangkok Bank account for the needs of the entire extended family, no doubt a familiar scenario to many on here who have a Thai wife plus her family thrown in for free. I'm not complaining, I accepted this before we married. We withdraw money as you do from an ATM, everything is paid cash from Utilities to food from Big C and market.

 

Here's the first bit of advice........we use the ATM at 7-Eleven, there is no facility to update the passbook but in my ignorance I thought "no problem, when I need it updated we'll go the the bank and do it". This is true - you can.

 

However, salient point here, the update machine only allows for a maximum of 30 entries in a 30 day period OR updates going back 30 days even if less than 30 entries, so if like us you updated in May '17 and then did it again in February '18 the day before going to Chang Wattana you'll get a shock.

 

In our case the update entries started 25th January '18 up to 27th February - so the book was useless for evidence of 3 months with the necessary 400,000 baht in the bank. So major panic as we were going in on the 28th and had to pay to get official bank statements printed out. A bonus for us was the bank sorted out my Internet Banking that they had promised to do a year earlier - but did not.

 

As a side issue - last year we got a Letter from the bank confirming the balance as of that day. and this the IO said she did not need, so this year we did not get it. Naturally this year THE SAME LADY asked for it, said it was a legal requirement, and asked who told us it wasn't wanted. I fudged that answer, could hardly say "YOU" could I? Had to go downstairs to get the letter, plus a photocopy of the bank passbook showing a 100 baht withdrawal that day.

 

So - to recap - your passbook (and it appears that at least one other bank does this) must be updated at least every 30 days if you want it to show continuity of funds or less than 30 days if you have more than 30 transactions. 

 

The other issue concerns photographs, we used our stock of photos (they always give you a packet of the things) for both the 1st and 2nd year extensions - no problem. THIS year a problem, the IO looked at her computer, said "this is the photo you used last year, I want a fresh one!" Now the photos are a very good likeness, I haven't changed a bit in the last year, not an acceptable argument, back downstairs again to queue up for a photo. 

 

So make sure you go downstairs while waiting for your ticket number to come up and get a new photo, they have glue to stick it onto your form!

 

One last thing - our ticket number was 90, we got in late (10.00 am) due to having to wait for the bank to open on the way in. At ticket 89 we sat in anticipation of being

the next to be seen. Not so, a loudspeaker announcement in English and Thai told everyone to leave the hall, security would check and lock the doors, and they turned off all the lights to emphasise the instruction.

 

Everything stops at 12.00pm for lunch for one hour. As Brucie would say - good game good game! 

 

It makes a long day but thank God we went on the motor-bike, we came out at 2.30 pm to find the road (Ramintra) at a standstill and weaved through miles of standing traffic to find an ambulance and incident just before the motorway heading towards Minburi. Using the car we'd still be there!

 

 

 

 

Edited March 1, 2018 by cliveshep

[Suradit69]

4 hours ago, cliveshep said:

so the book was useless for evidence of 3 months with the necessary 400,000 baht in the bank.

Should only be two months for an extension of stay based on marriage ... although I realize some immigration offices may operate otherwise.

 

4 hours ago, cliveshep said:

So - to recap - your passbook (and it appears that at least one other bank does this) must be updated at least every 30 days

Really should only be necessary during the period covering the two months (or three months for retirement extension) prior to the extension application.

 

My bank consolidates transactions ... not sure what their time or transaction limits are ... so I just make sure to update the book more frequently during the so-called "seasoning" period prior to my extension application. 

 

re: photos, it has always been a (loosely enforced) requirement that you use a very recent photo. There's a secretarial service office adjacent to my immigration office in Jomtien that does, among other things, photos.  I either get a new photo at the time of application or else I dig out a photo I used several years ago, but not the last one or two years. 

 

Beyond a certain age the degree of decrepitude evidenced in photos over several years doesn't change that much and passport photos tend to make one look as if  one has one foot in the grave anyway.

 

 

Edited March 1, 2018 by Suradit69

[gamini]

get a retirement visa. Much easier and takes about 20 minutes.

[buick]

5 hours ago, cliveshep said:

However, salient point here, the update machine only allows for a maximum of 30 entries in a 30 day period OR updates going back 30 days even if less than 30 entries, so if like us you updated in May '17 and then did it again in February '18 the day before going to Chang Wattana you'll get a shock.

what if you go into the bank branch and have them do the update rather than the passbook update machine in front of the bank branch ?  i have to go to CW sometime in May 2018 to get my second extension based on retirement, but i'm leaving the country shortly and won't be back until mid May.   i think alot of us just let the money sit in the bank and don't touch it so i'd assume many of us are not updating the passbook every 30 days for the period they need (three months).

 

5 hours ago, cliveshep said:

One last thing - our ticket number was 90, we got in late (10.00 am) due to having to wait for the bank to open on the way in.

i'm a little confused here, did you go to bangkok bank on your way to the immigration office (maybe near your home ?) or did you go to the bangkok bank branch on the lower level of CW.  i'm pretty sure the BB office at CW opens at 9:00, maybe earlier.  i'm hoping it doesn't take an hour to get what you need from them as i plan to use that office when i go in May 2018.

 

5 hours ago, cliveshep said:

One last thing - our ticket number was 90, we got in late (10.00 am) due to having to wait for the bank to open on the way in. At ticket 89 we sat in anticipation of being

the next to be seen. Not so, a loudspeaker announcement in English and Thai told everyone to leave the hall, security would check and lock the doors, and they turned off all the lights to emphasise the instruction.

 

Everything stops at 12.00pm for lunch for one hour. As Brucie would say - good game good game! 

 

they must have been working fast that day.  the two times i've used the L area (one for extension and one for stamp transfer to new passport), i got a number in the 70's and the 50's.  i barely made it when i had a 50's number (getting served before the lunch break)  didn't have a chance when i had a 70's number.  i arrived about 9:00-9:15.

 

 

 

[Golden Triangle]

Just a quick point on the passbook update machines outside bank branches, I try to avoid them like the plague as it seems the banks aren't very good at changing the printer ribbons often and the resultant faded text doesn't photocopy very well, I will always pop in the branch and get someone to do it at a service desk.

[darrendsd]

1 hour ago, buick said:

what if you go into the bank branch and have them do the update rather than the passbook update machine in front of the bank branch ?

The book still only gets updated for 30 days

[Antonymous]

You can get around the book updating issue by going inside your bank and requesting an official (stamped and signed) statement of your account over the past x months. May charge you 100 baht for this, may not charge anything. If you withdraw 100 baht on that same day, the statement and passbook entries can be verified.

[ResandePohm]

7 hours ago, cliveshep said:

However, salient point here, the update machine only allows for a maximum of 30 entries in a 30 day period OR updates going back 30 days even if less than 30 entries, so if like us you updated in May '17 and then did it again in February '18 the day before going to Chang Wattana you'll get a shock.

Why don't you use internet banking? I do. Then it is easy. Just go online and print off a statement for the period that you need. My Immigration Office has always accepted these statements

[cliveshep]

We go to a branch of Bangkok Bank in Ramintra and not the one in CW. They open at 8.30 am.

 

I can now download statements from the internet thanks to a young bank chap sorting it out for me at the ATM, not sure if they'd need signing and stamping though to satisfy the IO.

 

Advice - for transfer of vehicle registration, paying tax, extending stay etc don't go in to Government offices on a Monday or Friday, not only very very busy but unless you go on a motorbike the traffic congestion around Bangkok is also out of this world.

[cliveshep]

4 minutes ago, ResandePohm said:

Why don't you use internet banking? I do. Then it is easy. Just go online and print off a statement for the period that you need. My Immigration Office has always accepted these statements

If they DON'T accept them my wife will kill me after the stress we  had this time, she'll (quite rightly) insist that we prepare the papers together next year, the IO lady gave her lots of advice she wrote down and kept for next year. I have to say the IO was really a very sweet and helpful lady, a stickler for the rules but that's ok, it's what she's supposed to do, but helpful and smiling too considering how soul-destroying that job has to be day in day out?

 

We joked together, she doesn't remember me but I remember her, but I have only to remember one face, we joked about how many faces she must see over the course of a year! She spent some time gossiping to my wife too, but then Arisa is young and friendly and people are drawn to talk to her.

[natway09]

Anyway,,, thanks for your input.

Just to make everyone jealous I got my multiple re entry at Samutsakon in 4 minutes

[impulse]

43 minutes ago, ResandePohm said:

Why don't you use internet banking? I do. Then it is easy. Just go online and print off a statement for the period that you need. My Immigration Office has always accepted these statements

 

I'm surprised, as easy as it is to change a PDF file before you print it...   I'm not saying they don't (or shouldn't)- just that it leaves open huge potential for shenanigans.

[DogNo1]

When I read recommendations for marriage extension holders to switch to a retirement visa.  There are a fair number of people who confuse retirement extensions, retirement visas and 90-day reports.  It is especially confusing for nonnative English speakers.  I have a Dutch friend who insists that he is extending his "retirement visa" when he files a 90 day report. Of course, he doesn't have a retirement visa.  He has a one-year extension of stay based his retirement age (over 50) and the legally required monthly income.  Apparently in Holland, a visa is the document to which adjustments are made.  On TV, we have members who believe that they can just leave Thailand and return for another 90 days. They look up the requirements for retirement visas and then believe that they can extend their stay by filing a 90-day report.  What with the numbers of advertisers identifying extensions of stay as being visas, it's easy to see how the confusion is propagated. 

 

You can call your permission to stay anything that you want but if you confuse it with a different type of permission to stay you can get yourself into a situation of overstay or late 90-day report. It's best to identify your extension of stay correctly.

[ChouDoufu]

why not set up a fixed-account solely to be

used for your seasonings? 

you'll get a separate passbook with few entries

to confuse the official.

no chance of accidentally going under the

required amount by a few baht.

 

cannot use update machines, must go inside,

not aware of any limit on frequency of update.

no reason you couldn't get an update daily if

you wanted......you get the date and the balance,

regardless of any changes....which would be

limited to interest and tax.

 

move money in (online or in person) get an

update, then update at end of each month,

final update and statement on extension day.

 

that afternoon you can take the cash out.

 

 

[ThaiFelix]

I have a separate Bangkok Bank account solely for my 400,000 visa /extension requirement.  I never use it for anything else except to sometimes withdraw the pitiful interest received.  Each year on my way to immigration for extension I drop into the bank, deposit 100 baht, get my book updated (every transaction shown) and get the letter all at the same time over the counter.....100 baht fee.  Makes life easy without having to remember dates the money should be there, whether there is enough, less photocopying etc etc.  Immigration seem to like it too because they dont have to wade thru lots of photocopies/statements.  It works well for me.

 

With regards changing to a retirement visa I really cant see the benefit....its bad enough locking up 400,000 let alone 800,000??

[stud858]

From friends stories it does seem they discourage marriage visa. Retirement doesn't seem to annoy the other team as much. 

 

[buick]

i just updated my bangkok bank savings account passbook at the machine in front of the branch inside the exchange tower at asoke/sukhumvit.  it appears to be a 90 day update (not 30 per other's experience).  the last update to my book was in connection with my extension done in May 2017.  the new entry (from today) started with December 5, 2017, this entry aggregated/combined all the transactions that occurred btwn May and December 2017.  the rest of the entries btwn December 2017 and today were shown individually.

 

edit:  i should note that i don't have alot of transactions each month.  rent and maybe one other withdrawal.  plus a charge of 15thb to have activity on my account sent to my phone.

Edited March 3, 2018 by buick

[wgdanson]

On 3/1/2018 at 1:21 PM, Suradit69 said:

and passport photos tend to make one look as if  one has one foot in the grave anyway.

Speak for yourself mate. Not me.

 

[wgdanson]

On 3/1/2018 at 4:36 PM, ResandePohm said:

Why don't you use internet banking? I do. Then it is easy. Just go online and print off a statement for the period that you need. My Immigration Office has always accepted these statements

Same here. No problems for nine years.