Moving Towards Work Permit To Dodge The 400,000 Rule.

[Brewster67]

I have been on a non-imm O visa (with annual extensions) for 6 years and my visa is ready for its next extension in early August.

 

This year however, because of unforeseen circumstances, I am unable to get 400,000 in the bank in early June which is when I usually bank it..

 

We sort of own a proper registered Thai company although it was registered in My wife and her mum's name which has the usual 2 million baht (on paper) in its incorporation documents... I don't work in the business and we have including the wife and her mother, an extra person who does work for us... I was the person who made the initial investments for equipment etc.... and it brings in a steady little income for the past 5 years although i am not yet driving a Merc, it covers all the bills and a half decent lifestyle for us... alas, not quite enough to build up high saving in the bank to cover my visa requirements.

 

The wife had the idea of the company employing me and applying for a work permit, so she can put the income through my bank every month then that bank is used to pay the bills etc.... Does this circumvent the 400,000 a year bank deposit and the 90 day reporting?... are there any hidden booby traps in this, that I am going to regret later?

 

The local employment office that processes the WP has already told the wife that the Thai staff requirement seems OK, but it is my experience when dealing with these people, one person has one opinion and another in the same office has an entirely different opinion of rules, my local immigration office are experts at clashing interpretations of the rules.

 

Any and all advice would be welcomed...        Thank you in advance.

 

 

[ubonjoe]

It is 400k baht in the bank or proof of 40k baht income to apply for the extension.

The company will have to pay you a salary of at least 40k baht and deduct taxes from it. You will have to prove the income by showing receipts for the tax payments for 3 months prior to applying for the extension and the work permit to prove you are working legally,

You will still have to do 90 day reports.

[Brewster67]

11 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

It is 400k baht in the bank or proof of 40k baht income to apply for the extension.

The company will have to pay you a salary of at least 40k baht and deduct taxes from it. You will have to prove the income by showing receipts for the tax payments for 3 months prior to applying for the extension and the work permit to prove you are working legally,

You will still have to do 90 day reports.

Thanks Joe...

 

My wife seems to be under the impression that as a foreign worker we still get the same tax free portion to your earnings based on what tax bracket you fall under, and also must pay SSO which i think is negligible anyway... Damn those 90 day reports to hell and back.... lol... It isn't the end of the world, just my immigration office is like 35KM from the house and we are in and out in less than 5 minutes, it is the 70KM drive and all the traffic lights that annoys me for the sake of three minutes :)

 

Edited to add..... Is that 40K per month salary before or after tax and SSO is taken out??

Edited April 23, 2018 by Brewster67

[ubonjoe]

The taxes will be deducted based upon your estimated annual income that is over 150k baht minus any deductions allowed.

It is gross income of 40k baht before any deductions.

[Brewster67]

Thanks for all the help, looks like i'm good to go....

 

[Panwilai82]

Hope your not in Nakhon Ratchasima. I have tried for 2 years with a work permit earning 40,000b p/m. Each time was told income has to come from abroad. Good luck

[saakura]

25 minutes ago, Panwilai82 said:

Hope your not in Nakhon Ratchasima. I have tried for 2 years with a work permit earning 40,000b p/m. Each time was told income has to come from abroad. Good luck

What a joke!! Or you are misunderstanding? Why would anyone need a Thai work permit to receive a salary in another country and transfer it to Thailand???

Edited April 23, 2018 by saakura

[Maestro]

1 hour ago, saakura said:

What a joke!! Or you are misunderstanding? Why would anyone need a Thai work permit to receive a salary in another country and transfer it to Thailand???

 

I think that with the 400k in the bank or a monthly income of 40k, the OP and Panwilai82 are referring to an extension of stay for the reason of living in Thailand with a Thai wife.

[Panwilai82]

21 hours ago, saakura said:

What a joke!! Or you are misunderstanding? Why would anyone need a Thai work permit to receive a salary in another country and transfer it to Thailand???

Its no joke. I live and work in Thailand and was told by immigration the income has to come from overseas. What don't you understand?

[Swimman]

22 minutes ago, Panwilai82 said:

Its no joke. I live and work in Thailand and was told by immigration the income has to come from overseas. What don't you understand?

Are you really trying to claim that a 40,00Baht income, honestly earned and provable was denied as being acceptable for an extension of stay based on marriage?  Really? 

[JackThompson]

22 hours ago, Panwilai82 said:

Hope your not in Nakhon Ratchasima. I have tried for 2 years with a work permit earning 40,000b p/m. Each time was told income has to come from abroad. Good luck

So, what was the result?  They make you get a Non-B type extension, instead of a Non-O based on marriage?

 

In general, IOs seem to hate processing marriage-based extensions of stay, because of the reams of pointless paperwork, sending off for approvals, etc.  Many have applied for them, but if showed enough bank-money, were given retirement-based extensions that they did not want, instead.  I would guess this is just that office trying to avoid doing their job - or maybe fishing for you to go to an "agent" so they get some pocket-money for their trouble.

 

4 minutes ago, Swimman said:

Are you really trying to claim that a 40,00Baht income, honestly earned and provable was denied as being acceptable for an extension of stay based on marriage?  Really? 

He would not be the first.  At Jomtien, you can also be refused, even if you have met every qualification.

Edited April 24, 2018 by JackThompson

[Swimman]

3 minutes ago, JackThompson said:

He would not be the first.  At Jomtien, you can also be refused, even if you have met every qualification.

Thanks but I prefer 1st hand testimony 

[KhaoYai]

22 hours ago, saakura said:

What a joke!! Or you are misunderstanding? Why would anyone need a Thai work permit to receive a salary in another country and transfer it to Thailand???

He's not joking at all.  My mate had this problem with Korat Immigration earlier this year and I will have it too soon unless we can get it sorted.  The Captain there is absolutely adamant that either the income comes from abroad or you have 400k in the bank!

[KhaoYai]

23 minutes ago, Swimman said:

Are you really trying to claim that a 40,00Baht income, honestly earned and provable was denied as being acceptable for an extension of stay based on marriage?  Really? 

Nobody is trying to claim anything. This is a fact - if you know a way of telling an Immigration Officer they are wrong, even when they clearly are, we're all ears.

[Swimman]

Just now, KhaoYai said:

Nobody is trying to claim anything. This is a fact - if you know a way of telling an Immigration Officer they are wrong, even when they clearly are, we're all ears.

 

The one and only time I was faced with an IO who made an honest mistake resulted in an amicable resolution in my favour -- Speaking and understanding Thai helps. 

[ubonjoe]

10 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

He's not joking at all.  My mate had this problem with Korat Immigration earlier this year and I will have it too soon unless we can get it sorted.  The Captain there is absolutely adamant that either the income comes from abroad or you have 400k in the bank!

Clause 2.18 of Immigration Bureau Order 138/2557  documents for extension of stay states this which is clearly income from working here.

 

Quote

5. Only for Criteria (5) paragraph 1 and (6), the applicant must attach a funds deposit certificate issued by a bank in Thailand and a copy of a bankbook, or attach documents proving that the parents or alien husband earns an average monthly income of no less than Baht 40,000 throughout the year, such as any particular individual income tax return together with payment receipt,

 

[KhaoYai]

1 minute ago, ubonjoe said:

Clause 2.18 of Immigration Bureau Order 138/2557  documents for extension of stay states this which is clearly income from working here.

 

 

We know all that, try telling the IO

[KhaoYai]

8 minutes ago, Swimman said:

The one and only time I was faced with an IO who made an honest mistake resulted in an amicable resolution in my favour -- Speaking and understanding Thai helps. 

He speaks and reads Thai, as does his wife believe it or not.  When presented with the rules from Thai Immigration Police website, the IO stated that he should not believe anything he reads on there!!!

Edited April 24, 2018 by KhaoYai

[JackThompson]

35 minutes ago, Swimman said:

Thanks but I prefer 1st hand testimony 

You have it - it happened to me.  They were especially unhappy when we showed up the 2nd time with the unnecessary paperwork they invented the 1st time, so created more imaginary paperwork with an extra dose of rudeness.  It's a good thing I didn't know what was being said in Thai to my wife, at the time.

 

Of course, go to an agent, and you don't have to meet but a fraction of the qualifications - fake the money - etc.  "Bad Guys" who pay them via the brown-envelope system are welcome to get extensions there - which is the point of the whole rigamarole.

[Swimman]

1 minute ago, JackThompson said:

You have it - it happened to me.  They were especially unhappy when we showed up the 2nd time with the unnecessary paperwork they invented the 1st time, so created more imaginary paperwork with an extra dose of rudeness.  It's a good thing I didn't know what was being said in Thai to my wife, at the time.

 

Of course, go to an agent, and you don't have to meet but a fraction of the qualifications - fake the money - etc.  "Bad Guys" who pay them via the brown-envelope system are welcome to get extensions there - which is the point of the whole rigamarole.

Mmm -- Am I hearing from someone with an attitude problem? 

[KhaoYai]

10 minutes ago, Swimman said:

Mmm -- Am I hearing from someone with an attitude problem? 

I may be new here but I'm certainly not new to Thailand or similar forums so with respect Swimman, your posts 10 & 15 appear to be the ones with attitude.  Whatever, there is no need for any attitude or one-up-manship on anyone's part.  This is a serious matter and its caused my mate a lot of grief.  Unless we can find a way of 're-educating' the IO without her losing serious face, he's going to have the same problem next year and I'll have it in 2020.

[Swimman]

1 minute ago, KhaoYai said:

I may be new here but I'm certainly not new to Thailand or similar forums so with respect Swimman, your posts 10 & 15 appear to be the ones with attitude.  Whatever, there is no need for any attitude or one-up-manship on anyone's part.  This is a serious matter and its caused my mate a lot of grief.  Unless we can find a way of 're-educating' the IO without her losing serious face, he's going to have the same problem next year and I'll have it in 2020.

Your mate has the option of escalating/appealing any decision an IO makes. It is not your place to "re-educate"  an IO. 

[KhaoYai]

23 minutes ago, Swimman said:

Your mate has the option of escalating/appealing any decision an IO makes. It is not your place to "re-educate"  an IO. 

Far better to keep it at local level in my opinion. Going above her head would result in a major loss of face for her if her decision was reversed and one would hope it would be. Remember, he has to go back to that office each year.

[Kasset Tak]

Check the rules for WP too, there are some rules they have too that might set you back. A friend wanted to hire me as a consultant but the labor department told us that as I'm from an EU country, then my salary should not be less than 80,000 Baht a month or they would not give me a WP!

[KhaoYai]

1 hour ago, JackThompson said:

You have it - it happened to me.

Was that also at Korat Jack?

[KhaoYai]

2 minutes ago, Kasset Tak said:

Check the rules for WP too, there are some rules they have too that might set you back. A friend wanted to hire me as a consultant but the labor department told us that as I'm from an EU country, then my salary should not be less than 80,000 Baht a month or they would not give me a WP!

Thanks for that but he had no problem obtaining a WP with a declared income of around 50,000.

[Kasset Tak]

Yea, the rules are different from each labor office... just as each different immigration office choose/follow their own rules!

[BEVUP]

On 4/23/2018 at 6:14 PM, Brewster67 said:

Thanks for all the help, looks like i'm good to go....

 

Well that depends on your job title & maybe wifes business 

Obviously your full aware of that big list restricted for Thai's 

 

[gk10002000]

2 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

He's not joking at all.  My mate had this problem with Korat Immigration earlier this year and I will have it too soon unless we can get it sorted.  The Captain there is absolutely adamant that either the income comes from abroad or you have 400k in the bank!

huh.  So unless we are talking apples and oranges, does this mean somebody say, teaching english and getting paid by a Thai company/school would not be considered to having income?

[KhaoYai]

1 minute ago, gk10002000 said:

huh.  So unless we are talking apples and oranges, does this mean somebody say, teaching english and getting paid by a Thai company/school would not be considered to having income?

Not sure I fully understand you.

 

Apparently there are 2 ways in which he can obtain a visa and work/live in Thailand.

 

a). Obtain a work permit and work for a company in a permitted occupation with an income of 50k per month. I believe the income rules for teachers are different. As I understand it the company can be one that he has set up. I don't know how one would get around the requirement to provide 2 years satisfactory accounts when making such an application but it must be possible as I believe there are hundreds of people that have gone down this route.

 

b). Obtain a work permit and apply for a visa on the basis of being married to a Thai wife.  According to my understanding of the rules he can satisfy the financial requirements of this by either having 400k in a Thai bank account or a salary of 40k per month.

 

The sticking point is that on this occasion he obtained a work permit without a problem but the immigration officer says the 40k income must come from abroad. It doesn't, it comes from the business for which he obtained a work permit.  The IO then stated that as the income doesn't come from abroad, he must have 400k in a Thai bank account and will not move from that position.