BREAKING NEWS British Embassy Bangkok to Stop Certification of Income Letters

[SooKee]

Given I transfer monthly to Thailand, in excess of their minimums, and have done since I've lived here (provided they accept the bank statements / book as proof of this, accompanied maybe by a letter from the pension authority) I'm hoping this announcement won't be much of a hurdle (seeing as they haven't done away with the monthly pension qualification.  If that gets accepted the only thing I'll be regretting is paying the embassy £52 for a letter every year since I've been here! 

[Pilotman]

3 minutes ago, giddyup said:

Certainly not to challenge every regulation that Thailand introduces that doesn't suit a very small proportion of retirees. Sounds like you may be one of those affected.

we are all affected in one way or another.  If you dont see that then fine.  Personally, I will not be supporting a corrupt and inefficient banking system by depositing my money here, I will find another way, or I leave, I have that choice.  I would rather live in a country that wants me there than one that constantly  and clearly shows that it doesn't.  

[smedly]

3 minutes ago, blorg said:

Why would you not believe it? With the reported changes affecting US embassy declarations and earlier in the thread someone reporting the Canadian embassy said the same thing, this is clearly coming from Thai immigration, not a change in policy for the UK embassy.

and how many declaring incomes with the US Embassy were actually telling porkies, I would guess quite a few with little chance of being caught

[scubascuba3]

Can't you just use this link instead?

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-obtain-a-pensionincome-letter-for-thai-immigration

[Mark1066]

3 minutes ago, blorg said:

The British government would only have leverage over Thai immigration rules if it had a bilateral treaty with Thailand allowing Thai people to immigrate to the UK under similar rules. In that case, under the principle of reciprocity, governments do have leverage over immigration policy and will actually raise these issues.

 

Unfortunately the UK does not grant similar access to Thai citizens or have any such treaty, so there isn't really much the embassy can do.

At the risk of wandering off topic, I have never liked this reciprocity argument. Sure, it's harder for Thais to visit the UK on a holiday but it's much easier for them to obtain British citizenship if they move there with a spouse than it is for us to obtain Thai citizenship by the same route so it's swings and roundabouts really.

Edited October 8, 2018 by Mark1066

[pagallim]

15 minutes ago, blorg said:

There is no reason why you would have to have your UK bank do the conversion. You can send the money in GBP through SWIFT and your Thai bank will convert it.

Agreed, which is what I do.   The problem is if you get the pension provider to transfer each month into your Thai account, which doesn't give you the option of selecting the exchange rate.   Always better paid into a UK account, then do the transfer yourself when it suits you.

[LomSak27]

Just now, Pilotman said:

Just now, wgdanson said:

Called the British Consulate today and they said it is the Thai authorities who have done this, not the Brits.

Don't believe it. 

The Thais are asking for more details in the verification. The Embassy is not a bunch of accountants. No Embassy is.

 

Get your 800K ready.

[theoldgit]

2 hours ago, Esso49 said:

Please reference the Thai requirement that requires funds to be on a regular basis

The 800,000 Baht route isn't, it's a lump sum that can't be touched for three months.

[Awk]

3 hours ago, mfd101 said:

It's pretty obvious that, whatever it was called and whatever the Thai authorities thought or think (assuming they do), the annual declaration of income could not possibly be verified by ANY embassy even though you produce documents in support. Embassies are not a detective force. All ANY of them have ever done in reality is to witness YOUR signature on some form of affidavit or statutory declaration, with or without some supporting doco.

 

Your claim to know how all embassies in Thailand verify income is very impressive.

 

To get such a letter from my embassy I had to in the past produce salary slips for

the last handful of months as well as the previous years tax report from the IRS.

 

Of course these documents can be forged, as most other things, but certainly it would be much easier for my embassy to verify the documents as genuine than some Thai office.  Perhaps the penalty for forging government documents like the tax report from IRS would also put a damper on most such thoughts.

 

 

3 hours ago, mfd101 said:

If the Thais NOW want REAL proof of income, then demonstration of funds moving more or less regularly into Thailand will be the only way to do it, I should think.

 

Which would be completely meaningless as there is nothing, except the annoyance of some transfer fees, from stopping anyone from transferring the same money back and forth every month.

 

[smedly]

2 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

we are all affected in one way or another.  If you dont see that then fine.  Personally, I will not be supporting a corrupt and inefficient banking system by depositing my money here, I will find another way, or I leave, I have that choice.  I would rather live in a country that wants me there than one that constantly  and clearly shows that it doesn't.  

speak for yourself, I find it hard to understand how some people are living here without money in Thailand

[blorg]

1 minute ago, smedly said:

and how many declaring incomes with the US Embassy were actually telling porkies, I would guess quite a few with little chance of being caught

There were probably some people who got the US embassy declaration with insufficient documentation, given that they did not check anything, yes. My point was more that the fact that we have reports that Thai immigration is no longer accepting US embassy income declarations on their own, and the Canadian embassy has reported a similar change, this is clearly a change in Thai immigration policy, not something the British embassy has come up with on its own.

[pagallim]

2 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

we are all affected in one way or another.  If you dont see that then fine.  Personally, I will not be supporting a corrupt and inefficient banking system by depositing my money here, I will find another way, or I leave, I have that choice.  I would rather live in a country that wants me there than one that constantly  and clearly shows that it doesn't.  

Bit of an odd comment, and one which must have some background to it.   However, had my account here (SCB) for just over 11 years and have never had anything but great service from them.   Anything moves in my account, in or out, I get an SMS with the details, plus an email.

[mercman24]

post 20 you can ask for it weekly as i have done for 7 years why should they have my money for one month before i get it, my accountant put me onto this one, yes paid every week

[Mark1066]

2 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

we are all affected in one way or another.  If you dont see that then fine.  Personally, I will not be supporting a corrupt and inefficient banking system by depositing my money here, I will find another way, or I leave, I have that choice.  I would rather live in a country that wants me there than one that constantly  and clearly shows that it doesn't.  

So how do you spend money here at the moment? Do you use a foreign ATM card to make withdrawals? I haven't noticed any corruption or inefficiencies since opening an account here. I have lost money on transfers from the UK when the intermediary bank ignored the instruction to transfer GBP though and exchanged into THB at an advantageous rate for them so no banking system is immune to inefficiencies. You seem to want to be indignant about this change for no logical reason.

[blackhorse]

Interesting though not another single country has made an announcement. It's starting to sound a bit like the brits are understaffed or they are not making enough income or they can't be bothered

With the oz embassy charging 2k to witness a signature it's unlikely they will relinquish that cash cow any time soon unless by force

[Esso49]

8 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

Don't believe it. 

So a document provided at the request of a British Citizen,  by the British Embassy to that British Citizen is no longer going to be provided as the Thai authorities said they must not provide it? That is a strange thing that one sovereign state can dictate to another sovereign state what it can, or can not issue, to a national of it's own country. That's the claim by the British Embassy.

 

Perhaps that was the excuse.

 

Now if the British Embassy had been advised by the Thai authorities that the letter confirming income , as issued by the British Embassy, was no longer acceptable to the Thai authorities, then I could believe that.  Given that,  then the British Embassy has then consequently decided to no longer issue same. So hence they should come clean and admit upon the actual basis that the British Embassy has come to that decision. It was not a Thai instruction but solely a British decision based on the foregoing.

[racyrick]

3 minutes ago, blorg said:

There were probably some people who got the US embassy declaration with insufficient documentation, given that they did not check anything, yes. My point was more that the fact that we have reports that Thai immigration is no longer accepting US embassy income declarations on their own, and the Canadian embassy has reported a similar change, this is clearly a change in Thai immigration policy, not something the British embassy has come up with on its own.

Where did you hear that Thai Immigration was no longer accepting income affadavits?

[blorg]

3 minutes ago, pagallim said:

Agreed, which is what I do.   The problem is if you get the pension provider to transfer each month into your Thai account, which doesn't give you the option of selecting the exchange rate.   Always better paid into a UK account, then do the transfer yourself when it suits you.

You can open a Foreign Currency Deposit account in Thailand and have the money transferred as is into that, and then convert it later when it suits you, if you prefer.

 

To be honest "selecting the exchange rate" is overrated, you don't know what it is going to do, it can go up or down and if you could actually predict it coming up with 800,000 would be the least of your worries, you'd be a billionaire. But if it concerns you, and you think there is a benefit to choosing the time you want to convert, just open a FCD account with a Thai bank.

[mercman24]

maybe a scam in the Aussie scenario, but the Brit Embassy wants 3 months bank copies of my statements as to my pension income,

[Joe Mcseismic]

Doesn't affect me at all. Have always used the 800k method.

[50BahtLeo]

Writing on the wall for skint farangs now. Other embassies to surely follow. You'd have to think the 'soft touch' Non-O's will then be targeted. Game over for anyone without the cash.

[soalbundy]

I always use the German embassy, they verify my German pension from the yearly letter concerning the annual pension increase, they also verify my small British pension onhand from the original letter and the Thai account where it is deposited. Quick (15 minuets) and cheap.

Maybe in future the original letter from the DWP may be enough combined with ATM slips, who knows, it will be sorted out no doubt.

[Esso49]

Just now, 50BahtLeo said:

Writing on the wall for skint farangs now. Other embassies to surely follow. You'd have to think the 'soft touch' Non-O's will then be targeted. Game over for anyone without the cash.

And if or when they introduce the minimum annual residency period in order to continue to qualify for a retirement extension it will be game over for many non skint farangs

[blackhorse]

maybe a scam in the Aussie scenario, but the Brit Embassy wants 3 months bank copies of my statements as to my pension income,

Both oz and USA require no proof but the affidavit is a legal document and not something you want to be caught falsifying.
Although the chances are rather slim

[Joe Mcseismic]

5 minutes ago, Esso49 said:

And if or when they introduce the minimum annual residency period in order to continue to qualify for a retirement extension it will be game over for many non skint farangs

The retirement visa allows you to stay 365 days a year as long as you do 90 day reporting. For what possible reason would they shorten this time period? It's called a retirement visa for a reason.

 

Sounds like you're one of the "skint" and your post is just a rather weak retort, or, spiteful wishful thinking.

Edited October 8, 2018 by Joe Mcseismic

[blorg]

9 minutes ago, racyrick said:

Where did you hear that Thai Immigration was no longer accepting income affadavits?

Chiang Mai immigration no longer accept US income affidavits without supporting documentation.

[giddyup]

8 minutes ago, blackhorse said:

Interesting though not another single country has made an announcement. It's starting to sound a bit like the brits are understaffed or they are not making enough income or they can't be bothered

With the oz embassy charging 2k to witness a signature it's unlikely they will relinquish that cash cow any time soon unless by force

It's possible they actually increased it to 2K to deter people from using that method of income verification. What are the odds of having your (possibly false) stat dec being challenged, and subsequently charged?

[Thaidream]

While I could certainly bring 4o0K or 800K into Thailand- I don't.  I use a Thai ATM to obtain my spending money tied to several American accounts by using  US Debit Cards.  Online banking shows the balance; the Thai ATM the money is taken out of and the amount of monthly deposits.  Can easily print out 12 months of deposits and debits plus letters from Pensions verify total amounts.

 

Since the police order indicates income per month is acceptable- I see no reason why an income letter is even needed when one's  banking statements  can verify exactly how much one is getting each month/   It is posslbe they could change the Police Order but that would require a change in the Immigration Act itself unless I am mistaken.

[pagallim]

9 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

I always use the German embassy, they verify my German pension from the yearly letter concerning the annual pension increase, they also verify my small British pension onhand from the original letter and the Thai account where it is deposited. Quick (15 minuets) and cheap.

Maybe in future the original letter from the DWP may be enough combined with ATM slips, who knows, it will be sorted out no doubt.

I believe that this change is going to affect all Embassy provided letters, not only the UK, with the only income verification coming from your Thai bank for monies on deposit or monthly income.

[Cletus]

The message from the Thai authorities (Big Joke&Co) is clear:

there's too many farangs in our country, many of you are also abusing the system. We want only the very rich ones to live here (buy elite visa) or, at least, you have to deposit your money (800k/65kmonth) into our banks.