BREAKING NEWS British Embassy Bangkok to Stop Certification of Income Letters

[steve73]

7 minutes ago, doctormann said:

The earliest that i can do my extension is 22/06/19 - 30 days early, as I usually do - so I need the Embassy letter to be dated later than 22/12/18.  If I apply on the last date - 12/12/18 - what date is going to be on the letter?  Who knows!  If I can extend 45 days in advance it would be OK anyway.

I've emailed both the BE Consular Services and Jomptien Immigration about this.  I'll probably get a response from the BE but probably not from Immigration.  We'll see.

From what I've heard/read most IO will allow you to extend upto 45 days early if you have a very good reason... such as flying out of the country.

Maybe you could book a refundable ticket for say 42 days before you're extension is due...?

[doctormann]

2 minutes ago, steve73 said:

From what I've heard/read most IO will allow you to extend upto 45 days early if you have a very good reason... such as flying out of the country.

Maybe you could book a refundable ticket for say 42 days before you're extension is due...?

 

Good idea!

[Tanoshi]

22 minutes ago, doctormann said:

The earliest that i can do my extension is 22/06/19 - 30 days early, as I usually do - so I need the Embassy letter to be dated later than 22/12/18.  If I apply on the last date - 12/12/18 - what date is going to be on the letter?  Who knows!  If I can extend 45 days in advance it would be OK anyway.

I've emailed both the BE Consular Services and Jomptien Immigration about this.  I'll probably get a response from the BE but probably not from Immigration.  We'll see.

They probably picked Wed 12th Dec for a reason.

I guess they'll have an influx of applications and only 7 working days before they close for the Xmas break.

 

Even submitting last day, it will probably be dated between 17th - 21st.

[doctormann]

1 minute ago, Tanoshi said:

They probably picked Wed 12th Dec for a reason.

I guess they'll have an influx of applications and only 7 working days before they close for the Xmas break.

 

Even submitting last day, it will probably be dated between 17th - 21st.

 

Yes, that's my feeling - just cutting it too fine, if it worked at all.  45 days early would sort it.

I think that the original info from the BE did say that the last issue date would be 01/01/19 but, as you point out, they won't be working over Xmas and may even have an extended break up until new Year.  Presumably they would still run an emergency service but I'm quite sure that income verification letters wouldn't qualify!

[bigginhill]

56 minutes ago, doctormann said:

 

Yes, that's my feeling - just cutting it too fine, if it worked at all.  45 days early would sort it.

I think that the original info from the BE did say that the last issue date would be 01/01/19 but, as you point out, they won't be working over Xmas and may even have an extended break up until new Year.  Presumably they would still run an emergency service but I'm quite sure that income verification letters wouldn't qualify!

reply not specific to Jomtien, but if you go 30 days early the date on the visa stays the same, I have been to Bangkok earlier and asked that the date on the visa extension is brought forward. Practically doing myself out of one months extension but I need to do it on that date. 

You could ask.  They make you sign a note saying you are asking for it to be bought forward  then they put a line through the date on the stamp and bring it forward.

Don't know if I've explained it well enough, you go in 15 days earlier and the it will expire 15 days earlie

 

Edited October 22, 2018 by bigginhill

[doctormann]

1 minute ago, bigginhill said:

reply not specific to Jomtien, but if you go 30 days early the date on the visa stays the same, I have been to Bangkok earlier and asked that the date on the visa extension is brought forward. Practically doing myself out of one months extension but I need to do it on that date. 

You could ask.  They make you sign a note saying you are asking for it to be bought forward  then they put a line through the date on the stamp and bring it forward.

Don't know if I've explained it well enough, you go in 15 days earlier and the it will expire 15 days earlier.  

 

Thanks for that info.

I normally so the extension 30 days earlier and you lose no time that way.

I'll ask, next time that I'm down there.

[bigginhill]

Just now, doctormann said:

Thanks for that info.

I normally so the extension 30 days earlier and you lose no time that way.

I'll ask, next time that I'm down there.

what I meant was 15 days over the 30 days or however many days you need. (as per the date the income letter arrives) 

[doctormann]

1 hour ago, bigginhill said:

what I meant was 15 days over the 30 days or however many days you need. (as per the date the income letter arrives) 

Understood.

[tgeezer]

Error

[sumrit]

7 hours ago, doctormann said:

This is Income Letter related but is specific to Jomptien Immigration.

 

Does anyone know how far in advance of the 'permission to stay' renewal date it is possible to make the application for the extension?  I know that 30 days is permissible but I have heard that 45 days is allowed in some circumstances.

 

I'm trying to get in before the cut-off date.  If the BE will issue a letter dated after 22/12 then I can just squeeze in but with no contingency time.  45 days would give me some 'just in case' breathing space.

 

I'll ask anyway when I do my next 90-day report.  Just trying to do a bit of forward planning.

I don't know if it's still the same but in February 2017 I did my extension 45 days early at Jomtien because we were going back to the village for a while after that. I did ask the before hand and they confirmed it was acceptable. 

 

Why don't you do the same and contact them now to ask. You don't have to explain exactly why you're asking, just be vague.

[doctormann]

8 hours ago, sumrit said:

I don't know if it's still the same but in February 2017 I did my extension 45 days early at Jomtien because we were going back to the village for a while after that. I did ask the before hand and they confirmed it was acceptable. 

 

Why don't you do the same and contact them now to ask. You don't have to explain exactly why you're asking, just be vague.

Thanks.  Will do.

[ubonjoe]

12 hours ago, bigginhill said:

reply not specific to Jomtien, but if you go 30 days early the date on the visa stays the same, I have been to Bangkok earlier and asked that the date on the visa extension is brought forward. Practically doing myself out of one months extension but I need to do it on that date. 

You could ask.  They make you sign a note saying you are asking for it to be bought forward  then they put a line through the date on the stamp and bring it forward.

Don't know if I've explained it well enough, you go in 15 days earlier and the it will expire 15 days earlie

I have never heard or read about that being done. In Bangkok it would certainly not be needed since they routinely do them up to 45 days early without a problem. Perhaps in the distant past that was done.

I have read of people applying for their extensions up to 60 days early if they have a valid need to do it that early.

[sumrit]

15 hours ago, bigginhill said:

reply not specific to Jomtien, but if you go 30 days early the date on the visa stays the same, I have been to Bangkok earlier and asked that the date on the visa extension is brought forward. Practically doing myself out of one months extension but I need to do it on that date. 

You could ask.  They make you sign a note saying you are asking for it to be bought forward  then they put a line through the date on the stamp and bring it forward.

Don't know if I've explained it well enough, you go in 15 days earlier and the it will expire 15 days earlie

 

That certainly didn't happen at Jomtien when I did my extension 45 days early last year.

[Thaidream]

17 minutes ago, sumrit said:

That certainly didn't happen at Jomtien when I did my extension 45 days early last year.

Did you have to  give a specific reason such as travel or was it just appear 45 days early and they processed you.

[soalbundy]

44 minutes ago, Thaidream said:

Did you have to  give a specific reason such as travel or was it just appear 45 days early and they processed you.

I am always early at Kap Choen, they have a time limit of how early, under 30 days I think but no signing anything and the end date is always the same, my visa extension runs out on the 12th December but when I renew say on the 25th November the new visa extension is still valid until 12th December, different rules for different IO.

[sumrit]

1 hour ago, Thaidream said:

Did you have to  give a specific reason such as travel or was it just appear 45 days early and they processed you.

In my case a relative of my wife was seriously ill in hospital and my wife wanted to go and help the family with the care her aunt needed. That's what I explained at Jomtien and they said 'no problem', just come at my convenience.

[Thaidream]

2 hours ago, sumrit said:

n my case a relative of my wife was seriously ill in hospital and my wife wanted to go and help the family with the care her aunt needed. That's what I explained at Jomtien and they said 'no problem', just come at my convenience.

In other words the Embassy letter is good for 6 months to the date of application which can be as early as 45 days before the extension actually expires.  This will buy some time  for people with extensions coming due in  June 2019 and possibly early July

[Expattaff1308]

This is the email for complaints about Consular Services

http://[email protected]

[Shoeless Joe]

Question from a friend in the UK...(UbonJoe do you know the answer please?)

 

"Can I put 850k in bank Nov and arrive in Nov and get my retirement visa? (I can live on the 50k for 3 months) Or does the money have to be in my Thai bank a/c 3 months before I arrive in Thailand?"

 

Regards,

 

Joe

Edited October 23, 2018 by Shoeless Joe
typo

[sumrit]

23 minutes ago, Shoeless Joe said:

Question from a friend in the UK...(UbonJoe do you know the answer please?)

 

"Can I put 850k in bank Nov and arrive in Nov and get my retirement visa? (I can live on the 50k for 3 months) Or does the money have to be in my Thai bank a/c 3 months before I arrive in Thailand?"

 

Regards,

 

Joe

The money must seasoned in the Thai Bank for two months prior to applying for your retirement extension (assuming it's your first extension application). It doesn't matter where you're living during that seasoning period....... It's three months for all subsequent applications. 

[Jingthing]

Question from a friend in the UK...(UbonJoe do you know the answer please?)
 
"Can I put 850k in bank Nov and arrive in Nov and get my retirement visa? (I can live on the 50k for 3 months) Or does the money have to be in my Thai bank a/c 3 months before I arrive in Thailand?"
 
Regards,
 
Joe

No retirement visas here. If he's arriving on a tourist visa or 30 day stamp yes he can convert to a 90 day O visa without the funds being seasoned. Then for the second step the first annual retirement extension the funds will need to seasoned for 2 months. No problem with that 90 day visa.

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[giddyup]

1 hour ago, Shoeless Joe said:

Question from a friend in the UK...(UbonJoe do you know the answer please?)

 

"Can I put 850k in bank Nov and arrive in Nov and get my retirement visa? (I can live on the 50k for 3 months) Or does the money have to be in my Thai bank a/c 3 months before I arrive in Thailand?"

 

Regards,

 

Joe

If applying for the first time it has to be seasoned for 2 months. I see the same question has been answered three times. Is that definitive enough for you?

Edited October 23, 2018 by giddyup

[Jingthing]

Just now, giddyup said:

If applying for the first time it has to be seasoned for 2 months.

If applying for a RETIREMENT EXTENSION, yes first time 2 months, subsequent times 3 months.

 

HOWEVER, if applying for a CONVERSION from a 30 day stamp or tourist visa to a 90 day O visa in Thailand (the first step of the famous two step process option to enter the retirement extension system all in Thailand) NO SEASONING is required for the first step, the conversion step.

 

If the person is arriving with an EXISTING O visa then yes the seasoning rules would apply for applying for the first extension.

 

But I'm assuming based on asking for a "retirement visa" that he's entering without an O visa.

[user7969876]

Not sure which of the threads to post this but if Ubonjoe wants to shift ok with me.

I have concluded that in the long term Visa extensions issued using income are likely to be increasingly more difficult, subject to the vagaries of local interpretation and possibly impossible.

To that end the cash deposit route is for me.

·       I am aware that a bank book up to date on the day of application and letter from the bank are required.

·       In the case of a Foreign Currency Account with Krungsri there is no book just a print out of the ins and outs.

o   Is this likely to be accepted?

·       If  anyone has a form of words for the letter that has been shown to be acceptable that would also be of value.

o   Does it need to be in Thai and/or English?

[ubonjoe]

22 minutes ago, Pookaow said:

To that end the cash deposit route is for me.

·       I am aware that a bank book up to date on the day of application and letter from the bank are required.

·       In the case of a Foreign Currency Account with Krungsri there is no book just a print out of the ins and outs.

o   Is this likely to be accepted?

·       If  anyone has a form of words for the letter that has been shown to be acceptable that would also be of value.

o   Does it need to be in Thai and/or English?

The letter from the bank for a foreign currency account has to show amount in the account the foreign currency and in baht on the day the letter is written based upon the exchange rate for that day.

The statement would have to show that a balance equal to or greater than 800k for 3 months on the date you apply for the extension. Immigration would use the rate on the date you apply to confirm it or they would just compare the amount shown on the letter as a baseline for the 3 months. Some offices would want proof of the balance in account on the date you apply as well.

The bank should know what is required when they do the letter. It will need to be in Thai.

[Nuitum]

On 10/8/2018 at 2:17 PM, bluesofa said:

Ha ha ha!

I see that joke about how how open a bank account in Thailand requires only three items.

They deliberately miss out the details about how you need to visit many banks (often the same bank but different branch) in order to maybe get lucky and be 'allowed' to open a bank account. Each branch makes up its own rules - we all know that from experience.

 

I bet within five years they'll probably completely stop renewing passports too - via outsourcing or other means.

<end of sarcasm mode for those with no sense of humour>

 

agree, I visit 5 banks until last one accept me.

[Expattaff1308]

The Latest reply from our extremely helpful Embassy...

Thank you for your email. We cannot issue a statutory declaration because the Thai authorities have confirmed that they require the income of those applying for a Thai retirement and marriage visas to be verified by their Embassy.  Providing a self-declaration does not meet this requirement.  If the Embassy administers these declarations, it can still be perceived that we are confirming income, which unfortunately we cannot do.  Whilst the British Embassy can administer statutory declarations, in this case it would be inappropriate for us to do so.  The affirmation of freedom to marry is different to a statutory declaration and we are obliged to administer it as there is no single document that shows marital status in the UK.  Regarding income for an extension of stay, there is an alternative already in place which is to move the required funds to a Thai bank account where the Thai authorities can verify it.

[marcusarelus]

1 hour ago, Nuitum said:

agree, I visit 5 banks until last one accept me.

What bank and where?

[bigginhill]

7 minutes ago, Expattaff1308 said:

The Latest reply from our extremely helpful Embassy...

Thank you for your email. We cannot issue a statutory declaration because the Thai authorities have confirmed that they require the income of those applying for a Thai retirement and marriage visas to be verified by their Embassy.  Providing a self-declaration does not meet this requirement.  If the Embassy administers these declarations, it can still be perceived that we are confirming income, which unfortunately we cannot do.  Whilst the British Embassy can administer statutory declarations, in this case it would be inappropriate for us to do so.  The affirmation of freedom to marry is different to a statutory declaration and we are obliged to administer it as there is no single document that shows marital status in the UK.  Regarding income for an extension of stay, there is an alternative already in place which is to move the required funds to a Thai bank account where the Thai authorities can verify it.

Again I ask then why can't they negotiate an agreement with another Embassy, for example Australia, that is continuing to provide stat decs or affi, for crying out aloud. 

We won't help you and we won't do anything so you can be helped by anyone else. 

[Pib]

Notice the BE latest reply made no mention of just showing monthly transfers into your Thai bank account to prove adequate income.

They now only mention the lump sum amount.

Yeap...they are now walking-back their earlier statement the monthly deposit without the need of accompanying embassy letter should be accepted by Thai immigration.