BREAKING NEWS British Embassy Bangkok to Stop Certification of Income Letters

[OneeyedJohn]

On 11/27/2018 at 8:27 PM, Jip99 said:

 

I agree with those comments.

 

Unfortunately, the BE now have a banner on their website saying do not contact until after 10 working days.

 

They also failed to respond to a separate email requesting urgency on medical grounds.

I received my letter by EMS the day after I saw the £52 deducted from my UK bank a/c. I emailed them back with copies of the letter and envelope pointing out the spelling mistakes, and today I received another letter with the mistakes corrected.

And no they didn't take another £52 from me,  I checked.

I also 2 days after submitting my application sent them a corrected copy of the annual / monthly pension income and asked them to use the new figures I submitted. All done in good time by email.

Edited November 30, 2018 by OneeyedJohn
addition

[jimn]

The 12th is getting near for anyone who has not applied for the letter, i got mine 2 weeks ago. More to my point though. This bl****y exchange rate pounds to baht is getting really worrying. Its been about 41.5 today in the pattaya TT shop. If it drops below 38.5 it makes for me getting the embassy letter absolutely pointless, as my company pension will not be 65,000 baht a month. I bet a worry for many still planning on using the income option.

[sumrit]

For those who've applied for their income letter in the last few days, did you receive an acknowledgment email, confirming your application, by return, and if so, how quickly did you receive that email? 

 

I ask because last year I received a confirmation email almost immediately (within three minutes) but this year I've received nothing. I realized later in the day, after sending it, that my internet was a bit erratic so can't be sure the BE actually received my application without that confirmation.

[jimn]

13 minutes ago, sumrit said:

For those who've applied for their income letter in the last few days, did you receive an acknowledgment email, confirming your application, by return, and if so, how quickly did you receive that email? 

 

I ask because last year I received a confirmation email almost immediately (within three minutes) but this year I've received nothing. I realized later in the day, after sending it, that my internet was a bit erratic so can't be sure the BE actually received my application without that confirmation.

I received an acknowledgement almost immediately. Check your spam mail?. If not I would email them to confirm that they have received the application. Another thought, did you email the application to the correct emai address

 

[email protected]

 

Cheers

[PST]

16 minutes ago, jimn said:

I received an acknowledgement almost immediately. Check your spam mail?. If not I would email them to confirm that they have received the application. Another thought, did you email the application to the correct emai address

 

[email protected]

 

Cheers

My understanding is the mail you receive almost straight away is a standard mail stating that they have received your mail, it dosen't mean that the letter has been processed. I applied last Monday, the money has been taken from by bank yesterday, but ive still not received the letter, so im hoping it will come in the next few days. It gets sent by EMS, but how can I track it if I have no tracking number??

[jimn]

3 minutes ago, PST said:

My understanding is the mail you receive almost straight away is a standard mail stating that they have received your mail, it dosen't mean that the letter has been processed. I applied last Monday, the money has been taken from by bank yesterday, but ive still not received the letter, so im hoping it will come in the next few days. It gets sent by EMS, but how can I track it if I have no tracking number??

Thats correct, it just confirms they have received it. With me they took the money on the Friday and I received the letter on the Weds. 10 working days all in.

Edited December 5, 2018 by jimn

[sumrit]

10 minutes ago, jimn said:

I received an acknowledgement almost immediately. Check your spam mail?. If not I would email them to confirm that they have received the application. Another thought, did you email the application to the correct emai address

 

[email protected]

 

Cheers

it's not in my spam, or anywhere else, I've looked via both my laptop, tablet and phone. And yes it is the correct email address, I copied it from the application information notes. Also, if I'd copied it incorrectly I'd have had a 'failed to send' reply via Gmail.

 

I do remember Gmail struggling to save the email and took three attempts to do so. I assumed at the time it was because there were several attachments. I'll copy it to myself this time to see if I receive it.

 

I'll re-send it now, with an apology included in case they have received it already, and hope they don't take the money twice.

[sumrit]

1 hour ago, jimn said:

I received an acknowledgement almost immediately. Check your spam mail?. If not I would email them to confirm that they have received the application. Another thought, did you email the application to the correct emai address

 

[email protected]

 

Cheers

it's not in my spam, or anywhere else, I've looked via both my laptop, tablet and phone. And yes it is the correct email address, I copied it from the application information notes. Also, if I'd copied it incorrectly I'd have had a 'failed to send' reply via Gmail.

 

I do remember Gmail struggling to save the email and took three attempts to do so. I assumed at the time it was because there were several attachments. I'll copy it to myself this time to see if I receive it.

 

I'll re-send it now, with an apology included in case they have received it already.

 

OK. Re-sent the email and this time I did receive a confirmation email within minutes. Thanks for your input.

[The Cobra]

34 minutes ago, richiejom said:

Embassy just took the 52 quid for mine...hope this letter still works for extensions based on marriage in Jomtien after hearing the drama someones having in Phuket

Supposed to be good for up to 6 months, but who knows with the way they operate its luck of the draw on the day !

Edited December 6, 2018 by The Cobra

[Fortunate1]

For information the deadline to submit applications for an Income Letter was Wednesday 12th December

[ChokDee4213]

I apologize, but there are 190 pages with countless topics surrounding this issue and I don't want to sift through everything. By chance, could someone privy on these matters and active in this thread reward my laziness with a bit of information:

 

Is there a verdict on how we will prove the ฿40,000 monthly income for extensions based on marriage (or ฿65,000 for retirement)?

 

Buriram Immigration office informed me they will only accept proof of ฿400,000 (฿800,000) via bank statements and updated passbooks, but will not accept the same form of evidence for the income. These guys are scamming everyone that walks in for "service fees", so it'd be nice if it weren't left up to their discretion and there was some kind of official statement. Not holding my breath. Thanks and sorry to interrupt the current discussions

Edited December 18, 2018 by ChokDee4213

[ubonjoe]

5 minutes ago, ChokDee4213 said:

Buriram Immigration office informed me they will only accept proof of ฿400,000 (฿800,000) via bank statements and updated passbooks, but will not accept the same form of evidence for the income.

That is because the Immigration Bureau has not done an announcement about it yet saying what will be accepted.

As far as the local offices know income proof from an embassy is still required.

[ChokDee4213]

1 minute ago, ubonjoe said:

That is because the Immigration Bureau has not done an announcement about it yet saying what will be accepted.

As far as the local offices know income proof from an embassy is still required.

Thank you very much! I'll check back on this thread in about a year to see if anything changes ????

[ubonjoe]

8 minutes ago, ChokDee4213 said:

Thank you very much! I'll check back on this thread in about a year to see if anything changes

There will be a new topic about what immigration comes out with when they get around to doing it.

[Spidey]

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

There will be a new topic about what immigration comes out with when they get around to doing it.

If they get round to doing it. There will be people who haven't had the foresight to apply for their letters in advance and don't have 800k in the bank, who are going to find themselves in the horns of a dilemma very soon now.

 

The door has already closed for Brits wanting to apply for a letter.

Edited December 18, 2018 by Spidey

[ubonjoe]

9 minutes ago, Spidey said:

If they get round to doing it. There will be people who haven't had the foresight to apply for their letters in advance and don't have 800k in the bank, who are going to find themselves in the horns of a dilemma very soon now.

What makes you think they will have to have 800k or 400k baht in the bank. There is nothing to indicate they will at this time.

[Spidey]

Just now, ubonjoe said:

What makes you think they will have to have 800k or 400k baht in the bank. There is nothing to indicate they will at this time.

More importantly, there's nothing to indicate that they won't. I have a friend who has a house near me who winters every year here. He arrived a few days ago, with intention of renewing his visa extension (marriage) in January as he does every year. Visited me this morning and was completely unaware of the issue. As with most expats he doesn't log on to TV.

 

Luckily, he always uses the 400k in the bank method, if he'd been relying on the 40k income method, he'd have been screwed, as many will be in his situation but without the money in the bank.

[The Cobra]

Havnt there been reports made by people from offices saying "no letter, then its lump sum" ?? I am sure I have read that on here.

[ubonjoe]

5 minutes ago, The Cobra said:

Havnt there been reports made by people from offices saying "no letter, then its lump sum" ?? I am sure I have read that on here.

Just another case of offices not knowing anything about it since the Immigration Bureau has said nothing about it. The only know what the existing rules are.

[billd766]

5 hours ago, Spidey said:

If they get round to doing it. There will be people who haven't had the foresight to apply for their letters in advance and don't have 800k in the bank, who are going to find themselves in the horns of a dilemma very soon now.

 

The door has already closed for Brits wanting to apply for a letter.

My problem is that my extension is not due until August so a letter valid for 6 months will be of no use.

 

I addition, due to the Forex rate going down, I will not be able to maintain 65,000 baht/month by the next renewal, so I will be changing to a marriage extension next year.

 

I will wait for an announcement from Immigration Head Office via Ubonjoe which hopefully will come in the New Year.

[wayned]

9 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

What makes you think they will have to have 800k or 400k baht in the bank. There is nothing to indicate they will at this time.

But there is no indication that they will do anything at this time either.  Except for the 3 Embassies that have followed the BE's total disregard for supporting their citizens in a foreign country ( it's actually part of the USE's definition of the responsibilities of a foreign Embassy), no other Embassy has discontinued the letters.  If all of the others are submitting documentation the is acceptable to Thai Immigration, what's the incentive for them to change their policy?  It's working for some so why change it when there is another option, the money in the bank?

[luckyluke]

4 hours ago, wayned said:

why change it

Indeed,

not sure at all if, eventually, there may be new directives from T.I. next year, they will be better than the actually ones.

[superal]

5 hours ago, wayned said:

But there is no indication that they will do anything at this time either.  Except for the 3 Embassies that have followed the BE's total disregard for supporting their citizens in a foreign country ( it's actually part of the USE's definition of the responsibilities of a foreign Embassy), no other Embassy has discontinued the letters.  If all of the others are submitting documentation the is acceptable to Thai Immigration, what's the incentive for them to change their policy?  It's working for some so why change it when there is another option, the money in the bank?

Do we know for certain that it was the 4 embassies decision to stop issuing P.O.I. letters or was it an instruction from the T.I. ?  No official meetings or minutes to be had and no formal T.I. statement .  So the remaining embassies continue to issue the letters , so how can that be the case ? unless they have means of proof that P.O.I. can be substantiated .

The event is a shambles causing confusion for many and I am not holding my breath waiting for a T.I. update .    For myself the visa system is unreliable and complicated and I will no longer leave 800k in my Thai bank . Gonna take an annual break in the hot April month back to the UK and make a non o multi entry visa based on state retirement with no proof of earnings needed and every 90 days will visit another Asian country for a week or so

[Fred31]

16 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

What makes you think they will have to have 800k or 400k baht in the bank. There is nothing to indicate they will at this time.

They can go home...............that's is what UK immigration does to people who do not or cannot comply with their requirements. Why should Thailand be different?

[JackThompson]

3 minutes ago, Fred31 said:

They can go home...............that's is what UK immigration does to people who do not or cannot comply with their requirements. Why should Thailand be different?

Home?  More likely "go" to Cambodia, Vietnam, The PI, or one of many Latin American countries who will welcome them - taking their money and the local-jobs they support with them.   Thailand is different, because the wage-scales do not compare with the UK - hence, self-funded expats in Thailand create jobs for locals - vs steal jobs from them.

[doctormann]

I've just wasted 52 GBP!

 

Getting a 'last minute' income letter from the BE was one of my possible options for retirement extension renewal next June.  Because of the way that the dates fall, I needed the issue date of the letter to be 22 December, or later.  I explained this in a covering letter that I submitted, by email, on 12 December, the last allowed submission date, stating that otherwise the letter would be of no use to me.

 

The letter arrived today, with an issue date 20 December, so it seems as though my request has been ignored and I now have a useless piece of paper!  Jomptien Immigration will not allow applications earlier than 30 days so the letter will fail to meet their requirements by two days only!

 

Honestly, how hard can it be for the BE to show a little flexibility on this?  They could issue letters dated up to 31 December if they so wished!

 

Ah well, hopefully the issue now becomes moot as, if we take as read the information that the US Consul General disseminated in his interview with Pattaya FM, the existing methods for renewal of permission to stay will not change all that much.  We shall see, once the new Police Order is published, in January.

 

I am not happy with the BE though - time to give up on them I think.

[mfd101]

32 minutes ago, doctormann said:

I am not happy with the BE though - time to give up on them I think.

You could always try demanding your money back on the basis that they ignored your clear instructions!

[doctormann]

3 minutes ago, mfd101 said:

You could always try demanding your money back on the basis that they ignored your clear instructions!

I may well try that although my expectations of a refund are not high!

An email costs nothing though so nothing lost!

[Pattaya46]

49 minutes ago, doctormann said:

I've just wasted 52 GBP! //

Jomptien Immigration will not allow applications earlier than 30 days so the letter will fail to meet their requirements by two days only!

Maybe still a solution. 

Yes the rule is "maximum 30 days before" in Jomtien, but several reports of people saying that if you can show - by example - a plane reservation "40 days before", then you may be able to make your extension up to "45 days before".  

Worth trying IMHO, even if you intend to cancel your fly reservation immediately after you get your extension 

[OJAS]

13 minutes ago, doctormann said:

I may well try that although my expectations of a refund are not high!

An email costs nothing though so nothing lost!

Alternatively you could try demanding that they issue you with a further letter which has been properly dated in accordance with your instructions, notwithstanding their cut-off point. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, as they say!