"Easy Ride" for pensioners in Thailand now over, says Pattaya Radio

[sambum]

15 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

I think we can ignore hearsay as too many vested interests around.  What has happened to you? 

You are correct about hearsay of course, but this was not hearsay - I was there when it happened, and saw and heard it with my own eyes and ears!

 

Personally I have had the same Immigration Officer say that my income was not enough as he was working to his own exchange rate!  And he wasn't joking - I had to get another letter with a higher amount just to satisfy HIS requirements - once again not hearsay! (Apparently - and this is hearsay, so you can ignore it if you want - I should have put a 500 baht note in with my application to this particular Immigration Officer!)

Edited October 10, 2018 by sambum

[marcusarelus]

3 minutes ago, sambum said:

You are correct about hearsay of course, but this was not hearsay - I was there when it happened, and saw and heard it with my own eyes and ears!

 

Personally I have had the same Immigration Officer say that my "Proof of Income" letter was "not enough" as he was working to his own exchange rate!  And he wasn't joking - I had to get another letter with a higher amount just to satisfy HIS requirements - once again not hearsay! (Apparently - and this is hearsay, so you can ignore it if you want - I should have put a 500 baht note in with my application to this particular Immigration Officer)

What is a proof of income letter?  Bank letter 800,000 or embassy proof?  If embassy how would you get them to change the exchange rate? What Imm office and what year?

Edited October 10, 2018 by marcusarelus

[poanoi]

7 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

The Immigration officer looked at your record and saw a retirement visa at 34 and then 10 years of ED visa's and refused to extend a marriage visa applied for a week before the due date.  Correct?

i remembered wrong, when retirement ended, i went visa runs to cambodia a couple of years, then married, failed visa, and then started ED visa, and then when i was fed up with ED visa runs, i left to live in cambodia until i got 50, after which i came back to thailand.

 

Edited October 10, 2018 by poanoi

[sambum]

3 hours ago, Teee said:

As I said...maybe all the changes that is happening from Thai Immigration and now having to prove you have the money to actually live and contribute financially to the economy if you cant show that you do then they dont want you there...so you move on.

Same in any country. 

For someone to get a Visa for most countries you have to prove you have the money to live and contribute to the economy.

If you dont then you dont get a Visa.

Simple really.

I can see that you are new on here but it would help you tremendously to read the post properly before commenting.

Simple really.

Edited October 10, 2018 by sambum

[galt67]

10 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

TE is a Thai government run program.

Good luck with that I would never do it in a million years...

1

Correct. Which for ME, provides more confidence that it will last.

 

That and it's growing membership of 6k+.

 

Spend your money, take your chances.

 

 

[marcusarelus]

3 minutes ago, poanoi said:

i remembered wrong, when retirement ended, i went visa runs to cambodia a couple of years, then married, failed visa, and then started ED visa

Why 1st marriage visa fail and how much in advance did you apply for the last failed marriage visa?  Or was the failed visa the incident you were talking about and that was 10 years ago?

Edited October 10, 2018 by marcusarelus

[Issanjohn]

Bottom line the British citizens and no one else should have to pick up and leave or get a new visa or even be inconvenienced over a stupid piece of paper that’s BS and I’m sorry the Brits have to deal with that and I hope that doesn’t bleed over to other embassies.  Although the United States Embassy assured me that they have no plans to cease providing the Income Affidavit service at anytime in the foreseeable future.  I’m sure this will get sorted out somehow because Thailand doesn’t expect people to just leave over a technicality they don’t want people to leave who are pumping money into their economy.  They require proof of income so they kind of have to figure something out you Brits ought to be complaining to your Embassador and asking questions at immigration.  This doesn’t even effect me and even I’ve been making inquiries about it through official channels not just by talking to people about it online.  

 

We can talk about it online all we want but that’s not gonna fix the problem it just raises awareness you gotta start talking to your embassy officials and possibly immigration as well and work it out through official channels.  Right now I see a lot of mass hysteria and rumors online some maybe true and other information is not and people do have a right to be stressed out over this I know if this effected me I’d be extremely stressed out so I don’t blame you but you all should seriously try to work the problem through official channels, the only thing you will accomplish online is just bringing awareness to the issue which is good but you gotta start working the problem because no one online can fix this only the government officials can fix this.  Maybe stop talking so much about it online because that’s not gonna solve anything and start getting the facts and working the problem through the appropriate government officials.  

[poanoi]

4 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Why 1st marriage visa fail and how much in advance did you apply for the last failed marriage visa?  Or was the failed visa the incident you were talking about and that was 10 years ago?

first marry visa failed because IO kept demanding proof not written in regulations, like for instance visa slips proving i transferred money, but even that wasnt good enough, it was just a trick to stall extension until my visa run out of time.

yes, the incidents was those two times 10 years ago when she commit break of duty

[sambum]

3 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

What is a proof of income letter?  Bank letter 800,000 or embassy proof?  If embassy how would you get them to change the exchange rate? What Imm office and what year?

Read the post re your first question. Regarding the last one I am not going to submit answers to those questions for obvious reasons, and to be honest I don't give a t**s if you don't believe the facts as I put them to you, as you don't read the replies properly anyway - what part of Immigration Officer do you not understand? ("Personally I have had the same Immigration Officer say that my "Proof of Income" letter was "not enough" as he was working to his own exchange rate!") 

[marcusarelus]

1 minute ago, poanoi said:

first marry visa failed because IO kept demanding proof not written in regulations, like for instance visa slips proving i transferred money, but even that wasnt good enough, it was just a trick to stall extension until my visa run out of time.

yes, the incidents was those two times 10 years ago when she commit break of duty

You are telling us about a visa problem that happened 10 years ago?  Aw come on......

[Issanjohn]

20 minutes ago, poanoi said:

i had that retirement visa only the first year

Okay well I’ve never switched visas before so I don’t know what that’s like at all maybe your situation was different than mine I don’t know.  I always try to keep it simple when dealing with immigration I’ll probably never switch visas unless I have to.  I’ve thought about switching to a retirement visa when I’m of age because I am retired and I’ve heard that it’s easier to manage but I don’t know.  I definitely meet the monthly income requirements my monthly pension is well above the minimum for either type of visa.  

[Issanjohn]

Just now, marcusarelus said:

You are telling us about a visa problem that happened 10 years ago?  Aw come on......

Oh it was 10 years ago okay I figured there was more to the story there almost always is.  I didn’t catch that part of the story.  

[marcusarelus]

2 minutes ago, sambum said:

Read the post re your first question. Regarding the last one I am not going to submit answers to those questions for obvious reasons, and to be honest I don't give a t**s if you don't believe the facts as I put them to you, as you don't read the replies properly anyway - what part of Immigration Officer do you not understand? ("Personally I have had the same Immigration Officer say that my "Proof of Income" letter was "not enough" as he was working to his own exchange rate!") 

I don't think you would get the bank or embassy to alter the existing exchange rate for any reason.  When and where is important because the other guy with the problem was an ED visa guy and the story was 10 years old and everyone knows a couple of offices are always out of step (unless you don't want to help anyone and are only posting to whing).  If we all start posting problems that occurred 10 years ago without saying when one might take them seriously.  Do you really think anyone would be bothered about a fellow who had a problem on a visa 10 years ago? 

[poanoi]

1 minute ago, marcusarelus said:

You are telling us about a visa problem that happened 10 years ago?  Aw come on......

well, i know what i know, they are corrupt to the bones,

i now advocate a way to prevent them from stealing and blackmailing ever again, i advocate a flat rate for visa with no strings attached, that should make it impossible for them to channel retirees to agents just to get extension, and thusly neither the thieves nor agents can make a buck on it, it goes straight to government.

it also makes it more transparent for retirees, if they upfront demand 50k per year we dont have to bother coming to thailand

[poanoi]

7 minutes ago, Issanjohn said:

Okay well I’ve never switched visas before so I don’t know what that’s like at all maybe your situation was different than mine I don’t know.  I always try to keep it simple when dealing with immigration I’ll probably never switch visas unless I have to.  I’ve thought about switching to a retirement visa when I’m of age because I am retired and I’ve heard that it’s easier to manage but I don’t know.  I definitely meet the monthly income requirements my monthly pension is well above the minimum for either type of visa.  

i would happily have kept retirement visa, but here in thailand they wouldnt do that, that is why i carried on with other visa types until i reached 50

[galt67]

7 minutes ago, poanoi said:

well, i know what i know, they are corrupt to the bones,

i now advocate a way to prevent them from stealing and blackmailing ever again, i advocate a flat rate for visa with no strings attached, that should make it impossible for them to channel retirees to agents just to get extension, and thusly neither the thieves nor agents can make a buck on it, it goes straight to government.

it also makes it more transparent for retirees, if they upfront demand 50k per year we dont have to bother coming to thailand

6

Possibly you did not understand my first reply to your first posting.

 

There is a 'flat rate visa option' TODAY and has been since 2003. NO 'strings attached.'

https://www.thailandelite.com/?locate=en

 

 

[poanoi]

3 minutes ago, galt67 said:

Possibly you did not understand my first reply to your first posting.

 

There is a 'flat rate visa option' TODAY and has been since 2003. NO 'strings attached.'

https://www.thailandelite.com/?locate=en

 

 

 

100k per year visa ? thx but no thnx,

i think 40-50k per year was overpriced already.

if i wasnt stuck here, but rather weighing my options where to retire, i would dismiss any country charging over 20k before i even had a beer

Edited October 10, 2018 by poanoi

[galt67]

7 minutes ago, poanoi said:

100k per year visa ? thx but no thnx,

i think 40-50k per year was overpriced already.

if i wasnt stuck here, but rather weighing my options where to retire, i would dismiss any country charging over 20k before i even had a beer

Fair enough.

You are 'advocating' for a 'flat rate visa' that exists TODAY but you think it's too expensive.

 

5 years/500k=100k/year

20 years/1M=50k/year

 

As the Thais say, 'up to you.' Nearly 200 other countries to choose from.

 

 

[poanoi]

2 minutes ago, galt67 said:

Fair enough.

You are 'advocating' for a 'flat rate visa' that exists TODAY but you think it's too expensive.

 

5 years/500k=100k/year

20 years/1M=50k/year

 

As the Thais say, 'up to you.' Nearly 200 other countries to choose from.

 

 

no, its not up to me in this state, or i would be in caribbean already, i got to much pain to travel

[GinBoy2]

19 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

I think for most folks this was a train wreck just waiting to happen if you're honest with yourself.

When were planning to move back to the US, I already moved all money back home just before I needed to do an extension, since I needed a few more months to tidy things up.

I remember thinking to myself as I was sat in the embassy waiting to get the affidavit...this is nuts. I could say I have $1M/month income just because I say I do!

Now I know it's perjury to swear to a lie in front of a consular notary, but you know what, I haven't read about anybody going to Federal prison yet.

I think I read many pages back as I was skimming through this, that the Thai authorities had asked the Brits to provide more confirmation that they had verified income before issued the verification letter. The Brits refused to do that so just gave up on the whole thing.

If that is indeed what happened, it's coming for everyone.

They may well have gone after the Brits first, since they are by far the most numerous..

All that being said. Thailand is Thailand. They got millions of laws and regulation on the books, 80% are ignored. Trouble this one, it affects peoples lives, so if it is the shape of things to come...Good Luck

Well I guess I was proved right with this one!

 

Now just keep your fingers crossed they don't decide to change ฿800/400 rule

[zydeco]

The guys sitting up the petition are doing the right thing.  It's an immediate, productive action.  But aside from that, I would give things a chance to shake out before I go berserk about this.  Make whatever plans you can, sign the petition and give yourself until that 12 December deadline before you think the world has ended. 

[Spidey]

4 hours ago, richiejom said:

I don't see how people can fake any of these documents.  Bank statements you can call the bank to verify it is a genuine statement and pension letters can be verified also.

 

Even if you were to alter a bank statement how many people are willing to risk being blacklisted 

I send my P60. Would be very difficult to forge or alter. Also 2 minutes on a website would confirm the information.

[richiejom]

50 minutes ago, Spidey said:

I send my P60. Would be very difficult to forge or alter. Also 2 minutes on a website would confirm the information.

Surely they could use some sort of random selection verification method so they don't have to check everyones...this would serve Thai Immigration and embassy

 

This would deter fakers...easy...but common sense never prevails

Edited October 10, 2018 by richiejom

[Spidey]

Just now, richiejom said:

Surely they could use some sort of random selection verification method so they don't have to check everyones...this would serve Thai Immigration and embassy

 

This would deter fakers

Additionally they could use targeted selection. If the application looks dodgy, it probably is.

[Jingthing]

2 minutes ago, richiejom said:

Surely they could use some sort of random selection verification method so they don't have to check everyones...this would serve Thai Immigration and embassy

 

This would deter fakers...easy...but common sense never prevails

Good idea. Like push a button and a color comes up, red or green. Red and you're going to have an unpleasant time. 

[wgdanson]

1 hour ago, Spidey said:

I send my P60. Would be very difficult to forge or alter. Also 2 minutes on a website would confirm the information.

Isn't a P60 the form which your employer gives you at the end of the tax year?

[marcusarelus]

1 hour ago, GinBoy2 said:

Well I guess I was proved right with this one!

 

Now just keep your fingers crossed they don't decide to change ฿800/400 rule

If you were British you may have correct.  The American embassy has said nothing yet.  Nor has the Thai government. I thought your point was another anti Thai post and I fail to see what the Thais have changed to bring about this latest nonsense.  Looks like a UK deal to me. 

Edited October 10, 2018 by marcusarelus

[balo]

I talked to a random visa agent in Pattaya today and they told me they can still offer to "borrow 800k"  short time , against an increased fee of 1000 baht.   

I told the lady that Big Joke don't want that , but then she just laughed and said don't worry.  

[GinBoy2]

12 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

If you were British you may have correct.  The American embassy has said nothing yet.  Nor has the Thai government. I thought your point was another anti Thai post and I fail to see what the Thais have changed to bring about this latest nonsense.  Looks like a UK deal to me. 

Did you actually read the statement from the Brits?

 

The decision was made by the British Embassy following a meeting with immigration in May in which they confirmed that they expect the embassy to verify all sources of income of British Nationals requesting an income letter.  Consular officers are not verification experts and therefore cannot fulfil (sic) this requirement. We also cannot verify income from every income source in every country of the world. Thai Immigration is able to verify the income in a Thai bank account, therefore British Nationals should show evidence of minimum funds for their visa type by showing a Thai bank statement and/or bank book. 

 

You know as well as I do when you walk into the US embassy, raise your right hand to swear to that affidavit there is no consular official checking on the validity of what you are swearing to.

 

So it’s really only a matter of time until they start requiring this for all.

 

I’m just pretty sure they went after the Brits first just because they are the most numerous.

 

So if you choose to live some fantasy bubble fine. I just hope you are doing the money in the bank thing

[gk10002000]

I don't want an easy ride.  I just want to know the proper process that protects my financial interests and is not too burdensome.