BREAKING NEWS British Embassy statement on income letters: Officials knew about problems in May and say that US nationals will also be affected

[malibukid]

3 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

Why would you call them gringos?  Is this Mexico?

gringos is a Mexican term meaning "green" inexperienced and or vulnerable.  

[cookieqw]

14 minutes ago, cyberfarang said:

So what? You certainly get offended very easily.

 

Presently the going rate for a one year stay in Thailand on retirement is 800000 baht, which it has been for a number of years and as clearly stated by the British embassy. The 800000 baht in a Thai bank in Thai currency immigration policy is not something new that has come out of the blue yonder. So what`s the problem and why is that so difficult to understand? If don`t want or can`t do, can`t have and these are the hard facts.

 

As foreigners staying in Thailand for the long term, we are required to have the prescribed monies in a Thai bank account, nothing complicated about it. 800000 baht is approx 24.5 thousand US dollars or 18.5 thousand UK pounds, which is not a fortune today considering how cheaply we can live in Thailand compared to our home countries and in my opinion that`s still a great deal. Yet there are those here who seem to be struggling or even not willing to bring over those amounts, expecting everything laid on for virtually nothing. As I said previously, no one owes anyone else a living, it`s a 50/50 relationship, we put something into Thailand and Thailand lets us live here whereas the lifestyles for us are of much better quality than in our own countries. Those that disagree, then why are you here?

 

 

and if a thai comes to the UK does he/she have to have the same amount in bank and are they eligible access to one of the best free healthcare facilities in the world. as you say its 50/50 do they put something in to the UK and then take something out ?????????

[Jingthing]

So what? You certainly get offended very easily.
 
Presently the going rate for a one year stay in Thailand on retirement is 800000 baht, which it has been for a number of years and as clearly stated by the British embassy. The 800000 baht in a Thai bank in Thai currency immigration policy is not something new that has come out of the blue yonder. So what`s the problem and why is that so difficult to understand? If don`t want or can`t do, can`t have and these are the hard facts.
 
As foreigners staying in Thailand for the long term, we are required to have the prescribed monies in a Thai bank account, nothing complicated about it. 800000 baht is approx 24.5 thousand US dollars or 18.5 thousand UK pounds, which is not a fortune today considering how cheaply we can live in Thailand compared to our home countries and in my opinion that`s still a great deal. Yet there are those here who seem to be struggling or even not willing to bring over those amounts, expecting everything laid on for virtually nothing. As I said previously, no one owes anyone else a living, it`s a 50/50 relationship, we put something into Thailand and Thailand lets us live here whereas the lifestyles for us are of much better quality than in our own countries. Those that disagree, then why are you here?
 
 

You don't understand. This is about income based extensions. The bank account method is one of multiple options..

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[Jingthing]

gringos is a Mexican term meaning "green" inexperienced and or vulnerable.  

Not really how it's actually used. It's like farang. Racial implications mixed with foreign.

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[Issanjohn]

44 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

No it doesn't.  The proof the British Embassy is talking about is incoming transfer info to Thai bank accounts from extension applicants that they seem to think is going to satisfy Thai Immigration in terms of proving monthly income.

 

The British Embassy is saying they're getting out of the income letters business, period. They're saying it's going to be up to the extension applicants to prove their monthly income directly to Thai Immigration.

And someone else said that it’s an immigration policy so I don’t know what to believe.  I’m going to check with immigration tomorrow as well like I did with the United State Embassy today and make damn sure I have all the real facts and not just all of this hearsay internet rumor information.  Even if it is an immigration policy I’m not gonna stress out about it because I know that I can prove that I receive monthly income well over the minimum income requirement.  I just don’t want to use a local bank I’m perfectly happy with my bank in the United States.  I already spoke with the United States Embassy today but now I feel like I should get further confirmation from immigration as well to make sure.  

 

I’m going to stop engaging in all this online hysteria and make sure I have the real facts from government officials I already found out the United States Embassies policy but I still want to hear immigrations take on it just in case it actually is an immigration policy.  That was just what someone on here said so I take it with a grain of salt but I’ll still get immigration to confirm or deny that rumor regardless.  There really is a lot of misinformation on here some of it’s like half true, fact maybe, and false so it’s difficult to tell.  I prefer to go directly to the reliable sources as I did today.  Chat rooms are not reliable sources but it at least did bring this issue to people’s attention.  After talking to the United State embassy today I kind of wish I’d never read this because it got me concerned for no reason.  Although I do still want to confirm that it’s not an immigration policy with my local immigration office tomorrow, and something else to remember the embassy has no influence over immigration policies.  

[imaderbyfan]

23 minutes ago, cyberfarang said:

So what? You certainly get offended very easily.

 

Presently the going rate for a one year stay in Thailand on retirement is 800000 baht, which it has been for a number of years and as clearly stated by the British embassy. The 800000 baht in a Thai bank in Thai currency immigration policy is not something new that has come out of the blue yonder. So what`s the problem and why is that so difficult to understand? If don`t want or can`t do, can`t have and these are the hard facts.

 

As foreigners staying in Thailand for the long term, we are required to have the prescribed monies in a Thai bank account, nothing complicated about it. 800000 baht is approx 24.5 thousand US dollars or 18.5 thousand UK pounds, which is not a fortune today considering how cheaply we can live in Thailand compared to our home countries and in my opinion that`s still a great deal. Yet there are those here who seem to be struggling or even not willing to bring over those amounts, expecting everything laid on for virtually nothing. As I said previously, no one owes anyone else a living, it`s a 50/50 relationship, we put something into Thailand and Thailand lets us live here whereas the lifestyles for us are of much better quality than in our own countries. Those that disagree, then why are you here?

 

 

As foreigners staying in Thailand for the long term we are not required to have the prescribed monies in a Thai bank account.

Can you get your head around the option of a monthly income as opposed to the fixed sum?

If you read and understand the Immigration regs you would understand exactly why this problem has occurred......please try to understand..... 

[malibukid]

i like to use my visa card for almost everything here in Thailand, they love me and i get great perks for airline travel.  i pay the card balance off every month from my bank in the States. my online bank is very easy to use but no to sure about online banking in Thailand.  i have a relationship with my banks and card companies in the States for over 25 years.  no such track record here.  some bad experiences here in Thailand with various companies leaves me a little reticent to trust the Thai banking system.  

[Issanjohn]

26 minutes ago, cyberfarang said:

So what? You certainly get offended very easily.

 

Presently the going rate for a one year stay in Thailand on retirement is 800000 baht, which it has been for a number of years and as clearly stated by the British embassy. The 800000 baht in a Thai bank in Thai currency immigration policy is not something new that has come out of the blue yonder. So what`s the problem and why is that so difficult to understand? If don`t want or can`t do, can`t have and these are the hard facts.

 

As foreigners staying in Thailand for the long term, we are required to have the prescribed monies in a Thai bank account, nothing complicated about it. 800000 baht is approx 24.5 thousand US dollars or 18.5 thousand UK pounds, which is not a fortune today considering how cheaply we can live in Thailand compared to our home countries and in my opinion that`s still a great deal. Yet there are those here who seem to be struggling or even not willing to bring over those amounts, expecting everything laid on for virtually nothing. As I said previously, no one owes anyone else a living, it`s a 50/50 relationship, we put something into Thailand and Thailand lets us live here whereas the lifestyles for us are of much better quality than in our own countries. Those that disagree, then why are you here?

 

 

You don’t have to lock up 800,000 Baht here you could just go by the minimum monthly income requirement which is only 65,000 Baht for retirement visas and only 40,000 Baht a month for marriage visas I know I always use my monthly income verification.  

[cyberfarang]

5 minutes ago, cookieqw said:

and if a thai comes to the UK does he/she have to have the same amount in bank and are they eligible access to one of the best free healthcare facilities in the world. as you say its 50/50 do they put something in to the UK and then take something out ?????????

Fair comment and due to the UK`s policy of virtually open border immigration is one of the reasons I got out that country.

 

But this is not about making comparisons with Thailand immigration polices and those of other countries. For that you need to open another thread. As I said; the 800000 baht money in a Thai bank policy has been in operation for years and now that this is being strictly enforced, there are no reasons to complain.

[malibukid]

55 minutes ago, Jonathan Swift said:

What's the problem unless you've been lying? Ummmm, duh! You don't seem to have a grasp on the subject. A person applying for a visa is often prevented from getting a bank account in Thailand, banks usually require a work permit or other things that a person doesn't have, and you can't get one on a retirement visa, yet the pensioner  meets the income requirements. Pension payments will appear on the "pensioner"'s own bank statements, or he will have a check deposit record. When he spends money in Thailand he uses an ATM, or Western Union to transfer his money. I happen to use paypal to transfer US to Thailand. Last month I transferred $1000 to Bangkok Bank using paypal, the only bank which would give me an account. So, the applicant is not lying, is he? 

PayPal sucks

[Jingthing]

7 minutes ago, imaderbyfan said:

As foreigners staying in Thailand for the long term we are not required to have the prescribed monies in a Thai bank account.

Can you get your head around the option of a monthly income as opposed to the fixed sum?

If you read and understand the Immigration regs you would understand exactly why this problem has occurred......please try to understand..... 

Clearly these kinds of topics attract some nasty individuals that are not interested in understanding. Rather they're interested in bashing and insulting. Such posts are extremely unhelpful. 

[imaderbyfan]

6 minutes ago, cyberfarang said:

Fair comment and due to the UK`s policy of virtually open border immigration is one of the reasons I got out that country.

 

But this is not about making comparisons with Thailand immigration polices and those of other countries. For that you need to open another thread. As I said; the 800000 baht money in a Thai bank policy has been in operation for years and now that this is being strictly enforced, there are no reasons to complain.

No it is not being strictly enforced....

Immigration Regulations remain the same...For now.

I you are going to comment please make sure you know what you are talking about

Edited October 10, 2018 by imaderbyfan

[cyberfarang]

11 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

You don't understand. This is about income based extensions. The bank account method is one of multiple options..

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

You mean; was one of multiple options. Now you don`t have that option and surely as I assume you have been in Thailand for several years, you have always been prepared for when the authorities decide to move the goal posts?

[Jingthing]

Just now, cyberfarang said:

You mean; was one of multiple options. Now you don`t have that option and surely as I assume you have been in Thailand for several years, you have always been prepared for when the authorities decide to move the goal posts?

You're making stuff up now. That is VERY OBNOXIOUS. The options remain the same --

 

-- 800K baht in Thai bank, seasoned properly

-- Show income of 65K monthly via income letter from embassy

-- Combination of banked money plus embassy income letter totaling at least 800K (annualized)

 

There is an issue now with British embassy issuing income letters but they are still issuing them for now and any letter issued from them as long as they're issuing them will be good for six months.

 

The universal smashing of income options from Thai immigration has not happened. Again, why do you think it's OK to post blatant FALSEHOODS on this serious topic? I find that SICK. 

[cyberfarang]

4 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Clearly these kinds of topics attract some nasty individuals that are not interested in understanding. Rather they're interested in bashing and insulting. Such posts are extremely unhelpful. 

Sorry, but I am not being deliberately bashing and insulting. I am only stating the facts that the goal posts have been moved and somehow, you and others in the same situations are going to have to deal with this because it is unlikely there will be a reversal of this decision.

[Caine]

7 hours ago, Jingthing said:

You're making a lot of offensive insinuations. People often have large assets back home as well and have reasons for not wanting to lock up 800K here. 

Agreed but most don’t can’t see many of the, tattooed earringed ponytailed, beer bellied mob, laying their hand on the sort of money.

[cyberfarang]

7 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

You're making stuff up now. That is VERY OBNOXIOUS. The options remain the same --

 

-- 800K baht in Thai bank, seasoned properly

-- Show income of 65K monthly via income letter from embassy

-- Combination of banked money plus embassy income letter totaling at least 800K (annualized)

 

There is an issue now with British embassy issuing income letters but they are still issuing them for now and any letter issued from them as long as they're issuing them will be good for six months.

 

The universal smashing of income options from Thai immigration has not happened. Again, why do you think it's OK to post blatant FALSEHOODS on this serious topic? I find that SICK. 

What do you mean I`m making stuff up? I don`t make the immigration policies, either in Thailand or the UK.

 

Then that`s good news, it means you have plenty of time to sort out your finances before the income letter from embassy is terminated. 

Edited October 10, 2018 by cyberfarang

[Jingthing]

2 minutes ago, cyberfarang said:

Sorry, but I am not being deliberately bashing and insulting. I am only stating the facts that the goal posts have been moved and somehow, you and others in the same situations are going to have to deal with this because it is unlikely there will be a reversal of this decision.

You are posting FALSE INFORMATION. Thai immigration rules on retirement extensions REMAIN THE SAME. The options remain the same. 

Right now there is an issue with the British embassy and income letters.

That does not reflect any change in the basic options for retirement extensions.

If and when that happens, we will know it.

That is not now.

Please stop smelling up this thread with blatant LIES.

[PAWNEESE]

"I question the propriety of one embassy announcing something on behalf of another embassy. If nothing else it demonstrates that British diplomats (if that's not gilding the dandelion) lack diplomacy."

 

It was a Thai employee who "announced" what he thought the US embassy was going to do. Probably an indescretion because he was asked a question.  I suspect a rollicking will be given. But it was not a British Diplomat.  Ok a British employed person but a Thai. Pedantic I know but it was not a Brit.

 

They will issue the rollicking I hope to the employee .. but in between cocktail parties and filling in expenses.  

Edited October 10, 2018 by PAWNEESE

[cookieqw]

3 hours ago, Issanjohn said:

I fault anyone who spreads misinformation.  I can assure you I spoke with you know an actual State Department Official and I confirmed that this WILL NOT happen at least not in the foreseeable future anyway but years from now who knows what could happen.  

 

Even if they did do this later on down the road so what I just have to open a Thai Bank account and deposit a minimum of 40,000 Baht in it okay I can do that because I’m on a marriage visa and I really do receive a monthly pension payment of almost $4,000 US dollars a month but I currently only use my bank in the United States.  In the future if I have to deposit 40,000 Baht a month in a Thai bank it’ll be a bit of a hassle but no problem.  I would prefer not to put any money in a Thai bank and if I end up at some point having to I’ll just make my 40,000 Baht deposit which is the minimum monthly income requirement for those of us on marriage visas, then print out my bank statement at the bank within 3 months of applying for my next visa extension, and then just withdraw my money back out of the Thai bank and just do the same thing once a year big deal.  That would be an inconvenience but doable for me anyway.  I really don’t want to use a local bank is my only issue.  

 

The other thing that pissed me off about the misinformation is how people were saying that they were going to stop providing the Proof of Income Affidavit that’s not even true for the British Embassy.  They are merely saying that they are going to start making people prove that they actually have the money before issuing it.  And to be honest I’ve always wondered why they never did that before because anyone can just say they make the minimum income requirement.  Still regardless the British Embassy should darn well have given their citizens A LOT MORE advanced notice instead of putting out this information literally at the last minute that’s unacceptable and if I were a British Citizen I’d be absolutely livid with the British Embassy.  

do you not think a letter from the UK DWP stating pension is enough proof, for the Embassy

[cyberfarang]

6 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

You are posting FALSE INFORMATION. Thai immigration rules on retirement extensions REMAIN THE SAME. The options remain the same. 

Right now there is an issue with the British embassy and income letters.

That does not reflect any change in the basic options for retirement extensions.

If and when that happens, we will know it.

That is not now.

Please stop smelling up this thread with blatant LIES.

Correct, yes, for the time being. But as I said in several of my other posts, get prepared that I think is good advice.

[imaderbyfan]

19 minutes ago, Caine said:

Agreed but most don’t can’t see many of the, tattooed earringed ponytailed, beer bellied mob, laying their hand on the sort of money.

Are you referring to any particular nation with that diatribe?

Aussies, Brits, Yanks, French, Papua New Guinea?

I would suspect that many people who do not have access to sufficient funds use agents.

irrelevant if they look like a mob to you..... 

I suspect you are Brit bashing to keep up with others on here.

Or have you never seen anyone other than a Brit with any of the attributes that you allude to.

Heaven forbid ,a yank with a ponytail, tattoos, earings and a beer belly, whatever next?...………...

Edited October 10, 2018 by imaderbyfan

[Issanjohn]

Like I said earlier I called the United State Embassy today and it’s not an issue for United States Citizens.  The British Embassy clearly doesn’t know what they’re talking about or apparently doing either.  And additionally I just pulled this information off of the United State Embassy website just now which verifies that they are still offering this service and there are absolutely NO announcements on the United States Embassy’s website about discontinuing the service like it says on the British Embassy’s website.  And the United States Embassy is really good about posting announcements and messages.  See attached:  

[Suradit69]

10 minutes ago, cyberfarang said:

it is unlikely there will be a reversal of this decision.

Not sure what decision you think has been made by immigrations. The monthly income option for extensions hasn't been revoked and immigrations hasn't made any public declaration about it ... as far as I know.

How one goes about proving income may be about to change, although even that hasn't been established. I doubt immigrations personnel will want to wade through all the documents people will have to back up their income claims or even to deal with a year's worth of bank passbook pages trying to see how much someone has transferred into Thailand.

 

In the past when an impractical/unworkable change has been announced the US Embassy along with others have consulted immigrations, resulting in more realistic expectations.

 

While it's understandable that immigrations wants to weed out those who have made fraudulent claims about their financial resources, they will not want to cause a mass exodus of everyone who uses the monthly income or the combination method.  Despite what you may think the Thai government does not want to send off long-stay foreigners who do indeed have the income to support their stay. The impact on segments of the economy controlled by powerful people will influence policy.

 

[cyberfarang]

4 minutes ago, imaderbyfan said:

Are you referring to any particular nation with that diatribe?

Aussies, Brits, Yanks, French, Papua New Guinea?

I would suspect that many people who do not have access to sufficient funds use agents.

irrelevant if they look like a mob to you..... 

Big Joke will soon be throwing a spanner into the works of the corrupt agencies and those that use them. I know several expats that are working here illegally many on-line. These are really going to have a difficult time trying to explain to immigration how they obtain their incomes and why so many prefer the monthly income confirmation letters from their embassies method. Now it`s either going to be the full sum in a Thai bank account 3 months prior to application or having to show the sources of their incomes in real terms.

 

Going to be a big dilemma for many. But of course this will mean more hurdles to jump over to me and others like me that stay in Thailand by the rules.

[moe666]

8 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Yes, and that was in MAY.

Since then I have read a report saying the U.S. has changed the wording in their income letter document making it clear they claim no responsibility for the accuracy of the claims. But they are still issuing the REQUIRED letters. It seems to me there is a good chance that will be the final U.S. response instead of totally cutting off the REQUIRED letters as the British have. Or I could be wrong! 

I talked to a friend and my extension of stay agent last night, she says still need the letter from consulate in Chang Mai but also proof that amount is deposited intobank can be in the US or thailand

[Jingthing]

6 minutes ago, moe666 said:

I talked to a friend and my extension of stay agent last night, she says still need the letter from consulate in Chang Mai but also proof that amount is deposited intobank can be in the US or thailand

Sounds good to me (and would be to people making legitimate claims on their letters). My income will be just social security deposited in the U.S. No interest in doing monthly transfers into Thailand. It would no problem showing prints of statements and also a letter from social security. I realize many people's income streams are much more complex, and sometimes questionable.  There are rumors monthly imports will be required for income based applications and I don't see evidence that is the case. It makes more sense to me to import funds as needed and in larger chunks much less often than monthly so a monthly import requirement is not something I would ever do unless strictly required. 

Edited October 10, 2018 by Jingthing

[JerseytoBKK]

3 hours ago, dontoearth said:

The maximum monthly Social Security benefit payment for a person retiring in 2018 at full retirement age is $2,788. However, the maximum allowable benefit amount is only payable to those who had the maximum taxable earnings for at least 35 working years.  from the ss website

BTW, full retirement age is 70 and a half in the US.   I would assume you had to make 250K  a year or so to get that kind of money.  I did very well in life over 100 k in  earnings the last 17 years and took the 62 years buyout and ended up with 1100 a month.  I had done my own investing and didn't really need the SS income.  I would have waited until full retirement age but since I had left work I would not get any more money.

Total BS. There are so many inaccuracies in that statement. Your 250K assumption is beyond absurd. 
 

Full retirement for those that were born between 1943 and 1954 is 66. The age increases marginally who those younger. If you delay past full retirement then you'll get appr 8% more per year for each year you delay receiving benefits until 70.

 

If you opt for early social security, then you receive less. You can stop working at 62 but don't need to file for benefits. If you did that, your monthly benefits would have kept increasing until you actually started claiming/receiving benefits. There is a very good calculator here that lets you know what you can receive based on your past earnings, future earnings (if any) and whatever date you want to choose to retire: https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/estimator.html

  

Edited October 10, 2018 by JerseytoBKK

[Jingthing]

12 minutes ago, cyberfarang said:

Big Joke will soon be throwing a spanner into the works of the corrupt agencies and those that use them. I know several expats that are working here illegally many on-line. These are really going to have a difficult time trying to explain to immigration how they obtain their incomes and why so many prefer the monthly income confirmation letters from their embassies method. Now it`s either going to be the full sum in a Thai bank account 3 months prior to application or having to show the sources of their incomes in real terms.

 

Going to be a big dilemma for many. But of course this will mean more hurdles to jump over to me and others like me that stay in Thailand by the rules.

You're close to Big Joke, are you? I speak as someone that opposes corruption but it's not my country, so that's the Thai's business to clean it up or not. Usually or not, eh?

[Suradit69]

4 hours ago, Spidey said:

Visa agents have been doing that for years.

 

4 hours ago, Spidey said:

You borrow the 800K, keep it in the bank for 3 months and then give it back to whomever.

 

Some extension applicants were doing that  at the time for submitting an extension application, at least they were some years ago, which is the reason that immigrations instituted the seasoning requirement  to make it more difficult.

 

I doubt visa agents actually put Baht 800,000 in someone's account for three months to meet the requirement. They may do some creative documentation, but actually putting money in the bank for 3 months ... that seems unrealistic. To handle numerous "clients" that way would mean millions on loan at any time.