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

[Cricky]

17 hours ago, SkyNets said:

Aww that sucked, I’m a ways off from retiring but understand the panic, wait until they also require you guys to have proof of a 40,000baht plus health care plan every year.

 

I'm not retiring, I work offshore and over the years I came back every 28days. I recently turned 50 and chose not to abuse the loophole and went down the 800k baht retirement visa option. 

 

[smedly]

5 minutes ago, mrmazinkle said:

is this true Thought it MUST be in Thai baht...in a Thai bank for extension?????

nope it is fine, my bank confirms in letter with current exchange rate- done it many times, might be different for other offices 

[EricTh]

15 minutes ago, pagallim said:

There's the statement from the BE in thier email to TV:

 

 or a monthly income of at least 65,000 THB transferred into an account in Thailand for a retirement visa.

 

 

 

Forgive my ignorance but how many months do they need to do a transfer before qualifying?

 

Must it be only 3 months before extension or each of the 12 months in a year?

[Chopperboy]

Think of an Embassy as a Deep State Beachhead and you won't go far wrong.

Its there to protect the financial/ businesses interests & political agenda of the Elite - its not there for you.

 

[mercman24]

in all honesty i think the 800,000 is a joke as ex pats, do not get any benefits at all from the Thai system, they have to take care of themselves, so an ex pats say on 30,000 income still takes care of himself with out any help from the Thai source, not like the UK when they come here with jack shit and get money thrown at them in benefits and housing.i bet us ex pats spend more in one week then most thais spend in a couple of months.

[simoh1490]

4 minutes ago, mercman24 said:

in all honesty i think the 800,000 is a joke as ex pats, do not get any benefits at all from the Thai system, they have to take care of themselves, so an ex pats say on 30,000 income still takes care of himself with out any help from and Thai source, not like the UK when they come here with jack shit and get money thrown at them in benefits and housing.i bet us ex pats spend more in one week then most thais spend in a couple of months.

Why should the Thai government take care of foreign expats who came here to live of their own free will?

[mercman24]

yes the good old rip off Brit Embassy, i sent a letter yesterday by EMS 31 baht, to them, how come the letter returned is going to cost me 100 baht, a small thing i know but its the principle

[DPKANKAN]

16 hours ago, amse said:

Nothing like working hard all your life to have a nice retirement income which would satisfy Thai immigration for a retirement visa, then your home country stabs you in the back and refuses to verify what is rightfully yours. Just another way to try to keep you in your home country and destroy your dream of Paradise.

And the fact they are still taking income tax of us and we get absolutely nothing for it!! I have just gone through the process of claiming my UK old age pension. It took over 3 months with pages of forms putting information that they have already on record!! They then send a condescending letter saying it has been approved in a way that it sounds like a benefit and not an entitlement paid into for 40+ years!!!

[mercman24]

post 549, why do you say quote *abuse the loophole* i have money, a lot,  but it is in the UK and that is where it is going to stay thankyou very much, we read here many times of gangs skimming/cloning cards, and the banks dont want to know when you have lost your money, think of all those accounts with 800,00 in them, skimmers will think it is christmas , i just have a small amount in a thai bank i can get money from the UK in 2 days, been doing it for years, when i pop off, my daughter in the UK can go to my UK bank and get the dosh straight away, that wont happen here, she be lucky to see any of it

[billmichael]

So what about this?  What if I transfer enough money to meet the requirements for a retirement visa into a Thai bank?  What bank(s) are safest and how about tips on opening an account in a Thai bank while still physically in the US?  Any thoughts?  Bad idea?

[smedly]

1 hour ago, Spidey said:

Thai IO will not under any circumstances make "special arrangements" for one nationality. Particularly as the "circumstances" are entirely due to the underhand tactics of one embassy who are also covering their backsides by trying to shift the blame onto Thai IO by blatantly lying about Thai IO. 

 

Thai IO will be bloody minded about this and agree to wave goodbye to several thousand Brit expats rather than falsely admit to being in any way to blame for the situation.

 

Thai "face", never admit that they are wrong. Admit to something when they are not in the wrong? No chance.

In a bygone age these letters might have been simple enough when most people here were drawing on a state pension, things have changed since then, people have a wide variety of income sources they are claiming and quite frankly impossible for any authority the prove/investigate the authenticity without a very extensive investigation, also documents can be forged (ask the Thais about that one).

 

It seems to me that all these Embassies are saying much the same thing - we cannot prove - investigate - validate the claimed incomes, easy for US AUS CAN because they never did that in the first place and they have recently added words to their letter making it clear that the claims are unverified.

 

Now the British Embassy could possibly have altered their procedure to be in line with the US etc i.e. an affidavit style process rather than a verify type letter (which they say they can no longer do- understandably), perhaps they didn't see the point because they are aware that Thai Immigration on face value are not going to accept those either, already we hear of people having to submit further evidence to support their claims making any such Embassy letter/affidavit quite pointless.

 

We have already heard that income will have to be based around a Thai bank - this has yet to be verified by Thai Immigration - and there is the problem, so until we hear an official announcement of a "new" income verification process for all foreigners then this discussion is mute

[Spidey]

Just now, smedly said:

We have already heard that income will have to be based around a Thai bank - this has yet to be verified by Thai Immigration - and there is the problem, so until we hear an official announcement of a "new" income verification process for all foreigners then this discussion is mute

You've only heard this from the British Embassy not Thai Immigration. The British Embassy have lied through their teeth about all this, no reason to suppose that this isn't a lie too.

[smedly]

26 minutes ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

I actually think the 20 year visa represents good value for THB1m given the current climate and depending on your circumstances. 

 

The only misgivings I have are they might pull the rug from under you after you have forked out for it and 20 years is a long time, you might not live long enough to get value out of it. They could scrap it at any time too, and fob you off on another lesser visa. 

 

Works out at 50k THB per year I think it is worth it if you are not doing the working/retirement/marriage route already.

so what is wrong with 2000baht a year for an extension - seriously ?

[smedly]

21 minutes ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

You might not get a letter from immigration (depending where you are in the country) as you are not doing 90 day reporting yet and the British Embassy has a 6 week wait time for an appointment to get a letter!

 

Always a catch 22.

 

 

it was done online via email, no need to go there - you are confused

[The manic]

18 hours ago, smedly said:

too expensive on transfer fees

240 pounds max

[kannot]

20 minutes ago, DPKANKAN said:

And the fact they are still taking income tax of us and we get absolutely nothing for it!! I have just gone through the process of claiming my UK old age pension. It took over 3 months with pages of forms putting information that they have already on record!! They then send a condescending letter saying it has been approved in a way that it sounds like a benefit and not an entitlement paid into for 40+ years!!!

Just like their rule  changing then, paid  in 33  years they told me needed 30 years for pension then they changed the rules to 35 and increased the age form 65 to 67............ who know what next??

[Issanjohn]

3 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

Exactly how many months worth of monthly Thai bank deposits of 65, 000 are needed?

For a marriage visa the minimum monthly income requirement is only 40,000.  That’s less than half of what I make in a month but if I have to use a local bank I’m only depositing the minimum amount because I’m not using a local bank I WILL continue to use my bank in the states.  I’m actually about to post some REALLY GOOD NEWS I just received in writing from the United States Embassy.  So honestly this shouldn’t ever be an issue at least not anytime soon anyway.  There maybe changes way off in the distant future according to them but they are NOT going to stop providing the document I have now confirmed that with the United States Embassy via phone yesterday and email a few hours ago which I’m about to post for everyone to see.  In fact here it is now attached now someone please tell the damn British Embassy to please speak for themselves only and not us!!!!  

 

Additionally I also went and spoke to immigration in person and this policy of the British government has absolutely nothing to do with Thai immigration.  Thai Immigration has NOT changed their policy regarding acception of the proof of income affidavit and that information came directly from an immigration supervisor I spoke to in person this morning!!!  So please everyone stop the rumor mill and focus on these actual facts.  

[GarryP]

9 minutes ago, mercman24 said:

post 549, why do you say quote *abuse the loophole* i have money, a lot,  but it is in the UK and that is where it is going to stay thankyou very much, we read here many times of gangs skimming/cloning cards, and the banks dont want to know when you have lost your money, think of all those accounts with 800,00 in them, skimmers will think it is christmas , i just have a small amount in a thai bank i can get money from the UK in 2 days, been doing it for years, when i pop off, my daughter in the UK can go to my UK bank and get the dosh straight away, that wont happen here, she be lucky to see any of it

Having banked here for 36 years and never losing a Baht to skimmers, thieving bank employees, etc, and not knowing anyone else who has fallen victim, I believe you are talking rubbish.  If you use common sense in all transactions, you have nothing to worry about. 

 

Nowadays, you have the added advantage of mobile applications that inform you when your account is accessed and funds withdrawn or transferred. Added safety measures that make your claims greatly misleading.    

[smedly]

7 minutes ago, Spidey said:

You've only heard this from the British Embassy not Thai Immigration. The British Embassy have lied through their teeth about all this, no reason to suppose that this isn't a lie too.

I thought I clearly stated that in my post - did you read it.

[Spidey]

Just now, smedly said:

it was done online via email, no need to go there - you are confused

I applied for mine by post, yesterday. Embassy promised to send the letter within 10 days.

 

I suggest that any Brit who's extension is due within the next 6 months do the same asap as I can see this creating a huge backlog in the Embassy. Given the British Embassy's sharp practices, even if your application is in before December 12th, I can see it being rejected if it isn't processed by the end of December.

[smedly]

5 minutes ago, kannot said:

Just like their rule  changing then, paid  in 33  years they told me needed 30 years for pension then they changed the rules to 35 and increased the age form 65 to 67............ who know what next??

I have a serious beef with that one too, almost 2 years of my state pension gone - that equals almost 20kGBP at todays rate they have taken off me, I too have 30 years of NI that was good to go for full state pension then they changed that too - that does make me very angry

[Spidey]

1 minute ago, smedly said:

I thought I clearly stated that in my post - did you read it.

Yep read it (a bit long winded 555). I'm agreeing with you and adding why I don't think it will happen.

 

Didn't you read it? 555

[Issanjohn]

See the attached email from the United States Embassy I also spoke to them on the phone yesterday and I was told that there are absolutely NO PLANS for the United States Embassy to stop providing this service, now someone please tell the British Embassy to please speak for themselves only and not us!!!!  They say there maybe changes way off in the distant future but they are not going to totally stop providing the proof of income affidavit service at all the British Embassy is wrong and they obviously don’t know what they are talking about and clearly don’t know what they are doing based on the position they are putting their own citizens in.  British Embassy speak for yourself and you ought to be ashamed of yourselves for putting your citizens in the position you’re putting them in it’s absolutely unacceptable.  If I were a British citizen I’d be extremely angry.  

 

Additionally I also went and spoke to immigration in person this morning and this policy of the British government has absolutely nothing to do with Thai immigration.  Thai Immigration has NOT changed their policy regarding acception of the proof of income affidavit and that information came directly from an immigration supervisor I spoke to in person this morning!!!  So please everyone stop the rumor mill and focus on these actual facts.  United States citizens we have nothing to worry about it is confirmed by the United States Embassy and I’ve even attached their email I received from them this morning!!!  I can only tell you about my phone call with them yesterday.  I hope this helps squash all of the misinformation going around online....

[soalbundy]

1 minute ago, smedly said:

I have a serious beef with that one too, almost 2 years of my state pension gone - that equals almost 20kGBP at todays rate they have taken off me, I too have 30 years of NI that was good to go for full state pension then they changed that too - that does make me very angry

Wait until you 'get your country back', there will be no stopping the abuse, the British embassy has just shown us what they think of their citizens, hardly anything at all.

[Wake Up]

Brexit was about controlling immigration and your border. Thousands of Brits on TV shouting anti immigration slogans about immigrants ruining your country and culture.  Don’t get pissed off at the Thais for doing the same. You are an immigrant here aka expat and treated much better than most immigrants in the world. You may have a little money but you are not more important than other immigrants and a lot less important than the Thai people to Thailand. If you think your pension checks gone will bankrupt this country you are 100 percent wrong.  This country is changing and also now in a position to demand a more financially secure immigration policy. Thailand’s Brexit for the British. British Put up your money in thai bank or get out. I call that karma. ✌️

[Spidey]

1 hour ago, Issanjohn said:

See the attached email from the United States Embassy I also spoke to them on the phone yesterday and I was told that there are absolutely NO PLANS for the United States Embassy to stop providing this service, now someone please tell the British Embassy to please speak for themselves only and not us!!!!  They say there maybe changes way off in the distant future but they are not going to totally stop providing the proof of income affidavit service at all the British Embassy is wrong and they obviously don’t know what they are talking about and clearly don’t know what they are doing based on the position they are putting their own citizens in.  British Embassy speak for yourself and you ought to be ashamed of yourselves for putting your citizens in the position you’re putting them in it’s absolutely unacceptable.  If I were a British citizen I’d be extremely angry.  

 

Additionally I also went and spoke to immigration in person this morning and this policy of the British government has absolutely nothing to do with Thai immigration.  Thai Immigration has NOT changed their policy regarding acception of the proof of income affidavit and that information came directly from an immigration supervisor I spoke to in person this morning!!!  So please everyone stop the rumor mill and focus on these actual facts.  United States citizens we have nothing to worry about it is confirmed by the United States Embassy and I’ve even attached their email I received from them this morning!!!  I can only tell you about my phone call with them yesterday.  I hope this helps squash all of the misinformation going around online....

Whilst I agree with everything that you have posted, the email does say "We are currently evaluating options regarding the future provision of this document". Ominous.

 

<removed>

[poohy]

11 hours ago, Caine said:

You don’t want to live in Britain, explain to me why the embassy should but themselves out to help you and many more like you. Live with it.

Frankly it is of little concern to you where i live and what i do. i trust we have that completely clear...............

 

i have paid my taxes whilst working overseas for 25 odd years therefore i am entitled to British representation wherever i am overseas, something that is lacking with the embassy here.

 

 

[Issanjohn]

See the attached email from the United States Embassy I also spoke to them on the phone yesterday and I was told that there are absolutely NO PLANS for the United States Embassy to stop providing this service, now someone please tell the British Embassy to please speak for themselves only and not us!!!!  They say there maybe changes way off in the distant future but they are not EVER going to totally stop providing the proof of income affidavit service at all so the British Embassy is wrong.

 

Additionally I also went and spoke to immigration in person this morning and this policy of the British government has absolutely nothing to do with Thai immigration.  Thai Immigration has NOT changed their policy regarding acception of the proof of income affidavit and that information came directly from an immigration supervisor I spoke to in person this morning!!!  So please everyone stop the rumor mill and focus on these actual real facts.  United States citizens we have nothing to worry about it is confirmed by the United States Embassy and I’ve even attached their email I received from them this morning!!!  I can only tell you about my phone call with them yesterday.  I hope this helps squash all of the misinformation going around online....  

 

So it’s official I have an official email from the United States Embassy and you can disregard what the British Embassy supposedly said in the email posted in the article.  I just posted an official email from the actual United States Embassy which totally contradicts what the British Embassy stated yesterday.  

[Spidey]

Just now, poohy said:

i have paid my taxes whilst working overseas for 25 odd years therefore i am entitled to British representation wherever i am overseas, something that is lacking with the embassy here.

I have paid my taxes in the UK for 48 years and am still paying them. I also still have a wife, children and an apartment in the UK. And British citizenship/ passport. Absolutely sickened by the way I'm being treated by the British Embassy in Thailand.

[NanLaew]

19 hours ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

He did it in Pattaya instead. 

Just another solid reason that Pattaya rocks!!!