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

[dufusdonald]

1 minute ago, fforest1 said:

And dont forget the pissed-off mia noys..

hehe

[soalbundy]

2 minutes ago, smedly said:

you are not getting it are you, it is not what your Embassy is willing to do anymore - it is what Thai Immigration will accept as proof of your income regardless of any letters you get

I think it unlikely that the Germans would offer the service if the Thais wouldn't accept it, in my experience with them they are very citizen orientated and would have given out any negative news long ago, unlike the Brits. Apart from this my wife rang up immigration and asked if they would accept embassy letters, they said no problem. This is a British problem as they themselves say that they can't confirm income. The Germans are very exact, not only must I produce the original pension statement, I must also show them the online banking incoming money in my German account. 

[malibukid]

1 hour ago, thailand49 said:

I understand and support your feeling it seems the U.S. was heading the same direction until Trump got elected, I didn't vote for the guy my parents were immigrants but know there are got to be borders and you got to earn what you receive. American politician regardless of the party ever say in front of me or use the word entitlement I will go more than postal on the money f--ker! and that would include Trump!

It seems based on the history of Thai government they are more interest in ending the declaration since it doesn't bring them any money having to use the bank method letter or showing or forcing everyone to open Thai bank accounts and have their pension deposited into their banks is more of the goal or objective.

great for the banks

[simoh1490]

1 minute ago, dufusdonald said:

I already did. It goes back down to 1 million in 2020.  So why would anyone deposit 25 million now only to have to send it all back?  So, the bottom line is why would they change it and really you would rather keep your money in a Thai bank than a US bank?  I have to assume you are Thai then which is fine.  

 

I have an automatic monthly transfer set up with a Thai bank here for my rent. Just today the landlord sent me an sms where is last month's rent? I was traveling. I was not aware. What happened? Who knows. I had to redo it.  I have had many problems with airlines not accepting the Bangkok Bank Credit card as well. Just saying.

In 2015 the DPA said the total sum insured would reduce, it didn't, the previous levels were maintained, in 2013 they did the same thing, now they've done it again, as the web site confirms.

 

I am not Thai, not that my nationality is relevant to this topic. That said, I have never had any problems with my UOB Thai credit card being accepted and all my standing orders/direct debits ditto, perhaps you're just unlucky or accident prone.

 

 

[garyk]

2 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

I think it unlikely that the Germans would offer the service if the Thais wouldn't accept it, in my experience with them they are very citizen orientated and would have given out any negative news long ago, unlike the Brits. Apart from this my wife rang up immigration and asked if they would accept embassy letters, they said no problem. This is a British problem as they themselves say that they can't confirm income. The Germans are very exact, not only must I produce the original pension statement, I must also show them the online banking incoming money in my German account. 

I wish the American embassy would do that! It would solve a lot of problems.

[malibukid]

1 hour ago, Greenhill said:

But not everyone trusts Thai banks to keep their 800,000 safe.

checked today a whopping 1.3% interest at a Thai bank.

[NCC1701A]

15 minutes ago, sgoodes said:

I use Transferwise to transfer funds from my Aussie account to my Kasikorn account and it costs me $7.00 each time. They are really cheap and it's done in 24 hours.

it is odd... many people say Transfer wise is cheap.  But when I looked at their costs they wanted $98.00 USD to transfer $5000.00. $45 is what my US Bank charges. And even that is expensive.

[simoh1490]

15 minutes ago, dufusdonald said:

Right, so just my theory they want the money and contrary to what another poster said about the Thai economy not losing out I totally disagree. I have bought a car, two motor bikes and thousands of dollars in furniture as well as spent thousands fixing up the house I rent. They are gonna be impacted big time if all this continues plus all the massage parlors will go out of business as well which means the police will be pissed as well as the military which protects all that.

Get over yourself, the odd big spending yank is hardly typical of the expat community at risk in this matter....spending thousand of dollars fixing up a rented house, that's odd.

[garyk]

1 minute ago, malibukid said:

checked today a whopping 1.3% interest at a Thai bank.

It is a scam by the banks and government to bring in money IMO.

for 800K you can easily bring in over 100 US dollars a month in a secure money market account.

Easily done. I do it without any problems at all.

[VBF]

2 minutes ago, malibukid said:

checked today a whopping 1.3% interest at a Thai bank.

Slightly  but if you're from UK and saving in UKP, that's a good rate for an instant access account these days!

Term deposits or notice accounts can give more though - the new Goldman Sachs Marcus account which I've just opened gives 1.5%AER - must be good because 50,000 Brits applied to open one in a week!

[Benmart]

2 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. 

You are correct. I ignore people who dispense such comments as "you should", etc. Their pontificating is meaningless unless they are willing to pay my way in life. At such time, I will certaining follow their "you should(s)".

[dontoearth]

3 hours ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

You can barely open a bank account now without a work permit. 

 

Took my mate to the Bangkok Bank in the Emporium, explained that he needs a bank account for his retirement visa to pay the 800k into (he's minted so no issues) and was told no, need to have work permit. I argued that he was retired and is not working LOL. Was told cannot open bank account without work permit. 

 

He did it in Pattaya instead. 

    It is much more difficult today to open a bank account in Thailand if you are foreign.  It seems the thai govt. is rounding up business for them they don't want. 

[PFV]

25 minutes ago, smedly said:

I will repeat it again - TransferWise for a 10,000GBP transfer is almost 60GBP

 

No Thanks

But the exchange rate they use is way better than the TT buy rate. In the long run you end up with more baht.

[garyk]

5 minutes ago, VBF said:

Slightly  but if you're from UK and saving in UKP, that's a good rate for an instant access account these days!

Term deposits or notice accounts can give more though - the new Goldman Sachs Marcus account which I've just opened gives 1.5%AER - must be good because 50,000 Brits applied to open one in a week!

Those are rates given by allot banks now. Banks love you. The banks can turn around and invest in pretty secure markets for about 5-8% easily. They are laughing all the way to the bank.. haha

[Moonlover]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

British Nationals should show evidence of minimum funds for their visa type by showing a Thai bank statement and/or bank book. This is not a new requirement and has always been an option for foreigners renewing retirement and marriage visas in Thailand".

Did anyone notice the glaring anomaly here? 'This is not a new requirement and has always been an option for foreigners renewing retirement and marriage visas in Thailand".

 

So, why the hell have I been spending £50 of my hard won pension every year to buy a letter that I didn't actually need? Ah! I know why. Someone forgot to tell Thai immigration.

 

Well, I hope to hell they make damn sure that they ARE made aware by next August, when my next extension application is due

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

20 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

The fees for tranferwise are variable depending in the amount you send, the more you send the higher the fee

 

Their fees also may vary depending on the country you're sending the funds from.  The fees for outbound UK transfers are not the same as U.S. outbound transfers.

 

[malibukid]

54 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

Pft, peanuts, an insignificant amount in total, given the total picture.

 

FWIW there is some 3.5 mill. expats in Thailand, including all nationalities, the loss of a few impoverished westerners and the revenue they don't actually have and probably never did, wont hurt the Thai economy one iota.

plane loads of fat 50+ guys arrive everyday here, call em gringos for start, who are looking for bar girls and drink. and  right off the boat they are,  ez pickings and fat wallets

[GinBoy2]

7 minutes ago, NCC1701A said:

it is odd... many people say Transfer wise is cheap.  But when I looked at their costs they wanted $98.00 USD to transfer $5000.00. $45 is what my US Bank charges. And even that is expensive.

Yeah I never quite got the notion that many of these transfer companies were cheaper than my bank.

 

BoA charges $35 for the wire if you do it in foreign currency $45 if you do it in USD.

 

Now the reason that they charge more in USD is obviously because they are skimming on the exchange rate, but I’d put money on the fact that it’s marginal, and there is paying for convenience 

[garyk]

2 minutes ago, Moonlover said:

Did anyone notice the glaring anomaly here? 'This is not a new requirement and has always been an option for foreigners renewing retirement and marriage visas in Thailand".

 

So, why the hell have I been spending £50 of my hard won pension every year to buy a letter that I didn't actually need? Ah! I know why. Someone forgot to tell Thai immigration.

 

Well, I hope to hell they make damn sure that they ARE made aware by next August, when my next extension application is due

If you have 800K to invest you are actually making more money getting the letter than having to put it in the bank here.

[NightSky]

Raising the bar a little more again, its a win win for everyone expect the foreigner in Thailand as usual and the Thai family members he/she contributes to and supports.

 

The entire world seems to be 'anti foreigner' at the moment. For the past decade or two globalization has allowed freedom of travel and these few years recently are a step backwards. Expect more 'raising the bar' for foreigners everywhere for the next 4-5 (ish) years.

 

In this particular case the embassies have less work to do, the Thai banks generate more 'sitting' income and the Thai government expect to see foreigners with more money to stay in Thailand. Its also potentially an easily accessible 'health insurance' cover to pay for emergency treatment.

 

They win - you(we) lose...

 

Mai Pen Rai... YOU pay!

[jayboy]

27 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

And The British Embassy clearly has no interest in spending its time satisfying Thai bureaucracy. Why should they? If the Thais want the info let them find it.  As they say, Thai Immigration is able to verify the income in a Thai bank account. What the Thai government demands really has nothing to do with the British Embassy.

Why should they? Because a key responsibility is to provide support to British expatriates. As I understand it Thai Immigration is asking for letters of attestation from Embassies.Obviously, the Embassy cannot provide any kind of guarantee so this must be made clear in any letters issued. I gather Immigration is prepared to accept such qualified letters.

 

I can spot the British jobsworth mentality a mile off and sadsly there's evidence of it here. An enterprising and imaginative approach by the Embassy would be to hold - in concert with other Embassies - a meeting with senior Immigration officials to sort this rather simple matter out. In the meantime, they could continue to provide supporting letters on the lines mentioned above.

 

But it's just too much effort. Computer says no.

[Suradit69]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

"Yes we are aware that the US embassy will also be stopping their notarised income letter.  Please contact them directly for further information".

 

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.

[VBF]

9 minutes ago, garyk said:

Those are rates given by allot banks now. Banks love you that buy into that. They are laughing all the way to the bank.. haha

So if you're saying that one can do better than 1.5% instant access in any  secure UK banks, I'd like to know where, if you please. I have 6 different savings accounts and the best I can muster is the Marcus I mentioned at 1.5%! Do tell!!!  Even one of my 30 day accounts is worse than that.  PM me if you like @garyk to keep this thread on-topic.  Thanks..VBF

[Lampang2]

my lodgements are not monthly they are twice yearly, I assume that will count for the same thing over 12 monthsbe interesting to see how they work that out
 
Lets assume for a moment that 800k baht is 20k sterling and you pay in 10k sterling annually (income) and keep a balance of above 10k throughout the year, does that then equal 20k or 800k baht, like to see how they work that out lol

If had read the visa requirements for OA you would have known the answer.

Not rocket science.


Skickat från min SM-N950F via Tapatalk

[fullcave]

Your tax dollars at work. 

3 hours ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

was told no, need to have work permit. I argued that he was retired and is not working 

Do not question the experts with logic! Better to tell them to get the head office on the phone immediately. Problem solved.  

[Moonlover]

6 minutes ago, garyk said:

If you have 800K to invest you are actually making more money getting the letter than having to put it in the bank here.

800k to invest AND a Thai wife! Are you kidding!

[Pattaya46]

2 minutes ago, Lampang2 said:

If had read the visa requirements for OA you would have known the answer.
Not rocket science.

All this thread is about Authorisation of Stay Extension, not about visa ! 

[Bundooman]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

1. 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.

This is the bit I don't really understand. The British Consulate/Embassy is not being asked to verify income from every source in every Country. It is being asked to verify the income declared by British citizens.

So what are we talking about here?

1.   British State pensions.

2.   British Armed forces Pensions.

3.   Other British government pensions.

4.   Private British pensions.

5.   Other British government incomes.

6.   Other non British pension schemes

Why can't they compile a list of who pays these pensions. It's not rocket Science. for example, I have a State, Armed forces and NHS pension. Annually, I quote the Paymaster details on my request for an Embassy letter.

Why isn't it possible to ascertain how many Brits live in Thailand and who is entitled to government pensions - ( Surely it is not difficult to link up with the relevant departments in the UK and confirm these details within a 24/48 hour frame?

If the pension is a private pension, then I can see that the onus should be upon the individual to establish validity, but surely there is an easy method of doing so and making it the individuals responsibility to prove it's legality? 

How many of us Brits here in Thailand are recipients of government pensions? Is it that difficult?

How about making a stand for us Brits who, for most of us, have served our country well over the last 50/60 years and wish to live in a foreign country. How many Embassy staff have actually served their country, the UK, in such a manner?

Why is everything being made so difficult for us?

The British Government should be ashamed of itself!

[zydeco]

3 hours ago, Jingthing said:

We're all guessing here but I do not assume the U.S. and other major embassies will stop issuing the REQUIRED letters. 

I doubt that the British embassy speaks for the US government or State Department.  Frankly, they're being presumptuous. 

[malibukid]

9 minutes ago, NightSky said:

Raising the bar a little more again, its a win win for everyone expect the foreigner in Thailand as usual and the Thai family members he/she contributes to and supports.

 

The entire world seems to be 'anti foreigner' at the moment. For the past decade or two globalization has allowed freedom of travel and these few years recently are a step backwards. Expect more 'raising the bar' for foreigners everywhere for the next 4-5 (ish) years.

 

In this particular case the embassies have less work to do, the Thai banks generate more 'sitting' income and the Thai government expect to see foreigners with more money to stay in Thailand. Its also potentially an easily accessible 'health insurance' cover to pay for emergency treatment.

 

They win - you(we) lose...

 

Mai Pen Rai... YOU pay!

why does the U.S. health insurance not extend to expats?  they could save millions and Thailand would benefit.