USA income affidavit

[onera1961]

14 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

Yessssss. Just to stick it to police state's demand. If they had a smooth 90-day reporting across all immigration offices, I would have complied. Hey I am not responsible for TM30 but I will be fined in some offices when I go for 90-day reporting. 

May be I got carried away. Reporting address in an arrival form is hassle free and no TM 30 is required. And it will give me opportunity to visit other countries also. I am not sure how long I can continue it though. It may be too much taxing on my health. 

[sambum]

3 hours ago, Kadilo said:

65K a month left in your account untouched for 12 months that shows 800,000 at end of the year, 65K a month that you can use them top up with 3 months to go before renewal, or 65K a month you can use to live on?

Good questions!

[blackhorse]

Was not a waste of time for me and that is why I posted my experience today. All I know is what I heard and was told.  

Not blaming you. That's why I said hear say. It's still a waste of time especially considering the dead line is just a few months away and no other embassy said anything
In fact the oz embassy announced that they are unaffected and will continue with stat dec
The IO You spoke to was talking from her back side... Unless there is a link to the statement officially its a waste of time

[HappyAndRich]

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

Also- did she indicate whether the 65 a month would have to be coming in from abroad?

Why would she need to indicate that? 65K per month is for a VISA extension regarding retirement. With that VISA you are not allowed to work.*
if you then show an income in Thailand, by transfers from a Thai source, that will be very hard to explain. That would mean you are an expat with a Thai pension.

[Thaidream]

1 minute ago, sambum said:

Good questions!

And many more to come.  If what the poster states is the new system- apparently Thai Imm will accept the Embassy Letter until end of June 2019.  This means that applicants through approx mid August 2019 can do their extensions using the letter as normally one can file for an extension 45 days prior to the due date at least in CM, CW, and Jomtien.  Other sites may use the 30 day  mark but that will still allow through July 2019.  Correct me if I am wrong.

[Sheryl]

13 minutes ago, HappyAndRich said:

Why would she need to indicate that? 65K per month is for a VISA extension regarding retirement. With that VISA you are not allowed to work.*
if you then show an income in Thailand, by transfers from a Thai source, that will be very hard to explain. That would mean you are an expat with a Thai pension.

Not necessarily. Some people invest money in Thailand and live off the interest/dividends. More commonly, some people buy property here (condos) and rent it out and live off the rental income. So income coming in from Thai sources but nto owrking in Thailand nor on a Thai pension. The question has been raised elsewhere as to whether that is allowable. I don't know the answer.

[Snow Leopard]

16 minutes ago, wgdanson said:

They will NOT accept you bank book as evidence. That's what all these threads are about. How can you say that 'they will have to', you are in their country and THEY make the rules with which we have to comply. Most of us can and do.

Well what will they do when there is no embassy letter being issued? Or more to the point how will they verify the income? They don't like anything in or from a foreign account. The only answer is a Thai bank account. They accept this for having seasoned funds on deposit now. 

[Thaidream]

I will stick with the Embassy Letter since I am due June 2019- reason being I do not want to bring a large amount of money into Thailand and by June 2019 we will have reports from all over what exactly Thai Imm is accepting in a variety of Thai Imm offices and each of us can then make a decision based upon some verifiable i info. 

[Sheryl]

15 minutes ago, blackhorse said:

Not blaming you. That's why I said hear say. It's still a waste of time especially considering the dead line is just a few months away and no other embassy said anything
In fact the oz embassy announced that they are unaffected and will continue with stat dec
The IO You spoke to was talking from her back side... Unless there is a link to the statement officially its a waste of time

I would disagree. One of the main reasons that this forum to come into being is that different Imm Offices interpret and apply the rules differently and it is only by knowing what these individual offices are saying and doing that one can successfully navigate the system. Official publications are not as helpful as one might think. They are also in Thai and the English translations often lack precision (as, I suspect, does the original Thai).

 

Reports like this are invaluable.

[onera1961]

18 minutes ago, sambum said:

65K a month left in your account untouched for 12 months that shows 800,000 at end of the year, 65K a month that you can use them top up with 3 months to go before renewal, or 65K a month you can use to live on?

Another strategy may be to keep depositing 65K every month and live of off other income as you need only 30-40K to live in Thailand. And at the end of the year, you will have 800K and that you can show in subsequent years. 

[Thaidream]

2 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

Not necessarily. Some people invest money in Thailand and live off the interest/dividends. More commonly, some people buy property here (condos) and rent it out and live off the rental income. So income coming in from Thai sources but nto owrking in Thailand nor on a Thai pension. The question has been raised elsewhere as to whether that is allowable. I don't know the answer

I don't either but I would hope that Thai Imm would accept this type of income- one is investing in the future of the country. Not only that, but they are spending money in Thailand for their own living expenses. Other people could be investing in the Thai stock market or Thai securities and generating income. Other people could have bought a 7-11 franchise and making a profit on it but not working the business.

[onera1961]

1 minute ago, Sheryl said:

In fact the oz embassy announced that they are unaffected and will continue with stat dec
The IO You spoke to was talking from her back side... Unless there is a link to the statement officially its a waste of time

If Thai immigration stops taking those embassy letters, it is a mute whether some embassies issue them or not. I think this is not a waste of time but a warning to prepare for eventuality. And I guess retirees have enough time to waste ????

[marcusarelus]

1 minute ago, onera1961 said:

Another strategy may be to keep depositing 65K every month and live of off other income as you need only 30-40K to live in Thailand. And at the end of the year, you will have 800K and that you can show in subsequent years. 

How do you know you need only 30 - 40 K to live in Thailand?  I couldn't.  Moderate expenses in my opinion are 100,000 per month and I rarely drink. 

[onera1961]

2 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

I couldn't.  Moderate expenses in my opinion are 100,000 per month and I rarely drink. 

Because I lived in Zurich for 100,000 baht per month and I don't eat steak everyday. 

Edited October 24, 2018 by onera1961

[marcusarelus]

Just now, onera1961 said:

Because I lived in Zurich for that kind of money and I don't eat steak everyday. 

Sorry.  I didn't know.  Everyone here knows Zurich and and Bangkok are like twin cities.  My apologies. 

[blackhorse]

I would disagree. One of the main reasons that this forum to come into being is that different Imm Offices interpret and apply the rules differently and it is only by knowing what these individual offices are saying and doing that one can successfully navigate the system. Official publications are not as helpful as one might think. They are also in Thai and the English translations often lack precision (as, I suspect, does the original Thai).
 
Reports like this are invaluable.

Applying logic. If the brits and the USA are being denied then so is every other country as all use their embassy income statements either by the brit method or the USA method.

Let's forget immigration. How about every other embassy? Is it not strange they are all keeping quite with the deadline fast approaching

I don't buy into you theory on this one. It's just another rogue IO IMO

[Jingthing]

They should have a program for people with government issued pensions to get a certificate good for life to be used for the income or combo methods.

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

[wgdanson]

20 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Moderate expenses in my opinion are 100,000 per month and I rarely drink. 

Let's not get into how much you do or do not need to live on in Thailand. Depends on so many things, own or rent, car or bike, mia noi or just the wife, kids at school or college, living at home or not, and finally whether you drink French Merlot or make your own.

Edited October 24, 2018 by wgdanson

[Jeffrey346]

2 hours ago, Snow Leopard said:

Just recycle the 65K every month then. Send back out what you don't use.

If you can't afford the 800K in the bank, then how can you afford recycling fees that may cost B1500 or more.

[Thaidream]

It really  does seem odd that no other Embassy has announced that Thai Imm will not accept Income letters- but let's be honest- Thailand does not necessarily operate the way we are used to in our home countries nor the way we want them to.

 

It should also be noted that many Embassies use the Affidavit system for other than what we are speaking of and I would imagine they will continue that as not every person who gets an Affidavit uses it for Thai Imm.

 

If all this is true - I would hope the Embassy would attempt to negotiate with Thai Imm to accept the Embassy Letter for all of 2019 to give people a full year to plan and also read reports of what happens in all the Thai Imm offices everywhere in Thailand.

[totally thaied up]

22 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

They should have a program for people with government issued pensions to get a certificate good for life to be used for the income or combo methods.

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

Then you have FX rates change. I was getting over 40K a month for my marriage extension. AUD drops like it has, I am know getting 38K a month and no way to do a combo method. My pensions is for life, it will not change until I die but in the grand scheme of it all, the currency exchange rate can kill you. I have to use the 400K method now. I really do not care as it means I am safe at this current time but who knows.

 

So yes, they can have a program but NOTHING is set in stone and I think coming in the future, is the Thai Immigration now wants some more certainty. The old days are going and I feel in the future, Thailand will not be as easy to access as it once was. They want only the short term tourist; even us that are married ain't got no certainty and could be kicked out on the sidewalk to head back home without our spouse because, in all honesty, we and the Thai wife don't mean money to them like they see the Chinese or one week millionaire. 

Edited October 24, 2018 by totally thaied up

[Thaidream]

7 minutes ago, Jeffrey346 said:

f you can't afford the 800K in the bank, then how can you afford recycling fees that may cost B1500 or more.

I know many people who have monthly incomes of 15oK to 3ooK per month but just don't happen to have 800K they can put in a Thai bank. Some have spent millions of Baht in a year purchasing homes; condos; cars; university expenses and other.

 

The issue isn't what the circumstances are of every person- everyone is different has different  expense; different streams of income etc.  I also know a few  dollar and pound millionaires who live very frugally because that is their desire.

[Jingthing]

Then you have FX rates change. I was getting over 40K a month for my marriage extension. AUD drops like it has, I am know getting 38K a month and no way to do a combo method. My pensions is for life, it will not change until I die but in the grand scheme of it all, the currency exchange rate can kill you. I have to use the 400K method now. I really do not care as it means I am safe at this current time but who knows.
 
So yes, they can have a program but NOTHING is set in stone and I think coming in the future, is the Thai Immigration now wants some more certainty. The old days are going and I feel in the future, Thailand will not be as easy to access as it once was. They want only the short term tourist; even us that are married ain't got no certainty and could be kicked out on the sidewalk to head back home without our spouse because, in all honesty, we and the Thai wife don't mean money to them like they see the Chinese or one week millionaire. 

The certificate would be based on your pension paying currency. Obviously!!!!

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

[onera1961]

26 minutes ago, wgdanson said:

Let's not get into how much you do or do not need to live on in Thailand. Depends on so many things, own or rent, car or bike, mia noi or just the wife, kids at school or college, living at home or not, and finally whether you drink French Merlot or make your own.

I said 30/40K baht. My assumption is based on average expense of a retired single person or a couple living modestly. Not smoking, excessive drinking, rented girl friends or sending kids to school/college. Average expense in the USA for this scenario is 1000-1200 USD (excluding housing and medical expenses). A 65% (published rate mentioned in many articles) of that expense will be in Thailand (major cities) + housing. The question arises becuase do you really need 65K to live in Thailand? I said no!

[wgdanson]

18 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

The certificate would be based on your pension paying currency. Obviously!!!!

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

But then it is converted, by the IO with his calculator after he has looked up the day's exchange rate on the Bkk Bank website.

[totally thaied up]

1 minute ago, Jingthing said:

he certificate would be based on your pension paying currency. Obviously!!!!

I understand that but they will convert to baht on the day of your extension and just about everyone I know in my Australian circle of friends, do not make 40K. 38K from Centrelink is about it. Very few of my friends have a second pension income (the coming generations most likely will but my generation, very few will have until 65) but are cash rich like myself and make up the 65/40K in dividends and shares. They will most likely cry foul if they had to put 800K in a Thai bank but I can tell you, they can more then afford to do so. 

 

If you're earning well more then the 65/40 and the certificate shows this, well good on you but just about all my friends do not make the excess or majority of money in a pension. Mostly it comes for bonds, shares, dividends, rent, and interest and to date, that is how they claim they earn their money on the Income Affidavit or Stat Declaration.  I could show I earn 32K in a pension and 10,000 in interest a month on my Stat Dec but if they for the future want 40K coming in a month in cash, they can forget about it as I only spend 20-30K. It's just crazy if this is going to happen, so I just bought in 400K now and just forget about it now as it is just becoming a pain in the arse dealing with cash all the time and if that 400K figure changes, I just hope to Christ that I have been here long enough to be Grandfathered in such a scheme. Till I see other offices saying the same as what has happened today or we see news on the Amerian Embassy Webpage, not much else can be said but pure speculation. 

[wgdanson]

5 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

I said 30/40K baht

Not if you have any decent health insurance which can cost at least Bht 5000 a month.

[HappyAndRich]

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

Not necessarily. Some people invest money in Thailand and live off the interest/dividends. More commonly, some people buy property here (condos) and rent it out and live off the rental income. So income coming in from Thai sources but nto owrking in Thailand nor on a Thai pension. The question has been raised elsewhere as to whether that is allowable. I don't know the answer.

If the kind of income you are referring to is a legal income that you will not need WP for, and also pay any tax combined with the income. Then that kind of income should be allowed to use as part or full economy needed to be eligible for a Non-O Visa based on retirement according to Immigration law and Thai tax law. How they will look at it individually due to that every officer is given to much individual power. Hell yeah, that is something that nobody can answer. ????

Edited October 24, 2018 by HappyAndRich

[HappyAndRich]

32 minutes ago, totally thaied up said:

I was getting over 40K a month for my marriage extension. AUD drops like it has, I am know getting 38K a month and no way to do a combo method. My pensions is for life, it will not change until I die but in the grand scheme of it all, the currency exchange rate can kill you. I have to use the 400K method now.

Why is there no chance for a combo method? That rule has not changed. Nothing more than that Immigration do not accept worthless income letters that prove nothing at all have happened. If you can do the 400K method and are safe, at the same time as you have 38K a month. Yeah, then you must be able to do the combo too, right?

[LomSak27]

1 hour ago, Wake Up said:

1 hour ago, blackhorse said:

Immigration would never put themselves in the position of having to face thousands hostile and confused expats demanding the simple question WHY were we not told WHY is there no announcement!!!

And then the same people would attack their ambassador with the same questions and not just the USA but oz and others.

This thread is a waste of time, just hear say But I bet it gets to a thousand posts
 

Was not a waste of time for me and that is why I posted my experience today. All I know is what I heard and was told.  

 

You can debate it all you want. If they' re going to do it, they will make a public announcement. Tell then this is just blather. You might get the information you need, about how to put 800K in an account, document it, so if the time comes you are ready.  Beyond that, I have WS game 1 tee'd up and ready. Goodnight