Just Received Some Bad News For US Citizens. No More Income Affidavits.

[wpcoe]

6 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Get a income affidavit now and apply in December. The affidavit is good for 6 months. 

 

2 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

You can still get a letter up until the 31st dec this year, and the letter is valid for 6 months. Its not immigration not accepting letters after jan, its US consulate not doing them.

I'm out of the country until the night of 12/27, so I hope the US Embassy will offer appointments for 12/28 and/or 12/31 .  The Embassy web site hasn't opened up appointments for December yet, so I'll just have to wait & see.

 

Appropriately, I'm in Mexico house-hunting.  If I'm able to unload my Jomtien condo during the upcoming High Season, I think it's finally "curtains" on Thailand for me.  I don't really want to tie up B800,000 in a Thai bank each year for three months, so I guess it's time to get out.

[Jingthing]

Oh balls!
This is really bad for many.

 

Now I am going to go there.

The U.S. government says it cannot verify income.

REALLY?!?

They cannot verify SOCIAL SECURITY U.S. federal government pensions?!?

Does anyone actually believe that?

They cannot verify U.S. MILITARY pensions?

Does anyone actually believe that?

 

[JackThompson]

7 minutes ago, AGareth2 said:

9 minutes ago, robblok said:

Why an exodus ? its not that hard to put money in a Thai account. If you have the money its just moving money around.

some maybe don't have the money

Depends on what TI says.  If they say, "Show foreign deposits into a Thai-acct monthly," businesses will quickly develop to assist in rotating the amount beyond mo-spend back out, and back in again. 

So if a 65K/mo foreign-deposit is required to show (2-mo, 3-mo, 1-yr?) and one's mo-expenses are 40K/mo, the excess 25K/mo will need to flow out of the country and back in every month. 

This should not cost much more than the letters and hassle for many of us (outreach is hours away) - and significantly less than paying agent-fees to fake the money entirely.  But, we don't know if TI will allow this or not - no announcement from them, yet
 

9 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

You can still get a letter up until the 31st dec this year, and the letter is valid for 6 months. Its not immigration not accepting letters after jan, its US consulate not doing them.

Because TI has told them they won't be accepted any longer.  I thought maybe bull when only the BE was claiming this (given the ongoing scale-down of their operations/embassy), but now that it is 2 saying this, I put full-blame on TI.

 

6 minutes ago, sfokevin said:

So barring any change from Thai Immigration the letter will still work for the first six months of 2019? 

According to various quotes from immigration sources, yes - but none of this is confirmed/announced, yet.

[Thailand]

13 minutes ago, robblok said:

Why an exodus ? its not that hard to put money in a Thai account. If you have the money its just moving money around.

Like you I guess, I can use lump sum or combination or monthly income. I am guessing there are a fairly large number in the community who have been using the hand in the air option,or similar,and do not have the wherewithal.

[Jingthing]

1 minute ago, wpcoe said:

 

I'm out of the country until the night of 12/27, so I hope the US Embassy will offer appointments for 12/28 and/or 12/31 .  The Embassy web site hasn't opened up appointments for December yet, so I'll just have to wait & see.

 

Appropriately, I'm in Mexico house-hunting.  If I'm able to unload my Jomtien condo during the upcoming High Season, I think it's finally "curtains" on Thailand for me.  I don't really want to tie up B800,000 in a Thai bank each year for three months, so I guess it's time to get out.

Join the crowd of sellers!

[JackThompson]

1 minute ago, Jingthing said:

...

The U.S. government says it cannot verify income.

REALLY?!?

They cannot verify SOCIAL SECURITY U.S. federal government pensions?!?

Does anyone actually believe that?

They cannot verify U.S. MILITARY pensions?

Does anyone actually believe that?

Probably similar to what the BE said about stat-docs (when we thought those would still be accepted), "We can't because we won't."

Certainly the USAE are not happy about this - they will lose a lot of income.

[wpcoe]

1 minute ago, Jingthing said:

Oh balls!
This is really bad for many.

 

Now I am going to go there.

The U.S. government says it cannot verify income.

REALLY?!?

They cannot verify SOCIAL SECURITY U.S. federal government pensions?!?

Does anyone actually believe that?

They cannot verify U.S. MILITARY pensions?

Does anyone actually believe that?

 

+1

 

While I do have investment income which I've never used on the letter, my income from (a) Social Security (a US federal organization) and (b) Pension Guaranty Benefit Corporation (a US federal organization) is way more than required for the B65,000/mo.  But will the Embassy in Bangkok vouch for either of these two?  Of course not.  Grrrrr.

[ubonjoe]

2 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Now I am going to go there.

The U.S. government says it cannot verify income.

REALLY?!?

They cannot verify SOCIAL SECURITY U.S. federal government pensions?!?

Does anyone actually believe that?

They cannot verify U.S. MILITARY pensions?

Does anyone actually believe that?

They are not allowed by law to verify anything at a US embassy.

[Longcut]

1 hour ago, likerdup1 said:

yea, just got this in my Embassy alerts. See attached print out of the email. I verify this to be true also.

IncomeAffidavitStopped.pdf

Got the same thing.

[jimmyyy]

Its difficult to know, i agree with Joe we need to wait and see what Thai immigration says, my best bet they will say nothing, and we will be left with trying to figure it out.  I will be going to get my letter shortly from the US Embassy and if that does not work in January, i don't know.  I will bring back up including statements from DFAS and the VA, a copy of my US bank statement for the past year.  HOping one of them works.  If not, then the option would be to go to Laos and get a new visa and start the 90 day clock by depositing funds every month in excess of the 65k.

 

Now, my situational plan is this, i will go open a bangkok bank account and change my direct deposit from VA over to Bangkok bank of NY.  VA does IACH so i won't get the money till like the 4th every month but that's okay, i no longer will require the US Embassy to do anything connected with my visa.  As long as this years Embassy letter works, next year i won't have to even worry about it.  Just go to the bank and get what ever immigration wants. 

[robblok]

1 minute ago, Thailand said:

Like you I guess, I can use lump sum or combination or monthly income. I am guessing there are a fairly large number in the community who have been using the hand in the air option,or similar,and do not have the wherewithal.

I have been saying that but was laughed at that this would happen because it was a crime. I pointed out the problems with this system. 

 

On the other hand its hard for embassies to check things as many things can be forged too. They should just allow money flowing into an Thai account as proof.  

[assayer]

If you doubt it anymore then follow the attached link:

https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-mission-in-thailand-to-cease-providing-income-affidavit/

[Nyezhov]

Well I guess I am lucky since I just got my Affidavit and applied for the Extension on Wed. Immigration was just here and I am to go back on November 8th for my 90 days, which means my year extension if all goes well will expire Feb 2020. That gives me plenty of time to figure out how to do things and hopefully the Thai government will give us guidance. I can prove my income, but if I choose not to  intermittantly work in The US again, my income will go down so that I MAY need to do the combo method, or just drop the 800K.

 

Look at it this way, if you are getting MINIMAL social security ONLY of say $1500 a month (which is low for most folks with a lifetime of work), that means that at a flat 30B to the dollar you have provable income of 45,000 baht a month. That means all you need in the bank is 240,000 baht, or $8,000. Thats a worse case scenario.

 

I think rather than panic, we should just wait to see what shakes out. Starting to feed a Thai account would be a good idea if you feel you may need to show some income.

[Nyezhov]

5 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

They are not allowed by law to verify anything at a US embassy.

Yes but can they notarize an affidavit from you certifying that your Social Security statement is correct?

[Stevemercer]

48 minutes ago, certacito said:

How long until the Australian embassy's news flash ?

 

This was all done to death in Thai Visa about 6 months ago.

[Longcut]

28 minutes ago, Mojado said:

Source:   Vapattanawong, Patama. "ชาวต่างชาติในเมืองไทยเป็นใครบ้าง? (Foreigners in Thailand)" (PDF). Institute for Population and Social Research - Mahidol University. Retrieved June 30, 2017.

 

 

That's 2010. Not what I would consider accurate. 

[sfokevin]

12 minutes ago, wpcoe said:

 

I'm out of the country until the night of 12/27, so I hope the US Embassy will offer appointments for 12/28 and/or 12/31 .  The Embassy web site hasn't opened up appointments for December yet, so I'll just have to wait & see.

I have an appointment at the CM Consul on Dec 20th thru their online appointment system ...

[JackThompson]

7 minutes ago, robblok said:

They should just allow money flowing into an Thai account as proof.  

That would be easy to fake (see my earlier post). 

But, if TI allows this - the good news is, many who don't qualify, but were unwilling to lie on a Stat Doc (a felony-charge), will now be able to retire in Thailand by sending some money in circles. 

[NCC1701A]

1 minute ago, Nyezhov said:

Yes but can they notarize an affidavit from you certifying that your Social Security statement is correct?

how will they know your Social Security statement is correct? you should ask the embassy if they will do any legwork along those lines. 

let us know what they say.

[robblok]

Just now, JackThompson said:

That would be easy to fake (see my earlier post). 

But, if TI allows this - the good news is, many who don't qualify, but were unwilling to lie on a Stat Doc (a felony-charge), will now be able to retire in Thailand by sending some money in circles. 

Not as easy as swearing to something that is not true. This involves a lot more trouble. I mean even loaning 800K can be done and fakes. But its all just a bit harder to fake then just swearing to something that is untrue. 

 

There is no foolproof system but its less susceptible to fraud then the old ways. 

[Dante99]

35 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

You can still get a letter up until the 31st dec this year, and the letter is valid for 6 months. Its not immigration not accepting letters after jan, its US consulate not doing them.

Can't be sure on this, Immigration may make an announcement negating this possibility.

[RubbaJohnny]

Goodness a new broom, whatever next Police reports if they insist on letters of good character Pattaya could become a ghost town.

[johnjohn2]

Great. Im up in July for extension.

[Wake Up]

I was told this was going to happen in my conference with an immigration supervisor last Wednesday at CW. If you get your income affidavit before January 1, 2019 she said it will be good and accepted for 6 months from the date of the income verification affidavit. Best to get online and make your Embassy appointment now if you want to use the embassy affidavit for the first months of next year.

 

She also said next year I needed 800 k in a Thai bank three months before I can get another extension of stay or to show 65k monthly income by having 65k transferred to a Thai bank account each month.  I am sure more details about the 65 k a month income route will be announced by Thailand since this is a major change. When other forum members have these conferences please advise if you are told something different or additional from CW immigration. 

[david555]

1 hour ago, brewsterbudgen said:

So the British Embassy was right after all.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

MI6 knew it all the time already...???? ????

[marcusarelus]

3 minutes ago, RubbaJohnny said:

Goodness a new broom, whatever next Police reports if they insist on letters of good character Pattaya could become a ghost town.

I always thought the reverse for men and women.

[marcusarelus]

Just now, david555 said:

MI6 knew it all the time already...???? ????

Bureaucrats are thicker than water. 

[moe666]

42 minutes ago, AGareth2 said:

some maybe don't have the money

Then they have been lying about their finaces or doing income. Know one knows squat but they wre ready to leave. Give it a few days boys 

[Airalee]

Thinking out loud here...

 

Why is it, that when one applies for a METV, Thailand is ok with verifying  financial stability by having the applicant submit statements showing how much money he/she has in their US bank account but when extending a “retirement” visa, they want the money in a Thai bank account? ???? 

[wpcoe]

30 minutes ago, wpcoe said:

 

I'm out of the country until the night of 12/27, so I hope the US Embassy will offer appointments for 12/28 and/or 12/31 .  The Embassy web site hasn't opened up appointments for December yet, so I'll just have to wait & see.

 

15 minutes ago, sfokevin said:

I have an appointment at the CM Consul on Dec 20th thru their online appointment system ...

And, what's that got to do with the price of fish?

 

(a) Even if I wanted to go to Chiang Mai, their latest appointment date is 27-Dec, which is too late for me

(b) Bangkok Embassy is only accepting online appointments right now until 30-Nov