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

[rainwater]

9 minutes ago, Russell17au said:

I know but TI still want that letter from the embassy and this is one way that it could possibly be done by all the embassies.

I give up on all of this. Nobody is even looking at anything else but for TI to change their laws to suit you. Well it just might not happen because no other country would change their immigration laws just for a few people who cannot even think outside of the box at maybe another solution to the problem.

I never did an Embassy income letter when I had 800K in a Thai bank, I gave them a bank statement. If the Embassies are not going to provide income affidavits then TI will have to declare what kind of income statements will be acceptable.  

Edited October 27, 2018 by rainwater

[pontious]

2 minutes ago, Russell17au said:

I know but TI still want that letter from the embassy and this is one way that it could possibly be done by all the embassies.

I give up on all of this. Nobody is even looking at anything else but for TI to change their laws to suit you. Well it just might not happen because no other country would change their immigration laws just for a few people who cannot even think outside of the box at maybe another solution to the problem.

The Thai Box says the Embassies 'MUST VERIFY' - They cannot do this. That's life.

[marcusarelus]

1 minute ago, rainwater said:

I never did an Embassy income letter when I had 800K in a Thai bank, I gave them a bank statement. If the Embassy are not going to provide income affidavit then then TI will have to declare what kind of income statements will be acceptable.  

800,000 in the bank 3 months and letter from bank - good to go.

[elviajero]

42 minutes ago, pontious said:

Because they cannot VERIFY it.

I think it’s more like they don’t want to verify it due to the huge extra workload it would cause.

[JackThompson]

8 hours ago, RCS said:

If you look at all the news reports about recent immigration crackdowns it is just all about getting rid of foreigners working here illegally without work permits or living off of criminal activity.  It makes sense then that they want people living here without work permits to prove they have resources to live here without doing those things.  No deep hidden agenda here that I can see.

From some countries - yes.  But Westerners (USA and UK, so far affected) would come to Thailand, to work under-the-table jobs, at risk of arrest and deportation, at a fraction of what they would make legally in their passport-country, because ... ?

 

6 hours ago, galt67 said:

Increased scrutiny of Ed. Visas. 

Increased scrutiny of 'multiple' Tourist Visas.

Limitation of 'land border runs.'

 

Seems more than 'foreigners working illegally.'

The "ED Visa" thing turned out to be just a setup for more tea-money.  They even had to dial-back the requirements (school hours/wk) in some areas, because they pushed the cost too high, and missed the sweet-spot for the market. 

 

Similar with agent-fees (in the Pattaya area, at least) - went up after the last govt-change (more hands out), then back down to restore the volume because they had over-shot how much people (many who could not meet the financial-requirements) were willing/able to pay.  Increasing "tribute" type income via agent-fees remains my primary suspicion, regarding the embassy letter policy-change

 

But I agree on the Visa-Exempt border-bounces and ME-Tourist Visas (2-entry changed to ME but fly-home to get it).  Perhaps they felt that people who were "too poor" (old Khao San Rd types) or could be working illegally for low-pay were using those.  It is more expensive to stay here more time/yr as a Tourist, due to these changes, due to the cost of the Visa trips.

[pontious]

11 minutes ago, Russell17au said:

Not utter rubbish because I have the documented verified proof of income of my pension from the Australian Government and it is accepted by the Australian Embassy and Thai Immigration so you are talking utter rubbish.

No -they do not  Verify ANYTHING . They witness it.

[marcusarelus]

1 minute ago, elviajero said:

I think it’s more like they don’t want to verify it due to the huge extra workload it would cause.

Who will be the next embassy to announce they are too lazy to service citizens?

[pontious]

2 minutes ago, elviajero said:

I think it’s more like they don’t want to verify it due to the huge extra workload it would cause.

How would they verify it. If they contacted my pension providers I am sure they would be told sod off.

[PAWNEESE]

When the British Embassy decided to stop income letters the resulting TVisa chat got to a squillion million pages. US Embassy now done same same and followed the stopping of said letters. Come on Yanks ... try beat that ..... 

[marcusarelus]

1 minute ago, PAWNEESE said:

When the British Embassy decided to stop income letters the resulting TVisa chat got to a squillion million pages. US Embassy now done same same and followed the stopping of said letters. Come on Yanks ... try beat that ..... 

We're waiting for the Australian embassy. 

[Russell17au]

3 minutes ago, pontious said:

No -they do not  Verify ANYTHING . They witness it.

Notarial Services available include:

• authentications
• apostilles
• certifying copies of original documents
• witnessing of signatures on certain documents
• the taking of Statutory declarations
• the administering of affidavits, oaths and affirmations

 

authentications is verification of the document and that is done at the Australian Embassy.

[pontious]

3 minutes ago, Russell17au said:

Notarial Services available include:

• authentications
• apostilles
• certifying copies of original documents
• witnessing of signatures on certain documents
• the taking of Statutory declarations
• the administering of affidavits, oaths and affirmations

 

authentications is verification of the document and that is done at the Australian Embassy.

You do a Stat Dec - that is not VERIFICATION - can someone else answer I am bored replying.

[marcusarelus]

3 minutes ago, pontious said:

You do a Stat Dec - that is not VERIFICATION - can someone else answer I am bored replying.

I don't think he's going to get it until the embassy says SOL.

[blackhorse]

We're waiting for the Australian embassy. 

They have been spared. TI know ozzies are hardworking honest and good descendants of the harshest criminals. [emoji16]

[liberty9133]

On 10/25/2018 at 11:32 PM, robblok said:

Bad news for US nationals.

 

I have said it before just swearing to something leaves too many loopholes open its illegal to swear to things that are not the truth but the chances of being caught were almost non existent. 

 

Seems all sides have finally seen the same problems and fixed it in the most convenient way for them and not for the best way for their clients. Seems putting money in a Thai account is the way to go.

No it's not for many. Many have income and do not want to use a Thai, non interest bearing account that may have no chance for repatriation.

[blackhorse]

Notarial Services available include:

• authentications
• apostilles
• certifying copies of original documents
• witnessing of signatures on certain documents
• the taking of Statutory declarations
• the administering of affidavits, oaths and affirmations

  authentications is verification of the document and that is done at the Australian Embassy.

 

 

I'm going to be nice to you.They will check your signature is authentic even if the stat dec declared your allegiance to the almighty [emoji215] chicken God. They won't even read it its none of their business. You can attach supporting picture of the chicken God and tell them its authentic and they will believe you because it IS YOU SIGNING FOR IT and you can go to jail if you lied NOT THEM Give 2k and its rubber stamped and bobs your uncle

 

They will check your passport is authentic. Obviously a biggy

 

Your the only expat in the whole of thailand bringing in supporting documentation for a stat dec because you just don't get it

 

 

[liberty9133]

There appears to be a question: What constitutes proof of income? For many of us, we have existing businesses that pay us a stipend. For others, the business buy out. How do we show proof that is satisfactory to some bureaucrat?

Increasingly, the Thai dictatorship rears its ugly head. As the world sinks deeper into the published goal of One World Government, Thailand is demonstrating that they know how to follow orders.  
Note that I said "PUBLISHED". 

And remember that the Thai PM delivered a speech several years ago to the International Globalist Establishments forum entitled, "Living in a Borderless World". I am quite certain that a Thai never wrote that speech.

[chenierkmer]

The Philippines, Cambodia and Vietnam will open their gates with open arms to welcome the foreign currency. Thailand has no idea how much will be lost with the mass exit of cash. Sometimes you can push away the hand that feeds you .


Sent from my iPad using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[liberty9133]

23 minutes ago, blackhorse said:

I'm going to be nice to you.
They will check your signature is authentic even if the stat dec declared your allegiance to the almighty chicken God. They won't even read it its none of their business. Give 2k and its rubber stamped and bobs your uncle

They will check your passport is authentic. Obviously a biggy

Apparently, the Thai Government is behind all this. Therefore, it will be only a matter of time until all governments stop. Thus Australia will soon follow Britain and the US.

[JackThompson]

24 minutes ago, liberty9133 said:

There appears to be a question: What constitutes proof of income? For many of us, we have existing businesses that pay us a stipend.

For others, the business buy out. How do we show proof that is satisfactory to some bureaucrat?

Bingo.  And I'm not selling a business (which provides my primary income) to put money in a Thai bank, which provides a poor-return by comparison.

 

Let's hope they really are satisfied with "deposits amounting to..." avg per-mo.  As written earlier:

3 hours ago, Suradit69 said:

Even better if deposits plus balance for 3 months equal to 780000.

From your keyboard to God's ears, Suradit69.  If done like the combo method, the total would be 800K (400K if married to a Thai).  That system would save many of us from worrying about "every-mo" xfers.

 

Quote

Increasingly, the Thai dictatorship rears its ugly head.

As the world sinks deeper into the published goal of One World Government, Thailand is demonstrating that they know how to follow orders.  
Note that I said "PUBLISHED". 

You think the previous guys were better?  Look at who that family is buddies with, around the world.

 

Quote

And remember that the Thai PM delivered a speech several years ago to the International Globalist Establishments forum entitled, "Living in a Borderless World". I am quite certain that a Thai never wrote that speech.

He probably said what would be popular with the target-audience - which was a good idea, if they want foreign-investment to continue.  But, generally, Thailand has managed to be more independent than many nations in the current climate of globalization. 

 

This shift towards harsher immigration-policies for Westerners is not a new trend with this govt.  We can fault them for not reversing that self-destructive trend, but the clique pushing it (likely being paid to push it), appears to transcend governments.  The term "Deep State" comes to mind.  This development with the embassy-letters is part of that pattern.

Edited October 27, 2018 by JackThompson

[rainwater]

1 hour ago, HAL9000 said:

Actually, the US Embassy FAQ says "a local bank statement showing a monthly deposit of at least 65,000 Thai Baht."

 

It does not, however, say whether it has to be a foreign transfer or if a cash deposit is adequate.

 

On the other hand, the Thai immigration website says, "Proof of income such as a pension or interest. Or dividend, etc.", so they may accept our government letters, etc.

Link on income requirements and proof required from www.immigration.go.th/content/service_22 (item #'s 3&4 under Documents to be submitted seem most relevant and subject to approval/interpretation by Thai Immigration with the cessation of Embassy Income affidavit): 

3. Evidence of income such as a retirement pension, interest or dividends; and/or
4. Account  deposited  (saving / fixed account) certificate issued by a bank in Thailand and a copy of a bankbook.

 

From the first section:

 

(4) On the filing date, the applicant must have account  deposited  (saving / fixed account) in a bank in Thailand of no less than Baht 800,000 for the past three months. For the first year only, the applicant must have proof of a deposit account in which said amount of funds has been maintained for no less than 60 days prior to
the filing date; or
(5) Must have an annual earning and funds deposited with a bank totaling no less than Baht
800,000 as of the filing date.

 

From the 2nd Section:

 

Documents to be submitted

1. Application form 2. Copy of applicant’s passport 3. Evidence of income such as a retirement pension, interest or dividends; and/or 4. Account  deposited  (saving / fixed account) certificate issued by a bank in Thailand and a copy of a bankbook 5. Only in the case of Criterion (6), the applicant must submit documents equivalent to Clauses 1-4 stated above.

Edited October 27, 2018 by rainwater

[liberty9133]

4 minutes ago, chenierkmer said:

The Philippines, Cambodia and Vietnam will open their gates with open arms to welcome the foreign currency. Thailand has no idea how much will be lost with the mass exit of cash. Sometimes you can push away the hand that feeds you .


Sent from my iPad using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

Remember that Thailand will be given the governorship of the new Southeast Asia zone under the Club of Rome's 10 zone world. The current Thai PM some few years ago gave a speech to that effect .

[pontious]

3 minutes ago, chenierkmer said:

The Philippines, Cambodia and Vietnam will open their gates with open arms to welcome the foreign currency. Thailand has no idea how much will be lost with the mass exit of cash. Sometimes you can push away the hand that feeds you .


Sent from my iPad using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

I disagree -- I accept this latest news is a PITA but life will go on as normal for most people - new rules maybe but that's life.

[liberty9133]

2 minutes ago, rainwater said:

Link on income requirements and proof required from www.immigration.go.th/content/service_22 (item #'s 3&4 under Documents to be submitted seem most relevant and subject to approval/interpretation by Thai Immigration with the cessation of Embassy Income affidavit): 

3. Evidence of income such as a retirement pension, interest or dividends; and/or
4. Account  deposited  (saving / fixed account) certificate issued by a bank in Thailand and a copy of a bankbook

(4) On the filing date, the applicant must have account  deposited  (saving / fixed account) in a bank in Thailand of no less than Baht 800,000 for the past three months. For the first year only, the applicant must have proof of a deposit account in which said amount of funds has been maintained for no less than 60 days prior to
the filing date; or
(5) Must have an annual earning and funds deposited with a bank totaling no less than Baht
800,000 as of the filing date.

 

Documents to be submitted

1. Application form 2. Copy of applicant’s passport 3. Evidence of income such as a retirement pension, interest or dividends; and/or 4. Account  deposited  (saving / fixed account) certificate issued by a bank in Thailand and a copy of a bankbook 5. Only in the case of Criterion (6), the applicant must submit documents equivalent to Clauses 1-4 stated above.

Are you saying that in order to meet the requirements, one must demonstrate that for some unspecified period of time 65000 baht was deposited into a bank account in Thailand? Impossible for many since they live off that amount in the USA!

[elviajero]

1 hour ago, Russell17au said:

Can you not understand anything? Any Australian who is on a pension can download their CentreLink income statement which is printed on Commonwealth of Australia letter head and that is verifiable proof of income. My God some people just cannot grasp anything. We are talking about the verification of income from the various embassies because of what has happened with both BE and USE and what I am saying is that if the embassies change their ways and I mean all embassies and make the applicant supply the verifiable proof of income before the embassy supplies the letter for TI. That to me is a good solution to the problem

All paper documents can be forged. Immigration seem to be asking the embassy to confirm with the source of the income that it is genuine. So in your example they’d have to contact “Centerlink” to confirm the validity of the downloaded statement.

[liberty9133]

3 minutes ago, pontious said:

I disagree -- I accept this latest news is a PITA but life will go on as normal for most people - new rules maybe but that's life.

Only for the well-to-do folks. For the average retiree, it is a too high hurdle.

[blackhorse]

Apparently, the Thai Government is behind all this. Therefore, it will be only a matter of time until all governments stop. Thus Australia will soon follow Britain and the US.

You have proof of the thai government?

Don't be to sure. The Australians where not in talks with immigration when the BE Pulled the pin and then BE said THE USA will be pulling the pin

The ozzies then put out a statement saying they will NOT be changing their stat dec system OFFICIALLY on their embassy website even though the BE have stopped verifying income

So either they were not consulted or are not complying... At this stage... Anything could happen down the track

There are many other embassies and not a peep from any.

Next week will be interesting

[liberty9133]

Thailand is increasingly throwing its lot in with China. I see this as a HUGE mistake. China may experience a huge contraction very soon. This may explain why Thailand's dictatorship wants to end western immigration.

[liberty9133]

On 10/26/2018 at 12:03 AM, Mojado said:

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

 

 

Wonder what the INCOME percentages would be?

[rainwater]

3 minutes ago, liberty9133 said:

Are you saying that in order to meet the requirements, one must demonstrate that for some unspecified period of time 65000 baht was deposited into a bank account in Thailand? Impossible for many since they live off that amount in the USA!

It's pretty straight forward, show proper documentation such as the FORM SSA-1099 – SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFIT STATEMENT or some other official documentation from a military or private pension that equals 800K baht a year or more. If the pension does not equal 800k in Thai baht, then you have to make up the difference and send the funds to a Thai Bank 2 months prior to your date to apply for the visa, or 3 months if it's your first time. Example being, your SS only comes to $20,000 a year = 660,000 baht, then you need to show at least 140,000 baht in a Thai Bank 2 months prior to applying for your visa.