Australia joins the UK and USA with withdrawal of income verification

[cleverman]

6 minutes ago, Jai Dee said:

Please correct me if I am wrong but to the best of my knowledge there is no reason to lodge an annual tax return unless you want some of your tax returned... ie. a refund.

 

Sorry to go off-topic but as it is linked to the income verification process I thought it would be worthwhile clarifying the issue.

You will not pass go, go directly to jail. Tax man doesn't know if u don't have tax to pay unless u lodge return. There are tax offsets, Medicare levies, higher tax if you don't have private ins. Vehicle rego allowances if retired. If deemed to be living overseas, you do not get the same tax allowances as if u were living in Oz. I'm living here and use a tax account in Oz, PM me if you want to contact him. (Don't spill ya beer)

[Patriot1066]

30 minutes ago, sambum said:

Bull poo! You've been TELLING people to just put 800k in a bank to get their retirement extension as if it's the easiest thing in the world to do. In my neck of the woods back in the UK you would be a farmer - never seen a poor one, but they'll never admit to doing OK, just use words like yours!

 

If your retiring and can afford to move abroad run cars rent or buy properties in real terms 800k is not a lot of money to have in reserve. It is a shame we can't just invest it in property even if more they the surety aspect is maintained, the flexibility is reduced but you can live in it? But we can't.

 

The Thais want to have some surety we can afford to live here if we need medical aid etc, it doesn't seem unreasonable? Can you blame gem. They also want immigration to contribute decent amounts so one way of filtering out poorer people? 

 

Furthermore, if you send the monthly amount from the U.K. Into a Thai bank account I don't think they look at where it goes so technically could you not just recycle it back and forwards?

 

 

 

 

[Will27]

24 minutes ago, Russell17au said:

Those children are dual citizens and it would be easy to go to the Australian embassy in Bangkok and apply for Australian Passports for them. He would need to take their birth certificates with him to prove that he is the father of them and they would not need any visa's to enter Australia. Yes, he would need to get a spousal visa (a subclass 309 (temporary) for 2 years and then a subclass 100 (permanent))for his wife and that will cost him AUD$7160 and can take up to 17 months to be approved, but if they apply here in Thailand then she must be in Thailand when it is approved otherwise he can take her to Australia on a 3 month tourist visa to start with and then come back here for a 2 week holiday and apply for a 6 or 12 month tourist visa. He needs to open an online account with the Immigration department and his email address is listed on the applcation and they will send an email when the decision has been made

A couple of points.

 

If the couple have been in a long term relationship, permanent residence can be granted

pretty much straight away.

 

Also, if the spouse application is lodged in Thailand, she must be outside of Australia when

granted. Doesn't have to be in Thailand. Some people in WA fly to Bali because it's close.

[Will27]

10 minutes ago, cleverman said:

You will not pass go, go directly to jail. Tax man doesn't know if u don't have tax to pay unless u lodge return. There are tax offsets, Medicare levies, higher tax if you don't have private ins. Vehicle rego allowances if retired. If deemed to be living overseas, you do not get the same tax allowances as if u were living in Oz. I'm living here and use a tax account in Oz, PM me if you want to contact him. (Don't spill ya beer)

I take it you're assessed as a non-resident then?

[Russell17au]

22 minutes ago, Will27 said:

A couple of points.

 

If the couple have been in a long term relationship, permanent residence can be granted

pretty much straight away.

 

Also, if the spouse application is lodged in Thailand, she must be outside of Australia when

granted. Doesn't have to be in Thailand. Some people in WA fly to Bali because it's close.

A couple of points.

I personally went through this in 2013 with the application in Thailand in January 2013 and the approval was in October 2013 and when we made the application we were told then that it could take up to 17 months for the approval because it depends on how many applications are made for the various visa's and your first grant is for subclass 309 Temporary and that is for 2 years then immigration send you the subclass 100 documents to lodge and that is for permanent. My wifes permanent visa came through in October 2015. You must be in the country of application for the approval of the subclass 309 temporary visa, and you can be anywhere in the world for the subclass 100 permanent visa.

Edited November 4, 2018 by Russell17au

[Will27]

24 minutes ago, Russell17au said:

A couple of points.

I personally went through this in 2013 with the application in Thailand in January 2013 and the approval was in October 2013 and when we made the application we were told then that it could take up to 17 months for the approval because it depends on how many applications are made for the various visa's and your first grant is for subclass 309 Temporary and that is for 2 years then immigration send you the subclass 100 documents to lodge and that is for permanent. My wifes permanent visa came through in October 2015. You must be in the country of application for the approval of the subclass 309 temporary visa, and you can be anywhere in the world for the subclass 100 permanent visa.

A lot has changed with waiting times since you applied.

 

Yep, you need to be in Thailand for the temp visa but outside of Australia for the permanent visa, if lodged outside of Australia.

 

From the Immigration website: If, at the time you apply, you have been in a long term relationship with your partner, your permanent Partner visa (subclass 100) may be granted immediately after the temporary Partner visa (subclass 309).

 

That's pretty much means 5 years or having kids together.

 

 

Edited November 4, 2018 by Will27

[muffy]

So why can't you take proof of income and show Thai immigration ?

[totally thaied up]

3 minutes ago, Will27 said:

Yep, you need to be in Thailand for the temp visa but outside of Australia for the permanent visa, if lodged outside of Australia.

Friends of mine just done this. Three years married and then took 18 months to get PR granted out of the country. I only have to wait one more year before I do this. 

[Russell17au]

1 minute ago, Will27 said:

A lot has changed with waiting times since you applied.

 

Yep, you need to be in Thailand for the temp visa but outside of Australia for the permanent visa, if lodged outside of Australia.

 

From the Immigration website: If, at the time you apply, you have been in a long term relationship with your partner, your permanent Partner visa (subclass 100) may be granted immediately after the temporary Partner visa (subclass 309).

 

That's pretty much means 5 years or having kids together.

 

 

I was married in Bangkok on the 12th September 2008 and the application was in January 2013 and we were told by the visa application office in Bangkok that the subclass approval must be in Thailand and the subclass 100 can be anywhere including in Australia. Our subclass 100 was granted immediately after the subclass 309, but the subclass 309 is for 2 years then it is only a couple of documents to change over to the subclass 100, it does not even involve a trip to the office or anything, it was done online.

[Russell17au]

4 minutes ago, totally thaied up said:

Friends of mine just done this. Three years married and then took 18 months to get PR granted out of the country. I only have to wait one more year before I do this. 

I would say that the waiting time is going to get longer because the company VFS Global that does the visa applications are taking on more visa application contracts for other countries. It appears that most countries now are using this company for their visa applications.

[totally thaied up]

Just now, Russell17au said:

I would say that the waiting time is going to get longer because the company VFS Global that does the visa applications are taking on more visa application contracts for other countries. It appears that most countries now are using this company for their visa applications.

I am expecting a three-year turn around when I apply. I am only 49 so, I hope I still have enough time in my life to do this. I hope to be finished before I am 53. I plan to stay in Thailand to just that point. If things change too much, it gives us the option to go back home to Australia when we are older. 

[Russell17au]

1 minute ago, totally thaied up said:

I am expecting a three-year turn around when I apply. I am only 49 so, I hope I still have enough time in my life to do this. I hope to be finished before I am 53. I plan to stay in Thailand to just that point. If things change too much, it gives us the option to go back home to Australia when we are older. 

One of the main reason why we did it was to stop all the rubbish of going to Bangkok when ever we wanted to go for a trip back to Oz for a holiday. No more tourist visa applications, it is now just contact the airline and book the ticket.

[cleverman]

1 hour ago, cleverman said:

You will not pass go, go directly to jail. Tax man doesn't know if u don't have tax to pay unless u lodge return. There are tax offsets, Medicare levies, higher tax if you don't have private ins. Vehicle rego allowances if retired. If deemed to be living overseas, you do not get the same tax allowances as if u were living in Oz. I'm living here and use a tax account in Oz, PM me if you want to contact him. (Don't spill ya beer)

No, I live in Oz, at my sons, and I take two or three holidays a year in LOS for about 4 or so months (in LOS) expats are liable for a higher tax rate. Your tax free money may therefore attract tax. Cleverman has spoken. 

Edited November 4, 2018 by cleverman
Add

[sfokevin]

2 hours ago, zydeco said:

There are lots of Thais in California in sanctuary cities, where municipal and state agencies and government have gone to great lengths to protect them.  Many have driver's licenses, run businesses, work, go to school, qualify for in-state college tuition, rent apartments, and even buy houses without any repercussions whatsoever. They can even get a taxpayer ID and file for the EITC, according to this GAO report: https://www.gao.gov/products/GGD-95-27. Meanwhile, members of congress and the US senate will constantly agitate for an illegal alien amnesty that not only will give them permanent residency but a path to citizenship and rights to social security, medicaid, affirmative action preferences.  Sounds pretty good to me.  Meanwhile, we get this overbearing crackdown on foreign retirees in Thailand.  All because some nitwit somewhere decided to mess around with a system that was largely working, fair, and whose income letters probably had a minimum level of abuse.

You need to stop watching so much a Fox News... 

[cleverman]

8 minutes ago, sfokevin said:

You need to stop watching so much a Fox News... 

You all should consider getting a pp from Hutt River Provence in West Oz. it opens gates. 

[Ozfatboy]

Just logged onto the Australian Embassy website to make an appointment for tomorrow or Tuesday to get a certified copy of my passport and there are no appointments available until 11.45am on 12th November.

 

Never experienced that before, I am assuming everyone is rushing to get their statutory declarations ASAP.

 

Obviously no one at the Embassy thought there would be snowball effect from their statement and what this may cause in the short term.

 

I would have though perhaps they could have allocated separate times for people who need things like certified copies.

 

I feel sorry for anyone that was planning on getting their affirmation of freedom to marry signed. Certainly may cause some headaches and change of holiday and wedding plans.

 

Someone from DFAT needs to step in a fix this situation.

[Russell17au]

5 minutes ago, Ozfatboy said:

Just logged onto the Australian Embassy website to make an appointment for tomorrow or Tuesday to get a certified copy of my passport and there are no appointments available until 11.45am on 12th November.

 

Never experienced that before, I am assuming everyone is rushing to get their statutory declarations ASAP.

 

Obviously no one at the Embassy thought there would be snowball effect from their statement and what this may cause in the short term.

 

I would have though perhaps they could have allocated separate times for people who need things like certified copies.

 

I feel sorry for anyone that was planning on getting their affirmation of freedom to marry signed. Certainly may cause some headaches and change of holiday and wedding plans.

 

Someone from DFAT needs to step in a fix this situation.

The Embassy is closed tomorrow and Tuesday for the Melbourne Cup horse race

[elviajero]

7 hours ago, onera1961 said:

I wonder why other embassies are not announcing that they would stop issuing income affidavit. I sincerely believe TI would accept monthly income coming to Thai bank, at least for the married folks who may be more vulnerable than single person on a retirement extension using monthly income. How can they break up families? 

Others still might make an announcement. But some might actually comply with immigrations new requirement and validate income. That might not be a problem for embassies with only a few expats, but not really practical for embassies like the UK, US and AUS.

[Ban Phe Dezza]

2 hours ago, Russell17au said:

Those children are dual citizens and it would be easy to go to the Australian embassy in Bangkok and apply for Australian Passports for them. He would need to take their birth certificates with him to prove that he is the father of them and they would not need any visa's to enter Australia. Yes, he would need to get a spousal visa (a subclass 309 (temporary) for 2 years and then a subclass 100 (permanent))for his wife and that will cost him AUD$7160 and can take up to 17 months to be approved, but if they apply here in Thailand then she must be in Thailand when it is approved otherwise he can take her to Australia on a 3 month tourist visa to start with and then come back here for a 2 week holiday and apply for a 6 or 12 month tourist visa. He needs to open an online account with the Immigration department and his email address is listed on the applcation and they will send an email when the decision has been made

Thanks Russell17au  the two younger children are already registered and the older Thai Boy most likely would stay in Thailand. I will pass on this message the two main issues can he stay here in the long run I doubt it.  And so to keep the family intact he would have take them to Australia. As he is on an aged pension I guess in some way Centrelink would step in with Child support Regards dezza 

[HappyAndRich]

2 hours ago, sambum said:

Bull poo! You've been TELLING people to just put 800k in a bank to get their retirement extension as if it's the easiest thing in the world to do. In my neck of the woods back in the UK you would be a farmer - never seen a poor one, but they'll never admit to doing OK, just use words like yours!

 

I am doing more than great. Never been a farmer, but planned my life from start. That´s why I can stay here now without need to complain. It´s called planning your life in the right direction.

 

2 hours ago, sambum said:

Barely surviving? Bull poo!

Nice to see that you really understand sarcasm when you read it. You missed it!

 

2 hours ago, sambum said:

"small changes"? I would hardly call the withdrawal of "Proof of Income letters" small changes when it has such a drastic effect on so many people's lives!

Yes, small changes. Still 800K should be a micro amount when you make such a big change in your life as moving to retire in a foreign country.

[tropo]

40 minutes ago, Ozfatboy said:

Just logged onto the Australian Embassy website to make an appointment for tomorrow or Tuesday to get a certified copy of my passport and there are no appointments available until 11.45am on 12th November.

 

Never experienced that before, I am assuming everyone is rushing to get their statutory declarations ASAP.

 

Obviously no one at the Embassy thought there would be snowball effect from their statement and what this may cause in the short term.

 

I would have though perhaps they could have allocated separate times for people who need things like certified copies.

 

I feel sorry for anyone that was planning on getting their affirmation of freedom to marry signed. Certainly may cause some headaches and change of holiday and wedding plans.

 

Someone from DFAT needs to step in a fix this situation.

Panic appointment booking hasn't happened yet. December is still wide open with close to the maximum 14 slots available on most days. Considering letters are valid for 6 months, you'd expect all slots would be full by now. Even January 2 is wide open with 14 slots. (minus 1 for me lol). Note: appointments can only be booked 60 days in advance. They'll be some more slots coming up until January 7 (3 more days of slots), the supposed cut off date for "income letters".

Edited November 4, 2018 by tropo

[Ozfatboy]

40 minutes ago, Russell17au said:

The Embassy is closed tomorrow and Tuesday for the Melbourne Cup horse race

Hahahaha...I did think that at the time but I checked their holiday schedule and its business as usual according to the website.

[sfokevin]

45 minutes ago, Russell17au said:

The Embassy is closed tomorrow and Tuesday for the Melbourne Cup horse race

And so many call Australia uncivilized... 

[tropo]

10 hours ago, HappyAndRich said:

Only 3 million? That´s barely enough to pay for a simple operation at a descent hospital.

Just curious. What simple operation costs 3 million baht?... and more to the point, what is worth paying 3 million for in a Thai hospital that would assure a long and happy life post op for an elderly expat? I'd rather just say my goodbyes and give the money to my wife. Even very rich people die.

[Russell17au]

9 minutes ago, Ozfatboy said:

Hahahaha...I did think that at the time but I checked their holiday schedule and its business as usual according to the website.

I tried to make an appointment 2 weeks ago and both Monday and Tuesday were in red and I got my appointment for Wednesday

[dennis123]

3 minutes ago, tropo said:

Just curious. What simple operation costs 3 million baht?... and more to the point, what is worth paying 3 million for in a Thai hospital that would assure a long and happy life post op for an elderly expat? I'd rather just say my goodbyes and give the money to my wife. Even very rich people die.

He just likes to brag that 3 million is nothing for him.

 

Can get heart surgery here for around 300k baht in a government hospital. Heart surgery in the US would cost approx $80,000 (approx 3mill baht I guess), can hardly call that a simple operation indeed.

[dennis123]

27 minutes ago, HappyAndRich said:

I am doing more than great. Never been a farmer, but planned my life from start. That´s why I can stay here now without need to complain. It´s called planning your life in the right direction.

1

Enjoy taking all your money to your grave rich man.

 

Perhaps not your grave, pretty sure your wife will spend it in the first year with her new Thai boyfriend ????

Edited November 4, 2018 by dennis123

[sambum]

25 minutes ago, HappyAndRich said:

I am doing more than great. Never been a farmer, but planned my life from start. That´s why I can stay here now without need to complain. It´s called planning your life in the right direction.

 

Nice to see that you really understand sarcasm when you read it. You missed it!

 

Yes, small changes. Still 800K should be a micro amount when you make such a big change in your life as moving to retire in a foreign country.

 

Sarcasm? Arrogant and selfish more like! "I am doing more than great" says it all about you. Your "I'm all right Jack" attitude sums your attitude to others less fortunate than yourself completely.

 

Some of us have worked hard all our lives, and by looking after our families (and paying for estranged children to go through University in my case) have not been able to save your "micro" amount, knowing in our hearts that we have done the best we can, and taken our responsibilities on board, to our own financial detriment. 

 

We manage to "get by" on our pension(s), and up until now have managed quite well (by our standards - not yours), but now that the goalposts have been moved, the last thing we want is for smart "let them eat cake" type comments from people like yourself who brag openly about their prosperity, and how clever they are by making plans for the future.

 

I'm going for a cup of tea now, and I'll leave you to ponder what it's like for the "poor people" over your G & T and tiffin.

[Russell17au]

6 minutes ago, sambum said:

 

Sarcasm? Arrogant and selfish more like! "I am doing more than great" says it all about you. Your "I'm all right Jack" attitude sums your attitude to others less fortunate than yourself completely.

 

Some of us have worked hard all our lives, and by looking after our families (and paying for estranged children to go through University in my case) have not been able to save your "micro" amount, knowing in our hearts that we have done the best we can, and taken our responsibilities on board, to our own financial detriment. 

 

We manage to "get by" on our pension(s), and up until now have managed quite well (by our standards - not yours), but now that the goalposts have been moved, the last thing we want is for smart "let them eat cake" type comments from people like yourself who brag openly about their prosperity, and how clever they are by making plans for the future.

 

I'm going for a cup of tea now, and I'll leave you to ponder what it's like for the "poor people" over your G & T and tiffin.

Plus you usually find that they are not that well off as they claim they are. We have friends and one of them has this type of attitude but it was funny when his wife came to borrow some money for him to get his car fixed because he did not have any

[sirineou]

Though this should be no issue for me because my pensions should more than cover the Thai requirement, and being married could always apply for a marriage extension at half the requirements of a retirement extension,

  I feel the frustration of those who find themselves slightly below the required amount and think, "there but for the grace of god go I"  and realise that conditions in my home country could change and force me in a similar situation.

so to all with arrogant replies I say   " be careful who you spit on, on your way up . you might meet them on your way down"

   59K and amponts close to that but below the requirements  are  a respectable income and one ,  a person could easily and comfortably live on in Thailand , especially if one owns his own house. 

I am of the opinion that property ownership should be a mitigating factor in downward adjusting the total income requirement , since such ownership eases housing costs which I am sure are part of the calculus of the required income  . It is IMO penalising those who have invested in Thailand, a very unfair, and not a very wise Thai attitude.