What is your method to stay here (changes in the embassy letters)

[wgdanson]

5 hours ago, Moonlover said:

This last paragraph is somewhat misleading. There is, currently a 65k per month method. What is not clear is how it will be proven once the embassy letters have expired.

And this paragraph of yours is misleading/incorrect. There is NO 65k income into a Thai bank method unless it is verified by the person's Embassy via a letter. That is the only way at the moment, apart from dosh in the bank. Please explain your 65k per month method.

Edited November 16, 2018 by wgdanson

[wgdanson]

9 hours ago, Moonlover said:

 

Quite right - rules are rules. And the rules state 800k/400k suitably seasoned or 65k/40k monthly,

 

Embassy letters are NOT a rule, there are the currently accepted procedure. Procedures can be changed to suit the rules. And they will be I'm sure.

And I hope that I can share in your optimism soon. 

[rodknock]

i figure i am good till june 2020. embassy letter on 27dec. good for 6months. renew extension of stay in june 2019, 3weeks early takes me to 2020. if no new rules come out. i fly back to the u.s. once a year to see my daughter, i will just apply for another o-a visa and good for another year.

the only additional cost is the $200.00 visa fee and fingerprint charge.

[JohnnyBD]

17 minutes ago, rodknock said:

i figure i am good till june 2020. embassy letter on 27dec. good for 6months. renew extension of stay in june 2019, 3weeks early takes me to 2020. if no new rules come out. i fly back to the u.s. once a year to see my daughter, i will just apply for another o-a visa and good for another year.

the only additional cost is the $200.00 visa fee and fingerprint charge.

Just a question if you don't mind... when you apply for your O-A visa in US, do you have to go to Thai Embassy/Consulate? And, do you have to have medical & police report? If so, what is the cost of medical certificate & police report? I travel back to Baton Rouge, Louisiana so it would be quite costly for me to go to a Thai embassy in US if I have to go there in person.

Edited November 16, 2018 by JohnnyBD

[Jingthing]

Just a question if you don't mind... when you apply for your O-A visa in US, do you have to go to Thai Embassy/Consulate? And, do you have to have medical & police report? If so, what is the cost of medical certificate & police report? I travel back to Baton Rouge, Louisiana so it would be quite costly for me to go to a Thai embassy in US if I have to go there in person.

It can be done by mail. The costs vary for the medical form. It helps if you know a local doctor that won't insist on literally doing tests. The police one shouldn't cost much. Check the DC embassy whether there is another consulate you should use from the Louisiana region. I'm guessing it would be the DC embassy.

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[Huckenfell]

All Australian pensioners have to declare their Income and Assets with Centrelink (Govt welfare) when registering. To get my O-A visa, i just get a copy of my I&A from Centrelink with a dated stamp . That is sufficient.

[marcusarelus]

6 minutes ago, Huckenfell said:

All Australian pensioners have to declare their Income and Assets with Centrelink (Govt welfare) when registering. To get my O-A visa, i just get a copy of my I&A from Centrelink with a dated stamp . That is sufficient.

Have you tried this with Thai Immigration to get an extension yet? Or asked anyone at Thai Immigration if it is sufficient?  Or know of anyone who has asked or tried with Thai Immigration?  If not how do you know it is sufficient?

[Huckenfell]

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

It can be done by mail. The costs vary for the medical form. It helps if you know a local doctor that won't insist on literally doing tests. The police one shouldn't cost much. Check the DC embassy whether there is another consulate you should use from the Louisiana region. I'm guessing it would be the DC embassy.

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Here in Australia one can only get O-A visa from Thai Embassy , not Thai Consul, so i doubt if it is any different in the USA. Here it can be done by mail and we can get the Federal Police cert online,at a cost of $A 42., don't know about your police though.

[Huckenfell]

1 minute ago, marcusarelus said:

Have you tried this with Thai Immigration to get an extension yet? Or asked anyone at Thai Immigration if it is sufficient?  Or know of anyone who has asked or tried with Thai Immigration?  If not how do you know it is sufficient?

Yes, i did it 2 yrs ago and in the process right now. But it has to be done through Royal Thai Embassy Canberra not a  Thai Consul although the O visa can be got at a Consul.

 

[Huckenfell]

1 minute ago, Huckenfell said:

Yes, i did it 2 yrs ago and in the process right now. But it has to be done through Royal Thai Embassy Canberra not a  Thai Consul although the O visa can be got at a Consul.

 

I should add that the O-A can only be obtained from/in the country of your passport

[skatewash]

5 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Have you tried this with Thai Immigration to get an extension yet? Or asked anyone at Thai Immigration if it is sufficient?  Or know of anyone who has asked or tried with Thai Immigration?  If not how do you know it is sufficient?

Here's a report of an Australian receiving a retirement extension by showing proof of income but without an embassy income letter.  It's the first account I have seen of that happening.  Maybe a glimmer of hope:

https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1068418-has-anyone-used-monthly-income-without-the-income-letter/?page=4&tab=comments#comment-13569904

 

[Huckenfell]

1 minute ago, Huckenfell said:

I should add that the O-A can only be obtained from/in the country of your passport

If you want any up to date info regarding visas etc.,  ask UBON JOE  he is the expert and always very helpful

[marcusarelus]

3 minutes ago, skatewash said:

Here's a report of an Australian receiving a retirement extension by showing proof of income but without an embassy income letter.  It's the first account I have seen of that happening.  Maybe a glimmer of hope:

https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1068418-has-anyone-used-monthly-income-without-the-income-letter/?page=4&tab=comments#comment-13569904

 

What is it now?  About one yes and 10 no's?  Be interesting to see what Immigration office the fellow went to. 

[skatewash]

2 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

What is it now?  About one yes and 10 no's?  Be interesting to see what Immigration office the fellow went to. 

Agreed.  But if it can happen, that's a very good thing.  This could turn out to be an actual improvement to the income method process (not needing the embassy income letter).  I didn't think it would be possible because it puts more of a burden on the immigration officer to understand how the income requirement is being met.  But according to this account, the immigration officer was up to the task and it did happen, so it can happen.  

Not sure yet where it happened, but Mukdahan seems likely.  And of course, we all know by now that what works at Immigration Office A does not necessarily work at Immigration Office B.  And I agree that we have certainly had more reports of it not being accepted (several Danish applicants have reported this as recently as today).  So the problem is not solved by any means.  And there will likely be consistency problems.  But some small measure of hope is justified in my opinion.

[Jingthing]

Here in Australia one can only get O-A visa from Thai Embassy , not Thai Consul, so i doubt if it is any different in the USA. Here it can be done by mail and we can get the Federal Police cert online,at a cost of $A 42., don't know about your police though.

Some non embassies in the USA do it. Last I checked Chicago and LA.

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[bbi1]

Maybe it would be nice too to know how many of the TV posters use which method to stay in Thailand. Of course this is more for the TV posters who are considered expats or how you will call them

 

Considering that I'm still a couple of decades from becoming a grey nomad, I use the tourist visa route. Pain in the ass to fly out every 3 months but you gotta do what you gotta do.

[marcusarelus]

6 minutes ago, skatewash said:

Agreed.  But if it can happen, that's a very good thing.  This could turn out to be an actual improvement to the income method process (not needing the embassy income letter).  I didn't think it would be possible because it puts more of a burden on the immigration officer to understand how the income requirement is being met.  But according to this account, the immigration officer was up to the task and it did happen, so it can happen.  

Not sure yet where it happened, but Mukdahan seems likely.  And of course, we all know by now that what works at Immigration Office A does not necessarily work at Immigration Office B.  And I agree that we have certainly had more reports of it not being accepted (several Danish applicants have reported this as recently as today).  So the problem is not solved by any means.  And there will likely be consistency problems.  But some small measure of hope is justified in my opinion.

If you are correct that would mean that Thai Immigration wanted to do more work and give the foreign embassies a break. 

[Huckenfell]

1 minute ago, Jingthing said:

Some non embassies in the USA do it. Last I checked Chicago and LA.

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Sure it is for O-A and not just O

[Misab]

On 11/15/2018 at 8:46 AM, Expattaff1308 said:

Ditto.. used the Embassy letter since 2009 but unless things change with Imm then it will have to be the cash in bank

Ditto here. Danish Embassy letter, I don't know what the future will bring, maybe we will be forced to move to Malaysia 

[Huckenfell]

1 minute ago, bbi1 said:

 

 

Considering that I'm still a couple of decades from becoming a grey nomad, I use the tourist visa route. Pain in the ass to fly out every 3 months but you gotta do what you gotta do.

You do not have to fly out, you can always drive.

 

[Misab]

I use a Danish Embassy letter, I don't know what the future will bring, maybe we will be forced to move to Malaysia 

[bbi1]

1 minute ago, Huckenfell said:

You do not have to fly out, you can always drive.

 

Firstly, I'd need to buy a car which I have no intention doing as smart foreigners would never buy a car or drive in Thailand. Secondly, to drive from BKK to the border crossing and back would take forever and flying is more practical for me. Probably both would take the same amount of time to get back to BKK anyway????

[skatewash]

13 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

If you are correct that would mean that Thai Immigration wanted to do more work and give the foreign embassies a break. 

Yes, that's what it would mean.  Basically, it could be seen as Thai Immigration firing the embassies for not doing the job they thought they were doing and deciding to do the job themselves.

However, I'm basing this bit of optimism on a single report of a successful application of retirement extension made without the heretofore essential embassy income letter.  Who knows?  Maybe this approval was a mistake or an outlier.  I hope not.  But this is certain.  If they were going to allow applicants to prove their income without using the embassy income letter, we might find out about it when someone was actually successful in doing so.  Maybe we just witnessed that first success.  Maybe not.  Time will tell, but I'm feeling more optimistic at the end of this day than I did at the beginning of it. 

Edited November 16, 2018 by skatewash

[cyberfarang]

On 11/15/2018 at 11:33 AM, cleverman said:

What people were doing is irrelevant. Every thing you want to know has been commented on thousands of times already. 

Right. Just asking the same questions in different ways, hoping to get answers they prefer to hear.

[Huayrat]

On 11/15/2018 at 11:41 AM, rubik101 said:

There must be hundreds of residents who have been here for many years who have relied on the letters of income from the embassies. Many of them will have been here for many years, be married and have dependent children/families, etc. If they do not have 400k or 800k in the bank they will be in real difficulties when it comes to renewing their Non O visa. If the Thai gov't insist on the bank deposit then I fear many people will be forced to leave if they are unable to raise that amount of money when on a fixed pension income. There needs to be a solution from the Thai Immigration Service and it needs to be published very soon.

There is a service that puts the 800k in your bank and basically loans you the money then takes it straight back out for a fee so they will probably use that..

[CharlieH]

Reported Off topic post removed.

[KittenKong]

7 hours ago, kokesaat said:

I've read that if you were here previous to ??1998??, you only need 200k in a Thai bank account for your renewals.

My question:  does anyone have personal experience renewing their extension with only 200k (as an old-timer)?   

As far as I know that only works if you have been doing it continuously since before the amount was increased. Any breaks and you start again.

[cyberfarang]

1 hour ago, Huayrat said:

There is a service that puts the 800k in your bank and basically loans you the money then takes it straight back out for a fee so they will probably use that..

So have immigration invented a third annual extension option, the loan shark method?

 

And this is what is going to create more procedures for me at immigration when I apply for my yearly extension, in having to prove I did not acquired the money from any loans.

 

I`m angry and quite rightly so.  I don`t want to say too much and have my post deleted, but I`m sure many will understand my opinions on this subject of those trying to get around the immigration procedures and why.

[Jingthing]

1 hour ago, Huckenfell said:

Sure it is for O-A and not just O

Yes.

You're quite persistent.

http://www.thaiconsulatela.org/service_visa_detail.aspx?link_id=48

 

 

[lopburi3]

10 hours ago, Huckenfell said:

Sure it is for O-A and not just O

Official Thai Consulates, including the one at Thai Embassy, in the USA do indeed accept O-A visa applications.  It is the honorary Consulates that can not provide this service.

 

O-A can also be obtained in country of official residence - does not have to be your passport country.