Frustration at Immigration Office regarding income affidavit policy

[Issanjohn]

4 minutes ago, crazyk said:

You seem like a complete tossa,a lot of people are in the same boat,they may never had the chance for a private pension or couldn't afford it as they had a family to support,you come across as a self centred no family <deleted>

Well that guy really was full of it I confirmed it through a reliable source he was trying to be spiteful that’s why I responded to him like that.  Although honestly if you don’t receive the minimum monthly income requirement or have the required money in the bank then you might have a problem surviving here unless you’re working here or something but that’s your business not mine.  If you have family supporting you that’s different I have absolutely nothing against you or that situation.  Everyone’s situation is different.  

Edited November 18, 2018 by Issanjohn

[Surasak]

20 hours ago, samsensam said:

 

i always visit CW immigration alone and have always found the IOs to be helpful, patient and prepared to speak and explain in english. sure some have better english than others but it could be that because you have a thai with you it makes the IOs reluctant to speak english with you? i also prefer to connect directly with IOs not rely on translation/interpretation by a third party - even a wife or gf. this approach has served me well over the years in thailand and other countries.

Great for you and others on a retiement extension. Those who are on Marriage extensions have to have their wive with them.

[Maestro]

Quote

The income affidavits are currently valid for six months.

The operative word is "currently". Tomorrow, an immigration official somewhere may refuse an affidavit older than three months or one month, regardless of what the information published on the immigration website and circulated to immigration offices says. Sad, but true.

[luckyluke]

2 hours ago, Number 6 said:

And the affadavit and documents will be filed how?

As usual, as per today, except for the Americans, Australians, British, Danish. 

I received Friday an @mail from the Austrian Consul-General Pattaya that he still will issue a Letter of Income for the Austrians, Belgians,Dutch, Germans, Luxembourgers as long as T. I. accept it.

As per today T.I. didn't change anything in their directives, meaning they still accept, in fact demand, in some circumstances, a "Letter of Income" established by an Embassy or consulate. 

 

Of course everything can change tomorrow, even the amounts of 400 and 800.000. 

Edited November 18, 2018 by luckyluke

[tropo]

7 hours ago, Issanjohn said:

Yeah they’re still accepting the income affidavits for six months after completion I confirmed it with my immigration office at least a few days ago.  From reading the OPs post it sounds like he spoke to a lot of immigration officers and probably had a miscommunication or something but they do need to put out official guidance for after the income affidavits do eventually go away.  He was saying something about an IO’s personal opinion and other things and it was a bit confusing but I just kind of skimmed through it because I already know what my local immigration office is doing.  I can do my extension up to 45 days early so I’ll probably just do it in late December instead of January just to be safe, but they assured me that they would accept them past January 1st and for up to six months after the date of completion.  Apparently there’s still a lot of very nervous people out there that’s why I started collecting facts about it immediately when all the talk started instead of waiting till the last minute.  It’s always best to plan ahead as much as possible.  

You haven't said which immigration office you use. This is important. At the end of the day, it's what your own particular office does that counts.

[tropo]

7 hours ago, Just Weird said:

 

They are not contradictory!  The first statement is factual, the second, as she clearly pointed out, was hers and others' opinions, not confirmed official Immigration comment. 

Splitting hairs today are we?... or you just felt like making an argument about nothing....

 

They absolutely are contradictory statements and what is factual and opinion right now is a very grey area.

 

The important takeaway from the OP was that this particular office has decided that income statements aren't valid after January 1. That is very likely just an opinion too as right now there are NO FACTS, even if people have the opinion that they are.

[pontious]

43 minutes ago, Maestro said:

The operative word is "currently". Tomorrow, an immigration official somewhere may refuse an affidavit older than three months or one month, regardless of what the information published on the immigration website and circulated to immigration offices says. Sad, but true.

Then all you can  {after showing the directive } do is call the hotline - be  polite but otherwise you may as well just roll over. What if they say we will only extend people with red hair. The directive says 6 months. It is not a maybe if we feel good  - but a directive.

 

 

People with red hair please do not respond.????

Edited November 18, 2018 by pontious
add

[Maestro]

Removed some off-topic posts.

[Issanjohn]

1 hour ago, tropo said:

You haven't said which immigration office you use. This is important. At the end of the day, it's what your own particular office does that counts.

I’d prefer not to say what city I live in that’s personal information but don’t worry a very reliable source has also informed me that pretty much every other immigration office is on the same page doing it the same way, meaning that the income affidavits should still be accepted after January and for six months after the date of completion.  Although he did say that there maybe a few rouge immigration offices and a few IO’s out there putting out bad information.  I think those few rouge offices not on the same page as the rest of Thailand probably just haven’t got the word yet from immigration headquarters during this transition period but this last sentence is just my own personal opinion everything else above that is fact.  

 

So if your extension expires in February or even possibly as late as June theoretically your income affidavit should still be accepted.  After that we’ll see how immigration will want to verify our income late next year because no official guidance has been put out about that part of it yet, but I strongly suspect that during the summer of 2019 we’ll probably need to have our monthly income or your savings in a Thai bank account.  Even the US Embassy told me that when they eventually do stop accepting the income affidavits immigration will probably and I emphasize probably want to see my monthly income going into a Thai bank account.  So either next month or in January I will actually open a Thai bank account and start transferring maybe half of my monthly pension payments into a Thai bank account or at least the minimum monthly income requirement per month.  So in January 2020 long after income affidavits are gone when I do my extension again I should be covered because I think we all know where this is going and what immigration will eventually want to see as far as income verification probably Thai bank statements.  So might as well start preparing now.  In my situation in the meantime at least I know that they will accept my income affidavit this one last time, so I’m not as concerned about it as I was back in October.  I don’t mean you but I just wish people would stop spreading misinformation, false rumors, and I wish people would get the facts as I have as well as others have because that would end a lot of the mass hysteria about this.  As long as you fall within Thai immigration laws you should be fine I’m not worried about it anymore and trust me I don’t think it’s anything to worry about now that I know the real deal about the situation.  I really wouldn’t worry about it as long as you are within Thai immigration laws you should be fine.  

 

Anyway I really gotta sign off this website for tonight.  The only reason why I got so rapped up in this discussion is because I’ve been laid up with the flu.  Lately I’ve been ignoring all this stuff because I already know how it’s gonna work for me and sometimes I get tired of reading people’s options especially when their opinion is BS.  I’ve spoken to a lot of intelligent people in here tonight and a few, well I’ll just say not so intelligent people.  I don’t bother responding to some people in here anymore.  There’s only one person in this forum who I trust for accurate information based on facts and that’s ubonjoe.  Other than him you can ignore probably more than half of what you read in here although sometimes there are some intelligent conversations in this forum with some people.  

 

Anyway I really need to sleep off this cold or flu or whatever it is because I’ve got a long road trip tomorrow night ahead of me.  Anyway don’t worry chances are your immigration office is probably on the same page as mine because they told me that their immigration headquarters put that out as their internal policy regarding the income affidavits they’re supposed to be honored past January for up to six months after the date of completion so you shouldn’t have to worry depending on when your extension expires of course but even then I’m sure there will eventually be further guidance within the next six months.  Anyway good night I’m off the net for the night.  

[balo]

6 hours ago, xylophone said:

He is an old guy, hence me trying to help. So is anyone aware if the Norwegian Embassy is about to stop issuing the income letters??

 

No official statement about any changes from the Norwegian embassy .  

[Spidey]

9 hours ago, Issanjohn said:

he only thing that’s changing is that sometime next year Thai immigration won’t accept the income affidavit from the embassy anymore which means they’ll have to verify our income in a different way probably by Thai bank statements, pension letters etc.

They don't have to do anything. This is what we hope they will do. Somehow I doubt it.

[luckyluke]

1 hour ago, Spidey said:

They don't have to do anything. This is what we hope they will do. 

We all hope they will do, or continue to do,

the things which suit us. 

But they have full authority. 

We have the choice :

Comply

Move. 

[JLCrab]

While there may be other ways in the offing to substantiate monthly income for extension of stay purposes, I am going with the monthly FTT in a passbook account, if any, being at the top of the list.

 

And that ain't no flu.

[anon537687643]

Immigration requirements have not changed, your questions should be addressed elsewhere.

Keep up to date


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Issanjohn]

4 hours ago, Spidey said:

They don't have to do anything. This is what we hope they will do. Somehow I doubt it.

Uh yeah okay, honestly I don’t care either way because I know that I can verify my income from my home country regardless of how immigration wants to verify it. I think some people on here just want attention and I’m done reading posts from people regarding visas, extensions, and immigration except from one guy who actually knows what he’s talking about based on actual facts.  Actually my local immigration office is awesome I was just there Friday.  Anyway if you want attention go join the circus or something LMAO ???? ????????.

Edited November 19, 2018 by Issanjohn

[luckyluke]

35 minutes ago, markaoffy said:

Keep up to date


Immigration official requirements, for the expats, have not changed as per yesterday ( maybe they will today ).

 

Eventual alterations by T.I, of their official directives, will surely be applaud by some but also booed by others.

[steve187]

18 hours ago, jesimps said:

I think what he meant was that we are talking about the perfectly legal within the immigration rules, monthly income method here and Steve187 was banging on about the money on deposit method. I'll stake everything I own that there isn't one member of TVF who doesn't know that as a married man he can season 400,000 for two months to qualify for an extension. I wouldn't have reported Steve for misinformation, but I would've done for trying to be a smart alec.

are you suggesting that as the 3rd reply to an op, that was about not being able to fund a 'retirement' extension other than by way of embassy letters, i made a perfectly valid point, that by changing to a 'married' extension there would be less money to find, this may have not been in the op's thoughts as he states that he has been on 'retirement' extension for several years. no one at the time of my post had made this thread solely about monthly proof of money routes to extensions, now at post 75 you are saying that the only posts that should be made should refer to the monthly route, this is a public forum and in my opinion posters cannot be controlled in this manner. i stand by my post that was made at the early stages of this thread.

[Moti24]

I can sympathise with those caught-up with the "Income Affidavit Policy".

I have a spousal extension which I renew every year.  I need 400.000 Baht in the bank to renew, less than the 800'000 required for the retirement extension.  I would prefer not to put any lump-sum into a Thai bank.  However, for me, it is the least of the 2 evils to just transfer the money from the UK each year. 

 

Some expats, I know, struggle with funding for their lifestyle in a country that used to be so welcoming.  I am no different; the current exchange rate has ruined the once comfortable lifestyle for many.  However, that isn't Thailand's fault, for UK expats, the gutless UK Prime Minister, who refuses to grow any balls, is responsible for that.  What is very annoying is having money in the Thai banking system, earning these banks extra income at the expense of the expats; as far as I'm concerned, it's nothing less than legal extortion.

 

The current crackdown of checking the financial resources of expats is purely down to the unscrupulous agents who have operated for years, nothing else.  While backhanders have been a daily routine, earning these agents and everybody involved in the food-chain a small fortune, it has eventually been noted that some expats are not contributing to the economy as much as the Thai government would like.  I can't blame any expats for not conforming to the rules, when the system has been open to abuse for so long.

 

Again, I sympathise with those expats that have contributed to the extortion racket.  Unfortunately, the straw has been piling-up on the camel's back for some time, and you will reap the rewards of countless extortion racket members before you.

 

You can't rely on a continued back-door visa extension, so don't leave it until the last minute.  If you can't meet the current criteria for obtaining a legitimate visa extension, plan your move now.

[JohnOFphon]

(cut all ties in U.S. when we came to Thailand).

All ties??    except SSI and USA passport.

 

[Jack james]

my visa expires jan 22 how early can i renew it? dec 31?

[ubonjoe]

5 minutes ago, Jack james said:

my visa expires jan 22 how early can i renew it? dec 31?

Not sure what you have.

If you have an extension of stay you can apply for new one up to 30 days early or 45 days at some offices. 

[Tanoshi]

1 hour ago, Moti24 said:

I would prefer not to put any lump-sum into a Thai bank. 

Why, for what reason.

 

1 hour ago, Moti24 said:

What is very annoying is having money in the Thai banking system, earning these banks extra income at the expense of the expats; as far as I'm concerned, it's nothing less than legal extortion.

You think your UK bank isn't earning income from your money and offering you next to 0% interest.

I can at least get up to 1.8% interest from a Thai bank.

[JLCrab]

3 hours ago, Issanjohn said:

I think some people on here just want attention

Yes and as Mark Twain put it: 

 

“I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.”

Edited November 19, 2018 by JLCrab

[Jingthing]

2 hours ago, no deal said:

you don't need the ambassy  income letter, if you have income you can prove to immigration,that what I do for 10 years now,the ambassy don't check your income, they just make the letter whit the income you told them,immigration find out!that why they ask the ambassy to check your real income,and they don't want to do that,immigration as nothing to do whit that, they want to know your real income that the law!so I understand a lot people have real problem now to prove they real income...

You are saying for 10 years now you've been doing income based extension applications without an embassy letter? No? Then what's your point then? 

[dick dasterdly]

13 hours ago, Issanjohn said:

I’d prefer not to say what city I live in that’s personal information but don’t worry a very reliable source has also informed me that pretty much every other immigration office is on the same page doing it the same way, meaning that the income affidavits should still be accepted after January and for six months after the date of completion.  Although he did say that there maybe a few rouge immigration offices and a few IO’s out there putting out bad information.  I think those few rouge offices not on the same page as the rest of Thailand probably just haven’t got the word yet from immigration headquarters during this transition period but this last sentence is just my own personal opinion everything else above that is fact.  

 

So if your extension expires in February or even possibly as late as June theoretically your income affidavit should still be accepted.  After that we’ll see how immigration will want to verify our income late next year because no official guidance has been put out about that part of it yet, but I strongly suspect that during the summer of 2019 we’ll probably need to have our monthly income or your savings in a Thai bank account.  Even the US Embassy told me that when they eventually do stop accepting the income affidavits immigration will probably and I emphasize probably want to see my monthly income going into a Thai bank account.  So either next month or in January I will actually open a Thai bank account and start transferring maybe half of my monthly pension payments into a Thai bank account or at least the minimum monthly income requirement per month.  So in January 2020 long after income affidavits are gone when I do my extension again I should be covered because I think we all know where this is going and what immigration will eventually want to see as far as income verification probably Thai bank statements.  So might as well start preparing now.  In my situation in the meantime at least I know that they will accept my income affidavit this one last time, so I’m not as concerned about it as I was back in October.  I don’t mean you but I just wish people would stop spreading misinformation, false rumors, and I wish people would get the facts as I have as well as others have because that would end a lot of the mass hysteria about this.  As long as you fall within Thai immigration laws you should be fine I’m not worried about it anymore and trust me I don’t think it’s anything to worry about now that I know the real deal about the situation.  I really wouldn’t worry about it as long as you are within Thai immigration laws you should be fine.  

 

Anyway I really gotta sign off this website for tonight.  The only reason why I got so rapped up in this discussion is because I’ve been laid up with the flu.  Lately I’ve been ignoring all this stuff because I already know how it’s gonna work for me and sometimes I get tired of reading people’s options especially when their opinion is BS.  I’ve spoken to a lot of intelligent people in here tonight and a few, well I’ll just say not so intelligent people.  I don’t bother responding to some people in here anymore.  There’s only one person in this forum who I trust for accurate information based on facts and that’s ubonjoe.  Other than him you can ignore probably more than half of what you read in here although sometimes there are some intelligent conversations in this forum with some people.  

 

Anyway I really need to sleep off this cold or flu or whatever it is because I’ve got a long road trip tomorrow night ahead of me.  Anyway don’t worry chances are your immigration office is probably on the same page as mine because they told me that their immigration headquarters put that out as their internal policy regarding the income affidavits they’re supposed to be honored past January for up to six months after the date of completion so you shouldn’t have to worry depending on when your extension expires of course but even then I’m sure there will eventually be further guidance within the next six months.  Anyway good night I’m off the net for the night.  

"but don’t worry a very reliable source has also informed me that pretty much every other immigration office is on the same page"

 

It's the emboldened part that worries me.  i.e. not ALL Immigration offices are on the same page!

 

Much as I appreciate your latest 'news' from your particular Immigration office - we all know that different IOs have different 'rules'....

 

I hope you're right that all IOs will accept the proof of income letter for 6 months (with back up documentation if considered necessary) - but suspect that this will not always be the case.

Edited November 19, 2018 by dick dasterdly

[Jingthing]

3 minutes ago, dick dasterdly said:

Much as I appreciate your latest 'news' from your particular Immigration office - we all know that different IOs have different 'rules'....

 

I hope you're right that all IOs will accept the proof of income letter for 6 months (with back up documentation if considered necessary) - but suspect that this will not always be the case.

My position is based on the contradictory information we've been getting so far, there is simply no way to know what will happen with older letters next year. It's a safe bet to say sometimes accepted rather than never accepted or always accepted, but still, nobody can possibly know for sure. 

[Tanoshi]

12 minutes ago, dick dasterdly said:

I hope you're right that all IOs will accept the proof of income letter for 6 months (with back up documentation if considered necessary) - but suspect that this will not always be the case.

And according to my IO, they will continue to accept proof of income letters for up to 6 months, providing a new directive isn't issued, or they are instructed otherwise.

 

The last comment being, I advise you to put the 400/800K funds in a Thai bank.

 

Nothing like optimism to give you any feeling of confidence. 

[dick dasterdly]

1 minute ago, Tanoshi said:

And according to my IO, they will continue to accept proof of income letters for up to 6 months, providing a new directive isn't issued, or they are instructed otherwise.

 

The last comment being, I advise you to put the 400/800K funds in a Thai bank.

 

Nothing like optimism to give you any feeling of confidence. 

"The last comment being, I advise you to put the 400/800K funds in a Thai bank."

 

Thank you for nothing....

 

We already know that at the moment this is the best, current option (as long as the extension renewal is due in March next year.....) - but it doesn't help those of us talking about the income route....

Edited November 19, 2018 by dick dasterdly

[Tanoshi]

5 minutes ago, dick dasterdly said:

"The last comment being, I advise you to put the 400/800K funds in a Thai bank."

 

Thank you for nothing....

 

We already know that at the moment this is the best, current option (as long as the extension renewal is due in March next year.....) - but it doesn't help those of us talking about the income route....

You didn't quote my last comment.

16 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

Nothing like optimism to give you any feeling of confidence. 

Basically meaning, we know as much as any IO knows, which is currently nothing new.

[dick dasterdly]

Just now, Tanoshi said:

You didn't quote my last comment.

Basically meaning, we know as much as any IO knows, which is currently nothing new.

Actually I quoted your post in it's entirety, whilst only then referring to the particular comment to which I was replying.

 

Edit - I received a 'holiday' previously for not quoting the entire post to which I was referring/emboldening part of a post without putting it outside the actual "quote" - so know very well that it's necessary to quote the whole post - and only then quote the part to which one wishes to respond.

Edited November 19, 2018 by dick dasterdly