Income statement letters from embassies no longer required, confirms Phuket Immigration

[marcusarelus]

1 minute ago, orchidfan said:

My local IO definitely wanted the Stat Dec  translated and the "legalising" process confirms to the IO that what I have had translated is "legally" confirmed as true and correct. Costs only a few hundred baht. The "legalised" Thai translation is being sent to my home address by EMS....60 baht.

Well worth doing...for as long as we can get a stat dec witnessed at the embassy.

What office?

[jessebkk1]

16 hours ago, JackThompson said:

Agree with your entire post - other than I don't think we can lay this at the feet of the latest head of immigration.  The nightmares at the airports, the increasing restrictions on Tourist Visa issuance, and the initiation of the embassy-letter issue (started in a May 2018 meeting), all pre-dated his move to Immigration from the Tourist Police. 

  The agent who I use to procure visas for my foreign staff in Bangkok told me as far back in july 2017 that the tourist police (Big Joke) was responsible for the refusal/difficulty of visas at the Bangkok Immigration, he's been poking his nose in the immigration department since 2016, you can see him doing it right now with other departments of police work. And I believe the last TI boss had to give up and walk away from the job for him.

 

  Yes, I agree that a lot dense folks are making decisions for Thailand's immigration - the "oh I had a car crash before so I'm never using cars again" kind of approach to solving problems.

 

  Oh people are abusing the border running system we'll shot it down - that single handedly made it impossible for people who live in nearby major cities like Hong Kong/Singapore but hang out every weekend in Thailand to stop coming. That is millions per year of actual spending tourists.

 

 Then they followed the same approach to clamp down on ED visas, non B visas, marriage and now retirement disregarding the impact to the economy.

 

One has to ask what kind of people sit down and make these decisions for Thailand, maybe people who have convinced themselves (regardless of the obvious) that Thailand doesnt need this "foreigners" money or perhaps someone hell bent on running the country to the ground.

 

  All in all, thailand should look after those who have paid their dues in thailand and have lived and spent here for decades, by providing them some longer form of visas. I know a gentleman with a factory in a province in central thailand, has lived here since 1979, employs over 70 Thai people and to this day only gets the yearly non b visa. One time he fired an employee for stealing and the entire community with official backing from the province's employment bureau started a strike action, until he re-instated the employee and no one has ever asked all this while what kind of visas he's one. There are tens of thousands of similar stories like this, with a few leaving every year because of difficulty keeping up with visas. This income letter situation is going to send a lot of long term "spending" stayers back home and everybody is losing in that scenario.

[soalbundy]

13 minutes ago, jessebkk1 said:

  The agent who I use to procure visas for my foreign staff in Bangkok told me as far back in july 2017 that the tourist police (Big Joke) was responsible for the refusal/difficulty of visas at the Bangkok Immigration, he's been poking his nose in the immigration department since 2016, you can see him doing it right now with other departments of police work. And I believe the last TI boss had to give up and walk away from the job for him.

 

  Yes, I agree that a lot dense folks are making decisions for Thailand's immigration - the "oh I had a car crash before so I'm never using cars again" kind of approach to solving problems.

 

  Oh people are abusing the border running system we'll shot it down - that single handedly made it impossible for people who live in nearby major cities like Hong Kong/Singapore but hang out every weekend in Thailand to stop coming. That is millions per year of actual spending tourists.

 

 Then they followed the same approach to clamp down on ED visas, non B visas, marriage and now retirement disregarding the impact to the economy.

 

One has to ask what kind of people sit down and make these decisions for Thailand, maybe people who have convinced themselves (regardless of the obvious) that Thailand doesnt need this "foreigners" money or perhaps someone hell bent on running the country to the ground.

 

  All in all, thailand should look after those who have paid their dues in thailand and have lived and spent here for decades, by providing them some longer form of visas. I know a gentleman with a factory in a province in central thailand, has lived here since 1979, employs over 70 Thai people and to this day only gets the yearly non b visa. One time he fired an employee for stealing and the entire community with official backing from the province's employment bureau started a strike action, until he re-instated the employee and no one has ever asked all this while what kind of visas he's one. There are tens of thousands of similar stories like this, with a few leaving every year because of difficulty keeping up with visas. This income letter situation is going to send a lot of long term "spending" stayers back home and everybody is losing in that scenario.

BJ maybe about to hang himself then if he has given himself so much rope, I can imagine he has made a lot of enemies.

[OJAS]

18 hours ago, JackThompson said:

BE claims (per a FOI) they took no notes on the exchange?  Then used that undocumented-exchange to form policy?  Sounds fishy.

I actually think that they used a pure figment of their imagination to form policy (based on monthly sighting of income in a Thai bank account)!

[Media1]

1 minute ago, OJAS said:

I actually think that they used a pure figment of their imagination to form policy (based on monthly sighting of income in a Thai bank account)!

The last extension l did at Jomtien. She actually asked me the current exchange rate. And worked with that lol.

[DUNROAMIN]

On 11/23/2018 at 9:55 AM, Russell17au said:

I have been asked twice in the last 18 months for my passport at 2 different police checkpoints and they checked everything in it including the departure card, 90 day report date and the address receipt. How many of you carry a copy of them?

Maybe it depends where you live? Here in North Eastern Isaan country the Police don't seem to be bothered with Visa's.

[soalbundy]

2 minutes ago, DUNROAMIN said:

Maybe it depends where you live? Here in North Eastern Isaan country the Police don't seem to be bothered with Visa's.

ditto, I carry nothing with me in Surin, never been stopped. I was involved in a car accident a few years back, all the BiB wanted to look at was my drivers license.

[merijn]

51 minutes ago, DUNROAMIN said:

Maybe it depends where you live? Here in North Eastern Isaan country the Police don't seem to be bothered with Visa's.

Same for me, I live in Phuket and had never a issue.

In over 30 years i'm only stopped once with my car and after checking the DL all as fine.

Normally i just get flagged through.

Only in the deep south they are more strict (understandable) but as soon they see it's a farang they don't stop you.

[maximillian]

On 11/23/2018 at 1:54 AM, Hockeybik said:

They should be making it THE retirement destination of the world instead of continually putting up blocks.

 

Good idea, but have you ever seen them doing what they should do ?

 

[davidst01]

On 11/22/2018 at 6:59 PM, darksidedog said:

“However, the foreigner applying for the visa (or permit-to-stay) will still have to prove that they have the funds to stay in the country, such as by showing bank statements that prove the foreigner has B800,000 in a Thai bank account,” he said.
Read more at https://www.thephuketnews.com/income-statement-letters-from-embassies-no-longer-required-confirms-phuket-immigration-69438.php#IZF5tP7cSx8GQ7b0.99

So is that the only option? What about the 65,000 a month? Is that no longer an option? It seems that if we want to stay we have to put money into banks that many of us dont fully trust. I feel somewhat betrayed by the Embassies. You can guarantee they will not be there in our corner if/when our cash has vanished.

I hope immigration can come up with much firmer details on what is and isn't acceptable before crunch time comes, as I can already hear the squeals of pain and outrage.

your a bit dramatic. Have you ever heard of 800k going missing. I trust KTB myself. It might happen sometimes but very rarely and most likely from fraud not the bank

[Jingthing]

Excellent news - I'll be there at opening time tomorrow. Thank you.

Why would you keep the visa card as well?

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[mikebell]

9 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Why would you keep the visa card as well?

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

At the moment I have a useless Unionpay card which no one outside of China & Thai ATMs accepts.  A Mastercard will enable me to book hotels without having to use my UK debit card with its punitive foreign currency charges.

[Jingthing]

7 hours ago, mikebell said:

At the moment I have a useless Unionpay card which no one outside of China & Thai ATMs accepts.  A Mastercard will enable me to book hotels without having to use my UK debit card with its punitive foreign currency charges.

Yes, I get that about Unionpay. I was asking why someone getting a new Mastercard from BB would keep their existing BB Visa card as well. 

[soalbundy]

3 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Yes, I get that about Unionpay. I was asking why someone getting a new Mastercard from BB would keep their existing BB Visa card as well. 

They want 8,000 baht for a new exhaust pipe on my Yamaha, oh wait ! was this off topic.

[ubonjoe]

12 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Yes, I get that about Unionpay. I was asking why someone getting a new Mastercard from BB would keep their existing BB Visa card as well. 

I kept the Visa debit/atm card so I could test that the Mastercard would work for all the things I normally do with the Visa card.

The lady at the bank asked the same thing but wanted to make sure I understood I would have to pay the annual fees for all the cards (3 in total since I kept my union pay for my daughter to use when needed).

[ubonjoe]

2 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

They want 8,000 baht for a new exhaust pipe on my Yamaha, oh wait ! was this off topic.

You seem to be stuck on commenting about the discussion of debit/atm cards being off topic. It resulted from a comment during the discussion of banks to use to transfer money into which certainly is on topic.

Also much closer to being on topic than other posts made in this topic.

[Jingthing]

4 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

I kept the Visa debit/atm card so I could test that the Mastercard would work for all the things I normally do with the Visa card.

The lady at the bank asked the same thing but wanted to make sure I understood I would have to pay the annual fees for all the cards. 

Thanks. I had assumed there would be multiple fees so wondered why pay that as MC is so universally accepted. I have a different problem with my BB visa card. The plastic coating with the number is on the way to falling off completely. I'll get the MC there (resisted ever bothering with Unionpay) but I'm curious, would such a card still work if the plastic number coating was totally removed? Like in an ATM? I realize I can't get a new one. Kind of an academic question as I'll probably dump the Visa card, but I'm still curious.

[soalbundy]

3 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

You seem to be stuck on commenting about the discussion of debit/atm cards being off topic. It resulted from a comment during the discussion of banks to use to transfer money into which certainly is on topic.

Also much closer to being on topic than other posts made in this topic.

and sort of expanded to debit cards

[ubonjoe]

8 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Thanks. I had assumed there would be multiple fees so wondered why pay that as MC is so universally accepted. I have a different problem with my BB visa card. The plastic coating with the number is on the way to falling off completely. I'll get the MC there (resisted ever bothering with Unionpay) but I'm curious, would such a card still work if the plastic number coating was totally removed? Like in an ATM? I realize I can't get a new one. Kind of an academic question as I'll probably dump the Visa card, but I'm still curious.

I just wanted to be sure the MasterCard would work before giving up the Visa card. I may cancel it once I am sure the MC works for all the international payments I occasionally do. I got the UnionPay initially to reduce the chances of my Visa card getting lost or eaten by a ATM machine.

The card should work unless the magnetic strip is damaged. The numbers mean nothing unless you are trying to read them to enter when doing a online transaction.

[Tofer]

22 hours ago, davidst01 said:

your a bit dramatic. Have you ever heard of 800k going missing. I trust KTB myself. It might happen sometimes but very rarely and most likely from fraud not the bank

I agree entirely. I've had bank accounts in Thailand both baht and USD since I first lived here in 1989, never had anything go missing.

 

Standard Chartered, Bank of Ayudhaya, Bangkok bank and KTB. 

 

Brilliant service from all of them.

[gk10002000]

So the article seems to conflict with itself.  So far, two things seem to be likely to happen:  1:  Make everybody put up the 800k Baht.  Difficult or impossible for many, also undesirable by many.  2:  Show monthly transfers into a Thai bank account.  Inconvenient and expensive for many as transfer funds add up.  Again undesirable or challenging for many.  Some people get lump sum annuities, and not monthly payouts.  And I point out that just showing some transfers for x number of months is no proof that one actually has sustainable income.  It does not show one has a steady reliable pension, a large portfolio of dividend paying stocks or funds, bond interest, rental income, etc.  One could simply be spending down some amount of cash and will be broke in a year.  That is not what the intent of having retirement income was

[onera1961]

1 hour ago, gk10002000 said:

And I point out that just showing some transfers for x number of months is no proof that one actually has sustainable income. 

Why one needs a sustainable income? They only will give one year of extension. If someone can prove they can live here for one year, that should be sufficient. For example, I live one year in Thailand and then go back to the US to earn money again and save 800K to live in Thailand for another year. I should be able to do that indefinitely. 

[gk10002000]

2 hours ago, onera1961 said:

Why one needs a sustainable income? They only will give one year of extension. If someone can prove they can live here for one year, that should be sufficient. For example, I live one year in Thailand and then go back to the US to earn money again and save 800K to live in Thailand for another year. I should be able to do that indefinitely. 

  That is exactly what I said.  Showing past transfers in for one year, does NOT mean the person has any income for the next year! They only need to show sustainable for the next one year.  The problem is how to show that since now the embassies are not issuing income affidavit letters.   Now if one goes the 800k baht on deposit route, well, that has nothing to do with the income method of proof.

Edited November 26, 2018 by gk10002000
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[JLCrab]

4 hours ago, gk10002000 said:

That is exactly what I said.  Showing past transfers in for one year, does NOT mean the person has any income for the next year!

So, if not, then they won't get a one-year extension NEXT year.

[mikebell]

18 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Yes, I get that about Unionpay. I was asking why someone getting a new Mastercard from BB would keep their existing BB Visa card as well. 

If BKK bank had allowed me to keep my Visa card there would have been no problem.   When it expired they foisted the Unionpay rubbish on me.  Up until this  month it was the only option.    All 's well now - I was issued with a Mastercard debit card yesterday  within 15 minutes of walking into my 2nd Road branch.                                                                 

[ubonjoe]

A couple of off topic posts and a reply to one of them have been removed.

[Olmate]

6 hours ago, Benroon said:

You could have problems with all of them in the U.K. and people do every day PLUS try getting overpaid tax back in the U.K., try appealing against a speeding ticket in the UK when you have been caught by equipment that has recorded courtroom walls moving at 7mph etc etc.  

As for landlords, try getting your house back from someone who hasn’t paid you rent for TWO YEARS and has the law on their side in the U.K. 

So again a weak effort to somehow insinuate Thailand is a rogue state. It’s ridiculous. 

Sleep easy then,you risk yours and I’ll  keep mine!

[Delight]

 Paid a visit to Jomtien Immigration

I took with me a letter from my Main pension provider which stated that I had a pension for life with a value of £xxx. This value increasing every year in line with UK inflation

The official advised that the letter would be acceptable if the British Embassy  stamped  it.

So this may be the work around.

Essentially the visa-extension applicant has to do the work i.e obtain the letters from his/her pension provider(s)

All that is required then  is for the embassies to apply the stamp-no doubt for a fee.

If this were to be introduced the  same letter can be used for every subsequent application.

[Olmate]

2 hours ago, Benroon said:

I'm not sure what I'm risking - a fool and his money are soon parted in any country. Perhaps that's the issue ?

Reads like you,ve done it all here and the UK,some never learn.....in any event it’s old news now!

[pontious]

49 minutes ago, Delight said:

 Paid a visit to Jomtien Immigration

I took with me a letter from my Main pension provider which stated that I had a pension for life with a value of £xxx. This value increasing every year in line with UK inflation

The official advised that the letter would be acceptable if the British Embassy  stamped  it.

So this may be the work around.

Essentially the visa-extension applicant has to do the work i.e obtain the letters from his/her pension provider(s)

All that is required then  is for the embassies to apply the stamp-no doubt for a fee.

If this were to be introduced the  same letter can be used for every subsequent application.

They mean an embassy letter - from the 12th Dec the BE will not issue anymore. There will be no embassy stamp.

Edited November 30, 2018 by pontious
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