Joint Bank Account for Extension of Stay/Retirement Visa

[Jumbo1968]

Will Jomtien accept a joint Bank Account for the 800000 baht, it would be in mine and my G/F ?

[DrJack54]

In your name only

[Griffo63]

Want about if there is more than 1.6 m Balt 

[DrJack54]

18 minutes ago, Griffo63 said:

Want about if there is more than 1.6 m Balt 

Your name only. Look at it this way. If you had 10million and the "other person" can withdraw then you have nothing. Its a sinsible rule.

[Jumbo1968]

I have opened a Thai Bank Account which allows 2 withdrawals a month and 50 baht for further withdrawals.

Will the Account be ok to convert my Non O Immigrant Visa to an Extension of Stay after seasoning for 2 months ?

[Banana7]

8 minutes ago, Jumbo1968 said:

I have opened a Thai Bank Account which allows 2 withdrawals a month and 50 baht for further withdrawals.

Will the Account be ok to convert my Non O Immigrant Visa to an Extension of Stay after seasoning for 2 months ?

Only if the account has 800,000+ baht for at least 2 months, is solely in your name, not a joint account. The money must be transferred into the account from outside Thailand for the first time applying for the visa.

 

[Banana7]

20 minutes ago, Jumbo1968 said:

 

For me, the IO in Bangkok wanted the Thai bank Tor Tor 3. But the Land Department had taken my Tor Tor 3 for the purchase of my condo, so the IO accepted the transaction codes in my Thai bank book, as adequate proof the money came from outside. The Thai bank would NOT issue a duplicate Tor Tor 3 for any reason.

 

I have no direct experience with Transferwise and I have never heard that it would be accepted as proof the funds originated outside Thailand. I recommend you do a bank to bank transfer using SWIFT.

 

Edited November 26, 2018 by Banana7

[DrJack54]

I think your over thinking. Just show a bank account in YOUR NAME ONLY, with the required amount, 800k. Seasoned for 2 months for first extension and 3 month for subsequent extensions.

First time I ever did it I had all various withdraws etc from my home country. It was never required. Final time I type this.. Account in your name showing funds seasoned. Simple requirement.

[Tanoshi]

8 hours ago, Jumbo1968 said:

I have opened a Thai Bank Account which allows 2 withdrawals a month and 50 baht for further withdrawals.

Will the Account be ok to convert my Non O Immigrant Visa to an Extension of Stay after seasoning for 2 months ?

Not sure what kind of account that is and which bank.

Savings, Fixed term and Foreign currency accounts are accepted by Immigration.

As long as you have immediate access to funds if required, without having to give notice, it should be acceptable.

 

8 hours ago, Banana7 said:

The money must be transferred into the account from outside Thailand for the first time applying for the visa.

That requirement only applies to those who entered Thailand Visa exempt, or a Tourist Visa and first have to alter their Immigration status to obtain a Non Imm O as a prerequisite to obtaining an extension.

As the OP already has a Non Imm O Visa, there is no requirement to prove it came from overseas, just proof of 800K deposited for 2 months prior to the date of application.

[SoSoCNX]

 

Your Name Only in Thai bank account for 3 months prior to the visa Extension. 

 

I keep THB in my Personal (my name only) Saving Account without ATM card. 

 

After reading ThaiVisa forums,

I strongly believe that it is Bad idea to keep large amount in joint account with Thai.

 

For convenience, I have different account with ATM card

 

[Toscano]

NO !!! The account has to be in your name only .  It is very unwise to have a joint account with major sums deposited in it , you could easily lose the lot .  A joint account should be secondary and have limited income fed into it that will cover monthly needs .

Better still your wife should have a separate account of her own that you feed a fixed sum of money into each month .

[soisanuk]

Quote

I have no direct experience with Transferwise and I have never heard that it would be accepted as proof the funds originated outside Thailand. I recommend you do a bank to bank transfer using SWIFT.

 

Transferwise wires the funds to your Thai bank account using the SWIFT code.  The currency is converted to baht before it is sent.

 

Bangkok Bank, which I use, sends me a text message when funds from outside Thailand are received and deposited to my account.  The entry on my online statement and in my passbook shows it to be an international transfer. This is the same treatment for my transfers using Transferwise as it was when I previously used ACH transfers from my US bank to Bangkok Bank's NY Branch.

 

Edited November 27, 2018 by soisanuk

[sometimewoodworker]

36 minutes ago, soisanuk said:

Transferwise wires the funds to your Thai bank account using the SWIFT code.  The currency is converted to baht before it is sent.

They may for some countries however my transfer today from the UK did not use a SWIFT code and it has come up as "ATS 
Automatic Transfer System" not an international transfer and the transferee came up as unknown.

 

So not suitable to be used for a condo purchase.

[UdeBoCM]

You can use a common bank account, but only 50% will be allowed to be used to obtain your visa, so you better have an other account for the remaining needed amount.

[carken]

I have been in Thailand for 12 years. I have a OA non-immigration visa. I have always used the "Income Affidavit" document notarized by US Embassy. I have been married to my Thai wife for 11 years, we built our home and live here permanently .

 

In the future it looks like I will have to use the 3 month seasoned bank account showing 40,000 Baht a month being deposited into it. I withdraw the money from my US bank using my US ATM card and deposit the 40,000 into our Thai bank.

 

I have 2 questions, and please if or when you answer these questions all I ask is that it's not here say or your personal opinion or some rumor but what has been told to you by Thai Immigration

     Question 1 ... does Thai baht "deposit"

                          have to come from outside

                          Thailand or is it OK that I

                          do the deposit myself using

                          money I got from ATM

     Question 2 ... My/our Thai bank is in both

                          my name and my Thai wife's

                          name. Will I have to open a

                          separate Thai Bank account

                          in my name only and use

                          that for my "proof of income"

Again please no heresay/rumor/personal opinion replies. Reply if this is info you got straight from the horses mouth which would be Thai Immigration

   Thank any and all in advance for helping me with these questions ... yes you are right I could just ask Thai Immigration but I don't want to raise any red flags for them ... I may have to ask them anyway if I/we cannot get substantiated answers. I hope I didn't piss anybody off with my "please no heresay/rumor/ personal opinion answers" ????

Edited November 27, 2018 by carken

[The Deerhunter]

On 11/23/2018 at 9:44 AM, DrJack54 said:

In your name only

Correct. Joint accounts require twice the deposit figure so that 50% is yours.

[ubonjoe]

22 minutes ago, carken said:

I have been in Thailand for 12 years. I have a OA non-immigration visa. I have always used the "Income Affidavit" document notarized by US Embassy. I have been married to my Thai wife for 11 years, we built our home and live here permanently .

I assume you applied for and obtained a OA visa that expired long ago and have been extending the entry from it for one year based upon retirement. Since the financial requirements for a OA visa are the same as those are needed for an extension based upon retirement. 

 

22 minutes ago, carken said:

I have 2 questions, and please if or when you answer these questions all I ask is that it's not here say or your personal opinion or some rumor but what has been told to you by Thai Immigration

     Question 1 ... does Thai baht "deposit" have to come from 

                          outside Thailand or is it OK that I do the

                          deposit myself using money I got from ATM

     Question 2 ... My/our Thai bank is in both my name and my

                          Thai wifes name. Will I have to open a separate

                          Thai Bank account in my name only and use

                          that for my "proof of income"

Are you applying for extensions based upon retirement or marriage? The 40k baht income is for an extension based upon marriage. Retirement is 65k baht.

At this time there is no certainty as to what will be required if you don't have a income affidavit.

1. It is assumed that if immigration accepts money going into a bank account for proof of income it will have to of come from abroad. It may require more than 3 months of the money going into the bank as well.

2. If you have a joint account they may want to see 80k baht going into the account if it is accepted if on an extension based upon marriage. It would be best to open an account in your name only to avoid having problems.

 

[Tanoshi]

1 hour ago, sometimewoodworker said:

They may for some countries however my transfer today from the UK did not use a SWIFT code and it has come up as "ATS 
Automatic Transfer System" not an international transfer and the transferee came up as unknown.

 

So not suitable to be used for a condo purchase.

Depends on the Thai bank.

Bangkok bank always shows as FTT (Foreign Telex Transaction) in the passbook, using Transferwise.

[judax]

I and my wife are both foreigners and we have a joint bank account. We both have to apply for retirement visa can we use this joint account which is in both of our names ?

Do we need 2x 800 000 Baht in the account ?

We are legally married.

[Tanoshi]

34 minutes ago, carken said:

Question 2 ... My/our Thai bank is in both

                          my name and my Thai wife's

                          name. Will I have to open a

                          separate Thai Bank account

                          in my name only and use

                          that for my "proof of income"

I use Bangkok Bank.

 

I have a Fixed Term account holding the funds required by Immigration for my extensions. (No debit card)

This gives a better interest rate than the Standard Savings account.

 

I then have a regular Savings account, with debit card, used for monthly living expenditure.

 

Both accounts are in my name, but my wife is registered as an authorised signature to both accounts.

She also has her own debit card for the Savings account.

In short, either one of us has access to both accounts, but the Passbook, statements or any letters issued by the bank appear in my name only.

[oobar]

32 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

I assume you applied for and obtained a OA visa that expired long ago and have been extending the entry from it for one year based upon retirement. Since the financial requirements for a OA visa are the same as those are needed for an extension based upon retirement. 

 

Are you applying for extensions based upon retirement or marriage? The 40k baht income is for an extension based upon marriage. Retirement is 65k baht.

At this time there is no certainty as to what will be required if you don't have a income affidavit.

1. It is assumed that if immigration accepts money going into a bank account for proof of income it will have to of come from abroad. It may require more than 3 months of the money going into the bank as well.

2. If you have a joint account they may want to see 80k baht going into the account if it is accepted if on an extension based upon marriage. It would be best to open an account in your name only to avoid having problems. 

 

My wife and I are both Americans, for which a single amount of 800k baht covers us both.  Can we  use a joint account for this?

[JackThompson]

7 minutes ago, oobar said:

My wife and I are both Americans, for which a single amount of 800k baht covers us both.  Can we  use a joint account for this?

One of you would get a Non-O based on retirement using the bank-account with 800K.  The other of you could get a Non-O based on being the spouse of the other, for which no bank-requirement is needed.

[ubonjoe]

14 minutes ago, oobar said:

My wife and I are both Americans, for which a single amount of 800k baht covers us both.  Can we  use a joint account for this?

Some immigration offices will accept a joint account but require you have 1.6 million baht be in the account when the spouse that is applying for the extension does it.

[oobar]

3 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Some immigration offices will accept a joint account but require you have 1.6 million baht be in the account when the spouse that is applying for their extension does it.

So it's twice the amount if the account is joint but only 800k if in a single account in the name of whichever of us decides to be the "prime" partner for the sake of immigration?

[ubonjoe]

7 minutes ago, oobar said:

So it's twice the amount if the account is joint but only 800k if in a single account in the name of whichever of us decides to be the "prime" partner for the sake of immigration?

That is correct. Immigration considers the funds in a joint account as 50/50%.

[thailand49]

Let me stir the pot and be a bit of a devil advocate?

I should have written down the website for Thai Immigration as a reference but right now I can't find it and will just answer based on what I think I read.

I think by now we all can conclude that every Thai Immigration office and the officers have a different interpretation of the rules.

When I went through their rules what I remember most was first-time applicants using the 800,000 baht it must be in a Thai bank season for 3 months thereafter for only 2 months, there is no wording that it has to be in the applicant name ONLY!  There is also no mention that the money must come from abroad! There is also no mention the 800,000 must come from abroad with some verification. I would assume if you are a foreigner even a TO should be able to figure that one out and that includes any monthly income since we are applying for an extension of retirement and not allow to work in Thailand.

There is no wording when it comes to the monthly income it has to be in a Thai bank.

None of the above doesn't mean I'm right or even have a legal leg to stand with the Thai Immigration, of course, they are holding all the cards and make whatever interpretation. Even if I had the time and money to file a lawsuit and took it to their Supreme Court just to screw with the system I would lose just for the fact I'm a foreigner. 

Twelve years ago, when I first applied for my retirement extension I wasn't married, I used an account jointly with my GF name on it who is now my wife. I can't remember exactly what was in the account but it was a hefty amount at that time in the Jomtien office there was a woman who headed the extension department. I used this same book for a number of years even after we were married without a problem. A year later personal reasons, I decided to open a number of other accounts distributing money from our joint account. I opened a joint account with my brother name who also lives in Thailand and decided the next year to use that account. During my application, the women head was replaced with another officer he looked over my application and told me that he would let it slide this year but won't be able to use this joint account (brother) in the future. I happen to have my original book with me still with my wife maiden name on it. I ask him if I could use this book explained she is my wife now and he said no problem. I ask him directly why I can't with my brother and I could use jointly my GF/Now wife.

Personally, if I have a joint account with anyone and the money is stolen whatever that is my personal lost it has no legal bearing on anyone particularly the Thai Immigration their only concern is I meet the guidelines the following year and if I can't that is on me!  He just said you should make out a Will.

The following year I just decided to use the Income letter and have been the last 7 years.

Here are my own plans today I was at the Embassy to obtain my affidavit, I noticed a few different procedures nothing major I won't go into it. But after I raised my hand I told her " I will see you next year I'm not that pessimistic " She responded with a smile. 

While I was waiting I met another American who resides in Siracha for 20 years, and married and does his extension there and was told by the head TO being here for over 15 years he only needs 200,000 baht in the bank in his own name.

So from reading all the threads on this subject including this one my assumption although it doesn't say has to be in your name only this is their interpretation. So when I go in January for my extension I'm going to test the water by using my original account with my name and my GF/Wife, if they refuse that I will pull out the affidavit for income and will report back what happened.

I just hope I'm in and out and not as long as this post?????

Edited November 27, 2018 by thailand49

[Pib]

21 hours ago, Jumbo1968 said:

I have opened a Thai Bank Account which allows 2 withdrawals a month and 50 baht for further withdrawals.

Will the Account be ok to convert my Non O Immigrant Visa to an Extension of Stay after seasoning for 2 months ?

Yes, your Krungsri Mee Tae Dai account is fine since you can access the funds immediately.  it's what I've been using for years for my annual retirement extension of stay renewal.

[Torrens54]

I have two accounts, one which my wife (a Thai) and I use on a daily basis.

 

The second account is in my name only and has the “required” amount and a little more for energency use.

This is of course the Account I use for my Annual Spouse Visa Application, the QUESTION... Although I will keep this account in MY NAME ONLY, I would like to make my now Adult Daughter, a JOINT SIGNATORY so that SHE can access the account in an Emergency. i.e., in a situation where my wife and I are both incapacitated.

 

Will this cause a problem when I show the “Required” Amount with my Visa Renewal ? 

 

Thanks in advance for advice !

Edited November 27, 2018 by Torrens54
Minor alterations to text.

[Suradit69]

11 hours ago, thailand49 said:

t I remember most was first-time applicants using the 800,000 baht it must be in a Thai bank season for 3 months thereafter for only 2 months

You seem to have this backwards. It's 2 months for the first retirement extension and three months for subsequent extensions.  Marriage extensions you need 2 months seasoning.

 

Didn't feel like wading through the balance of your seemingly endless post. Much of it seems to confuse income with bank balances or bank deposits. They're not the same thing although in future,  deposits into a Thai bank may replace income verification.

 

Most likely the Thai immigration website you got this misinformation from is one of those that appears official, but is in fact a commercial enterprise.

 

"Even if I had the time and money to file a lawsuit and took it to their Supreme Court just to screw with the system ..."

 

Since you would have no basis for a lawsuit based on your flawed interpretation of immigration law and its application you wouldn't get beyond attempting to hire a lawyer willing to pursue frivolous litigation. This isn't America ... and even there the system would flush you out before your dreams of the Supreme Court would materialize.

 

"I will see you next year... she responded with a smile."

 

It was probably a grimace. They must be fed up with people kvetching about the income affidavit.

[jacko45k]

13 hours ago, Tanoshi said:

Depends on the Thai bank.

Bangkok bank always shows as FTT (Foreign Telex Transaction) in the passbook, using Transferwise.

Does it not depend on the country from which it originates?

I have been told by some that one from the UK, with Transferwise, appears as a domestic transfer of THB at the Thai end.

Edited November 27, 2018 by jacko45k