This morning I went to Nonthaburi Immigration to do my Extension of Stay based on retirement.

 

Absolutely no problem using only the US Embassy income affidavit as proof of income. Although I had printed out detailed statements of my monthly pension, I was never asked for any kind of proof to back up the Embassy letter.

 

The officer was very efficient, but I sensed that she had limited ability understanding English. She never spoke with me and only spoke with my wife in Thai. Through my wife I asked the officer what they would need as verification of my income for next year since the US Embassy is no longer issuing income affidavits. She didn’t seem to comprehend the question and mentioned only the 800,000 Baht in the bank. I did not pursue the question any further.

 

I will wait until the smoke clears and we have some kind of definitive answer by Thai Immigration as to what constitutes verification of income before I look into changing my type of visa for next year.

 

Note that for the last couple of years, Nonthaburi Immigration requires a Thai Consulate guarantee stamp attached to the Embassy income affidavit from the Dept. of Consular Affairs in Chang Wattana.

 

 

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I was at Nakhon Pathom immigration office this afternoon to obtain a certificate of residency so that I can open a new bank account in order to season money for next year’s extension of stay. 

 

FYI .... I’m a UK citizen on a retirement extension which in previous years has been obtained using the letter from the British Embassy (allegedly) confirming my income.

 

Whilst waiting for my letter to be typed I asked the IO if he was aware that several Embassies were about to cease providing the income letter, and what were the alternatives so far as providing evidence of income.

He said that they had been informed by HQ that certain Embassies would no longer be providing their citizens with the income letter.  He thought that the Embassies concerned would stop providing their letters at the end of this year or early next years.

 

He said that as far as he was aware Immigration would still accept income letters from those Embassies who continue to produce them.

 

Regarding the alternative to providing evidence of income he said that those who can no longer provide a letter from their Embassy to support their application for an extension would need to go down the money in the bank route e.g. 400K for marriage extension or 800K for retirement extension. 

 

I asked if they (Immigration) would not accept pension payslips or bank statements as evidence of income as per the monthly rules.  He said that they would not because: a) the additional work in involved, b) possible language difficulties and c) they could not determine if the documents being submitted were real or fake.  Ironically, he said that Immigration had adopted the Embassy letters as evidence of income many years ago for just those reasons.

 

I asked if he knew if Immigration were making any changes to the current rules regarding extension of stays.  He said that he had not heard anything to indicate any changes are in the ‘pipeline’.

 

It should be noted that the above comments are from one front desk IO and may not necessarily reflect the policies/procedures adopted by other immigration offices.

1 hour ago, maxx58 said:

The officer was very efficient, but I sensed that she had limited ability understanding English. She never spoke with me and only spoke with my wife in Thai.

This is not unusual, but does not indicate she doesn't understand English.  If a Thai relative/friend is present, they speak Thai with them, and it is up to that person to do the translation.  For this reason, it is sometimes beneficial to to bring a Thai with - to ensure you get the info and opportunity for follow-up questions directly.

Thank You for your report.