Update: New Thai immigration rules for income!

[scubascuba3]

To those comments above: Here we are trying to figure out what will be a new option for those who have for years legitimately claimed via affidavit a monthly income in excess of 65K baht and the bulk of the discussion is how the bunco artists can put in the fix.

The whole thing is ridiculous, trying to stop people spending money in Thailand, ting tong

[Ned]

I hope they go the 800K method. At least then the farang would have some money in Thailand  and in the case of a medical emergency would be able to pay cash on the spot. 

Maybe then no more need for Immigration to be planning on bringing in compulsory health insurance to get a visa extension.

[Mavideol]

it will be a difficult one for everybody.....monthly pensions are a fixed amount, exchange rates are "unfixed" change every minute/hour/day/week/month, how can one guaranty his/hers FIXED pension amount will cover the required baht amount...

[sqwakvfr]

This is good news for me. I now have a firm departure date for 2020.

 

I still have financial obligations in the US and I would have to occasionally Do a Double Transfer. Transfer 65k out and transfer some back. Not a big fan of this

 

 

My credit cards are from a US bank and I use them often for travel. I do not believe I can pay my US bills with Thai Bank account.

 

Does anyone know if a Thai bank will issue me a credit card? Will a Thai bank accept my Income statement?  Of course without the Income Affidavit

It was fun while it lasted.

[jackdd]

8 minutes ago, JLCrab said:

To those comments above: Here we are trying to figure out what will be a new option for those who have for years legitimately claimed via affidavit a monthly income in excess of 65K baht and the bulk of the discussion is how the bunco artists can put in the fix.

Probably because there is not much to discuss about it.

Currently it looks like the new rule to get an extension based on income will be as simple "65k THB per month being transferred from abroad into a Thai bank account"

Then i gave an example of how people without the required income could exploit this new rule by transferring money back and forth, and explained why i think that immigration may come up with additional rules to avoid this exploitation, just maybe not initially.

In case i didn't miss something in this thread this has so far been the only reason which objects to the new rule being as simple as "65k THB per month being transferred from abroad into a Thai bank account".

If anybody comes up with other reasons which might either confirm or object the rule being "65k THB per month being transferred from abroad into a Thai bank account" the discussion might change.

[Olmate]

3 minutes ago, madmen said:

Why are you mudying waters with your hysteria? They might do this, they could do that, you will go to jail all based on pure fantasy

Methinks likes to play the devils advocate,fits the persona!

[dick dasterdly]

Just now, Ned said:

I hope they go the 800K method. At least then the farang would have some money in Thailand  and in the case of a medical emergency would be able to pay cash on the spot. 

Maybe then no more need for Immigration to be planning on bringing in compulsory health insurance to get a visa extension.

You're missing the obvious point that whilst some of us are able to use the 800k in bank method, we have enough income to (currently/previously) meet retirement requirements.

 

As long as the income route exists, we view the cash sums in our foreign banks as money available for emergencies.  If the income route was to disappear, the cash sums currently available would no longer be available as 'emergency money'- as it would need to stay in the bank if we wish to remain in Thailand.

[wobalt]

My wife has a monthly salary far above 40k. I wonder if she can still support me by sending money monthly to my account?


Gesendet von iPad mit Thaivisa Connect

[jackdd]

4 minutes ago, wobalt said:

My wife has a monthly salary far above 40k. I wonder if she can still support me by sending money monthly to my account?

This was never possible and isn't possible now

Only a foreigner wife can rely on the income of her Thai husband (not foreigner husband with Thai wife)

[riclag]

12 hours ago, elviajero said:

There doesn’t appear to be anything new in the OP. 

 

Last I heard, the main issue — coming from the meeting back in December — was how to deal with first time applicants that have only been in the country 3 months.

 

These threads are pointless. We need to wait for the official announcement.

Ditto, I plan on applying for the Marriage Visa for the First Time  in April

[wobalt]

This was never possible and isn't possible now
Only a foreigner wife can rely on the income of her Thai husband (not foreigner husband with Thai wife)

Not really true


Sent from my iPad using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[wobalt]

We have a company in Europe so the money is foreign sourced. M wife will pay me a monthly salary/ pension out of our income


Gesendet von iPad mit Thaivisa Connect

[Searat7]

I foresee increased business for the dodgy agents who presumably deposit the 800,000 b in customer’s account for just a few days and get this by the TI official who is obviously in the loop. There should be separate windows at Immigration for agents so the rest of us don’t have to put up with their constant queue jumping as they don’t have to get numbers like us. 

Edited January 5, 2019 by Searat7
Wrong currency used

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 hours ago, Lovethailandelite said:

Good luck getting your extension when TI inspect your bank book and account, looking at the 12 proceeding months of income and how it's been manipulated. Do you think they are stupid and are not aware of this?
 

 

There are legitimate incoming international transfers (e.g. Transferwise) that don't explicitly show as international transfers on the Thai bank book ledger end of things (except for perhaps at Bangkok Bank).

 

Right now, we have absolutely no idea how Immigration would respond to seeing 65 or 40K per month arriving via that method into a Thai bank where the incoming transfer isn't explicitly labeled by the Thai bank as international, even though it is.

 

You have no basis for presuming Immigration wouldn't accept it (especially since one could produce the Transferwise documentation to show it all was international). But likewise for the time being, I have no basis to presume they would accept it, since the Thai bank book might not label it correctly.

 

We're going to have to wait and see on that point, since that kind of level of interpretation detail is very unlikely to be specified at that level in whatever written police order is ultimately forthcoming.

 

 

[Saltire]

I also bank with KTB and use TransferWise since dumping HSBC UK as a result of high transfer costs. The HSBC were SWIFT transfers and so came in to KTB as International, but TW comes in as local. While I can easily match up 1) My Santander UK statement with 2) TransferWise transfer receipt, with 3) my KTB account, I can't see the immigration office accepting this. I have been in correspondence with TransferWise for a few weeks on this issue and if it's helpful to some here is their latest response from a week ago below. I should add that TW have the best customer services I have encountered in a long time. I will continue to use them as I am currently on the 800k banked route, but am concerned about the future when my pensions kick in. 

 

Hi 

Thanks again for your detailed explanation.

Unfortunately the case with transfers to THB is that we only pay out locally – which as you know means that every transfer you make to Thailand will be paid out from our local Thai account.

For now we are unable to offer any documents other than transfer receipt proving that money came from abroad. I’ve attached one of the transfer receipts to this email – it does have the “Amount paid by xxxxx in there in GBP – which is a good indicator that money is coming from the UK. The “paid out from” indicates that we’ve made the transfer on your behalf from our local THB account. Sadly there is nothing better that we can give you to prove that money originates from abroad.

Is there any chance you’d also have a USD account in Thailand? If yes, then we could recommend you sending USD to Thailand (instead of THB) – if you’re sending USD abroad, then we use SWIFT method to pay out the funds. Which means that you could request MT103 (SWIFT message) from the bank which usually includes all the information that you’re looking for. On MT103 there’s clearly shown that money is coming from abroad (UK). You can find more information about USD transfers here: https://transferwise.com/help/article/2946450/paying-by-bank-transfer/sending-us-dollars-to-countries-outside-the-us.

I’m afraid that this is all that we can recommend right now – I still hope that the transfer receipt could help you out in your situation.

Please let me know if we can help with anything else.

Warm regards,
Liispet

[davhend25]

4 hours ago, Thaidream said:

Very Easy- I have 4 Bank Accounts in an American Bank and use online banking. Then I use  a Thai aTM to withdraw  more than 65K each month.  Only charge is 220 Baht at the Thai atm.

 

Now, I will be spending $40 per transfer and have to call my bank each month to get a security code- go online and fill out all the transfer data when I could simply show my  banking details to Thai Immigration which even shows the exact hour and day and ATM location here in Thailand.  Absolute proof. One sheet to look at plus the ATM cards if they ask plus the  account summary shows the income stream each month direct deposited. 

YES!!!!!

[Mickmouse1]

16 hours ago, Spidey said:

I still wonder how you prove that the 65k baht is from your home country. Foreign transfers aren't always clear in some bank books.

There was a sentence saying "to be verified by your bank" ,PRESUMABLY LOCAL THAI BANK

[OJAS]

18 minutes ago, wobalt said:

We have a company in Europe so the money is foreign sourced. M wife will pay me a monthly salary/ pension out of our income


Gesendet von iPad mit Thaivisa Connect

So you will need to have accumulated at least 400,000 THB in your Thai bank account through her salary/pension payments, which you will then have to season for 2 months before you can apply for an extension of stay based on marriage to a Thai national.

[metisdead]

Some troll posts and the replies have been removed. 

[KhunProletariat]

Moving the goal posts is a national past time for Thai IMO's.

 

This constant need to be seen as being busy by making arduous changes to visa requirements is wearing thin for most expats I know. The IO's love it, though. I'm quite sure they spend their weekly briefings conjuring up new ideas in which to hamstring the Farang, then make him jump through the new bureaucratic hoops they have invented.

 

Bullies with a capital B!

 

KP.

Edited January 5, 2019 by KhunProletariat

[Peasandmash]

I retired at 47 years old after working for a large American company for 25 years. Now I receive a pension each month, four times a year I receive dividends from 5 different investments (20 total payments) and monthly I earn interest on each of my savings and money market accounts.  My total expenses for our home (I'm married to lovely Thai woman) including cars, motorbike, groceries, utilities, dining, pet care, entertainment, etc, have never exceeded 40,000 baht a month (this does include our international travel expenses.). But according to this new rule I would have to bring into the country an additional 25,000 each month to qualify for a retirement visa? This seems like a losing proposition to me. I really don't see how this is a better option than just putting ฿400K into a Thai bank?  But what's really concerned me is in a few years I will begin collecting social security and then in another 10? years I will be forced to withdrawal money from my retirement savings accounts. Why does the US and now the Thai gov't want me to spend money when I have no need for it?

[wobalt]

So you will need to have accumulated at least 400,000 THB in your Thai bank account through her salary/pension payments, which you will then have to season for 2 months before you can apply for an extension of stay based on marriage to a Thai national.

Basically no problem but at the time being I will continue to use the 1y Visa way which is more convenient for me without no hazzles from Thai immigration.


Sent from my iPad using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Pattaya46]

1 hour ago, Mavideol said:

it will be a difficult one for everybody.....monthly pensions are a fixed amount, exchange rates are "unfixed" change every minute/hour/day/week/month, how can one guaranty his/hers FIXED pension amount will cover the required baht amount...

You create problems where there are none. TI will not ask your revenues to be paid directly in a Thai bank. That would just be impossible and refused by many payers. So you will just receive your pension and/or orther revenues in a foreign bank account and will organise for a monthly transfer of 40k/65k+ each month. Not really "a difficult one"... IMHO.

[DRG]

I deposit every month to Krung Thai Bank from my bank in the U.S. None of my deposits show coming from overseas. How are they going to treat that? As far as I know only Bangkok 
Bank show deposits as a foreign transaction. (FTT). My deposits show up as BDS22.

Very strange. I have been making deposits from my bank in Jersey, Channel Islands, to my KTB account for more than 10 years. In the bank book the transaction code is XISDT and on the statement I download, it is shown as 'Overseas transfer' with the amount in GBP deposited.

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Peasandmash]

Opps... I meant to say this does NOT include our international travel expenses. We love going to Macau and staying at the Wynn.  for what it's worth, I would highly recommend any of the Wynn properties in Macau.

[Lemonltr]

1 hour ago, Ned said:

I hope they go the 800K method. At least then the farang would have some money in Thailand  and in the case of a medical emergency would be able to pay cash on the spot. 

Maybe then no more need for Immigration to be planning on bringing in compulsory health insurance to get a visa extension.

You wouldn't be able to use any of the 800.000 baht for hospital bills within 3 months of applying for an extension. 

[TonyClifton]

17 hours ago, Spidey said:

I still wonder how you prove that the 65k baht is from your home country. Foreign transfers aren't always clear in some bank books.

And not free.

[kannot]

2 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

3 hours ago, kannot said:

IS  Thai  Thai  Elite 20 year visa  now  looking a  better long  term  prospect?

Perhaps. No insurance health requirements for Elite visa?

hence  my  asking...........?

[billsmart]

I, like most others on this thread, hope this will be the procedure and frankly expected/hoped it would be something like this. ????

So now, it's on to trying to sort out the health insurance rumors. At age 73, that will be a lot more difficult for me to handle than the money/income requirements. ????

[kannot]

1 hour ago, wobalt said:

My wife has a monthly salary far above 40k. I wonder if she can still support me by sending money monthly to my account?


Gesendet von iPad mit Thaivisa Connect

Mine too I dont bring much  money here ever although recently 2  million as I got a payout on something in the UK. Her  money is more than AMPLE to live on but of course Im supposed to be "supporting a  Thai Wife" as the archaic  rules  assume the man is the provider....not in our  case it isnt.

I just leave 400k in  the bank, its been there for years now, I forget it completely.