BREAKING NEWS Thai immigration reveals new requirements for retirement, marriage extensions (visas)

[MJCM]

4 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

Not all bank statements show this. Kasikorn does nto. It shows only transfer.

But surely you could go into your local KSK branch and ask them to print out that the money originates from abroad ??

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

13 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

They can log in if you want to give the Thai government your log in to your account with ID and password to the VA and SSI web sites. Probably NOT something you want to provide.

But it's not necessary in any event as you can download from VA an Official Benefits Letter ( https://www.va.gov/records/download-va-letters/ ) and from SSI an official Summary of Monthly Social Security Benefits.

As with your copies of your passport signed with your name in blue ink on each copy for your extension, why shouldn't immigration also accept these official government letters with your blue ink signature as evidence?

 

Because they don't want to deal with foreign source documents, including those written in English... And because, they get to make up the rules they want regardless of convenience, common sense or anything else.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

15 minutes ago, bizboi said:

Evidence of annual income that equates to no less than B40,000 per month of alien father, mother or spouse such as.

 

Does this mean that they will accept joint income - if the wife earns 30,000 and the foreign husband the same?

 

NOPE!

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

14 minutes ago, jaiyen said:

If I have 1 million baht in my bank account at all times which will remain untouched, will I be exempt from all the new rules saying I must deposit money every month into my account ? I am married to Thai lady.

 

Assuming you mean a Thai bank account, then yes! Nothing to worry about.

[sometimewoodworker]

17 minutes ago, jaiyen said:

If I have 1 million baht in my bank account at all times which will remain untouched, will I be exempt from all the new rules saying I must deposit money every month into my account ? I am married to Thai lady.

yes

[Sheryl]

4 minutes ago, MJCM said:

But surely you could go into your local KSK branch and ask them to print out that the money originates from abroad ??

There is nothing for them to "print out" that shows this. I can get a Credit Advice for each transaction form the head office that shows the origin and path of the transfer and, upon providing this to the local branch, they will provide a letter to that effect.

 

However I don't know what a Credit Advice for a TW transfer would look like. The ones from banks show all details including any intermediary banks/accounts so I suspect it would also shwo the foreign point of origin but it needs someone with a TW transfer to get their Credit Advice to see.

[teetersb]

6 hours ago, Eligius said:

Also, as far as I understand it, the British Government will not send pensions into a Thai bank account (only into a British one), and not every British bank will automatically forward a pension to a bank account in Thailand every month. Maybe I am wrong. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the same for American retirement. There is no US agreement with Thailand, therefore my monthly retirement cannot be transferred here. I transfer it once a year to a Thai bank and then give myself a monthly amount, in a different Thai bank, that is equal to my retirement and add the rest to make 400,000k Baht/year, (33,500 Baht/Mo.) not 40,000 Baht a month. I use the second bank to show my yearly income. Not sure how this New law will effect this process.

 

[sambum]

15 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Mine are from the SSA and they are diligent to send them so you always get them on or before the 3rd of the month (if using a foreign address). They send them on the 2nd or the last banking day before the 3rd.

You probably could have yours sent to a Bangkok Bank account via their New York branch as long as the do the IAT format for international ACH transfers. The SSA has recently approved direct to deposits visa SWIFT to Thai banks and I read somewhere that they are preparing to do it for military retirement payments.

I recall reading earlier that the expression "on average over the previous 12 months" was used - this was presumably to cover the fact that not all pensions/income are received on the same day/date each month. 

[wonder6281]

I receive my Superannuation pension fortnightly. 

 

I make 26 transfers annually. 

 

Divided by 12 months gives me my average monthly income. 

 

If this fails to meet the new requirements then nothing will and I'm out of here. 

 

Some Common sense does reside here I hope. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

9 minutes ago, Rob1706 said:

Just a question if I may.

 

For retirement extensions of no more than 1 year evidence of average monthly income of B65,000 is required.

 

1.       Evidence of pension. Same as 2 above,

2.       Evidence of income from a foreign embassy or consulate.

 

My embassy still issues Evidence of income so for the time being no problem. What I would like to know when money from abroad is transferred to 2 different bank accounts, how would Immigration react to this? One account on my name and one account on 2 names (My partner - not married - and me). In case my embassy would stop issuing evidence of income then I would like to know beforehand if money can be  transferred to our mutual account and be accepted or not.

 

As long as you're getting an Embassy income letter for monthly income, the sources of the money or where it's deposited don't matter.

 

But if you don't have an Embassy income letter in the future, the Thai bank accounts receiving your monthly deposits should be ONLY in your name, not in a joint account.

 

[Maverell]

6 hours ago, Eligius said:

On the face of it, this looks EXTREMELY worrying for British retirees here. The irresponsible action of the British embassy in not confirming a retiree's income flow could be the death knell for many Brits here. Also, as far as I understand it, the British Government will not send pensions into a Thai bank account (only into a British one), and not every British bank will automatically forward a pension to a bank account in Thailand every month. Maybe I am wrong. 

 

Perhaps it is not as bad as I fear. What do other members think?

 

 

 

 

I get my pension from the UK paid directly to Bangkok Bank and have done for years. I do not have a UK account. Another way is to open an account at the Bangkok Bank branch in London and put your pension in there, they will forward to a BBL Bangkok.

[sandyf]

12 minutes ago, David Walden said:

Proof of payment of a Govt or as good as pension into a Thai bank a/c calculated to a yearly amount i.e Bt500,000 and the balance in cash in a Thai bank a/c which you can beg steal or borrow to make the amount required Bt800,000...OK for Aussies, the Aus gov will pay your pension into a Thai Bank a/c of your choosing 13 x 4 weekly payments per year by request if living in Thailand.

I must have missed that in the OP.

[flexomike]

1 hour ago, Kasane said:

So there are two requirements for extension of retirement visa. Deposit In Thai bank

1. Pension 65K/mo

2. Balance of 800k baht.

 

So this is more strict than just the requirement of 800K baht in Thai bank for retirement visa extension.

either or not both

[janclaes47]

21 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

The status of the 400 and 800K bank deposits method being unchanged has been posted on by Joe and others a dozen or more times previously in this thread over its 20+ pages...  Though admittedly, that detail was lacking from the OP post.

 

No one needs to wait for the next, better translation version to be assured on that point.

 

 

What they posted I presume is their interpretation.

 

Ubonjoe has mentioned that soon an official translation will be posted, and I will see if it is in there.

 

In the mean time I refrain from further comments on this subject until that post is public. 

[4MyEgo]

47 minutes ago, Suradit69 said:

The 800,000 in the bank method means you keep a  BALANCE of at least baht 800,000 in a Thai bank account for at least 3 months before applying for an extension, NOT that you made deposits of 800,000 during the year.

 

Since the other poster was topping up his account quarterly for living expenses that had nothing to do with the money in the bank method..

Ok, got it, thx.

[elviajero]

31 minutes ago, Pappap said:

Surely the combination option must change. How does one deal with the income portion if embassy letters are no longer available.

It should not change. All that has changed is an extra option to prove income for people that can't, or don't want to, use an embassy letter.

 

31 minutes ago, Pappap said:

Presume they will accept the Income into a Thai bank on a monthly basis, calculate the year total and expect to see the balance in the bank seasoned as usual?

Yes.

[ginjag]

Understanding all the complex visas for long stay is difficult.....elite 5 year visa hassle free 500,000 bht fee.   so why on earth Thai immigration have a standard charge for a one year visa of 60,000 baht, 90 day reporting.  verifying address/lease/deeds.   think about the income Immigration would get, and long term ex pats etc  content.

[Just Weird]

4 minutes ago, Maverell said:

I get my pension from the UK paid directly to Bangkok Bank and have done for years. I do not have a UK account. Another way is to open an account at the Bangkok Bank branch in London and put your pension in there, they will forward to a BBL Bangkok.

Bangkok Bank in London does not offer retail bank accounts to private customers.

[sambum]

3 minutes ago, Maverell said:

I get my pension from the UK paid directly to Bangkok Bank and have done for years. I do not have a UK account. Another way is to open an account at the Bangkok Bank branch in London and put your pension in there, they will forward to a BBL Bangkok.

And presumably they will charge you substantially for this service, as even transfers from a bank in Bangkok to a branch of the same bank in the provinces incurs an "administration  charge" 

[elviajero]

32 minutes ago, inthanet said:

OK, but the 60-day extension are effected?

No. As there is no financial requirements for a 60 day extension. The change affects 1 year extensions for reasons of retirement and family members of a Thai.

[LongTimeLurker]

6 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

This infographic from the British Embassy Bangkok details how to open a bank account in Thailand.

Someone should tell the Brit Embassy that most banks ask for a work permit to open an account.

[Srikcir]

17 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Because they don't want to deal with foreign source documents, including those written in English... And because, they get to make up the rules they want regardless of convenience, common sense or anything else.

 

A passport is a foreign document in a foreign language.

Immigration doesn't have problems there.

I think it's a matter of preference or what was taught long ago, ie., back in the 19th century.

[mogandave]

Someone should tell the Brit Embassy that most banks ask for a work permit to open an account.

I opened four bank accounts without a work permit, BKK, K & Krungsri

[zydeco]

19 minutes ago, teetersb said:

This is the same for American retirement. There is no US agreement with Thailand, therefore my monthly retirement cannot be transferred here. I transfer it once a year to a Thai bank and then give myself a monthly amount, in a different Thai bank, that is equal to my retirement and add the rest to make 400,000k Baht/year, (33,500 Baht/Mo.) not 40,000 Baht a month. I use the second bank to show my yearly income. Not sure how this New law will effect this process.

 

American social security certainly does do direct deposit into Bangkok Bank via ACH. And so do my annuities from TIAA CREF. Have you tried? 

Edited January 6, 2019 by zydeco

[ginjag]

1 minute ago, LongTimeLurker said:

Someone should tell the Brit Embassy that most banks ask for a work permit to open an account.

I do not understand this,  In Udon I have 2 bank accounts one debit  another credit, showing my passport only to do it.

[Rob1706]

11 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

As long as you're getting an Embassy income letter for monthly income, the sources of the money or where it's deposited don't matter.

 

But if you don't have an Embassy income letter in the future, the Thai bank accounts receiving your monthly deposits should be ONLY in your name, not in a joint account.

 

That would also mean: pay more tax in Thailand. Anyway thanks for your quick reply. For time being no problem, I just renewed my extension till December 31, 2019.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 minutes ago, Rob1706 said:

That would also mean: pay more tax in Thailand. Anyway thanks for your quick reply. For time being no problem, I just renewed my extension till December 31, 2019.

 

Most people I know don't pay tax in Thailand on income earned outside or received outside of Thailand, regardless of whether or not it eventually ends up getting deposited into a Thai bank account.

 

[Jackie66]

So if i would transfer 2000 Euro every month from my European bank account to my bank account in Thailand would that be enough to qualify or does it have to be from a company?

[wobalt]

 
NOPE!
 

Silly!


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[Pilotman]

They don't want us here, smell the coffee.