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

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

6 minutes ago, zydeco said:

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

 

The rules for U.S. source deposits to BKKB NY branch are changing as of April 2019, when they will stop accepting domestic ACH incoming transfers, and after that, only accept IAT formatted transfers, which many entities are not currently formatted for sending. It's going to depend on the individual payor.

 

[onera1961]

16 minutes ago, ginjag said:

Understanding all the complex visas for long stay is difficult.....elite 5 year visa hassle free 500,000 bht fee. 

Nothing complex. If over 50, get an O-A and keep your money invested in your home country. Spend as little as 40K per month in Thailand and no body cares.

 

Or, bring 800K three months prior to your application and season it for three months. After the extension, start spending 40K/month and nobody cares. Top it up three months prior to Application.

 

Or, start sending 15K/week and 5K/month and keep spending 40K/month, nobody cares. At the end of one year, you have saved 300K. You can buy a used car.
 

Or hire an agent and spend 38K/month (2K for agent). No body cares. 

 

I don't see any complexity. Why should I donate 500K to Thailand? I can buy a nice new car for that price.

 

If you have few million dollars, you can waste 500K baht but I still think it's wastage of money if you're 50 years or more.  

Edited January 6, 2019 by onera1961

[Pattaya46]

1 minute ago, Pilotman said:

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

So why are they making new rules easier than the previous one, with more options to qualify ?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

8 minutes ago, Jackie66 said:

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?

 

Doesn't matter the source, as long as it's coming from outside Thailand and meets the required monthly amount in THB.

[zydeco]

4 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

The rules for U.S. source deposits to BKKB NY branch are changing as of April 2019, when they will stop accepting domestic ACH incoming transfers, and after that, only accept IAT formatted transfers, which many entities are not currently formatted for sending. It's going to depend on the individual payor.

 

Social security is already supposed to have handled this. For other entities, you're correct. And it's a problem, because most don't seem to know about the changes.

[elviajero]

49 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?

No. They do not accept any income earned by the wife.

 

The requirement is to prove the "alien" has enough money in the bank or income to support themselves.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

4 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

So why are they making new rules easier than the previous one, with more options to qualify ?

 

It's hardly easier for someone who used to be able to keep all their funds in their home country accounts, pay no foreign transfer fees, and just get an Embassy income letter once a year.

[rossco1]

They are making it harder for people to move here 

do they not want foreigners to live in the country 

it seems that the rules are to make it harder for people to settle and feel secure in the choice that they have made to retire in Thailand.

maybe time too look at moving to another country that welcomes all nationalities 

 

 

[chinostar]

Any amendment on immigration laws should be approved by the government after a proposal has been submitted. It seems the Immigration office 

can do whatever, whenever to make up their rules.

Only in Thailand....

[ginjag]

4 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

Nothing complex. If over 50, get an O-A and keep your money invested in your home country. Spend as little as 40K per month in Thailand and no body cares.

 

Or, bring 800K three months prior to your application and season it for three months. After the extension, start spending 40K/month and nobody cares. Top it up three months prior to Application.

 

Or, start sending 15K/week and 5K/month and keep spending 40K/month, nobody cares. At the end of one year, you have saved 300K. You can buy a used car.
 

Or hire an agent and spend 38K/month (2K for agent). No body cares. 

 

I don't see any complexity. Why should I donate 500K to Thailand? I can buy a nice new car for that price.

 

If you have few million dollars, you can waste 500K baht but I still think it's wastage of money if you're 50 years or more.  

Because I am 77 and my UK pension is capped as I not normally live in the UK,  in addition 20,000 a month is what pension I receive static for 11 years,  even the old age pension in the UK being 30,000  it is still not sufficient immigration thinks to live on here  ??   Do you understand that the 500,000 for the elite when your 77 does not really matter.  Because at 82 when finished your chances of survival are very slim....If you are much younger it is a very different equation.

[elviajero]

53 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.

A better translation wont help.

 

The document being quoted is an internal document issued to immigration offices to clarify the change to proof of income only. 

 

Nothing else has changed.

[David Walden]

34 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.

2

Nothing has changed.  All these comments are much to do about nothing.  Thai Immigration appears to be suggesting that they hopefully are getting rid of all the scams...nothing has changed so far as I see it.  It is all the same as it was.  The Embassy letters were part of the Scams...sorry.

In answer to your above question, one million is good, but if you have a pension of Bt500,000  per year like an Aussie Pension you would only need Bt300,000 to qualify.  That's the way it has been for 15+ years.  It has not changed.  Most people don't know about this?  As indicated Bt300,000 plus a yearly pension is enough to get a Retirement Visa in Thailand.

[Moonlover]

27 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

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.

A TransferWise transaction slip shows a clear 'paper trail' of the funds, starting from receipt of the home country funds (GBP in my case) to the payment of the THB equivalent into the payee's account in Thailand.

 

Matched to the same credit entry on the payee's bank statement should suffice I'm sure in proving that the funds came from abroad.

 

I'm downloading and saving all of mine in readiness.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 minutes ago, zydeco said:

Social security is already supposed to have handled this. For other entities, you're correct. And it's a problem, because most don't seem to know about the changes.

 

There's whole other long threads on the details and complexities of all this...

 

The Social Security direct deposits to BKKB are one thing. And supposedly SS is changing to allow real direct deposits to other Thai banks besides BKKB.

 

But the actual U.S. domestic ACH transfers to BKKB via the New York branch are a broader, different thing, where IAT from OTHER payors than Social Security is likely to be a significant problem beyond this coming April.

 

 

[Surasak]

6 hours ago, Dmaxdan said:

Presumably the money deposited in a bank Thai account method (400,000 and 800,000) hasn't changed?   

That has not been confirmed here, but presumably will apply from previous statements on TV

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 minutes ago, David Walden said:

Nothing has changed.  All these comments are much to do about nothing.  Thai Immigration appears to be suggesting that they hopefully are getting rid of all the scams...nothing has changed so far as I see it.  It is all the same as it was.  The Embassy letters were part of the Scams...sorry.

In answer to your above question, one million is good, but if you have a pension of Bt500,000  per year like an Aussie Pension you would only need Bt300,000 to qualify.  That's the way it has been for 15+ years.  It has not changed.  Most people don't know about this?  As indicated Bt300,000 plus a yearly pension is enough to get a Retirement Visa in Thailand.

 

A LOT has changed for monthly income extension applicants from the U.S., UK, Australia etc...

 

In the past, those people could keep their funds in their home country accounts, and spend here only as they desired, and document their income only via an Embassy income letter.

 

Now, for monthly income applicants who no longer can get Embassy income letters, those funds will be required to be deposited monthly into a Thai bank account, probably every month, and in at least the required monthly amounts -- regardless of how much a person/family actually needs/uses.

 

That's potentially a lot of monthly hassle and extra international fund transfer fees that those folks never had to deal with before -- even though their monthly income may have been perfectly legitimate.

 

 

[Pattaya46]

10 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

It's hardly easier for someone who used to be able to keep all their funds in their home country accounts, pay no foreign transfer fees, and just get an Embassy income letter once a year.

It's still the case. Thai Immigration changed nothing on this option. 

Of course, if you are from UK, US or AU, your Embassy made things more difficult... but not TI.

[SheungWan]

20 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

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

 

10 minutes ago, rossco1 said:

They are making it harder for people to move here 

do they not want foreigners to live in the country 

it seems that the rules are to make it harder for people to settle and feel secure in the choice that they have made to retire in Thailand.

maybe time too look at moving to another country that welcomes all nationalities 

Forget the cod psychology. Just work out the options. And then choose one. Or not.

[elviajero]

55 minutes ago, Maestro said:

You can find the proof in the text of the Police Order dated 26 December 2018, mentioned in the OP. Presumably, this has been published in the Royal Gazette.

It is simply an internal document clarifying the change to the proof of income options. I do not see why anything will be published in the Royal Gazette. The current police orders do not specify how income is proven; that choice appears to be down to immigration/the authorities to decide.

 

This type of notice is often issued to offices whenever clarification is required for the documents required for processing an extension application.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

8 minutes ago, Moonlover said:

A TransferWise transaction slip shows a clear 'paper trail' of the funds, starting from receipt of the home country funds (GBP in my case) to the payment of the THB equivalent into the payee's account in Thailand.

 

Matched to the same credit entry on the payee's bank statement should suffice I'm sure in proving that the funds came from abroad.

 

I'm downloading and saving all of mine in readiness.

 

There's zero indication here thus far that Thai Immigration is going to want to be looking at a pile of Transferwise statements.

 

What they probably WILL want to be looking at is one's Thai bank book showing regularly monthly deposits in the required amount, and a letter from one's Thai bank confirming the applicant did in fact have the required monthly deposits  from abroad.

 

[ubonjoe]

8 minutes ago, Surasak said:

That has not been confirmed here, but presumably will apply from previous statements on TV

I have confirmed several times that is does not affect the money in the bank or the combination option.

The order only revises the the proof of income requirements. It mentions nothing else.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

3 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

It's still the case. Thai Immigration changed nothing on this option. 

Of course, if you are from UK, US or AU, your Embassy made things more difficult... but not TI.

 

Just who was the instigator of those changes -- the individual embassies or TI -- remains murky at best. The embassies said they were doing it because they couldn't satisfy Immigration's demands/requirements for verification.   I have no idea who's to blame among those parties. Except, the resulting changes are real and impact a lot of people here.

 

[elviajero]

1 hour 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.

 

If married to a Thai; you have the choice of 400K minimum in the bank OR 40K min pm going into your bank OR an embassy letter verifying your 40K income.

 

If you're over 50 (married or not) you could apply as a retiree as long as you have 800K min in the bank, OR 65K min pm going into your bank, OR an embassy letter verifying your 65K income; OR a combination of cash in the bank and income totalling 800K.

[wobalt]

No. They do not accept any income earned by the wife.
 
The requirement is to prove the "alien" has enough money in the bank or income to support themselves.

they say it is to support the family (see announcement)
This is the reason my wife had decided since 1988 to live mostly in Germany


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Jackin1960]

7 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?

 

 

 

 

It's the never ending immigration story. If you are living in Thailand as a retiree you would be best served if you have you pension paid into a British/EU bank and from there have a standing order (monthly/quarterly) made to your bank in Thailand. Or move it online. I don't see this being a problem. Try to keep a UK or EU residence where you can receive mail etc, no benifit in cutting ties with the UK.

[jacko45k]

6 hours ago, sfokevin said:

Given Thai Immigration want to see it transferred every month you may have a problem?... 

Colin did not say he used income to get any extension. Simply that he has his pension deposited directly to his Thai bank acct.

[davhend25]

5 hours ago, ZABA said:

I personally have payments to make in the States so don't want all my pension sent here.

Same for me....

[elviajero]

1 hour 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.

The money would have to be transferred to an account in your sole name.

[evadgib]

12 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

f you are from UK, US or AU, your Embassy made things more difficult... but not TI.

TI alone were responsible. Their requests (demands) fell foul of privacy laws and were too costly in man-hours to have been considered by Embassies.

Edited January 6, 2019 by evadgib

[Maverell]

46 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

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

Well that must be a new rule of theirs as a few years ago it was possible if you had a bbl account at a Branch in Thailand.