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

[Kerryd]

10 minutes ago, Rich21 said:

I know someone may have answered this but I wasn't going to go through 64 pages of replies - is there any change to the rules if you have a lump sum in your Thai bank account rather than monthly income? Is it still same - 800 000baht for retirement visa?

No change to that.

[Thaidream]

Thanks for posting it-  clear and concise

 

-Nothing changed or to do with Lump Sum/Combo-money in the banks 400/800K

-Embassy Letters still good .

-Average income applies to  Marriage but not retired

-No Mention of transfers from Pension Provider direct to Thai Bank-so no issue-apparently just the money transferred into a Thai Bank-  bank book and letter as proof. 40K/65K per month

 

Now all we have to wait for is the individual Immigration Offices to decide how they will interpret all this.  I plan on carrying the Thai version with me when I visit Immigration.

 

[balo]

If you live in Chonburi / Bangkok , all you have to do is to find an agent , pay the 15k fee and you're good for another year. 

 

No need to transfer any money , so easy , so simple and it will never go away , because Thais love the money. 

 

Still we have 64 pages here of confused people. 

 

 

 

 

 

[happysanook]

On 1/6/2019 at 9:43 AM, janclaes47 said:

The way I read the OP it mentions only proof of monthly deposits in an account, but nowhere does it mention an account balance of 400 or 800K, so I assume that option is not considered anymore.

Exactly this. So no more option for money in the bank?

[happysanook]

12 minutes ago, Thaidream said:

Thanks for posting it-  clear and concise

 

-Nothing changed or to do with Lump Sum/Combo-money in the banks 400/800K

Not very clear at all. Since it's not mentioned, it appears to no longer be an option. There's nothing saying "such and such has changed" it simply states what will be accepted. And there's nothing there about 400 or 800 being accepted.

Edited January 7, 2019 by happysanook

[Thaidream]

1 minute ago, happysanook said:

Exactly this. So no more option for money in the bank?

There is no change to the money in the bank method 400K/800K.  This order dated 26 December 18 doesn't mention it as they are not changing it. Ubon Joe has confirmed this several times in the other thread.

[spiroinusa1]

OK terrific...Now I have a New York City,USA pension and my pension will go to an  American Bank then I take my American Pension and send it over here. Same for Social Security. Do they think that all pensions will be sent to my bank Krung Thai Bank in Chiang Dao, or my social security check to the same bank. Now in the past two months I have transferred from my bank in USA over 800,000 baht. I am switching from retirement visa to marriage visa because of the Embassy letter stuff because it had been easier. Even the Chiang Mai immigration long ago told me to stick with retirement visa,less hassle, great advice  (extension of stay based on marriage and child,  I have been married 12 years and have a daughter and adopted son) the question that has to be answered is ....if I HAVE 400,000 for over 3 months IN THE BANK WHEN I APPLY FOR THE CHANGE FOR THE ABOVE STATED REASONS REASON FOR EXTENSION OF STAY IS THAT ENOUGH. My NYC pension will not deposit it in my bank in Thailand and my Social Security will not deposit it in my bank in Thailand. Will someone from Thai Visa please inform Mindless Immigration that many municipal pension funds from the USA and probably others will not do direct deposit to Thailand why? Because it costs them money for the transfer.. If the 400,000 in my Bank and stays there and they except fine. Any answers. Who knows what Chiang Mai immigration is going to make of this.What do they want from me...to leave...go back to USA and send a pittance to my wife and children. Maintaining 2 residencies if i have to leave will diminish the money my family gets.  With these idiots That is a possibility. Unbelievable.

[KhunFred]

5 hours ago, JackThompson said:

But the combo-method has not gone away.

The only change, so far, is how one proves income now - by showing foreign-xfers to a Thai bank vs before - using an income-letter from your embassy.

 

Many reached the same conclusion you did, because the "new rules" did not address the "in the bank" or "combo" methods.

I make more than the 65 thousand baht figure by about 20 thousand baht. I can't imagine living on less and enjoying my life. It's easier if you don't drink or are no longer interested in sex. Those who eat nothing but Thai food tend to do better, as well.

[Pattaya46]

39 minutes ago, happysanook said:

And there's nothing there about 400 or 800 being accepted.

You read the notice wrongly. There is nothing that says it's no more accepted. 

And BTW this notice is about Income, not about Balance...

[mogandave]

You read the notice wrongly. There is nothing that says it's no more accepted. 
And BTW this notice is about Income, not about Balance...

Does not income increase the balance?

[Whip]

So unclear. No mention of the 800,000 option

[mogandave]

So unclear. No mention of the 800,000 option

Only the changes are being published.

[Felt 35]

I have my next retirement extension coming up in August 2019 and I usually transfer around 65K monthly but sometimes a bit less and sometimes a bit more, i.e. what I expect to need for the month but I like to avoid the travel to Bangkok annually and the additional cost to get the Embassy verification letter and want to switch to letter from Thai Bank / Bankbook. I know that at least 2-3 of my bank transfer from August 2018 maybe are a bit lower than 65K. Can I eventually "top up" the monthly transfers from now to August 2019 to make sure the total is at least (780K)?

Thanks

Felt

[Kerryd]

It was an amendment to an existing order people !

 

There is NO requirement for them to republish the entire thing every time they change a word, phrase or paragraph. All they need to publish is what-was-changed.

If they had of changed anything else, it would have been noted. As they DIDN'T change anything else, there is no reason for them to bother noting anything else.

The Remainder of the Order stays as-it-was, including the "money in bank" sections.

Feel free to take that up with Immigration if that is an issue for you, as they are the only ones that can change what they've chosen to publish and what they didn't. I'm sure they'll be happy to personally explain their reasons for why they did that.
 

[Pib]

4 hours ago, elgenon said:

Ubon Joe: if you have 800,000 in bank would you have to show you are living off that and it is being replenished?

 

I've used the Bt800K deposit method for around 8 years at ChaengWattana (Bangkok) immigration office. 

 

I've used both fixed accounts (one as a 15 month fixed account), regular savings account, and hybrid savings accounts.  In all cases in the particular account I kept the Bt800K there was no to little activity other than interest payments and withdrawing/transferring a little bit every once in a while. 

 

Basically the account was "not" being used for my day-to-day living money....it was just used as a "real savings account" to maintain at least Bt800K for immediate emergency money if needed and for renewal of retirement of extension of stay every year. 

 

No immigration officer ever asked me why there was so little activity like money being withdrawn to live on.  They only looked at the bank letter and then passbook to confirm the seasoning period was met. 

 

In fact the account usually was just larger each year since I wasn't withdrawing anything and it just continued to accrue interest.  If an immigration officer had even asked I would have just said I use one of my several other accounts for my day-to-day living money...and I always take along an ibanking printout of that other account showing day-to-day living transactions (outflow of funds) and some US credit card monthly statements showing spending here in Thailand...but as mentioned they have never asked as they only wanted to see the Bt800K in the bank for at least 3 months before my application date. 

 

But if they even looked at how much I was spending on average from that Thai bank account it would only add up to around Bt25K per month as I use my US credit cards for the majority of my day-to-day living requirements like buying groceries/products at Lotus/Big C/Foodland, hardware store buys, buying fuel for the SUV, paying for SUV maintenance, paying for meals at restaurants, etc...etc....etc.  Heck, I even use my US credit cards to pay for my burgers at McDonald's and Burger King.  Living here in Bangkok many, many merchants happily accept credit/debit cards....very easy to use my no foreign transaction fee US credit cards here in Thailand which greatly minimizes how much baht I need to periodically bring into Thailand to top up my day-to-day living Thai bank account. 

 

Although my US credit cards are being used for the majority of my day-to-day spending in Thailand that is still money being paid out to Thai merchants/stores....they don't care if they get paid in baht via cash or in baht via foreign credit/debit card.  It's still money being spent in Thailand.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 7, 2019 by Pib

[ginjag]

Many would disagree on this BUT, If only Immigration would give a Long stay card ( similar to the 5 year elite)  yearly or longer, without the B/S of golf course, lounges, limo's and the like but have the 90 day reporting, lease/deeds address, insurance.  Name your price Immigration but suggest 25,000 baht per year and cut out all this uncertainty, and heartache for ex pats here.  

[mogandave]

Many would disagree on this BUT, If only Immigration would give a Long stay card ( similar to the 5 year elite)  yearly or longer, without the B/S of golf course, lounges, limo's and the like but have the 90 day reporting, lease/deeds address, insurance.  Name your price Immigration but suggest 25,000 baht per year and cut out all this uncertainty, and heartache for ex pats here.  

฿25,000 to avoid depositing funds into an interest bearing account?

[ginjag]

2 minutes ago, mogandave said:

 

฿25,000 to avoid depositing funds into an interest bearing account?

 

Think you got on the wrong bus, as many on here ...say if you not have 800,000 leave attitude, or it is your fault if you do not get 65,000 a month, Talking about a alternative to the big shamozzle regarding Retirement.   Your reply makes it so simple but if you look through 66 pages it is not that simple, only for the small %.

[mogandave]

Think you got on the wrong bus, as many on here ...say if you not have 800,000 leave attitude, or it is your fault if you do not get 65,000 a month, Talking about a alternative to the big shamozzle regarding Retirement.   Your reply makes it so simple but if you look through 66 pages it is not that simple, only for the small %.

Well the guys that were already cheating can continue cheating using an agent.

Why should the guys that haven’t been cheating cough up an extra 23K?

[Pib]

35 minutes ago, ginjag said:

Many would disagree on this BUT, If only Immigration would give a Long stay card ( similar to the 5 year elite)  yearly or longer, without the B/S of golf course, lounges, limo's and the like but have the 90 day reporting, lease/deeds address, insurance.  Name your price Immigration but suggest 25,000 baht per year and cut out all this uncertainty, and heartache for ex pats here.  

I notice you didn't mention having "X-amount" of income to live on other than maybe address rent and medical insurance (which is still not req'd).   And that X-amount would be the Bt65K/40K per month which TI considers adequate for a farang.   Since rent in Thailand can be only a few thousand baht per month if living poor Thai style if the TI gave out long stay cards for only Bt25K per year with no income requirement then Thailand has just turned itself into a magnet for migrants around the world.   

 

Now if you did mean, "Well, yes a person would still need to meet the Bt65K/Bt40K monthly requirement or a Bt800K/Bt400K large deposit requirement," then there is no need for an expensive long stay card...why pay Bt25K per year for such a card when we currently get a long stay stamp in our passport for Bt1,900.

[KhunFred]

On 1/6/2019 at 9:36 AM, RupertIII said:

UK state pension can be transferred to a Thai a/c but only in Thai Baht. Mine is sent here every 4 weeks.

 

I noticed on another thread that the monies had to be transferred from the home country, no mention of that here. Many people, myself included, hold their funds offshore with no bank a/c in their home country. 

UK citizens definitely seem to be getting a worse deal than those of us from the United States. It seems that with all the foreign aid that Thailand receives from our two countries, that Thailand could be a bit more accomodating. 

[ginjag]

6 minutes ago, mogandave said:

 

Well the guys that were already cheating can continue cheating using an agent.

Why should the guys that haven’t been cheating cough up an extra 23K?

 

Just a matter of being practical. When you look at the whole package, before 3,000 baht and the hassle of sending off conformation of pension, and the ordering of the said documents, now this uncertainty.  Thai cannot keep it simple.. like no orders to transfer funds from pension sources,  placing 800,000 in a Thai bank , running every 90 days like your on parole, Having your landlord sending copies of ID passport and deeds and lease. and having a select minority with 65k a month exempt.  I am not the bank and live well but would gladly pay a yearly 25k and proof of residence/health insurance. You my friend sound like the minority with over adequate means to stay in Thailand,  BUT bully for you, I am not jealous but making a sensible suggestion.  25k to stay here is not much to pay for a years stay.

[ginjag]

18 minutes ago, Pib said:

I notice you didn't mention having "X-amount" of income to live on other than maybe address rent and medical insurance (which is still not req'd).   And that X-amount would be the Bt65K/40K per month which TI considers adequate for a farang.   Since rent in Thailand can be only a few thousand baht per month if living poor Thai style if the TI gave out long stay cards for only Bt25K per year with no income requirement then Thailand has just turned itself into a magnet for migrants around the world.   

 

Now if you did mean, "Well, yes a person would still need to meet the Bt65K/Bt40K monthly requirement or a Bt800K/Bt400K large deposit requirement," then there is no need for an expensive long stay card...why pay Bt25K per year for such a card when we currently get a long stay stamp in our passport for Bt1,900.

Lease and owner documents apply from the lessee for a retirement visa.  Quote--25k for expensive long stay card  ???    I have lived here 14 years, bought 6 new cars and 3 motor bikes, condo --- dined and ate at the best.   No need for a income to produce if immigration had a law that long stayers have suggest 250k in a thai bank as guarantee to show funds for living

[Genericnic]

2 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

A translation of the directive has been posted here.

 

Thanks ubonjoe. Very helpful.

 

Absent a subsequent change in the rules before my retirement visa expires late this year and despite the fact that I have sufficient funds to do either the 800,000 baht or the monthly deposit, it looks like there is a fair chance I'll be heading elsewhere the end of the year. Will definitely miss Thailand. After 8 years here is has really become home. 

 

David

[ginjag]

8 minutes ago, ginjag said:

Just a matter of being practical. When you look at the whole package, before 3,000 baht and the hassle of sending off conformation of pension, and the ordering of the said documents, now this uncertainty.  Thai cannot keep it simple.. like no orders to transfer funds from pension sources,  placing 800,000 in a Thai bank , running every 90 days like your on parole, Having your landlord sending copies of ID passport and deeds and lease. and having a select minority with 65k a month exempt.  I am not the bank and live well but would gladly pay a yearly 25k and proof of residence/health insurance. You my friend sound like the minority with over adequate means to stay in Thailand,  BUT bully for you, I am not jealous but making a sensible suggestion.  25k to stay here is not much to pay for a years stay.

Just to add, I do not use an agent or cheat, you make your post sound like I cheat...not nice...as I never mentioned cheat in my original post.

[mogandave]

Just a matter of being practical. When you look at the whole package, before 3,000 baht and the hassle of sending off conformation of pension, and the ordering of the said documents, now this uncertainty.  Thai cannot keep it simple.. like no orders to transfer funds from pension sources,  placing 800,000 in a Thai bank , running every 90 days like your on parole, Having your landlord sending copies of ID passport and deeds and lease. and having a select minority with 65k a month exempt.  I am not the bank and live well but would gladly pay a yearly 25k and proof of residence/health insurance. You my friend sound like the minority with over adequate means to stay in Thailand,  BUT bully for you, I am not jealous but making a sensible suggestion.  25k to stay here is not much to pay for a years stay.

So you think a country should allow anyone that can scrape up 25k to stay in the country for a year?

[holy cow cm]

On 1/6/2019 at 10:06 AM, mrmillersr said:

It would be logical they want to verify the income is from a bona fide pension that will continue in the future and not from a source that could end any time after an initial 12 month period.  Of course, the operational word here is "logical" which seldom applies in Thailand.

Don’t feed to start an unnecessary fire Incase the boys are reading. Also that might give some retirees ulcers and they don’t have insurance. 

Edited January 7, 2019 by holy cow cm

[ginjag]

33 minutes ago, mogandave said:

 

So you think a country should allow anyone that can scrape up 25k to stay in the country for a year?
 

 

No---- a reply that is after brownie points, does not reflect my suggestion as you leave out many stipulations I suggested. unfair reply.  if you wish to post please do not post this style,    DID YOU read my suggestion about having a security of 250k  NO  because it suited your style....    Just look at your reply and how it sounds, pathetic---I am being honest and not being rude.

Edited January 7, 2019 by ginjag

[cleverman]

Another million posts about nothing ,just, what if, maby, why don't they, I recon, . For something, in writing from the Oz Dept of Foriegn Affairs and Trade, I wrote them a month ago, got their reply today. Very interesting info. You can contact them yourself so I can't be accused of being a troll, with the faries or any of the other names the ill informed have  called me, the  Cleverman,. P.S. Man is singular, men as in madmen is plural, doesn't make sense.P.s. My querie to the Oz Govt  was concerning stat decs and certification of documents. 

Edited January 7, 2019 by cleverman
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[holy cow cm]

30 minutes ago, mogandave said:

 

So you think a country should allow anyone that can scrape up 25k to stay in the country for a year?
 

 

It would be an annual coverage payment for insurance helping expats out. And so my answer is yes, and the government could make tons of dough because most will not use it. But of course there is more to annual extensions than that, and this should be easier for us long timers