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CONFIRMED: Here is exactly what’s needed for retirement & marriage extensions (income method) from 2019


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1 hour ago, Pib said:

Thai Immigration will be the one making that decision.  But their new guidance does say "Thai bank letter and bank statement" (that's a Thai bank statement/passbook) required to prove funds were transferred from overseas. 

 

I doubt any/most immigration office is going to want to see any other type of documentation like a TW receipt (easily forged).  Or an  ATM slip and your story how the money was withdrawn from your home country bank account and then you immediately deposited the money into your Thai bank account where it got coded as a domestic deposit vs international deposit/transfer.

 

The new policy is using the KISS approach regarding documentation---and the documentation required is "Thai bank" documentation that is freshly generated, signed, and stamped; not documentation from other sources in various languages and in various formats.

 

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1 hour ago, JackThompson said:

IOs aren't going to be looking through your "proof" documents - foreign account statements, and TW PDF (both of which could be easily faked). 

 

If it doesn't show up on the letter generated and stamped by your Thai Bank, which will likely show a list of foreign-transfer deposits to your account, you will be out of luck. 

 

But, as long as you have money to spare, you can send 65K Baht with Transferwise, then see how it shows up on the Thai-Account.  If it shows without a foreign-transfer code, then SWIFT another 65K Baht, so you have that month covered.  As far as we know, there is no way to predict which "partner bank" they will use (for a collection of transfers, which are then parsed-out to the individual Thai accounts) - so it's a roll of the dice.  Some may get lucky, and get foreign-transfer codes 12 times in a row.

Many thanks to you both. I think that the gravity of the situation which you and others have highlighted is finally beginning to sink in. Looks like I might have to re-think my options.

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27 minutes ago, elviajero said:

IMO they will insist on 12 transfers, and we will have to wait and see if they accept an average. I can’t see them accepting the example you give.

One can only imagine the nightmares that will ensue after April 1st when all the people who were relying on the BK Bank ACH transfers and unaware of its end only to find them not arriving and due to not knowing the change have no backup transfer method in place to maintain a consistent monthly cash flow... How will Immigration treat someone how misses a monthly transfer due to error or banking glitches?....

 

Edited by sfokevin
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26 minutes ago, sfokevin said:

One can only imagine the nightmares that will ensue after April 1st when all the people who were relying on the BK Bank ACH transfers and unaware of its end only to find them not arriving and due to not knowing the change have no backup transfer method in place to maintain a consistent monthly cash flow... How will Immigration treat someone how misses a monthly transfer due to error or banking glitches?....

Currently, if the bank balance drops below the min 400K/800K - even for 1 day - they usually decline an extension; so I assume if someone only has 11 transfers instead of 12, or one or more transfers is below 65K, I expect the same strict enforcement will be applied.

 

I’m not sure if they will strictly enforce one transfer for every calendar month.

Edited by elviajero
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3 minutes ago, farangx said:

The bank letter is suppose to remove the financial guesswork for TI.  The bank is the only one that knew your account(s) activities and certifies that if they meet TI's requirements, they can issue a statement to that effect which comes in the form of a bank letter.  It is this letter that carries the weight and it is a powerful document.  You might want to think of this like an LC (Letter of Credit).  The bank book is more like a journal, likely for IO's amusement. ????

 

 

Maybe.

I get what you're saying and it could certainly work that way, wherein the bank basically does all the work, the IO just reads the letter and can play investigator by looking at entries in the bank statement or bank passbook.  I can see this working.

However, that's not the way the current money in the bank thing works.

 

Right now the bank issues a bare bones letter making no claims about whether the account holder meets any of the requirements.  Specifically, it does not say that the account holder balance didn't drop below 800,000 baht at any time during the three month seasoning period.  I'm going by my experience with my bank letters from Bangkok Bank and Krungsri bank.

The bank statement (about 3-4 months) is what shows that I meet the requirement.  That, my balance never dipped below 800,000 baht during my 3-month seasoning period.  You might say the bank statement (bank passbook) speaks for itself.  This requires the IO to look through the bank statement and/or passbook because the bank letter doesn't really address whether the requirements were met.

I could see it working either way.  The way you suggested or the way Pib suggests.  In Pib's scenario, the bank does very little more than they do now for the money in the bank method (basically the same).  In your scenario, the bank really does all the work and declares in the letter that the account holder meets the requirements. The IO would basically just need to read the bank letter in this second scenario and only consult the supporting docs - bank statement/bank passbook if he's curious/suspicious.

Rumor has it that Thai immigration and various bank representatives are having this discussion now.  What should the new bank letter look like?  I guess we'll find out in the fullness of time.

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10 minutes ago, elviajero said:

Currently, if the bank balance drops below the min 400K/800K - even for 1 day - they usually decline an extension; so I assume if someone only has 11 transfers instead of 12, or one or more transfers is below 65K, I expect the same strict enforcement will be applied.

 

I’m not sure if they will strictly enforce one transfer for every calendar month.

I think they are highly likely to enforce that.  Last year due to some dates mixed up on my part, my 3 month seasoning ended on the last day of the extension.  I was a bit concern so I went to TI a day before the extension ends to see if they can accept the 3 month seasoning with a day short to avoid complications on the last day.  I told the IO my concerns but he was not interested, he told me to go away and come back tomorrow like everybody else and collect the passport a day after.  He was so confident that I will get what I wanted, that bast**d!  Always remember, that 90 days and 3 months are  not same same .... ????

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1 hour ago, skatewash said:

I'll assume you want to get a retirement extension of stay.  I'll make conservative assumptions.  If it were me I would arrange for monthly international transfers from my home country into Thailand of more than 65,000 baht each month between now and when you will go for your extension.  Each transfer should result in an entry in your passbook that shows an international transfer (in the case of Bangkok Bank, that would be a FTT - Foreign Telegraphic Transfer transaction code).

 

Then a few days before you go for your extension I would visit your bank and get two things:

 

1) A standard bank letter - shows your name on the account (not joint, just you), your account number, the balance of the account on this day, the day's date, signed by an authorized bank employee, bank stamp on the letter.  Expect to pay about 100 baht for this letter.

2) A bank statement good for the past 12 months.  It may take the bank a few days to get this statement as it might have to come from the Bangkok Headquarters.  It might cost 200-400 baht.  Highlight each month the qualifying international transfer (FTT code) that shows more than 65,000 baht was deposited in the account.  The bank will stamp each page of the statement.

 

On a separate piece of paper I would make a table that shows the date of each qualifying deposit and the amount of each qualifying deposit.  This is basically just for the IOs convenience so that he can see how many months you are claiming and that the amount is above 65,000 in each case.

Date of Deposit    Amount

10/01/2019           65,300

10/02/2019          65,300

10/03/2019           65,300

10/04/2019          65,300

10/05/2019           65,300

10/06/2019          65,300

10/07/2019           65,300

10/08/2019          65,300
* It's only 8 months because this method just started this year, next year it will have to be the full 12 months.
 

That's what I would take to the immigration office.

In future years (starting 2020) they will want to see 12 full months of deposits, but supposedly the first time you go through this process they will work with the number of months you have.

The way I anticipate this going at the IO is that he will read the bank letter from which he gets that this is your account in your sole name and the balance is such and such.  Then he looks at your piece of paper showing all your qualifying deposits and goes through making sure that there's one each month and that it was above 65,000 baht.  If he wants to see any of the individual deposits he can look at your passbook or the bank statement you have with you.

That's it.  It could be that simple.  Hopefully.

Thanks but still a headache for me because of the level of commitments I have on at the moment and will have until may/June, its poses a problem for me. I have been investing in Spanish property for the last number of years because its at the base of a growth curve. So lots of commitments because I run a Spanish Property Investment syndicate for people interested in taking shares in Investment properties. (The Med Syndicate). See my reply to JT

 

Also what on earth are those using income method going to do if they don't dicsover the rule changes soon. They are all going to get shafted!

Edited by tracy3eyes
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2 minutes ago, Russell17au said:

One of the unknowns at the moment is how they will enforce the monthly transfers as there are many on here that receive their pensions on a 13x4 weekly cycle and not on a 12x1 calendar month cycle. Even though the yearly amounts would be the same the actual monthly amounts are different and it could be the difference of meeting the requirements or not. If TI use the same method that has always been accepted with taking the yearly income and dividing it by the 12 months to give the average monthly income then there should be no problems. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few weeks as there should be some Danes that would be due for their new extensions and as they have been unable to get the income letter few several weeks now and these new requirements are now in, I hope that there are some Danes on TVF that will come and let us know what has happened

I get 3 pensions.

 

1.   State pension paid every 4 weeks or 13 times per year every 4th Friday.

2.   Military pension paid 12 times per year on the 15th monthly.

3.   Company pension paid 12 times per year on the 20th monthly.

 

That means 37 bank transactions per year.

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6 minutes ago, Russell17au said:

snip...

 

It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few weeks as there should be some Danes that would be due for their new extensions and as they have been unable to get the income letter few several weeks now and these new requirements are now in, I hope that there are some Danes on TVF that will come and let us know what has happened

Not only Danes...

I'm sure there will be a few from UK, US, & Oz who wont have realized in time and can no longer get their income letter.

Perhaps they will be allowed to get their extension with just a single deposit for this current month.

 

Or they'll have to go the agent route..

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14 minutes ago, skatewash said:

Right now the bank issues a bare bones letter making no claims about whether the account holder meets any of the requirements.  Specifically, it does not say that the account holder balance didn't drop below 800,000 baht at any time during the three month seasoning period.  I'm going by my experience with my bank letters from Bangkok Bank and Krungsri bank.


The bank statement (about 3-4 months) is what shows that I meet the requirement.  That, my balance never dipped below 800,000 baht during my 3-month seasoning period.  You might say the bank statement (bank passbook) speaks for itself.  This requires the IO to look through the bank statement and/or passbook because the bank letter doesn't really address whether the requirements were met.

Things are not that complicated.

 

I went to SCB to request for a letter that TI needs and they know right away what I was after.  The bank manager also told me that the letter will explain that I have more than 800K daily balance over that 3 months. Whether the letter says that TI's requirement is irrelevant, because this is what their bank letter format is going to be if it is meant for TI.  Issuing me this letter implies the bank knows what TI expects out of it.  In addition to the letter, the bank also print out a statement of the previous month's account activities to support that letter, both this letter and statement are then stamped and endorsed by the bank.  So far they ignored my bank book.

 

23 minutes ago, skatewash said:

Rumor has it that Thai immigration and various bank representatives are having this discussion now.  What should the new bank letter look like?  I guess we'll find out in the fullness of time.

I expect the banks and TI to be in discussions of issuing said letters base on new TI rules.  

 

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53 minutes ago, tracy3eyes said:

Many thanks. Still a bit of a headache. Although I have a net pension of well over £2k a month I keep a number of homes and commitments, and I am also often outside of Thailand during a year so being able to do the 65k a month is still not easy. Accessing just the funds I need via ATM when in Thailand was more appropriate for me. So the income letter which I used to get from the Embassy worked best for me and I have a genuine pension and always provided Pension Letter from provider, P60 and bank statements. So the changes make life difficult for those who are not cheating the system and have been in Thai for 15 years! Also previously I dad my own Thai company, paid taxes and provided jobs etc but have to suffer because of these changes. And I am not in a position to transfer 65K this and next month due to ongoing important commitments. So I may well be buggered.

 

I do not understand why they would not accept documents like P60's, Letters from Pension provider etc surely this is proof enough. Whats also annoying is the fact that I have had 10 million going through my Thai banks in the last 10 years. All tide up in property in Thai and Spain at the moment.

 

So if I cannot get a renewal in Sept I will give up! And go elsewhere as I suspect many others will or have to.

 

TI are hurting the very people they should be securing as good long standing genuine retirees.

 

Nevermind!

If you are often out of Thailand in a year, wouldn't it make more sense to just get a ME Non O Visa rather than messing about with year extensions? Or every two years get an OA Visa in your home country? I think these methods would be the preferred alternative for anyone who is not here year round and is a 'retiree' from immigration's point of view. While I agree that TI could be more accommodating, I'm sure some immigrants in every country think the same, but their country, their rules is the only way to view it in my opinion.

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3) Income certification certified by the embassy or consular.

 

Been thinking about something, which "embassy or consular"? 

 

The reason I ask, is that like my marriage authentication I went thru, there "might" be a path for some people in the US to use the US State Department to verify financial documents (Apostilles and Authentication), then have the THAI Embassy certify the US Secretary of States signature, then have the MFA here apply their stamp. Yes its expensive and time consuming, but if it verifies notarized income/financial documents from Social Security (like the "Proof of Income Letter" from SSA) or other entities, wouldn't that be "Income Certification"?

 

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I do not know if the subject has been discussed, I have not finished reading this long thread.
I have been in Thailand for 5 years with an OA "retired" visa. I am married to a Thai citizen for 4 years. Until this year, I was just above 65000 baths for my extensions but due to the unfavorable exchange rate, I am now just below the required 65000 monthly baths. In my case, is it possible to switch to a Thai wife visa?
If this is not possible, the solution to return to my country at the expiry of my current visa and then return to Thailand by requesting a Thai wife visa seems to you possible?
Thank you in advance for your opinion and sorry for my poor English.

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23 minutes ago, Nelska said:

I do not know if the subject has been discussed, I have not finished reading this long thread.
I have been in Thailand for 5 years with an OA "retired" visa. I am married to a Thai citizen for 4 years. Until this year, I was just above 65000 baths for my extensions but due to the unfavorable exchange rate, I am now just below the required 65000 monthly baths. In my case, is it possible to switch to a Thai wife visa?
If this is not possible, the solution to return to my country at the expiry of my current visa and then return to Thailand by requesting a Thai wife visa seems to you possible?
Thank you in advance for your opinion and sorry for my poor English.

 

I don't think you can switch just like that.

 

You must go out of the country and apply for a new visa but that could be a neighbouring country and not home country. Not sure about this part though.

 

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9 minutes ago, EricTh said:
34 minutes ago, Nelska said:

I do not know if the subject has been discussed, I have not finished reading this long thread.
I have been in Thailand for 5 years with an OA "retired" visa. I am married to a Thai citizen for 4 years. Until this year, I was just above 65000 baths for my extensions but due to the unfavorable exchange rate, I am now just below the required 65000 monthly baths. In my case, is it possible to switch to a Thai wife visa?
If this is not possible, the solution to return to my country at the expiry of my current visa and then return to Thailand by requesting a Thai wife visa seems to you possible?
Thank you in advance for your opinion and sorry for my poor English.

I don't think you can switch just like that.

 

You must go out of the country and apply for a new visa but that could be a neighbouring country and not home country. Not sure about this part though.

 

It is no problem for you to switch the reason for your extension from retirement to spouse when you next renew. 

 

If your income is below the 65K and you want to stay on a retirement extension you could combine your income with cash in the bank as long as it totals 800K. e.g income of 50K x 12 = 600K could be combined with 200K in the bank.

 

Personally, I believe it is better to apply as a spouse even though it requires a bit more paperwork.

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5 hours ago, sfokevin said:

One can only imagine the nightmares that will ensue after April 1st when all the people who were relying on the BK Bank ACH transfers and unaware of its end only to find them not arriving and due to not knowing the change have no backup transfer method in place to maintain a consistent monthly cash flow... How will Immigration treat someone how misses a monthly transfer due to error or banking glitches?....

 

One will have to seriously consider registering with the embassy he is residing here and the embassy can update him with advisory notices.  Not saying I did that, but ....

 

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7 hours ago, OJAS said:

Coupled with a home bank account statement recording the initial debit to TW (which, of course, equals the "Amount paid" at the start of the TW confirmation report), what more convincing proof would be needed of the international origin of a particular transfer?

 

The Thai bank passbook code need not IMHO be the all-important issue that many on here seem to make it out to be!

Unless your Thai bank has the money trail from your overseas account into your Thai bank account here for those transfers, they cannot issue you a statement that you did. Maybe TW got a friend in Thailand who ask his friend to bank in the money into your account over the counter .... ????

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8 hours ago, rjwill01 said:

So, if I continue to withdraw 65000 baht from my US Bank account by use of Bangkok ATM machine and then deposit that money to my Bangkok bank checking account, I am Ok if Bangkok Bank certifies those deposits each month.  Correct?

C'mon man, Bangkok bank will know exactly where in Thailand you are doing this.  You can even assume you will be caught on video doing the act.  I have to ask you this, is it the som tam?

Edited by farangx
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9 hours ago, Thaidream said:

I will never believe that TI 'demanded' the Embassies certify back to original source or demand anything.  Thais do not speak like that- the Embassies blew it out of all proportion and had they continued the Letter  in the same manner- it would be accepted just like the current change states.

Yea, the US, Australian, UK, all got together and decided to pull the plug at the same time.

You are kidding right?

Edited by garyk
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9 hours ago, elviajero said:

Currently, if the bank balance drops below the min 400K/800K - even for 1 day - they usually decline an extension; so I assume if someone only has 11 transfers instead of 12, or one or more transfers is below 65K, I expect the same strict enforcement will be applied.

 

I’m not sure if they will strictly enforce one transfer for every calendar month.

Hardly. I have had my 400k drop and then have just deposited it back in. Never questioned. But I use the 400k method. 

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9 hours ago, elviajero said:

Currently, if the bank balance drops below the min 400K/800K - even for 1 day - they usually decline an extension; so I assume if someone only has 11 transfers instead of 12, or one or more transfers is below 65K, I expect the same strict enforcement will be applied.

 

I’m not sure if they will strictly enforce one transfer for every calendar month.

Oh sorry misread what said. You mean in the hold period of 2 or 3 months prior. Yes Yes it is a a fail for the extension. Actually for being a father there is no seasoning. 

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8 hours ago, farangx said:

In addition to the letter, the bank also print out a statement of the previous month's account activities to support that letter, both this letter and statement are then stamped and endorsed by the bank.  So far they ignored my bank book.

In my visit to my SCB branch the statement was from 01/01/2018 to 24/04/2018 so covering more than 3 months, (my extension application was submitted on 25/04/2018). I think it likely that your statement was not for 1 month, as that is not the period that immigration want, but something over 3 months.

 

Quote

The bank manager also told me that the letter will explain that I have more than 800K daily balance over that 3 months. 

The SCB letter I received stated that the account belonged to me and that on 25/04/2018 my current balance was ฿406,303.44

nowhere on the letter did it talk about the historical balance, that is what the balance column on the statement is for (mine showed that the balance varied from the above figure to ฿681,373.44)

 

as ubonjoe said

Quote

People are using the wrong wording for what a bank will do. They certainly will not be confirming the income. It will only be a letter confirming the account is valid similar what they do for proof of money in a bank to prove the 400K/800k baht in the bank. Copies of a bank book stamped by the bank or a statement from the bank will be the proof the income has been brought into the country.

So the only change needed is a statement covering 12 months

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