According to UbonJoe, the combined method is still valid. I hope so 'cos I am hoping to do it that way. 

Yes but some of us particularly myself have had the attitude that we'll believe it when we see it. A theoretical should be OK based on the rules can be miles apart when it comes to real life enforcement experience. Add to that all the varied provincial offices and you've got a recipe for serious uncertainty. As it stands now I would advise preparing for the 800k baht in the bank method as a sure thing until there is more certainty that people can really count on the combo method working going forward without embassy letters.

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UbonJoe, the savior to all!

How is that in this case? He doesn't control actual enforcement.

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Chiangmai using the combination method with no problems. Any body recently?

Specify with or without income letter. Different situations.

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I have already looked at it. I think it will all get sorted out shorley. I think they don't really understand the new rules yet.

Or maybe they are interpreting them differently than you are.

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Until all offices get it straight confusion will be the order of the day. Until all this is sorted those applying for extensions will get the brunt of the confusion

They may think they already have it straight. No way of knowing yet.

 

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I think the "income" method is going to be a virtual nightmare going forward. Too many parts to a moving puzzle for many of the local immigration offices. Too many little things to go wrong, i.e., short amount transferred, transfer code wrong, etc. For some IO's it will be okay, but for many it won't. If you can't afford either the 400K or 800K seasoned Thai bank account, you probably should start looking for another country....or settle in for a lot of headaches!   

I totally agree. I think most people are vastly minimizing the potential technical pitfalls with the new rules. Remember previously no import to Thailand was required at all and while some see this change as good news its been clear to me all along a change to required annual imports especially done monthly would be a massively negative change.

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comforting to know that immigration and the banks have got this all under control

Good sarcasm.

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They may think they already have it straight. No way of knowing yet.  
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Got to be a mistake some not accepting combination method otherwise there would have been an announcement when the new reg came out

Got to be a mistake some not accepting combination method otherwise there would have been an announcement when the new reg came out

What announcement? The police order amendment does not mention combo method at all.

 

Consider the "mistake" might be expats expecting the combo method to continue without embassy letters.

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9 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

What announcement? The police order amendment does not mention combo method at all.

Of course it was not mentioned since the combination option is not mentioned in clause 2.22 for police order 138/2557 that was amended.

It is shown in 327/2557. The amendment only affects proving the income part of it.

6 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

What announcement? The police order amendment does not mention combo method at all.

 

Consider the "mistake" might be expats expecting the combo method to continue without embassy letters.

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There’s a new thread just started by chap refused combo method in UK at home embassy there.

If this doesn't get ironed out fast there are going to be a lot of people in big trouble. 

What a mess!

Of course it was not mentioned since the combination option is not mentioned in clause 2.22 for police order 138/2557 that was amended.
It is shown in 327/2557. The amendment only affects proving the income part of it.

Yes.
That's your interpretation.
It is almost definitely the "correct" interpretation.
But what is being "correct" worth if some, many, or all offices don't interpret it that way?


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Got to be a mistake some not accepting combination method otherwise there would have been an announcement when the new reg came out

Unless some or many offices are reading the amendment as superceding. Also I don't know the possible nuances in Thai that may make them read the amendment as superceding.

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Above post would appear to indicate the decision has been made to not allow combo method and this has been communicated to Foreign Service posts (as Embassy web site still shows combo method is allowed but above actions indicates it is not).  We seem to be playing without a playbook at this point.????

On 1/18/2019 at 7:09 PM, bwpage3 said:

UbonJoe, the savior to all!

Agreed, but unfortunately for us all, Ubon Joe is not in charge of Immigration and each Immigration office seems to make what they will of the new (and old) rules,  regardless of the actual wording, or our interpretation of it. 

17 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Above post would appear to indicate the decision has been made to not allow combo method and this has been communicated to Foreign Service posts (as Embassy web site still shows combo method is allowed but above actions indicates it is not).  We seem to be playing without a playbook at this point.????

You cannot apply for an OA visa in Thailand anyway.  Applying at an embassy for a visa is not the same as applying for an extension in Thailand.

 

On 1/18/2019 at 6:50 PM, ubonjoe said:

I think there is apparently some confusion going on at immigration about the changes.

That's going to be a big problem.

 

When getting your visa becomes a lottery you can no longer rely on the service and all stability breaks down.

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

Of course it was not mentioned since the combination option is not mentioned in clause 2.22 for police order 138/2557 that was amended.

It is shown in 327/2557. The amendment only affects proving the income part of it.

The combo requires proof of income , to make up the shortfall in the bank. The amendment need to be more explicit on how this supporting documentation is to be provided. 

If the combo method is still allowed , under income being transferred into thai bank, then the amendment has been poorly drafted.

10 minutes ago, farangx said:

You cannot apply for an OA visa in Thailand anyway.  Applying at an embassy for a visa is not the same as applying for an extension in Thailand.

 

So tell us when did the combo method change at Embassies, it’s on the websites as one of two options re financing?

1 hour ago, davhend25 said:

I think the "income" method is going to be a virtual nightmare going forward. Too many parts to a moving puzzle for many of the local immigration offices. Too many little things to go wrong, i.e., short amount transferred, transfer code wrong, etc. For some IO's it will be okay, but for many it won't. If you can't afford either the 400K or 800K seasoned Thai bank account, you probably should start looking for another country....or settle in for a lot of headaches!   

I would not go that far. Give it time. I will guarantee you my country would also have issues when new rules and regulations are announced in situations like this. It will be very simple for Thai IO fairly soon. The required amount of money sitting in bank for the required time or money transferred from outside the country. Doesn't get much simpler than that.

 

But one thing is for certain, I am applying for my extension on the earliest date possible so I have some time to sort things if needed. I am not waiting until the last minute.

I receive more than half of my pension via 2 annual payments. How does this account towards the minimum monthly payments that are required.

6 minutes ago, lelapin said:

I receive more than half of my pension via 2 annual payments. How does this account towards the minimum monthly payments that are required.

Not certain at all, but likely consolidated into your home account over the year, then 65k sent each month leading up to your ext. date.How to send it is another question and if combined with bank deposit seasoned..??

I receive more than half of my pension via 2 annual payments. How does this account towards the minimum monthly payments that are required.

The police order talks explicitly about monthly transfers. I suggest you do monthly transfers or switch to the 800k bank method. This is another example of the nightmare implications of the new rules.

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4 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

I have already looked at it. I think it will all get sorted out shorley. I think they don't really understand the new rules yet.

Although I think you’re correct they will sort out this aspect,the disquieting thing is the amount of confusion already  by a number of offices manifested  on such a simple aspect . This is prescient for  the Far more complex question of identifying incoming funds into your account as coming from abroad which I covered in my earlier post. Even those having their uk state pension paid directly by the uk government into their Thai account are not identified  on the receiving banks codes as being a foreign transaction because they also use fx companies rather than banks making expensive single transactions  

. How do you think that will be sorted out? 

There is no time for someone like me who’s extended their visa last week to wait until this is sorted out when I have to ensure February's payment will show correctly to ensure 12 monthly payments are in place for my next extension. And in what format will the bank letter be if what I think will be the case, in that this bank letter will be expected to do all the work for Immigration? Individual branches,especially in out of the way areas are not going to understand the complex aspect of intermediary banks role in effecting most fx companies transfers of funds.

I would not go that far. Give it time. I will guarantee you my country would also have issues when new rules and regulations are announced in situations like this. It will be very simple for Thai IO fairly soon. The required amount of money sitting in bank for the required time or money transferred from outside the country. Doesn't get much simpler than that.
 
But one thing is for certain, I am applying for my extension on the earliest date possible so I have some time to sort things if needed. I am not waiting until the last minute.

No. It is not simple. There are scads of mechanical variations with the imported income method. You haven't thought this through. Say you miss a month and double the next month. You then don't meet the rules. I could easily think of 100 real life situations that would put people out of the rules. Sure you could go beg for flexibility. Is that how people want to live as they grow older?

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I have my 400 or 800k on standby so I'm not over-worried about no longer having the Brit Embassy letter. Can't be arsed waiting for this income method to be sorted, I've a feeling it never will be to my advantage. My main worry is what the cabinet is going to do about the special committee's recommendation on medical insurance for OA visa holders. I'm already making contingency plans for a move to the Philippines. I hope I don't have to put them into action.

1 hour ago, lopburi3 said:

Above post would appear to indicate the decision has been made to not allow combo method and this has been communicated to Foreign Service posts (as Embassy web site still shows combo method is allowed but above actions indicates it is not).  We seem to be playing without a playbook at this point.????

In the same thread, there is a post where someone was denied an O-A from the same Embassy because he was not yet 65 years old.  So, it looks like relying on the London Embassy for anything is questionable.

1 hour ago, jesimps said:

I have my 400 or 800k on standby so I'm not over-worried about no longer having the Brit Embassy letter. Can't be arsed waiting for this income method to be sorted, I've a feeling it never will be to my advantage. My main worry is what the cabinet is going to do about the special committee's recommendation on medical insurance for OA visa holders. I'm already making contingency plans for a move to the Philippines. I hope I don't have to put them into action.

I am doing the same kind of thing. I got my extension of stay last week, so good for another year. But, just booked a flight back to the US, and will watch this from afar. If things straighten out then I will come back and re-new my visa, if not, my plans are to visit a few other countries. When I find one I really like I will pick up a retirement visa there. 

A real pain in the a$$, but I have decided I have to do what is best for me, not Thailand.

Edited January 19, 20197 yr by garyk

18 minutes ago, garyk said:

I am doing the same kind of thing. I got my extension of stay last week, so good for another year. But, just booked a flight back to the US, and will watch this from afar. If things straighten out then I will come back and re-new my visa, if not, I am not putting up with this nonsense as I get older. 

I predict Thailand is going to lose a fair chunk of expats over these changes, probably more on retirement than marriage. Impossible to estimate the percentage but that's what I think. 5 percent or 50 percent, impossible to predict. Does the Thai government care? I can't read their minds but maybe periodic shakeouts are seen as good -- that wouldn't exactly be shocking.

As far as people that haven't moved here yet and burned some or all of their bridges, I advise think really hard about that and consider looking at other options that offer lifetime residence security. 

Edited January 19, 20197 yr by Jingthing