U.S. Social Security International Direct Deposit (IDD) Update

[Sheryl]

That "earlier than usual" part us actually worrying for those of us hopung to use IDD to meet immigration requirements for monthly transfer of income from abroad. The requirements are for a transfer every single month and apparently SS sometimes makes a transfer at the end of the month ig the usual payment date falls on a holiday...this has especially been noted to occur around Labor Day with people then getting a second payment in August and no payment in September.... Which Thai immigration will not accept.

I had hoped that the IDD process would add at least 1 day delay so that there'd be little chance of that happening. If instead it is ultra fast then there may be a problem...



Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Mel52]

You can complete it and download it here. https://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/VBA-24-0296a-ARE.pdf

You know actually that’s a slightly older version of the form because the email address at the bottom is not the correct email address as far as I know. The email address I contacted them at was [email protected] and that email address was also the same email address at the bottom of the updated form. Here’s a picture of the most current form but it’s probably best to contact them at the following email address first and ask, [email protected]. They will respond to you from that email address [email protected] which is at the bottom of the updated VA IDD form. I’m sorry I’m on my smartphone at the moment not a computer so I can’t send you the pdf copy of the form but here’s a picture of the updated VA IDD form. Just contact the va at [email protected] for the most current version of the VA IDD form. Sorry to correct you Joe but that is the old version of the form I’m sorry I’m not on my computer so I can’t send the pdf version of the form but here’s a picture:

[Mel52]

That "earlier than usual" part us actually worrying for those of us hopung to use IDD to meet immigration requirements for monthly transfer of income from abroad. The requirements are for a transfer every single month and apparently SS sometimes makes a transfer at the end of the month ig the usual payment date falls on a holiday...this has especially been noted to occur around Labor Day with people then getting a second payment in August and no payment in September.... Which Thai immigration will not accept. 

I had hoped that the IDD process would add at least 1 day delay so that there'd be little chance of that happening. If instead it is ultra fast then there may be a problem...

 

 

 

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

 

 

 

My first IDD from the va was only about 8 hours earlier than usual and it’s still only once a month trust me it’ll meet immigration requirements it’s still exactly once a month. Although it eliminates the two business days that it takes for international wire transfers to post to the account. My last payday was on May 31st and my next payday should be around end of month June or July 1st at the latest the actual pay date just depends on weekends or holidays in between it could be a day or two early or on the 1st of the month at the latest. It’s nothing to worry about it’s still once a month. It’s not “ultra fast” but mine was about 8 hours earlier just considering the time zone difference between Thailand and the states. It is once a month which immigration will accept. Although I’m taking about the va not Social Security. It is actually the same situation when doing international wire transfers it’s once a month which will be accepted by immigration.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

[Sheryl]

If your last came May 31 and the next comes 1 July then it will NOT have been every month.

The way most Thai Imm offices look at it, there has to he a transfer within every calender month. So in the above hypothetical case the absence of a transfer arriving within the month if June could potentially disqualify you.

Odds are this would not happen more than once or twice in a year and yes, one could compensate for it by making a special additional wire transfer if one were aware it had occurred. The risk is not knowing because one has set it all up on auto pilot and might not check each month in date of fund arrival.

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Mel52]

If your last came May 31 and the next comes 1 July then it will NOT have been every month.

The way most Thai Imm offices look at it, there has to he a transfer within every calender month. So in the above hypothetical case the absence of a transfer arriving within the month if June could potentially disqualify you.

Odds are this would not happen more than once or twice in a year and yes, one could compensate for it by making a special additional wire transfer if one were aware it had occurred. The risk is not knowing because one has set it all up on auto pilot and might not check each month in date of fund arrival.

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

Well next month it’ll probably be end of month June because of the weekend before 1 July but honestly I’m not worried about that I mean seriously I’m sure immigration can read between the lines better than that you’re talking about a matter of a day or two between the end of each month and the 1st. Plus I have documentation that actually says that it’s a “monthly” pension payment from the va. The same thing can happen with wire transfers depending on weekends or holidays. I do understand what you’re saying but I really don’t think that’s anything to worry about especially since it’s verifiable that my pension payments are monthly payments. I’m sure immigration understands that weekends and holidays effects monthly payment dates lol.

[Mel52]

Basically my May 31st direct deposit was for June and that can be verified by my va pension letters if necessary but I don’t think they’re going to be that nit picky about a day or two a few months out of the year they’re smart enough to know better than that. I don’t know that could be a problem at some of these other immigration offices I’ve read so much about on here but I doubt it.

 

[Mel52]

If your last came May 31 and the next comes 1 July then it will NOT have been every month.

 

The way most Thai Imm offices look at it, there has to he a transfer within every calender month. So in the above hypothetical case the absence of a transfer arriving within the month if June could potentially disqualify you.

 

Odds are this would not happen more than once or twice in a year and yes, one could compensate for it by making a special additional wire transfer if one were aware it had occurred. The risk is not knowing because one has set it all up on auto pilot and might not check each month in date of fund arrival.

 

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

 

 

Although what you’re saying actually did cross my mind as well. I thought about that but still I really don’t think getting paid a day or two early each month is going to matter that would be extremely nit picky especially since it’s going to be even more consistent with the IDDs. The monthly wire transfers often verified between two business days and sometimes 4 or 5 days depending on weekends and holidays. At least IDDs are more consistent and I don’t have to do anything or pay wire transfer fees. Lots of people are going to have that issue especially the Brits who receive their British pensions every 4 weeks and not necessarily on a monthly basis.

 

With the IDD program payday should be a lot more consistent as far as payday obviously weekends and holidays will have to be factored in. I’m sure they are aware that weekends can effect it by a few days just as they do international wire transfers. For example May 31st that’s literally only a day early by immigration standards I don’t think that would be a problem but it might be a good idea to ask and bring my pension letters from the va with me.

[Mel52]

If your last came May 31 and the next comes 1 July then it will NOT have been every month.

The way most Thai Imm offices look at it, there has to he a transfer within every calender month. So in the above hypothetical case the absence of a transfer arriving within the month if June could potentially disqualify you.

Odds are this would not happen more than once or twice in a year and yes, one could compensate for it by making a special additional wire transfer if one were aware it had occurred. The risk is not knowing because one has set it all up on auto pilot and might not check each month in date of fund arrival.

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

I might have misspoke on one thing regarding payday. My May 31st payday was for end of month May. It didn’t fall on June 1st because of the weekend. And my next payday whether it’s on end of month June or July 1st depending on if the weekend effects it will be for end of month June. Payday is normally supposed to be on the 1st of the month for the previous months pay period and sometimes it’s a day or two early depending on weekends or holidays but it’s still very consistent each month. Those weekends and holidays can effect the wire transfers the same way unless you are being extra careful about it each month. Even if immigration is gonna be nit picky about a day or two a few months out of the year when payday is maybe a day or two early which I seriously doubt but I guess it’s possible I don’t know I could always show my VA pension letters which verify that it is paid strictly on a monthly basis and show the print out from my eBenefits account which explains how their paydays work based on weekends or holidays before the 1st.

However I’m sure immigration has enough common sense to know that if the 1st fell on a weekend that obviously payday was a day early just one day before the 1st of the month and a day after the 30th should be obvious as well if the 1st falls on a regular weekday especially if they understand that my pension is automatically deposited to my Thai bank and regardless a weekend is still a weekend no matter how my deposit gets deposited it wasn’t that much different with the wire transfers except they were 2 to 4 days later each month. I would think that immigration is smart enough to read between the lines on that one because that’s kind of universal that banks normally never post anything on weekends or holidays but you still bring up a good point that’s probably worth investigating. Lol thanks Sheryl lol now you just gave me something new to worry about until I get to the bottom of it. Why did you have to tell me that? [emoji2]

It’s alright I probably will look into that just in case, it’s a technicality but you never know it might be an issue you are technically right even though it’s just a matter of a day or two but like I said each payday whether it’s on the 30th, 31st, or the 1st is for the previous month. It’s a verifiable fact that it’s a once a month payment for Social Security, VA payments, and military retirement pay but that’s a question that’s definitely worth looking into so thank you. But I still don’t see it being a problem and if it is the worst thing that could happen would be just leaving the country for a few days and getting a new visa at a Thai embassy and I’m on a marriage so that’s easy but hopefully it won’t come down to that, I don’t think it will but I’ll probably ask immigration about that and see what they say because you do bring up a good point.

Still I thought about that too and I really don’t think a matter of a few early paydays a year is going to matter because for example they can see it was deposited May 31st in my pass book which is only a day early. I certainly hope they aren’t that nit picky about it because I really like the IDD system it saves me a lot of time and money each month, I really don’t want to go back to international wire transfers and honestly I am not going back to that I like the IDD system a lot. Honestly I don’t foresee a minor technicality like that being a disqualifyer but it’s still worth investigating because technically you’re right even though each payday is for the previous month and it is strictly a monthly pension payment, the VA and the US military is very adamant about that being a monthly payment only, obviously weekends and holidays are going to effect that which I would think immigration could figure out it’s just a matter of looking at a calendar compared with your exact paydays. US holidays might not be easy to factor in with Thai immigration but weekends are universal especially when dealing with bank payments posting to accounts. But still a good point worth looking into so thanks Sheryl, and thanks for giving me something new to keep spinning round and round in my head until I get confirmation on it from immigration lol [emoji2].

[Sheryl]

Imm is not known for common sense. It IS known for nit picking.

Remember that your extension will not be handled by people working at a policy level able to use discretion in figuring out what complies with the spirit if the rules. It will be done by field level drones who follow directives very literally and are afraid to do otherwise and their directive asks for proof of transfer "every month" for past 12 months. NOT every 30/31 days. Every month.

So if you are going to end up with 2 transfers in some months and none in others that really could prove problematic. Your best options:

- have direct depisit to a US account and do monthly SWIFT transfers.

- keep an eye on it and if a payment arrives at end of the prior month transfer funds back to US via Dee Miney then SWIFT transfer back to yourself

- don't use income method use the 800k in the bank method.

What I would not recommend doing is assuming Imm will be "reasonable".

As for any sort of statement from VA the police order is quite clear that the basis for extension is solely proof of monthly transfers into the country as shown in Thai bank statement. They quite deliberately opted not to have lical IOs try to assess statements from foreign pension providers and the like.

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Mel52]

If your last came May 31 and the next comes 1 July then it will NOT have been every month.

The way most Thai Imm offices look at it, there has to he a transfer within every calender month. So in the above hypothetical case the absence of a transfer arriving within the month if June could potentially disqualify you.

Odds are this would not happen more than once or twice in a year and yes, one could compensate for it by making a special additional wire transfer if one were aware it had occurred. The risk is not knowing because one has set it all up on auto pilot and might not check each month in date of fund arrival.

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

Actually I just got some good information about this I looked into it a bit and I’ll probably look into it a little more but as long as immigration sees that your payments are consistent each month for example in my case if they come in early a few months like the 30th or the 31st when they normally come in on the 1st it should not be a problem but I might have to explain it to them but since it only varies by a day or two some months that shouldn’t be a problem. I was told to bring a calendar which lists all official US holidays and show that to immigration as a supporting document IF they have questions about a few months pay periods.

And I actually just called my local immigration office and confirmed that it should not be an issue but if they do have questions they also said that the US holiday calendar would suffice as long as it is a monthly payment. They even asked me the source of my pension they kept thinking it was US Social Security and I told them Department of Veteran’s Affairs in English and they said “oh you were Soldier?” And I said “yes retired Soldier in English” and they apparently understood that and they know that VA pension payments are monthly. So I assume maybe the embassy has been communicating with immigration about it just like they did last year I don’t know but they seemed to be aware that VA payments are monthly payments. They confirmed that the list of US holidays would be sufficient such as a US holiday calendar. Someone else gave me that idea and I called immigration and I asked about monthly payments into a Thai bank account to confirm. At first they didn’t understand what I was asking but then I explained about monthly payments sometimes being earlier before the following month because of weekends and US holidays and then they knew what I meant and that’s when they asked me what the source of my pension payments are in the states and I told them va which they automatically knew exactly what that was. They said in English “oh you were Soldier” and I said “yes retired” and they said that VA and Social Security is okay and they know it’s a monthly payment. Then I started asking more questions about the early payment dates and they said “no problem”, but I asked more specifically about Sheryl’s point and they confirmed that the US holiday calendar idea is sufficient if they have questions. But that’s just my local immigration office.

Someone else on this forum who knows everything about this stuff actually gave me that idea and I called immigration and I confirmed that it’s sufficient IF they do have questions about any monthly payments but it sounds like as long as your payments are mostly consistent throughout the year every month then a few early payments shouldn’t raise any questions especially since it really is a monthly payment in reality it just can vary once in a while depending on weekends or US holidays. So when I called immigration to confirm that idea I kept asking about it and they eventually told me after about 30 minutes on the phone that if they have any questions about that the a calendar showing all official US holidays from an official source would be ok. So if you have a few months like Sheryl was talking about above all you have to do is just explain it to immigration and maybe show them a calendar of US holidays and there shouldn’t be a problem. Unless your payday schedule is totally mixed up with payment dates just scattered throughout the year and a lot of gaps in your monthly payment history then you might have a problem in that situation. But as long as your monthly payment schedule is consistent you should be fine maybe just bring a list of US holidays to answer any potential questions about any months you were paid earlier than usual because of weekends and US holidays. I spoke with immigration about this for almost 45 minutes on the phone and they understand that weekends and holidays do effect payment dates and that they can be early sometimes so they get it at least where I live anyway. Then again I still have over 7 months till I have to renew my next extension so we’ll see but I’m not worried about right now, even if there is a problem that’s why I have plan b which is start over with a new visa but I don’t think it will come to that I’m doing it the right way in accordance with their financial regulations so I should be ok. I still highly recommend the IDD program I definitely do not want to go back to wire transfers I like the IDD program to much so far because it saves me time and money each month and phone calls to my bank in the states every month. So there’s no way I’m going back to the old way this way is just to easy to pass up.

Also Sheryl if my next payment is on July 1st then actually it IS still “every month” since my July 1st payday is actually for end of month June, that’s if it is July 1st I don’t know yet it might be Friday June 28th regardless of June payday there are going to be at least a few months a year like that and it’s not a problem and if immigration asks questions about it then just bring in a calendar that shows all weekends and US holidays which I just confirmed with immigration is sufficient. I just confirmed it with them on the phone and I might ask again next time I’m there in person for my next 90 day report date.

Probably a good idea to bring an official US holiday list printed from an official government website so it’s a reliable source of information to them. In fact I think I remember them mentioning that on the phone must be official US holidays and obviously weekends are universal. I don’t have to do my next extension until around January so what I might do is not only bring in a list of US holidays printed from an official source such as a US.gov website but I’ll also print a Microsoft calendar spreadsheet that highlights each weekend, US holidays, and all of my MONTHLY paydays. Obviously they’re going to be early at least a few months out of the year because of weekends or US holidays but it’s still a MONTHLY payment only in reality and the VA and the military is very adamant about the fact that payday is monthly only and I believe so is Social Security. My wife’s Social Security starts next payday so I’ll see how that works but we save her Social Security and my military retirement pay in our bank in the states.

And immigration understands the concept of weekends and holidays effecting exact direct deposit dates I mean obviously that’s common sense so I almost feel dumb even asking them about it now.

Anyway bottom line just be prepared to explain that to immigration if you have a few paydays that are early and bring a list of US holidays to immigration with you just in case they do ask questions. I confirmed that through two reliable sources and one of them was actually from the horses mouth my immigration office themselves. But even they acted like ok yeah we understand that weekends and holidays are going to effect payment dates obviously, I mean it really is common sense when you think about it. But it might be a good idea to show them US holidays because obviously they don’t keep track of US holidays besides that it’s not a problem as long as your direct deposit dates are consistent each month. It’s just basic stuff payday does vary based on weekends or holidays everyone knows that including immigration it’s common sense.



Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Mel52]

Imm is not known for common sense. It IS known for nit picking. Remember that your extension will not be handled by people working at a policy level able to use discretion in figuring out what complies with the spirit if the rules. It will be done by field level drones who follow directives very literally and are afraid to do otherwise and their directive asks for proof of transfer "every month" for past 12 months. NOT every 30/31 days. Every month.

 

So if you are going to end up with 2 transfers in some months and none in others that really could prove problematic. Your best options:

 

- have direct depisit to a US account and do monthly SWIFT transfers.

 

- keep an eye on it and if a payment arrives at end of the prior month transfer funds back to US via Dee Miney then SWIFT transfer back to yourself

 

- don't use income method use the 800k in the bank method.

 

What I would not recommend doing is assuming Imm will be "reasonable".

 

As for any sort of statement from VA the police order is quite clear that the basis for extension is solely proof of monthly transfers into the country as shown in Thai bank statement. They quite deliberately opted not to have lical IOs try to assess statements from foreign pension providers and the like.

 

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

 

 

 

 Oh I just saw this. You should read what I learned in my last post, over the last few hours I got the official answer confirmed by my local immigration office and from my experience over the past 5 years they are by the book but they most certainly are known for their use of common sense at least where I live they are. If there’s a weekend or a holiday month a few times a year it’s not a problem you might get questioned about it MAYBE and if you do be prepared to submit a list of official US holidays with your financial paperwork that they copy. If payday is early as it was in May because of the weekend that was still for end of month May, and if payday is on July 1st next payday and it might be that’s still for end of month June that’s a verifiable fact based on VA/military pension payments as well as Social Security it’s a monthly payment which can be verified by supporting documentation and US holiday calendars if necessary. So actually no way am I going back to doing monthly wire transfers and paying those wire transfer fees every month as well as all the time on the phone with the bank and then having to wait at least 2 more business days for my transfer to post to my Thai bank account, definitely no way I like the IDD system too much and I’m sticking with that because now I don’t have to do anything except just wait to be paid. And according to immigration about an hour ago when I called them as well as a much better source of information about these issues the way I’m doing it will be accepted and if they have any questions I just submit a list of official US holidays to them from online printed from an official website. They said that they know payments are early some months because of weekends and holidays. This option was offered by the embassy so I assume that the embassy has probably spoken to immigration about it as they did last year after talking to them about it on the phone they seem to understand the process somehow. When I mentioned VA payments they already knew that’s monthly and by the way during the conversation I learned that they also understand how Social Security works as well. My local immigration office is pretty good about answering questions although it’s easier to talk to them in person, over the phone can be challenging sometimes for example I just spent about 45 minutes on the phone with my local immigration office about this issue about an hour and a half ago.

 

So after getting that information there’s no way I’m going back to monthly wire transfers I’m sticking with my IDD it works great it saves me time, money, and trouble, and immigration will accept it. They basically said as long as there are 12 deposits throughout the year within each month it’s fine and if it’s early a few months a year because of weekends and holidays they understand that, no bank in the world ever processes payments on weekends or holidays that’s universal common knowledge. Although it is possible that I might have to explain US holidays but probably not. I still highly recommend the IDD program to anyone and I’m sticking with it for sure.

 

But thanks for bringing that to my attention though I actually did think about that last week myself, but just as I thought payments a day or two early a few months a year is not a problem as long as your monthly payments are typically consistent throughout the year. As long as there’s consistency in your monthly pay days throughout the year a few early paydays once in a while isn’t going to cause a red flag at immigration. Also I’ve been on a marriage extension for the last 5 years so the 800K method doesn’t apply to me.

 

And like I said I called immigration almost two hours ago and I confirmed this information. I’ve never had them answer any of my questions incorrectly before.

 

 

[Mel52]

So after talking to immigration as well as another extremely reliable source I wouldn’t worry about it too much but I can understand maybe having to explain US holidays because obviously immigration doesn’t keep track of our holidays in the states. I mean lol even if it is a problem what’s the worst that could happen I just go up to Savannakhét or somewhere and just start over with a new marriage visa after just a few days but it doesn’t sound like it’ll come to that after speaking with a very reliable source and my local immigration office just a few hours ago. My extension will be fine they’ll accept my financial proof since I honestly am doing it legally and within their financial regulations for marriage and retirement extension standards. But I’m on a marriage extension have been for 5 years. Personally I think the IDD program is one of the best things to happen in a while, it works great and it’s very convenient and safer than doing it by manual wire transfers every month. It also saves me a lot of time and money. I would rather chew glass than go back to doing wire transfers every month lol. I’m already loving the IDD system and I just received my first monthly pension payment on May 31st to my SCB account and I didn’t have to do anything, it’s beautiful.

 

 

 

[Mel52]

Imm is not known for common sense. It IS known for nit picking.

 

Remember that your extension will not be handled by people working at a policy level able to use discretion in figuring out what complies with the spirit if the rules. It will be done by field level drones who follow directives very literally and are afraid to do otherwise and their directive asks for proof of transfer "every month" for past 12 months. NOT every 30/31 days. Every month.

 

So if you are going to end up with 2 transfers in some months and none in others that really could prove problematic. Your best options:

 

- have direct depisit to a US account and do monthly SWIFT transfers.

 

- keep an eye on it and if a payment arrives at end of the prior month transfer funds back to US via Dee Miney then SWIFT transfer back to yourself

 

- don't use income method use the 800k in the bank method.

 

What I would not recommend doing is assuming Imm will be "reasonable".

 

As for any sort of statement from VA the police order is quite clear that the basis for extension is solely proof of monthly transfers into the country as shown in Thai bank statement. They quite deliberately opted not to have lical IOs try to assess statements from foreign pension providers and the like.

 

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

 

 

“As for any sort of statement from VA the police order is quite clear that the basis for extension is solely proof of monthly transfers into the country as shown in Thai bank statement. They quite deliberately opted not to have lical IOs try to assess statements from foreign pension providers and the like.”

 

Oh one more thing yeah I have a copy of the police order I know what it says and I can most certainly show proof of monthly income in my Thai bank account that’s easy but it doesn’t say that you can’t use US holiday calendars or pension letters as supporting documents. In fact according to my local immigration office about 2 and a half hours ago when I called them about this they said you actually can use supporting documentation with your proof of income in a Thai bank account (pass book) such as US holiday calendars and pension letters. I wish you could have heard that phone call between me and about two people at my local immigration office. So yes you can use supporting documentation with your financial information according to my local immigration office at least, but of course you still have to show your monthly income in a Thai bank account and they were very clear about that as well. There’s no substitute for showing your monthly income in a Thai bank account but they will accept supporting documents, what I discussed with them was US holidays and weekends that might effect payment dates and yes guess what VA pension letters as well but only as supporting documents NOT in place of your proof of monthly income in a Thai bank account I already knew that part before I called. But yes you can submit supporting documents such as US holiday calendars/weekends that effected your payment dates IF they even ask but I spoke to them on the phone and it sounds like they don’t even care as long as your monthly income is around the same time every month, if it’s early a few months a year because of weekends and holidays they understand that happens it’s just how banks do business they know that. They actually told me they know that on the phone. It’s common knowledge that banks post deposits early whenever a payment date falls on a weekend or holiday that’s not just in the states either banks in Thailand and all over the world are the same obviously different countries have different holidays but that’s how it works no bank in the world will post a payment to an account on a NON BUSINESS DAY.

 

[Mel52]

Imm is not known for common sense. It IS known for nit picking.

Remember that your extension will not be handled by people working at a policy level able to use discretion in figuring out what complies with the spirit if the rules. It will be done by field level drones who follow directives very literally and are afraid to do otherwise and their directive asks for proof of transfer "every month" for past 12 months. NOT every 30/31 days. Every month.

So if you are going to end up with 2 transfers in some months and none in others that really could prove problematic. Your best options:

- have direct depisit to a US account and do monthly SWIFT transfers.

- keep an eye on it and if a payment arrives at end of the prior month transfer funds back to US via Dee Miney then SWIFT transfer back to yourself

- don't use income method use the 800k in the bank method.

What I would not recommend doing is assuming Imm will be "reasonable".

As for any sort of statement from VA the police order is quite clear that the basis for extension is solely proof of monthly transfers into the country as shown in Thai bank statement. They quite deliberately opted not to have lical IOs try to assess statements from foreign pension providers and the like.

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

Sheryl I don’t mean to sound argumentative with you but those are just the facts that I’ve learned. I spoke with immigration on the phone about 4 hours ago and bottom line they understand that weekends and holidays are non business days (US holidays for our banks in the states). So might need a US holiday calendar maybe IF they ask which according to immigration they probably won’t ask as long as your monthly payments to your Thai bank account are normally consistent every month they said they understand that weekends and holidays are non business days. Obviously you have to show your pass book proof of monthly income going into your Thai bank but if it’s early once in a while it shouldn’t be a problem. Maybe bring a US holiday calendar to immigration just in case IF they even bother to ask, that’s what I was told. Chances are they won’t ask as long as your deposits are consistent each month throughout the year. Although that doesn’t mean you can get away with having all sorts of crazy pay dates. Your monthly payments to your Thai bank account have to be consistently around approximately the same time period each month for VA that’s normally around the 1st of the month unless the 1st falls on a weekend or US holiday only then will it be a day early, if a few of them are a little early as in a day or two early they probably won’t even ask but if they do ask I was told to bring a US holiday calendar but as long as your monthly payments are normally consistent every month they probably won’t say anything it’s not a problem. I confirmed it and I just don’t want to see anyone discouraged from using the IDD system because it’s great I just started using it and it can save people a lot of time money and hassle every month I know because I just started using it and I want to share my experience with everyone else to help people.

You brought up a very good point though that same thought actually crossed my mind to last week before you even told me but I didn’t really worry about it until you brought it up so I went ahead and did my own research on it and it’s not a problem. VA and Social Security are strictly monthly payments only obviously non business days will effect some paydays throughout the year on at least a few months a year payday will be early because banks never post payments to accounts on non business days that’s universal, and they understand that at immigration I spoke to them about it. I would just hate to see anyone who can take advantage of this be discouraged because it’s saving me a lot of time money and hassle every month and everyone living here full time who can take advantage of this deserves to know how great it is. No more monthly wire transfer fees, no more waiting 2 to 4 extra days to receive your funds to your Thai account, no more calling the bank in the states every payday to transfer the funds manually with the IDD deal it goes into your Thai bank account every month on payday and on time. If it’s early it’s not a problem as long as your payments every month to your Thai account are normally consistent every month throughout the year a few early payments should not put a red flag on your extension application. And if they ask I was told to bring a print out of a US holiday calendar. They also talked about using pension letters just as supporting documents so they know that the funds they see going into your Thai bank in your Thai bank account pass book are from the VA which they knew is only a once a month pension payment on the phone. But I was told that as long as your monthly payments to your Thai bank are consistent almost every month then a few early payments should not put up any red flags on your extension application. So please don’t discourage others from taking advantage of the IDD system because it’s great, if you are eligible to use it this will save you a lot of time money and trouble every month. I highly recommend it I just don’t want to see anyone discouraged from using it because of they’re afraid of stuff that’s not even an issue.

But still it’s a good point and I did think about that same thing myself kind of half way subconsciously last week when I updated my pass book before I even spoke to you. But when you brought it up it did make me think about it and do a little more research so thank you. But please don’t discourage anyone from this because it’s a great system. It’s a shame this is not available for more people but not everyone retires from the military or government work or receives Social Security. Anyway I highly recommend it I hope people take advantage of this. I will look deeper into what you said though I’ll ask immigration about it again next time I’m there in person probably next time I report. I appreciate your input these are the meaningful discussions that help each other unlike a lot of other topics I’ve been skimming over lately about politics and stuff. I’m glad I was able to share my experience with this and hopefully help someone else out.

[Mel52]

Imm is not known for common sense. It IS known for nit picking. 

Remember that your extension will not be handled by people working at a policy level able to use discretion in figuring out what complies with the spirit if the rules. It will be done by field level drones who follow directives very literally and are afraid to do otherwise and their directive asks for proof of transfer "every month" for past 12 months. NOT every 30/31 days. Every month.

 

So if you are going to end up with 2 transfers in some months and none in others that really could prove problematic. Your best options:

 

- have direct depisit to a US account and do monthly SWIFT transfers.

 

- keep an eye on it and if a payment arrives at end of the prior month transfer funds back to US via Dee Miney then SWIFT transfer back to yourself

 

- don't use income method use the 800k in the bank method.

 

What I would not recommend doing is assuming Imm will be "reasonable".

 

As for any sort of statement from VA the police order is quite clear that the basis for extension is solely proof of monthly transfers into the country as shown in Thai bank statement. They quite deliberately opted not to have lical IOs try to assess statements from foreign pension providers and the like.

 

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

 

 

 

 

Bottom line the only reason why I was paid on May 31st last payday is because June 1st was on a Saturday obviously no bank ever posts any deposits to any accounts on non business days which immigration obviously knows. Normally I am paid the 1st of every month from the VA and my military retirement pay back in the states is also paid exactly the same way normally on the 1st of the month. My wife’s Social Security should be the same but her Social Security will also go to our bank in the states. I only have my VA pension sent to my Thai bank which is about 102,000 baht a month sometimes more depending on the Exchange Rate.

 

The way I was paid last payday on May 31st a day early because the 1st was on Saturday will happen about 3 more times this year before I get my next extension in mid January or early February (probably mid January because I don’t like waiting till the last minute). But regardless it will still add up to 12 MONTHLY direct deposits for 12 months next time I renew my next extension. Because every payday is for the previous months pay period and va payments are strictly monthly payments only which is a verifiable fact. Social Security is the same. If you look at the calendar and count all the pay periods it still adds up to 12 months worth of MONTHLY payments for the entire year regardless of the 3 or 4 times a year that we get paid a day early because the 1st fell on a weekend or holiday. Paydays for the rest of this year will mostly be on the 1st of the month except for two more days this year when payday will fall on a weekend and on January 1st which is a holiday New Years Day. Regardless that’s still a total of 12 months worth of monthly pension payments going directly to my Thai bank account every month between my last extension to my next extension, so that’s only 4 early paydays this year total including last payday because June 1st was on Saturday. If you count my pay dates on the calendar and actually look at the calendar it’s obvious that they’re monthly pension payments going into my Thai bank. My passbook will show that they normally post on the 1st of the month except for a few that will post a day early because of weekends and one holiday on January 1st 2020.

 

According to immigration when I spoke to them about this earlier today this isn’t a problem because most of my pension payments in my SCB pass book will post on the first of the month so as long as your payment dates are mostly consistent around the 1st a few early payments are not a problem and as long as they add up to 12 monthly payments between extensions which mine will you’re good. I’ve been doing the wire transfers since end of month November last year and all of those show up in my pass book as 2 or 3 days after the first of each month till now. So my pass book is very consistent with monthly payments going in every month on or around the 1st of every month there will be about 4 early paydays in my pass book by the time I do my next extension which according to immigration is not a problem because of my consistency in my deposits every month. Regardless they will still total 12 monthly payments in my Thai bank for the whole year with only a few early payments. Immigration told me that this is fine as long as my monthly payments into my Thai bank are at least close to the same date every month which they are and will continue to be and as long as I have a total of 12 monthly payments into my Thai bank when I apply for my next extension which I will also have. So it makes sense what they told me today on the phone. But I understand what you were trying to tell as well and it made sense but apparently according to immigration no they are not quite that nit picky about it, they follow the rules but actually they do use common sense as well when it comes to little things like that at least where I live they do anyway. But keep in mind I don’t live in the big cities I live in a somewhat smaller city in the north east Division 4 where immigration is a lot friendlier, they are by the book but up here they can and do read between the lines when it comes to little things like what we were talking about. My local immigration office is one of the smaller more friendly ones. Bottom line since I’m doing it in accordance with their rules and regulations I should not have a problem and I confirmed that with my local immigration office today. So no one should be discouraged from using the IDD system it’s great and it’s not gonna cause any problems actually it helps prevent problems.

 

 

 

 

[Mel52]

The IDD system is great and there’s absolutely no reason for anyone to be afraid to use it. I highly recommend it to anyone eligible to use it.

 

 

 

 

[Mel52]

I’ve provided all the information about the IDD program and I’ve answered a lot of questions. Sheryl brought up a good point but I called my local immigration office and verified that it wasn’t exactly 100% accurate. That’s all I have to say about it if anyone has any good questions about it just pm me. For the most part all of the answers should be in my multiple posts above if you take the time to read through them. I pretty much quashed any inaccurate information about the IDD program which I confirmed when I called my local immigration office today. Although it’s still probably a good idea to verify my information with your own local immigration offices just to be sure. Just read my above posts and if anyone has any questions not answered above then just send me a PM and ask me. I just recently started using the IDD system for the VA I’m retired military so I have a lot of knowledge about it. Ever since I posted my first message about this IDD program I’ve been getting private messages constantly from interested people. I’ve received 20 PMs since yesterday so if you do PM me about it please try to make sure that I have not already answered your question in any of my above posts because I’m getting a lot of PMs that I already answered above. So please try and read my above posts before messaging me if you can. But if you have a question feel free to ask me in a PM because I don’t mind sharing my knowledge about the IDD system because I just began using it last payday and it works great. But just keep in mind that I’m constantly receiving a lot of inquiries about it on my PM since yesterday and I’ll try to respond to all of you as soon as I can.

 

Long story short it’s a great system and if you are eligible to take advantage of it you should probably do it depending on your situation especially if you live in Thailand full time like I do. It saves a lot of time and money each month and it saves a lot of unnecessary hassle, no more wire transfer fees no more calling the bank in the states to process it manually no more waiting at least two additional days to receive your funds in your Thai bank and the IDD system is free when they deposit your funds into your Thai bank account it’s really nice. Any questions that I haven’t already answered feel free to keep sending me private messages I’ll respond to you as soon as I get through all the other messages I’ve received so far about it which are a lot. I pretty much already provided all the information about IDD above if you scroll up and look. I’m using it now as of last payday and I think it’s wonderful.

 

Please try and keep any further private messages just about IDD only if possible I can’t really answer much about va disability compensation and pension because I’m only familiar with my own case. I don’t know all their processes. All I can say about that is claim everything but be prepared to prove everything you claim with all your medical records or a physical exam because I can assure you that the VA will want to verify and prove everything you claim or it’ll be denied if it can’t be proven. I had to go through extremely vigorous medical screening before mine was approved. I’m rated at 100% total combined disability and that’s all I really know about it from my experience when I retired. I only bring that up because I’ve also been getting questions on my PM regarding va claims and I honestly don’t know much about that except for what I just posted above about my own personal experience with that almost 6 years ago when I retired. As far as IDD I can tell you whatever you need to know but I think I’ve already answered almost all the questions above that I can think of just scroll up and see all of my posts going back about a day or two.

 

All the information is there but if you still need to PM me it’s okay but I might take some time to reply because I have a lot of other PMs that I’m still going through from several other people about the IDD program. I’m probably one of the few people already using it in Thailand because the IDD system is still pretty new here in Thailand. I quickly jumped on the opportunity shortly after the embassy first announced it. I’m definitely at least in the first group of people to start using it in Thailand because it was first announced in the middle of April and I submitted the paperwork for it on May 7th and I just received my first VA IDD last payday on May 31st. So I got it set up pretty fast. About as fast as possible so I might be one of the first to use it here in Thailand or at least definitely in the first group of people to start using it.

 

That’s pretty much all I have to say about it on the open forum so I’m probably not going to be reading it anymore. If you have any further questions just PM me, Thanks.

 

 

 

 

[JimGant]

On 6/4/2019 at 7:37 PM, Mel52 said:

I received my first international direct deposit for my va pension on May 31st at 9AM local time into my SCB account and it works really great I love it.

Could you please provide the exchange rate you received? I'd like to compare it to the TT rate I would have received for a SWIFT wire transfer (or ACH, now limping out of sight) received on May 31. Thanx.

[Mel52]

Could you please provide the exchange rate you received? I'd like to compare it to the TT rate I would have received for a SWIFT wire transfer (or ACH, now limping out of sight) received on May 31. Thanx.

 

I pulled my credit advice a few days after I got paid on May 31st for that payday and I received a 31.7 baht to the USD Exchange Rate for that particular day I was paid or it probably was from the day it was processed before it hit my account I’m not exactly sure what day that Exchange Rate came from. The Treasury Department that runs the IDD system goes by the actual correct Exchange Rate for the day they process it. The way they do it is fair and you don’t lose any money or get a lower Exchange Rate than what it actually is for the day you are paid. A few days later after I was paid the Exchange Rate dropped a little bit to about 31.4 which is approximately where the current Exchange Rate is holding right now. Anyway the treasury department guarantees the “correct” Exchange Rate even though they send it in the local currency Thai baht. That’s another one of the advantages of this program that I forgot to mention is that they do not hose you on the Exchange Rate like some banks do on both sides of the water. You will receive the best Exchange Rate available for the particular day they process it with the IDD program. This one was another good question though and I’m glad you asked because I forgot to discuss how that worked out with the Exchange Rate, that worked out pretty well to. We’ll see how it goes next payday which should be on July 1st next payday because the 1st falls on a Monday. It will just depend on the current Exchange Rate next payday as it did last payday, it’s probably at least a little better than what you’re getting but I don’t know exactly how you do yours. Anyway like I said above if anyone has any further questions about the IDD system please PM me because I’m going to be off line today. I still have about 30 questions in my PM box about IDD to answer so I’ll try to get to all of them as soon as I can. This one was a good question which I forgot to address. Overall there’s no down side to this program the IDD system works great I highly recommend it, it’s definitely worth it. And again when they process your IDD at the treasury department it’s totally free no wire fees!

 

You know earlier last month the Exchange Rate was getting close to 32 baht to the usd and it stayed between 31.8 and 31.9 for a while and even did climb above 32 baht to the usd a few times early last month but now it’s holding below 31.5 currently at about 31.4 baht to the usd where it’s been holding steady since early this month. I think I got paid just in time before the Exchange Rate dropped a few fractions, honestly I was probably just lucky last payday to get the Exchange Rate I received. I hope this helps good luck.

[JimGant]

53 minutes ago, Mel52 said:

I received a 31.7 baht to the USD Exchange Rate for that particular day I was paid

Well, you were paid in the morning, the Bangkok Bank TT rate for 0830 was 31.62, and the B of Thailand 'weighted average interbank exchange rate' (the mid market rate) was 31.76. So, all together in the ballpark (Bangkok Bank's TT rate always averages about 12 satang below the BofT rate -- their spread). May 31st was not a great day to do comparisons -- things dropped dramatically during the day (TT rate went to 31.47 at day's close). But, it does show IDD is competitive, looking at morning rates.

 

I actually asked the question to see if IDD may be completely off-base with FX, as it appears with Tricare. My last several years of filing Thailand health bills with Tricare Overseas Program has had the reimbursement FX figure at 75 satang, or lower, than the published rate for the procedure day. For example, eye exam on April 3, with several expensive medicines, reimbursed me at the rate of 30.79. The rate my visa card paid was 31.58. Yeah, just a few extra dollars in my wallet in this case -- but certainly something more significant with open heart surgery.

 

Anyway, I digress. Just curious about IDD FX policy (TOP is contracted, not Treasury, so probably an unfair comparison, albeit a legitimate curiosity).

 

 

[Pib]

Mel52,

   Good update.  Based on what I read the US Treasury (actually the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank for SSA/VA/OPM paymets) will accomplish the currency exchange a couple days before the actual payment date "unless" the US Treasury is allowing an in-Thailand "processor/contractor" bank to accomplish the exchange where the exchange could be same day.  A "processor/contractor" bank is a bank the US govt must sometimes use for payments in "some" countries. 

 

Assuming Treasury did the exchange a few days earlier than you got paid...like around 29 May then 31.7 to 31.8 was the approx "mid-market" exchange rate at that time.  And Thai bank TT Buying Rate used for incoming international transfers was around 31.5.  On 29-30 May is when the rate started dropping due to the trade war crap impacting the dollar....the Federal Reserve made comments they may need to lower interest rates due to the negative impact of the trade war and this wracked the dollar's value.

 

And since you got a Credit Advice let me pick you brain with a few more questions.

 

1.  Did the credit advice only show baht and not dollars being exchanged to baht?  That is, did baht arrive or did USD arrive and a currency conversion was accomplished by some in-Thailand bank?   From your description it sounds like baht arrived and you are just doing personal math of dividing your VA payment in USD into the baht received to calculate the exchange rate.  

 

2.  Does the Credit Advice reflect any fee anywhere, as in possibly a receiving fee....possibly a fee in the Bt200 ballpark?  Any receiving fee probably would "not" appear on your passbook/ibanking as it deducted before posting to your account.  Banks are allowed to charge a receiving fee for an IDD transfer/payment....but whether a fee is charged depends on how the final leg of the transfer occurred.  Anyway, do you see any fee on the credit advice.

 

3.   What code/description appeared on your passbook and ibanking?  Did the coding/description signify and international transfer or a local transfer?   If you see a code of BTN/Bahtnet this would mean the payment was routed through an intermediary Thai bank/even the Bank of Thailand and that intermediary bank accomplished the final leg of the transfer.

 

 

[Pib]

1 minute ago, JimGant said:

I actually asked the question to see if IDD may be completely off-base with FX, as it appears with Tricare. My last several years of filing Thailand health bills with Tricare Overseas Program has had the reimbursement FX figure at 75 satang, or lower, than the published rate for the procedure day. For example, eye exam on April 3, with several expensive medicines, reimbursed me at the rate of 30.79. The rate my visa card paid was 31.58. Yeah, just a few extra dollars in my wallet in this case -- but certainly something more significant with open heart surgery.

 

Tricare uses a Treasury rate which is apparently calculated based on "Cash/Notes" transactions (I.e., a lower rate) versus a higher Telegraphic Transfer/electronic transfer rate for reimbursement.  And like you said this ends up putting a few more dollars of reimbursement into your pocket since you probably paid the medical bill with a credit card or funds your transfer into Thailand where you got the TT Buying Rate which is higher than a Cash/Notes rate.

 

Since Tricare uses this cash type exchange rate for reimbursement a person effectively gets reimbursed at approx 76.5% versus 75%...and if paying with say a cash back credit card say paying 2.5% cash back then your reimbursement rate is effectively 79%.

 

[Mel52]

Mel52,
   Good update.  Based on what I read the US Treasury (actually the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank for SSA/VA/OPM paymets) will accomplish the currency exchange a couple days before the actual payment date "unless" the US Treasury is allowing an in-Thailand "processor/contractor" bank to accomplish the exchange where the exchange could be same day.  A "processor/contractor" bank is a bank the US govt must sometimes use for payments in "some" countries. 
 
Assuming Treasury did the exchange a few days earlier than you got paid...like around 29 May then 31.7 to 31.8 was the approx "mid-market" exchange rate at that time.  And Thai bank TT Buying Rate used for incoming international transfers was around 31.5.  On 29-30 May is when the rate started dropping due to the trade war crap impacting the dollar....the Federal Reserve made comments they may need to lower interest rates due to the negative impact of the trade war and this wracked the dollar's value.
 
And since you got a Credit Advice let me pick you brain with a few more questions.
 
1.  Did the credit advice only show baht and not dollars being exchanged to baht?  That is, did baht arrive or did USD arrive and a currency conversion was accomplished by some in-Thailand bank?   From your description it sounds like baht arrived and you are just doing personal math of dividing your VA payment in USD into the baht received to calculate the exchange rate.  
 
2.  Does the Credit Advice reflect any fee anywhere, as in possibly a receiving fee....possibly a fee in the Bt200 ballpark?  Any receiving fee probably would "not" appear on your passbook/ibanking as it deducted before posting to your account.  Banks are allowed to charge a receiving fee for an IDD transfer/payment....but whether a fee is charged depends on how the final leg of the transfer occurred.  Anyway, do you see any fee on the credit advice.
 
3.   What code/description appeared on your passbook and ibanking?  Did the coding/description signify and international transfer or a local transfer?   If you see a code of BTN/Bahtnet this would mean the payment was routed through an intermediary Thai bank/even the Bank of Thailand and that intermediary bank accomplished the final leg of the transfer.
 
 

No actually I never calculate it with my own math I always go by the credit advice only. I can answer all your questions in detail and very well. I wish I had time right now but I’m really busy at the moment and I have to log off for a while. I’ll get back to you later and reply in detail as soon as I can but right now I really have things to do at the moment and I must go now I’m sorry. Your questions are great and I definitely have all the answers on my credit advice I really want to reply to your questions now but I seriously have to log off and go do a few things today and now it’s already after 3pm so I really gotta get moving here. I will tell you one thing real quick yes the treasury department does use some kind of conduit bank in the states because when I log in to my eBenefits account it shows up under my direct deposit account information as International Treasury Services (ITS) and it shows a US routing and account number so obviously the treasury department or federal reserve is funneling the money through a bank in the US and then they send it directly into my Thai account on the correct payday.

Other than that for now I’ll get back to you later and answer your questions in detail because I’m already running really late right now and I’m sorry but I have to go. Like I said above I am going to be out today but I promise I’ll reply to you in detail later and I’ll even dig out my credit advice when I respond to you later in detail. I was reading your questions and those are great questions and I know all the answers and I just want to reply right now to all of it but I just don’t have time today but I promise I will get back to you later I’m just kind of busy today.

[Jingthing]

If someone successfully sets this up with SCB please post.

Also maybe this was covered already but I missed it.

Can the target bank account have an ATM. card attached?

Can you set it up on an existing account or do you need to open a dedicated account for this?

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[ThaiBunny]

3 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Can the target bank account have an ATM. card attached? Can you set it up on an existing account or do you need to open a dedicated account for this?

AFAIK the Thai arrangements have merely caught up with the rest of the world; my SS has been paid into the ordinary Australian bank account where I do all my banking for years; it certainly has a debit card associated with it (and I use it for all my Transferwise activity)

[Mavideol]

1 minute ago, ThaiBunny said:

AFAIK the Thai arrangements have merely caught up with the rest of the world; my SS has been paid into the ordinary Australian bank account where I do all my banking for years; it certainly has a debit card associated with it (and I use it for all my Transferwise activity)

and you receive it in USD or AUD.... I want to receive USD not Baht

[ThaiBunny]

Just now, Mavideol said:

and you receive it in USD or AUD.... I want to receive USD not Baht

It's converted on receipt from Citibank who act as SS international banking agent. As my account is a common-or-garden AUD account it can only hold transactions in AUD. I suppose if I had a USD account I could have nominated that as the recipient account. It's up to the receiving bank (ie SCB or Bangkok Bank etc.) whether it gets converted so you'd have to open and nominate a USD account with your Thai bank if that's what you want

[Mavideol]

1 minute ago, ThaiBunny said:

It's converted on receipt from Citibank who act as SS international banking agent. As my account is a common-or-garden AUD account it can only hold transactions in AUD. I suppose if I had a USD account I could have nominated that as the recipient account. It's up to the receiving bank (ie SCB or Bangkok Bank etc.) whether it gets converted so you'd have to open and nominate a USD account with your Thai bank if that's what you want

thanks, now understand a little better, just waiting confirmation from Manila, they are extremely slow answering emails

[Mel52]

Mel52,    Good update.  Based on what I read the US Treasury (actually the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank for SSA/VA/OPM paymets) will accomplish the currency exchange a couple days before the actual payment date "unless" the US Treasury is allowing an in-Thailand "processor/contractor" bank to accomplish the exchange where the exchange could be same day.  A "processor/contractor" bank is a bank the US govt must sometimes use for payments in "some" countries. 

 

Assuming Treasury did the exchange a few days earlier than you got paid...like around 29 May then 31.7 to 31.8 was the approx "mid-market" exchange rate at that time.  And Thai bank TT Buying Rate used for incoming international transfers was around 31.5.  On 29-30 May is when the rate started dropping due to the trade war crap impacting the dollar....the Federal Reserve made comments they may need to lower interest rates due to the negative impact of the trade war and this wracked the dollar's value.

 

And since you got a Credit Advice let me pick you brain with a few more questions.

 

1.  Did the credit advice only show baht and not dollars being exchanged to baht?  That is, did baht arrive or did USD arrive and a currency conversion was accomplished by some in-Thailand bank?   From your description it sounds like baht arrived and you are just doing personal math of dividing your VA payment in USD into the baht received to calculate the exchange rate.  

 

2.  Does the Credit Advice reflect any fee anywhere, as in possibly a receiving fee....possibly a fee in the Bt200 ballpark?  Any receiving fee probably would "not" appear on your passbook/ibanking as it deducted before posting to your account.  Banks are allowed to charge a receiving fee for an IDD transfer/payment....but whether a fee is charged depends on how the final leg of the transfer occurred.  Anyway, do you see any fee on the credit advice.

 

3.   What code/description appeared on your passbook and ibanking?  Did the coding/description signify and international transfer or a local transfer?   If you see a code of BTN/Bahtnet this would mean the payment was routed through an intermediary Thai bank/even the Bank of Thailand and that intermediary bank accomplished the final leg of the transfer.

 

 

 

 

Ok real quick I’ll summarize it I’m sorry I really got to get moving I’m running late:

 

1. It shows in USD and Thai baht and it shows the Exchange Rate. According to the VA the currency convention is done by the treasury department before it’s posted to your Thai account. And no no personal math I’m going by the credit advice only.

 

2. Yes there’s only about a 200 baht fee on my credit advice I don’t have the paperwork in front of me at the moment so it may have been a few baht less but yes there is a fee charged by SCB of about 200 baht like you asked. The IDD itself though is totally free no wire transfer fees [emoji2]. All the banks charge approximately 200 baht per international deposit I believe, my bank SCB definitely does. So yes.

 

3. I’m sorry I’m in a hurry so I don’t have my pass book in front of me at the moment but it most certainly shows as a foreign deposit from the United States. On the pass book it’s the transaction code for international deposit or something like that but I don’t have time to dig it out right now. The credit advice does say that the deposit originated from the US. More specifically it shows that it originated from and I’m sorry but I’m just going by memory at the moment because I don’t have time to dig out my paperwork right now but it shows that it specifically originated from something like Bank of New Jersey Federal Reserve United States and below that it does say from Department of Veteran’s Affairs and I saw all that on the credit advice. So apparently it goes through the treasury department and the federal reserve I didn’t know that until I saw the credit advise. I do think I remember seeing bahtnet on the credit advice like I said I’m not looking at it at the moment because I’m in a hurry but I really wanted to try and respond to you real quick first so I think yes it might be routed through the Bank of Thailand just like I think the wire transfers were as well however it most certainly still shows up as an international deposit on my pass book when I look at the transaction codes and the credit advice clearly shows something like Bank of New Jersey I think I recall it definitely says Federal Reserve United States and below that it clearly says Department of Veteran’s Affairs US deposit. The credit advice also verifies my name on the account and my account number below my name which matches my pass book obviously.

 

Like I said before when I log into my eBenefits account under my Direct Deposit account information it shows up as International Treasury Services (ITS) and it shows a United States routing and account number so that means the treasury department is routing my pension payments through a conduit bank in the states probably owned by the treasury department and then they send it directly from there to my Thai bank account exactly on the same payday as you would receive it in the United States except just maybe about 8 hours earlier than my bank in the states used to post it. So I love it and I highly recommend it.

 

I wanted to reply to both of you about the tricare post as well but I really really got to log off now and get moving. I’m so late right now. I hope this answers your questions sorry for the quick crude response but I’m in a hurry and I don’t have time to dig out my bank records at the moment. So I just briefly answered your questions but I wanted to answer you in better detail than that so I apologize. If I missed anything you asked me about feel free to ask me a follow up question and I promise I will get back to you later I’m sorry I’m in such a hurry today I hope this helps you.

 

Lol my landlord just sent me a message just as I was about to finish writing saying that he’ll meet me tomorrow instead of today so now I’m not quite as busy but my wife and I were still planning on going out and out to dinner later, I’m actually secretly planning a surprise for her at the restaurant for her birthday she has no idea yet, don’t tell her lol. So I still am a little bit of a hurry but I’m not in quite as much of a rush anymore now after just now getting that message from my landlord right as I was finishing.

 

Additionally I also visited my local immigration this morning at 9am in person with my bank records and they 100% confirmed that a few early paydays throughout the year is definitely not a problem because most of my deposits to my SCB account do show up on the 1st of the month and prior to that when I did my wire transfers they used to show up a few days after the first. The IO and I looked at the calendar together very carefully and figured out that this year there will only be two months out of the entire year till I do my next extension where the payday will fall on the 30th or 31st and the next months payday will fall on the 1st possibly giving the appearance of a gap even though in reality there are no gaps because VA, military retirement pay, and Social Security are strictly monthly payments only, I don’t know anything about OPM though. But the IOs said that it’s definitely not a problem as long as my VA deposits are consistently monthly and as long as I have 12 months worth of deposits to show in January when I renew my next extension which expires in early February 2020 that are consistently close to the same day each month which they are and will continue to be. They understood that those 2 months are not actually gaps in my payments and they understood that weekends and holidays will cause the bank to post the direct deposit a day or two early and they said it’s not a problem at all they understand how that works. I even specifically pointed out that my last payday was May 31st and my next payday will be on July 1st and it’ll happen one more month this year between August and October because September 1st falls on a weekend as well but it’s only two months out of the entire year and I will have 15 international deposits in my Thai account, and again the IO told me a little bit more aggressively “sir, this is no problem not worry” and she smiled. But they were clear that they have be monthly and by January I’ll need to show at least 12 months of deposits in my Thai bank, but they were also very clear that a couple of early paydays is not an issue at all. Hope this helps you.

 

[ThaiBunny]

1 minute ago, Mavideol said:

thanks, now understand a little better, just waiting confirmation from Manila, they are extremely slow answering emails

Absolutely f*****g useless