oceanbreeze851 Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 I am a 66 y/o male collecting social security and 1/2 military pension. I am married to a Thai national who will have her US citizenship when we return to Thailand. We plan to travel both around Thailand and around the world so I will need a multi-entry visa. Should I procure a retirement visa or a marriage visa? I know the different monetary requirements. I would not like to trap my money in the Thai bank for a long term but I plan to have a house built after we find land and I will have money available from the sale of our house in the U.S. Which is easier? We plan on leaving the U.S. in Jun 2020. Can a visa be completed in the U.S. before leaving or does it have to be done after we get to Thailand? I have my social security and military retirement going in my Charles Swabb checking account? I can withdraw $700 a day and I am reimbursed all bank transaction fees monthly. Would it better to start with a retirement visa then switch to marriage visa the next year? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrJack54 Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 Ubon will be along to give you best advice. Just to add...I assume you looked into METV. The money can remain in your usa account. I only mention it as would give you couple of years to make discission that suits you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 You have more than a couple of choices since you are married to a Thai. You can get a single entry non-o visa at the embassy in DC or one of the 3 official consulates (New York, Chicago and Los Angeles) in person or by mail or in person at one of the honorary consulates. You could also get a multiple entry entry non-o visa that allows unlimited 90 day entries for a year from the date of issue at the embassy or one of the official consulates. You can get the single entry entry non-o visa and then apply for a one year extension of stay based upon marriage at immigration. You would need 400k baht in a Thai bank for 2 months or proof of 40k baht income proven by transferring it into a Thai bank from the states. You can get a multiple re-entry permit after getting the extension to keep it it valid when you enter the country after a trip out. You could also get the single entry non-o visa and apply for a one year extension based upon retirement by showing 800k baht in a Thai bank or 60 days for the first and then 3 months after that or proof of 65k baht income. For retirement you also also have to option of applying for OA long stay visa at the embassy or one of the official consulates. The equivalent of 800k baht can be in a bank in the US or you can use proof of 65k baht. The OA visa allows unlimited one year entries for one year from the date of issue. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmd8800 Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 Something else to consider. What passport your wife uses to enter Thailand will affect her status here and her length of stay. Someone else here can offer better details than I. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 39 minutes ago, jmd8800 said: Something else to consider. What passport your wife uses to enter Thailand will affect her status here and her length of stay. Someone else here can offer better details than I. She should always enter using enter using her Thai passport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oceanbreeze851 Posted January 27, 2019 Author Share Posted January 27, 2019 I agree, enter with Thai passport. I want to complete the Thai visa as easy as possible. I know our marriage will need to be registered in Thailand. With the recent change to the verification of funds, I would rather not put the money in a Thai account because of it being reported to the IRS. The old verification letter from the embassy was much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrJack54 Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 19 minutes ago, oceanbreeze851 said: I agree, enter with Thai passport. I want to complete the Thai visa as easy as possible. I know our marriage will need to be registered in Thailand. With the recent change to the verification of funds, I would rather not put the money in a Thai account because of it being reported to the IRS. The old verification letter from the embassy was much better. Reported to IRS? by who. If you have the money and seems your coming to Thailand long term apart from all other considerations why not bring in swag of money. You can bring in 25k USD undeclared. Your wife could also. Your going to get much better exchange rate in Thailand. Also side note... In my first post I meant OA visa not METV. Was in a rush. Anyway ubon gave you very comprehensive list of options. "Old verification letter" you mention..... The funds were never verified. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oceanbreeze851 Posted January 27, 2019 Author Share Posted January 27, 2019 Legally you can take out of the country $10k per person. There is an agreement that any money in a foreign account over $10k will be reported to the IRS and it needs to be report on income tax (interest). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrJack54 Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 2 minutes ago, oceanbreeze851 said: Legally you can take out of the country $10k per person. There is an agreement that any money in a foreign account over $10k will be reported to the IRS and it needs to be report on income tax (interest). I'm not familiar with USA. In au we have also maximum you can take out of country UNDECLARED. So declare it. I can only speak for exiting oz but pp control now you do not present to io. Its electronic The departure card on the back do you have more than 10k. I tick yes. To drop it in box past pp control is mute. In any event, do USA customs send all that info to IRS and monitor it? As for interest on your money here, put 800k baht in bank to cover retirement extension, earning zero interest. Nothing to declare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imjmn Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 If you are a US citizen and have a foreign bank account(s) with more than $10,000 deposited in total you are supposed to report the bank account to the IRS - https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/report-of-foreign-bank-and-financial-accounts-fbar It is really painless and I have no idea why some people are so against reporting foreign bank accounts to the IRS. I have been reporting since the requirement went into affect with no issues. I do get paid from off-shore accounts to my foreign and US accounts on a regular basis and as long as your tax return is matching your transactions then it should not be a problem. MJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onera1961 Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 (edited) 10 hours ago, DrJack54 said: You can bring in 25k USD undeclared. Your wife could also. Your going to get much better exchange rate in Thailand. I think it is kind of unsafe to take out 25K USD cash. Money could be lost, misplaced, etc. One thousand cash each should be sufficient. He already has a Charles Schwab card that he can use to withdraw money and the fees will be reimbursed. @ubonjoe has already outlined choices for him. If I were in his position, I would get an O-A visa, if possible, or an O (family) visa. O-A visa has the advantage of not requiring any extension for the next two years. Once in Thailand, you will have plenty of time to sort it out. Try to avoid entering visa exempt or on a TV. You will have less time to convert and it is more stressful. His wife with a Thai visa, does not need anything at all, except the passport. Unless one plans to work in his retirement at the age of 66, I don't see any advantage of getting an extension based on marriage. It is more paper works, unnecessary trip to immigration and amphur offices, and very time consuming and taxing for an aged person. Edited January 28, 2019 by onera1961 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 10 hours ago, oceanbreeze851 said: I agree, enter with Thai passport. I want to complete the Thai visa as easy as possible. I know our marriage will need to be registered in Thailand. With the recent change to the verification of funds, I would rather not put the money in a Thai account because of it being reported to the IRS. The old verification letter from the embassy was much better. Bringing in enough to meet the 40k baht or 695k monthly income requirement would not cause any reporting to the IRS. Only having $10,000 total in foreign banks requires the reporting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overherebc Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 For anyone considering the move here I would suggest the O-A visa for the easiest first two years. It doesn't require all the out/in, border hops, 30 day extensions etc that others do and means an easy first two years to get settled and understand the visas/extension rules that may or may not change. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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