BREAKING NEWS Foreigners now need to keep 800k in Thai bank for three months AFTER retirement extension is granted

[MrPatrickThai]

8 minutes ago, wgdanson said:

Well I think 300k more is what's needed.

I still work.

[galt67]

3 minutes ago, Date Masamune said:

Why should she fly somewhere every 90 days when Thailand elite is 1 year stay? A fake story perhaps?

1

Incorrect.

TEs are 5-year or 20-year visas but still require 90-report IF in country.

[Time Traveller]

6 minutes ago, Naam said:

the problem is that the focus of too many investors is on their "home currency" which is totally irrelevant if their living expenses are in a different currency.

Agree. Except for some people that country with the "different currency" expects them to send money from the "home currency" every month. So they'll always be at the mercy of the currency markets, like it or not.

The lesson, don't rely on a state pension. 

[smedly]

28 minutes ago, Ctkong said:

Though the thread is interesting with so many enlightening inputs from seasoned posters, the reality is that the writing is on the wall.

thailand is getting serious about culling the expat herd . Enforcing the existing law , bypassing the embassy letters , extending the seasoning period all points to the fact that unless you are qualified legally to retire in Thailand, you are not welcome at all. 

With the required amount in the bank, you are free to live life as you wished. Whether scrimping or not, whether living in the sticks or cities, all are up to you. Free choice. No restriction of places you can retire at all. This you got to appreciate. 

Ultimately, we got to respect their initiative to get serious now  after all those past shenanigans. 

I will predict what happens next

 

this whole thing will be quietly scrapped 

 

or

 

agents fees will go up and require two interventions

[MrPatrickThai]

9 minutes ago, Metapod said:

The old farts here always took pleasure in the visa tightening for us younger guys. It has been fun to watch a lot of you twist and squirm with the shoe on the other foot. ????

 

But they have more experience in preparing for the future! 

[hottrader77]

15 minutes ago, Naam said:

my wife is 0% Thai and her behaviour is "minus 50%" Thai.

 

by the way... for the last 15 years holding THB cash provided a very acceptable yield over most major currencies kept in cash. that's something the resident financial wizzards either don't seem to know or flatly reject because it does not match their perception. for as long as we are resident in Thailand (>15 years) the bottom line was "Baht appreciates" and during this period one finds many dozens, perhaps hundreds of postings with predictions the Thai Baht will crash... any time from now. yawnnnnn...

 

examples:

+46% above Pound Sterling

+42% above €URo

+28% above US-Dollar

+26% above AU-Dollar 

thats for now , but if uk stays in EU the pound sterling will rise back to 60 baht to pound and your 46% will end up being 20% up and if the pound rises to 80 baht to pound you will be -6% then you will be wanting to move it back to uk

[Naam]

6 minutes ago, no deal said:

48 minutes ago, MrPatrickThai said:

Good point but most people would keep less than 3 million in a Thai bank account when it could be making more elsewhere. I have high expenses and only keep around 500k max here. I can easily transfer more if needed. 

that the way to go smart guy!

indeed smart for some but totally irrelevant for others. it is prudent for those who invest in and trade high yield/high risk assets to keep a rather high cash quota partly in order to balance risk but also being able to act (buy) when opportunity knocks at the door.

[JackGats]

"The remaining balance must be no less than 400k". In other words you can no longer get back the remaining 400k even if you leave Thailand for good. If you liquidate your account you're breaking the law.

[stanleycoin]

Anyone else feel it today. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nm-ISatLDG0

[no deal]

13 hours ago, DrTuner said:

Let me guess, they want to copy the 30 day "waiting period" to get the final stamp from the marriage extensions next. After that add photos of yourself next to your bed, etc. Enjoy the "easy retirement extensions", soon as painful as the marriage extensions.

to many fake marriage in Thailand,i have to wait two month for my marriage visa to come back from Bangkok,people are doing that not immigration! and make hard for the real married people!

[Naam]

Just now, JackGats said:

"The remaining balance must be no less than 400k". In other words you can no longer get back the remaining 400k even if you leave Thailand for good. If you liquidate your account you're breaking the law.

BS

[Ctkong]

9 minutes ago, Metapod said:

The old farts here always took pleasure in the visa tightening for us younger guys. It has been fun to watch a lot of you twist and squirm with the shoe on the other foot. ????

But perhaps those younger guys has the wake up call to go home replenish their retirement plans and THEN come back to live in retirement. Seen many wasted lives of those who lived in those ASEAN countries in their younger days with no preparation for their later years. Of course if you have a fat inheritance to last you your years, then it is a different story. But then the requirements shouldn’t bother you then. Again I couldn’t stress enough that the current requirement has been constant for ages... it is only when they up the ante that it is going to be a problem. 

[bkk6060]

5 minutes ago, Time Traveller said:

 

The lesson, don't rely on a state pension. 

 Unless that state pension is 4 times the required amount.

Then it's happy happy no worries.

[GalaxyMan]

12 hours ago, yellowboat said:

Complying with the law in Thailand is usually too hard compared to neighboring countries.  The question is what were the problems does this solve?  More will leave.  Few will come   

People seem not to understand that Thailand isn't interested in attracting foreign residents who can only marginally afford to be here. Can't blame them for that. They're trying to make sure that only financially viable foreigners 'live' here as opposed to visiting as tourists. Sucks if you can't afford it, but it makes perfect sense from their point of view. Some of the details need to be smoothed out, 90-day reporting, bank statements every X amount of time or just check them once a year (best choice) at renewal. It won't be long before they're going to require proof of insurance for all retirement and marriage visas, I'd imagine. That's when the shyt's really going to hit the fan, or, god forbid, piss testing at renewal.

[wgdanson]

6 minutes ago, MrPatrickThai said:

I still work.

Ah, you didn't tell us that originally, saying you had 500k and could move more if needed. Misunderstanding.

[notamember]

In 2005 Thai immigration changed the rule about the 800,000 baht deposit

it would now have to be seen to have been in the bank for 2 months prior to application and 3 months for renewals 

The reasoning behind this was to stop agents loaning out money for a day to process the visa and also to stop groups of friends passing around the same 800,000 baht to support their applications

That was 13 years ago, it made a huge difference didn't it?

Nowadays you cannot get an agent funded first time or agent funded renewal for love nor money, (except from the 10-20 agents on every Pattaya street!) lol

 

once the tariff has been decided for the second show and tell, by the IO to their agents, it will be business as usual,

(thats if this thing ever gets further than the Thaivisabelievers)

[Neeranam]

35 minutes ago, LivinLOS said:

Ohh great so non financial assets are ok for the 800k value then ?? 

 

Didnt realize land cars and house etc was useable. 

I'm talking about Thais. You should know foreigners can't own land.

 

On a side note, I have a friend who bought his wife 10 rai of land in khon kaen. This is now worth about 20 million baht but she won't sell to help him get his visa. Un <deleted> believable how gullible and naive older gents can be when retiring here. She previously worked as a dish washer in a Japanese restaurant! 

 

 

[owl sees all]

I obtained my visa (retirement) at the end of November. Can I sit pretty and watch developments during the next months, or, am I also vulnerable to the IO whims?

[Naam]

10 minutes ago, Date Masamune said:

19 minutes ago, Ctkong said:

Correct. If time is of essence to you, then just plunk down some money for a thailand elite visa. Pays itself back many times over. I bought one for my myanmar girlfriend and coundn’t Be bothered with the immigration rules. She just fly somewhere before 90 days is up and got a new stamp upon entry. Easy . In fact she flies about 8 times a year so no problem at all. 

Why should she fly somewhere every 90 days when Thailand elite is 1 year stay? A fake story perhaps?

to avoid the 90 day report. as simple as that.

[KiChakayan]

Frankly I don't see why we need to panic that much. Last December 4 embassies decided, rightly, that it was unethical to issue unverified income certificates, and Thai immigration came up with a perfectly reasonable alternative. Interestingly amongst the thousands of post commenting the income letter change there were dozens of references to the bluntly illegal "agent alternative". 

So how could anyone complain about this new change of rules, which aims only at flushing out people who don't qualify for extension as well as the mafia of agents, possibly IOs who preyed on them. I don't see here any conspiracy to send of foreigners home, this is only a legitimate inclination to enforce the law.

[JTXR]

I can't seem to find the new police order on the Thai Immigration web site.

Could someone post a link to it?  Ideally to both the Thai version and the official English translation.

Thanks.

[jacko45k]

3 minutes ago, JackGats said:

"The remaining balance must be no less than 400k". In other words you can no longer get back the remaining 400k even if you leave Thailand for good. If you liquidate your account you're breaking the law.

I see no problem withdrawing the 400k prior to flying out or home. What law are you breaking if in effect you never need to show Immigration the 400k again?

[wgdanson]

1 minute ago, owl sees all said:

I obtained my visa (retirement) at the end of November. Can I sit pretty and watch developments during the next months or am I vulnerable to the IO whims?

It depends on which method you used to renew the Extension in November.

If it was over 65k coming in per month and that continues, you are OK

If you had 800k sitting in a Bank here, and that stays there the same, you are OK.

[MikeOKitches]

34 minutes ago, ChrisY1 said:

Brilliant...go from a reasonable sh!t-hole to a real one!

What the hell are you squawking about? Phenom Penh, Cambodia is growing 
like a weed in terms of capital investment and opportunities. You ever been there or
are you just making unfounded statements in an attempt to defend Thailand? I've been going
there over a dozen+ separate times over the years and can see with my own eyes the money
that's being invested in the capital city there. I just think there are viable alternatives to Thailand,
and Cambodia is one of them.  

[LivinLOS]

1 minute ago, Neeranam said:

I'm talking about Thais. You should know foreigners can't own land.

 

On a side note, I have a friend who bought his wife 10 rai of land in khon kaen. This is now worth about 20 million baht but she won't sell to help him get his visa. Un <deleted> believable how gullible and naive older gents can be when retiring here. She previously worked as a dish washer in a Japanese restaurant! 

 

 

Yet the point remains.. your comparing thais 'total assets' and stacking that against 'bank accounts'.. 

Many people have multi million usd in 'assets' and financial products, but still keep only 1000s or 10s of 1000s in bank accounts. 

 

Its an oranges to apples comparison. 

 

[LivinLOS]

28 minutes ago, Naam said:

for us it does not matter where we keep our cash which is never less than 25-30% of our assets, sometimes even 50%. fact is that offshore cash, e.g. Singapore and Europe pays for USD and €UR zero% interest. Thai Baht pays only a pittance but as far as cash is concerned the currency appreciation (see my earlier comment) is acceptable.

While I also tend to keep plenty of cash or cash like assets on hand.. 

 

I like a lot less moving them into Thailand.. Reduces the liquidity which is why I keep cash-like assets.. 

[bkk6060]

5 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

I obtained my visa (retirement) at the end of November. Can I sit pretty and watch developments during the next months, or, am I also vulnerable to the IO whims?

Why don't you go to your local office and ask them?

[hottrader77]

6 minutes ago, JackGats said:

"The remaining balance must be no less than 400k". In other words you can no longer get back the remaining 400k even if you leave Thailand for good. If you liquidate your account you're breaking the law.

when you leave thailand for good you leave 1 baht in your account or the minimum then your not breaking the law in that case 

 

[garyk]

3 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

I'm talking about Thais. You should know foreigners can't own land.

 

On a side note, I have a friend who bought his wife 10 rai of land in khon kaen. This is now worth about 20 million baht but she won't sell to help him get his visa. Un <deleted> believable how gullible and naive older gents can be when retiring here. She previously worked as a dish washer in a Japanese restaurant! 

 

 

This is business as usual in the LOS's. 

[Vacuum]

12 hours ago, Duaned said:

Thailand is now controlling your money?

Mostly it's the wife...