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

[overherebc]

2 minutes ago, notamember said:

or being driven to agents to fix it for a fee, (as yet undeclared)

if IO can be paid to overlook 3 months before then overlooking 3 months after as well won't be a problem

In all honesty I have a feeling !!!

[Suradit69]

26 minutes ago, DrTuner said:

You never know when some event makes it inhabitable. 

It's already comfortably inhabitable. Or were you aiming for "uninhabitable," which isn't quite the right term either?

[jackdd]

The IOs did already place orders for their new Benz and BMWs in anticipation of all the money from the agents

[Toscano]

I can see a mass exodus from Thailand in the near future .  My guess is that there are a very large number of people who will find it difficult to qualify .  Thailand benefits enormously from a very large number of people supporting the internal economy ; having to maintain Bt800,000 static in an account will likely reduce their spending .

[dotpoom]

"Confirmed in police order No. 35/2561 obtained by Thaivisa, foreigners who apply for a retirement extension using the 800k baht in the bank or the combination of income method now need to keep 800k baht in the bank for three months after the extension and 400k baht in the bank after that."

"Foreigners must still be able to show the 800k baht in a Thai bank two months before the application for the retirement extension."

"The new requirements to keep 400k baht in the bank for three months after the retirement visa is granted is effective from 1st March  2019."

  One or two contractions there. In paragraph one it says 800,000 Bt. must stay in the bank for 3 months after the ext. has been granted.    In paragraph three it says only 400,000 has to be kept in the bank for three months after it has been granted.

  In paragraph two it says "seasoned" for two months prior to application. Should that not be three months. Only the very first application requires on two months seasoning?

 

[laislica]

2 minutes ago, theoldgit said:

You may be lucky enough to be able tie up 800,000 Baht for five months every year without needing to spend of it, in which case bully for you.
There might be others who have committed themselves to Thailand by buying themselves a condo to enjoy their retirement in, so don’t have a spare 800,000 Baht they can leave untouched in the bank.
There might be those who’ve retired here under the previous conditions and didn’t expect the goalposts to be moved.
One wonders if those who can demonstrate they have the current required monthly income might be the next to have the goalposts moved.
For the life of me I really don’t understand the reasoning for needing to leave 800,000 Baht in the bank for five months of the year when it’s supposed to be evidence that you have sufficient to live on.

 

I keep more than the 800k in a Thai bank and go for the retirement ext.

However, I have always spent less than half a year /year in Thailand.

Now at 77, the journey is getting to be a bore and the advantage of being in Thailand less and less.

Thus I'll spend less than 90 days in Thailand/year.

If they stop accepting my money in the bank method, it will give me the excuse to never visit Thailand again.

After all, I really only visit so my wife can see her family and friends.....

 

[zydeco]

So, for me, the question is does everyone extending on the 800K in their bank account also need the 400K year long minimum by 1 March, when this new rule is supposed to take effect?

[mlkik]

4 minutes ago, theoldgit said:

You may be lucky enough to be able tie up 800,000 Baht for five months every year without needing to spend of it, in which case bully for you.
There might be others who have committed themselves to Thailand by buying themselves a condo to enjoy their retirement in, so don’t have a spare 800,000 Baht they can leave untouched in the bank.
There might be those who’ve retired here under the previous conditions and didn’t expect the goalposts to be moved.
One wonders if those who can demonstrate they have the current required monthly income might be the next to have the goalposts moved.
For the life of me I really don’t understand the reasoning for needing to leave 800,000 Baht in the bank for five months of the year when it’s supposed to be evidence that you have sufficient to live on.

For me the money in the bank for my extention of stay came first and then having a house built and buying a car came second.

Not a bully for you aproach but a common sence aproach.

[NCC1701A]

When I do my extension of stay I'm going to get gold chains like Mr.T, (Fool!) two fake diamond Rolexs, rent a Mercedes 230 SLK and have a bank account at every Thai bank with 800k in each one. Walk in a yell "Where is my VIP lane?"     

 

 

[Andrew Dwyer]

You may be lucky enough to be able tie up 800,000 Baht for five months every year without needing to spend of it, in which case bully for you.
There might be others who have committed themselves to Thailand by buying themselves a condo to enjoy their retirement in, so don’t have a spare 800,000 Baht they can leave untouched in the bank.
There might be those who’ve retired here under the previous conditions and didn’t expect the goalposts to be moved.
One wonders if those who can demonstrate they have the current required monthly income might be the next to have the goalposts moved.
For the life of me I really don’t understand the reasoning for needing to leave 800,000 Baht in the bank for five months of the year when it’s supposed to be evidence that you have sufficient to live on.

Actually 6 months, 3 before and 3 after renewal.

The only “ grandfathering “ which appears to be allowed is for people here since 1998 and over 60 years old ( back in 1998 I assume) , they are allowed 200,000 but I doubt many fit the requirements.

[onera1961]

27 minutes ago, zydeco said:

if you fell below the 400K sometime in the previous year, no renewal???

My interpretation is that they will check your bank book at the time of renewal only and if drops below 400K, no renewal.

Edited January 31, 2019 by onera1961

[Boon Mee]

What's the big deal? 

Just leave it in the bank for 12 months and forget about it. 

[totally thaied up]

Just now, jackdd said:

The IOs did already place orders for their new Benz and BMWs in anticipation of all the money from the agents

I cannot see how this can be good for agents. It is going to be very hard to show not having funds in your account for 5 months and then if it drops below the 400K, what happens? An IO cannot make this easily 'disappear' now.

 

This is a change of thinking. I want now to see how far it goes.

[Christophers200]

Mmm - If the intention is to freeze out agents why not issue an order banning agents from immigration offices. 

[DrTuner]

8 minutes ago, Suradit69 said:

It's already comfortably inhabitable. Or were you aiming for "uninhabitable," which isn't quite the right term either?

Ooops. Yeah my bad, can't edit anymore either.

[mlkik]

2 minutes ago, Boon Mee said:

What's the big deal? 

Just leave it in the bank for 12 months and forget about it. 

Agreed.

[zydeco]

2 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

My interpretation is that they will check your bank book at the time of renewal only and if drops below 400K, no renewal.

Let's hope you're right.

[connda]

11 minutes ago, DrTuner said:

After 12 years of suffering under the penetrating gaze of counter #6 at Jomthien I'll simply disagree. It's a hassle.

The hassle is the exact reason I went over to a retirement extension last year. 

Now that they are making retirement extensions more complicated, I may reconsider.  But I think I'll wait first as I'm sure they issue some additional roadblocks in 2019 for those who wish to remain in Thailand with our families, although even after being married over 11 years, I'm starting to seriously believe that the intent is to push most of us out of the country long term.
So this new dog and pony show starts in March.  How apt.  I'll be one of the first in line.   

[kannot]

28 minutes ago, notamember said:

you will need a heater installing, the odometer reset from Km to MPH and and an MOT, then pay the import tax and VAT  then you will be ok

nah my Chevrolet Colorado has one in as standard ( I was surprised ) and a  software rework would probably sort the digital dash 

[Orton Rd]

The only people this will concern are the ones without the legally required funds who resort to illegal means to stay here. I knew he would do this, he's no joke!

[trainman34014]

Just now, DrTuner said:

After 12 years of suffering under the penetrating gaze of counter #6 at Jomthien I'll simply disagree. It's a hassle.

Sad to hear that; only problems we've ever had in Chiang Mai were to do with the old overcrowded Imm' Office but Big Joke has now sorted that out and things are easiest they've ever been.

 

[MikeOKitches]

17 minutes ago, zydeco said:

But the new rules are making working easier than retiring in Thailand.

This is a viable alternative to many retirees who don't have the requisite finances or want to jump through the hoops
to renew or maintain their retirement visa. Although, I suspect getting a work permit entails a lot of hassle as well. I
guess it all depends on how much one "loves" Thailand and the current environment here. 

[NE1]

800,000 before and 800,000 after , then not less than 400,000 for the rest of the year , will the bank book suffice , or will a letter from the bank have to be provided every time you do the 90 day report ?

Because I am sure some offices will want to check your bank balance hasn't fallen below 400,000 before they issue you a 90 day report stamp.

Or will it be a case of wait and see / depends which office you use. 

 

[madmitch]

4 minutes ago, wgdanson said:

You only need 800k in the bank if you do not have 65k per month coming into Thailand from your foreign account. Of that 65k, you can spend whatever you want/need. Or am i getting it wrong?

Assuming you're right I think I may just have to find a way to stagger the lump sum I bring into Thailand every year.

 

My annual pension arrives in May each year and I have to watch what I spend to keep the balance above 800,000 baht until I renew the visa in December. I did have the two dates similar until I screwed up my visa a couple of years ago. I then start spending money and then repeat the process the following May.

 

It seems I have to weigh up the options:

 

1. Change my pension date to September, if I'm allowed to do so

2. Change the way it's paid so I can receive 65,000 per month, though at the current ROE it's not quite enough!

3. Bring in a lump sum of 400,000 and carry on as before (and at 40 to the pound this is not an attractive option)

4. Change to a Non-Imm Multi-entry (though I'd need to look up the rules on this)

5. Bugger off elsewhere, which isn't easy with a family

6. Get married and change my visa (and I won't allow the Thai Government to force me into this so not really an option)

 

The annoying thing is that the visa agents will no doubt be greasing the palms of their dodgy IOs right now. They'll find a way and possibly thousands of retirees who have done thing properly for the past several years will be forced either to join the illegal bandwagon or leave the country.

 

A case of Bad Guys In, Good Guys out!

 

[plastkort]

With the neverending bulls driving the thaibaht ever more expensive, this will become near impossible soon, atleast if you live in an scandinavian country or another country that do not have theire local currency pegged to USD or EUR

[ocddave]

The other countries should start a tit-for-tat handling of Thai's in their country as well, especially if any immigration officers or Junta travel to any western country they currently wish to persecute.

[Mango Bob]

So when you come back 3 months later will you again need a second letter from the bank and your bankbook updates to show the 800,000 baht.  Just doubting the work for us and the banks.  This sounds like a stupid big joke.

Edited January 31, 2019 by Mango Bob

[sawadeeken]

Personally I think Thailand is trying to bring 'working capital' into the country.... (and they aren't getting MINE)...... After all this is the scam capital.....

At the same time as they are requiring all this money brought into the country, They are 'deflating the value' of all the western currencies and inflating the value of their 'Baht'..... After the Thai banks are filled up (with all our 'bargain-rate currencies) they know the Baht will devalue again and 'our' currencies will rise (leaving them a great profit)........ So 'Thai Grafters' will have 'fat accounts'.......

I have elected (and vowed) not to bring any of my money here for them to 'Play with'...... I will just come back as a tourist every couple months instead..... and let them have my 'retirement visa' and shove it where the sun don't shine.......

To each their own opinion..... This is mine.....

[Pattaya46]

9 minutes ago, jackdd said:

The IOs did already place orders for their new Benz and BMWs in anticipation of all the money from the agents

Please explain ???

No agent will let 800'000B on a foreigner account during months !

This change is made to stop their illegal activity, and it could well succeed  

[thequietman]

I am not a retiree nor am I a pensioner but I really don't see what Thailand has to gain by all of this.

Foreign retirees here take nothing from the system and are offered nothing.

They pay their way and in NO Way are a burden to the system. They pay tax and probably more than Thai citizens and they support families and businesses. 

 

Why all the hate? Why all the rules? They take nothing from this country but give back daily. It is very confusing to say the least.