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

[notamember]

13 minutes ago, madmen said:

17 minutes ago, notamember said:

Most good agents do not offer a convenience service
they do not have the time to do so
they won't stand in line or hand hold for persons who can do it themselves but are too lazy . dumb or both to do it themselves
That is the domain of the bottom feeders

?some People pay 20k for the convieinace. Agent doesn't care what you call his service

people who pay 20, 000 to not stand in line are nuts and why do you think agents do not care?

know any agents or just influenced by the sheeple on here?

[skatewash]

27 minutes ago, 55Jay said:

I understand what you're saying.  I ain't happy with it and initially thought the US Embassy might have show a bit more grit.  

 

But to say USE chucked the Income Affidavit service all on their own, without any instigation from the Thais, doesn't ring true.  That would entail a conspiracy, weaving a story spanning months, and publicly accusing the Thais of instigating the whole thing.  Thais wouldn't stand for such public defamation, but there was no denial or clarification from them  Not a peep, until a revised/supplemental Police Order confirming the change from their side.

 

This is all part and parcel of what appears to be a broad effort to clean up the Immigration cess pool - at least the low hanging fruit.      They've been after serial border runners and abuses of the TV/Except Arrival stamp for quite some time already.    Big sweep operations, Good Guys in, Bad Guys out, No Tipping, etc, etc.,   All the front line staff at my Immigration has been changed out in one fell swoop.  People ran their suck holes about the pliable Affidavit system for too long, so there's that one done.   And now they're going after one aspect of the agent fraud system, which is exactly what they said they were going to do.  

 

Writing's on the wall.  Sometimes things are as they appear.

I've tried to read every comment from the British and American Embassies including appearances from consuls general on radio programs.  At no point do they say that Thailand threatened to stop accepting the letters.  They do say they were unhappy with the level of verification but that is not the same thing.  I'm not "happy" about paying taxes, but I still manage to do so.  The British representative on the radio interview admitted that it was an FCO decision based on an audit that was meant to downsize operations that were not strictly necessary.  To her, the embassy letter and actually depositing money in a Thai bank were six of one, half-dozen of the other.  Of course, neither she nor any of the other embassy workers have to apply for their visas, they get their diplomatic visas arranged for them, so they can have little empathy for their citizen's plight.

 

But all that aside, objectively the citizens of the UK, US, Australia, and Denmark are in a worse position today than the citizens of the other embassies (France, Germany, Canada, etc.).  What have the unilateral four achieved with their unwise action?  Nothing useful.  They simply did a sorry job when doing simply doing nothing was what was called for.  If the letters are unacceptable to Thai Immigration let them reject them or require additional proof for the source of income as had been done to some in Chiang Mai.  Why figure out the worst possible thing that could happen and then do that to yourself?  This makes shooting yourself in the foot positively heroic.  I don't think you need to be a conspiracy theorist to see that bureaucrats will get out of work/responsibility if they can and if they can point to Thai Immigration as the instigator then they can get away with it among the credulous. 

 

To take the action they did when there was nothing in place to substitute for what they did with the income letter was the height of irresponsibility.  How would they have been negatively affected if they had merely waited until now when there is at least the bare outline of what might replace the income letter?  Or better yet, why not wait until there's actual experience in having TI accept the new monthly deposit method and then announce because the new method is up and running we are now in a position to stop the income letter?  Sorry, it's simply inexcusable what they did.  And to top it all off this level of incompetence comes from the very organizations that pride themselves on how super-intelligent they are and how they can accomplish great things with their worldly sophistication and awesome diplomatic skills that mere mortal citizens would be unable to accomplish without them.

[Pib]

4 minutes ago, chocky boy said:

What about para 6, those who have been in Thailand 10+ years. Is this is a better deal than the norm if you are over 60? (You only need 200k in the bank and no stipulation that the funds are kept for 3 months after or any mention of a lower amount after that).

Don't understand the 'fixed income with fund', does this mean you must have income AND have the funds in the bank or is this just badly worded as the second condition deals with income of only 20,000?

That's for people who first got their retirement extension before 21 Oct 1998 (over 20 years ago) and renewed them consecutively....no breaks along way.  No change to that policy.

[pussycatdoll]

3 hours ago, wgdanson said:

Thank Sheryl. Just called my First Direct Bank in UK who tell me SWIFT transfers in GBP are FREE of charge. I did one in January, but it came out on my Foreign Currency Account statement as a NO BOOK TRANSFER, as did one from my Pension company. All my T'wise to my Savings account in THB say FTT.

It's a minefield. 

I tried a test tranfer from First Direct to Kasikorn......

came through in 2 days , no charge from First direct and coded as foreign transfer.

But as 65,000 baht is becoming very close to the wire due to exchange rate, hoping the combo method is still ongoing, as I have a sum of 500,000 baht in kasikorn......

Might be able to get to the 800,000 in time for seasoning end september 2019.....Not a route I prefer though.....And, will all my Swifts appear as foreign?

[notamember]

14 minutes ago, ginjag said:

Any ideas how to get the 800k out of a Thai bank if you ever leave.....  not your idea but the legal way to get it back to the UK.

 

second point,  you talk bad about an Elite, it is guaranteed,  the 800k may change every year on the whim of Immigration, with extra worries

 

If you are over 75  Elite is Ideal, a younger person a no go.

get an ATM card, make sure global use is allowed

set the limit at £500 a time

tell the bank you are going to UK to warn them of withdrawals

go to UK

draw out £500 a day at a cost of 100 baht each time until its all gone

report card stolen/lost

let bank account go dormant

end of

[offset]

My Retirement extension was due on the 3rd of March, so I thought I would do it today to see if anything was said about having to complying with the new rules, I was doing the 800000 baht in the bank method. Nothing was said about keeping the money in the bank for the year so I am guessing that the new rule will apply only if you renew after March the 1st, but this is Thailand who knows what other regions are saying

 

Renewal done at Hua Hin and was in and out in 25 minutes

[ubonjoe]

22 minutes ago, Naamblar2014 said:

police order No. 35 /2561 

don't know how these numbers are assigned to police orders,  but I suspect 2561 is the year.  Aren't we in year 2562 and as this is a new order,  should it not be 2562. Or maybe this has been under consideration for some time.

Just a typo. Everything else says January 2019 (2562).

[Sheryl]

1 hour ago, Ctkong said:

Like some poster said. It acts like a bond .you are supposed to have other means of income other than just the 800,000tb. So the 800,000 is supposed to be ‘untouchable ‘ for most people unless needed unexpectedly. 

but there does not seem to be any provision allowing you to spend it in case of emergency/unexpected need.

 

Basically we are being required to permanently post  400K bond that can never be withdrawn or spent.

[Mavideol]

3 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

but there does not seem to be any provision allowing you to spend it in case of emergency/unexpected need.

 

Basically we are being required to permanently post  400K bond that can never be withdrawn or spent.

until you decide to leave Thailand and if not married better have 800K bond... safer, not easier for some but safer

[DrTuner]

52 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Your Elite Visa money is gone for ever.

For wealthy people it's peanuts and offers perks and that's who they are targeting it to. Not for mere mortals. If they do a 1y Elite Lite, that'd probably be a small hit. Instead of paying agents pay the Thailand Elite company.

[Psychic]

1 hour ago, Spellforce said:

Immigration should introduce an easier process for the mariage extention.

Most people living in Thailand for years are married and do the 50yo extention only because the process WAS much easier.

 

If you are married and living in Thailand for X years and have a total assets of Y millions bahts (including the assets of your wife: house, condo, cars etc...), isn't it enough to prove that you are a "good" farang ? Why provide photos of your intimate life, bank account, bring a thai witness, have a final interview etc .. ? They should make things easier for those who have a normal life for years !

 

I remember that 10 years ago, they did some "surprise" visits to the married visa just in case they had a doubt about some cheaters. Why did they stop that practice ? No problem for me they can come at my home whenever they want. And they could do exactly the same thing for the 50yo visa when they have a doubt. That will be the end of the cheaters and everybody will win.

Are you advocating common sense?

 

Married, own property, car it is simply not that expensive to live here and you have assets far exceeding a decade of the required income.

 

Despite the antics I don't think the higher ups in Immigration want to bust up families so why don't they actually get serious about it.

 

Issue some type of permanent residency, allow married foreigners access to the Thai medical system for a reasonable price...certainly not 30 baht a month but say 1000 for life. Whatever financial analysis shows is zero cost or better to the system and solving problems who can't get private insurance after 70.

 

If you have been here and married for a certain time without issues..5 years or 10 years, pick a number..stop the ridiculous 90 day check ins and income verification as unnecessary and maybe start random checks to verify status.

 

I'm sure all those gaming the system have produced lots of evident clues over the years.

You could use all that extra man hours sorting them out instead of imposing extra hardship on honest retirees for the actions of crooked foreigners, agents and IO's.

 

When I heard BJ was going to try to eliminate the 90 day reports I had some hope.

 

Apparently now you will need to do something like them to show bank balances.

 

Hope fading.

????

 

 

[Tchooptip]

I am in Samui for 7 years, my wife knows a young lady working at the immigration office my wife went to talk to her minutes ago, she said, of course, I have heard of it but it seems it is not sure yet, we need more meeting, I cannot answer today. It is exactly what she said!

Please do not misunderstand me,  I do not say it was not sure yet, I just repeat what a young lady working at the immigration office here in Samui for more than five years by the way, I mean by that she is not a newbie, I repeat what she told to my wife who went to see her alone, I did not go,  knowing she would speak more freely without me being there listening. 

[Canuck50]

20 hours ago, sawadeeken said:

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.....

Couldn't have said it better myself. I agree 100% and will also be following this plan!

[buick]

"The new requirements are likely the result of immigration officials trying to put an end to the practice of visa agents falsifying bank statements for foreigners who do not have enough money to meet the financial requirements needed for a retirement extension."

 

my read on this:  it gives the visa agent scheme a chance to earn more money, they do the 'work' for the 3 months before extension and then do the 'work' for the 3 months after the extension.  undoubtedly the fee for the 'work' will increase as they have to do it twice.  thus, more income for the immigration offices that work with visa agents.

[Banana7]

If you are on a retirement visa/extension or a marriage visa/extension, and have had enough of these new immigration rules and regulations, appreciating baht, high inflation rate, consider moving to the Philippines and getting a special retirement residency visa (SRRV) for USD$1,400. Search here on Thaivisa for "SRRV" for more info.

[DrTuner]

13 minutes ago, Tchooptip said:

I am in Samui for 7 years, my wife knows a young lady working at the immigration office my wife went to talk to her minutes ago, she said, of course, I have heard of it but it seems it is not sure yet, we need more meeting, I cannot answer today. It is exactly what she said!

Please do not misunderstand me,  I do not say it was not sure yet, I just repeat what a young lady working at the immigration office here in Samui for more than five years by the way, I mean by that she is not a newbie, I repeat what she told to my wife who went to see her alone, I did not go,  knowing she would speak more freely without me being there listening. 

I think the way it works the immigration HQ sends these as a fax to local offices, where some one takes a look at it, makes their own interpretation, that gets applied randomly by desks, then there's an almighty hassle, lots of "clarifications" and at the end each immigration office end up with their half baked version. TiT.

[Roy Baht]

So if someone does what many expats do: park 800K baht in a Thai bank account and just leave it there, never even touching it, doing all their regular transactions through other accounts--will that still work? I hear about people being told by IO that they must show evidence that they spend money. 

[madmen]

If you are on a retirement visa/extension or a marriage visa/extension, and have had enough of these new immigration rules and regulations, appreciating baht, high inflation rate, consider moving to the Philippines and getting a special retirement residency visa (SRRV) for USD$1,400. Search here on Thaivisa for "SRRV" for more info.

 

 

Maybe if you are insane especially if this immigration reform act gets through. Deported for being rude or renting a hooker

 

Makes thailand look like Disney land in comparison

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Philippines Immigration Reform Act filed. If the recent price increases, violence escalation, infrastructure or lack thereof, and general lack of fair and due process doesn't convince you to go elsewhere, the new Philippines Immigration Reform Act will. It gives wide and vague latitude for Immigration and Police to basically do whatever they feel like with you. Here are a few new highlights:

 

● Exit Clearance will now be required after 60 days - [MTV] Essentially if you stay in country for > 60 days you need Tax Clearance before you can leave, even if leaving for a holiday - IIRC this is currently 6 Months

● Foreigners Permanent Residency will be cancelled on divorce, relationship abandonment, or failure to provide support for Filipino spouse and family(does not disclose as what extent of her existing family). - [MTV] Scary 

● Foreigners Permanent Residency will cancelled if outside the Philippines more than 1 year.

● Foreigners will no longer be allowed to establish any type of business under a visitor visa.- [MTV] One of the major selling points of PI over TH

● New visa applicants will be required to have a physical and mental evaluation prior to getting an immigrant visa. - [MTV] Speechless

● Entry into the Philippines will be denied for those believed to arriving for the purpose of getting prostitutes or showing "disrespect" to any government official or employee. - [MTV] Some may guffaw at this but anybody who's visited the Philippines for the past 10+ years can tell you about clampdowns in Manila & (especially) Cebu 

● Deportable offenses: engaging in prostitution,  being deemed a public charge, being deemed undesirable, and being "rude" .- [MTV] Speechless

● Foreigners must register within 60 days of arrival and update any changes in said registration within 7 days. - [MTV] TM30/TM28 anybody?

● Also states that the immigration agency can start requiring cash bonds on demand to ensure immigration adherence. Provision perhaps for longer stays?- [MTV] at the moment the only cash requirement outside of visa expenses is if you go for an SRRV Visa, this sounds more like they're going to want to see Funds in the Bank for people who are staying longer on any kind of basis

● Imprisonment offences of not less than 5 years: falsely claiming to be a Filipino citizen, pretending to be someone else or using false documents, making a false statement in any immigration matter,   

 

 

 

[wgdanson]

1 hour ago, pussycatdoll said:

I tried a test tranfer from First Direct to Kasikorn......

came through in 2 days , no charge from First direct and coded as foreign transfer.

But as 65,000 baht is becoming very close to the wire due to exchange rate, hoping the combo method is still ongoing, as I have a sum of 500,000 baht in kasikorn......

Might be able to get to the 800,000 in time for seasoning end september 2019.....Not a route I prefer though.....And, will all my Swifts appear as foreign?

Can you not do 65k per month x 12, and spend it ALL if you want. You do NOT have to show any in the bank for the income method.

Good to know about First Direct. I just did £100 this afternoon to try the system instead of T'wise.

[Kevin neil]

I renewed my annual extension of stay in November 2018 using combination method / embassy letter at Phuket immigration.

 

Having just decided to use the 65k baht per month method to secure my extension of stay due this November.

 

i deposited 70k in my bangkok bank today and plan to do the same for the next 9 months, so can show 10 months transfers totaling 700k in Nov 2019.

 

i understand immigration will show some leniency....will this suffice under said circumstances. .?

 

I intend to use these monies for everyday expenses too..is that acceptable ?

 

thanks 

[Ebumbu]

13 hours ago, wilbuengkan said:

With this requirement to maintain 400K - 800K THB in Thailand, how difficult will it be to withdraw the money from the bank and exit Thailand?

 

From my experience, it is easy to bring money into Thailand and difficult to take money out.

 

I sold my condo and had to prove to the bank that the money was from the sale of the condo before a wire transfer could be done, to transfer the funds out of Thailand.

 

So, how do you prove the origin of the money?

Can you easily do a bank wire transfer or must you carry cash when you exit?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dee Money for out. They have pretty good limits. Low hassles. 

 

 

 

 

[bkk6060]

9 minutes ago, Kevin neil said:

I renewed my annual extension of stay in November 2018 using combination method / embassy letter at Phuket immigration.

 

Having just decided to use the 65k baht per month method to secure my extension of stay due this November.

 

i deposited 70k in my bangkok bank today and plan to do the same for the next 9 months, so can show 10 months transfers totaling 700k in Nov 2019.

 

i understand immigration will show some leniency....will this suffice under said circumstances. .?

 

I intend to use these monies for everyday expenses too..is that acceptable ?

 

thanks 

Please grow up and go ask your immigration office the questions.

 

[catman20]

6 hours ago, Genericnic said:

It will get rid of some of us non-poorer people as well. Just because we will be leaving does not mean we cannot afford to stay. It just means that we have reached our limits for dealing with poor policies by the IO. 

 

David

 

if you meet the criteria i cant see why it should be such a problem. 

[Swedenlars]

 
 
Maybe if you are insane especially if this immigration reform act gets through. Deported for being rude or renting a hooker
 
Makes thailand look like Disney land in comparison
 
 
 
 
 
 
New Philippines Immigration Reform Act filed. If the recent price increases, violence escalation, infrastructure or lack thereof, and general lack of fair and due process doesn't convince you to go elsewhere, the new Philippines Immigration Reform Act will. It gives wide and vague latitude for Immigration and Police to basically do whatever they feel like with you. Here are a few new highlights:
 
● Exit Clearance will now be required after 60 days - [MTV] Essentially if you stay in country for > 60 days you need Tax Clearance before you can leave, even if leaving for a holiday - IIRC this is currently 6 Months
● Foreigners Permanent Residency will be cancelled on divorce, relationship abandonment, or failure to provide support for Filipino spouse and family(does not disclose as what extent of her existing family). - [MTV] Scary 
● Foreigners Permanent Residency will cancelled if outside the Philippines more than 1 year.
● Foreigners will no longer be allowed to establish any type of business under a visitor visa.- [MTV] One of the major selling points of PI over TH
● New visa applicants will be required to have a physical and mental evaluation prior to getting an immigrant visa. - [MTV] Speechless
● Entry into the Philippines will be denied for those believed to arriving for the purpose of getting prostitutes or showing "disrespect" to any government official or employee. - [MTV] Some may guffaw at this but anybody who's visited the Philippines for the past 10+ years can tell you about clampdowns in Manila & (especially) Cebu 
● Deportable offenses: engaging in prostitution,  being deemed a public charge, being deemed undesirable, and being "rude" .- [MTV] Speechless
● Foreigners must register within 60 days of arrival and update any changes in said registration within 7 days. - [MTV] TM30/TM28 anybody?
● Also states that the immigration agency can start requiring cash bonds on demand to ensure immigration adherence. Provision perhaps for longer stays?- [MTV] at the moment the only cash requirement outside of visa expenses is if you go for an SRRV Visa, this sounds more like they're going to want to see Funds in the Bank for people who are staying longer on any kind of basis
● Imprisonment offences of not less than 5 years: falsely claiming to be a Filipino citizen, pretending to be someone else or using false documents, making a false statement in any immigration matter,   
 
 
 

I think you don't know how the Philippines are ticking. Sure, this law text exits. But who cares. All of my friends live since years and years on a tourist visa in Philippines. Including myself. You get one month, then you extend your free visa and after 3 months you will get 6 months. After 2 months you will even get a ACR-I (ID card for foreigners). This is very helpful in daily life. (Bank, renting, travel etc). With the tourist visa you are allowed to stay up to 3 years. Then you do a 1 or 2 trip to i.e. Hongkong. So to cut the story short, almost nobody I know bothers to apply for this expensive and complicated retriee visa. But up to you, keep staying in the Big Joke land. We for ourselves don't miss this land of FALSE SMILES and feel sorry for all of you.

Gesendet von meinem SM-N950F mit Tapatalk

[catman20]

36 minutes ago, Roy Baht said:

So if someone does what many expats do: park 800K baht in a Thai bank account and just leave it there, never even touching it, doing all their regular transactions through other accounts--will that still work? I hear about people being told by IO that they must show evidence that they spend money. 

doing all their regular transactions through other accounts-yes that works

 

not a problem been doing it like this for years.

 

[Kevin neil]

Thank you. That’s very helpful.

[totally thaied up]

33 minutes ago, madmen said:

New Philippines Immigration Reform Act filed. If the recent price increases, violence escalation, infrastructure or lack thereof, and general lack of fair and due process doesn't convince you to go elsewhere, the new Philippines Immigration Reform Act will. It gives wide and vague latitude for Immigration and Police to basically do whatever they feel like with you. Here are a few new highlights:

I lived in the Philippines for quite some time (married before to a Filipino) and you would need wild horses to drag me back to live there during the wet season. Hell, tying up 800K for a year is a bargain compared to putting up with typhoons, possible earthquakes and a lack of general infrastructure. I was in Bagiou City for a long time and compared to Thailand, it was very, very slow.

 

Sure, I could flip through living in these countries (Philippines Cambodia, Vietnam) just for a few months at a time, staying the best time of year if I where single. Like three months the Philippines, 3 months Cambodia, three months Vietnam and three months Thailand, but after a time you get sick of moving. I did this for a period of time (2009) and I could not do it permanently. Yet, if I was single now, I just might do this.

 

Thailand might cost, but for sticking put in one place and having not that many hassles, it is still pretty okay for the pick of SEA countries.

 

I am now just waiting for them to stick the boot into the marriage requirements and then, Immigration has got nothing left to change for a long time.

 

I mean, what else can they change?

[wgdanson]

25 minutes ago, Kevin neil said:

I renewed my annual extension of stay in November 2018 using combination method / embassy letter at Phuket immigration.

 

Having just decided to use the 65k baht per month method to secure my extension of stay due this November.

 

i deposited 70k in my bangkok bank today and plan to do the same for the next 9 months, so can show 10 months transfers totaling 700k in Nov 2019.

 

i understand immigration will show some leniency....will this suffice under said circumstances. .?

 

I intend to use these monies for everyday expenses too..is that acceptable ?

 

thanks 

I sincerely hope so. I shall do 70k per month just to be safe. 12 x 70 = 840k.

 

[Genericnic]

11 minutes ago, catman20 said:

if you meet the criteria i cant see why it should be such a problem. 

See my post #123

 

David

[PaceArrow]

I'm not too happy about the changes either, however, everyone needs to read the entire order as there is more clarification that makes it a little more palatable if you're over 60!! See item 6 of the Police Order English Translation copy!!!