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

[StayinThailand2much]

On 1/31/2019 at 7:35 PM, NE1 said:

Correct me if I am wrong ,  I have to show 800,000 baht in my account every time I do a 90 day report ?

If that is the case , do I have to get a letter from the bank to verify said bank account as per yearly ext.?
 

Banks need to make money (from official letters) too, so yes!

[Straight8]

On 1/31/2019 at 9:46 PM, MrPatrickThai said:

Do you actually think they want old penniless sexpats?

How the <deleted> can one be penniless and a sexpat? What are you on about?

 

To be a sexpat, you definitely need quite a bit of moula ( for the majority over 50), or be young and hunsum, which I guess, most participating in this thread are not!!

[sumrit]

33 minutes ago, xylophone said:

I get a part pension paid from the UK into my account here, however it comes through the Bangkok bank branch in London (don't know if it's really a branch or more a service?). The pension service pay it into this account and it ends up in my bank account here, the only problem being it doesn't say anything about being an international transfer!

 

Whereas my part pension from NZ, paid directly into Bangkok bank here, does state that it's an international transfer.

 

Your NZ pension is paid from an external source so shows as an International Transfer in your BKKB account. I would assume your transfer from the UK branch to your Thai branch of the same bank would show as an internal transfer.

There's nothing to stop you opening a Transferwise account and paying money into that from your BKKB UK account then transferring it to your Thai account monthly. 

 

34 minutes ago, xylophone said:

I don't have a UK bank account now and haven't had for many years; so my question to you is after reading through these posts, much as I have done over the past 24 hours and still only got to page 83, have you come across any information which specifically says that the bank statement here has to show it as an international transfer, or is it okay just to show money into the account?

See attachment below.

 

 

34 minutes ago, xylophone said:

Another question for you (hope you don't mind) or others, is whether or not the pension service will pay directly into my account here and if so, what are the charges – – or indeed are there any other avenues, as I think you mentioned something called Transfer Wise, however I am not au fait with this service.

https://transferwise.com/?utm_source=invite&amp;utm_medium=ios&amp;utm_content=&amp;utm_campaign=3for50

Extension financial requirement 1.pdf

[zydeco]

28 minutes ago, peterg40 said:

My visit to Huahin Immigration yesterday CONFIRMED, after conversations with 2 senior Officers,

that ,absolutely NOTHING has changed with regard to visa extensions based on Retirement.

Indeed, they gave me a printed 

leaflet headed ,Retirement Visa.

Regulation & Required Documents.

This leaflet which is available to 

everyone absolutely confirms that the 

current requirements have not 

changed!!!

Well, the changes are right there to see on the first page of the OP.

[Tanoshi]

24 minutes ago, peterg40 said:

Indeed, they gave me a printed 

leaflet headed ,Retirement Visa.

Regulation & Required Documents.

Probably their own drafted version.

The information will be correct until March 1st.

 

From March 1st, the 800,000BHT financial requirement remains the same as will the documents required for your individual office. The main change is really seasoning periods of the 800,000.

From 1st March, the 800,00 has to be in a Thai bank for 2 months prior to the date of application, and the following 3 months after the application date. You can then only draw down 400,000 from your account, leaving 400,000 in the account for the remainder of the year.

Read the order for yourself in post 1 of this topic.

 

What is yet to be clarified, is exactly how they will check your account has maintained a balance of 800,000 for 3 months after your submitted application date, but I'd go along with the already suggested theory that you'll be given a 3 month under consideration stamp and the extension will only be issued after returning in 3 months with proof that the level of 800,000 has been maintained in your account for that 3 month period.

 

I suspect, proof of maintaining a balance of 400,000 throughout the year will be checked when applying for your next extension the following year. If you failed to maintain a level of 400,000 within this 1 year period, then your next application will be refused.

[homeseeker]

24 minutes ago, StayinThailand2much said:

Banks need to make money (from official letters) too, so yes!

No. scaremongering.

No such requirement.

[stud858]

Perhaps Agents are relatives, friends, friends of friends, long standing business partners.

If that is the case then new rules are not trumping that from what I've heard.

If you've been going through an agent I don't think much will change. The agent closer to the champion officers at the top should still be able to perform their magic.

 

 

 

 

[Sheryl]

15 hours ago, Fex Bluse said:

My understanding is that the account can be only of one type and it earns very minimal interest 

And what is this "one type" of account?

[Tanoshi]

1 hour ago, wgdanson said:

I would hope that if you had a deposit from abroad which did not say International or the code FFT, but you could show your friendly IO a statement from your UK bank that the exact amout was debited from that account one day previous to an amount arriving in your Thai bank, they would accept it. I would hope, I said. 

You may hope, but Immigration are under no obligation to accept foreign documents as proof of anything, exactly why the system of supplying your Embassy with those documents and the issuance of an Income letter was the accepted method.

 

If Immigration accepted foreign bank statements as proof of transfers, they'd have to be fluent in various languages and accountancy. A lot of these IO's can't even follow a Thai bank statement.

[Mango Bob]

Tell me Big Joke why do a retired person here have to keep 400,000 baht in the bank all year long and 800,000 in the bank for 5 of those months while a married expat only has to have 400,000 in the bank to season for a few months a year.   Why do I as a retiree need to have more money than a married person who supports his family, her family and half the village need less money then I do?

[Tanoshi]

2 minutes ago, Mango Bob said:

Tell me Big Joke

Sorry, the username Big Joke isn't a member of this forum.

You'll have to send a personal correspondence to his office.

[Andrew Dwyer]

Tell me Big Joke why do a retired person here have to keep 400,000 baht in the bank all year long and 800,000 in the bank for 5 of those months while a married expat only has to have 400,000 in the bank to season for a few months a year.   Why do I as a retiree need to have more money than a married person who supports his family, her family and half the village need less money then I do?

Maybe he thinks the wife is earning 33,333 baht a month ??

Seriously though, I’ve never understood the ruling.

[mokwit]

Just now, Tanoshi said:

Sorry, the username Big Joke isn't a member of this forum.

You'll have to send a personal correspondence to his office.

or message him on his twitter account https://twitter.com/hakparn

[phutoie2]

1 hour ago, Tanoshi said:

It should be coded as FTT. (Foreign Telex Transfer)

 

Yes they will.

There are no charges. 

Again with BKK it will be coded as FTT.

Not with UK government service pensions, Bangkok Bank passbook code it as BTN. 

[onera1961]

2 hours ago, tlandtday said:

You seem to make blanket statements based on personal bias with little or no data to back it up lol.  These rules affect anyone who is tired of being run through the hoops and ever changing poorly thought out rules.

I find everybody posting here with their personal bias and some people are even openly exposing their sense of privilege to stay here in their own terms. 

[Tanoshi]

12 minutes ago, phutoie2 said:

Not with UK government service pensions, Bangkok Bank passbook code it as BTN. 

What does BTN stand for?

 

By government service pensions, I assume you mean 'Armed forces' pensions as opposed to government 'state' pensions.

Edited February 2, 2019 by Tanoshi

[mokwit]

4 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

I find everybody posting here with their personal bias and some people are even openly exposing their sense of privilege to stay here in their own terms. 

I think they are just asking to stay here without the original terms being changed on them.

[onera1961]

55 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

What is yet to be clarified, is exactly how they will check your account has maintained a balance of 800,000 for 3 months after your submitted application date, but I'd go along with the already suggested theory that you'll be given a 3 month under consideration stamp and the extension will only be issued after returning in 3 months with proof that the level of 800,000 has been maintained in your account for that 3 month period.

It will just doubles the work of IOs if they have to check after three months. Do you think the IOs will accept it unless they hire more IOs. And how are they going to verify the remaining 400K for the year round? What is the punishment for withdrawing the money after extension is granted. Nothing is spelled out. It is doomed in my book, Business as usual. 

Edited February 2, 2019 by onera1961

[jacko45k]

2 hours ago, JackThompson said:

That is what some have reported here.  They get it back after the money xfers, of course - presumably with their passport and fresh extension-of-stay.

I heard one report of a person attending the bank with his passbook and having it done. I will ask another how it goes when I see him. When the agent guy with the card cloning gadget is fired, people better watch out!

[peterg40]

No. scaremongering.
No such requirement.

Exactly,so my visit to HH Immigration
was a complete waste of time?
The ONLY source of information and
Updates that I am aware of ALWAYS
originates from Thai Immigration and the Officers who work there and provide
it to us!!!



Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[MrPatrickThai]

On 2/1/2019 at 9:18 AM, Geoffggi said:

in the UK Thais after I believe living in England for a period of five years can obtain a residence visa, here in Thailand you qualify for nothing, I have been married to a Thai lady for nearly 30 years and have absolutely no rights what so ever it is wrong.

If you are married to a Thai lady, it is easy to get Thai Citizenship. It seems you didn't bother, despite living here for 30 years. After working here for 3 years you can get Permanent Residency. Don't compare it to the UK, where is is much harder for Thais to retire to. 

[Tanoshi]

2 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

It will just doubles the work of IOs if they have to check after three months. Do you think they will accept it unless they hire more IOs.

Not really unless they are bigger offices.

Marriage extensions have to be approved and you receive a 30 day under consideration stamp, returning in 30 days to get the extension after approval. It takes no more than 2 minutes.

However it will undoubtedly increase queuing at major offices.

 

It would be pretty pointless stating from March 1st, the 800,000 has to be maintain for 3 months, if BJ hasn't considered a method for checking ………… then again TIT.

[mokwit]

Just now, MrPatrickThai said:

If you are married to a Thai lady, it is easy to get Thai Citizenship

Really, easy to get Citizenship? There are people here who will be all ears for your explanation as to how easy it is. Please do tell all.

[Dmitry2222]

It's not clear for me:

>the remaining balance must be no less than THB 400,00
Is it four hundred THB or four hundred thousands THB? Looks like 400 THB  (not 400.000). However, in the thread above i see discussion of 400.000.

In the original post the number has four zeros. I guess, it is not four hundred thousands THB. May be 40 000 THB? Or there is a mistake in the post?

Edited February 2, 2019 by Dmitry2222

[Tanoshi]

7 minutes ago, Dmitry2222 said:

It's not clear for me:

>the remaining balance must be no less than THB 400,00
Is it four hundred THB or four hundred thousands THB? Looks like 400 THB  (not 400.000). However, in the thread above i see discussion of 400.000.

Well spotted, but I'm positive it would have stated 400 had that been the case.

400,00 is just a typo error.

[onera1961]

16 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

It would be pretty pointless stating from March 1st, the 800,000 has to be maintain for 3 months, if BJ hasn't considered a method for checking ………… then again TIT.

It just reduced to reduced two months. If somebody is due for extension in March, he is already seasoning his money for three month since Jan, 2019

[notamember]

3 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

Are you saying the new change 800 after and 400 all year was made so the IO's can extort money directly without using an agent? 

 

The facts and events don't support that hypothesis. 

 

The new changes eliminate the agent as operated before. 

how does:''The new changes eliminate the agent as operated before.?''

agents deposit 800K pre extension and will deposit 800k again post extension

deposit twice, get paid twice, pay immigration twice

agents stock just doubled

 

[jacko45k]

1 minute ago, onera1961 said:

It just reduced to reduced two months. If somebody is due for extension in March, he is already seasoning his money for three month since Jan, 2019

I think the comments relate to maintaining the 80k for 3 months after Ext application.

[PAWNEESE]

The money in the bank requirements after getting your "retirement" visa only make sense to me if they are the requirements needed to get your next visa 12 months later. 

 

I mean .. so its discovered you are 1 baht under 800k or 400k for 1 day so then what ? Are you taken to court, Dragged to the airport / fined / visa revoked / shot.  How would they ever even know. I dont wanna carry my bank book around ( joke) But hey ho .. we will soon find out. 

 

My point is ... If we are in trouble for going below the relevent sum .... then switching from money in the bank method to income method is gonna be errrrrrr ... complicated.

 

You will need 12 times 65k income AND keep lump sum up to the required amounts prior to your big switch over of methods. 

 

Im possibly dithering over the best way to go ... I think Im dithering .. not sure.

 

Im not claiming its difficult .. but 12 months advanced planning needed I think .... to change methods.

 

 

 

 

[Tanoshi]

7 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

It just reduced to reduced two months. If somebody is due for extension in March, he is already seasoning his money for three month since Jan, 2019

We were discussing the 3 month period after the extension applicant, not prior to.