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

[Sheryl]

48 minutes ago, ivor bigun said:

So what would happen if you were taken ill and had to use your 400,000 baht for a medical emergancy,would you then be in breach and deported,?

Sent from my SM-A720F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

I think you would then not be eligible for an extension (technically you'd no longer meet the criteria for your existing extension, but when it would come home to roost would be at extension time). . You'd need to leave and come back in on a new visa  and start all over.

 

BTW 400K will not go very far in a medical emergency here.

[Sheryl]

troll post and replies to it have been rmeoved

[garyk]

1 hour ago, Straight8 said:

 

I wouldn't even think about relocating to another country with less than 500K (USD equivalent)

About right,,  25-30K USD here, would be about equivalent to 500K in the states.  ????

Why do you think people retire here???

 

 

Edited February 2, 2019 by garyk

[Sheryl]

12 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

The agents only exist because there are expats asking for this service...

Indeed. But these are almost entirely people who do not meet the financial requirements and are looking for a way around them, and those are exactly the people TI wants to weed out.

 

Unfortunately their attempts to do so (1) won't work since the root problem (agents and corrupt IOs) is unaddressed and (2) is going to cause the rest of us  a lot of headaches.

 

 

[ivor bigun]

I think you would then not be eligible for an extension (technically you'd no longer meet the criteria for your existing extension, but when it would come home to roost would be at extension time). . You'd need to leave and come back in on a new visa  and start all over.
 
BTW 400K will not go very far in a medical emergency here.

So what will be the criteria for people here on a marriage extension?

Sent from my SM-A720F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[ubonjoe]

2 minutes ago, ivor bigun said:

So what will be the criteria for people here on a marriage extension?

There is no changes to the extension based upon marriage when using the 400k baht in the bank option.

[ivor bigun]

There is no changes to the extension based upon marriage when using the 400k baht in the bank option.

Thanks

Sent from my SM-A720F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[notamember]

27 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

The agents only exist because there are expats asking for this service...

no receivers, no thieves?

long proven not to be true

same applies here

[fred110]

Put it in a long term savings account and earn interest.

[notamember]

lets try to sort this out once and for all:

if an agent processes an application for a customer or hand-holds a customer through the process that the applicant qualified for in every respect and could have done by themselves but instead decided to pay someone to do it for them / help them

That is OK?

is that a non corrupt agent ?

[elviajero]

58 minutes ago, notamember said:

1 hour ago, elviajero said:

The 3 months seasoning rule is not waived for agents. Agents and the IO in their pocket produce fake paperwork showing a passbook with the required money.

ha, that is the most stupid thing yet said on this thread

i thought better of you

Show me the law, rule or regulation that states otherwise.

 

Unless an IO is providing an unofficial stamp in the passport and completely bypassing the application process a paper file is created. In that file will be photocopies (faked where necessary) of all the requirements. 

 

In most cases any faked documents are provided by the agent and the IO is by bypassing the uncheckable requirement to see the original. 

Edited February 2, 2019 by elviajero

[David Walden]

1 hour ago, Pattaya46 said:

He could still send this 800k home and then use the 12 x 65k method 

I think they may have that option covered.  As far as I know, the object for Thailand is for you be able to show that at the end of the 12th month you can prove you have Bt800,000.  Beg steal or borrow it or get it out of your nest egg account. Or go home.

[elviajero]

18 minutes ago, ivor bigun said:

So what will be the criteria for people here on a marriage extension?

Sent from my SM-A720F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

No change yet, and I doubt there will be.

[elviajero]

10 minutes ago, notamember said:

lets try to sort this out once and for all:

if an agent processes an application for a customer or hand-holds a customer through the process that the applicant qualified for in every respect and could have done by themselves but instead decided to pay someone to do it for them / help them

That is OK?

is that a non corrupt agent ?

Of course it’s ok, and not corrupt.

 

You're paying for a service.

[notamember]

1 minute ago, elviajero said:

Of course it’s ok, and not corrupt.

 

You're paying for a service.

do you have any idea at all how many people pay agents for that kind of service?

 

[Pattaya46]

11 minutes ago, notamember said:

if an agent processes an application for a customer or hand-holds a customer through the process that the applicant qualified for in every respect and could have done by themselves but instead decided to pay someone to do it for them / help them

That is OK?

No.

The TM.7 clearly says 

"APPLICANT MUST SUBMIT THE APPLICATION IN PERSON

"WITH THE EXCEPTIONS OF HANDICAPPED PATIENTS OR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

So, except if you physically can't go to the Immigration, an agent should not be authorised to do the extension for you.

[notamember]

4 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

No.

The TM.7 clearly says 

"APPLICANT MUST SUBMIT THE APPLICATION IN PERSON

"WITH THE EXCEPTIONS OF HANDICAPPED PATIENTS OR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

So, except if you physically can't go to the Immigration, an agent should not be authorised to do the extension for you.

 

Edited February 2, 2019 by notamember

[ivor bigun]

No change yet, and I doubt there will be.

Then i can see a hell of a lot of people changing over to marriage,in my case i do have enough ,but i dont want to be tied to those new rules.

Sent from my SM-A720F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[notamember]

11 minutes ago, elviajero said:

Of course it’s ok, and not corrupt.

 

You're paying for a service.

do you have any idea at all how many people pay agents for that kind of service?

[Spidey]

6 minutes ago, notamember said:

do you have any idea at all how many people pay agents for that kind of service?

Nowhere near as many as pay for the VIP service. No 800k baht, no need to go to immigration.

[David Walden]

2 minutes ago, elviajero said:

Of course it’s ok, and not corrupt.

 

You're paying for a service.

Yes, I think a hundred years or so in Arab countries each town used to have an Assan (good job then).  For a price, if you wanted someone bumped off you would do the business with the Assan he would carry out the deed and keep it secret.  If the Assan was found out he would just say "I'm not guilty as someone paid me to assassinate that person, they are the murderers they paid me to kill that person so it's their fault they done it!  it's not my fault that I killed him you paid me to do it, so it's you are the guilty one.  The payee would be found not guilty and the payer would be shot dead the next day (I think)...can you see what I'm getting at.  I think it's nearly the same in some counties today. TIT.

[notamember]

2 minutes ago, Spidey said:

Nowhere near as many as pay for the VIP service. No 800k baht, no need to go to immigration.

have  to go now spidey, have your picture taken

[Roy Baht]

3 hours ago, madmen said:

you can buy a condo for less than the price of a new camry.

Funny, I know so many Thais who own cars worth more than their homes.

(Off topic. Sorry.)

[Straight8]

On 2/1/2019 at 7:31 AM, worgeordie said:

Looks like the only screw left to tighten now ,is to raise the requirement

for money in the bank,to say 800,000 THB for marriage,and 1.500,000 for 

retirement,then they can really thin the expat population out,the only

good thing about all these changes,stopping embassy letters,requirement

to keep money in bank permanently,almost, is that there are going to be fewer

people in front of you,when next time you go and do your extension !.

regards Worgeordie

thinking logically, increase in living cost, inflation, healthcare etc etc, how much longer can Thailand keep this at 800K baht anyway?

 

People really do need to be prepared if they intend to retire in any country, including their own.

[JackThompson]

1 hour ago, ivor bigun said:

So what will be the criteria for people here on a marriage extension?

If using the "money in the bank" method, be prepared to have to leave the money untouched during the "under consideration" period, as well as the prior 2 mo seasoning.

 

51 minutes ago, notamember said:

lets try to sort this out once and for all:

if an agent processes an application for a customer or hand-holds a customer through the process that the applicant qualified for in every respect and could have done by themselves but instead decided to pay someone to do it for them / help them

That is OK?

is that a non corrupt agent ?

It is a non-corrupt (on your part only) use of an agent.  And, in my case, is the only way I could have received an extension (based on marriage) for which I qualified.

 

In other words, having what is legally required does not stop the agent-bribe from being necessary to get the IO to process your legit-extension - though it could absolve you of guilt, if your extension was scrutinized later (as you didn't see the bribing, and legally qualified for the extension).

 

I got a Non-O-ME Visa, instead of rewarding the corrupt IOs involved, but I am sure many others just give in and pay them off via an agent.  Having to do border-bounces like a tourist, just to avoid wallowing in corruption, can be annoying.

 

48 minutes ago, elviajero said:

Unless an IO is providing an unofficial stamp in the passport and completely bypassing the application process a paper file is created. In that file will be photocopies (faked where necessary) of all the requirements.  

 

In most cases any faked documents are provided by the agent and the IO is by bypassing the uncheckable requirement to see the original. 

Are you certain that the rules require the seasoning-proof (copies of bank-book or bank-transaction history) to be put in the file for a retirement-extension?

Edited February 2, 2019 by JackThompson

[elviajero]

36 minutes ago, notamember said:

48 minutes ago, elviajero said:

Of course it’s ok, and not corrupt.

 

You're paying for a service.

do you have any idea at all how many people pay agents for that kind of service?

Like you I have no idea. Regardless paying an agenr to help with a legitimate application is not illegal or corrupt.

[Spidey]

16 minutes ago, Straight8 said:

thinking logically, increase in living cost, inflation, healthcare etc etc, how much longer can Thailand keep this at 800K baht anyway?

 

People really do need to be prepared if they intend to retire in any country, including their own.

It is, and always has been, based on 2000 USD/month. Check the current exchange rate out and do the maths.

[Straight8]

On 2/1/2019 at 9:02 AM, GalaxyMan said:

Nonsense. A foreigner cannot own LAND. It is perfectly legal to own a house.

And the benefit of that is what??

 

Just setting yourself up for potential misery down the line.

[notamember]

4 minutes ago, elviajero said:

Like you I have no idea. Regardless paying an agenr to help with a legitimate application is not illegal or corrupt.

you presume wrong

i can tell you that few agents are processing that kind of service

it makes up less than 3% of all applications

 

Many agents do not even offer that kind of service at all

i remember an arrogant American chef spouting on this very forum and being so incensed at being told no by an agent that he wrote a whole blog about it

All because the agent would not accept money from him to process it 

The agent had asked him, ''why not do it yourself, you do not need an agent? he said because ''i can pay you to do it''

The agent said no thanks, you can't

Hence the arrogant chefs blog and a few pages of defamatory comment on Thaivisa

 

if visa agents only processed the kind of applications you approve of, there would be no agents at all but for no other reason that there is no demand for that kind of service

 

 

 

[elliss]

5 hours ago, jvs said:

Well it  is a real chore to read all of these posts,many asking the same question or making the same comments.

I will just wait for next week because i am pretty sure this new rule(not a law yet)will be changed.

We will see what happens.

     Well it is a real chore , now almost as boring as Brexit topics .

 

     IMO ,   dodgy visas  agents / immi bribes   are a integral part of the  system , big money.

     It would be an easier task , to  abolish  and make prostitution illegal  in the kingdom. 555

       

Edited February 2, 2019 by elliss