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

[unamazedloso]

let retirees work then no strings attached. All my thai neighbours sit around all day and have nothing to show for it. seems farangs bank interest is the only possible reason for this lunacy. Is Thailand actually poor and so lazy they can only put farangs to work without actually being allowed to....?

[ttrd]

RE - 800k thb AFTER granted visa for 1 year and no less than 400k thb at all time in the bank....

 

Now I understand why it come to my mind that this will never be enforced similar to the not feasible pick-up rule - not this either .....

 

A Big Joke - that's what it is, that's what you are and you just lost one supporter ....

Edited January 31, 2019 by ttrd

[MrPatrickThai]

6 minutes ago, Lipoman said:

Why are some of you posters making this so difficult to work with?  You put 800k into a Thai bank.  Done.  You have satisfied the immigration rule.  The 800k is really not that much money. 

Some are here just for cheap sex and can't afford this small amount. These are the ones that are going to be going. Good riddance I say to all us workers and prperly retired gentlemen.

[NE1]

2 minutes ago, Badrabbit said:

My 800k has been in the bank for ten years and that shows in the bank book, why would I need to prove it with a bank statement when the book does the same thing?

Sent from my SM-G610F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

That is true , but some offices will only accept it with a bank letter verifying the book is correct.

Out of all the imm. offices in this country , there are no Two that run the same.

[Chicken George]

The closing of a loop hole which visa agents and corrupt police use by making it difficult for the retirees who abide by the law!! <deleted>.

In fact it will not close the loop hole just make it more expensive or drive people away.. 

Agents will ge rubbing their hands with glee!!

[chrisinth]

1 hour ago, KiChakayan said:

Considering the evidence scattered around here of many people abusing the system, it makes bloody sense. Only hope that the 3 months formality can be made jointly with the first 90 days report.

It becomes even more confusing referencing the 90 day reports as these don't necessarily align with the issue of the extension dates. Completely different systems.

 

If somebody leaves and re-enters the country one month (or two months) after the extension based on retirement has been approved, when is their next 90 day report? As I read it, to prove funds remain at 800,000 baht three months after approval of extension, then a dedicated visit to immigration will be needed.

 

I can see this also affecting people who, even though on an extension for reasons of retirement are still working outside the country. I know a few who were literally forced to go down this road when pressure was put on them for accumulation of visa exempt entries; not married and on a 30/30 (or variations of it) rotation cycle. These people were never affected by 90 day reporting as they were never in the country for more than 90 days, but will now have to work around 'visits to immigration for verification of remaining funds' (both 800,000 for first 3 months and possibly more visits to confirm no less than 400,000 remains in the account??) whatever they may be.

 

Tricky knowing what will be required after reading the amendment. 

[The Boss]

5 minutes ago, Lipoman said:

Why are some of you posters making this so difficult to work with?  You put 800k into a Thai bank.  Done.  You have satisfied the immigration rule.  The 800k is really not that much money. 

Why should anyone tie up 800k for 6 months on a pittance return, it may not be a lot but we can make 5 /6 times elsewhere. Personally I've told her indoors we are off, mind you I made that decision a year ago by buying a gaff in Malaysia,  it just gee'd things up.

[MikeOKitches]

10 minutes ago, Bournville said:

Correct. Not only difficult to deal with the ever changing immigration rules.. But also Thailand really isn't that fantastic. I'm outta here.. I have given Thailand six of my retired years to get their act together. It got worse every year! 5555

Be happy
 

I've "given" Thailand 7 of my retirement years. I can empathize with what your feeling. The Thailand I came to 7 years ago was
way better in 2012 than the Thailand is currently in 2019. It's played out for me, and these new visa rules just lit my fuse to look into
a probable move to Phenom Phenom, Cambodia sooner than later.  That's the new Bangkok for me. It's growing like a weed with less hassles. 
Plus, they use the US dollar. 

[zydeco]

1 minute ago, Lipoman said:

So, put the 800k into the Thai bank.  Done deal. And 90 day reports equal 4 visits to immigration each year.  Eight trips in a year to immigration?  I think you are tripping. 

Why bother with someone who doesn't know what he's talking about. The ENTIRE POINT of the OP is that 800K in a Thai bank is not the end of it. Not the "done deal." You do realize that extension dates do not correlate to 90 day reports necessarily, don't you? You might do an extension in September, with your 90 day due in October. So, yes, if they want to see proof of the 800K before and after and the 400K minimum throughout the year, they just might require you to come in on 90 days after your extension, which would, YES, put you on a schedule of four 90 day reviews of bank account that would NOT match the 90 day residency reporting. So that would mean 8 trips to Chaeng Wattana. 

[Peterw42]

3 minutes ago, Chicken George said:

Yeah but now maybe they will make them cheaper so as to get more to take them up and therefore pocket more moneggy..

Or leave them at the same price and make it peoples "only" option.

if it comes down to 800k for 6 months then 400k for 6 months, in the bank forever. A 500k Thai elite visa starts to look ok for a 5 year visa.

[vivananahuahin]

And what about combination retirement + bank funds.If the retirement is around 60.000/month (letter from embassy) +60.000 on the bank 2 of 3 months before extension is it ok or not anymore?

[Badrabbit]

That is true , but some offices will only accept it with a bank letter verifying the book is correct.
Out of all the imm. offices in this country , there are no Two that run the same.

Which is what I do with every new extension, now I might have to provide a bank signed statement every 90 days?

Sent from my SM-G610F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Peterw42]

Just now, zydeco said:

Why bother with someone who doesn't know what he's talking about. The ENTIRE POINT of the OP is that 800K in a Thai bank is not the end of it. Not the "done deal." You do realize that extension dates do not correlate to 90 day reports necessarily, don't you? You might do an extension in September, with your 90 day due in October. So, yes, if they want to see proof of the 800K before and after and the 400K minimum throughout the year, they just might require you to come in on 90 days after your extension, which would, YES, put you on a schedule of four 90 day reviews of bank account that would NOT match the 90 day residency reporting. So that would mean 8 trips to Chaeng Wattana. 

And a couple of TM30, res cert trips

[baansgr]

11 minutes ago, madmen said:

It's funny how the desperates like to imply that all farang will run to Cambodia or some other arm pit.

Thailand won't even notice the vanishing of poor farang living as zero dollar long term tourists. Perhaps happy hour in soi bukaho would be a bit quite

Its not zero dollar, why would I want to tie up 20k Sterling when I get over 7% in divis, cost 120 quid a month just on loss of income..many others use their savings to provide income.

[worrab]

1 hour ago, 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.?
 

Reading that horrific news, the answer is no. Looks like only on the first report as that would be the required time period after being granted. But having said that, what about online or postal reporting?? Or do we all have to report on person? Just more inconvenience more than anything else.

[NE1]

Just now, Badrabbit said:

Which is what I do with every new extension, now I might have to provide a bank signed statement every 90 days?

This is what I think our office will end up asking for. 

 

[ttrd]

3 minutes ago, chrisinth said:

It becomes even more confusing referencing the 90 day reports as these don't necessarily align with the issue of the extension dates. Completely different systems.

 

If somebody leaves and re-enters the country one month (or two months) after the extension based on retirement has been approved, when is their next 90 day report? As I read it, to prove funds remain at 800,000 baht three months after approval of extension, then a dedicated visit to immigration will be needed.

 

I can see this also affecting people who, even though on an extension for reasons of retirement are still working outside the country. I know a few who were literally forced to go down this road when pressure was put on them for accumulation of visa exempt entries; not married and on a 30/30 (or variations of it) rotation cycle. These people were never affected by 90 day reporting as they were never in the country for more than 90 days, but will now have to work around 'visits to immigration for verification of remaining funds' (both 800,000 for first 3 months and possibly more visits to confirm no less than 400,000 remains in the account??) whatever they may be.

 

Tricky knowing what will be required after reading the amendment. 

It is in such situations the "power of attorney" kicks in ....

[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!)

 

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)

 

 

 

 

Edited January 31, 2019 by notamember

[high plane drifter]

Coming for holiday in Thailand is ok but 

committing to living in Thailand is something one should avoidat all costs. Again today I met someone from UK ,  he lost everything ,Car, house, motocycle, furniture, his daughter,and some gold jewelry,  very sad.

  this happened to often here,  But the new comer  will not believe a word of it ...

I am sure happy that I sold my big house here in Thailand and move  to another country.

 

 

[MikeOKitches]

13 minutes ago, MrPatrickThai said:

I wonder why? Young ladies perhaps? Bye! 

MrPatrick, get your mind out of the gutter. That's not why I'm considering a move to Cambodia.
You sound like the typical SJW liberal moral absolutists I escaped from in the USA. Always making
patently erroneous assumptions and talking out of their sphincters. Bye to you for sure. 

[Pattaya46]

11 minutes ago, Lipoman said:

So, put the 800k into the Thai bank.  Done deal. And 90 day reports equal 4 visits to immigration each year.  Eight trips in a year to immigration?  I think you are tripping. 

- many don't do trips to immigration for 90-Days: letter or Internet

- where did you see you have to make new trips to show money ??

[lamyai3]

56 minutes ago, ocddave said:

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.

I think it's quite plausible tit-for-tat is what this already is. Immigration has often shown itself to be retributive in the past - the big shake up in 2014 involved the official comment that whilst South Korea deported 8000 Thais per year, Thailand had only deported 20 the other way. "They can deport us, we can do the same to them" was the statement made at the time.

 

More recently, the DPM was being pilloried in the international media on a regular basis (mostly for his watches), having enjoyed relative obscurity in the preceding years. One of the embarrassments which made the country look especially hapless was Yingluck fleeing the country and then easily getting granted a ten year visa in the UK last May. Is it just a coincidence that it was also last May that the UK embassy described an extraordinary meeting with immigration where they were basically made an offer they couldn't refuse, leading to their announcement of the scrapping of income letters later in the year? Something is rotten in the state of Denmark (with apologies to the Danes who've also found themselves shafted)... 

Edited January 31, 2019 by lamyai3

[champers]

16 minutes ago, elliss said:

             Confirm your gender is correct , as per your application.

Bo**ocks

[Simon1287]

1 hour ago, Psimbo said:

I would suggest that the bank statement requirement on renewal period may change from 3 months to 12- this will reflect if a balance has dropped below 400k over the year. This is why I keep two separate accounts.

 

Bear in mind this is early days and won't have been thought through yet so in the words of Cpl Jones' Don't panic Mr Mainwearing'. I reckon there will be 20 pages on this by tomorrow though- all speculation and rhetoric. 

Only 20? :)

[Pib]

OK, a person uses the Bt800K in the bank method....gets his retirement extension of stay approved but they only initially give a 3 month extension until you come back to prove you still have Bt800K in the bank. 

 

However, during that 3 month period you need/must go back to the home country for say 4 months.  You get a re-entry permit but even in doing that you still will not be back before the 3 month extension date expires....when you are suppose to show back up to prove you still have Bt800K so you can get the remaining 9 months worth of the 12 month extension of stay. 

 

The person has just lost their extension of stay....must start all over.    This will really suck if they actually only give an interim 3 month extension....or maybe it will just be you get a 12 month extension but under the fear they could possibly contact you, ask you to come in no later than say next week with proof you still have the required minimum funds.

 

Edited January 31, 2019 by Pib

[baansgr]

55 minutes ago, thequietman said:

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.

Thats the way thais are.....its ingrained from an early age to dislike foreigners. sad but true

[madmen]

Its not zero dollar, why would I want to tie up 20k Sterling when I get over 7% in divis, cost 120 quid a month just on loss of income..many others use their savings to provide income.

Oh please. We both know the the majority effected by this were using income letters or agents

 

Agent door closed. That's life but why are so many crying. TV is the hub of thai bashing so this news should be good as finally the poor bashers get to go home

 

And if the Thai authorities read the TV threads they would be disgusted at the hate spewed by ungrateful farang directed at the thai people! Wouldn't surprise me if that played a big part in today's announcement

 

Ahhh but as the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for [emoji17]

 

[Zack61]

If you have a lazy 800k laying around then there won’t be a problem. Put it in the bank and forget about it. 

Then it’s business as usual and no problem funding your day to day, month to month, year to year financials however you please. Use Transferwise or similar and no need to worry about ridiculous international bank remittances and their uncompetitive exchange rates. For those who have the spare cash I see it as a positive. 

When it’s time to leave and you’ve planned an exit just draw down on the 800k and what you don’t spend put in your shoe for the trip out. Maybe not your shoe. 

[zydeco]

1 minute ago, Pib said:

OK, a person uses the Bt800K in the bank method....gets his retirement extension of stay approved but they only initially give a 3 month extension until you come back to prove you still have Bt800K in the bank. 

 

However, during that 3 month period you need/must go back to the home country for say 4 months.  You get a re-entry permit but even in doing that you still will not be back before the 3 month extension date expires....when you are suppose to show back up to prove you still have Bt800K so you can get the remaining 9 months worth of the 12 month extension of stay. 

 

The person has just lost their extension of stay....must start all over.  

That's right. This police order has not been thought through. And they're giving us just 28 days to prepare for its implementation.

[overherebc]

7 minutes ago, worrab said:

Reading that horrific news, the answer is no. Looks like only on the first report as that would be the required time period after being granted. But having said that, what about online or postal reporting?? Or do we all have to report on person? Just more inconvenience more than anything else.

That part may not have been thought through yet but it's a very valid point.