The new retirement extension rules...

[khunerik]

1. Can I still do a retirement extension with the combo method? With 600k in pension and 200k in my bank account? If so are my money locked down in my account?

 

2. How do immigration check that the money is in the account after 90 days, or later?

[Peterw42]

I dont think anyone can give you a definitive answer at this stage, how the new system will work is yet to be clarified. Combo method will be a double wammy as income will be using bank statements instead of embassy letters, and deposits minimum balance yet to be defined.

[glegolo]

9 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

I dont think anyone can give you a definitive answer at this stage, how the new system will work is yet to be clarified. Combo method will be a double wammy as income will be using bank statements instead of embassy letters, and deposits minimum balance yet to be defined.

This is NOT true except the few from UK Australia USA and Denmark.... There are huge lot of people that can present an income-letter. Be enlighten there are more people on this earth then you learn in school.

 

glegolo

[ubonjoe]

1. It should be accepted. But as said it is not clear yet. I think the 200k may have to stay in the bank after 3 months unless they waive that for the combination since you also have have a income.

2. No info about it but I think it will not be checked until you apply for the next extension.

[Tanoshi]

1. Yes you can still use the Combo method, but the criteria is rather vague and ambiguously written.

(5) Must have annual earnings and funds deposited with a commercial bank in Thailand totalling no less than 800,000 until the filing date. The said fund must remain in the account prior to and after the permission is granted and the alien can make a withdrawal under the same conditions as stated in (4)

 

(4) is the criteria for retirement extensions based on 800,000 funds deposited in a Thai bank and reads;

 

(4) At least 2 months prior to filing date and at least 3 months after being granted permission, the alien must have funds deposited in a Thai bank in Thailand of no less than 800,000. The alien can withdraw the funds 3 months after being granted permission and the remaining balance must be no less than 400,000.

 

Whatever Big Joke had in mind when he wrote this order, isn't clearly defined in his writing. 

Even the more experienced expats can't 100% agree on the interpretation of the Combo criteria.

Personally, your figures of 200K in a bank and 600K of income, I feel won't meet the criteria. I believe you'll have to have a minimum of 400K deposited in a Thai bank.

 

2. Nobody knows yet.

[Peterw42]

If the Combo method ends up with no requirement to keep funds in the bank, it opens the door to do 799k deposit and 1k income. 

[smedly]

6 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

At least 2 months prior to filing date

do the previous seasoning rules still exist ?   New applications - 2 months, renewal 3 months or does this completely replace the old seasoning rules, I think everybody needs to know this in order to plan ahead.

[Tanoshi]

The new order 35/2562, will supersede and replace section 2.18 of the original criteria given in order 327/2557.

 

So to answer your question, there was no seasoning period for the funds in a Thai bank previously for the Combo method.

The new order suggests the funds part must now be deposit 2 months prior and 3 months after the application.

Whether there is a minimum deposit of funds required is rather ambiguous.

 

If the same conditions apply to the seasoning periods and withdrawals as in (4) as it suggests in (5), then you would have to maintain a balance of 400K minimum in your Thai bank account throughout the year, therefore the minimum balance for an application would have to be 400K using the Combo method.

 

Clarification is being sought, but even Immigration offices appear confused with the amendment and new order as already reported by various members encountering problems.

Edited February 5, 2019 by Tanoshi

[jacko45k]

1 hour ago, Peterw42 said:

If the Combo method ends up with no requirement to keep funds in the bank, it opens the door to do 799k deposit and 1k income. 

It appears to say in the order that the deposit part of a combination will be subject to the same terms as Section 4!

IE Those of an 800k deposit!

[Peterw42]

11 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

It appears to say in the order that the deposit part of a combination will be subject to the same terms as Section 4!

IE Those of an 800k deposit!

As Tanoshi says, that would mean the combo method can only be a minimum 400k deposit and the balance as income, not very clear at this stage.

It probably wont suit most wanting to use the combo method. I think most would be pensioners etc who fall short of enough income and will be topping up with a deposit.

[elviajero]

6 hours ago, khunerik said:

 

1. Can I still do a retirement extension with the combo method? With 600k in pension and 200k in my bank account? If so are my money locked down in my account?

The combo method is still available; however, the published orders suggest that you now need to keep a minimum balance of 400K. So until we get confirmation you should plan based on having to use 400K and keep that in your bank permanently.

 

6 hours ago, khunerik said:

2. How do immigration check that the money is in the account after 90 days, or later?

Unknown at this time. 

 

I doubt they will check until the next extension is applied for. And if you didn’t keep the requisite funds in your account for the previous year, IMO, they won’t issue the extension.

[Jingthing]

Combo method without embassy letter extremely doubtful at this time. Better to prepare for another method and maybe by the next extension things will be clarified.

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[khunerik]

17 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

I dont think anyone can give you a definitive answer at this stage, how the new system will work is yet to be clarified. Combo method will be a double wammy as income will be using bank statements instead of embassy letters, and deposits minimum balance yet to be defined.

My embassy do income letter for me

[khunerik]

17 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

If the Combo method ends up with no requirement to keep funds in the bank, it opens the door to do 799k deposit and 1k income. 

you where not allowed to do that before so it would not be allowed with the new rules either

[Jingthing]

18 minutes ago, khunerik said:

you where not allowed to do that before so it would not be allowed with the new rules either

Incorrect.

It would be OK under the current rules.

I'm assuming it wouldn't be with the new order because of the 400K rules for the full income method and combo method is a type of income method. 

Edited February 5, 2019 by Jingthing

[onera1961]

20 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

1. It should be accepted. But as said it is not clear yet. I think the 200k may have to stay in the bank after 3 months unless they waive that for the combination since you also have have a income.

If they waive post-seasoning requirement for the combo method, it will be the easiest method (after O-A visa) to live in Thailand and a loop hole for agents. Let's take an example of a person  with 40K/month income. He can transfer 40K every month (480K) and he requires only 320K now for bank balance. As before assuming agent submitted applications don't require prior-seasoning. So, he can practically live off of his 40K/month income. 

[onera1961]

15 hours ago, elviajero said:

I doubt they will check until the next extension is applied for. And if you didn’t keep the requisite funds in your account for the previous year, IMO, they won’t issue the extension.

But it is not spelled out in the police state's order. They can immediately arrest you, assess your overstay fine on the spot and drain your remaining money from the bank. This will turn any person violent and they will be charged for attempted murder of an IO. They will then send you to IDC initially for a few years and then transfer to Bangkok Hilton on the charges of attempted murder of a government officer. You will spend the remainder of your life in Bangkok Hilton or secretly run gulags in Thailand. While some people may laugh off of this scenario, but it is a distinct possibility. As usual it will depend on the individual IO and how much he hates farangs. The whole thing may be a set up to extract free labor from farangs just like some states in the USA used to extract free labor by arresting blacks on fake charges corroborated  by whites.

Edited February 6, 2019 by onera1961

[a977]

14 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Combo method without embassy letter extremely doubtful at this time. Better to prepare for another method and maybe by the next extension things will be clarified.

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Maybe you should read Police Order 35/2561.

[khunerik]

On 2/6/2019 at 5:09 AM, Jingthing said:

Incorrect.

It would be OK under the current rules.

I'm assuming it wouldn't be with the new order because of the 400K rules for the full income method and combo method is a type of income method. 

I asked at Chaeng Wattana and they told me it was not allowed. At least 50% had to be income

[JackThompson]

On 2/6/2019 at 8:12 AM, onera1961 said:

But it is not spelled out in the police state's order. They can immediately arrest you, assess your overstay fine on the spot and drain your remaining money from the bank. This will turn any person violent ...

No.  Violent thoughts, probably, but I'd keep my cool in-the-moment, and continue to live another day - even if I had to do a near-round-trip from the IDC to LAX and right back to Cambodia or Vietnam.

 

But, if they were to start making arrests based on technical violations of last-year's extension, that would surely cause almost all persons to use agents, as they would be afraid to show up until the agent's brown-envelope had ensured no fake/unclear rules were broken. 

 

We've seen at the airports how they can make up and enforce non-existent laws.  And now these latest "rule changes" gave a scant 28 days to long-term retirees.  Combined, there is zero trust-factor left.  They are capable of almost anything. 

 

Only an officially published statement on the full set of new rules, complete with procedures in case of specific violations of such, would provide hope that any modicum of consistency-of-expectations might exist in the future.

Edited February 10, 2019 by JackThompson