Stranded in Thailand

[gentlemanjackdarby]

5 hours ago, roobaa01 said:

is it not that one needs ringgit 350000 to retire in malaysia ??

 

wbr

roobaa01

It's MYR 150,000 (about USD 37,000) on fixed deposit in Malaysia along with a monthly income of MYR 10,000 (about USD 2,500) and, for new applicants, at least 75% of the monthly income must be from a pension, not from income subject to fluctuation, such as interest income, dividends, etc.

[smotherb]

8 hours ago, elgenon said:

Good to hear they speak English. Years ago I had a difficult time buying a train (excellent trains) ticket to Bangkok. No one spoke English at the beautiful station in QL and there were no signs in English directing me to line I needed to be in to buy the ticket. Also, when I got off at the border to change to a Thai train, no one spoke English in the ticket booth.

Made for a very interesting trip.

 

It's different now?

How many years ago was that you had a difficult time in Malaysia because nobody spoke English? Where is QL? Do you mean KL? The Brits started colonizing/interfering with the Malays in the late 1700's. Surely, you aren't that old. I traveled around Malaysia by train and car in 1967-68. Rarely encountered anyone without a British accent--from taxis drivers, to railway workers, to hotel and restaurant staff, to ladies of negotiable virtue; and one rather enticing young masseuse in Ipoh who insisted, "Lie still now, whilst I toss you off"

[roobaa01]

23 minutes ago, gentlemanjackdarby said:

It's MYR 150,000 (about USD 37,000) on fixed deposit in Malaysia along with a monthly income of MYR 10,000 (about USD 2,500) and, for new applicants, at least 75% of the monthly income must be from a pension, not from income subject to fluctuation, such as interest income, dividends, etc.

hence los is far cheaper but the philippines is much , much...cheaper its paradise.

 

wbr

roobaa01

[SteveK]

I tried to transfer a few thousand pounds GBP back to the UK, in-branch in Bangkok. The purpose of the funds was to pay for renovations which I told them, and all seemed OK. Then the manager comes out and asks me for the invoice and receipt for the work, which obviously there was no way I could have yet. He just said if you don't have an invoice then we can't transfer the money, which quite frankly seemed ridiculous. Ended up withdrawing the money as cash, which they allowed VERY reluctantly, changing it and flying back with it.

 

Don't see why they allow one and not the other, to be honest. They tried to prevent me from doing so at every step of the way - even trying to tell me that because my bank book did not have the middle name which my passport had, they weren't going to allow it. I tried to explain that THEY used my passport when opening the account, so if the name is not correct it is their fault. Then they tried to say my signature was not EXACTLY the same, it was such incredibly hard work just to make a withdrawal. It was obvious that they didn't want to allow it and were actively looking for excuses to prevent me getting the money, but I made it clear that I needed it and just waited.

 

It takes me about one minute to transfer funds from the UK to Thailand, because I can do it online, but going the other way I can only do it if I'm actually in Thailand and have to spend hours going to the branch, going to the exchange place etc.

 

Maybe something was lost in translation about this time-travelling invoice that I was supposed to have, I'm not sure. I'm sure that even in Thailand you don't get your receipt for goods/services before you actually pay for them.

Edited March 4, 2019 by pr9spk

[jacko45k]

3 minutes ago, pr9spk said:

Ended up withdrawing the money as cash, which they allowed VERY reluctantly, changing it and flying back with it.

Quite unbelievable, was it a very large amount or did it leave your account near empty? I see Thais removing serious amounts of cash at the month end without issues. 

[SteveK]

2 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Quite unbelievable, was it a very large amount or did it leave your account near empty? I see Thais removing serious amounts of cash at the month end without issues. 

It was several thousand GBP, more than half the account at the time.

[jacko45k]

1 minute ago, pr9spk said:

It was several thousand GBP, more than half the account at the time.

I withdrew 500,000 baht in cash once without issue. I guess they were just being awkward as they could see you were bypassing their refusal to remit themselves. What rotten service. 

[Nyezhov]

2 hours ago, puipuitom said:

This is why I Detest Thailand: you lived there for years, but because of health.. you have to get out . How, no Thai cares, even when it is as a corpse.

Well detest most of the world then because thats the way stuff works.

[HighPriority]

6 minutes ago, pr9spk said:

It was several thousand GBP, more than half the account at the time.

It must have been damn tempting to close the acc ?

I once threatened my banker in Australia that he had 10 mins to supply a bank cheque for a pre arranged car loan (it was late Friday arvo) “Mate, if you can’t give me this cheque, I’m walking out the front and withdrawing everything and spending Monday looking for a new bank” 

I got the cheque ????

[SteveK]

3 minutes ago, HighPriority said:

It must have been damn tempting to close the acc ?

 

Absolutely not! It took weeks of going to branches to find one that would open me an account without a work permit.

[marcusarelus]

1 hour ago, gentlemanjackdarby said:

It's MYR 150,000 (about USD 37,000) on fixed deposit in Malaysia along with a monthly income of MYR 10,000 (about USD 2,500) and, for new applicants, at least 75% of the monthly income must be from a pension, not from income subject to fluctuation, such as interest income, dividends, etc.

Pension income was just recently removed from the acceptable list of sources. 

 

SHOW Latest 3 Months Financial Statement Above MYR350,000+(Over 50 Years Old) OR MYR500,000+(Under 50 Years Old) - (Main Applicant or Joint Statement with Spouse)

4) ON MM2H APPROVAL - Open FIXED DEPOSIT (FD) in Any Malaysia Bank MYR150,000 (Over 50 Years Old) OR MYR300,000 (Under 50 Years Old)

[marcusarelus]

7 minutes ago, pr9spk said:

Absolutely not! It took weeks of going to branches to find one that would open me an account without a work permit.

Many reports of which ones to use in Pattaya and CM.  Other locations I don't know as I have never looked.  If you read which ones to use it's no problem.  At least it wasn't for me. 

[SteveK]

6 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Many reports of which ones to use in Pattaya and CM.  Other locations I don't know as I have never looked.  If you read which ones to use it's no problem.  At least it wasn't for me. 

I tried pretty much every bank in Ubon over a period of time, all said only with work permit. Then had to go to BKK for something, and started trying various branches near my hotel, all said the same, but got lucky with one branch on Sukhumvit road. The problem was that I am not yet retirement age, and am not working in Thailand.

[HighPriority]

10 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Many reports of which ones to use in Pattaya and CM.  Other locations I don't know as I have never looked.  If you read which ones to use it's no problem.  At least it wasn't for me. 

In his position I wouldn’t have closed on the spot... but I would have searched high and low for another bank.

[maxcorrigan]

10 hours ago, Blue Muton said:

A bit of a half truth there IMO, it may be considerably harder to be accepted into other countries as an immigrant in the first place, but once you're there it is a whole lot easier to stay there. For example in the UK as a apouse of a UK citizen - no WP required, no annual extensions (just FLTR and ILTR), no 90 day reporting and citizenship after a few years.

True, and can buy as much land as they want (if they can afford it) my Thai wife has ILTR and we have now been in Thailand coming up for 5 years, as long as she makes a trip back every two years (with or without me) that is the only requirement needed for ILTR, her visa stays good that is the only requirement asked for!

[Tony125]

5 hours ago, ZZHELICOPTER said:

I am not criticizing anybody, just looking for advice. After all, my country won't let Thais in at all.

You mentioned in earlier post you didn't want to go back to USA, if you are saying your country (USA) won't let Thai's in at all that is blatantly wrong. Been coming here 19 years. Me and fellow coworker from USA live here with our Thai wives , 4 others live in USA with their Thai wives for now. Thai can get into USA and I even know  2 Thai girls who went  to school and had business in USA. You seem reluctant to give us more info so that we can help you.You may have misunderstood Im

on reason for not giving you retirement extension and we could help explain. Could also inform you how to transfer funds out of Thailand but to where? We have already told you that you could get 90 day medical extensions which I guess you did not know about, we need more info too many unknowns

[onera1961]

3 hours ago, Tony125 said:

You mentioned in earlier post you didn't want to go back to USA, if you are saying your country (USA) won't let Thai's in at all that is blatantly wrong. Been coming here 19 years. Me and fellow coworker from USA live here with our Thai wives , 4 others live in USA with their Thai wives for now. Thai can get into USA and I even know  2 Thai girls who went  to school and had business in USA. You seem reluctant to give us more info so that we can help you.You may have misunderstood Im

on reason for not giving you retirement extension and we could help explain. Could also inform you how to transfer funds out of Thailand but to where? We have already told you that you could get 90 day medical extensions which I guess you did not know about, we need more info too many unknowns

Visa to the US is easy and difficult. If one could prove that he/she has a compelling reason to come back to the the home country, then it is easy. It does not matter if the person is coming back or not. It is called intent and US immigration laws assume that one could change his/her intent as soon as they board the plane. But the first hurdle of proving that you would come back is the most difficult.  A good job, some bank balance, a house, a family etc. all are considered in evaluating a person's intent at the time of interview.

 

Edited March 4, 2019 by onera1961

[smedly]

8 hours ago, pr9spk said:

Then they tried to say my signature was not EXACTLY the same, it was such incredibly hard work just to make a withdrawal. It was obvious that they didn't want to allow it and were actively looking for excuses to prevent me getting the money

PS - I cannot imagine any situation were my bank here would treat me like that, I know all the staff on a first name basis and have been banking there for years - just saying

 

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the problem was you were still breathing lol

 

all jokes aside - how many farangs die here leaving huge sums of money in bank accounts, I suspect there are many and they just help themselves to accounts that are inactive for a period of time, this is not the west - rules don't apply even if they exist.

 

I challenge anyone to leave their account inactive for more than 6 months and see what happens - there have been reports/news stories of people leaving money here in accounts while they go off to do other things and suddenly it just disappears 

 

when you look at the immigration rules - if you die during 6 months of seasoning at 800kbaht or now 400k baht 12 months a year - if you are single you better have a rock solid legal will or someone here will help themselves to your money

Edited March 4, 2019 by smedly

[HighPriority]

1 hour ago, smedly said:

 

 

when you look at the immigration rules - if you die during 6 months of seasoning at 800kbaht or now 400k baht 12 months a year - if you are single you better have a rock solid legal will or someone here will help themselves to your money

If you’re single and dead, does it really matter to you ?

If it worries you whilst alive then do something about it...

[YogaVeg]

3 hours ago, smedly said:

PS - I cannot imagine any situation were my bank here would treat me like that, I know all the staff on a first name basis and have been banking there for years - just saying

 

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the problem was you were still breathing lol

 

all jokes aside - how many farangs die here leaving huge sums of money in bank accounts, I suspect there are many and they just help themselves to accounts that are inactive for a period of time, this is not the west - rules don't apply even if they exist.

 

I challenge anyone to leave their account inactive for more than 6 months and see what happens - there have been reports/news stories of people leaving money here in accounts while they go off to do other things and suddenly it just disappears 

 

when you look at the immigration rules - if you die during 6 months of seasoning at 800kbaht or now 400k baht 12 months a year - if you are single you better have a rock solid legal will or someone here will help themselves to your money

Why would anyone put their money in an untrustworthy banking system? 

 

Any scheme that would require me to plant my cash in a whimsical untrustworthy banking situation just to stay in the country is a sad joke and I wouldn't even consider it.

 

 

[lamyai3]

2 hours ago, HighPriority said:

If you’re single and dead, does it really matter to you ?

If it worries you whilst alive then do something about it...

Depends whether there's dependents back home you'd have liked the money to go to. But you're right, too late to do anything about it when you're dead. 

[onera1961]

1 hour ago, YogaVeg said:

Any scheme that would require me to plant my cash in a whimsical untrustworthy banking situation just to stay in the country is a sad joke and I wouldn't even consider it.

 

So what would you do? Leave? Get an O-A? If married, get an O from savannakhet? 

[onera1961]

15 hours ago, LosLobo said:

When I got home I expected to go online to Bangkok Bank and transfer my 800,000 baht back to my home country bank. Just reversing the original process.

Very bad. One must set up DeeMoney and make sure they can transfer money from Thai bank to their home country bank remotely. 

[smedly]

4 hours ago, HighPriority said:

If you’re single and dead, does it really matter to you ?

If it worries you whilst alive then do something about it...

I have nieces and nephews that I want to leave money too or even a charity but not some bent bank employee who just helps themselves 

 

and no it doesn't bother me - I have a will

 

it might however be something others have not thought of

Edited March 5, 2019 by smedly

[Misty]

12 hours ago, Tony125 said:

You mentioned in earlier post you didn't want to go back to USA, if you are saying your country (USA) won't let Thai's in at all that is blatantly wrong.

"Southern California is home to the largest Thai population outside of Thailand. Reports estimate that 100,000 Thais make their home in Southern California. " 

http://thaicdc.org/ourcommunity/

 

[YogaVeg]

2 hours ago, onera1961 said:

So what would you do? Leave? Get an O-A? If married, get an O from savannakhet? 

If I were the OP?

Not enough info, frankly.

IF I were a US citizen that had any family/friends there who would help me get a foothold with accommodations, ect-

I would shake my butt back to the USA asap and go on Medicare and what's left of Social Security.

 

If not it's a pickle if you can't travel or stay. I would ride out medical exemptions and border bounce to Malaysia for 3 months a shake by rail or Vietnam maybe if I could fly, but the OP might not have those travel options health wise...

[puukao]

i have WP, you can transfer me all your money and i'll take it out.  lol.

 

don't be afraid to reach out to people and ask for help, in person.  send me a PM and maybe i live close.  i probably don't.  

 

now is the time you need to find someone you can trust.  

 

for 10,000,000 million baht, you can definitely trust me.  

[Tony125]

11 hours ago, onera1961 said:

Visa to the US is easy and difficult. If one could prove that he/she has a compelling reason to come back to the the home country, then it is easy. It does not matter if the person is coming back or not. It is called intent and US immigration laws assume that one could change his/her intent as soon as they board the plane. But the first hurdle of proving that you would come back is the most difficult.  A good job, some bank balance, a house, a family etc. all are considered in evaluating a person's intent at the time of interview.

 

You obviously don't know about USA  rules and law. If he is a USA citizen like I am he does NOT need a "visa" to return to USA. He could even return to USA on expired US passport. If he did not have a US passport say only a US birth certificate or drivers license they would detain him at immigration till they verified his identity. Even Thai can return to Thailand on expired passport. One does not need a visa to return to home country and a US citizen never loses his citizenship unless he applies at a US Embassy and makes a formal declaration and pays like $2,000 USD

[Just Weird]

On ‎3‎/‎4‎/‎2019 at 2:49 PM, lamyai3 said:

You're suggesting that if someone on extensions (no WP) brought in 800,000 from their overseas bank for their visa extension, and they decided to leave in the following year they wouldn't be able to repatriate their money? 

No, I'm not.   I'm stating that transferring funds from a Thai bank account out of the country without a WP that is not earnings is not permitted by the Bank of Thailand regulations.  That has been quoted to me over the phone from the Bangkok Bank head office and also by the Sukhumvit Soi 10 branch where my request to transfer approximately B11,000 to pay an invoice to an HSBC, Hong Kong account was refused because I do not have a WP.

 

This is from Bangkok Bank's website FAQs which supports what I'm stating...

Do I need to provide documents to declare my purpose of sending funds abroad?

The Bank of Thailand requires every commercial bank to obtain documents from customers outlining the reasons for sending the funds abroad before completing the transaction. For example, you may need to provide an invoice if you make a funds transfer to pay for goods or services.

 

If you are foreigner, you will need to bring a document declaring the source of your income (e.g. certification of salary) to complete your overseas funds transfer.

Edited March 5, 2019 by Just Weird

[marcusarelus]

9 hours ago, YogaVeg said:

Why would anyone put their money in an untrustworthy banking system? 

 

Any scheme that would require me to plant my cash in a whimsical untrustworthy banking situation just to stay in the country is a sad joke and I wouldn't even consider it.

That's why I took my money out of Trumps hands and put in in Thailand.