To day – my 1 year retirement extension experience using 800,000 Baht in a Thai bank

[MrScratch]

Just did my 1 year retirement extension this was what I had to do / show / happened 

 

My Thai bank book - Krungsri - Bank of Ayudhya -  Mee Tae Dai Savings Account had to show it had at least 800,000 Baht that had been deposited in that account for at least 3 months prior to the application date .

 

I went to my branch of Krungsri Bank and asked for a confirmation letter to show the balance in my Mee Tae Dai Savings Account . The charge for that confirmation letter was 100 Baht and took about an hour to process. The confirmation letter had to be correctly addressed to the immigration office  where the application is to be made. 

 

That same day I went to Korat immigration along with my Thai wife and submitted the following items

 

One completed TM7 form + photograph

 

Original copy of the Krungsri Bank confirmation letter + 1 photocopy

 

My original Krungsri Bank book + 1 photocopy

 

My passport + 1 photocopy of all pages.

 

My Thai wife's Blue house book + 1 photocopy.

 

My Thai wife's ID card + 1 photocopy.

 

My Yellow house book ( Tor Lor Sip Sam ) + 1 photocopy

 

Application fee – 1,900 Baht

 

As you enter the main immigration office building door on the left hand side is a long table that was staffed with 5/6 young lady’s , here you hand over your completed form and paperwork which will then be checked.

 

I was told that the entries in my Krungsri Bank book would not be accepted , the reason being that the last financial movement in the account was not made on the same day as my application . 

 

This Krungsri Mee Tae Dai Savings Account is only used for the yearly retirement extension application and not for day to day living expenses , In the past I had withdrawn several amounts 
of money a week before the application date , just to show some sort of money movement , which in all the past years applications was accepted without question. 

 

So a week before this new retirement extension application I had done the same and moved some money about in bank account to show movement . 

 

So this time I was told that a movement of money in the bank account used for the application has to be shown on the same day as the application . So I asked the young lady what in her view would now be the best course of action .  She said go to the nearest Krungsri bank and deposit 100 Baht in the account . Then come back to the immigration office with the now updated Krungsri bank book.

 

I then said well if I go and do that now then the Krungsri  Bank confirmation letter that I had already been and got to day will show a different amount , now that I have just been and deposited an extra 100 Baht in the account. 

 

Off the young lady went to see her boss. 

 

The answer came back that if I went today and deposited 100 Baht in the bank account , and came back to the immigration office before it closed , then the Krungsri  Bank confirmation letter 
would be accepted even thought the updated + 100 Baht balance now did not match the Krungsri  Bank confirmation letter.

 

So off we went to a nearby Krungsri Bank , and deposited 100 Baht in the bank account and made sure the the bank book now showed the updated amount including the extra 100 Baht deposit. 

 

Arrived back at the immigration office and had the paperwork checked by the same young lady who had suggested depositing the 100 Baht in the bank account.

 

The Krungsri Bank book was checked to see the 100 Baht update was there , and all the other papers were approved including the now incorrect  Krungsri  Bank confirmation letter . I was then asked to fill out a extra new form ( two page  STM.2  -   สตม.2) .  

 

When my queue number was called we went and sat in front of a lady IO , and every thing was approved. 

 

The Lady IO did say that on my ( first ) next 90 Day report I should go to my Krungsri Bank and get the same account bank book that I used for my extension application made up and that for a duration of 90 days after my retirement extension application I was not to withdraw any money from that Krungsri Bank account. I was to show the 90 Day report IO my made up bank book at the same time I did my 90 Day report. 

 

I asked the IO lady what about after the first 90 day report ( second ) , could I withdraw money from the same bank account , the IO said yes as long as you leave 400,000 baht in the account until the next 1 year retirement application date and then you will again have to show a minimum of 8000,000 Baht  at that application time. I asked if I needed to again show my updated bank account book when doing my second 90 day report ( 180 days ) . The lady IO said she was not sure as things may be changing again. 

 

So this time when applying for my 1 year retirement application based on having 8000,000 Baht in a Thai bank , The the Krungsri Bank confirmation letter has to be obtained on the same day as the application , and there has to be financial movement shown in the account on the same day of the retirement extension application .  I was also told that a Bank confirmation letter would only be valid on the day it was issued . 

 

 I did notice that all the IO staff were ladies , and although hearing that a movement of money in the bank account used for the application has to be shown on the same day as the application and the Bank confirmation letter would only be valid for one day , which all came as a big surprise , over all the experience at Korat immigration office was pleasant .

 

As with all Immigration offices , the rules / requirements could be different , the above is what happened to me at Korat immigration.

[DrJack54]

So to summarize you needed to show activity on day of application, which is the norm. You were asked to bring bankbook with you and bank letter, on your next 90 day report?

Would have been good if you had asked that if you where  travelling outside los at that time what is required. 

Edited March 20, 2019 by DrJack54
Error

[attrayant]

37 minutes ago, MrScratch said:

My Thai bank book - Krungsri - Bank of Ayudhya -  Mee Tae Dai Savings Account had to show it had at least 800,000 Baht that had been deposited in that account for at least 3 months prior to the application date .

 

At CW in Bangkok they are handing out an informational paper showing the new two-month-before (not three) rule, just FYI.  I got a copy of it.

[DrJack54]

7 minutes ago, attrayant said:

 

At CW in Bangkok they are handing out an informational paper showing the new two-month-before (not three) rule, just FYI.  I got a copy of it.

He is not applying at CW. 

[Hiks]

Very good report, i hope it will be better, this will also help imigration. 

[kinyara]

I always do a 1,000 baht withdrawal and re-deposit on the day of my submission at the same time as getting my bank letter so the balance ties into the letter, kind of obvious I would have thought.

[scubascuba3]

"Krungsri Bank confirmation letter has to be obtained on the same day as the application , and there has to be financial movement shown in the account on the same day of the retirement extension application .  I was also told that a Bank confirmation letter would only be valid on the day it was issued"

Daft requirement, if only they were more pragmatic

[Orton Rd]

6 hours ago, attrayant said:

 

At CW in Bangkok they are handing out an informational paper showing the new two-month-before (not three) rule, just FYI.  I got a copy of it.

I would not trust any IO to know it changed to 2 months, keep it at 3 to be sure.

[davehowden]

"I asked if I needed to again show my updated bank account book when doing my second 90 day report"

 

I wonder how this will affect the online 90 day reporting system.

[Thailand]

22 minutes ago, davehowden said:

"I asked if I needed to again show my updated bank account book when doing my second 90 day report"

 

I wonder how this will affect the online 90 day reporting system.

Or by post, or if you don't do 90 day reports because of out of country. They really have thought this through haven't they!

[Thailand]

50 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

"Krungsri Bank confirmation letter has to be obtained on the same day as the application , and there has to be financial movement shown in the account on the same day of the retirement extension application .  I was also told that a Bank confirmation letter would only be valid on the day it was issued"

Daft requirement, if only they were more pragmatic

I guess the banks will simply have to open earlier for those that are at immigration for the first few appointments.

The 800K in the bank makes less and less sense everyday, monthly income seems to be the route but no doubt they will soon screw around with that as well.

 

[smedly]

1 hour ago, davehowden said:

"I asked if I needed to again show my updated bank account book when doing my second 90 day report"

 

I wonder how this will affect the online 90 day reporting system.

they simply want to see balance after 90 days or when next you are available to show the seasoned 800k baht post extension - it actually has nothing to do with 90 day reporting, if you will be out of the country then the simple thing to do would be to tell them, the obvious reply will be - do it when you return

[onera1961]

59 minutes ago, Thailand said:

The 800K in the bank makes less and less sense everyday, monthly income seems to be the route but no doubt they will soon screw around with that as well.

It will protect you against future BHT strengthening and no restrictions about how much you bring to Thailand every month, coding issue, etc, high SWIFT fees, etc. and you can use the best money transfer tool available to you. If a person earns less than 65K, this is will also work. Of course, there is a risk of losing investment money in home country and unpredicted loss of money from Thailand banks (extremely rare but reports in the newspapers do indicate that it has happened). It depends on the circumstances of each individual. 

Edited March 21, 2019 by onera1961

[opporna]

Thanks for the report. It's good to hear actual experiences.

[ubonjoe]

1 hour ago, davehowden said:

I wonder how this will affect the online 90 day reporting system.

None at all.

It is just a local office choosing the next 90 day report as a day to check the balance in the account since they assume they would be doing it in person which make it more convenient for the individual.

[gk10002000]

 While I can think of some reasons, why would you have to show some activity?  If the funds were in a timed deposit account such as a CD, would that now not be accepted?  If one had activity, one might drop below the required 800k baht.  Of course if they want to see activity I guess one could take out some monies, being careful to always keep the balance above 800k.  Are the Thais not fishing to see that people actually use the funds in the account?

[ChouDoufu]

CW has not required showing activity for my last two extensions. 

 

Updating the FD bankbook with current balance ~95 days prior, once at a random time during the 90 days,  and again when the bank letter is requested has been accepted.  Unless interest deposited/tax withdrawn the numbers don't change.

[Vacuum]

9 hours ago, MrScratch said:

My Thai wife's Blue house book + 1 photocopy.

 

My Thai wife's ID card + 1 photocopy.

Why did you have to bring documents from your wife? Your extension was based on retirement, nothing to do with your wife, or am I missing something?

[jacko45k]

7 hours ago, kinyara said:

I always do a 1,000 baht withdrawal and re-deposit on the day of my submission at the same time as getting my bank letter so the balance ties into the letter, kind of obvious I would have thought.

ATM, take a bit out, Update book, get bank letter.... fortunately I can then normally get to Immigration within an hour of that. 

[frodo77]

14 minutes ago, Vacuum said:

Why did you have to bring documents from your wife? Your extension was based on retirement, nothing to do with your wife, or am I missing something?

Its for proof of where you are residing.

[KittenKong]

9 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

So to summarize you needed to show activity on day of application, which is the norm.

It has never been required of me at Jomtien. My 800k is on time deposit anyway, so the idea of updating the book on the day makes no sense. The only times that there is anything to update are the beginning or end of the term.

[Vacuum]

18 minutes ago, Vacuum said:

Why did you have to bring documents from your wife? Your extension was based on retirement, nothing to do with your wife, or am I missing something?

 

3 minutes ago, frodo77 said:

Its for proof of where you are residing.

But he had a Yellow Housebook, thought that would have been enough.

[jacko45k]

9 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

So to summarize you needed to show activity on day of application,

I believe as far as Jomtiem is concerned  it just needs to be updated on that day, did it that way for years. Though I think someone suggested this once and since then it seemed simpler to just comply and do my withdrawal, update and bank letter all in one go and in that order. Immigration is a bit of a ride away and I don't want to give them an opportunity to mess with me. 

[jwdub]

1 hour ago, KittenKong said:

It has never been required of me at Jomtien. My 800k is on time deposit anyway, so the idea of updating the book on the day makes no sense. The only times that there is anything to update are the beginning or end of the term.

I'm just guessing that by updating the passbook they want 100% absolute verification that the account is still active on that date. Government bureaucracy and all that. 

[jwdub]

2 hours ago, onera1961 said:

It will protect you against future BHT strengthening and no restrictions about how much you bring to Thailand every month, coding issue, etc, high SWIFT fees, etc. and you can use the best money transfer tool available to you. If a person earns less than 65K, this is will also work. Of course, there is a risk of losing investment money in home country and unpredicted loss of money from Thailand banks (extremely rare but reports in the newspapers do indicate that it has happened). It depends on the circumstances of each individual. 

I know very few pensioners who are pulling in 65K baht per month. It wouldn't surprise me if the 800K in bank method becomes standard protocol in a few years

Edited March 21, 2019 by jwdub

[KittenKong]

1 hour ago, jacko45k said:

I believe as far as Jomtiem is concerned  it just needs to be updated on that day, did it that way for years

It has never been required of me at Jomtien. As I pointed out, my time deposit bank book can never be updated anyway apart from at the end or beginning of a deposit term.

[mokwit]

4 minutes ago, jwdub said:

I'm just guessing that by updating the passbook they want 100% absolute verification that the account is still active on that date. Government bureaucracy and all that. 

Probably required to insist on same day to comply with the letter of the law which states on the day of application. Yes it would be more pragmatic if the law had allowed previous business day also, but we have to accept how things are.

[KittenKong]

8 minutes ago, jwdub said:

I'm just guessing that by updating the passbook they want 100% absolute verification that the account is still active on that date. Government bureaucracy and all that. 

Isn't that what the letter is for?

[jacko45k]

2 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

It has never been required of me at Jomtien. As I pointed out, my time deposit bank book can never be updated anyway apart from at the end or beginning of a deposit term.

Of course it can be updated, my FD book(s) can be. I put it in a Bangkok Bank machine and a line is printed showing balance and date. 

Edited March 21, 2019 by jacko45k

[Skallywag]

11 hours ago, MrScratch said:

So this time I was told that a movement of money in the bank account used for the application has to be shown on the same day as the application . So I asked the young lady what in her view would now be the best course of action .  She said go to the nearest Krungsri bank and deposit 100 Baht in the account . Then come back to the immigration office with the now updated Krungsri bank book.

Yes, First time I applied for retirement visa last September, just went to Kasikorn Bank inside Chaengwattana and did a 500 baht deposit, then had the bank manager there approve the bank book and made a copy of the last page of the book that had the new deposit from that day, as already had the other pages copied. 

 

One thing not mentioned by OP, I had print out a map with address of the house where I live on google maps and give that to them.