For my next one i am , ok its more trouble ,but at least i can spend my own money how and when i please.

The only problem is that you have to be married and in a genuine relationship. A situation that doesn't appeal to everyone. A little bit more trouble in some provinces and a nightmare in others.

certainly I was actually compelled to switch from retirement to marriage 3 years ago when the GBP crashed following the referendum.

 

I am now in a position to go back to retirement using the combo method if I wish to, but I will not do so. I am not going to have Thai Imm dictating to me what I can and cannot do with my own money.

 

In our area at least (that's Sakon Nakhon) the paperwork is not too onerous at all. Just a few hours work and being retired, time is not an issue.

Edited April 20, 20197 yr by Moonlover

For my next one i am , ok its more trouble ,but at least i can spend my own money how and when i please.

You can spend your own money how and when you please? Good on yer :)


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The only problem is that you have to be married and in a genuine relationship. A situation that doesn't appeal to everyone. A little bit more trouble in some provinces and a nightmare in others.

Been married and together for well over 20 years ,so i reckon its genuine lol

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I am going the marriage route......but takes trips to the US Embassy, translation service, and to the Thai Foreign Offices or whatever it's called.....and that is just to get married. But with a good lady, so it is worth it to me. 

Sure they denied me at the airport when I was going to my wedding with my tourist visa. I am now wed and bringing my wife for travel across a couple country and will get the wedding visa in one of those country. 

5 hours ago, ratcatcher said:

The only problem is that

   you have to be married

   and in a genuine relationship //

… and with a Thai person.

 

That makes a lot of requirements  

33 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

… and with a Thai person.

 

That makes a lot of requirements  

Too many for you?

"For my next one i am , ok its more trouble ,but at least i can spend my own money how and when i please."

   On the wife!

That's the plan.  

I renewed my Retirement Extension in March and luckily I had a Stat Dec from the Aussie Embassy, but I have decided I am not prepared to play their silly money games and will go down the Marriage Extension path next year, unless of course they change their minds about having to tie my money up for 5 months and then only be allowed to spend half of it.

Thailand being what it is, totally unpredictable, we have already seen a change at the top in a matter of months. Who knows what changes may come next and what hoops we have to jump through.

 

I too renewed mine with Embassy letter and barring any further changes will go "married" route next year.

 

I refuse to loan money practically interest free to Thai banks.

Derogatory remark removed.

What's the hassle? 10years ago my first visa was marriage. A total pain in the neck. But when I went to renew it, the IO female told me that with my income, the Retirement Visa would be easier & faster. Sent me and wife to a different desk, and 5-6 minutes later, we were out of there. So my last 9 extensions have been Retirement. When they "changed the rules" which, in reality they didn't "change", but merely "enforced" existing rules, I went to Imm in Chiang Mai, found out what was needed for income verification, went to the bank, had all the forms within half an hour. Back to Imm the next morning, and less than an hour later was out of there with my new extension.  

 

I have 2 "acquaintances", screaming to high Heaven 0ver the "new rules", saying they will force them to leave Thailand. As it turns out, neither of them actually have the MINIMUM monthly financial requirements, but have been using "Income Verification" letters from the Consulate for years, which said they did, which I suspect is the case with many others. 

 

I refer to the Thai phrase, "Som nom nah".

 

. When they "changed the rules" which, in reality they didn't "change", but merely "enforced" existing rules,......

 

 

For the 800k method there has been a substantial change to the rules. in the past you were allowed to spend the money to live on. Now you are not. Very, very big change.

 

And for the 65K/month there have also been meaningful changes. In the past one only had to have 65k/month gross income, and were free to bring in as much as needed when needed into Thailand through any transfer mechanism that suited you - ATM, Currency transfer services etc. Now you must bring in 65k or more every single month in a manner that generates the required bank codes.  For many people to be able to bring in 65K a month means having to have more than 65k/month gross income due to deductions for insurance, tax etc. for example, Americans often have Medicare premium deducted from their SS before it is paid...in which case they would have ot have an income of over 69K/month to meet the new requirement of bringing 65K into the country. 

 

And the requirement for monthly transfer creates a whole other set of problems as it is not consistent with how some government pensions are paid. Americans, for example, often get two Social Security payments in August and none in September due to September 1 being a holiday. 

 

While the intent for the income method seems to be  just enforcement the way it was done has had the effect of actually changing the rules in a significant manner.

 

And the 800K method clearly has been  changed such that the actual required income now is at least 50% higher.

 

 

I changed from marriage to retirement a few years back and I am not going to bother switching back to marriage.  I find the retirement process much easier.

28 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

Now you must bring in 65k or more every single month in a manner that generates the required bank codes.

Isn't this only for citizens of four countries?

19 hours ago, ivor bigun said:

Been married and together for well over 20 years ,so i reckon its genuine lol

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Dont be so sure , some of the Thai women have 10 , 15 , 20 , and 25 year plans , just be careful lol????

Having already passed the 10, 15 and 20 plans I guess I have to prepare for the 25 year plan.  So which plan comes after the 25 year plan?  I don't want to become complacent due to being happy and still in love.????????

44 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

 

For the 800k method there has been a substantial change to the rules. in thep ast you were allowed to spend the money to live on. Now you are not. Very, very big change.

And for the 65K/month there have also been meaningful changes. In the past one only had to have 65k/month gross income, and were free to bring in as much as needed when needed into the Thailand through any transfer mechanism that suited you - ATM, Currency transfer services etc. Now you must bring in 65k or more every single month in a manner that generates the required bank codes.  For many people to be able to bring in 65K a month means having to have more than 65k/month gross income due to deductions for insurance, tax etc. for example, Americans often have Medicare premium deducted from their SS before it is paid...in which case they would have ot have an income of over 68K/month to meet the new requirement of bringing 65K into the country. 

 

And the requirement for monthly transfer creates a whole other set of problems as it is not consistent with how some government pensions are paid. Americans, for example, often get two Social Security payments in August and none in September due to September 1 being a holiday. 

 

While the intent for the income method seems to be  just enforcement the way it was done has had the effect of actually changing the rules in a significant manner.

 

And the 800K method clearly has been  changed such that the actual required income now is at least 50% higher.

To clarify , if a 65k monthly transfer to a Thai bank account is missed , can the next payment be doubled to 130k , or the annual total paid to equate to 800k ?   If the combo method is still OK and say the applicant has savings in a foreign bank is that workable or does the cash have to be in a Thai bank ? I know that your money / savings can be in a foreign account when applying for a non o/a visa . Also what are the rules for a marriage visa and the 400k , does that have to stay in the bank account or just at the application stage ?

1 hour ago, Just1Voice said:

What's the hassle? 10years ago my first visa was marriage. A total pain in the neck. But when I went to renew it, the IO female told me that with my income, the Retirement Visa would be easier & faster. Sent me and wife to a different desk, and 5-6 minutes later, we were out of there. So my last 9 extensions have been Retirement. When they "changed the rules" which, in reality they didn't "change", but merely "enforced" existing rules, I went to Imm in Chiang Mai, found out what was needed for income verification, went to the bank, had all the forms within half an hour. Back to Imm the next morning, and less than an hour later was out of there with my new extension.  

 

I have 2 "acquaintances", screaming to high Heaven 0ver the "new rules", saying they will force them to leave Thailand. As it turns out, neither of them actually have the MINIMUM monthly financial requirements, but have been using "Income Verification" letters from the Consulate for years, which said they did, which I suspect is the case with many others. 

 

I refer to the Thai phrase, "Som nom nah".

 

Aren't you a good boy! Amazing how you find the new rules to be no problem, yet hundreds of us on here find it to be a clusterfork. No mention from you of the combination method, the so-called leniancy to be shown to those with less than 12 months transfers from abroad, those who don't get pension monthly etc etc etc. But you're alright jack so it "serves us right". With fellow farang like you, who needs xenophobic immigration personnel?

3 minutes ago, jesimps said:

Aren't you a good boy! Amazing how you find the new rules to be no problem, yet hundreds of us on here find it to be a clusterfork. No mention from you of the combination method, the so-called leniancy to be shown to those with less than 12 months transfers from abroad, those who don't get pension monthly etc etc etc. But you're alright jack so it "serves us right". With fellow farang like you, who needs xenophobic immigration personnel?

I don't mean to sound obnoxious, but the bottom line is: It's their country, it's their rules. You either comply, or you leave. Nothing hard about that.

Because there's no way I can spend 65000 a month and the beggering about trying to prove I've had this much coming in from abroad every month for twelve months, I'm going for the 400,000 in the bank marriage visa next time. This after 12 years of monthly income retirement visas using the Brit Embassy letter. Next year, because I can be almost sure of getting 12 monthly transfers of 40,000 from abroad into Bangkok Bank, I may do the monthly income marriage visa. 

Just now, Just1Voice said:

I don't mean to sound obnoxious, but the bottom line is: It's their country, it's their rules. You either comply, or you leave. Nothing hard about that.

You must have a degree in stating the obvious. We all realise this and that's the reason we're attempting to comply rather than leave, especially those of us married with family here. We can all afford to abide by the new rules but it's difficult sometimes trying to comply with them and supply the proof that TI are demanding. These new rules have been badly thought out and I think that most on here will agree with that. I'll say again, it does NOT serve us right!

20 minutes ago, Just1Voice said:

I don't mean to sound obnoxious, but the bottom line is: It's their country, it's their rules. You either comply, or you leave. Nothing hard about that.

The "official rules" change and the "unofficial rules you actually deal with" vary by office.  This is the primary problem. 

 

A more accurate statement would be:

"It's their immigration office / entry-point, and they can make up whatever they feel like at the moment - or you can leave."

Edited April 21, 20197 yr by JackThompson

34 minutes ago, jesimps said:

Because there's no way I can spend 65000 a month and the beggering about trying to prove I've had this much coming in from abroad every month for twelve months, I'm going for the 400,000 in the bank marriage visa next time. This after 12 years of monthly income retirement visas using the Brit Embassy letter. Next year, because I can be almost sure of getting 12 monthly transfers of 40,000 from abroad into Bangkok Bank, I may do the monthly income marriage visa. 

My experience of having a Thai wife is that she would be more than willing to provide you with all the assistance you needed in complying with the minimum 65k monthly spend requirement!????

To clarify , if a 65k monthly transfer to a Thai bank account is missed , can the next payment be doubled to 130k , or the annual total paid to equate to 800k ?   If the combo method is still OK and say the applicant has savings in a foreign bank is that workable or does the cash have to be in a Thai bank ? I know that your money / savings can be in a foreign account when applying for a non o/a visa . Also what are the rules for a marriage visa and the 400k , does that have to stay in the bank account or just at the application stage ?

 

1.NO.

 

It has to be 65k every single month without fail.

 

2. The money has to be in a Thai bank. And for combo method there is complete lack of clarity as to whether/how much it can be spent. So much so that some IOs refuse to do it. Check with your IO on this.

 

3. AFAIK no limits on spending the 400k for marriage extension.

 

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23 minutes ago, jesimps said:

You must have a degree in stating the obvious. We all realise this and that's the reason we're attempting to comply rather than leave, especially those of us married with family here. We can all afford to abide by the new rules but it's difficult sometimes trying to comply with them and supply the proof that TI are demanding. These new rules have been badly thought out and I think that most on here will agree with that. I'll say again, it does NOT serve us right!

Not only does it not serve the intended recipients, it doesn't serve TI's raison d'être.  In particular the new 800k rule(s) to catch dodgy visa agents and their dodgy clients.   Saw a visa agent advert on Facebook the other day.  Bank account and Immigration "show money".  Not even trying to be discreet, right out in the open.

 

That's how these things go.  Crackdowns are dumb bombs.  TI doesn't have the brains or the drive to launch a few missiles and take out the bad guys surgically.  They are 1/2 the problem to begin with.  Meanwhile, the foot soldiers carry on carpet bombing innocent civilians because that's their "job".  Just following orders.

1 minute ago, 55Jay said:

That's how these things go.  Crackdowns are dumb bombs.  TI doesn't have the brains or the drive to launch a few missiles and take out the bad guys surgically.  They are 1/2 the problem to begin with.  Meanwhile, the foot soldiers carry on carpet bombing innocent civilians because that's their "job".  Just following orders.

Yeap...the new carpet bombing rules are creating a lot of collateral damage...some innocent good guys are getting blown-up (unable to meet extension renewal requirements) because they were not given enough advance warning time to reach the bomb shelter...develop an alternate battle plan.