Retirement Visa

[swm59nj]

      I need some advice. Im from the USA. I visited Bangkok for three months recently returning to the USA January 23, 2019. During that time I decided to get a retirement visa. I was confused by the regulations, and kind of nervous doing it myself for the first time. So in the beginning of January 2019 while still in Bangkok I saw an attorney. This I think turned out to be a stupid thing to do. He took care of all the paperwork and all that, and got me a retirement visa which I received January 22, 2019. The visa expires April 2020, and I see in my passport I have a multi-entry stamp.

      I told the attorney upon retiring, I would reside in Bangkok. He took me to the Bangkok immigration office to get some kind of visa. he said I needed this before he could apply for the retirement visa. He sent me to Bangkok bank to open an account after I got letter from the American embassy allowing me to do so . The next day he sent me with one of his staff members to the immigration office in Pattaya to apply for the retirement visa. I asked him why not Bangkok. He was a fast talker and told me he has worked with that location before, and it would go quicker. When I arrived there, his staff member spoke to an immigration officer. The staff member told me we had to go to a Bangkok bank branch in Pattaya to open an account. I told him I already opened an account in the Bangkok branch. The staff member said that is what the immigration office is requiring. 

      So on January 22,2019 I returned to the attorneys office in Bangkok and he had my passport back from the Immigration office in Pattaya. It had the retirement visa with the multi-entry stamp. Im planning on moving to Bangkok the first week of June. I will stay in a hotel a couple of weeks while looking for a condo to rent with a years contract. From reading these forums, I see you have to report to immigration every 90 days. And I read it is in the office you received the visa from. This attorney did not even say anything about me reporting every 90 days. Or tell me I had to do any reporting in Pattaya. I departed Bangkok January 23, 2019 and returned to the USA. I wasn't going to return to Thailand for about five months. So I did not leave the 400,000 baht in the Bangkok Bank account. I was planning to wire the 400,000 from my USA account to the Bangkok bank account before returning to Thailand in June.

      Im really confused what this attorney did. I don't want to report to Pattaya every 90 days when he knew my location would be Bangkok. Now Im wondering since I did not leave the 400,000 Baht in the Thai account for five months is that going to be an issue? Again I did this because I was returning to the USA where I reside. So I thought if I wasn't in Thailand for a long period of time, I would not have to keep that money in the Thai account.

       I tried to email and send messages on Line to this attorney I used for explanations of all this. He did not respond. I finely managed to contact him directly on his cell phone. All he did is talk fast, say he's busy, and told me if I had an issue when I arrive back in Thailand call him. He charged me a lot of money for all this visa thing. 

       So Im very concerned now what I should do. Again Im planning to move to Bangkok soon in June. Should I try to get a different attorney to resolve all this? Can I do it myself? Should I just report to immigration in Bangkok after I arrive and explain everything to them? Can immigration revoke my retirement visa because I did not keep the 400,000 baht in the Thai bank account while I returned to the USA for approximately for five months. Even though I still resided in the USA when I received the retirement visa?

[elviajero]

As you are moving your registered address to Bangkok you should submit a change of address form to Bangkok immigration. Once you’ve done that you can make 90 day reports to that office. You could do that on the same visit.

 

I don’t think the Bangkok office will check the balance of your account. If they do they might revoke your permit in which case you can simply do a border run while you decide on plan B.

 

[onera1961]

Don't mind informing how much money did you pay this attorney? I don't think there was any requirement to keep money in the bank. The new requirement to keep money in the bank started in March, I think.


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[swm59nj]

32 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

Don't mind informing how much money did you pay this attorney? I don't think there was any requirement to keep money in the bank. The new requirement to keep money in the bank started in March, I think.


Sent from my JKM-LX2 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

To avoid getting laughed at, I would rather not say LOL

[colinneil]

1 hour ago, swm59nj said:

To avoid getting laughed at, I would rather not say LOL

I can understand you saying that because the lawyer has made a lot of money out of messing you around.

You made a post about your experience, so be prepared to be laughed at.

[rumak]

2 hours ago, swm59nj said:

To avoid getting laughed at, I would rather not say LOL

credit due for being honest.   probably you will lose a bit of that honesty the longer you live here....  ANYWAY    if you already have the visa based on retirement stamped in your passport then you are good for one year.   As soon as you arrive get receipt from hotel and ask hotel for a tm30 receipt.  If you don't know what that is read up.  Go to BKK immig and tell them you will be living in BKK.   Ask them what date you need to do your 90 day report

by.  AND when to change your address ( immediately upon renting or at 90 day) .  

Sound complicated ?   people here for years still get confused.  Go to immig and smile and ask for help from an immig officer.  write it all down  ????

Oh,  and you need the retirement money in a bank 3 months before your NEXT renewal (extension of stay)

Edited May 17, 2019 by rumak

[notamember]

i would have thought he paid in the region of 75,000 baht

its a common price for this type of service out of Bangkok

[fishtank]

35 minutes ago, rumak said:

Oh,  and you need the retirement money in a bank 3 months before your NEXT renewal (extension of stay)

2 months.

[nickstav]

I think that since so much of what you've gone through sounds fishy you might be wise to consult with another attorney/law firm (a reputable one) even though you've already got your stamp. You will get a lot of advice on this forum, most of it good from some very knowledgeable expats, some maybe not so right. You might be surprised by how affordable some legal service from a reputable firm, such as Siam Legal, can be. The fact that you don't want to disclose how much you paid this guy for fear of embarrassment probably means you were fleeced. I've heard so many stories of this type. You'll learn. Good luck with your getting your problem solved and good luck with your retirement in Thailand. Always be careful who you trust here.

 

[onera1961]

3 hours ago, swm59nj said:

To avoid getting laughed at, I would rather not say LOL

Don't worry, I bet most people have spent lots of money chasing girls 30-years younger than them. Do what @rumak suggested. 

[Destiny1990]

Yes indeed the process sounds very difficult.

Much better move ur case back to Bkk ur lawyer made it now even more complicated.

[onera1961]

1 hour ago, notamember said:

its a common price for this type of service out of Bangkok

Siam legal advertises for 900USD. But I still think 900USD is high if you've your finances lined up. An agent may be able to do it for $300USD.

Edited May 18, 2019 by onera1961

[nickstav]

1 minute ago, onera1961 said:

Siam legal advertises for 900USD. 

Wow, when I used them to get my first retirement visa at their Chiang Mai office the total charge for everything was only 12,000 Baht.

[onera1961]

2 minutes ago, nickstav said:

Wow, when I used them to get my first retirement visa at their Chiang Mai office the total charge for everything was only 12,000 Baht.

300USD is a fair price for this kind of visa services. 

[KittenKong]

8 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

300USD is a fair price for this kind of visa services. 

Doing it yourself would cost 1900B (about USD60) so five times the price seems quite high to me. Of course if they are "smoothing out" the cash deposit requirements that could be a reason for charging so much extra, but that doesnt seem to be the case for the OP.

[Peterw42]

OP, can the lawyer altogether, they are completely unnecessary and ridiculously priced.  There are agents that will do the same job, a better job, for a tenth of the price.

 

From your OP its a bit hard to determine your current status as of today. Are you currently in Thailand, if not did you get a re-entry permit ?

Maybe describe what is currently in your passport. Do you have a stamp permitted to stay until (1 year from when you applied) and an associated re-entry permit.

If thats all in place then when you return to Bangkok do a TM30, TM28 (advice to immigration) then front up to do your first 90 day report in Bangkok. (an agent will do the same for a couple of thousand baht)

 

Edited May 18, 2019 by Peterw42

[onera1961]

21 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

Doing it yourself would cost 1900B (about USD60) so five times the price seems quite high to me. Of course if they are "smoothing out" the cash deposit requirements that could be a reason for charging so much extra, but that doesnt seem to be the case for the OP.

I don't want like to do it myself. I like people do it for me. I am not into charity to donate my money to children hospital after I die. Why I like to pay agents? Because I could and I am not into charity. You can donate your money by doing it your self and saving the money for donation to children's hospital and I salute you for your noble sacrifice.

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Edited May 18, 2019 by onera1961

[KittenKong]

4 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

I don't want like to do it myself. I like people do it for me. I am not into charity to donate my money to children hospital after I die. Why I like to pay agents? Because I could and I am not into charity. You can donate your money by doing it your self and saving the money for donation to children's hospital and I salute you for your noble sacrifice.

I dont see how wanting to have someone else do it makes the price they charge in any way "fair". It's just your personal preference and you are welcome to it of course.

 

As for charities, they will do pretty well out of me when I die and it wont be any sacrifice on my part.

[onera1961]

12 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

I dont see how wanting to have someone else do it makes the price they charge in any way "fair". It's just your personal preference and you are welcome to it of course

Every job has a fair price. If I want to charge 300/hr for my services (cloud architecture), my clients will say no but when I charge $100/hour, they consider it fair. It is the same way. When you hire a maid you decide what is the fair price for her services. The same way, I decide what is the fair price of an agent for a specific service. E.g., I got a a driving license for 5K and I considered it fair. If the agent would have asked me 10K, I would have said no. Fair is close to widely available market price with some variations for personal preferences, quality of service, etc. 

Edited May 18, 2019 by onera1961

[rumak]

2 hours ago, fishtank said:

2 months.

many reports of being asked to show  3 months.   i know the law is supposed to be 2 ...but if you read

reports on this site you will see that is not always the case when arriving at some immig offices.

better safe than sorry 

[Fairynuff]

1 hour ago, onera1961 said:

Siam legal advertises for 900USD. But I still think 900USD is high if you've your finances lined up. An agent may be able to do it for $300USD.

Can’t you pay in local currency THB?

[yodsak]

To OP.  You opened a BB AC in Bangkok.  Did you put 800k in it.?

 

You then got some kind of  visa from TI in Bangkok.  NON-O ? 

 

You then went to Pattaya and the IO said you must open another BB AC in Pattaya.

 

Did you open one, and put 800k in it ?    or was the 800k flashed in/out by the lawyer staff ?

 

The only reason to travel to Pattaya is if you don't have 800k. 

 

Avoid lawyers , use agents.

 

 

[Fairynuff]

2 minutes ago, yodsak said:

To OP.  You opened a BB AC in Bangkok.  Did you put 800k in it.?

 

You then got some kind of  visa from TI in Bangkok.  NON-O ? 

 

You then went to Pattaya and the IO said you must open another BB AC in Pattaya.

 

Did you open one, and put 800k in it ?    or was the 800k flashed in/out by the lawyer staff ?

 

The only reason to travel to Pattaya is if you don't have 800k. 

 

Avoid lawyers , use agents.

 

 

Do agents circumvent the financial requirements? Or just do all the paperwork?

[sumrit]

 

 

 

 

3

2 minutes ago, yodsak said:

To OP.  You opened a BB AC in Bangkok.  Did you put 800k in it.?

 

You then got some kind of  visa from TI in Bangkok.  NON-O ? 

 

You then went to Pattaya and the IO said you must open another BB AC in Pattaya.

 

Did you open one, and put 800k in it ?    or was the 800k flashed in/out by the lawyer staff ?

 

The only reason to travel to Pattaya is if you don't have 800k. 

Avoid lawyers, use agents.  

 

Do it yourself, costs just 1900 baht.

 

If you are unsure and need advice, ask Ubonjoe on this forum. He will describe exactly what you need to do, wherever in Thailand you're living, to do and supply a link to all the documents you need.

[lopburi3]

From reading your post several times it appears that you obtained a one year extension of stay without the required 800k being in your bank account for the previous 2 months?

[yodsak]

22 minutes ago, Fairynuff said:

Do agents circumvent the financial requirements? Or just do all the paperwork?

Both.    

[crazykopite]

Have never used an agent or lawyer to get extension of stay (retirement ) it’s straightforward if you read the requirements at your local IMO .why pay rip off prices for something you can do yourself.

[crazykopite]

1 hour ago, rumak said:

many reports of being asked to show  3 months.   i know the law is supposed to be 2 ...but if you read

reports on this site you will see that is not always the case when arriving at some immig offices.

better safe than sorry 

My understanding from my local IMO it’s 2 months for 1st time applicants and 3 months for renewals they have made that clear on the new guideline sheet of paper that they have for general issue for those who can be bothered to take one . 

[yodsak]

5 minutes ago, crazykopite said:

Have never used an agent or lawyer to get extension of stay (retirement ) it’s straightforward if you read the requirements at your local IMO .why pay rip off prices for something you can do yourself.

Try doing it yourself if you don't have 800k

 

As for rip off prices see post #19  

[Deerculler]

Thanks for you posting.

It would have very easy for you to do yourself.

 

I hope everything is sorted out for you now.

All the best for the future.