Question. Extension of stay changing from the 800,00 bht system to monthly deposits instead.

[Thaifish]

Hello. If this topic has been answered already in the forum my apologies. I cant find an answer with my searches.

 

I currently have 800k Bht (plus some) cooking in the bank to meet the Non-Im O extension of stay requirements no problems. I am considering next year switching over to doing the monthly cash transfers instead. How do you go about starting the transfers to meet the extension requirements.

 

It irks me to have MY money trapped in a Thai Bank when I could be making better use of it.

 

Thank you and Merry Xmas.

[UKresonant]

Why not open a separate bank account, and show >=SWIFT / from overseas 12 in No transfers with a value of more than 65kTHB or equiv. if from U.K. U.S. or Australia...  Show that account at renewal

 

Split the 800k account into two, one with the "and some" and the remaining 800k account drawn down to <799999THB after the other account is fully established.(i.e.. always total more than). Perhaps same action if you can get an embassy income letter... Don't show these at renewal, keep them as a fall-back option.

 

If your not from the specially treated countries ????, check you can get a income letter from your Embassy well in advance!

 

(All of this from what I've read, not what I've done)

Edited December 9, 2019 by UKresonant

[jacko45k]

You will need to show 12 transfers, one each month, of at least 65,000 baht into a Thai bank account from abroad. Don't be too quick spending your 800k....  you may have a requirement to show you maintained the money for 3 months after your current extension was granted, and 400,000 for at least 9 further months. 

The deposits must clearly show as being from overseas. Some IOs have been asking to see the source of the money.

 

Edited December 9, 2019 by jacko45k

[Martyp]

If this is not your first 1 year extension of stay then you probably will need 12 months of monthly transfers. While you are doing that you may also have to comply with the 800,000/400,000 minimum deposit rules you agreed to on your last extension. I’ve seen this question ask before and complying with both rules seems unclear. You really need to ask your immigration office because, as usual, it will vary from office to office. It may seem crazy to comply with both rules. You could decide not to do this and risk your next extension application denied.

 

 I don’t know what visa you arrived on but this may also be an opportunity to leave and come back on an O visa. Then maybe you will only need 2-3 months of monthly deposits.

Edited December 9, 2019 by Martyp

[Thaifish]

Thank you for your replies. You are on my x-mass mail list for your time and effort replying. This is my 7th extension. Being a self funded retiree and having not much to do but spend it and have fun doing it I do not like the idea of the Thai Bank holding literally dead money. I can get a better return on this trapped money investing it back home in Australia. From your Posts it looks like I will have a chat with the IO in Burriram and suspect I will have to make 12 money transfers. Its crazy as I have well in excess of 800k Bht sitting in the Bank already and with the 12 transfers on top I will seriously have trouble spending it all. Also the 12 transfers will eat into my Investments back in Australia unnecessarily as I do not need the cash here. My 7th O visa extension is due January. This is the first time using the new requirements 800k/400k.

Edited December 9, 2019 by Thaifish

[emptypockets]

14 hours ago, Thaifish said:

Thank you for your replies. You are on my x-mass mail list for your time and effort replying. This is my 7th extension. Being a self funded retiree and having not much to do but spend it and have fun doing it I do not like the idea of the Thai Bank holding literally dead money. I can get a better return on this trapped money investing it back home in Australia. From your Posts it looks like I will have a chat with the IO in Burriram and suspect I will have to make 12 money transfers. Its crazy as I have well in excess of 800k Bht sitting in the Bank already and with the 12 transfers on top I will seriously have trouble spending it all. Also the 12 transfers will eat into my Investments back in Australia unnecessarily as I do not need the cash here. My 7th O visa extension is due January. This is the first time using the new requirements 800k/400k.

Do a bit more reading on this strategy in other threads on the forum. Sure you might make a few bucks on the money back in Oz, but you have peace of mind letting the money sit in a Thai bank. You only have to have one cock up transferring funds in one month and they can deny your extension of stay. That could be as simple as a wrongly coded transfer. Interest rates are that low in Oz you won't be getting much from any bank. No doubt the share market can give a better return and other schemes even more'. When I think about this I ask myself that as I get older do I want more hassles or less? More risk or less? 

If you managed to get 10% return on the 40k dollars that's 4k a year or about 80 bucks a week or roughly 1600 baht. Take of any fees and/ or taxes and it might be say 1200 baht a week. Don't forget to subtract the small interest the Thai deposit is paying you and you might end up 1000 baht a week in front. That's IF you can get 10%. Do the numbers at a more realistic 5% (which is a more realistic number but still non bank with risk).

Is it really worth the hassle for a carton of grog and a couple of packets of smoke a week?

Good luck whichever way you decide to go.

Edited December 10, 2019 by emptypockets

[Delight]

 The money that you bring in on the monthly system can be spent immediately.

They only want to see 12 months money coming in. It must be every single month and has to average 65.000 Baht per month

With this new system in place you can .no doubt,return your 800K/400K back home

Edited December 10, 2019 by Delight

[emptypockets]

Just now, Delight said:

 The money that you bring in on the monthly system can be spent immediately.

They only want to see 12 months money coming in. It must be every single month and has to average 65.000 Baht per month

Minimum not average I believe.

[ubonjoe]

22 hours ago, Thaifish said:

Hello. If this topic has been answered already in the forum my apologies. I cant find an answer with my searches.

It has been discussed before.

When did you apply for your current extension of stay?

If you can show 12 months of at least 65k baht being transfered you could use that option to apply for your next extension. The only thing unknown is the minimum of 400k  baht remaining in your account if you applied after March 1st of this year. You might need to leave in it in the bank until you apply for your next extension using the income option.

[Suradit69]

28 minutes ago, Delight said:

 

They only want to see 12 months money coming in. It must be every single month and has to average 65.000 Baht per month

Use of the word "average" is misleading and could cause someone to have an extension application denied if the applicant followed your advice. The monthly deposits must be at least 65,000. 

[Thaifish]

My current extension was issued January 2019 prior to the latest rules. I have averaged a 10% return over the last 15 years on my Australian Investments and here in Thailand I'm getting less than 1%. Even if I put $ into a 6 month term deposit or something over here I would not get much more of a return. The reason I initially started using the 800k thb cooking in the bank option was because you could get a better return bringing AUD cash into the Kingdom rather than electronic transfers. I could put up with money being trapped for 3 months. It irks me now to have MY 800K thb locked up for 5 months and 400k thb which is just dead money for the banks to use. 10% x 400,000 thb = 40,000 thb just for a start. I appreciate the banks still win with transfer fees and lousy exchange rates anyway! I will put my head on the chopping block saying this but I am predicting that the THB will weaken this year. I will search more through the forum for other posts on the topic...

 

Cop Kun Lie Lie.

[scubascuba3]

Op could use combination method, although I haven't seen any Brits posting about it recently

[Thaifish]

23 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Op could use combination method, although I haven't seen any Brits posting about it recently

Sounds like an interesting option... ????

[scubascuba3]

1 minute ago, Thaifish said:

Sounds like an interesting option... ????

Yes, the 12 monthly transfers plus balance at the end must be at least 800k. Good idea if you only want to transfer lower amounts for example 12*35k=420k, +380k balance = 800k

[mosan]

1 minute ago, Thaifish said:

Sounds like an interesting option... ????

If I were you, I'd talk to my local immigrations office and try to see if this method is even acceptable to them now--understanding that things may change in the future.  Unless someone from your particular office can tell you first hand that they had success...

 

[Krataiboy]

As I understand it, immigration rules allow one to keep the required 800,000 baht sum in an interest-bearing time deposit account, so long as it can be accessed on demand.

 

Interest rates are not exactly stratospheric right now, but against this must be balanced the cost of monthly transfer fees - assuming you have not found a way around them!

[MadMuhammad]

4 hours ago, emptypockets said:

Do a bit more reading on this strategy in other threads on the forum. Sure you might make a few bucks on the money back in Oz, but you have peace of mind letting the money sit in a Thai bank. You only have to have one cock up transferring funds in one month and they can deny your extension of stay. That could be as simple as a wrongly coded transfer. Interest rates are that low in Oz you won't be getting much from any bank. No doubt the share market can give a better return and other schemes even more'. When I think about this I ask myself that as I get older do I want more hassles or less? More risk or less? 

If you managed to get 10% return on the 40k dollars that's 4k a year or about 80 bucks a week or roughly 1600 baht. Take of any fees and/ or taxes and it might be say 1200 baht a week. Don't forget to subtract the small interest the Thai deposit is paying you and you might end up 1000 baht a week in front. That's IF you can get 10%. Do the numbers at a more realistic 5% (which is a more realistic number but still non bank with risk).

Is it really worth the hassle for a carton of grog and a couple of packets of smoke a week?

Good luck whichever way you decide to go.

The best I’ve found for transfers is TransferWise and the charge $25 per xfer for equivalent 70000 baht. So there’s another 500thb a month 
By your rough calcs that’s back to under 1000 a week 

Plus the added risk of a cock up over the 800K in the bank method 

Edited December 10, 2019 by MadMuhammad

[Thingamabob]

Don't do this unless you have to. Far more complicated.

[emptypockets]

49 minutes ago, MadMuhammad said:

The best I’ve found for transfers is TransferWise and the charge $25 per xfer for equivalent 70000 baht. So there’s another 500thb a month 
By your rough calcs that’s back to under 1000 a week 

Plus the added risk of a cock up over the 800K in the bank method 

And if the transferwise shows up as a domestic transfer then it might become a real problem trying to prove it is actually funds from overseas to qualify for the retirement extension. Quite a few posts about this.

[chilly07]

If you're next extension is in Jan 2020 and you do not have a 12 mth record of 65k FTT bank transfers from a pension source then stick with 800k seasoned for 2 mths then you can build up the 12mths of 65k FTT transfers for your next extension.

[WhatupThailand]

Just talked to Immigration in Phrae, they say no need for any money in the bank,

Only get a 12 Month Bank Statement showing deposits 65K or over from outside Thailand.

(Takes about 7 days to order this at Bangkok Bank) so do this in time for your IO date.

 

Also on same day you go for Extension, make any transaction on your account,

and get your Account Confirmation Letter showing current Balance same as Bank Book.

 

This IO very Helpful and Pleasant, Attitude very Positive and Professional.

Reduced my Stress level 95%.

 

[Thaifish]

7 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Yes, the 12 monthly transfers plus balance at the end must be at least 800k. Good idea if you only want to transfer lower amounts for example 12*35k=420k, +380k balance = 800k

This is my dream scenario if I can do it.. I will chat with the Burriram Imm and see if it is an option. I will reply on this post with how it goes. (also appreciate every IO has different rules on the day).

If it works I might buy the wiffy some more gold and put a padlock on my fridge.

Edited December 10, 2019 by Thaifish

[EricTh]

8 hours ago, Thaifish said:

 I will put my head on the chopping block saying this but I am predicting that the THB will weaken this year. I will search more through the forum for other posts on the topic...

 

The Thai Baht has been strengthening over the past 5 years, so it is unlikely to weaken much.

 

https://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=AUD&to=THB&view=5Y

 

The risk is that you will have to exchange more AUD for the same Baht in the future if you do monthly transfer. So you have to compare how much you can earn in Australia versus putting in a Thai bank.

 

 

Edited December 10, 2019 by EricTh

[Thaifish]

2 minutes ago, EricTh said:

 

The Thai Baht has been strengthening over the past 5 years, so it is unlikely to weaken much.

 

https://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=AUD&to=THB&view=5Y

 

The risk is that you will have to exchange more AUD for the same Baht in the future if you do monthly transfer. So you have to compare how much you can earn in Australia versus putting in a Thai bank.

 

 

Thank you Eric for your comment.. Bit off topic but/and yes my head on the chopping block with my prediction.. My reasoning is that Thailand is waking up that the big traders can buy the exact same products (mostly) from other nearby countries at a cheaper price. There is no doubt Thailand's economy is hurting because of the strong BHT and it is hurting hard. The average tourist would not have an idea of the exchange rate strength let alone what a bowl of noodles costs. The Thai media have rumblings finally over the strength of the Baht.. To get back on topic I am taking a gamble on my prediction of the exchange rate.  At least I have dollar cost averaging on my side over the following 12 months if I go down this path. When I bring cash to meet the 800k Bht locked up for 5 months I have to take the best exchange rate of the day. Just my take on it trying to save a satang so I can spend it on Leo Beer later.

[EricTh]

11 minutes ago, Thaifish said:

My reasoning is that Thailand is waking up that the big traders can buy the exact same products (

 

Thailand hasn't 'just woken up' like you claim.

 

They knew the problematic Baht strength many years ago but were unable to control it because of strong external demand. They have done many measures to weaken the Baht but were unsuccessful every time.

 

Investors from rich country are pouring money into Thailand due to trade war between China and USA and this is causing the Baht to rise.

[scubascuba3]

8 hours ago, Thaifish said:

This is my dream scenario if I can do it.. I will chat with the Burriram Imm and see if it is an option. I will reply on this post with how it goes. (also appreciate every IO has different rules on the day).

If it works I might buy the wiffy some more gold and put a padlock on my fridge.

Yes do check with your local office. I started a thread a while ago about combination method at Jomtien, I don't think anyone confirmed they were doing it. Immigration are making it more difficult for no good reason

[jacko45k]

16 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Yes, the 12 monthly transfers plus balance at the end must be at least 800k. Good idea if you only want to transfer lower amounts for example 12*35k=420k, +380k balance = 800k

I am still unclear wrt what is the minimum balance one must hold and whether the money needs to remain in the bank for any fixed term when a combination method is used. I am also aware some IOs simply do not accept it.