Transferwise for Monthly Pension Transfers - Does Immigration Accept Them?

[Thomas J]

With all of the confusing posts on ACH and IAT transfers I hope someone can clear this up.  I have been having my Social Security transferred into my USA bank and then Transferwise transferring it to Bangkok Bank.  Does this show to immigration the evidence for the monthly transfer? 

[Pib]

Yes, if, repeat if, those Transferwise transfers are showing on your Bangkok Bank passbook with "FTT" coding....on your Bangkok Bank ibanking it will show as "International Transfer."  If showing as such then Bangkok Bank can provide you a letter confirming the monthly transfers came from outside Thailand; otherwise, most Bangkok Bank branches will not provide such a letter because they see the transfers as domestic transfers.  So, are your transfers coded at above?

 

If not being coded as above then it has been varying among immigration offices as to if they will accept other proof the monthly transfers were international transfers....like accepting Credit Advices, Transferwise Receipts, etc.   But most offices require the Thai bank letter.

[Thomas J]

18 minutes ago, Pib said:

Yes, if, repeat if, those Transferwise transfers are showing on your Bangkok Bank passbook with "FTT" coding....on your Bangkok Bank ibanking it will show as "International Transfer." 

PIB, I have looked at the passbook and it shows a coding of SMT also one transaction updated apparently combined 3 transfers when it updated my passbook with a coding of CMB Combined No Book .  I do have my USA banking statements, showing my Social Security deposits, and the debit from Transferwise and then the transaction records from Transferwise showing the debit to my USA bank and transfer to Thailand in THB. 

[Pib]

SMT means the last leg of the transfer was done via domestic SMART system so to the Thai bank and immigration officer it appears to be just any other domestic transfer.   All the other stuff you mention about CMB, USA bank statement, SSA deposits, etc., will just glaze over most every immigration officers' eyes because unless you have a very understanding/forgiving immigration office they want to see Thai bank documentation that confirms international transfers.

 

   

[john terry1001]

@Thomas J, from what you've posted it sounds like you've set things up to send money from Transferwise to your Thai Bangkok Bank account but the codings you're receiving show that you haven't set it up correctly.

 

Transferwise have three partner banks in Thailand, Bangkok Bank, Kasikorn and TMB. Unless informed otherwise they can use any one of those banks for the transfer.

 

1. Firstly you must phone Transferwise and inform them you want your Bangkok bank account to be your preferred account to send transfers to. (this is just a one of instruction, you don't need to do kit for every transfer)

 

2. secondly, when making a transfer make sure you select that preferred account to send the money to.

 

3. thirdly, in the drop down 'reason for transfer' option you must select the "funds for long term stay in Thailand" option. 

 

Doing those three things should ensure your transfer goes directly to Bangkok Bank account and marked as a FTT International transfer every time.

 

If, before you did the above, some of your transfers ended up being sent via one of the other partner banks and the IO insists on proof of a foreign transfer all is not lost.

 

Look at the very bottom of the PDF that TW supply for each transfer and if it says Bangkok bank you will get an FTT transfer code. If however, it shows Kasikorn/TMB your transfer has been routed via that bank and you must contact that their international department and supply that individual transfer details. They will then supply you with a Credit Advice Receipt to confirm it was indeed an international transfer.

[Thomas J]

1 minute ago, Pib said:

SMT means the last leg of the transfer was done via domestic SMART system so to the Thai bank and immigration officer it appears to be just any other domestic transfer.   All the other stuff you mention about CMB, USA bank statement, SSA deposits, etc., will just glaze over most every immigration officers' eyes because unless you have a very understanding/forgiving immigration office they want to see Thai bank documentation that confirms international transfers.

PIP So if I understand you correctly, I will in all likelihood be required to get Bangkok Bank letter indicating the transfers originated from the USA?  I thought that is why people use Transferwise is to ensure the proper coding. 

[Thomas J]

3 minutes ago, john terry1001 said:

@Thomas J, from what you've posted it sounds like you've set things up to send money from Transferwise to your Thai Bangkok Bank account but the codings you're receiving show that you haven't set it up correctly.

john5344y1001  I believe I just put in monthly living expenses.  I did not realize there was even an option for long term stay in Thailand.  The PDF's that you mention are those on the transferwise site or are they in emails received from Transferwise?   I have my Bangkok account set up on transferwise and it is the only account I transfer to. 

[luckyluke]

we here all understand it, however it is your Immigration Officer who has to want to understand it as well.

[Moonlover]

I presented the IO with bank statements along with the TransferWise transaction slips and the bank's standard letter. The only other request he made was for 'proof of income' which I was able to do so in the form of my annual pension statements.

 

There was nothing on the banks statements that indicated that they were foreign deposits (no FTT code) and , as far as I could tell he showed no interest in the codes.

 

If you have FTT codes, fine, but don't panic if you haven't. The T/W transaction slips provide the evidence you need.

Edited December 18, 2019 by Moonlover

[Thomas J]

1 minute ago, Moonlover said:

I presented the IO with bank statements along with the TransferWise transaction slips. The only other request he made was for 'proof of income' which I was able to do so in the form of my annual pension statements.

 

There was nothing on the banks statements that indicated that they were foreign deposits (no FTT code) and , as far as I could tell he showed no interest in the codes.

 

If you have FTT codes, fine, but don't panic if you haven't. The T/W transaction slips provide the evidence you need.

Moonlover   Thank You.  It seems so straightforward.  You have money on your USA bank statement showing a pension deposited, then money withdrawn, then the transferwise slips showing exactly the money sent in THB and the exact amount in your bank record.  Then again, we are talking about government employees and that is a problem no matter what country you are dealing with. 

[billd766]

47 minutes ago, Thomas J said:

PIP So if I understand you correctly, I will in all likelihood be required to get Bangkok Bank letter indicating the transfers originated from the USA?  I thought that is why people use Transferwise is to ensure the proper coding. 

Immigration does not care where the funds are transferred from as long as they ARE from offshore.

 

I had this problem once before and I rang TW in the UK and asked them to tag Bangkok Bank to send the funds via and I have had no problems since.

[Moonlover]

3 minutes ago, Thomas J said:

Moonlover   Thank You.  It seems so straightforward.  You have money on your USA bank statement showing a pension deposited, then money withdrawn, then the transferwise slips showing exactly the money sent in THB and the exact amount in your bank record.  Then again, we are talking about government employees and that is a problem no matter what country you are dealing with. 

My pensions come from the UK, but I didn't show my UK bank statements. The IO was satisfied that the T/W slips showed GBP being paid out and THB being paid in and that the transactions matched the entries on my banks statements.

 

He already knew what TransferWise was all about and I'm sure that it won't be too long before every one in the country does too. T/W is very popular now, especially amongst us Brits.

 

IMO, the codes are not that important. It was 'proof of income' that he was really keen to see. Be ready for that one.

 

Good luck with your next extension.

[Pib]

1 hour ago, Thomas J said:

PIP So if I understand you correctly, I will in all likelihood be required to get Bangkok Bank letter indicating the transfers originated from the USA?  I thought that is why people use Transferwise is to ensure the proper coding. 

They use Transferwise to transfer money cheaply....and of course they would really like to get coding that reflects it as an international transfer at your Thai bank.  jerry terry1001's post above explains what you need to do with Transferwise transfer to ensure you get international coding (otherwise you can end up with domestic transfer coding like you have).

 

Been quite few posts where people tried to get a letter from their Bangkok Bank branch individually listing their transfers as international....transfers that did not end up getting coded as international.   The Bangkok Bank branch would then refer the person to the Thai bank that relayed the funds, which was either K-bank or TMB, to get a letter confirming the transfers were international.

 

Each immigration office is different...."if" your office strictly enforces the immigration police order they will require "Thai bank documentation" to prove the transfers were international.  Some immigration offices will accept other proof like foreign documentation (all depends on your immigration office)....but Thai bank documentation is what they really want/prefer per the police order.  

 

 

 

 

[Thomas J]

1 hour ago, Pib said:

They use Transferwise to transfer money cheaply....and of course they would really like to get coding that reflects it as an international transfer at your Thai bank

Pib on my PDF files some of them show as Kbank and others as Bangkok bank but their is no difference in the coding in the passbook.  

[jacko45k]

16 hours ago, Thomas J said:

Does this show to immigration the evidence for the monthly transfer?

Yes, it likely does. But the transfers must clearly show in your Thailand bank account, they came from overseas, occur every month, and all be equal or more than 65,000 baht. 

What your particular IO requires for that proof varies office to office. There have been some (most) statements it is simply the usual bank letter and copies of bank book. Others state a further bank letter detailing the 12 transfers is required, and even mention of some asking proof from the originating side.

[bkk6060]

16 hours ago, Thomas J said:

  Does this show to immigration the evidence for the monthly transfer?

You tell us.  Does it say "International transfer" on your Thai bank statement?

If yes, you are good to go.