Joint Account For Retirement Visa

[dinfisher]

Only today did I read about someone in Chiangmai having problems renewing a Retirement Visa because a joint account is no longer valid. I have a joint fixed deposit account with over 800,000 baht in it on a 12 months basis in the name of myself and my wife and I opened this to avoid problems because on this basis there would always be over 800,000 baht in a Thailand bank account. I have seen no new regulation about joint accounts not being valid any more but am now worried as my wife's visa is up for renewal in August. My wife is a farang but we do have a Thai marriage certificate from 1970 as well as a British Consular one. When I first obtained a retirement visa for my wife, the immigration office in Singhkorn told me to open a joint account with over 800,000 baht in it (not 1.6 million) and that would do for both of us. We have always renewed on the basis of 800,000 baht in a joint account, although it was previously a savings account. I know about the 3 month in advance regulation but can anyone tell me for sure that the joint account is no longer valid and when this new regulation came in? David Fisher

[trd]

<br />Only today did I read about someone in Chiangmai having problems renewing a Retirement Visa because a joint account is no longer valid. I have a joint fixed deposit account with over 800,000 baht in it on a 12 months basis in the name of myself and my wife and I opened this to avoid problems because on this basis there would always be over 800,000 baht in a Thailand bank account. I have seen no new regulation about joint accounts not being valid any more but am now worried as my wife's visa is up for renewal in August. My wife is a farang but we do have a Thai marriage certificate from 1970 as well as a British Consular one. When I first obtained a retirement visa for my wife, the immigration office in Singhkorn told me to open a joint account with over 800,000 baht in it (not 1.6 million) and that would do for both of us. We have always renewed on the basis of 800,000 baht in a joint account, although it was previously a savings account. I know about the 3 month in advance regulation but can anyone tell me for sure that the joint account is no longer valid and when this new regulation came in? David Fisher<br />

<br /><br /><br />

I have a joint account with my Thai girlfriend and that's where I keep most of my funds in Thailand. I have been on a retirement visa for the past 4 years but each time it has come up for renewal I have had to transfer 800,000 baht into another account in my sole name a few days before visiting immigration (Phuket) because they have never accepted the joint account. I present them with both accounts showing withdrawal from the joint and deposit into the single account and say, "look I have had to do this because you won't accept a joint account". I had to explain because I once had a problem when the immigration officer suggested I borrowed the money temporarily to get the visa. Once the visa has been renewed I transfer it back again into the joint account. I was not aware of any new rules regarding joint accounts. I recently spoke to a farang married couple who were told by immigration that they had to show 1.6m as they would be treated as 2 individuals foreigners.

[Mobi]

This whole subject is being discussed in the visa thread in the following link:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=115263

You will see that the rules appear to have been changed, and joint accounts are no longer acceptable.

trd, another new rule is that you need to have the money there for minimum of 3 months, so transferring it over for a few days will not work any more.

Read the thread, it's all there.

[samtam]

As I said in that thread, I had no problem with the joint account, and three month fixed deposit, split into two fixed deposits of THB800k each. I applied in Bangkok, and there was no problem.

[ProThaiExpat]

The casual use of the work "new" when it comes to immigration rules is fraught with misunderstanding.

I have had five extensions of my non-imm-O visa based on retirement and five years ago I was informed in no uncertain terms that my funds had to be in a personal or sole owner account. Joint accounts were not adequate unless double the amount of money required was present. It was my understanding that the funds on deposit was evidence of my ability to support myself for a year and giving another person control over my ability to support myself was inadequate proof.

The 90 prior deposit rule is new this last year although I am not sure if it applies only to first timers or not.

The "declaration" which is notarized at the consulate in CM is of such a form that if one has almost any form of regular income, the pension and small bank account method is so much easier if you don't want 800K sitting in a Thai bank.