Documentation For Verification Of Income

[thaihome]

I got my Commanding Officer to certify my gross retirement income before I retired from the Navy last month on official letterhead stationary ... that should be good enough for the US Embassy to certify my pension meets the minimum required amount ... shouldn't it ?

I’m afraid you have missed the point of the thread. The US Embassy does not “certify” your income. They notarize your signature on statement you make that the income you have stated is true. No documentation is required to be shown to the consulate officer that puts the notary stamp on the document.

TH

[Storekeeper]

Thanks. I undersatnd the scam perfectly clear now

I got my Commanding Officer to certify my gross retirement income before I retired from the Navy last month on official letterhead stationary ... that should be good enough for the US Embassy to certify my pension meets the minimum required amount ... shouldn't it ?

I’m afraid you have missed the point of the thread. The US Embassy does not “certify” your income. They notarize your signature on statement you make that the income you have stated is true. No documentation is required to be shown to the consulate officer that puts the notary stamp on the document.

TH

[ProThaiExpat]

I think it makes sense to take your original and a copy of your Commanding Officer's letter with you to Immigration, but show it only if asked for verification.

[LivinLOS]

I got my Commanding Officer to certify my gross retirement income before I retired from the Navy last month on official letterhead stationary ... that should be good enough for the US Embassy to certify my pension meets the minimum required amount ... shouldn't it ?

I’m afraid you have missed the point of the thread. The US Embassy does not “certify” your income. They notarize your signature on statement you make that the income you have stated is true. No documentation is required to be shown to the consulate officer that puts the notary stamp on the document.

TH

Then if this is the case why not use a notary public ?? I needed to make a sworn declaration and provide certified copies of my passport.. A local lawyer made a booking with a notary public and this was done, stamped as a true copy, given his seal etc.. All was fine for the satisfaction of legal eagles back in the west and cost me 600 baht in my local town.

something different between his thai legal notorized statement and the Embassies one ??

[AJARNJACK]

Sorry to hear that you know that indivdual also. Thanks - I needed that! Sure glad that I'm miles away from that kind of treatment from 'one of our own"! I appreciated your comment.

[ProThaiExpat]

as you will note by reading up a few posts, making a false declaration to an U.S. Government Official is breaking the law and carries significant legal penalties.

I cannot speculate whether Thai immigration counts on this factor to lend credence to the U.S. State Department declaration, but my guess is that the penalties for making a false declaration before a Thai notary public are far less severe than a false declaration before a U.S. Official.

[thaihome]

...something different between his thai legal notorized statement and the Embassies one ??

Well, other than I don't believe there is a Thai equivalent of a US notary public, the biggest difference I can see is Immigration requires a document from your embassy so a “Thai notary public” would not fulfill their requirements. It would seem the subtle difference between certification and notarization had previously escaped the Thai authorities but as they now seem to be asking for documentation besides Embassy document shows they are catching on.

TH

[PeaceBlondie]

Maybe I've missed the point, but I don't think it's a scam, except that it's a tidy revenue stream for the American Embassy. I never underestimate the intelligence or competence of a Thai Immigration Police, unless they prove it. I don't think the immigration authorities believe the embassy guarantees the accuracy of the pension declarations; they know better.

Americans tend to be very wary of lying to their government, except for cheating on taxes.

Storekeeper, that letter from your commander would be great. A civil servant gets a determination letter telling how much their pension is; maybe the military do, as well. Congratulations on your retirement and fine service to our country.

[JimGant]

I got my Commanding Officer to certify my gross retirement income before I retired from the Navy last month on official letterhead stationary ... that should be good enough for the US Embassy to certify my pension meets the minimum required amount ... shouldn't it ?

As others said, you don't need proof at the Embassy or Consulate, but *may* at Thai Immigration.

And while your CO's letter may work initially, a few years down the road it may be considered dated, plus it would not reflect your inflation-adjusted increase in retirement pay (possibly necessary, when the dollar further erodes, to translate into a required monthly baht income stream.)

Anyway, by signing up with Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), you can print out your latest 'Retiree Account Statement' on-line. This, I would think, would be fully acceptable by Immigration. Click on the below link if you're unfamiliar with this service. Login ID is your SS number.

DFAS

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Maybe I've missed the point, but I don't think it's a scam, except that it's a tidy revenue stream for the American Embassy. I never underestimate the intelligence or competence of a Thai Immigration Police, unless they prove it. I don't think the immigration authorities believe the embassy guarantees the accuracy of the pension declarations; they know better.

Americans tend to be very wary of lying to their government, except for cheating on taxes.

Storekeeper, that letter from your commander would be great. A civil servant gets a determination letter telling how much their pension is; maybe the military do, as well. Congratulations on your retirement and fine service to our country.

A potential "problem" with using something other than the Embassy "verification of income" is that Thai Immigration is used to seeing this document, not one from an outside retirement office.

I've slipped by this at Suan Plu with a letter on letterhead stationary from the State Dept Office of Retirement and once had to sort of illustrate with my hands that State was higher up the totem pole than the Embassy here.  Haven't had to pull out the letter, tho, for the last 4-5 years.  Do have the receipts for the monthly deposits to my SCB account of baht 65,000 so guess that satisfies the income requirement w/o the letter.

FYI, that baht 65k per month now runs me some $300 more per month than it did just a couple years back!!  The US$$ is tanking!!

Mac

[Storekeeper]

Thanks fellas.

Jim: Your recommendations have already been taken for action.

PB: PM your cell # so I can call you in about a week.

I'm moving along smartly rounding up all the documents I need for the

"O" visa based on having a Thai spouse.

Two questions for now if it's acceptable for this thread ...

# I no longer have to have baht 400,000 in a Thai bank account ?

# In regards to the letter I have to get from the US Embassy about

my pension amount ... should I tell them just what I need to meet

the minimum requirement or tell them the full amount ?

[PeaceBlondie]

Thanks fellas.

Jim: Your recommendations have already been taken for action.

PB: PM your cell # so I can call you in about a week.

I'm moving along smartly rounding up all the documents I need for the

"O" visa based on having a Thai spouse.

Two questions for now if it's acceptable for this thread ...

# I no longer have to have baht 400,000 in a Thai bank account ?

# In regards to the letter I have to get from the US Embassy about

my pension amount ... should I tell them just what I need to meet

the minimum requirement or tell them the full amount ?

SK, I'll send you the PM in a few minutes. No, I wouldn't tell them the minimum amount. The form is set up for you to state the full amount, and it'll look better.