Last year in December I did my retirement extension based on £21000 I have in a Foreign Currency Account with Bkk Bank. Accepted by my Immigration Officer, never asked to see it at 90 days etc.

I was still having to import enough money to live on though.

So this year I have brought in THB 50,000 per month and my IO will accept THB 200,000 to make it up to THB 800,000. 

Officially the original 800 must stay in bank until next re-newal in December, but will my IO accept THB 200,000 of this in order to comply with my 'Combination' method. Any thoughts please.

 

Which IO do you use? Jomtien don't seem to like the combination method

You only have to keep 800k baht in the bank for 3 months after you apply for the extension and then 400k baht for the rest of the year.

If you have proof of 12 months of transfers into the country you can use the combination option to apply for your extension. You may need to keep 400k baht in the bank until you apply for the extension unless immigration accepts the 200k baht in the bank with 600k baht of income instead of it for the 2 months before you apply.

8 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Which IO do you use? Jomtien don't seem to like the combination method

Phitsanulok. The chief IO OKed it last week on my 90 day report, and I got him to write it down for me 12 x 50,000 = 600,000 + 200,000 = 800,000. I am confident there will be no problems, except maybe, that the 200k will be part of last year's 800k.

11 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Jomtien don't seem to like the combination method

I think that was before people could show 12 months of transfers into the country with the money in the bank.

1 minute ago, ubonjoe said:

You only have to keep 800k baht in the bank for 3 months after you apply for the extension and then 400k baht for the rest of the year.

If you have proof of 12 months of transfers into the country you can use the combination option to apply for your extension. You may need to keep 400k baht in the bank until you apply for the extension unless immigration accepts the 200k baht in the bank with 600k baht of income instead of it for the 2 months before you apply.

Is it not 800 for 3 months, 400 for 5 months then 800 for last 3 months? That's the bit I am worried about. 

Just park the 800K baht in a bank and leave it there. It baffles me why people want to make their lives complicated, surely there's enough s##t to go around already.

5 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Just park the 800K baht in a bank and leave it there. It baffles me why people want to make their lives complicated, surely there's enough s##t to go around already.

Some of us cannot do both 800k in the bank doing absolutley nothing, AND import money  each month to live on.

Some say that the 800k is there in case of urgent medical needs. Dip into it and you have broken the terms of your extension, bye bye.

Edited September 29, 20205 yr by stouricks

13 minutes ago, stouricks said:

Is it not 800 for 3 months, 400 for 5 months then 800 for last 3 months?

It only has to be in the bank for 2 months before you apply not 3 months. It changed to 2 months when the rules changed to 800k and 400k baht after.

You could show them the proof of your transfer before the 2 months start to find out if that is acceptable. In reality only the 400k baht would have to be in the bank if you changed to the combination option but you would be meeting the requirements with a 800k baht total of income and money inthe bank.

50 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Which IO do you use? Jomtien don't seem to like the combination method

Jomtien accepts the combination method and have done so for years. I have friends using it,but they prefer an income letter from an embassy/consulate instead of the 12 months bank statement + in some cases credit advises. 

Edited September 29, 20205 yr by Max69xl

33 minutes ago, stouricks said:

Is it not 800 for 3 months, 400 for 5 months then 800 for last 3 months? That's the bit I am worried about. 

Ooops that's only 11 months in a year. I meant 400k for 7 months.

9 minutes ago, stouricks said:

Some of us cannot do both 800k in the bank doing absolutley nothing, AND import money  each month to live on.

Some say that the 800k is there in case of urgent medical needs. Dip into it and you have broken the terms of your extension, bye bye.

Half of the 800k are "supposed" to be there for an urgent need, but you have to top it up to 800k again 2 months prior to next 1 year extension if you're still going for the money in the bank method. If using the combination method, everyone with some money in the bank and a half descent pension, should imo be able to afford that. If not, maybe Thailand isn't the place to retire. If retiring outside the EU as a European, you need some money stashed away for a rainy day. 

33 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Just park the 800K baht in a bank and leave it there. It baffles me why people want to make their lives complicated, surely there's enough s##t to go around already.

i feel the same way.    but you and i are rich old guys   5555   well, according to some here.  

 

For the record,  i was living here in my late 30's when i thought i could live a long time on my savings.

Thought better of it and returned to home country to make some more before returning here for good in my 40's.     

 

I feel that what I save now on  errrr  outside company .....  kinda balances out the inflation that is inevitable.    But by all means,  guys coming here to "retire" ,  whether single or with family,  should

try to have enough to park the 800k  in a bank.   For a long time one got decent interest and also

"made money"  on the exchange rate.   Nowadays its just dead money.... but a lot less hassle than wiggling around every year trying to figure out how to make the IO  happy.

15 minutes ago, stouricks said:

Some of us cannot do both 800k in the bank doing absolutley nothing, AND import money  each month to live on.

Some say that the 800k is there in case of urgent medical needs. Dip into it and you have broken the terms of your extension, bye bye.

While I realize some posters are closer to the edge than I am, I can't help thinking if the financial contortions are so complicated, wouldn't they be better off somewhere else?

18 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

While I realize some posters are closer to the edge than I am, I can't help thinking if the financial contortions are so complicated, wouldn't they be better off somewhere else?

If people are living on really low incomes, where to live becomes a trade off. If you are smart about how you live, Thailand can be far cheaper as a place to end your days than your home country. The infrastructure in parts of Thailand is good, living costs low (for most everyday expenses) the weather is good for those who hate cold weather and Thailand has very good food options. While not for everyone, I can imagine why some who are struggling financially might still find Thailand their best option.

1 hour ago, Max69xl said:

Jomtien accepts the combination method and have done so for years. I have friends using it,but they prefer an income letter from an embassy/consulate instead of the 12 months bank statement + in some cases credit advises. 

There's been at least two threads on Jomtien and combination method (12* monthly transfers + balance of 800,000) and I don't recall 1 person saying they do it

4 hours ago, stouricks said:

Is it not 800 for 3 months, 400 for 5 months then 800 for last 3 months? That's the bit I am worried about. 

The back up to 800k is for 2 months and only required for another retirement extension based on deposited money. If you switch to income 12 months of 65,000+ baht from overseas is needed. Proving you kept up with last years extension requirements is presumed. 

Edited September 29, 20205 yr by jacko45k

3 hours ago, BritTim said:

If people are living on really low incomes, where to live becomes a trade off. If you are smart about how you live, Thailand can be far cheaper as a place to end your days than your home country. The infrastructure in parts of Thailand is good, living costs low (for most everyday expenses) the weather is good for those who hate cold weather and Thailand has very good food options. While not for everyone, I can imagine why some who are struggling financially might still find Thailand their best option.

Fair enough. I just wish the Thai authorities would accept sinking 1 or 2 million baht into a condo proves a foreigner is there for the long haul. They would get the benefit of support for the property market, heaven knows it's in a parlous enough state. Their current ownership and visa system is the reason I am still renting here after 10 years.

20 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Their current ownership and visa system is the reason I am still renting here after 10 years.

And you should count your blessings that they persuaded you to do so......

I just leave my money in Goverment Saving Bank fixed deposit,  and take the interest out each time it matures.  The money's there all the time. 

On 9/29/2020 at 11:43 AM, stouricks said:

Ooops that's only 11 months in a year. I meant 400k for 7 months.

Sorry, you did made me laugh a bit there, as now you're at 13 months ???? 

 

The minimum requirements are 800K for the 3 months after extension, 400K for the next 7 months & then back up to 800K for the final 2 months prior to the next extension. 

 

  

Stouricks Yes if you use your 800,000 for emergency health reasons at least you have been cured or in

a fit state to either go home or begin here to raise enough cash to replace it. So its served a dual purpose.

Leave it there. Forget about it if you can.

On 9/29/2020 at 12:08 PM, rumak said:

Nowadays its just dead money.... but a lot less hassle than wiggling around every year trying to figure out how to make the IO  happy.

I like my money, dead or alive... yes, I do the same, park it plus enough if there are health problems too... 

 

I think it was early 80s, Chiang rai, I met a very nice young fellow who was managing a small resort... he told me that if he could only get his hands on $5,000 US - he could live here for the rest of his life w/o worry... he had a laid back lifestyle. I told him he should go back to USA and work construction for 6 months and he could accomplish that... he thought about it for a few minutes, his eyes lit up - then the reality sunk in that he would have to leave... he said "naaah." Wonder whatever happened to him? 

14 hours ago, Mike Teavee said:

Sorry, you did made me laugh a bit there, as now you're at 13 months ???? 

 

The minimum requirements are 800K for the 3 months after extension, 400K for the next 7 months & then back up to 800K for the final 2 months prior to the next extension. 

 

  

Not to be too pedantic..... I always felt the 'back up to 800k' for 2 months was a qualifier for a new retirement extension based on money on deposit. If a person wished to change to an Extension based on 'income', there would not be any need. (Maybe?)

Probably not worth getting into an argument with an IO over that... but if one had proof of the 12 months of 65,000 baht deposited that should qualify a person.

2 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Not to be too pedantic..... I always felt the 'back up to 800k' for 2 months was a qualifier for a new retirement extension based on money on deposit. If a person wished to change to an Extension based on 'income', there would not be any need. (Maybe?)

Probably not worth getting into an argument with an IO over that... but if one had proof of the 12 months of 65,000 baht deposited that should qualify a person.

Not pedantic at all & I think a very important point that nobody has managed to confirm (as much as it's possible to confirm anything when it comes to extensions) yet as these updated rules have only been in place for 18 months so I'm not sure many people have tried.  

 

FWIW I agree with you that according to the rules, once you had your visa you would need to keep 800K for 3 months then could spend down to 400K for the remaining 9 if in parallel you were bringing over at least 65K per month after which you could spend the lot, but if it was me I would edge my bets by setting-up a separate bank account for the 65K monthly transfers and continue to maintain the 800K/400K/800K until I'd managed to fully swap over.