Coming from Canada to Retire

[Gahn5]

A Canadian friend wants to come to Thailand around October this year.

His intension is to obtain an Extension of Stay based on Retirement, using the 65,000 THB per month method, (from a pension) and be able to return to Canada for 4 or 5 months each year and return. 

 

The following are his queries, and apologies in advance if it's a bit long-winded as I'm trying to relay as best I can:

 

1. What would be the best visa to obtain initially - STV, Non-Immigrant "O" obtained through the Thai Embassy in Ottawa (I thought you can only get an "O" once inside Thailand & O-A's are only issued outside) or Visa Exempt?

 

2. If he comes on TV, STV or Visa Exempt, can any of these be converted to a 90-day Non-Immigrant "O" and apply for a 1 year Extension of Stay based on Retirement?

 

3. He then states that he can get a letter from the Canadian Embassy in BKK confirming he is in receipt of income to conform to the 65,000 THB per month method?

 

4. If he doesn't have 800,000 THB in his Thai bank account, how long must he show he is getting funds of 65,000 THB into it, given that he would not have 12 months of deposits when he comes?

 

5. If the Extension of Stay was approved, and he wants to return to Canada, obviously he would require a re-entry permit, then he would need to come back to Thailand at least 30 days before the expiry date of his Extension of Stay to re-new for a further year?

 

He is not keen on paying an Agent to accomplish this.

Thanks for your consideration. 

[ubonjoe]

1/2 A STV could not be changed to a 90 day non-o visa and they will not be issued after September 30th.

He could get a single entry tourist visa and the apply for the non-o visa at immigration. Or he could enter visa exempt and apply for one. And then a apply for a one year extension of stay prior to having less than 15 day remaining on his entry.

3. The Canadian embassy will allow him to do a statutory declaration to confirm his 65k baht income. He will need to show proof of his income.

4. No needed if he has the proof of income from the Canadian embassy.

5. There is not requirement to enter the country on or before he has at least 30 days remaining on his extension of stay to apply for a new one. He would only need enough time remaining to do the extension.

 

[Gahn5]

8 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

1/2 A STV could not be changed to a 90 day non-o visa and they will not be issued after September 30th.

He could get a single entry tourist visa and the apply for the non-o visa at immigration. Or he could enter visa exempt and apply for one. And then a apply for a one year extension of stay prior to having less than 15 day remaining on his entry.

3. The Canadian embassy will allow him to do a statutory declaration to confirm his 65k baht income. He will need to show proof of his income.

4. No needed if he has the proof of income from the Canadian embassy.

5. There is not requirement to enter the country on or before he has at least 30 days remaining on his extension of stay to apply for a new one. He would only need enough time remaining to do the extension.

 

Thanks Joe, much appreciated

[allane]

Going off-topic here, to advise a fellow Canadian:

- if your driver's licence will expire shortly after you have arrived here, consider delaying your departure, and renew it before you leave.

- if you have any reason to think that you might need an additional Canadian bank or brokerage account, do it before you leave Canada. We are restricted in what we can do when living abroad.

[frodo77]

I got my proof of income letter by sending the appropriate documents by email to the Canadian Embassy in Bangkok. Our Embassy is wonderful and have always received excellent service in my many years here.

[rwill]

19 hours ago, allane said:

Going off-topic here, to advise a fellow Canadian:

- if your driver's licence will expire shortly after you have arrived here, consider delaying your departure, and renew it before you leave.

- if you have any reason to think that you might need an additional Canadian bank or brokerage account, do it before you leave Canada. We are restricted in what we can do when living abroad.

If you have the US$25K to open a Schwab One International account you can use your foreign address and telephone number for the account.  With this account you can wire money to your Thai bank account for free(it shows a $15 charge but they instantly rebate it back).  Also you can get a debit card with the account, have to fill out an extra form for it.  With the debit card you can withdraw money from Foreign ATM's for free, no Schwab charges plus they pay the foreign bank fee for you too.  You can also link your other bank accounts to it and easily move money between them.  The only downside to it is that any money you leave sitting in the account earns a paltry .2% interest.  So if you want to set funds aside for savings/emergency use your other bank.  It is a brokerage account not a bank account.

[gt162]

1 hour ago, rwill said:

If you have the US$25K to open a Schwab One International account you can use your foreign address and telephone number for the account.  With this account you can wire money to your Thai bank account for free(it shows a $15 charge but they instantly rebate it back).  Also you can get a debit card with the account, have to fill out an extra form for it.  With the debit card you can withdraw money from Foreign ATM's for free, no Schwab charges plus they pay the foreign bank fee for you too.  You can also link your other bank accounts to it and easily move money between them.  The only downside to it is that any money you leave sitting in the account earns a paltry .2% interest.  So if you want to set funds aside for savings/emergency use your other bank.  It is a brokerage account not a bank account.

 

Does Schwab have this for Americans also?

[rwill]

10 hours ago, gt162 said:

 

Does Schwab have this for Americans also?

Yes it is for Americans, like me.  I do not maintain a US address any more.  I use my Schwab and SDFCU accounts.  Both allow use of foreign address/phone number.

[10years]

I’ve been a Schwab One customer since probably when they kicked off the program. I’ve also switched between local (US) and international versions countless times. The above description is somewhat misleading.

 

Schwab is both a brokerage and a bank account. That should be pretty obvious. If you go to a ATM, whether in the US or Thailand, and try to withdraw money, there is no choice of brokerage for the account. More on that later.

 

Also, the $25,000 doesn’t have to be in cash. Yes, it would be foolish to keep $25k in an account earning such paltry interest. IIRC, the money can be in almost any form. So if you have a IRA or Roth IRA, or stock or bond holdings, you can move some of that to Schwab. Only cash interest and dividends would earn the paltry interest, but you could transfer excess cash to another account.

 

Schwab refunds all ATM withdrawal fees from both local and international ATMs. The debit card is free. There is no annual fee for the Schwab One account.

 

I strongly advise you to open a local Schwab account. Never give them a foreign address or phone number, even temporarily. If you open an international account, you will be classified as a non-US resident, and there will be restrictions or regulations. IIRC, any distributions will be subject to mandatory tax withholding.

 

Your Schwab One is a checking account, that’s why the interest rate is low. Some checking accounts don’t pay any interest. When you go to a ATM, remember to choose checking or demand account. Many times I’ve selected savings and been bounced. Also note that Thais don’t have personal checking accounts. I couldn’t withdraw money from the simple ATM at my hotel in Bangkok. Turns out it didn’t offer checking as an account to choose from. And you can only withdraw less than B15.000 ($500) at one time, even though the Thai ATM can dispense B30,000.

 

Since Schwab One is a checking account, it can accept Direct Deposits, like social security and stimulus checks. It also has a free billpayer service. You can order a book of personal checks for free.

 

If you have an international account, you will be “forced” to call their international desk number, which may not be toll free from Thailand. But from anywhere in the world, you can call Schwab’s domestic “800” toll-free numbers for free using Skype. And if you have the local account, remember to notify Schwab of your overseas travel plans. That can be done online.