Bank Requirement Information Help

[Martin Brit]

I am British, 65 yo, will come to Thailand in the next few months on Tourist Visa 60 days, the Thai Embassy London website quotes "The 30-day visa exemption scheme is not included in the tourist visa, and the permitted length of stay remains up to 60 days". 

1 - Anyone finding this not to be the case and 30 day extension is possible?

2 - How much money do I have to show on my Bank statement for 60 day Tourist Visa. I would need to plan ahead, as my cash is in an ISA, I don't leave cash in a UK bank as it makes no interest for me.

My plan is then to apply for a 90 day Non Immigration Visa when I am in Thailand. So this gives me 5 months or 6 if the 30 day extension is possible.

3 - Again how much cash do I have to show on a UK bank statement for this. Is a combination of pension + cash acceptable, like 50/50?

4 - I have a property rented out in UK, does that qualify as income?

Following this I may decide to apply for Non Immigration 1 year Retirement Visa.

For this I understand I have to open Thai Bank account (I will use an agent) & transfer approx £18k sterling from my UK bank (again I need to plan ahead to do this).

5 - Does that 800,000 thb now in my Thai bank have to remain untouched (maintain that balance throughout my stay) or am I able to use it as day to day funds without adding to it seeing as I leave Thailand after 1 year?

6 - Alternatively I understand proof of income of  £1,625 is acceptable, could my rental income + pension be accepted? Would that have to be transferred every month to a Thai Bank or can that remain in my UK bank?

7 - I also worry about contacting my UK bank from Thailand and transferring £18k. My feeling is I would contact them before I leave UK and register with them my intention so the transaction is not blocked.

 

Hope there is help out there, I have tried to ask Visa Agents but they are reluctant to help until I pay their fee understandably, but I need to know I can "get all my ducks in a row" before I set off on a long journey for the first time. I do plan to use the Visa Agent to get me through all this. 

[sanuk711]

26 minutes ago, Martin Brit said:

7 - I also worry about contacting my UK bank from Thailand and transferring £18k. My feeling is I would contact them before I leave UK and register with them my intention so the transaction is not blocked.

Use "Wise"......they will access your account and do it for you at a much better rate ......

[ubonjoe]

1. You can apply for a 30 day extension of the 60 day permit to stay from a tourist visa.

2. You only need the equivalent of 20k baht in the bank for a tourist visa.

3. To apply for non-o visa at immigration you will need 800k baht in a Thai bank on the day you apply. You will need proof it was transferred from abroad.

4. You have prove the income by showing transfers from abroad. The transfer option is not possible for the non-o visa application. 

5. When you apply for a one year extension of stay based upon retirement the the 800k for 2 months when you apply. Then the 800k baht must remain in the bank for 3 months from the day you apply and then 400k baht must be kept in the bank until you top up the account 2 months before the next extension.

Edit: Finished post after accidental post.

6. You need to show transfers from abroad every month that is equal to 65k baht or more. You combine different incomes to reach that amount.

7. Not sure what your bank would require.

 

Edited September 4, 2021 by ubonjoe
fixed typo

[473geo]

If you have a laptop and card reader for on line banking mine worked for the bank transfer in Thailand

[Lite Beer]

1 hour ago, fangless said:

I thought the 400,000 had to stay in the account all year! 

 ฿800,000 remaining for 3 months after the extension, and ฿400,000 thereafter. 

Correct.

[ubonjoe]

1 hour ago, fangless said:

I thought the 400,000 had to stay in the account all year! 

A long day typo has been fixed now.

[473geo]

1 hour ago, 473geo said:

If you have a laptop and card reader for on line banking mine worked for the bank transfer in Thailand

For those that cannot apply my comment to the circumstances of the op I carried out a transfer from my UK bank to a Thai bank account while in Thailand using my laptop and card reader no problems whatsoever

[Jonathan Swift]

On 9/3/2021 at 7:17 AM, ubonjoe said:

1. You can apply for a 30 day extension of the 60 day permit to stay from a tourist visa.

2. You only need the equivalent of 20k baht in the bank for a tourist visa.

3. To apply for non-o visa at immigration you will need 800k baht in a Thai bank on the day you apply. You will need proof it was transferred from abroad.

4. You have prove the income by showing transfers from abroad. The transfer option is not possible for the non-o visa application. 

5. When you apply for a one year extension of stay based upon retirement the the 800k for 2 months when you apply. Then the 800k baht must remain in the bank for 3 months from the day you apply and then 400k baht must be kept in the bank until you top up the account 2 months before the next extension.

Edit: Finished post after accidental post.

6. You need to show transfers from abroad every month that is equal to 65k baht or more. You combine different incomes to reach that amount.

7. Not sure what your bank would require.

 

You do NOT need to have 800K on hand to apply if you are using the monthly 65K income method. You can  obtain the non O visa using the monthly income requirement of minimum 65,000 baht, which you show on a one year bank statement as an income transfer deposit once a month. I have been doing this for 3 years. Handled the entire process myself. You can cobble your funds together from multiple sources or savings as long as it appears as one monthly "income" deposit at appx the same date every month. 

[Jonathan Swift]

On 9/3/2021 at 6:42 AM, Martin Brit said:

6 - Alternatively I understand proof of income of  £1,625 is acceptable, could my rental income + pension be accepted? Would that have to be transferred every month to a Thai Bank or can that remain in my UK bank?

It must appear in a Thai bank account. Here is how I do it. I have $1400 US from social security, and $350 US from a dividend, to which I add sufficient funds to add up to 65,000 baht, which I then transfer in one lump sum to my Thai bank using Transfer Wise (Now "Wise") once a month on appx the same date. I then use a one year bank statement from my BKK bank to present to immigration. Been doing it 3 years now. I would recommend you combine all of them as I did in one lump sum, the simpler it looks to immigration the less likely you will run into complications. If you get a math challenged immigration clerk and have to explain separate income amounts you might have problems. 

[blueeyes]

Jonathon swift

Do you spend any of the 65,00 baht during the month or do you transfer every month thus saving more and more each month.

[bristolgeoff]

From my experience before the virus.everyone got 60 days thru a consulate,then renew after for 30 days more.Has never being a problem.except now they may want to see if you being  dbl jabbed.when they open the gates again i don,t know what will be needed 

[brianthainess]

On 9/4/2021 at 6:43 AM, 473geo said:

If you have a laptop and card reader for on line banking mine worked for the bank transfer in Thailand

Card readers are great, I use mine no problem you can also use anybody else's reader. but some banks still don't use them.  charge from my uk bank is 20 quid for any amount sent. I checked out Wise and it would have cost me ALOT more. edit; still can't figure out how they work though unless codes are imbedded in your card somehow. 

Edited September 5, 2021 by brianthainess

[hotandsticky]

3 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

 . I checked out Wise and it would have cost me ALOT more.  

 

 

TOTALLY wrong!

 

 

You have to factor in the exchange rate as well.  You didn't if you think Wise is more expensive.

 

As a former bank employee I don't pay for international transfers - it is still better for me to use Wise.

[skatewash]

25 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

 

 

TOTALLY wrong!

 

 

You have to factor in the exchange rate as well.  You didn't if you think Wise is more expensive.

 

As a former bank employee I don't pay for international transfers - it is still better for me to use Wise.

Elements of an international transfer:

1.  Fees charged by your home country bank.
2.  Exchange rate used to convert from home currency to Thai baht.
3.  Fees charged to do the international transfer.

4.  Fees charged by your Thai bank to receive the transfer.

Wise will show you the costs associated with 2 and 3.  You will have to calculate 1 yourself and 4 doesn't come into play in a Wise transfer.

One should consider all the costs associated with an international transfer.  I often see people trying to compare one method with another and ignoring some of these elements.

[geisha]

Hi, There was a message on FB today from Thai embassy Paris, saying visas are now to be done completely online , meaning you don’t have to go and pick up your passport, all this from 18 th September. It did say a 60 day tourist visa needed 2000€ + in bank statements. This is the one that interests me, as I çan extend. 

[London Lowf]

2 - How much money do I have to show on my Bank statement for 60 day Tourist Visa. I would need to plan ahead, as my cash is in an ISA, I don't leave cash in a UK bank as it makes no interest for me.

 

I have applied for a 60 day SETV from London twice, the last time being issued last week. I also don't leave money in my bank account and so sent them a copy of my National Savings balance (i.e. premium bonds) and they have accepted that both times. I think you should be okay sending your ISA balance.

[William C F Pierce]

19 hours ago, brianthainess said:

Card readers are great, I use mine no problem you can also use anybody else's reader. but some banks still don't use them.  charge from my uk bank is 20 quid for any amount sent. I checked out Wise and it would have cost me ALOT more. edit; still can't figure out how they work though unless codes are imbedded in your card somehow. 

I have money sent regularly to Thailand and it only cost me a couple of pounds using Wise. Wise also gives you a better exchange rate because they do it with funds they already have in Thailand in 2 Thai Banks. Their costs are low because they have bank accounts in over a hundred different countries. They therefore don't have to actually move money between countries. 

[Martin Brit]

On 9/4/2021 at 12:43 AM, 473geo said:

If you have a laptop and card reader for on line banking mine worked for the bank transfer in Thailand

Many thanks. I wondered if a VPN would be required to do UK banking from Thailand, maybe not then. 

[Martin Brit]

11 hours ago, William C F Pierce said:

I have money sent regularly to Thailand and it only cost me a couple of pounds using Wise. Wise also gives you a better exchange rate because they do it with funds they already have in Thailand in 2 Thai Banks. Their costs are low because they have bank accounts in over a hundred different countries. They therefore don't have to actually move money between countries. 

Many thanks I will look into this.

[Martin Brit]

On 9/3/2021 at 12:10 PM, sanuk711 said:

Use "Wise"......they will access your account and do it for you at a much better rate ......

Many thanks - I will check this out, sounds like perfect solution.

[Martin Brit]

On 9/4/2021 at 8:10 PM, Jonathan Swift said:

It must appear in a Thai bank account. Here is how I do it. I have $1400 US from social security, and $350 US from a dividend, to which I add sufficient funds to add up to 65,000 baht, which I then transfer in one lump sum to my Thai bank using Transfer Wise (Now "Wise") once a month on appx the same date. I then use a one year bank statement from my BKK bank to present to immigration. Been doing it 3 years now. I would recommend you combine all of them as I did in one lump sum, the simpler it looks to immigration the less likely you will run into complications. If you get a math challenged immigration clerk and have to explain separate income amounts you might have problems. 

Just so I understand fully. If I use Wise to transfer 65,000 THB from my UK bank to a Thai bank, and show immigration a Thai bank statement with a monthly 65,000 THB deposit, that will probably do the job. So if a percentage  came into my UK bank as pension and I topped it up from savings to 65,000 THB, then send it monthly via Wise to Thai bank, thats similar to what you are doing? 

[Martin Brit]

17 hours ago, London Lowf said:

2 - How much money do I have to show on my Bank statement for 60 day Tourist Visa. I would need to plan ahead, as my cash is in an ISA, I don't leave cash in a UK bank as it makes no interest for me.

 

I have applied for a 60 day SETV from London twice, the last time being issued last week. I also don't leave money in my bank account and so sent them a copy of my National Savings balance (i.e. premium bonds) and they have accepted that both times. I think you should be okay sending your ISA balance.

Many thanks

[skatewash]

16 minutes ago, Martin Brit said:

Just so I understand fully. If I use Wise to transfer 65,000 THB from my UK bank to a Thai bank, and show immigration a Thai bank statement with a monthly 65,000 THB deposit, that will probably do the job. So if a percentage  came into my UK bank as pension and I topped it up from savings to 65,000 THB, then send it monthly via Wise to Thai bank, thats similar to what you are doing? 

If you have a Bangkok Bank account and use Wise and choose the "long term stay in Thailand" reason for the transfer, then it will show up in your Bangkok Bank account with an FTT (Foreign Telegraphic Transfer) designation which will indicate to Immigration that your transfer was made from outside Thailand.

Using another Thai bank OR not choosing "long term stay in Thailand" reason for the Wise transfer can often end up with a situation in which the transfer appears to be a domestic Thai transfer rather than an international transfer.  Since monthly deposits for purpose of a retirement or marriage extension of stay need to come from outside Thailand you can needlessly complicate your task of demonstrating to immigration that your funds are being transferred from outside Thailand if you don't make the transfer as recommended in the first paragraph.

There's a facebook group, TransferWISE Solutions for Thailand, that goes into greater detail about this issue.

[Martin Brit]

2 minutes ago, skatewash said:

If you have a Bangkok Bank account and use Wise and choose the "long term stay in Thailand" reason for the transfer, then it will show up in your Bangkok Bank account with an FTT (Foreign Telegraphic Transfer) designation which will indicate to Immigration that your transfer was made from outside Thailand.

Using another Thai bank OR not choosing "long term stay in Thailand" reason for the Wise transfer can often end up with a situation in which the transfer appears to be a domestic Thai transfer rather than an international transfer.  Since monthly deposits for purpose of a retirement or marriage extension of stay need to come from outside Thailand you can needlessly complicate your task of demonstrating to immigration that your funds are being transferred from outside Thailand if you don't make the transfer as recommended in the first paragraph.

There's a facebook group, TransferWISE Solutions for Thailand, that goes into greater detail about this issue.

Brilliant thanks

[skatewash]

On 9/5/2021 at 6:01 AM, blueeyes said:

Jonathon swift

Do you spend any of the 65,00 baht during the month or do you transfer every month thus saving more and more each month.

I don't know what Jonathan Swift does, but one is allowed to spend any or all of the 65,000 baht deposit after it hits your bank account.  The important thing is that the transfer occur every month and that each transfer be a minimum of 65,000.  What happens to the money after the transfer has been made is of no interest to Immigration.  This is, of course, a great advantage of the income method over the lump-sum method.

[LoeiI]

Hi all

 

My daughter works for a UK bank and has recently sent money to my Kbank account in 2 different ways the first as Thai baht which took 3 days and comes up as a Bahtnet deposit automatic transfer on my Kbank app, the second was sent as a sterling transaction which arrived in 1 day and comes up as a Trade Finance deposit on the Kbank app does anyone know if these terms signify a deposit from an overseas source as required for visa extensions ? not sure about the charges incurred with the transactions only that i wasn't charged by the UK bank.  

 

Thanks in advance for any help

[Martin Brit]

9 hours ago, skatewash said:

If you have a Bangkok Bank account and use Wise and choose the "long term stay in Thailand" reason for the transfer, then it will show up in your Bangkok Bank account with an FTT (Foreign Telegraphic Transfer) designation which will indicate to Immigration that your transfer was made from outside Thailand.

Using another Thai bank OR not choosing "long term stay in Thailand" reason for the Wise transfer can often end up with a situation in which the transfer appears to be a domestic Thai transfer rather than an international transfer.  Since monthly deposits for purpose of a retirement or marriage extension of stay need to come from outside Thailand you can needlessly complicate your task of demonstrating to immigration that your funds are being transferred from outside Thailand if you don't make the transfer as recommended in the first paragraph.

There's a facebook group, TransferWISE Solutions for Thailand, that goes into greater detail about this issue.

Great information thanks, so as long as I transfer £1,625 (65,000 THB) from the UK to Wise then into a Thai Bank once a month, are Thai immigration only looking at the Wise to Thai Bank transaction on the Thai Bank statement. So are not going to know if that is from pension / rental income/ savings investment or whatever. Just as long as they see a regular deposit is set up basically they would be accepting of it?

[KhaoYai]

1 hour ago, Martin Brit said:

Great information thanks, so as long as I transfer £1,625 (65,000 THB)

If its costing you £1625 to get 65,000 baht - you need to change who you transfer with.  Using Wise (formerly Tranferwise) today it would cost you £1454 in total.

[KhaoYai]

1 hour ago, Martin Brit said:

Since monthly deposits for purpose of a retirement or marriage extension of stay need to come from outside Thailand

They don't have to come from outside Thailand for a marriage extension if you are working (legally) in Thailand.

Edited September 6, 2021 by KhaoYai

[skatewash]

2 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

They don't have to come from outside Thailand for a marriage extension if you are working (legally) in Thailand.

Yes, true.  I knew about that exception but didn't mention it.  Thanks for the correction!