20 hours ago, fulhamster said:

That would involve buying THB in your home country, then somehow sending it to a Thai bank.

The fx rate would b even worse than when sending your home currency and having it exchanged by the Thai bank

Not if you use Wise to build up a Baht balance and then send the same amount of that every month to your Thai bank. It works for me..

16 years everything went smooth. Last year even smoother. Got my new extension within 10 minutes. Back in the car the supervisor called me to come back. New rule: need separate bankbook for deposit.

My reply: too late. How can we fix it? He wispered: 4,000. Later the bank told me, they had a lot of this stupid cases lately. One can learn from this!

Now in my anual budget is an "extra immi fee", to avoid the shock...

22 hours ago, Jeffrey346 said:

Yes, I understand it's much easier for IMM to do a Retirement Extension. And NO, she did not suggest that I change my application.

Don't forget the possible implications of insurance requirements for the retirement extension if the original VISA was O-A.

23 hours ago, Eff1n2ret said:

What's the point of that? The IO's objections seem to be about his financial arrangements, not the status of his marriage

Sometimes these IO;s make different obsticles in order to push toward i.e. Retirement extension...

 

glegolo

I think it greatly depends on where you are doing the processing.  I also think that it is probably more labour intensive to do marriage than a retirement extension.

 

I learned long ago if they give me an out with a reasonable amount to just take it.

 

10 years dealing with PT immigration and knock on wood no issues only kudos and appreciation

When I recently renewed my Married Visa, I had all the paper work in order but the IO said whilst she could see I had made the 40,000 baht per month deposit, we had to go back to the Bank and make a deposit that day!  I was ready to get annoyed, but fortunately my lovely Wife is far more practical and suggested that I shut-up and stay calm and she would quickly drive to our Bank, deposit 100 baht and come back.  She did this and the paper work was accepted.  Very, very strange!

17 minutes ago, robertson468 said:

When I recently renewed my Married Visa, I had all the paper work in order but the IO said whilst she could see I had made the 40,000 baht per month deposit, we had to go back to the Bank and make a deposit that day! 

That is a requirement at some offices when using the money in the bank option to prove the account is still valid and the money is still in the bank by updating the bank book after the deposit. Certainly not needed if using the income option with monthly transfers.

On 12/23/2021 at 9:58 AM, Jeffrey346 said:

Trust me, I'm not looking to make waves. But if there are rules I"m not aware of.. I want to know

I am thinking you just are running into the simplify, simplify, simplify mode of everything needing to be of one model, one accepted bureaucratic way of doing things . Unfortunately, for us, depends on the office, their boss, etc. Last eve I was once again on the phone with the US IRS … demand for an additional 2018 tax return interest payment … I will not bore you but this had all been done and dusted months ago … or so I thought. Bureaucracies the world over …

On 12/23/2021 at 9:37 AM, Jeffrey346 said:

Is there any rule that states I must transfer the same amount each month?

Is there a rule that stating I must make 12 transfers to the same bank?

That would be impossible as the currency exchange rates are different every month.

On 12/23/2021 at 9:48 AM, Jeffrey346 said:

As I thought Joe.  Seems she is just breaking chops..

Does anybody other than the cast of ' Goodfellas' use or understand such phrases? 'Busting chops'!!! I grill mine with garlic!

"Was it just you?, what were you wearing?, did you wai them courteously?”...

 

No... Not my questions, but I’m surprised these types of questions have not yet been asked by guys who chance themselves though a visit to Immigration and believe its because they wore an ironed shirt and wai’ied from the forehead....

 

Immigration issues more than any other most definitely appears that officers simply enjoy ‘throwing a curve ball out’...  are they bored?, devious?, do they hate us (foreigners) ??..... No, not at all.....  I think it's far more simple than that. 

 

We renew our extensions each year... throughout the following year some staff come and go, a boss or two here or there may be shifted to another position or a different province and with each shift of staff and each new boss an emphasis is placed on their ‘interpretation’ of regulations which are supposed to be fixed but as with all Thai Policy wording wiggle room and ambiguity lends to personalised interpretations which are often passed on from officer to officer down and across the chain of hierarchy.... 

 

Even when its the same officer is always has been, she / he may have been told to check specific documents more carefully etc.

 

This evolution of requirements has nothing to do with ‘looking for a reason to deny’ and a lot more to do with... ‘its just bureaucracy’....  its an extremely extremely boring and crappy job, bureaucrats world wide really do not care about making life easier for anyone.... 

 

 

 

On 12/23/2021 at 9:48 AM, Jeffrey346 said:

As I thought Joe.  Seems she is just breaking chops..

Just go and face her and tell her she is wrong, and keep insisting to her she is wrong, don't be frightened of these people, but do not raise your voice or act hostile in anyway unless she does it with you. You know you are right, ask to see the boss if she insists on being wrong.

Changing banks doubles the paperwork they have to process and varying amounts and days of the month causes them concern over the source of funds. Just to keep them sweet best to ensure the 40k pm arrives as an FTT on about the same day each mth at the same bank

1 hour ago, robertson468 said:

When I recently renewed my Married Visa, I had all the paper work in order but the IO said whilst she could see I had made the 40,000 baht per month deposit, we had to go back to the Bank and make a deposit that day!  I was ready to get annoyed, but fortunately my lovely Wife is far more practical and suggested that I shut-up and stay calm and she would quickly drive to our Bank, deposit 100 baht and come back.  She did this and the paper work was accepted.  Very, very strange!

My experience is that this has always been a requirement

On 12/23/2021 at 10:24 AM, KannikaP said:

Maybe it would be easier if the OP, and others, sent the same amount in THB every month no matter what the exchange rate is.

Why should any of us cave in to a rule that does not exist?

25 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

Just go and face her and tell her she is wrong, and keep insisting to her she is wrong, don't be frightened of these people, but do not raise your voice or act hostile in anyway unless she does it with you. You know you are right, ask to see the boss if she insists on being wrong.

Then go and find a agent!

On 12/23/2021 at 11:05 AM, Jeffrey346 said:

I see no reason to pay an agent especially when I meet and exceed all the rules. As for time, I have plenty of that..

You are correct, but because it seems some IO's have bad days or are just being awkward using an agent does give peace of mind and does not give you stress.

25 minutes ago, Moonlover said:

Why should any of us cave in to a rule that does not exist?

Depends on whether you want an easy, straightforward visit to IO or not.

Just do what immigration have asked you to do. Over 40 years I have never had a problem of this kind, neither for marriage nor retirement extensions. I always apply in person, and I have never used an agent, nor any third party. Immigration authorities all over the world do not take kindly to people who do not follow their instructions. Just try arguing with an immigration officer in the USA or the UK and you will quickly appreciate that the Thais are relatively easy to deal with.

On 12/23/2021 at 9:52 AM, ubonjoe said:

You could download the rules here if you want to. Amendment to police order 138/2557 See the clause 2.18 changes.

It even states a average income is allowed but many office will not accept it.

I transferred over 1 m baht last year in total, but one month was below 65k, and Chiang Mai office wouldn't accept either the total or an average for the income method for retirement purposes. 

On 12/23/2021 at 11:05 AM, Jeffrey346 said:

I see no reason to pay an agent especially when I meet and exceed all the rules. As for time, I have plenty of that..

Agreed. After many years of marriage extensions (now using 400k in the bank method ) I really don't think that an Agent can do anything for us. 

Wife and I have to present in person, hand over the papers, chat and go.

What can an Agent do here ?

Quite different scenario to the Retirement extensions 

2 hours ago, orchidfan said:

Quite different scenario to the Retirement extensions 

For retirement you do not have to take the wife, show photos or witness. Simply have the required financials and that's it.

2 hours ago, roath said:

I transferred over 1 m baht last year in total, but one month was below 65k, and Chiang Mai office wouldn't accept either the total or an average for the income method for retirement purposes. 

Could you not have applied the Combination Rules, ie total over 800k for the year?

1 hour ago, KannikaP said:

For retirement you do not have to take the wife, show photos or witness. Simply have the required financials and that's it.

I have not had to bring any witness in years. 

Just now, Jeffrey346 said:

I have not had to bring any witness in years. 

Photos, wife?

1 minute ago, KannikaP said:

Photos, wife?

Yes, photo of the house and my wife must be there unless there is an issue with her work schedule.

On 12/23/2021 at 10:56 AM, The Hammer2021 said:

I use agents for all  dealings with bureaucracy, Passport renewal, Driving license, 90 days, retirement extension, travel arrangements.  They offer a great service to make life easier and save so much time..

Because you, a retiree have no time?

 

That's exactly what they want you to do.

11 hours ago, Jeffrey346 said:

2 hours ago, KannikaP said:

For retirement you do not have to take the wife, show photos or witness. Simply have the required financials and that's it.

 

11 hours ago, Jeffrey346 said:

I have not had to bring any witness in years. 

It's the same for us as well. They only did a house visit on our first extension. From then on no witness's required and I've presented the same set of photos for the last 4 years. For us it's a breeze.

 

I could have gone back onto retirement this year using the combination method, but decided that there was little to gain so I stuck to marriage. I did not relish the idea of having my savings 'locked up' at their behest.

if it is the head lady doing this then best option is to pay for the 2 month extension and then apply again, that way you know it will be approved in 2 months, it should   also keep her on side, the general staff that do the applications and the had person are totally different cases, you can get the generl staff to change  but rarely the head person

5 hours ago, TheScience said:

Because you, a retiree have no time?

 

That's exactly what they want you to do.

It's exactly what I want to do and I am very grateful for the services offered by agents. I certainly don't subscriber to the 'they' theory of malevolent beuracrats  manipulating my behavior. I have used agents in several other countries. It's standard for experienced travellers and makes everything easier in countries where there are language barriers and bureaucracy is labyrinthine. I used agents in Saudi, Kuwait, Libya, Burma and Thailand. It's perfectly normal and appropriate.