Is Bank Account With Book Necessary for 800,000 THB in Bank?

[FarangULong]

On 1/13/2022 at 8:59 AM, Yewbzee said:

It's a spin of the roulette wheel as always.

And this is one of the main reasons, why I like going to Thailand for holidays, but why I will never consider settling there, investing/buying property there, let alone retire there.

 

Kinda makes me laugh, that allegedly it's "the best country in (South East?) Asia for retirement"... Yeah, maybe in the 80s, perhaps 90s even. Now? With the Baht the way it is now, with the power any immigration officer has over you (sometimes seeming more arbitrary than based on any regulations or laws, from what I've seen in these threads), the way they went about Covid, and many other factors... That's a huge "hell no" from me.

 

But each their own, and good luck to OP...

[Sophon]

On 1/13/2022 at 10:16 AM, brianthainess said:

It is what i have. under 1 m pays 1.1 % or 8800 a year or one box of beer a month cheers  no tax to pay.

You only get 1.1% for the first 100k, for the remainder of the balance (up to 5 mio) you get 1% p.a.

 

Krungsri will deduct 15% tax unless you have them register your Thai tax ID on the account.

[digbeth]

the difference in interest between the 'online' only accounts and fixed term deposits for 800,000 is what? I doubt it's over 2000 baht in actual interest earned 

[skatewash]

While there are certainly national laws that govern immigration in Thailand, that does not mean that individual immigration offices can't have differing policies on how that law should be implemented.  For example, the national law may say that a foreigner must demonstrate that he has a balance of at least 800,000 baht in a Thai bank for two (2) months before he makes an application for an extension of stay for reason of retirement.  One immigration office may want to see a passbook for that account and copies of the relevant pages of that passbook.  Other immigration offices may want to see a bank statement issued, signed and/or stamped by the bank.  Other immigration offices may want to see both.  For example, in Phuket, one must show a bank letter (attesting to your ownership of the account and balance on date of letter), a bank statement signed and/or stamped by the bank, a bank passbook, and copies of relevant pages from that bank passbook.

http://piv-phuket.com/long-stay-extensions/retirement/

I provide what Phuket Immigration requires and I always have gotten my retirement extension.  That is my goal every year, get my retirement extension with the least possibility of any problems.  I'm not Rosa Parks.  I'm not trying to "fix" the immigration process or make it "better."  It's possible for me to follow the current process, so I do, and I don't have any problem getting my yearly retirement extensions.

I use and have used for several years Krungsri Bank's Mee Tae Dai savings account, which pays currently 1 % APR.  I registered my Thai Tax ID when I opened that account so Krungsri Bank does not withhold taxes (at a rate of 15%) from the first baht of interest earned.  They only withhold tax when the interest earned exceeds 20,000 baht, which it doesn't in my case.  I have a passbook for the account.

I would like to use my SCB EZ Savings account, which pays currently 1.5% APR interest, but it does not come with a passbook.  So I don't use it.  Because it would unnecessarily complicate my retirement extension.  As much as I would like the extra 0.5% APR interest, I'm not willing to complicate my retirement extension in order to get it.

If you use a different immigration office than Phuket, you may well find that not having a passbook is not a problem.  Or you could decide to use an account that does have a passbook and avoid the potential problem altogether.  Up to you.  ????

[CANSIAM]

Citibank no bank book, no issues at CW for 800k extension.......

[DrJack54]

2 minutes ago, CANSIAM said:

Citibank no bank book, no issues at CW for 800k extension.......

What do you actually provide immigration regarding money in bank account. 

[CANSIAM]

On 1/13/2022 at 10:07 AM, Dirk Z said:

My office is CW. I have an account with Citibank, no book. Because statement and visa can not be done in one day I get my statement from the bank the day before. On the day itself I withdraw a small amount from an ATM (any) and keep the slip. This shows the balance. I attach it to the document from the bank (1 year!) and this has always been accepted.

Off topic, if you have not seen the memo, Citibank Thailand will be UOB Thailand in the near future - mid 2022 - early 2024 transition period, already starting to move money to SCB.....

Edited January 16, 2022 by CANSIAM

[foreverlomsak]

On 1/12/2022 at 6:49 PM, ubonjoe said:

There is no written rule that you have to have a bank book for your account. But some immigration offices may insist you have one.

Yeah Phetchabun insists, with me anyway, of bank book and bank statement.

[CANSIAM]

4 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

What do you actually provide immigration regarding money in bank account. 

2 months ago at CW brought bank letter and statement - 3 months, made a small withdrawal just before getting the paperwork.....

[DrJack54]

Just now, CANSIAM said:

2 months ago at CW brought bank letter and statement - 3 months, made a small withdrawal just before getting the paperwork.....

Basically same as what I did last Nov apart from that with bank book just provided photocopies of bankbook pages.

Don't understand why you only needed 3 months.

Naturally my bankbook pages were checked right back to previous extension to make sure that I complied with the financial requirements.

How does 3 months statements cut it. 

[CANSIAM]

2 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Basically same as what I did last Nov apart from that with bank book just provided photocopies of bankbook pages.

Don't understand why you only needed 3 months.

Naturally my bankbook pages were checked right back to previous extension to make sure that I complied with the financial requirements.

How does 3 months statements cut it. 

Sorry typo, had 6 months statement, it was my first OA extension, I believe she said only needed 2 months........ 

[DrJack54]

3 minutes ago, CANSIAM said:

Sorry typo, had 6 months statement, it was my first OA extension, I believe she said only needed 2 months........ 

Ok understand now.

Being first extension 2 months would have met requirements.

BTW I notice above your planning on using SCB in future.

You would be aware that SCB has no branch in CW.

I prefer to do bank letter etc at CW on day of application.

There is a mall not far from CW that has SCB branch. 

[foreverlomsak]

1 hour ago, DrJack54 said:

Naturally my bankbook pages were checked right back to previous extension to make sure that I complied with the financial requirements.

Last year my book was checked right back to 2018, OK end 2018 was on the same page as start 2021, but that was not good enough for them they needed copies of all pages right back to the issue of the book in 2014.

[DrJack54]

33 minutes ago, foreverlomsak said:

Last year my book was checked right back to 2018, OK end 2018 was on the same page as start 2021, but that was not good enough for them they needed copies of all pages right back to the issue of the book in 2014.

Which immigration office

[foreverlomsak]

20 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Which immigration office

Phetchabun

[DrJack54]

4 minutes ago, foreverlomsak said:

Phetchabun

Have never read an account of bankbook records being required back to 2014.

Of course what is required is pages (and in some cases statements) back to previous extension.

Unusual. 

 

[bignbad]

Last week in Phetchabun I needed bank book, all pages copied (even blank pages), letter from the bank, dated same day as office visit (not 7 days prior) and a bank statement (new requirement from previous years)

 

[Guest Isaanlife]

Can you have 1 bank book with over 800,000 that you never touch and never have any transactions, then another book for the bulk of your money and for everyday use?

[Enzian]

6 minutes ago, Isaanlife said:

Can you have 1 bank book with over 800,000 that you never touch and never have any transactions, then another book for the bulk of your money and for everyday use?

This seems what many expats do. Which raises the question of which is better: an account with over 800K that is hardly touched, or one that is used on a regular basis for normal living expenses but which never gets near being below the requirement? Now that I've put my foreign currency in my baht checking account I'm going the latter route for a year. The IO who convinced (pressured) me to make the transfer just said be sure that you make a notable change into or out of the account at least once a month. She also urged me to keep over a million baht on account, which at first seemed just arbitrary, but now makes sense, because seeing that they are less likely to ask for additional evidence. It's no problem because I have money I have to keep somewhere (here or US), I tend to trust Krungsri, and I now have one mil deposit insurance I didn't have before. But if I had twice as much or more as the requirement, I would think about using two different banks.

[Chris.B]

50 minutes ago, Isaanlife said:

Can you have 1 bank book with over 800,000 that you never touch and never have any transactions, then another book for the bulk of your money and for everyday use?

Yes, that is the best way but don't just put 800K in, put a bit more say, 825K.

 

[Lite Beer]

4 minutes ago, Chris.B said:

Yes, that is the best way but don't just put 800K in, put a bit more say, 825K.

 

Why a bit more?

[Chris.B]

Just now, Lite Beer said:

Why a bit more?

Many guys have been caught out by the bank making a deduction for a debit card fee.

 

[DrJack54]

42 minutes ago, Enzian said:

This seems what many expats do. Which raises the question of which is better: an account with over 800K that is hardly touched, or one that is used on a regular basis for normal living expenses but which never gets near being below the requirement?

IMO not even a choice to think about. 

Have a dedicated bank account for immigration purposes (extensions).

Have a separate bank account for everyday banking. 

If you can afford to keep 800k+ all year round in your "extension" account then that's even better.

[Henryford]

On 1/13/2022 at 9:46 AM, Digitalbanana said:

K-Bank only gives me 0.25% interest a year, and taxes it 15%!

Move it to Krungsri, you get 1% AND a bank book and no tax.

[skatewash]

3 hours ago, Henryford said:

Move it to Krungsri, you get 1% AND a bank book and no tax.

True, but for the no tax withholding you need to  register your Thai Tax ID with the account.  Easiest to do when opening the account but can be done afterward.

[EricTh]

On 1/13/2022 at 10:16 AM, brianthainess said:

It is what i have. under 1 m pays 1.1 % or 8800 a year or one box of beer a month cheers  no tax to pay.

What's the interest rate over 1m?

[Lite Beer]

4 hours ago, Chris.B said:

Many guys have been caught out by the bank making a deduction for a debit card fee.

 

Put it in a fixed deposit account then nothing can be accidentally removed.

[Pravda]

If chaengwatthana requires a bank book chances are almost everyone will.

[skatewash]

51 minutes ago, EricTh said:

What's the interest rate over 1m?

Actually, it's 1% APR up to 5 million baht and drops down after that threshold.

It's on the second page of this document:

https://www.krungsri.com/Krungsri2020/media/Banking-Rate/deposit-rates/en/deposit-rates-18102564-en.pdf

 

[skatewash]

6 hours ago, Isaanlife said:

Can you have 1 bank book with over 800,000 that you never touch and never have any transactions, then another book for the bulk of your money and for everyday use?

Yes.  You may be asked to produce the second passbook and provide copies of pages from the last 12 months of activity, but shouldn't be any problem.  Less likely that way of accidentally falling below the minimum balance requirements for the first account.  As mentioned you want a little cushion above 800k to account for debit/ATM card fees and the like.