Retirement visa verification of funds letter and bank passbook update has to be done on same day as visa renewal application, says Lopburi immigration on 1-21-22

[TerraplaneGuy]

1 hour ago, Gecko123 said:

Followup:

I wrote the below email to Lopburi Immigration on January 26th. Today, I got a very, very kind phone call from Lopburi Immigration apologizing for the interaction on January 21st. They explained that they could clearly see that the funds were on deposit for many years, and that in the future I could use a bank letter and passbook update up to a week before applying for a visa renewal. I in particular want to recount that they told me they wanted me to have "sabai jai" and to think of Lopburi Immigration  as "family." Although the below letter is in English, I used Google translate to prepare a version in Thai. The reason I am sharing this is to remind people that Google translate can be helpful when communicating with Thai immigration and if you take the time to explain what is going on, Immigration has generally proven itself to be very reasonable.

Copy of Letter to Lopburi Immigration:

To: Manager of Lopburi Immigration

 

 

 

Re: Verification of Funds Letter for Retirement Visa

 

            my name

 

            passport xxxxxxxx

 

 

 

Dear Manager of Lopburi Immigration:

 

 

 

 

On Friday January 21, 2022 I renewed my retirement visa. I presented a verification of funds letter which was dated January 19th, 2022. I was initially told that this letter was not acceptable because it had to be dated the same day as the retirement visa application. I was then told that an exception would be made this time, but for future visa applications, the letter from the bank would have to be completed the same day as the visa application.

 

 

 

I am writing to you to ask you to reconsider this policy. I believe that requiring retirement visa applicants to complete the bank letter on the same day as the application provides little to no benefit to Thailand, and that more flexibility about the date of the bank letter will not result in any problems. I also think that requiring the bank letter to be completed on the same day as the visa application is unnecessarily inconvenient for retirement visa holders. Please consider the following points:

 

 

 

Little to no benefit for Thailand

 

 

 

The current requirement is that the 800,000 baht has to be deposited in the account no less than two months prior to visa application and for 3 months after the visa is issued. In my case, the required 800,000 baht has been deposited in the same account for almost 9 years, and no funds have ever been withdrawn from the account during this period. In the past, I have used letters received from my bank up to 4 days prior to renewal without any problem.

 

 

 

So I cannot understand why Lopburi immigration now wants the bank letter to be dated the same day as the visa application. After the visa is renewed and three months have passed by, funds can be withdrawn, but 400,000 has to remain in the account, right? But immigration doesn't check to see if 400,000 has been kept in the account for the remainder of the year until the visa is renewed the next time. So for nine months, you don't verify that the requirement that 400,000 be kept on deposit has been followed, right? Immigration checks at the next renewal to see if this has been adhered to, right? So I don't understand why Immigration would be concerned if the bank verification letter is dated a couple of days before the visa renewal application.

 

 

 

Requiring bank verification letter be dated the same day as the visa application can be inconvenient for retirement visa holders.

 

 

 

Retirement visa holders are 50+ years old. Some are much older than 50 years old. Older people do not have the same energy and strength as younger people. I think this should be considered. More flexibility would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

For example, a couple of days before applying for my visa, I go to xxxxxxx (Petchabun province) to get the visa photo, the bank verification of funds letter, and to photocopy documents needed for the retirement visa application. I then go to Lopburi Immigration a couple of days later. If Lopburi Immigration requires that I go to the bank on the same day, it will be a very long day for me. Because the bank does not open until 8:30 am, by the time I get the photos, the verification of funds letter from the bank, photocopy the necessary documents, it could easily be 11 am already. I have to eat lunch, right? Then I have to drive 2 hours to Lopburi immigration. Maybe I am at immigration for half an hour to forty five minutes. Then I drive back home 2 hours, maybe arrive home at five PM. This is a long day for me. I am away from home a long time. I have pets, I have a vegetable garden that needs to be watered, I have to prepare dinner.

 

 

 

Also, when I go to Lopburi immigration, I like to leave very early in the morning because the traffic is not heavy, and it is safer for me. After going to Lopburi Immigration, I like to go to Makro to buy food I cannot find near my house. If Lopburi Immigration requires that I go to the bank and get the verification letter on the same day as I apply for my visa, I don't think I will have enough time to go shopping at Makro on the same day. So I will have to make a separate trip to go to Makro. Not good for the environment, not good for global warming, not good for congested roads.

 

 

 

For the above reasons, I am asking if Lopburi Immigration could be more flexible about the required date for bank verification of funds letters.

 

 

 

Thank you for your consideration of this matter.

 

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Good for you!  If anyone else finds it necessary to write a letter like this, I would suggest mentioning that other Immigration offices allow the bank letter to be up to 7 days old and have published that rule (for example you could include a copy of the Koh Samui or other office rule).  And point out that the law itself (Police Order 35/2561) does not even require a bank letter.  It does require the B800K balance but it does not say how that has to be demonstrated and it's hard to see a reason why a bank book, updated the date of application or the day before, shouldn't suffice.

[Gecko123]

23 minutes ago, TerraplaneGuy said:

Good for you!  If anyone else finds it necessary to write a letter like this, I would suggest mentioning that other Immigration offices allow the bank letter to be up to 7 days old and have published that rule (for example you could include a copy of the Koh Samui or other office rule).  And point out that the law itself (Police Order 35/2561) does not even require a bank letter.  It does require the B800K balance but it does not say how that has to be demonstrated and it's hard to see a reason why a bank book, updated the date of application or the day before, shouldn't suffice.

Lopburi said both the bank verification letter and the passbook update would be honored within 7 days prior to the renewal application. They did say that part of the reason they were willing to do this was because the account in question was a fixed deposit account rather than a daily savings account.

 

Edit: I just read the police order 35/2561 which you referenced. That appears to be applicable to a letter of verification about one's medical status (and inability to apply for a visa) rather than a letter of verification about funds on deposit, although I understand your point about immigration officials not being authorized to make up rules as they go along.

[TerraplaneGuy]

2 hours ago, Gecko123 said:

 

 

Edit: I just read the police order 35/2561 which you referenced. That appears to be applicable to a letter of verification about one's medical status (and inability to apply for a visa) rather than a letter of verification about funds on deposit, although I understand your point about immigration officials not being authorized to make up rules as they go along.

I don't know what you're referring to.  There's nothing at all about medical in my copy of the order.

Attaching it.Police order 35-2561 changeof 327-2557 clasue2.22(Eng) 800K-400K rule.pdf

Edited January 28, 2022 by TerraplaneGuy

[Gecko123]

22 minutes ago, TerraplaneGuy said:

I don't know what you're referring to.  There's nothing at all about medical in my copy of the order.

Attaching it.Police order 35-2561 changeof 327-2557 clasue2.22(Eng) 800K-400K rule.pdf

OK, sorry for the confusion. I did a Google search for Thai immigration order 35/2561 and a PDF for a court decision about a foreigner who got a medical waiver and immigration was arguing that it wasn't valid. My bad.

 

I reviewed the above link, and see that you are citing immigration policy about requirements for retirement visas, and nothing is said in the statute that a bank letter is required. It would certainly be helpful and streamline the visa renewal process if this letter was no longer required, or they had flexibility about requiring it. I might ask immigration about this, but it won't be until next year as I just renewed my visa. ????

Edited January 28, 2022 by Gecko123