What's the going rate to use an agent without using money in the bank method

[4MyEgo]

I ask this question because my currency has dropped almost 10% since last year, meaning everything I purchase will cost me 10% more.

 

The above said, if I was to apply for the retirement extension, transferring funds into my Thai bank account would mean a loss of about 75,000 baht compared to last year (October).

 

Just thinking out aloud, using an agent could save me around 50,000 baht, if I'm not mistaken, i.e. until my countries currency picks up, if ever.

 

So what do agents charge for either a retirement extension or a marriage extension all up or is it the same fee ?

[Shop mak]

Retirement with Embassy letter 12,000 in Pattaya,

less when been a customer for years

[flyingtlger]

Agents charge 35K or so, not worth it....

[brianthainess]

All an agent can do for marriage extension is hold your hand, not sure if you don't have 400k.

400k only has to be in your bank for 3mths of the year max. 

[JeffersLos]

18 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

transferring funds into my Thai bank account would mean a loss of about 75,000 baht compared to last year (October).

 

18 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

a marriage extension

Is 400k in the bank.

 

What country are you from, Zimbabwe or England? 

[proton]

Not many appear to do illegitimate marriage extensions. When I asked the famous agent in Bkk (just out of interest) the price was 16k for retirement, but not from where I lived but from KK or Nan offices. If you do it and it's not from your own office i would not touch it, up to you.

Edited August 10, 2023 by proton

[scubascuba3]

11 minutes ago, flyingtlger said:

Agents charge 35K or so, not worth it....

That's way off.

 

A year extension is 12,500 baht

[proton]

Just now, scubascuba3 said:

That's way off.

 

A year extension is 12,500 baht

Not everywhere is as cheap as Pattaya though, would they do for people in other provinces?

[scubascuba3]

2 minutes ago, proton said:

Not everywhere is as cheap as Pattaya though, would they do for people in other provinces?

If you're specific about province maybe someone can suggest an agent, but some Pattaya agents cover everywhere 

[4MyEgo]

27 minutes ago, JeffersLos said:

Is 400k in the bank.

Yes am aware of that, but it's beside the point, it would still be a 37,500 baht loss when comparing rates to last year. Take away the agents fee of say 20,000 baht, I would still be better of as it's money in my pocket vs losing it at the strike of a keyboard.

 

27 minutes ago, JeffersLos said:

What country are you from, Zimbabwe or England? 

It doesn't make a difference, the currency is down since last year, as I stated above, about 10%

[4MyEgo]

44 minutes ago, Shop mak said:

Retirement with Embassy letter 12,000 in Pattaya,

less when been a customer for years

Embassy letters are only accepted at immigration for certain countries, mine is not one of them.

[Pib]

 

Quote

The above said, if I was to apply for the retirement extension, transferring funds into my Thai bank account would mean a loss of about 75,000 baht compared to last year (October).

It's not a loss...it's not like Bt75K is being stolen, a fee, being thrown out the window, etc., ...it's just a lower exchange rate. Are you saying if the exchange rate was higher you would not have any issue in transferring the funds and wouldn't consider using an agent?

 

Now what is a fee/loss is the fee you pay an agent.  Yes, I know it arguable about earning higher interest in a person's home country, etc., which might offset the agent fee.  

[JeffersLos]

15 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

Yes am aware of that

You clearly stated that the 'loss' would be 75,000thb. 

 

Even though it isn't a 'loss' and if you were aware of the requirement of funds for a spousal extension it wouldn't be 75,000thb. 

[Mike Teavee]

49 minutes ago, flyingtlger said:

Agents charge 35K or so, not worth it....

You might be getting confused between doing an Extension & converting a Visa Exempt / Tourist Visa to a Non-IMM O visa.

 

For the Non-IMM O Extension without the funds in the bank, it's typically 12,500-15,000b in Pattaya, I wouldn't imagine it would be too much more in say Bangkok.

 

For the "Conversion" it's 23,500 in Pattaya but I have heard 35,000 being quoted in Bangkok (Believe it was Siam Legal), this gets you the 90 day Non-IMM O Visa + 1st years Extension so you get a total of 15 months permission to stay after which you would go onto doing Extensions.

 

[4MyEgo]

3 minutes ago, Pib said:

it's just a lower exchange rate.

That lower exchange rate in total comes to 75,000 baht, suffice to say that the way I am thinking is, if I use an agent for say 20k-25k baht and didn't have to transfer the 800k baht, and then the rate went up, say in a year, then I could get a higher exchange rate which could pay back what the agent cost me, e.g. 20k-25k baht.

 

Either way, I see a lower exchange rate as being a loss, sure I get you, I shouldn't see it that way, but parking 800k baht in the bank which would cost me 75k baht more to exchange it, for the sake of satisfying immigration rules while currencies are down, sucks, so if I can avoid doing it and losing 75k baht from the way I see it, I am better off using an agent for say 25k baht, until the currency picks back up, if ever.

 

8 minutes ago, Pib said:

Are you saying if the exchange rate was higher you would not have any issue in transferring the funds and wouldn't consider using an agent?

Absolutely.

 

9 minutes ago, Pib said:

Now what is a fee/loss is the fee you pay an agent.

Not if you see it the way I do, e.g. transfer 800k baht into my account and take the lower exchange rate compared to last year, i.e. 75k baht less, however not transferring it and using an agent for say 25k baht, saves me 50k baht.

 

Surely you can see my point, using the agent in the above scenario is a win.

[4MyEgo]

2 minutes ago, JeffersLos said:

You clearly stated that the 'loss' would be 75,000thb. 

 

Even though it isn't a 'loss' and if you were aware of the requirement of funds for a spousal extension it wouldn't be 75,000thb. 

75k baht would be for the retirement extension, e.g. 800k baht.

 

The lower exchange rate means it's a loss when comparing the rate to almost a year ago.

 

The spousal route would be half that, e.g. 37,500 baht when comparing it to last year.

 

Even using an agent, if say for arguments sake, they charge 20k-25k baht, it's still better than taking the lower exchange rate, i.e. if you have enough funds here to carry you forward, without the need to transfer further funds to satisfy immigration.

[Pattaya57]

10 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

That lower exchange rate in total comes to 75,000 baht, suffice to say that the way I am thinking is, if I use an agent for say 20k-25k baht and didn't have to transfer the 800k baht, and then the rate went up, say in a year, then I could get a higher exchange rate which could pay back what the agent cost me, e.g. 20k-25k baht.

Or your currency drops another 10% over the next year and therefor you would have 'lost' 75,000 baht by not transferring the money now (plus the agent fee)

 

Edited August 10, 2023 by Pattaya57

[Pib]

@4MyEgo

The retirement extension rule is Bt800K two months before applying and 3 months after with a minimum of Bt400K for the remaining months.   If you plan to switch to doing a retirement extension you'll need to always maintain Bt400K to Bt800K in a Thai bank anyway.     

 

Now if  you plan to always use an agent to get around above requirement then you'll always being paying an agent fee and also have the possibly of the agent-obtained extension causing issues later on...but it seems most people never have an agent issues.

[4MyEgo]

5 minutes ago, Pattaya57 said:

Or your currency drops another 10% over the next year and therefor you would have 'lost' 75,000 baht by not transferring the money now (plus the agent fee)

That's a good point, that said, if it went down another 10% one might as well return to their home country because the cost of living here would be getting pretty close to what the old country costs to live so to speak, excluding accommodation costs of course as that is a no brainer.

[4MyEgo]

6 minutes ago, Pib said:

The retirement extension rule is Bt800K two months before applying and 3 months after with a minimum of Bt400K for the remaining months.   If you plan to switch to doing a retirement extension you'll need to always maintain Bt400K to Bt800K in a Thai bank anyway.     

 

Now if  you plan to always use an agent to get around above requirement then you'll always being paying an agent fee and also have the possibly of the agent-obtained extension causing issues later on...but it seems most people never have an agent issues.

I have never wanted to use an agent because I never want to be faced with an issue, sleep better at night.

 

Looks like what I will do is take the hit, transfer 800k baht into my account for living expenses and go the marriage extension route.

 

Will have to put some extra funds in the stock market to try and re-coupe "the loss" ????

 

[Olmate]

You didnt maintain your bank balance from lastyear? 

[Pib]

A marriage extension is a good route to go....only Bt400K two months before application required....and after getting the final approval 12 month stamp you can take the deposit balance to zero if desired....not needing to plus back up to Bt400K until two months before applying again.  And no insurance requirement.

 

I went the marriage extension route for 3 years starting in 2019 when the govt started requiring medical insurance for those on a retirement extension with an underlying OA visa (I had been on  OA retirement extensions for around a dozen years).  I'm now on a LTR Pension visa.

[4MyEgo]

2 minutes ago, Pib said:

I'm now on a LTR Pension visa.

What is an LTR Pension visa ?

 

Is it a Long Term Retirement Pension visa ?

 

Cost ?

 

Qualifications ?

[Pib]

2 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

What is an LTR Pension visa ?

 

Is it a Long Term Retirement Pension visa ?

 

Cost ?

 

Qualifications ?

Full info at BoI LTR website of the various LTR visas:  Link

And a miles long AseanNow thread at:  Link

 

[KannikaP]

2 hours ago, Shop mak said:

Retirement with Embassy letter 12,000 in Pattaya,

less when been a customer for years

Embassy letter from UK, USA or OZ is not available. And others.

[TimBKK]

I paid ~16000 in Pattaya - O-A visa extension fee, 2-3k for “no money” bank processing and I think one other small fee.  Money well spent.

Edited August 10, 2023 by TimBKK
Grammar

[KannikaP]

53 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

Looks like what I will do is take the hit, transfer 800k baht into my account for living expenses and go the marriage extension route.

Why 800k when only 400k is needed for marriage, and it is spendable. Then replace it two months before Extension date.

For Retirement there are three choices. 800/400/800 in the bank, 65k per month, or combination eg 400k in bank plus 40k per month = 880k, accepted by MY IO in P'lok.

We are ALL susceptible to currency fluctuations, don't feel priviledged! 555

[FritsSikkink]

1 hour ago, 4MyEgo said:

Yes am aware of that, but it's beside the point, it would still be a 37,500 baht loss when comparing rates to last year. Take away the agents fee of say 20,000 baht, I would still be better of as it's money in my pocket vs losing it at the strike of a keyboard.

 

It doesn't make a difference, the currency is down since last year, as I stated above, about 10%

If you had put the money in the bank last year, you would have gained 10%

[KannikaP]

1 hour ago, 4MyEgo said:

however not transferring it and using an agent for say 25k baht, saves me 50k baht.

And a possibility of some free accommodation, or a trip out of Thailand.

[JensenZ]

2 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

I ask this question because my currency has dropped almost 10% since last year, meaning everything I purchase will cost me 10% more.

 

The above said, if I was to apply for the retirement extension, transferring funds into my Thai bank account would mean a loss of about 75,000 baht compared to last year (October).

 

Just thinking out aloud, using an agent could save me around 50,000 baht, if I'm not mistaken, i.e. until my countries currency picks up, if ever.

 

So what do agents charge for either a retirement extension or a marriage extension all up or is it the same fee ?

Losing purchasing power due to exchange rate fluctuations is part of the cost of living abroad. There's no point waiting around for an exchange rate to improve as that might never happen, and in many cases never does.

 

In the 17 years I've lived in thailand, the exchange rate has fluctuated between 39 and 29 baht for the USD.