Non O Thai Wife Extension Monthly Funds Questions

[athousand]

Hi all, my wife and I will be returning to Thailand early next year from the UK and will first apply for a single entry non O from London. I think I understand the process but would appreciate confirmation of a few details since it's these details which will determine our various options.

 

As far as I can tell the financial requirements for the single entry non O evisa applied via the Thai Embassy London is to show a current bank statement with a balance over £1,000?

 

When we are in Thailand we will need to immediately open a bank account in my name and transfer 400,000 baht from the UK and then when that has been in the account for two months we can apply for the year extension. Can this transfer be done with transferwise as I read somewehere Transferwise transfers are not accepted for some visa extensions (possibly retirement visas?). 

 

One year on, I'd like to be able to get the extension based on monthly income of 40,000 baht rather than having to use 400,000 baht again. Are there any specific details I need to be aware of this in terms of transfers? Can I transfer the amount monthly from a UK personal bank account - again using transferwise or does it have to be directly using the bank itself? Does the source matter- in other words does it need to be shown as coming from a pension, or salary rather than from personal savings or whatever?

 

Thanks in advance for any clarifications

[UKresonant]

59 minutes ago, athousand said:

As far as I can tell the financial requirements for the single entry non O evisa applied via the Thai Embassy London is to show a current bank statement with a balance over £1,000?

 

Yes single entry non-O Thai wife, that was confirmed to me as >£1000 by the RTE London in May 2023 (it was £10k for the multi, which is no longer being issued from London, again. Hope it will return)

Postal statement is best.

 

Confirmation email from your wife inviting / aware of your visit.

 

Accommodation booking for the first couple of nights.

 

etc

 

got one in June for The son and I visiting Mummy during the UK school Holidays

[DrJack54]

Just answering couple of points.

Forget the "WE" bit.

Yes obtain your non O based on marriage and upon entry to Thailand open Thai bank account in your name only.

Transfer the 400k (as you outlined).

WISE is a good option. 

As for subsequent extension a year later, to change to income method you will need to show 12 months of transfers of 40k/month.

It can be from your personal bank account to Thai bank account.

Some immigration offices may wish to see some evidence of funds into your UK bank coming from a "pension".

You could check that out with your local immigration office when you apply for first extension.

 

You do realize that the 400k only needs to be in bank until extension is granted and then can be used. 

Seems good option to me. 

[UKresonant]

1 hour ago, athousand said:

When we are in Thailand we will need to immediately open a bank account in my name and transfer 400,000 baht from the UK and then when that has been in the account for two months we can apply for the year extension. Can this transfer be done with transferwise as I read somewehere Transferwise transfers are not accepted for some visa extensions (possibly retirement visas?). 

 

I used Halifax (Lloyds. BOS) for SWIFT Transfers and still use sometimes)  in GBP directly into a GBP FCD at Krungsri worked well (2018/2019) for my practice monthly >40k THB practice (but never got to actually doing an extension as on a Non-O Multi) £9.50 SWIFT fee and Krungsri (0.25% deposit fee min 500baht, min balance >$1000 equiv. Could run a year of Transactions in minutes.

Showed clearly as FTT on print and statement which is the important bit (No Bank Book with that account).

 

If you are opening a THB (/ FCD) Account in Bangkok, Bangkok Bank Head office is good place for application as they are familiar with foreign applicants. (get off at Chong Nongsi BTS station, and walk back round the corner to their substantial  and impressive head office building, left side door, take a ticket number, sofa waiting area about 40m towards the back, not quick may have to wait a couple of hours depending when you get there. )

[Liquorice]

2 hours ago, athousand said:

Hi all, my wife and I will be returning to Thailand early next year from the UK and will first apply for a single entry non O from London. I think I understand the process but would appreciate confirmation of a few details since it's these details which will determine our various options.

A question often overlooked in these situations is "Did you marry in the UK or Thailand"?
It does matter and makes a difference.

 

2 hours ago, athousand said:

As far as I can tell the financial requirements for the single entry non O evisa applied via the Thai Embassy London is to show a current bank statement with a balance over £1,000?

Based on Thai spouse - correct.

 

2 hours ago, athousand said:

When we are in Thailand we will need to immediately open a bank account in my name and transfer 400,000 baht from the UK and then when that has been in the account for two months we can apply for the year extension. Can this transfer be done with transferwise as I read somewehere Transferwise transfers are not accepted for some visa extensions (possibly retirement visas?). 

You can use Wise to transfer from your personal UK bank account to your Thai bank account, no problem.

Note: Due to financial restrictions, you can only send over 50K THB per transaction to Bangkok Bank, Kasikorn or SCB.
https://wise.com/help/articles/2932335/guide-to-thb-transfers

 

2 hours ago, athousand said:

One year on, I'd like to be able to get the extension based on monthly income of 40,000 baht rather than having to use 400,000 baht again. Are there any specific details I need to be aware of this in terms of transfers? Can I transfer the amount monthly from a UK personal bank account - again using transferwise or does it have to be directly using the bank itself? Does the source matter- in other words does it need to be shown as coming from a pension, or salary rather than from personal savings or whatever?

As already stated, if using the 40K THB monthly transfer option for annual extensions of stay, you will require evidence of 12 monthly overseas transfers.
However, Immigration orders state only income from pensions, investments or dividends are acceptable.

As an aside, should you decide to use the 400K THB in a Thai bank option (funds), then Immigration orders state the 400K must be in a Thai bank account for 60 days prior to submitting your annual extension application. Once the extension is granted, you can withdraw and spend every baht. Repeat the following year.

[UKresonant]

2 hours ago, athousand said:

Does the source matter- in other words does it need to be shown as coming from a pension, or salary rather than from personal savings or whatever?

 

You may of seen the hundreds of posts on the TAX changes effective 1 Jan 2024.

Everyone hopes for confirmation of how things will work in practice going forward.

 

Maybe it would be useful if you put some pre-2024 savings in a isolated account with the interest  mandated elsewhere, and keep the records that it  was created with pre-2023 taxed in UK source, or distinctly and  separate from any inheritance source.  for later transmission to Thailand.

 

All I'm doing in the UK side is to split

A. All my pretaxed at source UK pension income, in to one bank, and one account. (government pensions clearly only taxed in UK initially)

b. All my ISA dividends (no tax deducted), and  State pension, later, when they cough up (which is not not directly taxed) into another Bank and account.

But each to their own circumstances, I'm just lucky I have multi sources I can split up.

Might or might not make paperwork easier if you keep the paper trail, later.

Just transferring 480k baht a year not going to be a tax worry anyway I would imagine.

All above totally speculative!  (we'll not be be back except for holidays for a few years anyway)

 

Irrelevant for immigration purposes, I think legitimate source is more what they seem to be after in the Marriage visa context. (though perhaps pension ideal??)

 

 

 

 

 

[brianthainess]

I send my money also direct from Nationwide in GBP and have it exchanged here, its a better rate in Thailand. the old trusted way. 

[athousand]

Thanks for all the detailed answers! Brilliant and very helpful indeed! 

 

We got married in Bangkok so that should make a few things a little easier. 

I actually got a year non-o extension back in 2017 shortly after we married but only got to use it for about a month before we went to the UK. I've since forgotten pretty much all the details apart from the photos which we got sent back home to redo :)

 

Liquorice : "However, Immigration orders state only income from pensions, investments or dividends are acceptable." That's what I was concerned about. I would have preferred to go this route but as it wouldn't be coming from any of these sources will stick with the 400,000. I won't be risking a local immigration office changing their mind on this one. 

 

UKResonant : The tax affairs are going to get pretty complicated pretty fast. 

I actually had two Bangkok Bank accounts, both opened with a Tourist visa. One from head office in Bangkok and one in Jomtien. I'm guessing they will now be automatically closed since I haven't used either since 2017?

 

Does the bank account need to be local to where we'll be living and getting our year extension?

 

One last question - as we're not 100% sure where we'll be settling down, we'll be going for a 3 month rental contract at first if we can. Will this be ok for the year extension or do they insist on a longer term?

 

Thanks again for all the info - much appreciated!!!

 

 

[bigt3116]

7 hours ago, Liquorice said:

However, Immigration orders state only income from pensions, investments or dividends are acceptable.

 

Do you have a link to where it says that for marriage extensions ?

 

Because that is not what it says here;  https://www.immigration.go.th/en/?p=14714

[paddypower]

the latest scuttlebug from the IO in my province (NST)  is:  that you have to leave the 400k in the bank for the entire previous 12 months, if that is the basis for you extension application.  The regulation #4 under the heading ''criteria'' at https://www.immigration.go.th/en/?p=14714 has not been changed. so i have no idea why. Once you are on the income basis for subsequent extensions, the combination of income plus term deposit for 12 months = 400,000 baht. another 'shocker' from my IO yesterday, when i was proposing to apply for an extension on the 800,000/year income basis, is that IO will NOT accept a combination of (i) pension income (from abroad) combined with (ii) dividend income received from Thai equities/Income Funds. At the same website, again, under the retirement rules, under the heading ''List of Documents'' it states that you must show evidence of income, such as retirement pension, dividends/interest.  It does not make a distinction between dividends received in your foreign bank account and dividends received in your Thai bank account. Go figure. I am trying to cash in my 800k as I need it for repairs to the property. I do not have anywhere close to 800k pension, but I shifted my funds here and I have in excess of 800k in thai dividends. Any advice? I do not want to use a Visa agent, as I believe that one you use them for an extension, you are, sort of, hooked into using them every year.

[paddypower]

13 hours ago, UKresonant said:

 

You may of seen the hundreds of posts on the TAX changes effective 1 Jan 2024.

Everyone hopes for confirmation of how things will work in practice going forward.

 

Maybe it would be useful if you put some pre-2024 savings in a isolated account with the interest  mandated elsewhere, and keep the records that it  was created with pre-2023 taxed in UK source, or distinctly and  separate from any inheritance source.  for later transmission to Thailand.

 

All I'm doing in the UK side is to split

A. All my pretaxed at source UK pension income, in to one bank, and one account. (government pensions clearly only taxed in UK initially)

b. All my ISA dividends (no tax deducted), and  State pension, later, when they cough up (which is not not directly taxed) into another Bank and account.

But each to their own circumstances, I'm just lucky I have multi sources I can split up.

Might or might not make paperwork easier if you keep the paper trail, later.

Just transferring 480k baht a year not going to be a tax worry anyway I would imagine.

All above totally speculative!  (we'll not be be back except for holidays for a few years anyway)

 

Irrelevant for immigration purposes, I think legitimate source is more what they seem to be after in the Marriage visa context. (though perhaps pension ideal??)

 

 

 

 

 

I think that an alternative (for one year only) is to bring in as much money as you can, before Dec 31, 2023. It is tax free. Then again, may are forecasting that this idiotic new tax will never get legislated.

 

[UKresonant]

On 12/17/2023 at 12:11 AM, athousand said:

I actually had two Bangkok Bank accounts, both opened with a Tourist visa. One from head office in Bangkok and one in Jomtien. I'm guessing they will now be automatically closed since I haven't used either since 2017?

Depends how much was left in them, if there was not more than 2000 baht + any annual debit card fees  (until the year the card expired)  they will surely be toast, as after 1 year and less than 2k baht balance, they take 50baht/m off until closure. If you had say 5k in, may just be marked as inactive (can't find their timescales) .  Would have been worth putting a thousand or two baht over using one of the free-ish fx companies to keep them alive every year or 18 months.

[sandyf]

On 12/16/2023 at 7:31 PM, athousand said:

 

One year on, I'd like to be able to get the extension based on monthly income of 40,000 baht rather than having to use 400,000 baht again. Are there any specific details I need to be aware of this in terms of transfers? Can I transfer the amount monthly from a UK personal bank account - again using transferwise or does it have to be directly using the bank itself? Does the source matter- in other words does it need to be shown as coming from a pension, or salary rather than from personal savings or whatever?

 

I did this for a few years and you need to be a bit careful about people who have never done it and repeating what they think they read elsewhere. A lot will depend on the office you use but basically you need to show a transfer into the account once every month for 12 months, try and avoid transfers close together such as end of one month and start of another. You need to be able to prove the source of the funds, whether they ask for it can be a variable, my office always did. I never had a problem with the source but it is seen as an "income" method and I believe that includes unearned income, but could be another variable as in some situations unearned income can be a bit complicated. When it comes to immigration simplicity can be major factor.

For  me it was fairly straightforward although a bit tedious. I use HSBC and when I did a transfer a remittance advice was posted to my account and I just printed them off and attach them to a 12 month statement from the Thai bank. I have seen immigration go through and check them off against the statement. I believe that Wise, no longer called Transferwise, will also supply remittance advice if required.

Some will go on about codes in bankbooks but in all the time I did income method immigration never asked to see the bankbook, annotations on statements are a bit different to bankbooks and with the income method the 12 month statement is the key document.

Your Thai bank can be anywhere as you can get the bank account confirmation letter and the statement from any branch. I am going to immigration on Wed and will pick up the necessary docs from a branch near immigration. I use TTB and can get a 12 month statement over the counter, have heard of some banks requiring 7 days notice.

You are right to come to Thailand on a Non O visa, should be a bit easier to open the account. Good luck.

[Liquorice]

On 12/17/2023 at 5:42 AM, bigt3116 said:

 

Do you have a link to where it says that for marriage extensions ?

 

Because that is not what it says here;  https://www.immigration.go.th/en/?p=14714

That link only states income, it's what's defined as an income that can matter.
Savings are not considered an income, as they deplete.

 

Read 138-2557 (2014) Docs for extensions - ENG.pdf 

Section 2.18 - marriage to a Thai national.

 

[athousand]

UKresonant - thanks. Good to know for next time. I'm pretty sure I will have emptied the accounts so will be starting again.

 

sandyf. - thanks for the great info. Hope all goes smoothly for you next week. Good to know the bank account doesn't need to be local. The monthly route seems a little risky in terms of depending on the whims of the particular immigration office. We're not sure where we'll settle yet so may end up moving between applications. Would an immigration office let us know ahead of time their particular requirements and can they be relied on?

 

Has anyone had any experience with getting the year extension on a short (monthly or say three months) rental agreement?

[bigt3116]

12 hours ago, Liquorice said:

That link only states income, it's what's defined as an income that can matter.
Savings are not considered an income, as they deplete.

 

Read 138-2557 (2014) Docs for extensions - ENG.pdf 

Section 2.18 - marriage to a Thai national.

 

 "

evidence of receiving interest from funds deposit," so you can use the interest from savings 

 

Also my point was that you did not mention earnings from work in Thailand