Bank Statement Requirements For One Year Retirement Visa Extension?

[TylerBKK]

I'm a bit confused about what immigration in CW requires for a bank statement if someone has the Baht 800K in cash in a Thai bank savings passbook account and is applying for a 1 year visa extension on the basis of retirement. Is it a 6 months or 12 month statement that is required on the statement? 

 

I would assume that they want a 12 month statement to show that the full amount of the 800K remained in the bank account for the 3 months immediately following the date when the previous 1 year retirement extension was granted. 

 

Also, if, for example, Bangkok Bank takes 5-7 business days to issue a 12 month statement, then how old can the date be on the statement, prior to the visa extension renewal application date, while still being an acceptable 12 month bank statement by immigration?

[DrJack54]

Understand your confusion.

Previously at CW for the funds in bank method it was acceptable to just present you bank book with photocopy of pages.

More and more seem to be asking for 12 month bank statement.

 

Seems you are using Bangkok Bank.

They take 5-7 days. 

That will be acceptable to immigration.

Many other bank can do the statement on the spot (eg Kasikorn) 

 

Suggest you obtain the Bank Letter on day of application.

Also update the account. 

I prefer to do that with small deposit

[NoDisplayName]

Unless things have changed at CW (I did an extension there about 15 months ago), they do not require a bank statement at all for the 800k method.  They only need the bank guarantee letter showing current balance, along with the updated passbook with matching balance.

 

IO told me a guarantee letter would be valid for 7 days, but I never pressed my luck.  I always went to Bangkok Bank on the lower level at 8:30 opening on the day of application to get the letter and have the clerk update my fixed account passbook.

 

No deposit needed at Bangkok Bank.  The teller can do a "balance forward" update showing current balance.  That can also be done at the automatic machines, but I'd rather not chance the machine malfunctioning.

 

[TylerBKK]

Thank you for the helpful replies. The last time at CW I had used a foreign currency savings account with a balance of over 800K equivalent from another bank, which had a passbook, and it was also updated the day that the extension was applied for, but they still asked for a 12 month statement anyway, which I did have, so it wasn't a problem. 
 

Perhaps with Bangkok Bank accounts they know it could take up to a week to obtain a 12 month statement so they don't ask for it. Don't know. 

[colinchaffers]

I got two 6 month statements, on half way through the year, the other at the end, these can by done at your local branch on the day. 

[TylerBKK]

1 hour ago, colinchaffers said:

I got two 6 month statements, on half way through the year, the other at the end, these can by done at your local branch on the day. 

Thank you. That sounds like a great solution. Not sure why that hasn't been discussed yet. You will probably have to pay for two statements, but it's well worth it for the convenience and time saved. 
 

I assume what that means is that any BBL branch can generate a 6 month statement on the spot for any time period and that only a statement request covering a period beyond 6 months is the challenge. 
 

Years ago I had a Thai bank account that didn't have a passbook and the bank could only create 1 month statements for the account and they would give me 12 of those. That worked too for immigration purposes.
 

Immigration doesn't require it to be in one statement, just as long as the 12 month preceding period is covered by the statements. 

[brianthainess]

Why do people still use BKB. All other banks give a 12 month statement the same day, Krungsri take 20 mins. 

[TylerBKK]

4 Thai banks had their credit ratings downgraded by S&P in mid 2022 because of having structural problems. 2 of those banks were SCB and KBank.
 

BBL was not downgraded, in part because it is deemed systemically important to the country's economy and banking system and the international credit rating agencies like Fitch and S&P believe it will never become insolvent. 

 

I chose BBL at the time because some Thai banks were looking less secure and because it is the only Thai Bank, of the 3 biggest Thai banks (SCB, BBL, KBank) with a branch at CW immigration that wasn't downgraded. Also seemed like the safest and most convenient place to park the required visa money for the long term. 
 

Have had no problems with BBL and the suggested two 6-month statement solution also sounds fine. 

[bbko]

42 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

Why do people still use BKB. All other banks give a 12 month statement the same day, Krungsri take 20 mins. 

I use BBL because they are easier to do international money transfers using Wise. As for the 5-7 business days, I know this extra step and plan accordingly. 

[TylerBKK]

5 minutes ago, bbko said:

I use BBL because they are easier to do international money transfers using Wise. As for the 5-7 business days, I know this extra step and plan accordingly. 

I am not sure, but I think Wise can only transfer more than 50,000 THB in one go to the 3 biggest banks in Thailand and none of the others. So another reason to bank at one of the 3 biggest Thai banks if you do a lot of transfers with Wise. 

[DrJack54]

24 minutes ago, TylerBKK said:

I am not sure, but I think Wise can only transfer more than 50,000 THB in one go to the 3 biggest banks in Thailand and none of the others. So another reason to bank at one of the 3 biggest Thai banks if you do a lot of transfers with Wise. 

That's correct.

Just to be clear SCB  no longer has a branch at CW. 

[bbko]

25 minutes ago, TylerBKK said:

I am not sure, but I think Wise can only transfer more than 50,000 THB in one go to the 3 biggest banks in Thailand and none of the others. So another reason to bank at one of the 3 biggest Thai banks if you do a lot of transfers with Wise. 

I transfer over 100k every month using Wise to my BBL account, no problems.

[MeaMaximaCulpa]

OK, not CW but Jomtien: I have never been asked for a statement in 17 years, I use a fixed deposit account that rolls over annually and never touches it, not even the interest. Only for extension of stay. Yes dead money, but necessary for peace of mind. My wife will get it when I go.

 

Bank letter and photocopies of FD book is always enough. They never ask about funds for living like a savings account, but I always have a 6-month statement and book copies of that in my bag just in case (OCD I know).

[TylerBKK]

1 hour ago, bbko said:

I transfer over 100k every month using Wise to my BBL account, no problems.

Right, you can transfer over 50K to BBL, SCB, and KBank. All other Thai banks the limit is no more than 50K in one transfer. 

[TylerBKK]

1 hour ago, MeaMaximaCulpa said:

OK, not CW but Jomtien: I have never been asked for a statement in 17 years, I use a fixed deposit account that rolls over annually and never touches it, not even the interest. Only for extension of stay. Yes dead money, but necessary for peace of mind. My wife will get it when I go.

 

Bank letter and photocopies of FD book is always enough. They never ask about funds for living like a savings account, but I always have a 6-month statement and book copies of that in my bag just in case (OCD I know).

I believe statements aren’t required on fixed deposits because the money can’t be withdrawn intermittently during the year. Monthly statements are only likely required on savings accounts where money can be withdrawn anytime at will. 

[Lite Beer]

18 minutes ago, TylerBKK said:

I believe statements aren’t required on fixed deposits because the money can’t be withdrawn intermittently during the year. Monthly statements are only likely required on savings accounts where money can be withdrawn anytime at will. 

You can withdraw cash from fixed deposit accounts anytime you want to.

[DrJack54]

11 hours ago, TylerBKK said:

I believe statements aren’t required on fixed deposits because the money can’t be withdrawn intermittently during the year. Monthly statements are only likely required on savings accounts where money can be withdrawn anytime at will. 

Statements are not required for FD account for obvious reason. 

Bank Book sufficient. 

 

For Savings account, normally photocopies of 12 months of balances is sufficient. 

 

The exception is when a savings account is use for daily banking and transactions are consolidated in some months. 

Also (personal experience) where there are zero transactions in any given month for savings account. 

Ridiculous however that caused me issue first time ever 2 extensions ago at CW.

In any event you seem aware of all of this. 

12 month bank statement (apart from BBL) can be obtained on the spot 200b.

It does take time (30 min) so best to obtain day prior. 

[TylerBKK]

6 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Statements are not required for FD account for obvious reason. 

Bank Book sufficient. 

 

For Savings account, normally photocopies of 12 months of balances is sufficient. 

 

The exception is when a savings account is use for daily banking and transactions are consolidated in some months. 

Also (personal experience) where there were zero transactions in any given month for savings account. 

Ridiculous however that caused me issue first time ever 2 extensions ago at CW.

In any event you seem aware of all of this. 

12 month bank statement (apart from BBL) can be obtained on the spot 200b.

It does take time (30 min) so best to obtain day prior. 

 
Thank you. My savings account at BBL for the visa is not used for anything. Just interest going in and out. But I assume they will want the 12 month statements anyway. I'll check with my local BBL branch first to make sure I will be able to get two six month statements at the BBL branch at CW. Waiting 30-60 minutes for all the paperwork at BBL CW (if necessary) won't be an issue. 

[TylerBKK]

9 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

That's correct.

Just to be clear SCB  no longer has a branch at CW. 

 

Yes, indeed. I actually used to use SCB before and I always had to visit the branch close to me first to get all the paperwork before going out to CW, which was always extra effort. Nice to have it all under one roof out at CW. 
 

Then the S&P rating downgrade hit SCB in 2022 and that's when I made the jump to BBL. This year is the first time I will be presenting the BBL account though for an extension so that's why I had some questions about the statements. 

[alanrchase]

14 hours ago, TylerBKK said:

Thank you for the helpful replies. The last time at CW I had used a foreign currency savings account with a balance of over 800K equivalent from another bank, which had a passbook, and it was also updated the day that the extension was applied for, but they still asked for a 12 month statement anyway, which I did have, so it wasn't a problem. 
 

Perhaps with Bangkok Bank accounts they know it could take up to a week to obtain a 12 month statement so they don't ask for it. Don't know. 

I just use photocopies of an updated passbook with a transaction on the day of application to cover the few days between the last entry on the one year statement and the day I apply for the extension.

[thailand49]

18 hours ago, TylerBKK said:

I'm a bit confused about what immigration in CW requires for a bank statement if someone has the Baht 800K in cash in a Thai bank savings passbook account and is applying for a 1 year visa extension on the basis of retirement. Is it a 6 months or 12 month statement that is required on the statement? 

 

I would assume that they want a 12 month statement to show that the full amount of the 800K remained in the bank account for the 3 months immediately following the date when the previous 1 year retirement extension was granted. 

 

Also, if, for example, Bangkok Bank takes 5-7 business days to issue a 12 month statement, then how old can the date be on the statement, prior to the visa extension renewal application date, while still being an acceptable 12 month bank statement by immigration?

Why would you need a 12 month statement unless you are using a monthly.

All I do for years is go to Bangkok bank the day before deposit a 1000 baht then hand the teller 100 Baht for a letter that letter just confirms the total amount. 

I also xerox all pages of the book, attached to application highlight the areas approved out the door in 10 minutes.

[DrJack54]

10 minutes ago, thailand49 said:

All I do for years is go to Bangkok bank the day before deposit a 1000 baht.....

Do you have a Fixed deposit account? 

I posted earlier that at CW previously I had zero issue with providing photocopies of bank book (savings account) for many years. 

I use a dedicated bank account and as a result some months show zero transactions. 

CW insisted on 12 month bank statement. 

I was able to obtain statement as Kasikorn can provide that on the spot. 

BBL not so 

[brianthainess]

13 hours ago, bbko said:

I use BBL because they are easier to do international money transfers using Wise. As for the 5-7 business days, I know this extra step and plan accordingly. 

Well you are lucky as there are quite a few IO that require every doc. must be dated the same day.

[thailand49]

21 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Do you have a Fixed deposit account? 

I posted earlier that at CW previously I had zero issue with providing photocopies of bank book (savings account) for many years. 

I use a dedicated bank account and as a result some months show zero transactions. 

CW insisted on 12 month bank statement. 

I was able to obtain statement as Kasikorn can provide that on the spot. 

BBL not so 

Sorry my base is Jomtien!  Reading these problems at CW glad Im here.

Not a fix I use a joint account well exceed the limit of 800,000 joint 1.6M 

[DrJack54]

22 minutes ago, thailand49 said:

Not a fix I use a joint account well exceed the limit of 800,000 joint 1.6M 

How do you manage to use JOINT account. 

So Jomtien allow a joint account with double the amount? 

Is this for extensions based on retirement.

Aware of it however not all offices accept joint account with double the amount. 

[Lemsta69]

50 minutes ago, thailand49 said:

Why would you need a 12 month statement unless you are using a monthly.

 

Because the IO asked for it?

[alanrchase]

1 hour ago, thailand49 said:

Why would you need a 12 month statement unless you are using a monthly.

All I do for years is go to Bangkok bank the day before deposit a 1000 baht then hand the teller 100 Baht for a letter that letter just confirms the total amount. 

I also xerox all pages of the book, attached to application highlight the areas approved out the door in 10 minutes.

Immigration changed the financial requirements so you have to maintain certain levels in the bank for the whole year. At about the same time my bank would only go back about four weeks when I updated my book so unless I update it every month I end up with a consolidated entry which does not prove I maintained the required balance for the whole period. If your immigration office insists on proving you met the financial requirements for the whole year you either have to regularly update your passbook to avoid consolidated entries or get bank statements to cover the year.

[Wrwest]

18 hours ago, TylerBKK said:

Thank you for the helpful replies. The last time at CW I had used a foreign currency savings account with a balance of over 800K equivalent from another bank, which had a passbook, and it was also updated the day that the extension was applied for, but they still asked for a 12 month statement anyway, which I did have, so it wasn't a problem. 
 

Perhaps with Bangkok Bank accounts they know it could take up to a week to obtain a 12 month statement so they don't ask for it. Don't know. 

Not using CW but just renewed "O" Extension using 65K a month transferred from aboard in Chiang Mai and using Bangkok Bank. May be of some interest for comparison for someone. I do not keep my bank book up to date so when it is updated, the bank combines several entries ... thus not acceptable for immigration proof of monthly FTT deposits. So, a week to get the 12 months printed statement. Required an additional statement from bank listing each month and monthly FTT transfer for each month. Additional bank statement stating current balance. Of course most of us are aware requirements vary according to immigration office.

[thailand49]

4 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

How do you manage to use JOINT account. 

So Jomtien allow a joint account with double the amount? 

Is this for extensions based on retirement.

Aware of it however not all offices accept joint account with double the amount. 

That is why I noted Jomtien clearly. Been for over ten years never had a problem.  Long ago I had a commander question it said I should do a Will. I smiled explained to him reason and their legal system without insulting it he smiled that was enough for me to know I was doing it right.🤑

[thailand49]

3 hours ago, alanrchase said:

Immigration changed the financial requirements so you have to maintain certain levels in the bank for the whole year. At about the same time my bank would only go back about four weeks when I updated my book so unless I update it every month I end up with a consolidated entry which does not prove I maintained the required balance for the whole period. If your immigration office insists on proving you met the financial requirements for the whole year you either have to regularly update your passbook to avoid consolidated entries or get bank statements to cover the year.

Did you read the Dr respond or mines.  All one has to do is look at your bank book to see if it is current or not. Reason I make a deposit of a 1000 then get a letter to verified the total which should be last entry reason I xerox all the pages of the passport attach it to the bank letter.

This method Ive never had anyone question he looks at the dates on the copies that I have met all the requirement as you are noting and Im done in 10 minutes.

In fact the guy seems pissed at times that I have things in order cant make me jump through their hoops. This year just done ladt month he ran thrpugh everything twice then took my passport started to xerox all the pages making another set handed to me to sign I ask did I miss something said No, told him I have extra copies if he needed more. No humor I was out 12 minutes.