Help on "Retirement Visa"

[JamesPhuket10]

 

I will have completed the 2nd year extension of my stay in Thailand in mid-February 2025. It is based on retirement. 

 

I entered with a 90-day non-0 visa in November 2022, I put 800k baht into a Thai bank account and kept it there for three months and then applied for an extension of stay which I got, and it was extended from mid-February 2023 to mid-February 2024. I then extended it for another year until Feb 2025.

 

I was wondering how to convert to the same type of visa but using a monthly pension payment (it is rent from a house in the UK really but that is part of my pension) instead of a lump sum of 800k baht. 

 

I am going back to the UK for a month or two in November 2024, I could get another non-0 visa which is 90 days or I could come back to Thailand on my current valid (retirement) visa

 

So if I come back to Thailand using a new 90 non-0 visa at that point do I start transferring the minimum monthly pension into my Thai bank account and then apply for the visa extension after 90 days after I arrive in Thailand and then continue to do that every month until I re-apply and extend the visa every year from then on?

 

Or if I come back using my existing visa extension how do I convert to a monthly pension application rather than the 800k deposit?

 

Thanks in advance for your reply(s).

[DrJack54]

3 minutes ago, JamesPhuket10 said:

Or if I come back using my existing visa extension how do I convert to a monthly pension application rather than the 800k deposit?

Obtaining a new non O is not required and won't facilitate your plan to change to extension based on retirement.

If you travel to UK make sure you get a reentry permit to protect your permission of stay. 

To change to income method you need to show immigration 12 month of international transfers.

You should have been doing that from when you obtained current extension (obtained in Feb 2024)

My guess is you have not done that

UK does not provide income letter.

Thinking you missed the boat. 

[Upnotover]

I'm reasonably sure that you need to have been doing 65k deposits for 12 months at the time of the application for the extension, even for the first one on that basis.  For that reason I am on an 800k extension currently but am transferring 65k+/month for the next extension in 2025, as well as maintaining the 800/400/800 during this first year.

[DrJack54]

Just now, Upnotover said:

For that reason I am on an 800k extension currently but am transferring 65k+/month for the next extension in 2025, as well as maintaining the 800/400/800 during this first year.

That's also exactly what I'm doing.

Seems the OP needed to ask his question prior to obtaining his current extension and apply your plan.

 

OP, you should also check with your immigration what they will except as "pension , income ..etc

[JamesPhuket10]

7 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Obtaining a new non O is not required and won't facilitate your plan to change to extension based on retirement.

If you travel to UK make sure you get a reentry permit to protect your permission of stay. 

To change to income method you need to show immigration 12 month of international transfers.

You should have been doing that from when you obtained current extension (obtained in Feb 2024)

My guess is you have not done that

UK does not provide income letter.

Thinking you missed the boat. 

 

Thanks for your reply.

 

The reason I did not show a pension income is that there was not one at the time, I just sent over 1 million+ baht to my Thai bank account, and the extra money was to live on until the first three months were up and then I could start using part of the 800k, down to 400k.

 

So does that mean if someone comes into Thailand on their first 90 non-0 visa they have to get the 1 year extension with an 800k deposit and also in parallel have to deposit an amount of pension money into the account for one year so they can then extend the following year based on twelve months pension payments?

 

[JamesPhuket10]

8 hours ago, Upnotover said:

I'm reasonably sure that you need to have been doing 65k deposits for 12 months at the time of the application for the extension, even for the first one on that basis.  For that reason I am on an 800k extension currently but am transferring 65k+/month for the next extension in 2025, as well as maintaining the 800/400/800 during this first year.

 

OK, thanks for the info, I will think about it and see what is the best way to do it depending on what and where I put the money.

 

I suppose you can spend the 65k each month as you go along, they do not want to see any bank balance other than the 65k a month in the bank account, once we have the extension.

 

I will ask the immigration officer when I go and get my next visa, there only a few quid difference in the two methods anyway, it is all down to just saving time and bother really. 

 

[DrJack54]

3 minutes ago, JamesPhuket10 said:

So does that mean if someone comes into Thailand on their first 90 non-0 visa they have to get the 1 year extension with an 800k deposit and also in parallel have to deposit an amount of pension money into the account for one year so they can then extend the following year based on twelve months pension payments?

That is a pretty good summary.

Currently I'm satisfying the money in bank method and simultaneously have been doing monthly transfers and for my next extension asking immigration for switch to income method.

The other thing to consider is each particular immigration office interpretation of "income" 

Some offices happy to just see consistent international monthly transfers.

Some want to view some sort of proof of "pension" 

No wonder some folk use agents 

[DrJack54]

4 minutes ago, JamesPhuket10 said:

I suppose you can spend the 65k each month as you go along, they do not want to see any bank balance other than the 65k a month in the bank account?

Correct.

I have been transferring 120k each month and the next day it goes into my Thai partner account. 

[JamesPhuket10]

42 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

That is a pretty good summary.

Currently I'm satisfying the money in bank method and simultaneously have been doing monthly transfers and for my next extension asking immigration for switch to income method.

The other thing to consider is each particular immigration office interpretation of "income" 

Some offices happy to just see consistent international monthly transfers.

Some want to view some sort of proof of "pension" 

No wonder some folk use agents 

 

"Some want to view some sort of proof of "pension" "

 

That is the confusing part as I have read in various places they want to see a pension or other income, and as you said it depends on who is processing your extension that day.

 

I only get a state pension from the UK of  £11k (ish) per year, my other income comes from me taking money from my cashed-out private pension which is in various deposit accounts.

 

So I could not show my income comes from a pension directly as you probably know in the UK we are allowed to do what we like with our pension pots and invest them where we please. 

 

But in the next few months, I will also be getting a rental income which is part of my pension as far as I am concerned.

 

I remember one guy a few years ago telling me he had a problem as when he showed his monthly income pension the officer was concerned that the payments were made on slightly different dates during each month, he told her that was due to variations in when WISE completed the transactions so she let it go.

 

Plus I spend very little in Thailand, the house is paid for as is the car, I am not much of a drinker, and my partner and I eat at home as she insists on cooking quality home-cooked food (Australian beef etc), so I am not sure if I will spend the 65k Baht a month, that means the 800k will sit in my account forever in parallel. 

 

My Thai partner has her rental properties here in Phuket and so we combine our income to pay the relatively little we need to pay out. 

 

The amount of money I need to spend in Thailand would make Fagin look like he throws his money around. 🤣

 

Thanks for your help and info. 

 

 

 

[JamesPhuket10]

9 hours ago, Upnotover said:

I'm reasonably sure that you need to have been doing 65k deposits for 12 months at the time of the application for the extension, even for the first one on that basis.  For that reason I am on an 800k extension currently but am transferring 65k+/month for the next extension in 2025, as well as maintaining the 800/400/800 during this first year.

 

Cheers, thanks for your help. 👍

[DrJack54]

11 minutes ago, JamesPhuket10 said:

 

I remember one guy a few years ago telling me he had a problem as when he showed his monthly income pension the officer was concerned that the payments were made on slightly different dates during each month, he told her that was due to variations in when WISE completed the transactions so she let it go.

 

 

Suggest that you have your UK pension paid into your UK bank 

When your rent income + pension is 65k then do a WISE transfer on very similar date every month.

Thinking for you that will be latter part of the month. 

[JamesPhuket10]

20 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

 

 

Suggest that you have your UK pension paid into your UK bank 

When your rent income + pension is 65k then do a WISE transfer on very similar date every month.

Thinking for you that will be latter part of the month. 

 

Yes, that is where the state pension and the other income are paid already, into my UK bank account,  but I thought you were indicating we have to prove where the source of the funds was from eg a pension company?

[DrJack54]

3 minutes ago, JamesPhuket10 said:

 

Yes, that is where the state pension and the other income are paid already, into my UK bank account,  but I thought you were indicating we have to prove where the source of the funds was from eg a pension company?

That will depend on immigration office 

I'm suggesting that you accumulate funds from pension and rent till that is 65k .

At that point do ONE transfer from UK to Thai bank account in your name only 65k 

 

[JamesPhuket10]

6 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

That will depend on immigration office 

I'm suggesting that you accumulate funds from pension and rent till that is 65k .

At that point do ONE transfer from UK to Thai bank account in your name only 65k 

 

 

My bank account in Thailand is in my name only.

 

Yes with WISE we can select how much we wish to send in £ or we can select how much we want to be left in the Thai bank account after the exchange rate and the bank charges so I will send 70k per month (to be on the safe side) starting in February 2025 when the new visa extension will start. 

 

So my Thai bank account will show exactly 70k received on the same date more or less each month. 

 

 

[DrJack54]

5 minutes ago, JamesPhuket10 said:

So my Thai bank account will show exactly 70k received on the same date more or less each month

Good. Which immigration office? 

[JamesPhuket10]

2 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Good. Which immigration office? 

 

I go to the main immigration office in Phuket.

 

When I went for the first extension in Feb 2023 they were not that friendly and were self-important, they were doing you a favour by processing you.

 

During the Feb 2024 visit, I found the whole atmosphere had changed, they were polite and helpful and it was all a breeze, well it was for me as all of my paperwork was in order and it only took the officer ten minutes to process them.

 

At a desk two away from mine a Swiss guying was denied his extension as he had not followed the 800k by 400k by 800k rule I assume, he was blaming his bank for the problems unless it was his monthly pension payments which were not correct, I did not have the details but it was something to do with money not being processed in the required time frame. 

 

Over the last thirty-seven years of visiting Thailand, I did not have to deal with immigration as I was only here for maybe three months at a time.

 

I was here once from 2018 to 2019 for a year, I think I had a multiple visa valid for six months valid for sixty days at each visit, extendable by a month, then a trip to Malaysia, a sixty-day visa, extended etc.....

 

I think they stopped doing those visas. 

 

 

[PeachCH]

For many retirees the most important issue is to have a trusted agent, which will provide the most efficient service, without any financial requirements, neither in the bank nor as income. 😁

A countryman in Pattaya, aged 85, just got his 30th extention, without never showing any money. 

On the other side, he must be beloved by the Immigration. In this 30 years, they received about 350,000 "appreciation money" 

from the agent. 

(No, not me, don't live in Thailand anymore) 😁 👍 

[arick]

I'm sure they're going to say 800,000 in the bank or for monthly you'll need a letter from an embassy.

[Lite Beer]

Just now, arick said:

I'm sure they're going to say 800,000 in the bank or for monthly you'll need a letter from an embassy.

Some Embassies do not issue them.

[Upnotover]

3 minutes ago, Lite Beer said:

Some Embassies do not issue them.

Yep, including the OP's.

[arick]

12 minutes ago, Lite Beer said:

Some Embassies do not issue them.

I know that I'm just saying do they really do monthly just buy a bank statement and no letter from the embassy. 

[arick]

Can you have 800,000 or million in an open-ended Bangkok Bank account

[DrJack54]

2 minutes ago, arick said:

I know that I'm just saying do they really do monthly just buy a bank statement and no letter from the embassy. 

You would need to show 12 months of transfers of min 65k for that to be an option without embassy letter

[DrJack54]

3 minutes ago, arick said:

Can you have 800,000 or million in an open-ended Bangkok Bank account

Don't know what you mean by open ended.

Money in bank method is an option.

Requires funds in bank 800k 2 months prior and 3 months after application and not below 400k in other months 

[Expat68]

I was talking to a friend last night and he can't get a retirement visa because the banks will not let him open a bank account. Can you get a retirement visa with funds in your own country?

[KannikaP]

20 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

That's also exactly what I'm doing.

Seems the OP needed to ask his question prior to obtaining his current extension and apply your plan.

 

OP, you should also check with your immigration what they will except as "pension , income ..etc. He just wants to see it arrives every month on roughly the same date.

And ask if they will accept the Combination Method, ie. 400 in the bank and 35k per month.

My IO here in Phitsanulok has never asked in seven years, the source of my monthly transfer, pension, rental income, sister's immoral earnings etc. He just wants to see that it arrives every month on roughly the same date, and that transfers and deposit are over 800k.

[DrJack54]

1 minute ago, KannikaP said:

And ask if they will accept the Combination Method, ie. 400 in the bank and 35k per month.

That would depend on immigration office. 

Read somewhere that a chap asked CM immigration and was told "No" 

So it's one that you need to ask your particular immigration office 

[DrJack54]

7 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

My IO here in Phitsanulok has never asked in seven years, the source of my monthly transfer, pension, rental income, sister's immoral earnings etc

And that's how it should be imo.

Being over 50 is the requirement for non O .

Some (myself included) don't even receive a pension. However have monthly income that meets the financial requirements.

Again depends on immigration office.

Some just want to see 12 monthly transfers.

Others want proof of "pension" 

[brianthainess]

As we know all IO are different. but this one is from Jomtian but it may help.

          And this one from Trat

 

 

[Mike Teavee]

2 hours ago, PeachCH said:

For many retirees the most important issue is to have a trusted agent, which will provide the most efficient service, without any financial requirements, neither in the bank nor as income. 😁

A countryman in Pattaya, aged 85, just got his 30th extention, without never showing any money. 

On the other side, he must be beloved by the Immigration. In this 30 years, they received about 350,000 "appreciation money" 

from the agent. 

(No, not me, don't live in Thailand anymore) 😁 👍 

100% agree with the bolded part (& I do use an Agent that I trust) but I wouldn't recommend anybody plan a retirement in Thailand if they don't meet the financial requirements as I can't see people getting away with it in 27 years time (when I turn 85) & the older you are, the harder it is to have a Plan B.