First Retirement Visa Application In Pattaya

[Guderian]

I wrote a full explanation of my situation, but in retrospect it is a bit long. So I have tried to summarise it below. I hope that will be enough, but if you lack details, then I hope they will be found in the full story below this summary. (I also hope that most people don't need to spend their time reading that!) I've highlighted my specific questions in blue to try and make life easier.

Summary:

· I have a 1 year Non-Imm O Visa issued early January 2007.

· I live in Pattaya.

· I will not be in Thailand from 20 December 2007 until about 18 January 2008, so will need a new visa next year to re-enter the country.

· I am 50 and so can apply for a Retirement Visa before I leave Thailand on 20 December coming.

· A lady at Siam Commercial Bank advised me that I need 800K Baht in my savings account, but not until shortly before I actually apply for the Retirement Visa, probably in early to mid-December.

· My money currently sits mostly in an SCB Fund account which pays decent interest.

· Given that I will be using the Jomtien Immigration Office to apply for a Retirement Visa, is the lady's advice above correct, or do I have to have the 800K Baht in the savings account 90 days before applying?

· If she is wrong, does it matter much? I can get a visa of some sort when I am back in the UK over Christmas, be it Tourist or a 3-month O, and then use that to re-enter the Kingdom and apply for a Retirement Visa after the 800K Baht has "aged" the full 90 days.

The full discussion follows below, but perhaps the salient points above are enough?

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Hello,

My situation has been simple enough in Thailand to date, so I haven't felt any need to post anything about it. But it seems that things are getting more complicated, and so thought I'd try explaining my situation and ask for some advice now. Thanks in advance if anyone can help.

I "celebrated" my 50th birthday a few months ago, and have been living in Pattaya on a Non-Imm O Visa for the last year (and also living here on a combination of Tourist Visas and 30-day stamps for 2 years before that, as I was travelling more then). The Non-Imm was easy to get at my local Thai Consulate in Cardiff last January – just show that you have a UK bank account with a reasonable sum of money in it, and a lease on a property in Thailand, and hey presto, they would give you the 1 year Non-Imm O. But that was in January.

I understand that with the stricter enforcement of the rules, the Cardiff Consulate will no longer issue a similar visa, as I am not married. They told me when I phoned them that next time they would give me a 3-month type O visa, which would then allow me to get a Retirement Visa in Thailand. I was probably jumping the gun a bit, phoning them when I did, as my current 1 year Non-Imm O visa was issued in early January 2007. I will be back in the UK over Christmas and the New Year, so I thought in the meantime that I would check out the lie of the land, and whether or not a new 1 year Non-Imm would be obtainable – and it seems not! Because I plan to leave Thailand before the coming Christmas and will not get back to LOS until more than one year after the original issue date in January 2007, I don't believe that there is any option for me to extend the current visa into 2008.

Anyway, it seems to me that there is no point in paying for a 3-month O visa in Cardiff in January, when I can already apply for the retirement visa here in Pattaya in December, based on my current Non-Imm O. I have been following the various posts that appear about people's experiences in the different Immigration Offices, many thanks to everyone for sharing this information. I am living in Pattaya, as I said, which seems to have a fairly relaxed attitude towards renewing visas, from what I have read here anyway.

When I eventually apply for the Retirement Visa, I see a potential problem on the financial side, which is a bit more complicated in my case, and that is where I would appreciate some advice.

I don't have a pension, but I have a lot more than 800K Baht sitting with Siam Commercial Bank (SCB). I have read a number of posts which stated that the 800K has to be in an accessible account, which I presume to mean a (very low-interest rate) savings account. I currently keep most of my cash in an SCB Fund account, that pays (the last time I looked anyway) about 3.5% interest tax-free. Every month or so I go to the bank and transfer my living expenses for the next month from this Fund account into my bog-standard SCB savings account, and then use that for my living expenses. I'm not especially short of money, but I do hate throwing it away, for any reason. In the few months the Fund account has been open, I have already received almost 20,000 Baht in interest. That's certainly not peanuts to me.

However, I suspected that the interest-bearing SCB Fund account might not be acceptable to the Immigration guys. I went to SCB on Beach Road yesterday afternoon, and asked a very helpful lady there for advice. She confirmed that the Immigration Police would not accept the Fund account, the 800K Baht has to be in the savings account. OK, no problem.

As it's now early September, to allow the 90 days "ageing" on the funds that I have read about here, I asked her to transfer the 800K into my savings account ASAP. Then in mid-December, shortly before I go back to Blighty for Christmas, I could apply for a Retirement Visa in Pattaya. But she looked at me like I was mad - why would I throw all that interest away? She told me to come back a few days before I want to go to the Immigration Police to apply for the Retirement Visa in December, and transfer the money then. I could request the supporting letter from the bank at the same time, and then go back to the bank a day to two later to get the 800K balance written up in the savings account book (it takes a day or so to move the money from the Fund account) and also to pick up the letter.

I was very doubtful about this, but she was insistent. She was certain that all the Pattaya Immigration Police want to see is that I have 800K Baht in the savings account when I go to apply for the visa, and also for some reason to see that the account is not brand new (mine is a year old). Well, of course, losing 3 months interest on the 800K Baht doesn't appeal to me much, it's likely to be about 6000 Baht lost for nowt. So I like her idea, but I still have my doubts.

My question is this: has anybody found at the Pattaya Immigration Office that they don't check if the money has been in your account for 90 days? Should I follow the lady's advice, or just go and throw the 6000 Baht in interest away, and transfer the money now? Are the banks up-to-date on things like the 90-day ageing issue, which may have always been the rule, but were only enforced recently?

The easy answer is to transfer the money now - that was my gut reaction, and I expect a lot of people would say the same thing. But having thought about it for an hour or two, I don't really see much downside to following her advice. If the worst came to the worst, and in December when I go to the Pattaya Immigration office they tell me that I have to have the 800K in the account for 90 days, not 2 days, then I can still get the 3-month O visa, which the Thai Consulate in Cardiff offered, when I am back in the UK over Christmas, and then use that to get back into Thailand and get the Retirement Visa in early March, after the 90 days ageing is complete. I could perhaps end up out of pocket by the cost of the 3-month O visa (however much that is – hopefully not £100 like a 1 year visa, I can't see the price on the Cardiff Consulate website), but if what the lady in SCB says is correct, then I won't need that, and will be about 6000 Baht in interest better off than if I transfer the money to my savings account now.

Is there anything wrong with that reasoning? Am I missing anything?

One last topic/question if I may. I also asked her about proving that the funds came from overseas (which they did, though I don't have any specific paperwork to prove it, only the SCB code "X1" against each overseas transfer in my savings account pass book). She said that it doesn't matter, they only want to see that you have the 800K in your account here in Thailand. As I will (at some point in time, be it this week or in December) be transferring the 800K Baht from my Fund account back into the savings account (where it originally came from after I transferred it here from overseas), it will probably not be obvious to the Immigration Police where the money originated. This may be a problem in Bangkok, but I don't get the impression that it is a problem in Pattaya. Is that right? Would anyone with recent experience in Pattaya care to comment on that supposition?

Thanks for any help, experiences or advice.

[Jingthing]

You have a long post, but I will boil it down.

I applied for a first time extension based on bank account only in Jomtien.

It is really hard to fully answer your questions. It was my impression that they looked at the dates of the money transfers and also looked at the codes. Indeed, they actually highlighted these items with a colored pen when looking, so they are definitely looking. However, I complied fully with this rule: 3 months in the bank, 800K or more in the bank going back 3 months until the time of application with a letter showing the balance on the day of application, and had clean foreign transfers with codes. So yes they looked at the details in my bank book. All went fine. Impossible to say if I hadn't followed those rules what would have happened, but the general word you hear is the three month money seasoning rule for FIRST time applications based on bank account only is strictly enforced, and I believe that.

BTW, I would never listen to a lady at the bank about immigration policies! How could she possibly know the peculiarities about doing this FIRST time and also using the bank account only method? I assuming she is Thai and has never dealt with applying for permission to stay in this country.

Edited September 6, 2007 by Jingthing

[ignis]

My 800,000 is in a Fixed long term Account, [3.7%] appears to be no problem with that in BKK Immigration Office renewed my Retirement visa no problem...

Strange.. I have another account in a Thai Bank which pays 8% every month into my normal savings account, but the Immigration Office will no accept this...... No idea why as Thai tax is taken on both accounts..

[naka]

800k for 3 month is the rule !

Naka.

[Guderian]

You have a long post, but I will boil it down.

I applied for a first time extension based on bank account only in Jomtien.

It is really hard to fully answer your questions. It was my impression that they looked at the dates of the money transfers and also looked at the codes. Indeed, they actually highlighted these items with a colored pen when looking, so they are definitely looking. However, I complied fully with this rule: 3 months in the bank, 800K or more in the bank going back 3 months until the time of application with a letter showing the balance on the day of application, and had clean foreign transfers with codes. So yes they looked at the details in my bank book. All went fine. Impossible to say if I hadn't followed those rules what would have happened, but the general word you hear is the three month money seasoning rule for FIRST time applications based on bank account only is strictly enforced, and I believe that.

BTW, I would never listen to a lady at the bank about immigration policies! How could she possibly know the peculiarities about doing this FIRST time and also using the bank account only method? I assuming she is Thai and has never dealt with applying for permission to stay in this country.

Jingthing,

Thanks for the reply.

Apologies for the post length. Quite often I have noticed OP's providing insufficient details, but I guess that I may have gone too far in the other direction.

I've seen a number of post that mentioned the 90-day rule being applied to first applications. It sounds like I had better just bite the bullet and move the money across to the savings account now.

You're right about not trusting a standard bank employee to be an expert on immigration formalities, that was my thought as well. It's probably just wishful thinking on my part that life here could be so simple any more.

One more question if I may? If (say) I apply for the Retirement Visa on 12 December and it is granted, would it run from that date, or from the date that my last 90-day Non-Imm O-visa extension expires (which should be in early January)?

Thanks,

G

[ignis]

You have a long post, but I will boil it down.

I applied for a first time extension based on bank account only in Jomtien.

It is really hard to fully answer your questions. It was my impression that they looked at the dates of the money transfers and also looked at the codes. Indeed, they actually highlighted these items with a colored pen when looking, so they are definitely looking. However, I complied fully with this rule: 3 months in the bank, 800K or more in the bank going back 3 months until the time of application with a letter showing the balance on the day of application, and had clean foreign transfers with codes. So yes they looked at the details in my bank book. All went fine. Impossible to say if I hadn't followed those rules what would have happened, but the general word you hear is the three month money seasoning rule for FIRST time applications based on bank account only is strictly enforced, and I believe that.

BTW, I would never listen to a lady at the bank about immigration policies! How could she possibly know the peculiarities about doing this FIRST time and also using the bank account only method? I assuming she is Thai and has never dealt with applying for permission to stay in this country.

Jingthing,

Thanks for the reply.

Apologies for the post length. Quite often I have noticed OP's providing insufficient details, but I guess that I may have gone too far in the other direction.

I've seen a number of post that mentioned the 90-day rule being applied to first applications. It sounds like I had better just bite the bullet and move the money across to the savings account now.

You're right about not trusting a standard bank employee to be an expert on immigration formalities, that was my thought as well. It's probably just wishful thinking on my part that life here could be so simple any more.

One more question if I may? If (say) I apply for the Retirement Visa on 12 December and it is granted, would it run from that date, or from the date that my last 90-day Non-Imm O-visa extension expires (which should be in early January)?

Thanks,

G

I will run from the date of you old stamp, so you would need an exit/entry visa stamp when you [if] go on the 12th Dec.... otherwise you loss what you have already...... or just go and get another 1yr Multi Entry Visa from your home, and start again..

[lopburi3]

I believe he is asking about application for extension of stay on December 12 and if the one year would start on that date. In the past it ran from your last day of entry into Thailand (so first extension would be about 9-10 months) but in two reported cases this week the start date has been from end end of current permitted to stay stamp date. In either case it will not be December 12 and doing it early will not lose you anything.

[Guderian]

lopburi and ignis,

Thanks for the replies.

Where I was coming from was that if the Retirement Visa was awarded with effect from the start of January, when I will be outside Thailand, would I still be able to apply for a multiple-entry permit before I left the country just before Christmas, as I would not at that time be in living in Thailand on the Retirement Visa?

If I understand correctly, you seem to be saying that I will be able to get the multiple-entry permit, even if the Retirement Visa isn't actually in force at that moment?

I wasn't querying a further extension on my current Non-Imm O as I realise that will be dead and buried with my travel plans.

As I explained in the labyrinthine depths of my original message (sorry), Cardiff seem to be insisting on marriage to a Thai wife for a full 1 year O now. That puts me out. They have changed the actual criteria they apply enormously in the last 6 months or so. I looked at the Hull Consulate's website, as they seem to be the most obliging in the UK, but even they now have the same set of tight rules as Cardiff for 1 year Non-Imm O's. But maybe they aren't applying them yet, I don't know?

I think it's easiest for me to sort this out now before I leave for my Christmas break back in the fog and frost. But if something goes wrong, then I always have the fallback of trying for a new Non-Imm O or even a Tourist Visa to get back into Thailand.

I am beginning to see why people are complaining about things. It was always so easy and flexible in the past.

Many thanks,

G

[lopburi3]

Once you receive a new extension of stay stamp you can obtain a new re-entry permit to match that. The start date is the date it is entered into your passport and it replaces your previous stamp.

[Guderian]

Once you receive a new extension of stay stamp you can obtain a new re-entry permit to match that. The start date is the date it is entered into your passport and it replaces your previous stamp.

Can I see if I understand?

Say that they give me a Retirement Visa on 12 December. My existing 1 year Non-Imm will have an extension of stay stamp until (say) 3 January – 90 days after my last visa run (which I will do in a few weeks on a trip to Cambodia to see a friend).

Are you saying that I will get a new extension of stay stamp (for 90 days, is it?) on 12 December based on the Retirement Visa?

I will be leaving Thailand for a month anyway on 20 December, so I assume that as long as I get the multiple-entry thing before I leave then I will simply get a new extension of stay stamp with the Retirement Visa when I return on or around 18 January?

Sorry, I'm still finding this a bit confusing, but thanks anyway for trying to enlighten me.

G

[lopburi3]

You keep saying "retirement visa" but that is called a non immigrant O-A visa and provides a one year permitted to stay stamp on entry. It that really what you have?

Or you do have a retirement extension of stay from Immigration?

Or do you you have a multi entry non immigrant O visa which provides 90 day stamp on each entry?

If you have a multi entry visa and are making a first request for retirement extension of stay the normal (up to this week) procedure was to provide an extension of one year from your current entry into Thailand date (you entered October 6 - apply for extension Dec 12 - stamped until Oct 5 2008). But this week several people have received full year from there application date (apply Oct 4 - stamped until Oct 3, 2008).

[Guderian]

You keep saying "retirement visa" but that is called a non immigrant O-A visa and provides a one year permitted to stay stamp on entry. It that really what you have?

Or you do have a retirement extension of stay from Immigration?

Or do you you have a multi entry non immigrant O visa which provides 90 day stamp on each entry?

If you have a multi entry visa and are making a first request for retirement extension of stay the normal (up to this week) procedure was to provide an extension of one year from your current entry into Thailand date (you entered October 6 - apply for extension Dec 12 - stamped until Oct 5 2008). But this week several people have received full year from there application date (apply Oct 4 - stamped until Oct 3, 2008).

Aha! It becomes clearer!

Yes, the 1 year ME Non-Imm O is what I have, with 90 day stamps.

But apparently now only available if you are married to a Thai (at least at the Cardiff Consulate).

OK, lopburi, I understand from your final para that the start date of the new full OA visa if I get one (what I have been referring to as a 'Retirement Visa') may be Oct 4 or may be Dec 12 - that is up to the Gods at the Immigration Office.

I think I've got it now, as far as it can be got anwyay.

Thank you for your kind patience.

G

[lopburi3]

You have most of it - it will not be an OA visa - you already have a non immigrant visa - it will be an extension of stay for retirement of your current visa entry.

[Guderian]

You have most of it - it will not be an OA visa - you already have a non immigrant visa - it will be an extension of stay for retirement of your current visa entry.

Hi lopburi (and anyone else who knows the answer ),

Sorry to bother you again, but I have attached a scan of my current visa stamp. It says "NO EXTENSION OF STAY" at the bottom. As you say that I will be applying for an "extension of stay for retirement of your current visa entry", does this affect things, or is it about something else?

Thanks,

G

[macb]

Give Cardiff a ring not sure what that means mate, or drop the Consulate in Bkk an email or ring them they are very helpful :

Heres a link to the Consulate in Bkk, sorry cant explain that one

http://www.britishembassy.gov.uk/servlet/F...d=1065721607443

[lopburi3]

Believe it just means you can not receive the normal 30 day extensions of stay that tourist visa holders receive. It should not make any difference for Immigration to extend on a yearly basis.

[sometimewoodworker]

I "celebrated" my 50th birthday a few months ago, and have been living in Pattaya on a Non-Imm O Visa for the last year (and also living here on a combination of Tourist Visas and 30-day stamps for 2 years before that, as I was travelling more then). The Non-Imm was easy to get at my local Thai Consulate in Cardiff last January – just show that you have a UK bank account with a reasonable sum of money in it, and a lease on a property in Thailand, and hey presto, they would give you the 1 year Non-Imm O. But that was in January.

I would suggest that you confirm with imigration that you do indeed meet the 50 year rule. I mention this as when I asked I was told that I had to have had my 51st birthday to meet the requirement. As always YMMV.

[Guderian]

Here's an update.

I decided to go and find out the rules from the 'horse's mouth', i.e. the Immigration Police in Jomtien Soi 5. So I put on my best sandals, and polished my nose, and headed off this PM. There is an information desk when you go in on the right-hand side, and I went straight up to the stern-faced lady police captain who was on duty behind the desk at the time. I explained my situation, and she asked to see my passport.

She didn't look at all amused, and spent 10 minutes leafing through it and apparently checking almost every visa stamp. Maybe she was bored, but given her seriousness I think she was checking that I hadn't broken any rules in the past like overstaying, and hadn't been living here on 30-day stamps. I was half-expecting her to say that the rules have changed and I would not be allowed to stay. Finally, she looked at me and said, "You can apply for extension. You have 800,000 Baht?"

So now we got to the crux of the matter, and I showed her my two bank books – the SCB savings account currently with about 110,000 Baht in it that I use for day-to-day living, and the SCB Fund account with much more in it. "This one no good!" she told me, waving the Fund account book. I explained that people had told me that, but not the bank, which was why I was checking. She said that I had to transfer 800,000 Baht from the Fund account to the savings account 90 days before applying. She actually wrote an example for me on paper showing when I had to transfer the 800,000 Baht so that I could apply for a visa 3 months later! How helpful can you get?

I asked her about going back to the UK for Christmas, after the retirement extension will hopefully have been issued, and she tut-tutted that I must fill in form TM 8 and apply for multiple re-entry at the same time as I got the extension. Then I would be fine. The only other thing she said I needed was the standard letter from the bank.

All in all she was very helpful and I was in and out within 20 minutes. Of course, when I actually apply in 3 months time it may be a different story, but I will cross that bridge when I come to it.

I went into SCB straight after this and moved the money, which will be in the savings account tomorrow afternoon, so sometime after 11^th December I will be applying for my first retirement extension of stay. I will let you know how it goes.

Thanks for the advice and info, especially lopburi.

G

[wpcoe]

Guderian, I know you said in the opening post that you have no pension, but do you have income from ANY source (besides the interest off your SCB accounts in Thailand)?

If you have any income from the UK, and can have the income certified by the British Embassy (including by Barry Kenyon who is in Pattaya) you can reduce the amount of money that you need to have in the SCB savings account. e.g. Investment income of equivalent to B200,000/yr and then you only need to show B600,000 in the SCB savings account for 90 days.

[Guderian]

Guderian, I know you said in the opening post that you have no pension, but do you have income from ANY source (besides the interest off your SCB accounts in Thailand)?

If you have any income from the UK, and can have the income certified by the British Embassy (including by Barry Kenyon who is in Pattaya) you can reduce the amount of money that you need to have in the SCB savings account. e.g. Investment income of equivalent to B200,000/yr and then you only need to show B600,000 in the SCB savings account for 90 days.

Thanks for that idea, but I don't have any pension or other "real" guaranteed income in the UK. Just some interest from my remaining bank and BS accounts back there. It's not an insignificant amount of income, about £5K/year at present, but I don't have any records with me in Thailand (I still keep a home in the UK). Anyway, because of the variable nature of the interest, I don't expect that it would be "certifiable" would it?

I don't have any problem with putting 800K cash in the bank in Thailand, per se, but I do resent losing the interest on it due to some silly rules. I have 24 hour notice access to the money in my SCB Fund account, so I don't really see why can't I use that as proof of my ability to finance my expenses here?

I know – TiT!

Thanks anyway.

G

Edited September 11, 2007 by Guderian

[Guderian]

I would suggest that you confirm with imigration that you do indeed meet the 50 year rule. I mention this as when I asked I was told that I had to have had my 51st birthday to meet the requirement. As always YMMV.

That's a new twist on the rules for me. I'm bloody glad that I didn't read that before I went to see the Immigration Police!

I can understand it though, my girlfriend is always saying that she is one year older than she actually is. It seems to be a Thai thing, that the age points to their next birthday rather than the last one.

The lady police captain in Jomtien this PM had no problem with a regular farang 50 year old though. I can only offer that you had an encounter with an officer on a bad day – perhaps try going back and finding someone else to process your application?

All the best,

G

[Jingthing]

50 by farang definition is totally acceptable. In fact, a while back some people were saying they got retirement extensions at age 49, but I wouldn't try that anymore.

[Guderian]

50 by farang definition is totally acceptable. In fact, a while back some people were saying they got retirement extensions at age 49, but I wouldn't try that anymore.

Thanks for the reassurance!

Actually, I'd go even further from what I have seen and read – I would advise people to really adhere to the rules 100% (as far as they know them and as far as they can anyway) given the prevailing mood in Thailand.

For example, I have often heard of people who are a few days short on their visas and have been advised to just overstay and pay the fine rather than do a visa run. Maybe OK for tourists, but I wouldn't recommend that sort of thing now if one wants to stay in Thailand long-term.

Regards,

G

[Jingthing]

I long for the good old days when a bottle of black label whisky would smooth all problems ...

Or so I've heard.

[Guderian]

I long for the good old days when a bottle of black label whisky would smooth all problems ...

Or so I've heard.

Yeah, apparently it doesn't even work for the GoGo bar owners in Walking Street any more!

Edited September 11, 2007 by Guderian

[Maestro]

…Thanks for that idea, but I don't have any pension or other "real" guaranteed income in the UK. Just some interest from my remaining bank and BS accounts back there. It's not an insignificant amount of income, about £5K/year at present, but I don't have any records with me in Thailand (I still keep a home in the UK). Anyway, because of the variable nature of the interest, I don't expect that it would be "certifiable" would it?

I think it should be. I don’t know what the form used by the British consulate looks like, if they use a form, but I believe a declaration of the income during the past 12 months should satisfy the requirement of immigration.

--

Maestro

[wpcoe]

…Thanks for that idea, but I don't have any pension or other "real" guaranteed income in the UK. Just some interest from my remaining bank and BS accounts back there. It's not an insignificant amount of income, about £5K/year at present, but I don't have any records with me in Thailand (I still keep a home in the UK). Anyway, because of the variable nature of the interest, I don't expect that it would be "certifiable" would it?

I think it should be. I don’t know what the form used by the British consulate looks like, if they use a form, but I believe a declaration of the income during the past 12 months should satisfy the requirement of immigration.

--Maestro

Guderian, that £5K/year is about B325,000 at todays rates, so would mean only B475,000 would need to be in your SCB savings account. My understanding is that Barry Kenyon is at the restaurant just outside and to the front of Pattaya Immigrations on Jomtien Soi 5 every morning, but can't recall the precise hours just now.

I did find this quote on http://pattayaexpatsclub.blogspot.com/:

The British Embassy's Pattaya Office local representative for emergencies, Barry Kenyon can authenticate your UK pension or UK bank statements for Immigration purposes, if you can show original proof. Contact 081 782 7363.

Even if you don't go that route this year (i.e. income + savings), keep it in mind for future years.

[Guderian]

wpcoe, Maestro,

Thanks for the information. As mentioned, I don't have any of the original statements with me in Pattaya, and unfortunately I won't be back in the UK until after I have applied for the retirement extension of stay. However, it looks like an excellent way of reducing the amount required to be kept in the Thai savings account and so minimising the interest foregone.

I read somewhere else that Barry Kenyon is at the Soi 5 Immigration Office most days – but I can't remember where I read it. I seem to recall that he was planning on being there between 9:00 and 9:30, but I can't swear to that.

I'll give him a phone call and ask him if this would be OK, it would certainly be handy for next year.

G

[Guderian]

One extra question, if anyone is still reading this – I said that I have a small amount of bank/BS interest paid in the UK. But I have a much larger amount that is paid to my offshore accounts in the Channel Islands. Might this also qualify to offset the 800,000 Baht in the Thai account?

I'm never clear about the exact status of the CI, if it's a part of the UK or whatever (I think that it's not?). Could Barry Kenyon also certify the income from these accounts? They are with major UK banks' branches in the CI, although perhaps they don't count as part of his jurisdiction (though I can hardly imagine Jersey and Guernsey having Honorary Consuls here! )?

If nobody knows, no problem, I will try and call him to ask.

Thanks,

G

[Maestro]

The requirement is that your country’s consul must certify your foreign income. It is not required that this income be earned in the country of which you are a national. Therefore, the income you earn in the Channel Islands can certainly be included in your income statement. And if you earned income in any other part of the world it could also be included.

--

Maestro