New Home For My 800k Baht Deposit?

[bucklt]

I have a retirement visa now - since June 2007.

The deposit of 800K Baht is in my current account with Bangkok Bank - earning less than 1% interest per year.

Question: can I (am I allowed to?) put it into a higher-earning account (investment account) which will give me 3% to 4% return???

During each visa renewal period, I would then show letters from the bank confirming amounts in both my current and investment accounts.

Thoughts and comments appreciated.

Tony

[Lite Beer]

I have a retirement visa now - since June 2007.

The deposit of 800K Baht is in my current account with Bangkok Bank - earning less than 1% interest per year.

Question: can I (am I allowed to?) put it into a higher-earning account (investment account) which will give me 3% to 4% return???

During each visa renewal period, I would then show letters from the bank confirming amounts in both my current and investment accounts.

Thoughts and comments appreciated.

Tony

Many Immigration Offices will allow this while some will not.

You will have to ask the office you deal with.

As long as the bank is in Thailand of course.

Edited February 11, 2008 by Lite Beer

[lopburi3]

Define "investment" account? If you are talking fixed deposit they are normally accepted. But they might want to see some activity for living expense in another account. If you are talking stocks they are not likely to be accepted as there is no guarantee as to there worth. At any rate the funds are only required at that level for 3 months so the remainder of the year you can do as you like.

If you can use income rather than deposit the problem would also be solved.

[samtam]

As lopburi3 states, the funds are only required to be in your account for three months prior to applying for your extension of stay. Last year I placed funds in a three month deposit and applied with a letter from the bank and the time deposit receipt at the maturity of the deposit. It was accepted at Suan Plu Immigration. Thereafter I remitted the funds outside of Thailand. I am planning on doing the same again this year, as it appeared then, and would still appear to be acceptable to them.

[bucklt]

As lopburi3 states, the funds are only required to be in your account for three months prior to applying for your extension of stay. Last year I placed funds in a three month deposit and applied with a letter from the bank and the time deposit receipt at the maturity of the deposit. It was accepted at Suan Plu Immigration. Thereafter I remitted the funds outside of Thailand. I am planning on doing the same again this year, as it appeared then, and would still appear to be acceptable to them.

Many thanks folks for all those comments.

Will open a higher interest bearing account with my bank for 800k baht and use existing current account to prove inflow of monies and withdrawls for daily expenses etc.

Tony

[mahjongguy]

I am bringing over this year's living expenses all in a lump, rather than quarterly. That's because I am of the opinion that the baht will rise further against the dollar through the first half of 2008. I may or may not save up to a thousand dollars in exchange losses (minus some taxable interest I could have earned in the U.S.). Who can say? It's a small but worthwhile gamble.

So, I considered putting some of that into a fixed account for 6 months. But, the math isn't very compelling.

Savings accounts pay 0.75%. Six months fixed pays 2%. As an example, for 400,000 baht for 6 months the difference in interest earned is only 2,500 baht. Given the effort and possible difficulties, it doesn't seem worth it to me.

[Guderian]

I am bringing over this year's living expenses all in a lump, rather than quarterly. That's because I am of the opinion that the baht will rise further against the dollar through the first half of 2008. I may or may not save up to a thousand dollars in exchange losses (minus some taxable interest I could have earned in the U.S.). Who can say? It's a small but worthwhile gamble.

So, I considered putting some of that into a fixed account for 6 months. But, the math isn't very compelling.

Savings accounts pay 0.75%. Six months fixed pays 2%. As an example, for 400,000 baht for 6 months the difference in interest earned is only 2,500 baht. Given the effort and possible difficulties, it doesn't seem worth it to me.

I think at this point in time that focusing on possible exchange rate changes is the right strategy, rather than worrying about relatively minor amounts of interest differential.

I transferred £10,000 into Thailand in early December to cover most of my 2008 living expenses. This was the day before the Bank of England cut interest rates. Everyone knew that would happen, and unluckily for me the £ had already started dropping on the day I did the transfer, so I got 67.8 Baht to the £. That was maybe a Baht less than I would have got a few days earlier, and I was kicking myself; by prevaricating I had lost maybe 10,000 Baht.

I look at the exchange rate now, however, and on the street in Pattaya it is around 63 Baht/£, so I am back to patting myself of the back and telling myself 'well done'. Making the early currency transfer when I did effectively saved me about 50,000 Baht compared with transferring the money today. And for the rest of the year - who knows? Looking at the clowns running the UK now, I don't hold out much hope for the £ in the short term.

There was also a very scary story in the Bangkok Post last week, based on information from a Bangkok Bank currency trader. The journalist writing this story explained that E and SE Asian exchange rates are simply digging themselves out of the 'hole' created by the 1997 financial crisis (I don't necessarily agree with this thesis). If he is right, then maybe this year, maybe next year, but sooner or later we will see the June 1997 exchange rates again, i.e. just before the 'Asian crisis' – and just to remind people of the possible downside facing us, here they are:

£1 = 40 Baht

US$1 = 26 Baht

AU$1 = 18 Baht

Have a nice day!

[naka]

I am bringing over this year's living expenses all in a lump, rather than quarterly. That's because I am of the opinion that the baht will rise further against the dollar through the first half of 2008. I may or may not save up to a thousand dollars in exchange losses (minus some taxable interest I could have earned in the U.S.). Who can say? It's a small but worthwhile gamble.

So, I considered putting some of that into a fixed account for 6 months. But, the math isn't very compelling.

Savings accounts pay 0.75%. Six months fixed pays 2%. As an example, for 400,000 baht for 6 months the difference in interest earned is only 2,500 baht. Given the effort and possible difficulties, it doesn't seem worth it to me.

Yes, no point in getting paranoid about it ... One years intrest (difference) on 800k = A good meal at a good restaurant for 2

Naka.

[marshbags]

Kasikorn bank just invited me to put the bulk of me account into an ongoing national promotion.

Untouched deposit runs at 2.75 interest for 4 months. ( 800k in my case )

Tempted to let it be transfered into a new account while leaving the rest as it is to show my living ex,s. / movement.

I mentioned the visa situation and was told they would give me a letter to show immigration with the relevant details.

All i have to do is say yes and they do the rest.

While not a lot of interest ( a good meal for two for naka. )

You rich guys sure throw your money about, it,s 2 weeks worth of eating to us less well off peasants

marshbags

Edited February 15, 2008 by marshbags

[naka]

Come, come ... we are talking about 8,500 Baht a year after the tax !

Naka.

[Lite Beer]

Come, come ... we are talking about 8,500 Baht a year after the tax !

Naka.

Thats 255 big bottles of Chang.

[torrenova]

Come, come ... we are talking about 8,500 Baht a year after the tax !

Naka.

Thats 255 big bottles of Chang.

thats nearly a month on the piss !

[Maestro]

That’s a lot of piss. 255 x 660 mL ( I believe) = 168 litres. Let’s say half of it leaves your body through perspiration. This still leaves 84 litres of piss in one month, 2.8 litres per day, not counting any other fluid intake.

(I was thinking of another comment, but that would belong into the health forum)

--

Maestro

[fishhooks]

Jokes aside though;

It would really help the entire Farang population of this Kingdom, if something definite in the way of "types of deposits" could be handed down from somewhere official.

Wonder if a body such as 'Sunbelt' or similar has any voice at all with an office somewhere up the chain of command.

[mahjongguy]

Immigration wants to see evidence that your existence here is fueled by legitimate means (as opposed to dealing dope, working illegally, etc.). Many of the officers have taken the hard line that this means no fixed accounts. But, if you applied for further extension of stay on a retirement visa, and you had 400k in a fixed account and 400k in a savings account that showed reasonable withdrawals, most of them would be satisfied. At worst case, if they remain stubborn about it, you could go to the bank and move the cash out (forfeitting the interest) and be back at Immigration the same day.

Or, with only 7,000 baht in interest differential at stake, just skip it.

Me, I lost that much in dollar depreciation just in the past 3 days.

[inquisitive]

Immigration wants to see evidence that your existence here is fueled by legitimate means (as opposed to dealing dope, working illegally, etc.). Many of the officers have taken the hard line that this means no fixed accounts. But, if you applied for further extension of stay on a retirement visa, and you had 400k in a fixed account and 400k in a savings account that showed reasonable withdrawals, most of them would be satisfied. At worst case, if they remain stubborn about it, you could go to the bank and move the cash out (forfeitting the interest) and be back at Immigration the same day.

What are you folks talking about? Withdrawals? You don't need no steenking withdrawals.

For the first ten years or so that I was here I lived almost exclusively on withdrawals from my American bank account via ATM. I kept the requisite amount in a Thai bank account simply because I figured it was easier to prove the existance of an account than to prove my income. Whether that strategy made sense or not, the point is that Immigration could not use my Thai bank account to tell what my daily living expenses were or even if I had any at all.

I would be surprised to learn that I was the only one that paid a significant part of daily living expenses through foreign accounts. More importantly, I have never heard or read anywhere that there must be evidence of some minimum value of active transactions in a Thai bank account to be eligible for anything. Am I missing something, or is the rule simply that you must have a total value of savings in Thai bank accounts of at least 800,000 baht for the previous 90 days before applying for an extension? Is there some hidden rule that says in addition to this total, you must prove that you paid for at least 46 sam toms and five bags of sticky rice or something?

As I understand it, the 800k does not have to be in any single account, nor even in a single bank. It doesn't matter if it is in a fixed account, savings account, checking account, certificate of deposit, or whatever. My understanding is that you must only show documentation that at least 800k has been stached in Thai banks anywhere in the Kingdom.

Or am I missing something? Does anyone here have first or even second hand knowledge of an exception to what I have just stated?

[localguy]

dont forget 17 % tax on your interest

[lopburi3]

It is not normally an issue with retirement extensions but the old 400k for support Thai wife did have such issues and some officers have expected to see the same type activity for those on retirement - but normally it has not become an issue.

[hardy1943]

I took the 800,000 bought some prime realestate 3 years ago in wife name, almost double in value by now.

Would never keep 800,000 in bank at these low rates, go every year to my embassy and verify my income

that is good enough for immigration and get my yealy visa.

[bedbugy]

my 800000 baht is in the lottery at the government savings bank /or government houseing bank

its 50 baht 1 unit a draw each 20 th of each month prizes for last 4 numbers /5 numbers and large prizes best thing you don't loose you money and interest as well

the immigration ascept this as cash in bank

[somchy]

Last time I visited Immigration I was told that the 800,000 Baht had to come into the coutry

via bank transfer... I could not deposit it from within Thailand...

How does this effect moving the money from one bank to another? The receiving

bank would not have proof that the money originally came from outside of Thailand,

would it?

[polymaj]

HA, I got it all over you guy's. I looked at my emails today and lo and behold I have won the UK Lottery, and two people are claiming me as their long lost relative and all I need to do is give them my bank account number and they will transfer over 100 million dollars to that account.

[distortedlink]

I don't know or wish to know your financial situation, but your financial affairs seem rather complicated.

I have no problems. Just keep a few million in a fixed bank account here, get 2.25% interest and pay 15% tax on the interest. I do receive a substantial pension from abroad that I bring over once a year to save on bank charges, plus if the exchange rates are low, I can use my interest for living expenses until the rate improves.

I could also declare my pension income at Immigration, but no need as I have the minimum amount of 800000 baht deposited in a fixed account with a Thai bank here.

At present I don't think there are any higher interest accounts that pay more than 2.25%. Please let me know if there is, I would be interested.

Edited February 17, 2008 by distortedlink

[calbert65]

dont forget 17 % tax on your interest

you r very right.. but there is something that hasn't any taxes applayed:

Kasikorn bank (that is N1 for investment at this moment) in November proposed a sort of bond (made on european commercial paper rating BBB+) that offerede 2,8% net

in Siam Commercial Bank u can subscribe a Fun Account that is a sort of fund (with different quotation everydays) that in the last year gave about 4% net. It invests on short term thailand governemant bond (that give around 4%). U can subscribe and take the money everydays (need 3 working days to have back in the personal account).

Anyway go to your bank branch to check.

[marshbags]

How convenient it would be if the powers that be were to provide a recognised facility / savings vehicle dedicated to housing the various visa lump sums.

They could then cross check for themselves and authenticate the deposits along with making a clear guide for everyone, which, as this thread shows, it is very inconsistant and varied regarding the various Imm. offices.

Interest at a reasonable level, along with encouragement to leave it in whatever, for those who wish to do so.

Personally i am always above the required funds and would appreciate some stability on my deposit and be encouraged to keep doing so in the future.

marshbags

P.S.

For those who think the interest is a pittance and not worth the effort, may i offer a suggestion to you all.

Put a bit of effort into placing your deposits in one of these accounts, and with the pathetic interest you feel is on offer / you can get from it, donate the proceeds in food, cash ect. to a worthy cause / or better still, some needy and deserving family you may know of ( If not, i feel you could, in your wisdom find one ) who could and would, make good use of it.

You could even sponsor a young child or older and assist them in their quest / dream for education.

You could and would in turn get a feel good factor out of it at the same time as doing so.

I guarantee that it is worth much more than the monetary incentives you think are worthless/ insignificant, by a mile and beyond.

Just a thought for the more affluent members of our membership who think it isn,t worth the effort.

Edited February 17, 2008 by marshbags

[lotus eater]

Two questions

Will any branch of the bank holding the funds (scb in my case) provide the requisite letter upon examination/updating of the account books or must I go to the original branch?

Theoretical discussion of the law/rules is surely trumped by different applications by different officers/offices. I'd like to know if anyone has experience to support or shoot down the assertion of 'inquisitive', namely that once you show 800k at bank for previous 3+ months you won't need to show reasonable funds movement in another account for daily use; and in fact you can be using atm cash. (The relevant office for me will be Mae Sai and/or Chiang Mai).

[RickFarang]

In Bangkok in October, 2007, they accepted my 800K deposit in a fixed deposit account (4% at the time, oh, I wish those rates were still available!).

[Tammi]

I am bringing over this year's living expenses all in a lump, rather than quarterly. That's because I am of the opinion that the baht will rise further against the dollar through the first half of 2008. I may or may not save up to a thousand dollars in exchange losses (minus some taxable interest I could have earned in the U.S.). Who can say? It's a small but worthwhile gamble.

So, I considered putting some of that into a fixed account for 6 months. But, the math isn't very compelling.

Savings accounts pay 0.75%. Six months fixed pays 2%. As an example, for 400,000 baht for 6 months the difference in interest earned is only 2,500 baht. Given the effort and possible difficulties, it doesn't seem worth it to me.

I think at this point in time that focusing on possible exchange rate changes is the right strategy, rather than worrying about relatively minor amounts of interest differential.

I transferred £10,000 into Thailand in early December to cover most of my 2008 living expenses. This was the day before the Bank of England cut interest rates. Everyone knew that would happen, and unluckily for me the £ had already started dropping on the day I did the transfer, so I got 67.8 Baht to the £. That was maybe a Baht less than I would have got a few days earlier, and I was kicking myself; by prevaricating I had lost maybe 10,000 Baht.

I look at the exchange rate now, however, and on the street in Pattaya it is around 63 Baht/£, so I am back to patting myself of the back and telling myself 'well done'. Making the early currency transfer when I did effectively saved me about 50,000 Baht compared with transferring the money today. And for the rest of the year - who knows? Looking at the clowns running the UK now, I don't hold out much hope for the £ in the short term.

There was also a very scary story in the Bangkok Post last week, based on information from a Bangkok Bank currency trader. The journalist writing this story explained that E and SE Asian exchange rates are simply digging themselves out of the 'hole' created by the 1997 financial crisis (I don't necessarily agree with this thesis). If he is right, then maybe this year, maybe next year, but sooner or later we will see the June 1997 exchange rates again, i.e. just before the 'Asian crisis' – and just to remind people of the possible downside facing us, here they are:

£1 = 40 Baht

US$1 = 26 Baht

AU$1 = 18 Baht

Have a nice day!

Thank you for reminding us about the exchange rates quoted above. Scary! Every month I do a calculation into Thai Baht and the difference between mid January and mid February has made me tighten my belt.

One has to think about exchange rates and inflation.

Edited February 17, 2008 by Tammi

[PeeMy]

I have a retirement visa now - since June 2007.

The deposit of 800K Baht is in my current account with Bangkok Bank - earning less than 1% interest per year.

Question: can I (am I allowed to?) put it into a higher-earning account (investment account) which will give me 3% to 4% return???

During each visa renewal period, I would then show letters from the bank confirming amounts in both my current and investment accounts.

Thoughts and comments appreciated.

Tony

My 800K is with the Tanachart Bank, north Pattaya branch. The bank is accepted by the Immigration Office, and in a year's fixed deposit account, brings in 3% interest (less the mandatory 15% tax on the interest). The certificate/letter from the bank is ready in about 30 minutes and costs 100 baht.

[Farang99]

As lopburi3 states, the funds are only required to be in your account for three months prior to applying for your extension of stay. Last year I placed funds in a three month deposit and applied with a letter from the bank and the time deposit receipt at the maturity of the deposit. It was accepted at Suan Plu Immigration. Thereafter I remitted the funds outside of Thailand. I am planning on doing the same again this year, as it appeared then, and would still appear to be acceptable to them.

I have my 800,000 in a fixed deposit a/c, which is produced at each annual renewal, and use the current a/c for income and living expenses, but I have never been asked to produce this as evidence for anything.