Funds Transfer To Thai Bank

[tlcwaterfall]

Hi ,

I plan on moving to Surin in April of 2009 and will hopefully have multiple entry non immigrant "o" visa which I will apply for in Australia. I do plan on retiring in Thailand as I turn 50 end of July 2009.

My first question is does anyone know which banks will accept funds transfers from Australia as this is the bank I will need to open an account with. Looking for some Aussie input here if possible. Maybe all banks will accept transfers but I do not know if this is the case or not.

Secondly can I open a post office box in Surin to accept my mail from Australia? If not what are my other options?

Do I need to bring birth certificate, bank statements with me or any other paperwork to apply for retirement visa and any extensions in Thailand and can this be done in Surin?

Thank you for any help.

[ubonjoe]

You can transfer funds into any Thai bank. I suggest you only use one of the larger banks. Siam Commercial Bank, Bangkok Bank and K-bank.

You should be able open a PO box. One of the Surin members will know for sure. Home delivery works also.

All you will need for your extension is your passport, money in bank or proof of income for the extension. For the money it only has to be in the bank for 60 days now instead of 3 months (new immigration rules).

Immigration office is in Kap Choeng. Not far from Surin.

[Lite Beer]

You can always get your mail sent to a local shop/bar/restaurant. etc. Once you get to know a few people.

[tlcwaterfall]

You can always get your mail sent to a local shop/bar/restaurant. etc. Once you get to know a few people.

Thankyou both for your help. Much appreciated.

[tlcwaterfall]

You can transfer funds into any Thai bank. I suggest you only use one of the larger banks. Siam Commercial Bank, Bangkok Bank and K-bank.

You should be able open a PO box. One of the Surin members will know for sure. Home delivery works also.

All you will need for your extension is your passport, money in bank or proof of income for the extension. For the money it only has to be in the bank for 60 days now instead of 3 months (new immigration rules).

Immigration office is in Kap Choeng. Not far from Surin.

Do above banks all have branches in Surin?

[Lite Beer]

You can transfer funds into any Thai bank. I suggest you only use one of the larger banks. Siam Commercial Bank, Bangkok Bank and K-bank.

You should be able open a PO box. One of the Surin members will know for sure. Home delivery works also.

All you will need for your extension is your passport, money in bank or proof of income for the extension. For the money it only has to be in the bank for 60 days now instead of 3 months (new immigration rules).

Immigration office is in Kap Choeng. Not far from Surin.

Do above banks all have branches in Surin?

They have branches everywhere. All banks will be in Surin.

Siam Comercial Bank.

[johnsurin]

As mentioned above. You can transfer to any of the thai banks mentioned above they all have branches in Surin. They all have branches in Surin. Personally I wouldn't bother transfering a big chunk of money to Thailand at the moment. As you know the Aussie$ has been battered as much as the UK£, so I would only transfer what you need for now or maybe just use your Aussie cards. This could still prove to be cheaper in the long run, as at the moment you are losing about 30% of your money compared to when the AU$ is high. Hopefully this should return to the norm when the economic crash catches up with Thailand, but this is of course is a gamble and is totally your own decision. Although with a non imm 'O' visa you will have 15 months for the economic situation to get better before you need large sums in the bank for visa purposes.

Yes I believe you can open a post office box in Surin, I'm sure a mate of mine has one there. I know he has one in Thailand so it must be there. I will ask him when I get back and reply in the next few days (I think he is there already).

On the visa front sorry I cant help a great deal on the retirement front as I am still a youngster, you can still get the non immigrant 'O' visa mentioned in another thread. Then when in Surin, you can ask the elder (very helpful), local expat chaps, they will put you on the right track. Don't worry you won't need anything different than other expat farang (meaning, they won't penalize you for being an Aussie).

No need for birth certificates or bank statements from Oz.

John.....

Reason for edit> Forgot PO Box.

Edited December 24, 2008 by johnsurin

[Lite Beer]

Do I need to bring birth certificate, bank statements with me or any other paperwork to apply for retirement visa and any extensions in Thailand and can this be done in Surin?

None of the above.

You will need 800,000 Baht in a Thai Bank for a period of 60 days before you apply. OR

A letter from your Embassy verifying an income of 65,000 Baht a month. OR a combination of the two.

You can do all this at an Immigration Office not far from Surin.

BTW. There is no Retirement Visa. You extend your permission to stay based on retirement.