Cost Of Affidavit At U.S. Embassy

[Jimi007]

PPS

...get in the habit of signing EVERYTHING with a blue ball point pen. Thai Authorities do NOT accept

black ballpoint ink, why? Too easy to photocopy. They want originals. So yes, pack a BLUE ballpoint pen

in your important papers satchel. Pack 3, you'll be helping other mates out......

I used a black pen. And I can photocopy anything in color. I have a color scanner/printer/fax and Adobe Photoshop... But every Immigration Office is different...

[phuketrichard]

seems all prices went up July 15th

new pages went from $00.00 to $82!!

[phuketrichard]

[

i]3. There is no such thing as notarized bank statements in Thailand.[/i]

maybe not Notrized but the bank does give u a signed letter which says ur current balance in ur account

[JimGant]

In past years I have attached letters from Social Security and from my pension provider to the embassy notarized statement. Last year the immigrations officer didn't bother checking, but in previous years she used a calculator to compare the total I wrote in my sworn statement with the sum of the amounts in the backup letters.

...and if you hadn't enclosed the uncalled for backup statements in previous years, what, then, would she have done.....?

I would hope that most Yanks here are ethical -- but, certainly, some aren't. Thai Immigration surely knows this -- and knows some of the income statements are bogus. But, they have, with few exceptions, honored the consular/embassy income statements. Why? Probably because, so far, this has caused no problems, indicated by no disproportionate Yank keynoke retirement population. If it's not broken..........

Maybe you've always submitted backup documentation, with the believe this is the way Immigration wants it. If so, then you now know that, per your last visit, the backup docoments need not be attached (simply in your briefcase, if ever called for).

But I hope you didn't attach the backup statements just to "look good in the shower" -- knowing they weren't required.....?

[jfchandler]

I tend to agree with the general advice regarding visits to Immigration...

--Only submit what you know will be required...

--But bring and have available anything else you think might be asked for...no harm in that.

[burgdawg]

..Opps!

Yes, sorry---- I apologize, I was unclear or incorrect on a few items: the Long Term O-A Retirement Visa is only available only to

Americans while living in USA. Cannot obtain this visa classification while in Thailand.

You download and complete the forms from the Thai Embassy website, send in everything Fed Ex.

When your visa is issued, the clock starts ticking on it's 12 month shelf life, not when you arrive in Thailand.

The extension issue in question on this thread is for a Non-Immigrant 'O' Visa, Long Term Retirement, agreed?

When I did my Non-Immigrant O extension at Soi 5 Jomtien, I was instructed that the Notarized letter from the US ACS showing

verification of income was NOT sufficient by itself.

I had to prove I had additional funds....both Thai and US Banks.

If I am reading between the lines here, you mean all I or anyone needs to extend a current Non-Immigrant O Retirement

Visa is just the $50 Notarized letter from the American Citizens Services?

Plus:

2-3 current photgraphs

21 good days on current visa

Residency letter

Various xeroxes of Passport Pages

3800 baht

Xerox of entry permit from point of entry

If so, I stand corrected.

Then I was led on a real paper chase!

Do not mean to foist this upon others.

I was glad that I did have all sorts of back up papers notarized and in my stash.

In USA, any bank does notarial services gratis, for now anyway.

Good thread....

[jazzbo]

--But bring and have available anything else you think might be asked for...no harm in that.

... And the main determinant as to whether you will be asked for anything else is simple: Body Language.

[jfchandler]

The extension issue in question on this thread is for a Non-Immigrant 'O' Visa, Long Term Retirement, agreed?

When I did my Non-Immigrant O extension at Soi 5 Jomtien, I was instructed that the Notarized letter from the US ACS showing

verification of income was NOT sufficient by itself.

I had to prove I had additional funds....both Thai and US Banks.

There are times, and places, where individual offices and/or officers go off on their own interpretations.... Maybe the Pattaya folks here can speak more to the practices at the Jomtien office...

But in general, for a retirement extension of stay, what you say above about both banks in U.S. and Thailand should not be the case, when you're satisfying the income requirement thru an Consular income letter.

If the Consular income letter documents at least the minimum requirement of at least 65,000 baht per month income, or its equivalent in your home country currency, then documentation of bank deposits would be irrelevant under the visa rules. Though they always have the right to ask for documentation of your income (as opposed to bank deposits)

However, if you were satisfying the income requirement thru the alternative method of at least 800,000 on deposit in a Thai bank account, then Immigration certainly always will want to see official Thai bank letter and perhaps passbook copies document that.

Same if you were using the combination method, being part Consular income letter and part Thai bank funds.

But for a retirement based extension of stay that can only be issued by Thai Immigration in Thailand, I can't see where Thai immigration would have any interest or need in documentation of U.S. bank deposits.

[lopburi3]

They could ask for US paperwork, and that could include US bank deposits, to verify Embassy letter of income but it is not normal or often asked.

[burgdawg]

.....thanks for clarification. Maybe it is easier for extension at the new Bkk Thai Immigration Office?

My verified income (Notarized ACS document) was in excess of the minimum amount to satisfy their demands.

Then was told to "prove" my US bank account amount (USA Bank letterhead, no xeroxes permitted).

And then run to Siam Commerical Bank for a 200b print-out of all my bank activity and deposits ever since the opening of my account.

I assumed--wrongly---that this is what everyone had to run through, this drill.

I did not mean to go off (on this thread) that that this is how is must be for everyone.

It is just what got served up to me at that particular time and place.

Maybe a big snipe hunt?

Dunno.

When I compared notes with others in Pattaya, some had a similar drill as mine. Others, practically nothing except

the ACS Notarized proof of income.

Once this ACS Notarized letter is issued, is the shelf life 30 days?

60 days?

One year?

[lopburi3]

Believe general acceptance is current year (or perhaps six months if spanning years). There does not seem to be anything in writing and some offices have allowed some to use for multi years.

[asiawatcher]

Isn't it amazing how many hoops we have to jump through to be 'legitimate' in Thailand - also isn't it amazing how much you have to pay for a stamp/seal and a signature. And ALL the embassies are in on it!

[jfchandler]

Just to set the record straight regarding consular income letters...

At least from the U.S. consulate, the letters in question are NOT notarized/notarized documents. They are just form letters signed by consulate.

Notarized letters are signed with the seal of an authorized notary, which does not occur with the U.S. consulate income letters.

The U.S. Consulate does, however, notarize other documents upon request and payment of their notarizing fee.

[jazzbo]

Just to set the record straight regarding consular income letters...

Just to further set the record straight, on the Embassy of the United States - Bangkok, Thailand, website 'Notorial Services' page they are referred to as an Income Affidavit; not Letter. They ARE embossed with the official US Embassy Seal but they do not use the term 'Notary' or variations thereof.

[jfchandler]

Jazzbo, you should know... an affidavit is not the same as having something notarized.... Not the same at all...

Yes, the letter has the Consulate's seal, and the signer swears that it is correct.

But none of that makes it a notarized document, or in other words, one attested to by a licensed notary public.

So the truth lies more in my original comment, than in your attempted mangling of it.

Here's what a notary designation would look like in Thailand...

An affidavit, by definition, is any written statement made under oath before a notary public or some other person authorized to administer oaths. In the case of the Consulate income letters, they would fall under the "other person" category.

Edited August 9, 2010 by jfchandler

[jazzbo]

Relax ... As I wrote, it is referred to as an an "Income Affidavit"... and it is embossed with a seal.

http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/service/notarial-services.html

[jfchandler]

My only point was not to argue with you, but to counsel other posters in this thread that when they keep talking about the "notarized" income letter, that is incorrect. At least the U.S. Consulate income letters are not notarized. Affidavits yes.... sworn yes... notarized no.

[jazzbo]

Fine ... but on the US Embassy - Thailand webpage I referenced above and on the "Income Affidavit" form itself the word "Letter" does not occur...

The Conular Officer signs beside the statement on the form: "Subscribed and sworn to before me this ... (date)" and then embosses with the seal.

[jfchandler]

Affidavits yes.... sworn yes... notarized no.

[jazzbo]

Letter: NO.

[Acharn]

OK, on Tuesday, 9 August 2011, I paid THB 1,550 for the affidavit. I lucked out and at Immigration, after a wait of five hours, we were processed by the same officer as last year, and she and my wife hit it off like old classmates, so she barely glanced at any of my paperwork.

I'm just as glad the embassy doesn't include that smarmy little phrase about not guaranteeing the truth of the statement. It shouldn't be necessary, because the affidavit, like all notarizations under American law, merely says that I swore/attested to the given statement. The notary does not guarantee the truth, but at least technically a person making a false statement could be charged with perjury or fraud.

The price for various services goes back to Reagan's presidency. He decided that all government departments should be self-supporting (well, obviously not the Defense Department -- we don't want our soldiers plundering and looting). I agree the fees seem absurdly high. IIRC it used to be $30 for the notarization and $55 for some other services; I don't remember what, because I never used it. Then last year or the year before they merged into a single fee. It's getting more expensive now because the dollar is getting weaker, which is terrible for us but good for reducing the trade deficit with China. Get used to it -- the dollar is going down even more. I expect it will eventually end up about THB 25 = $1. Well, it was 20 to 1 when I first came here, 22.5 to 1 when I retired, over 40 to 1 back in 1997. Nothing stays the same.