Thai Immigration Tightens Requirements For Retirement Visa Extensions

[moe666]

O, for <deleted>> sake so immigration ask you to show your bank account statement to prove you have money being deposited monthly, it doesn't say anything about being in a Thai bank account. Let it lay, worry about that situation if and when it arises

A few people have worked themselves into a frenzy over nothing. Officially nothing has changed as far as anyone knows, asking for income proof has always been a option at immigration just because it hasn't happened on a regular basis doesn't mean it will not be asked for in the future.

Give it a rest there is no one on this forum who knows what will happen tomorrow and what will be required, all of these key strokes are a waste of energy.

So you go to immigration and they ask for proof of income importation what are you going to do move or show proof, get over it.

Hey, there.

You're wrong.

The OP says IMPORT. So you don't know and please don't act like you do.

The reports I just referred to were clear about the officers asking to see flows in THAI bank accounts. OK?

And who says the Op knows anything, he hasn't bothered to clarify anything. So if they ask for proof what are you going to do move or show proof in the end thats all it boils down to.The only way to clarify this is to go to immigration and ask, end of story

[moe666]

Tropo do us a favor and make a early trip to immigration and ask whats up, I think will give everyone peace of mind including yourself. I think it is the only way to get a clear answer.In Feb. when I got my extension nothing extra was asked for but thats old news. Good luck on your extension.

I will pop down tomorrow.

What's your nationality?

I am US so it could affect me, but take care of that in Feb.

[Jingthing]

O, for <deleted>> sake so immigration ask you to show your bank account statement to prove you have money being deposited monthly, it doesn't say anything about being in a Thai bank account. Let it lay, worry about that situation if and when it arises

A few people have worked themselves into a frenzy over nothing. Officially nothing has changed as far as anyone knows, asking for income proof has always been a option at immigration just because it hasn't happened on a regular basis doesn't mean it will not be asked for in the future.

Give it a rest there is no one on this forum who knows what will happen tomorrow and what will be required, all of these key strokes are a waste of energy.

So you go to immigration and they ask for proof of income importation what are you going to do move or show proof, get over it.

Hey, there.

You're wrong.

The OP says IMPORT. So you don't know and please don't act like you do.

The reports I just referred to were clear about the officers asking to see flows in THAI bank accounts. OK?

And who says the Op knows anything, he hasn't bothered to clarify anything. So if they ask for proof what are you going to do move or show proof in the end thats all it boils down to.The only way to clarify this is to go to immigration and ask, end of story

That's naive. Beginning of story more like it. I know from experience. Once I was caught in a policy change that was enforced (no warning for next time) even though the change warning was so short it would have been impossible to comply. I don't mean inconvenient. I mean impossible.

Edited June 9, 2011 by Jingthing

[moe666]

O, for <deleted>> sake so immigration ask you to show your bank account statement to prove you have money being deposited monthly, it doesn't say anything about being in a Thai bank account. Let it lay, worry about that situation if and when it arises

A few people have worked themselves into a frenzy over nothing. Officially nothing has changed as far as anyone knows, asking for income proof has always been a option at immigration just because it hasn't happened on a regular basis doesn't mean it will not be asked for in the future.

Give it a rest there is no one on this forum who knows what will happen tomorrow and what will be required, all of these key strokes are a waste of energy.

So you go to immigration and they ask for proof of income importation what are you going to do move or show proof, get over it.

Hey, there.

You're wrong.

The OP says IMPORT. So you don't know and please don't act like you do.

The reports I just referred to were clear about the officers asking to see flows in THAI bank accounts. OK?

And who says the Op knows anything, he hasn't bothered to clarify anything. So if they ask for proof what are you going to do move or show proof in the end thats all it boils down to.The only way to clarify this is to go to immigration and ask, end of story

That's naive. Beginning of story more like it. I know from experience. Once I was caught in a policy change that was enforced (no warning for next time) even though the change warning was so short it would have been impossible to imply. I don't mean inconvenient. I mean impossible.

Yes I may be naive but you are not getting the answer to your questions here. Go to immigration tomorrow and ask, give youself some peace of mind. I will have plenty of time I have until Feb. So what did you do about the above situation you found yourself in.

[Jingthing]

Sure you can do that, but that doesn't mean they won't get a big order from Bangkok the next day ... But we do the best we can to keep track of these things and this forum when used well helps a lot of people figure these things out. This topic, IMPORT, is rather new so I reckon this is only the beginning of the confusion.

[moe666]

Sure you can do that, but that doesn't mean they won't get a big order from Bangkok the next day ... But we do the best we can to keep track of these things and this forum when used well helps a lot of people figure these things out. This topic, IMPORT, is rather new so I reckon this is only the beginning of the confusion.

Yes the forum provides a lot of good info, I have learned a lot about the visa process from it. But this thread has not really answered any question raised about the requirement of importation of funds. I think the only place to get that answer is immigration. yes they can change the playing field on a moments notice but that has always been the situation and the info here will not change that. So what was that policy change you found yourself in.

Edited June 9, 2011 by moe666

[tropo]

Sure you can do that, but that doesn't mean they won't get a big order from Bangkok the next day ... But we do the best we can to keep track of these things and this forum when used well helps a lot of people figure these things out. This topic, IMPORT, is rather new so I reckon this is only the beginning of the confusion.

Let's consider that according to the OP whatever is going on now has been going on for the past month, therefore a visit to the Immigration office will be very useful. I'll hit Chonburi tomorrow and let's hope someone can report back from Bangkok soon. That covers the two busiest offices in Thailand - not a bad start.

Of course we can never predict the next bombshell, but at least we should be able to put this baby to rest.

Edited June 9, 2011 by tropo

[moe666]

Sure you can do that, but that doesn't mean they won't get a big order from Bangkok the next day ... But we do the best we can to keep track of these things and this forum when used well helps a lot of people figure these things out. This topic, IMPORT, is rather new so I reckon this is only the beginning of the confusion.

Let's consider that according to the OP whatever is going on now has been going on for the past month, therefore a visit to the Immigration office will be very useful. I'll hit Chonburi tomorrow and let's hope someone can report back from Bangkok soon. That covers the two busiest offices in Thailand - not a bad start.

Of course we can never predict the next bombshell, but at least we should be able to put this baby to rest.

Where is Tod-Daniels when you need him

[harrry]

Sure you can do that, but that doesn't mean they won't get a big order from Bangkok the next day ... But we do the best we can to keep track of these things and this forum when used well helps a lot of people figure these things out. This topic, IMPORT, is rather new so I reckon this is only the beginning of the confusion.

Let's consider that according to the OP whatever is going on now has been going on for the past month, therefore a visit to the Immigration office will be very useful. I'll hit Chonburi tomorrow and let's hope someone can report back from Bangkok soon. That covers the two busiest offices in Thailand - not a bad start.

Of course we can never predict the next bombshell, but at least we should be able to put this baby to rest.

Where is Tod-Daniels when you need him

He posted too much truth

[Jingthing]

During times of policy change, quite commonly immigration doesn't speak with ONE voice. There is also the reality that different offices sometimes have very different enforcement policies, and sometimes that goes on for years.

Regarding the issue in the OP, it wasn't news that Americans (etc.) were being asked for Thai bank accounts and "proof" of their embassy letter claims. It was bigger news to say that actual IMPORT of claimed funds was ALSO required.

Well folks, check out this thread from March 2011. Fairly strong evidence that Bangkok was already then moving towards requiring proof of IMPORTS. How this is all going to shake out over time? I feel nobody knows and if you think talking to random immigration officers is going to give you the final answer, you're too optimistic. However, I do get that targeted nationalities whose extensions are approaching soon need good information ASAP. My advice for those, if you have time to do two months transfers of claimed income before you need to go in and it is possible for you to do that, it couldn't hurt to do that. Otherwise, well, you are taking your chances, aren't you?

BTW, this thread from March details actual reports from expats showing that this news isn't really news. The import part, still murky.

Edited June 10, 2011 by Jingthing

[cpofc]

ok? You want the good oil - mai doh leh? I have this day just returned from the OZ Emabssy in Sathorn and the Thai Immigration Offices in Chaengwattana, Laksi. Having just received my 1 year Retirement Visa Extension.

Typical lawyers chasing a quick quid. Personally, if you have all your shit in one sock you do not have to pay these leeches their exhorbitant rates they charge for something you can easily do yourself.

I am Retired Oz Military and receive pensions from 2 Government Deaprtments. So I do mine based on salary, not 800000/400000, or a combination of both, in the bank

Firstly - As per Australian Law pertaining to Stat Decs, when your stat dec is notarised at the Embassy it is signed off as a Statement made by you. The onus is not on the Notariser to confirm that you are telling the truth or not. so therefore it is not their job to check your financial details. be aware of the penalties if you tell porkies though, the repercussions could be just more than just a fine and imprisonment. Ok, so that done at the cost of 640 Baht, it was off to Thai Immigration.

Yes, there have been a couple of subtle changes. A couple of things I needed that were not asked for at this same time last year,

Firstly there is a new TM 7 Form, the one downloadable on the net is obselete. N.B Now only one TM7 and One Photo is required, not two as previously required

2. You will need your thai bankbook showing your deposits and INTL Transfers (I have a Bangkok Bank Account) and photocopies of the relevant pages. Something i didn't need last year. All copied pages to be signed at time of the interview.

3. Also not required last year. A Statement of address and contact details in thlaland. Provided and signed at the interview.

.

4. Another Statement of Terms and Conditions of your Retirement VISA - NO EMPLOYMENT! Provided and signed at the interview

5 Photocopies of your relevant Passport pages..

1900 Baht

and you are out of there and home, like me, before lunch

good luck and I'll see you all next year, since I don't visit these forums much anymore. (You fair dinkum blokes will know what I am talking about).

Edited June 10, 2011 by cpofc

[WalterTP]

FYI: Extended my retirement visa today up in the NE using only the US embassy letter and was not asked to verify my income although I was prepared to do so.

[wolf5370]

I'm sorry to hear that your are getting paid no interest on your bank account in Thailand. The two savings account I have in Thailand, with two different banks, do pay interest. At the moment it is 0.75%, which is double the 0.375% I got on my Swiss savings account last year. It's all relative, of course; in many other countries, interest rates may be higher than in Thailand.

Sorry Maestro, the money has to be in a Thai savings account, which pays dreadfully low (or zero) interest - sure putting it an a SET account here or any number of accounts externally you could get much more interest. His arguement was that 8 million baht would keep the rif-raf out, my counter was only an idiot would volunteer to loose so much ROI (by bringing it here unworking and earning practically zip for a year - or throw away xfer fees sending it back and forth twice a year). I stand by that claim.

I only get tiny interest on tiny money (money I xfer to live on each month) - I keep my money outside of Thailand earning 6.5% nil risk, thank you very much.

Here we go again, sorry to go off topic, but where can one get 6.5% nil risk

I would love to know the answer to that question

Pat :jap:

How about here http://www.banksavingsaccounts.com.au/product.php?p=29

or Virgin money saver (6.51 for 1st 4 months then 5.8-ish I think) or City Bank (6.4%) - even barclays does a 4.25% AER - all much better than 0.75%!

[granuaile]

ok? You want the good oil - mai doh leh? I have this day just returned from the OZ Emabssy in Sathorn and the Thai Immigration Offices in Chaengwattana, Laksi. Having just received my 1 year Retirement Visa Extension.

...

Firstly there is a new TM 7 Form, the one downloadable on the net is obselete. N.B Now only one TM7 and One Photo is required, not two as previously required

...

What are the differences in the TM 7?

When I did my one year extension in late February just needed one but seemed same and was the one I downloaded, had to do the address confirmation as well as sign the no employment statement. But beyond that and the income verification they didn't ask for more, though I had to sign a statement concerning income. Hope they will clarify on their website between then and now.

If it becomes much of a headache I may just get a B visa and work permit, something I have been considering anyway. Except for the fact I really enjoy not answering to anyone after 30 years of always having a boss, lol, it opens the door to permanent residence and potential citizenship (plus it would be nice to own a house and the land it is on). Nonetheless, I haven't been tempted to violate the "no employment" requirement 55555

[Sunbelt Asia]

Sunbelt Asia explained the experiences they have had recently at Immigration in obtaining a retirement extension to Thaivisa in the original report.

Our experience over the past month has been that the Immigration officer requires proof of income in addition to the certified letter from the embassy or consulate.

As with all things involving government officials in this country, your experiences may be different and can vary from office to office, officer to officer and even day to day depending on the officer.

[sunbelt][/sunbelt]

[Pattaya46]

Sunbelt Asia explained... // Our experience over the past month has been

that the Immigration officer requires proof of income in addition to the certified letter

Thanks, but did you ever explain to ThaiVisa

that in case of pension it must now be transfer into Thailand?

It's the main subject of this long thread...

[cpofc]

I'm sorry to hear that your are getting paid no interest on your bank account in Thailand. The two savings account I have in Thailand, with two different banks, do pay interest. At the moment it is 0.75%, which is double the 0.375% I got on my Swiss savings account last year. It's all relative, of course; in many other countries, interest rates may be higher than in Thailand.

Sorry Maestro, the money has to be in a Thai savings account, which pays dreadfully low (or zero) interest - sure putting it an a SET account here or any number of accounts externally you could get much more interest. His arguement was that 8 million baht would keep the rif-raf out, my counter was only an idiot would volunteer to loose so much ROI (by bringing it here unworking and earning practically zip for a year - or throw away xfer fees sending it back and forth twice a year). I stand by that claim.

I only get tiny interest on tiny money (money I xfer to live on each month) - I keep my money outside of Thailand earning 6.5% nil risk, thank you very much.

Here we go again, sorry to go off topic, but where can one get 6.5% nil risk

I would love to know the answer to that question

Pat :jap:

How about here http://www.banksavin...roduct.php?p=29

or Virgin money saver (6.51 for 1st 4 months then 5.8-ish I think) or City Bank (6.4%) - even barclays does a 4.25% AER - all much better than 0.75%!

Australia mate! Anyone of the leading banks (we haven't many, which is one of the reasons we/they survived the GEC so well). You can get 6.00%+ at most of their term deposits. NO RISK. if the Commonweath Bank of Australia goes under then we may as well order a plate of sangers, a 9mm with one round and bugger off into the bush!

Australian Banks are cashed up and are still making record profits, even during the GFC. And the Dollars is at record sustained highs against the Baht. Best in the 40 years I have been visiting this part of the world. Apart from one rather very brief period in 1997.

Fill yer boots.

[cpofc]

the ambiguities from Officer to officer, branch to branch are to be expected. But the basics are the same. I go prepared. I take everything and I take copies of everything. A veritable suitcase full of stuff.

But methinks it may even be more than this.

The Immigration Officers are a bit like customs officers when it comes to weighing up people and sorting the rorters from the fair dinkum ones.. Their sixth sense and hunches about people makes them vet some people more vigorously than others. They obviously use some personal discretion.

I had the same woman I have had a few times over the years. She was really pleased to see me again, I had everything which she was again pleased about, so she didn't pursue me too thoroughly at all. We even had a bit of a chat and she wished me good luck for my birthday today. it was quite pleasant. Unlike our first meeting about 4 years ago.

It is like alot of things here I guess - About catching more flies with honey, and presentation, bearing and manners is everything. Plus it does help if you are legit.

Anyone who has to use a Law Firm to do it for him, is either, lazy, has some very complicated financials, or deserves a closer look at?

[Svante]

I can add that when I did my annual retirement extension on 25th May at Chaeng Wattana, the requirements were the same as last year. I did not notice if it was a different TM7 as I did not download it, but filled in at the immigration office. 1 TM7 and 1 photo. As I am doing the 800k version, I also needed a statement from the bank, which was dated the 24th. They also wanted to have the bankbook to which the letter pertained and a copy of the relevant pages. One hick-up was that the last entry in the book was a few days ago and they wanted the last entry in the book the SAME day as the application for extension. As I'm using Standard Chartered Bank and they do not have an office in the building, I could not do much about this requirement. After a few moments of flipping the pages, the officer approved "this time, but next time...." That was basically all and then to the re-entry section for the multiple re-entry permit. 2hrs in total.

[cpofc]

ok? You want the good oil - mai doh leh? I have this day just returned from the OZ Emabssy in Sathorn and the Thai Immigration Offices in Chaengwattana, Laksi. Having just received my 1 year Retirement Visa Extension.

...

Firstly there is a new TM 7 Form, the one downloadable on the net is obselete. N.B Now only one TM7 and One Photo is required, not two as previously required

...

What are the differences in the TM 7?

When I did my one year extension in late February just needed one but seemed same and was the one I downloaded, had to do the address confirmation as well as sign the no employment statement. But beyond that and the income verification they didn't ask for more, though I had to sign a statement concerning income. Hope they will clarify on their website between then and now.

If it becomes much of a headache I may just get a B visa and work permit, something I have been considering anyway. Except for the fact I really enjoy not answering to anyone after 30 years of always having a boss, lol, it opens the door to permanent residence and potential citizenship (plus it would be nice to own a house and the land it is on). Nonetheless, I haven't been tempted to violate the "no employment" requirement 55555

I don't know the difference between the new and the old TM7. I meant to pick one up on my way out and forgot.. She accepted the Old TM7 I had filled out (and only required the original and one photo). But then I had to do another separate Residence and Contact Statement on top of that.. Whether that was because of the old form I submitted I don't know, but anyway I wouldn't sweat the small stuff. It is the cash that the Thais are interested in.

BTW, they also take a happy snap of you while you are there too. But you knew that already.

[trisailer]

the ambiguities from Officer to officer, branch to branch are to be expected. But the basics are the same. I go prepared. I take everything and I take copies of everything. A veritable suitcase full of stuff.

But methinks it may even be more than this.

The Immigration Officers are a bit like customs officers when it comes to weighing up people and sorting the rorters from the fair dinkum ones.. Their sixth sense and hunches about people makes them vet some people more vigorously than others. They obviously use some personal discretion.

I had the same woman I have had a few times over the years. She was really pleased to see me again, I had everything which she was again pleased about, so she didn't pursue me too thoroughly at all. We even had a bit of a chat and she wished me good luck for my birthday today. it was quite pleasant. Unlike our first meeting about 4 years ago.

It is like alot of things here I guess - About catching more flies with honey, and presentation, bearing and manners is everything. Plus it does help if you are legit.

Anyone who has to use a Law Firm to do it for him, is either, lazy, has some very complicated financials, or deserves a closer look at?

Excellent post.

When I did my 1 year extension I had the embassy letter plus records showing my income. My bank balance was only 600K so I brought it all. The immigration lady was looking at her computer screen and not at my materials. She pulled up my record going back 5 years and approved everything without question. I asked her; "Do you have my history on your computer?" and she said yes all of it. She knew I was married to a Thai even though I didn't apply as married and asked me if I still lived in the same house. I think they are trained to look for people who may become a problem and just because you paid your way out of an infraction dosen't mean that your record with immigration is clean.

[cpofc]

Sunbelt Asia explained... // Our experience over the past month has been

that the Immigration officer requires proof of income in addition to the certified letter

Thanks, but did you ever explain to ThaiVisa

that in case of pension it must now be transfer into Thailand?

It's the main subject of this long thread...

Hmmmm how else are you going to live if you don't have access to your money? If it means you are drawing your income directly from your home country's bank account via ATM and home country issued ATM card. Then you are ripping yourself off big time! Apart from the fact that you are missing out on getting the perfect record of transactions required for your visa.

By law my Oz Pensions must be paid into an Oz Bank Account. No problem, all I do is a 2 minute Netbank Transfer, in Australian Dollars, to my Bangkok Bank Account in 5000 Dollar lots at periodic intervals as I need it. Costs me a one off fee of $22. My OZ Dollars are then exchanged by the Bangkok Bank at their rate and not the rip off rate given by Oz Banks, and then deposited in my account. I stick my bankbook in one of the Auto Passbook Update Machines every now and then and voila! Instant financial transaction record (good for self too, not just a visa). I also keep my Australian ATM Cards locked away for safekeeping and just carry my Bangkok Bank ATM Card with me. its win, win all round,

[tropo]

I stick my bankbook in one of the Auto Passbook Update Machines every now and then and voila!

I discovered this a few days ago with my Kasikorn account.

The update needs to be at least once a month otherwise it is incomplete.

[Pattaya46]

[in case of pension it must now be transfer into Thailand]

Hmmmm how else are you going to live if you don't have access to your money? If it means you are drawing your income directly from your home country's bank account via ATM and home country issued ATM card. Then you are ripping yourself off big time!

What an imagination!... and a completely wrong assumption... Transfer of pension is not the only way to do!

Most people I know just regularly transfer from their country the money they need to live here (every 3 months, 6 months, ...). They don't use expensive ATM with foreign cards. They don't transfer their pension because they only need a small part of it (it's cheap here) or because they prefer use money from an other part of their income.

This "news" would be a big problem for many, but fortunately it's just a false rumor.

[SurfRider]

.

I contacted the former British Honorary Consul in Pattaya, who regularly assists Farangs at Chonburi/Pattaya Immigration in interfacing with the various issues and Immigration agents. I asked specifically about the current requirements and asked him to review this controversial ThaiVisa thread.

Here is his response:

I brought the ThaiVisa.Com remarks about needing proof of income. There's no change at Pattaya immigration – they won't normally ask for the evidence and the embassy letter alone will suffice. (Remember they always had the right to ask for evidence. Nothing has changed)

.

[tropo]

.

I contacted the former British Honorary Consul in Pattaya, who regularly assists Farangs at Chonburi/Pattaya Immigration in interfacing with the various issues and Immigration agents. I asked specifically about the current requirements and asked him to review this controversial ThaiVisa thread.

Here is his response:

I brought the ThaiVisa.Com remarks about needing proof of income. There's no change at Pattaya immigration – they won't normally ask for the evidence and the embassy letter alone will suffice. (Remember they always had the right to ask for evidence. Nothing has changed)

.

Good work Surfrider, and thanks!

I went down there this afternoon to speak with Barry but he wasn't there, so I spoke to the (surly) boss. He didn't indicate that anything has changed and their information leaflet has remained more or less the same. He mentioned that one must show a bank letter and copy of balance, but his words were that 10K or 20K is enough to show.

The old leaflet states that a bank letter showing a balance of at least 5000 baht and a photocopy showing transactions for the last 3 months are required. The new leaflet doesn't even mention this requirement.

Here's the latest handout:

[SurfRider]

.

"The old leaflet states that a bank letter showing a balance of at least 5000 baht and a photocopy showing transactions for the last 3 months are required. The new leaflet doesn't even mention this requirement."

This issue came up in another recent ThaiVisa thread:

Posted 2011-05-07

.

Pattaya City Expats Club announced that they received several recent reports that the Chonburi (Pattaya) Immigration office is apparently no longer requiring a bank letter and copies of the bank passbook for renewing a retirement extension when you're using an Embassy letter certifying at least 65,000 Baht or more in monthly income. PCEC has full retirement extension and other visa renewal data on their website.

At least this means that retirees can save one trip to the bank, 200 to 300 baht for the bank-letter, and the necessity to keep a decent minimum balance in the account. They also mentioned that the bank-letter is STILL required if you are using the 800,000 Baht deposit method.

.

Edited June 10, 2011 by SurfRider

[nongkhai]

" ... No problem, all I do is a 2 minute Netbank Transfer, in Australian Dollars, to my Bangkok Bank Account in 5000 Dollar lots at periodic intervals as I need it. Costs me a one off fee of $22 . . . its win, win all round ... "

This thread is quite tiring and ~ with exceptions ~ somewhat overloaded with an inordinate collection of <deleted>. But reading through the chaff was well worth it, if just to savour a true in-Thailand Freudian Slip.

Good one 'cpofc'. Win win indeed!

[tropo]

.

"The old leaflet states that a bank letter showing a balance of at least 5000 baht and a photocopy showing transactions for the last 3 months are required. The new leaflet doesn't even mention this requirement."

This issue came up in another recent ThaiVisa thread:

Posted 2011-05-07

.

Pattaya City Expats Club announced that they received several recent reports that the Chonburi (Pattaya) Immigration office is apparently no longer requiring a bank letter and copies of the bank passbook for renewing a retirement extension when you're using an Embassy letter certifying at least 65,000 Baht or more in monthly income. PCEC has full retirement extension and other visa renewal data on their website.

At least this means that retirees can save one trip to the bank, 200 to 300 baht for the bank-letter, and the necessity to keep a decent minimum balance in the account. They also mentioned that the bank-letter is STILL required if you are using the 800,000 Baht deposit method.

.

As I said, I talked to the head officer today and he mentioned that I DO need to show a bank letter when using the 65K income method. Perhaps they're more confused than we are.

I'd like to have a talk with Barry about this. I think my bank letter only cost 100 baht last year, but if I don't need it I'd rather save the visit.

Edited June 10, 2011 by tropo

[Penkoprod]

As I said, I talked to the head officer today and he mentioned that I DO need to show a bank letter when using the 65K income method. Perhaps they're more confused than we are.

I'd like to have a talk with Barry about this. I think my bank letter only cost 100 baht last year, but if I don't need it I'd rather save the visit.

You mean the Honorary Consul Barry?

Didnt he retire last year and was replaced by Howard Miller?