Retirement Extension

[doctormann]

Hi Guys

This may be of some interest to those staying here on retirement extension:

I have to extend in July, so it's some time off yet but there's no harm in planning ahead. So, I'm just back from Pattaya Immigration Office after having had a chat with the very pleasant officer behind Counter 5. I wanted clarification on some points:

Q: I have a letter from the UK Embassy certifying my pension income (well in excess of the 800,000 THB requirement) but this is a year old - do I need to get a new one for this year?

A: If the passport number on the letter corresponds with that on your passport you can use the same letter, i.e. you only need a new letter if you have renewed your passport.

Q: How much money do I need to have in my Thai bank account, bearing in mind the amount of pension that I have?

A: You need one or two thousand. (at this point I thought 'eh?', so said 'you mean 100,000 / 200,000?' ) No, only one or two thousand.

Previous posts on this topic have indicated that about 200,000 THB is the likely requirement, although the rules say that a combination of pension and savings not less than 800,000 THB is the figure so I'm a bit bewildered by this. Perhaps he really meant 1-2,000 GBP?

Q: I need a bank letter certifying the amount in the account?

A: Yes, should not be more than seven days old.

Q: Where do I need to go for my medical certificate?

A: Any doctor will do.

Some previous posts have indicated that the cert. must come from a hospital, not from one of the ubiquitous clinics.

Anyway, it all seems quite straightforward - I think I might just transfer a bit more than 1-2,000 THB into my savings account. I rather thought that the requirement for 'money in the bank' was to meet possible emergencies so, on that basis, a couple of thousand GBP sounds a bit more realistic.

Comments anyone?

DM

[Noel]

Hi Guys

This may be of some interest to those staying here on retirement extension:

I have to extend in July, so it's some time off yet but there's no harm in planning ahead. So, I'm just back from Pattaya Immigration Office after having had a chat with the very pleasant officer behind Counter 5. I wanted clarification on some points:

Q: I have a letter from the UK Embassy certifying my pension income (well in excess of the 800,000 THB requirement) but this is a year old - do I need to get a new one for this year?

A: If the passport number on the letter corresponds with that on your passport you can use the same letter, i.e. you only need a new letter if you have renewed your passport.

Q: How much money do I need to have in my Thai bank account, bearing in mind the amount of pension that I have?

A: You need one or two thousand. (at this point I thought 'eh?', so said 'you mean 100,000 / 200,000?' ) No, only one or two thousand.

Previous posts on this topic have indicated that about 200,000 THB is the likely requirement, although the rules say that a combination of pension and savings not less than 800,000 THB is the figure so I'm a bit bewildered by this. Perhaps he really meant 1-2,000 GBP?

Q: I need a bank letter certifying the amount in the account?

A: Yes, should not be more than seven days old.

Q: Where do I need to go for my medical certificate?

A: Any doctor will do.

Some previous posts have indicated that the cert. must come from a hospital, not from one of the ubiquitous clinics.

Anyway, it all seems quite straightforward - I think I might just transfer a bit more than 1-2,000 THB into my savings account. I rather thought that the requirement for 'money in the bank' was to meet possible emergencies so, on that basis, a couple of thousand GBP sounds a bit more realistic.

Comments anyone?

DM

On the face of it, in the main everything sounds OK.

I have also seen posters saying you must have c. ฿200,000 or more in your account, even if you can justify your income via a pension. Perhaps that may well vary from office to office?

As far as I am aware, there is nothing in the rules to that effect.

I just wonder why you need to have your bank account balance certified at all if you are using the pension income option.

As I have never gone that route, perhaps another member who has will enlarge.

Regarding the Medical Certificate, certainly as of December last year Pattaya Immigration will accept a certificate from any clinic: it was not required that it be issued by a hospital.

[lanny]

I think Immigration just wants to see that you have access to a bank in Thailand. When I renewed my retirement visa the last time, I had letters from two banks and copies of the bank books for both accounts. I don't recall the amount but I know the total of both accounts was well under 100,000 Baht. Since my pension income certificate from the US embassy was well over the minimum 65,000 Baht, I didn't need any specific amount in the bank. The immigration office looked at both letters/copies, kept the set with the larger balance and handed to other back to me. Obviously, all she wanted to see was that I did have a Thailand bank account.

I did not present a medical certificate and was not asked for one.

[JungleBoy]

Hi Guys

This may be of some interest to those staying here on retirement extension:

I have to extend in July, so it's some time off yet but there's no harm in planning ahead. So, I'm just back from Pattaya Immigration Office after having had a chat with the very pleasant officer behind Counter 5. I wanted clarification on some points:

Q: I have a letter from the UK Embassy certifying my pension income (well in excess of the 800,000 THB requirement) but this is a year old - do I need to get a new one for this year?

A: If the passport number on the letter corresponds with that on your passport you can use the same letter, i.e. you only need a new letter if you have renewed your passport.

Q: How much money do I need to have in my Thai bank account, bearing in mind the amount of pension that I have?

A: You need one or two thousand. (at this point I thought 'eh?', so said 'you mean 100,000 / 200,000?' ) No, only one or two thousand.

Previous posts on this topic have indicated that about 200,000 THB is the likely requirement, although the rules say that a combination of pension and savings not less than 800,000 THB is the figure so I'm a bit bewildered by this. Perhaps he really meant 1-2,000 GBP?

Q: I need a bank letter certifying the amount in the account?

A: Yes, should not be more than seven days old.

Q: Where do I need to go for my medical certificate?

A: Any doctor will do.

Some previous posts have indicated that the cert. must come from a hospital, not from one of the ubiquitous clinics.

Anyway, it all seems quite straightforward - I think I might just transfer a bit more than 1-2,000 THB into my savings account. I rather thought that the requirement for 'money in the bank' was to meet possible emergencies so, on that basis, a couple of thousand GBP sounds a bit more realistic.

Comments anyone?

DM

Doesn't Immigration keep the original? If they do, then this means a copy must me used. Does Immigration accept a copy when extending?

jb

[doctormann]

Hi Guys

This may be of some interest to those staying here on retirement extension:

I have to extend in July, so it's some time off yet but there's no harm in planning ahead. So, I'm just back from Pattaya Immigration Office after having had a chat with the very pleasant officer behind Counter 5. I wanted clarification on some points:

Q: I have a letter from the UK Embassy certifying my pension income (well in excess of the 800,000 THB requirement) but this is a year old - do I need to get a new one for this year?

A: If the passport number on the letter corresponds with that on your passport you can use the same letter, i.e. you only need a new letter if you have renewed your passport.

Q: How much money do I need to have in my Thai bank account, bearing in mind the amount of pension that I have?

A: You need one or two thousand. (at this point I thought 'eh?', so said 'you mean 100,000 / 200,000?' ) No, only one or two thousand.

Previous posts on this topic have indicated that about 200,000 THB is the likely requirement, although the rules say that a combination of pension and savings not less than 800,000 THB is the figure so I'm a bit bewildered by this. Perhaps he really meant 1-2,000 GBP?

Q: I need a bank letter certifying the amount in the account?

A: Yes, should not be more than seven days old.

Q: Where do I need to go for my medical certificate?

A: Any doctor will do.

Some previous posts have indicated that the cert. must come from a hospital, not from one of the ubiquitous clinics.

Anyway, it all seems quite straightforward - I think I might just transfer a bit more than 1-2,000 THB into my savings account. I rather thought that the requirement for 'money in the bank' was to meet possible emergencies so, on that basis, a couple of thousand GBP sounds a bit more realistic.

Comments anyone?

DM

Doesn't Immigration keep the original? If they do, then this means a copy must me used. Does Immigration accept a copy when extending?

jb

Jungle Boy

I don't really know as I didn't actually use the letter that I got from the Embassy last June - I took advantage of the multiple entry status of my O-A visa and got another 12 month stamp in my passport. I am assuming, possibly incorrectly, that if I provide a copy of the letter, duly signed by me as a true copy, I shall be able to retain the original. This seems to be what normally happens when you provide copies - but we shall see.

DM

[redwood13]

Extended my O-A in Pattaya last Sept. and Immigration gave me back the original of my US Embassy pension letter.

-redwood

[Lancelot]

Doesn't Immigration keep the original? If they do, then this means a copy must me used. Does Immigration accept a copy when extending?

jb

I just renewed my Retirement Visa at Bangkok and Immigration has always kept the original of my "Pension" letter from the US Embassy. I only had 250k in my Thai savings account (and have not topped it up or added to the balance since 2003) and no problems what so ever.

In my experience, Immigration is the most interested in seeing my (new) Pension letter from the US Embassy. I've never been asked for a medical certificate either.

Lance

[harpman88]

Doesn't Immigration keep the original? If they do, then this means a copy must me used. Does Immigration accept a copy when extending?

jb

I just renewed my Retirement Visa at Bangkok and Immigration has always kept the original of my "Pension" letter from the US Embassy. I only had 250k in my Thai savings account (and have not topped it up or added to the balance since 2003) and no problems what so ever.

In my experience, Immigration is the most interested in seeing my (new) Pension letter from the US Embassy. I've never been asked for a medical certificate either.

Lance

There you have it,Pattaya keeps the copy,BKK keeps the original. As long as I have either the copy or the original(after all they're identical) ,I really dont see what difference it makes.

Noel,in post 2,you're correct. assuming one has adequate pension and embassy letter,there is no explicitly stated amount one needs in the bank. But Thai imm. does definitely want to see a Thai bank acct., and altho Lance says he had "only" 250 K in his acct,I I think that's a very comfy amount for someone with adequate pension income.