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There's a rumor going around recently that Chonburi Immigration will no longer accept an Embassy income verification letter (for retirement visa extension purposes) that is more than 90 days old.

In the past, the validity period was one year. This past December I used a letter that was 4 months old and the year before, 9 months old - neither were questioned.

Has anyone had their letter rejected? Does anyone have any certainty on this rumor?

Thanks in advance for any comments.
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I think thats old news..US Embassy said the income letter was good for only 3 months and that was 1 year ago

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Whatever the US Embassy says doesn't matter - they're frequently misinformed and every Immigration office has it's own rules which vary regularly. I'm looking for very recent information specific to the Chonburi / Jomtien Immigration office.
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According to the guide published by the Pattaya City Expats Club, the Department of Immigration has indicated that the age limit on income verification letters is 90 days as of 1 March 2013.

http://www.pattayacityexpatsclub.com/expats/docs/ExtendingStay.pdf

See the footnote at the bottom of page 5.

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Whatever the US Embassy says doesn't matter - they're frequently misinformed and every Immigration office has it's own rules which vary regularly. I'm looking for very recent information specific to the Chonburi / Jomtien Immigration office.

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The 90 day age limit is now fact and has been verified by foreigners at the Pattaya Immigration office. Some officers apparently look the other way if letter is not too far out of date but warn the applicant that next time the letter must be dated within the 90 day window.

I never understood if the letter quotes a recurring pension which is above the 65,000 level why you can not keep using it for a number of years, but TIT.

I never understood if the letter quotes a recurring pension which is above the 65,000 level why you can not keep using it for a number of years, but TIT.

The letter states your income in Thai baht, so I would assume you need a fresh letter each time owing to the fluctuation in exchange rates.

As far as I know the letter says your currency. The immigration authorities then convert it.

Same Same but different.

I never understood if the letter quotes a recurring pension which is above the 65,000 level why you can not keep using it for a number of years, but TIT.

The letter states your income in Thai baht, so I would assume you need a fresh letter each time owing to the fluctuation in exchange rates.

No the letter states my pension in Sterling. If that is say 2,000 GBP a month surely that should be enough to get my visa every year (unless the Pound drops to 32.5 !!).

The Austrian Consulate in Pattaya ( for Austrian, Belgian, German....) provides you a letter mentioning the initial currency and the conversion in Thai Baht.

Can anyone confirm if a joint account is still acceptable for funds ? I heard that a single holder account was required.

Can anyone confirm if a joint account is still acceptable for funds ? I heard that a single holder account was required.

You can use a joint account but they will only count 1/2 of the funds on deposit toward meeting the financial requirement. This is based on our experience at the Jomtien Immigration office.

Is it true that to get the income letter from the US embassy, you do not really need to show proof of your income?

Is it true that to get the income letter from the US embassy, you do not really need to show proof of your income?

Yes, as far as I know it is just a declaration you make and which they write down. Totally pointless, of course.

I obtained an income letter in March during the U.S. Embassy Outreach Program here in Pattaya. The letter is a template (see attached) that you fill out, sign, and hand to the embassy staff and they notorize it. They did not ask for any proof of income. You could fill in any amount, but the Pattaya Immigration Office asked me for copies of all my local bank book pages to show proof of income into Thailand. They did this even though I was only using income and not a combination of income and bank deposits as justification for a retirement extension of stay. Some have reported that they sometimes require a bank letter in addition to the bank book copies. They did not in my case. It is best to go there prepared.

income_affidavit_template.pdf