All Non O Visas from Hull now need 800K Bht in the bank

[NanLaew]

Without reading the whole 15 pages of outrage; I am assuming that with regard to the equivalent of 800k baht 'lump-sum' in a UK account, that does NOT have the same 'seasoning' stipulations that apply to Thai currency in a Thai bank account? It's a lot easier to wing extra funds into a non-Thai account (and out again) than tying up the funds while watching the clock in an account in LOS.

i have £2500 a month coming in...from pension and property rent..cash in bank not current .. i was rejected..

I read the whole thread and saw your earlier posts. You cannot combine income streams on a visa application. It has to be in a single current account. If you paid the rent into the same account as your pension gets paid into, then it probably would have qualified.

Anyway, what's Birmingham doing these days? Someone posted evidence of their Non-O multiple issued against having a 7-year Thai marriage without financial proof on the last page (late last month). Anyone with more up to date info?

Edited October 4, 2013 by NanLaew

[johng]

Birmingham

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/671709-time-line-thai-consulate-birmingham/?p=6887231

[harkouk79]

I was in England just over a week ago blissfully ignorant of any of this happening, until i got a phone call fron Hull saying they could only give me a single tourist visa due to the new financial requirements requested from London - this was a couple of days before i came back to Thailand so no chance of getting funds in place in time. I was going to fly to K.L. for a non O based on marriage/kids, as i am now in the process of transferring the 400,000 neccesary from uk account to thai account and obtain a visa there - and subsequently apply for an extension - but do i need to do this? If i go to Bangkok immigration once the moneys in the bank (the next day???) will i get a single non o from there or does the money have to be in for 2/3 months beforehand, if so its gonna be right at the end or over the tourist visa i'm currently on so i might as well play the safe but more expensive route of getting it in Malaysia.

[Mario2008]

For conversion the money does not have to be seasoned.

[harkouk79]

Thanks for that - and as for the other documents would they need to be the same as applying for a non o outside Thailand, or the same as an extension to remain?

[ubonjoe]

Good thing you didn't go to KL a report was posted today that they will not do multiple entry non-o's any more. Even with 400K.

[Mario2008]

Same as for an extension of stay, so wife, pictures etc will be needed.

Proof that the money came from abroad might also be requested.

[harkouk79]

A single would of been fine, but i'd prefer to spare the expense...

[mitsubishi]

That'll deter a few yobs and wanke_rs from setting up in Thailand.

It's a good policy to keep out the riff-raff.

Perhaps yes, BUT, it also affects the genuine folk who have been taking care of Thai nationals for years. Perhaps places like Hull have been dishing out Visas purely for the financial gain. Have read that non UK EU folk were posting applications to Hull cos they were an easy touch.

You can't get visa's at Hull if you are non UK.

[englishoak]

Fully aware of the diffence between a visa and an extension, but as I have said a few times on this thread already (post#151), no need to get a visa from your homecountry, fly in on a visa extempt and do your conversion in Thailand. Requirements still 400k/40k! width=25 alt=thumbsup.gif>

Yet, I can't see that lasting very long, 1 year maybe 2 at most, without doubt the days are numbered

It seems a strange requirement that you need to prove income from employment when you are applying for a multi 'O' to go and live with your spouse in Thailand for a year , in which case you will no longer be working ?

That seems to be the point....

totster

I dont know about others but I have often had more incoming by other means than "income from employment" as others have said here, not including the fact that no one in their right mind keeps 800k ( equate £ ) in a UK current account everyone in the UK is going paperless and online and now they want addresses on the statements ?

What really puzzles me is why cant they set a date for these new implementations with notice like ? say ooooooo i dunno like maybe 3.5 months or some notice at least ? yknow so people can see it coming and plan accordingly like youd expect any emerging economy would.

This really can't be just the thai embassy here in the UK issuing these directives im sure, these people live here so are fully aware of online banking and how assets and certainly income generating assets are seen as a possible taxable income, so how on earth they are being discounted is beyond me. Feels much like it did in my years in Thailand and immigration, totally inconsistent, illogical and devoid of planning.

Ive read this thread from beginning to end and ive no doubt it'll be 800K across the board in the not too distant future and my sympathies to anyone caught up in this crap storm, the holier than tho crowd here, smug as they may be need to step back and get there are many providing with various lifestyles, not in the least the overseas contractors who come and go on irregular patterns with a family in Thailand.

I brought my Thai wife and child back to the UK because of the poor standard of education even in private schooling there and ridiculous work permit xenophobia and restriction of work rules making a SME business almost impossible. Id probably be employing the whole family by now but there you go, I expect more and more will return or give up the dream and ergo less support for the families there, for sure the UK isnt going to get any cheaper so the cost will be felt by the Thai part of the family not being supported, same old short term gain for longterm loss and a big finger to the thai family value and support having another income ( albeit farang ) gives. I'd dearly love to return and live in Thailand in a few years when the daughters done with her education but its getting less and less likely. Hoops are one thing but a trapeze act with hoops is quite another or in the wise words of the wife thai immigration Baa, ting tong

Incidentally did anyone notice this a while ago ? coincidence im sure but some people may be thinking ahhh it may be easier to wire larger sums and just transfer some when needed from thai acc to current. It may be prudent for anyone with funds there of any size exceeding this new limit to start making suitable arrangements. Back to good old Rule no 1, dont invest more in thaliand than your willing to lose or walk away from.

Thailand

The complete deposit protection system was introduced in Thailand by the establishment of the Deposit Protection Agency (DPA) on 11 August 2008, in accordance with the Deposit Protection Agency Act B.E. 2551. The objectives of the Agency as specified by law are providing protection to deposits in financial institutions system; administration of institutions subject to control under the Financial Institutions Businesses Act and liquidation of financial institutions whose licenses have been revoked. Deposit in Thailand is fully guaranteed until 10 August 2011. From 11 August 2011 until 10 August 2012, the coverage drops to 50 million baht per depositor per bank. Thereafter, coverage is limited to THB one million per depositor per bank.

Edited October 10, 2013 by englishoak

[kingalfred]

Just a simple question .Can I get a non O visa with 800k Thai baht in a Thai bank account and aged over 50? What other requirements are needed.

[somtampet]

Just a simple question .Can I get a non O visa with 800k Thai baht in a Thai bank account and aged over 50? What other requirements are needed.

NO,but you can get an extension for retirement, for 800k baht,in thailand

[ttthailand]

And what beggars belief to me is that LOS authorities are making stuff difficult for guys who are taking care of Thai nationals who perhaps have been married for many years. Noooooo consideration of currency rate changes or problems a farang might have in his own country BUT he still takes care of his Thai wife.

Authorities should spend more time looking at folk creeping into LOS on ED visa's etc instead of folk who PROVE they are still married and feeding Thai folk.

Maybe just do same and get an education visa.... Maybe easier

[SantiSuk]

Many here need to learn the rules and the differences between Thai Immigration and Thai Embassies and Consulates. Immigration and Embassies are not remotely related ran by two different ministers so different rules. I agree with an earlier poster the few who have been thumbing there noses at Thai law have affected many who follow the law. Every time we have had one of these changes it has been the slackers who cry the loudest.

I have never understood how someone married could support there family on less money than a single retiree needs to live on about time they raised the amount.

I've met some of these types, mostly regrettably English - sitting on bar stools spending what money they have on beer and crowing about how little they give their wife, in some strange misguided belief much venerated throughout ThaiVisa.com that getting a free ride out of women and life is respected by all normal people as a badge of honour. Personally, I regard them as vermin, to be avoided.

A minority for sure, but a minority we can do without

[jpeg]

EDIT: BELOW INFORMATION IS INCORRECT.

I think some of you need to do some homework on Thailand and its obsure nationalistic rules that are anti-foreigner.

Firstly, under Thai law, any Thai female who marries a foreigner MUST change her name to her husbands name by registering the marraige officially.

This is to stop Thai females from marrying foreigners and then buying land and houses in her maiden name. The fact that she HAS TO change her name and make this record enables tracking to "prevent" her from officially then buying Thai land or Thai houses - or allowing the state at a later date to "claim back" all land and houses in her maiden name if she has not changed it.

Any Thai female who is "married to farang" and has not changed her surname to her hubands has :

Broken the law.

Will automatically lose any land or house she has in her name if caught - or if some snooping neighbour reports her.

Is not "married" under Thai law.

To be honest anyone who thinks that Thai law which adamently prohibits the wives of foreigners to own land or houses would not enforce her to change her family name - well, I do not know.

Secondly - if she has not changed her family name you are not actually married in the eyes of the Thai legal system - the whole process is not formally complete until she changes her name. So it seems many out there are not actually formally married - they have bits of paper saying the ceremony has been done, but you are not legally in Thai married.

So now you understand why Thai Embassies have started asking for marraige certs and ALSO her passport or ID to PROVE she has changed her name and is therefore on record as being married to a foreigner - and so loses her rights to own land or houses in Thailand.

If she has not changed her name - you are not married and you will not be issued with a Non-Imm O visa - cause you are not married in Thailand according to the letter of the law.

Big Wrong. My neighbour's wife has kept her Thai surname since the married 9 years ago. I believe many Thai women keep their THAI surnames too because well, they're THAI

BTW Their land and house were bought in her name.

Edited October 10, 2013 by jpeg

[SantiSuk]

This strikes me as the results of too many low lifes exploiting the system - I have been out here since 84 and have seen the mucking about so many tourists do .

Get a retirement visa..... makes life much easier.

How many people in the UK have 800.000 Baht (around 16000 GBP) to put in a Thai bank? Your thinking is very selfish.

Answer: all of those Brits who have wanted to come to Thailand to retire and have recognised that Thailand wants that kind of money put by to ensure they are not a drain on the Thai economy. The requirement to have 800,000 baht for a retirement extension is long standing.Selfishness has nothing to do with it. If you can't afford it stay at home.

[SantiSuk]

It isn't "scamming" the system if you just get a non-O with your marriage certificates (I have one set from the Thai embassy and one from the US embassy), your wife's house register and ID and no income proof. I used to be on this and it worked out well. I was leaving every few months anyway, and when I came back I would get 90 more days. Once I quit going abroad for work, I just hopped over the border, which is convenient if you live near a neighboring country. It gives you an excuse to travel. If you don't want to travel or spend much money, you just cross the border, do a little shopping and come back and you have 90 more days. Yes, it is a hassle, but easier than coming up with whatever sum they decide on. Of course, if you aren't near a border, I can see how this would be a major pain. I used to get my border runs done before noon, so it wasn't a big deal due to my location.

And you are exactly the type that this change is targeting. On a presumption that you do not have enough money to set aside for a rainy day (probably wrong but how are they to know) Thais no longer want to give you the type of visa that was designed for people who are still based in their home country and presumably can look to financial and other resources in their home country, when in reality you are based in Thailand.

Not everything about the change is logical (the 800k for marriage instead of 400k for instance) but stopping falang residents from abusing the system by seeking non-resident visas is clearly extremely logical.

[SantiSuk]

Many here need to learn the rules and the differences between Thai Immigration and Thai Embassies and Consulates. Immigration and Embassies are not remotely related ran by two different ministers so different rules. I agree with an earlier poster the few who have been thumbing there noses at Thai law have affected many who follow the law. Every time we have had one of these changes it has been the slackers who cry the loudest.

I have never understood how someone married could support there family on less money than a single retiree needs to live on about time they raised the amount.

How about MY WIFE supports ME in Thailand then??? she earns way more than the amount asked for.

Separation rates in the general population, let alone in foreigner-Thai marriages, are high. why should Thailand live in hope that when you get sick your wife and not the state will look after you?

[SantiSuk]

Imposing prohibitive financial barriers on married couples simply wanting to be together is an infringement on Thailands legal commitments on international human rights. These new 'rules' need challenging and to be put under the media spotlight. This could be down to one idiot somewhere rather than official policy. Hopefully all those couples at risk will start writing to their relevant embassies in their thousands.

Try telling UK Border that a foreign spouse can come and stay in England with similar tenure to a Thai Non-O or marriage extension, because "we simply want to be together".

Oh to be such a romantic! Batting on a losing wicket there mate!

[kingalfred]

Just a simple question .Can I get a non O visa with 800k Thai baht in a Thai bank account and aged over 50? What other requirements are needed.

NO,but you can get an extension for retirement, for 800k baht,in thailand

an extension? So what requirement other than the 800k in the bank is needed for applying for the non o visa.

[Mario2008]

For a non-O visa application at a Thai consulate it should be enough.

But always also depends on which consulate you will be using. Or are you tlking about getting an extension of stay from immigration inside Thailand itself?

[Maestro]

Off-topic post and reply to it removed.

[Wimbledon]

Going for an Nonimmigrant visa totaday in PHOM PENH . I believe this is O visa ( 90 days) retirement single entry . imam taking money , passport with 2 photocopies , visa appication . ..... Anything else i should bring?

[ubonjoe]

That should be enough but be prepared for a 4 day wait.

[laolover88]

Posted 3 minutes ago

Last month I was told at the Phuket Immigration Office, by a Foreign Volunteer there, that there is a new rule that when applying for a non-O visa it's now necessary to have 18 months left on your passport.

No such rule and suspect you are talking about extensions of stay rather than visas in any case. But the rules on validity of extensions has changed and those issued now will expire at expiration of passport (no longer be transferred into new passport with remaining one year time) so best to have at least a full year remaining when getting extension and to be safe for travel the 18 months would be advised.

Are you saying that retirement visa 1 year extensions cannot be transferred to a new passport?

[laolover88]

Imposing prohibitive financial barriers on married couples simply wanting to be together is an infringement on Thailands legal commitments on international human rights. These new 'rules' need challenging and to be put under the media spotlight. This could be down to one idiot somewhere rather than official policy. Hopefully all those couples at risk will start writing to their relevant embassies in their thousands.

Try telling UK Border that a foreign spouse can come and stay in England with similar tenure to a Thai Non-O or marriage extension, because "we simply want to be together".

Oh to be such a romantic! Batting on a losing wicket there mate!

Quite. But theoretically if a bloke and his Thai wife go to live in another EU country, provided he has work or is seeking employment and she has a Schengen or other EU country visa, they establish a right to live in the UK. Try telling that to eBorders, too!!

[ubonjoe]

Posted 3 minutes ago

Last month I was told at the Phuket Immigration Office, by a Foreign Volunteer there, that there is a new rule that when applying for a non-O visa it's now necessary to have 18 months left on your passport.

No such rule and suspect you are talking about extensions of stay rather than visas in any case. But the rules on validity of extensions has changed and those issued now will expire at expiration of passport (no longer be transferred into new passport with remaining one year time) so best to have at least a full year remaining when getting extension and to be safe for travel the 18 months would be advised.

Are you saying that retirement visa 1 year extensions cannot be transferred to a new passport?

No

If you have less than 12 months remaining on your passport when you apply for an extension it will only be issued for the length of validity your passport has remaining on it.

When you get a new passport they will still transfer the extension to it.

Edited October 12, 2013 by ubonjoe

[lopburi3]

But the extension will no longer exceed the original passport expiration date - it will have that date as expiration. In the past they would stamp until expiration date of passport and provide the remainder of one year when new passport presented. This will no longer be the policy.

[kannot]

A single would of been fine, but i'd prefer to spare the expense...

You should now avoid Hull and use Birmingham for a NON O, no financials required for MARRIAGE to a Thai

[Satcommlee]

Thailand will welcome you as a tourist, but if you want to settle here you have to show them the money!

Anyone that can't show an income of 65K a month or 800K in the bank is not welcome it seems.

Thailand only wants you if you have money to spend, it ain't a sanctuary for people on low income to live out their days eating som tam and drinking Lao Khao in deepest darkest Issan.

Almost reminiscent of public opinion regarding immigrants in our own countries, they don't want us unless we can benefit their economy and to be honest I don't blame them.

It's hard to get an honest opinion from a Thai directly, but they really don't want to see white faces in the villages.

Anyone that moans about this should take a hard look at their own opinions regarding immigration (and illegal immigration) in their own countries.

If you have been using back to back non-o's obtained from consulates for the last 10 years, then you fit into the Thai's version of an "illegal immigrant"