500 baht difference in bank letter and statement amount=problem?!

[pastafarian]

I deposited 450k into my KTB account to use for my extension based on marriage and it was in there for 2months prior to the application as required. The day I went to get the letter from the bank confirming I'd had over 400k for 2months I also printed out a statement. After doing the letter I took out 500baht to pay the bank their 200baht fee so the statement shows 449,500baht and not the 450k that the bank confirmed but still more than 400k so not a problem.

Wrong! A lady from Mae Sai immigration just called and said the amount on the bank's letter has to be exactly the same as the amount on the statement and if it isn't I can't use it. I've since withdrew the 450k and it is in a 6mnth savings account with a different bank. My wife called them and they said I will need to do a visitor visa and wait for the 2mnth period to be over before I can apply again which means I'll have to go to Vientiane and get a new visa. Surely if it is only 500baht difference and still above the 400k minimum amount there shouldn't be a problem? Is it worth trying to speak with someone higher up than her?

[Sceptict11]

If you have 400k in the bank then get another letter and reapply ! ( don't make any withdrawals !)

[pastafarian]

If you have 400k in the bank then get another letter and reapply ! ( don't make any withdrawals !)

Like I said, after the application was submitted/accepted and we'd been visited by three immigration officers I withdrew the money and deposited it into a high interest account so they said I need to wait another 2mnths which means changing visas etc etc

[ubonjoe]

Do you still have time left on your non-o visa entry?

Apply for a 60 day extension to visit your wife.

She will have to go with you. Marriage certificate, wife's ID and house book with copies. Copies of your passport and departure card.

Edited September 18, 2013 by ubonjoe

[lopburi3]

Indeed the letter always has to be exactly the same as account balance presented. And as you withdrew the money you must wait 60 days to make a new application. But you should not need a tourist visa - just extend your stay 60 days to visit wife and then extend normally.

[pastafarian]

Thanks guys. My Non-Imm O expires on Sep 30th so I can extend by 60days then apply again in 2mnths.

[ubonjoe]

Yes

[Baerboxer]

Indeed the letter always has to be exactly the same as account balance presented. And as you withdrew the money you must wait 60 days to make a new application. But you should not need a tourist visa - just extend your stay 60 days to visit wife and then extend normally.

Last two times I was asked to update the bank book on the same day I applied although the bank letter was dated a couple of days before. To update the book requires a transaction so I deposited 500 baht. The balance in the book was therefore 500 baht higher than on the letter. That was not questioned or a problem.

[Eddy B]

Talk about a shambles. You had enough money in your name in an account for your visa. They are just being picky and narrow minded. Do as the fellas said above and you will be fine but it will bugger up your chances if you so wanted a PR in Thailand as you are changing visa's. I think that is their idea to stop farang staying here long time.

[lopburi3]

He is not changing the fact of being here on continuous extensions of stay.

[pastafarian]

From what I can tell I stay on the Non-Imm O visa and just get a 60day extension then re-apply for the 1yr extension so the visa remains the same.

[ubonjoe]

That is correct.

But do not touch the money until you get the final stamp after under consideration period.

Edited September 19, 2013 by ubonjoe

[ubonjoe]

For retirement it is 90 days unless it is your first extension.

The 60 day extension is only for marriage to a Thai.

If married to to a Thai you could cut the 800k down to 400k by doing your extension based upon marriage instead of retirement,

Edited September 19, 2013 by ubonjoe

[tontraveller]

If you have 400k in the bank then get another letter and reapply ! ( don't make any withdrawals !)

Like I said, after the application was submitted/accepted and we'd been visited by three immigration officers I withdrew the money and deposited it into a high interest account so they said I need to wait another 2mnths which means changing visas etc etc

You can alternatively cancel your high interest account, move back to your regular bank, get the statement, and put it again into your high interest account..

Happened to me before too...

[Mario2008]

1 post and replies wiabout illegal activity removed.

[salapau]

A really annoying issue. Same happened to me on my third yearly application with another immigration office. They are sticklers for detail and I'm sure try to make life complicated for us to stay here. Despite perpetually having well over the 400k limit right over the last three years, they refused my application. I withdrew some cash from an ATM on the same morning, just prior to going into my bank for the letter. They could only provide the letter with the previous days closing balance. I honestly thought this would be no problem. Wrong, I was forgetting the black and white attitude of the staff at immigration. Fortunately I was able to drive to a branch of my bank in the same town as the immigration office and get another letter. Frustratingly they charged me again at twice the price of my hometown bank.

Here's a tip that might help you. Three years ago I applied for my first marriage visa providing my bank book and sever copies of my statements, printed from the online banking process. I was turned down because they refused the statements and insisted on two copies of every page of my bank book going back three months.

These visits can be so frustrating with a very slow processing time. 8 hour round trip needed to be done twice. Once to have the application accepted and then return for the same long trip to get my passport restamped, after the authorised paperwork has been returned from Bangkok. Please be patient, I made the mistake of showing my frustration on my first application, severely delaying the process.

[evadgib]

As soon as ASEAN kicks in I suggest anyone in the OP's position points their wife in the direction of the nearest court to establish why Thai males with ferang spouses aren't subject to similar nonsence.

Edited September 19, 2013 by evadgib

[ubonjoe]

As soon as ASEAN kicks in I suggest anyone in the OP's position points their wife in the direction of the nearest court to establish why Thai males with ferang spouses aren't subject to similar nonsence.

I think you mean AEC not ASEAN which was established in the sixties. It will have no effect on your issue.

It has already been tried as being unconstitutional and got turned down.

The only way things can be changed is by pushing for a change of the laws and regulations. This could be done if enough Thai women married to us farangs got organized to do it.

[Pib]

So much inconsistency among immigration offices. Last year when applying for my annual retirement extension of stay at Bangkok immigration I used my fixed savings account deposit of Bt800K. But about a month before I applied for the annual extension my fixed account matured, I went to the bank to roll over the account into a new fixed term to ensure I'm earning maximum interest, and I was under the understanding that when you did such they keep the same account number but your passbook will just reflect you are now enrolled in a new fixed account for X-months earning X-interest. Wrong.

They rolled the money over into a new account number, cancelled the old account number, and I didn't realize this until they handed me my cancelled passbook and the new passbook with a new account number. So this meant when I was going to apply for the renewal in a month it would show a passbook account that was only opened for one month...not meeting the 3 month money seasoning requirement. But what I did is when I applied I attached to the bank letter both copies of the new passbook and old passbook account which would show how one account was closed on day X and on same day X another account was opened and funded by the exact amount that was in the old account. During the application review the immigration officer spotted my new passbook account was only one month old and did not meet the seasoning requirement but I pointed out the copy of the old account and how the money had been rolled over into the new account same day. The immigration officer approved my extension. To me this meant the seasoned money just needed to be in an account continuously but not necessarily in the "same" account especially if moving money from one account to another "on the same day"....you never dropped below the Bt800K requirement.

But for future extension I don't plan to take that chance again and will not close/roll over a matured fixed account to open another one unless the new account I will meet the 3 month seasoning requirement. The next immigration officer may not be as understanding or have a different view on life.