Alternative to tying up 800,000 baht for Retirement Visa

[giddyup]

For the last 4 years I have used the 800,000 baht as a means to satisfying immigration re my retirement visa. I am now wondering whether showing proof of income might not be a better way to go. I have three main sources of income, my Centrelink aged pension, and a Commonwealth Super pension, and an Allocated pension, giving me a total of around A$2400 a month. There's also bank interest from fixed deposit accounts, but I don't think this can be used as income.

I have two questions.

1) With an income of $2400 a month how much would I need to have in my Thai bank account for retirement visa purposes?

2) Do I need a letter every year from the Australian Embassy to prove my income remains the same?

Cheers.

[Langsuan Man]

According to just one currency converter your A$2400 a month would equal 68,734.67 Thai Baht, enough to satisfy the 65,000 THB per month requirement for an extension of stay using the monthly income method for the Embassy letter

http://www.x-rates.com/calculator/?from=AUD&to=THB&amount=2400

Yes, you would have to get a new letter every year from your embassy to certify this amount for Immigration. Especially since fluctuations in the Australian Dollar could possibly bring you below the 65,000 THB threshold

Someone else will have to post what the Australian Embassy wants in the way of proof for their letter

[giddyup]

Cheers Langsuan Man. Appreciate your info.

[GreenSnapper]

If the currency fluctuations may be a problem, just show them (bank letter) some additional money on your account. You certainly have at least 100000 or so available. Don't need to be seasoned.

[CharlieH]

As long as you can print off the "payment in" to show the Oz Embassy, the proof of income letter should be an easier route.

[giddyup]

As long as you can print off the "payment in" to show the Oz Embassy, the proof of income letter should be an easier route.

Do you mean print off my bank statements for the account where the money is paid?

[billd766]

As long as you can print off the "payment in" to show the Oz Embassy, the proof of income letter should be an easier route.

Do you mean print off my bank statements for the account where the money is paid?

What I do is to get my pension providers to write me a letter quoting the gross amount of my pensions and then take this to the UK embassy with the originals and a set of copies.

The embassy confirms the amount in a letter which costs about 2,300 baht. I then take the embassy letter, the pension letters and copies of everything to the immigration dept at Nakhon Sawan and I get the extension. They keep the original embassy letter and the copies of everything else.

At Nakhon Sawan they are farang friendly and very helpful and at least three of them speak good English and also have a good sense of humour too.

[giddyup]

As long as you can print off the "payment in" to show the Oz Embassy, the proof of income letter should be an easier route.

Do you mean print off my bank statements for the account where the money is paid?

What I do is to get my pension providers to write me a letter quoting the gross amount of my pensions and then take this to the UK embassy with the originals and a set of copies.

The embassy confirms the amount in a letter which costs about 2,300 baht. I then take the embassy letter, the pension letters and copies of everything to the immigration dept at Nakhon Sawan and I get the extension. They keep the original embassy letter and the copies of everything else.

At Nakhon Sawan they are farang friendly and very helpful and at least three of them speak good English and also have a good sense of humour too.

Thanks, all my pension providers send me statements every yeat, so I guess I can use those statements as proof.

[billd766]

As long as you can print off the "payment in" to show the Oz Embassy, the proof of income letter should be an easier route.

Do you mean print off my bank statements for the account where the money is paid?

What I do is to get my pension providers to write me a letter quoting the gross amount of my pensions and then take this to the UK embassy with the originals and a set of copies.

The embassy confirms the amount in a letter which costs about 2,300 baht. I then take the embassy letter, the pension letters and copies of everything to the immigration dept at Nakhon Sawan and I get the extension. They keep the original embassy letter and the copies of everything else.

At Nakhon Sawan they are farang friendly and very helpful and at least three of them speak good English and also have a good sense of humour too.

Thanks, all my pension providers send me statements every yeat, so I guess I can use those statements as proof.

Just make sure that they give you the gross figure only and try to get them in the month or so before you go for the renewal.

[aveabeeror2]

Your income letter from oz can't be over3 months old. I went to oz embassy 2months ago,didn't show them my letter from oz about my pension, just did a stat dec and that was duly stamped and pats immigration accepted it. However,if you want to go this rout,it might backfire.i am only writing this because I have nothing better to do right now,as per most of the other posters.aveagoodday. Feel free to pm me for decent advice.

[banglay]

I personally think it is a lot easier to leave the ฿800.000 in a Thai bank account....it only cost ฿100 for a letter of proof of money in your account from the bank. I would have to travel to the UK Embassy in BKK 1.5 hours drive and wait all day in the hope of getting the letter on the same day and getting changed ฿2300 for the privilege + diesel + time.

Then after getting my extension visa I use the money from that account for my living expenses ...and once a year or when the exchange rate is what I think is favorable I top up my account....this way I do not incur monthly transfer fees of approx ฿1300 and Thai bank handling charges approx ฿150 this way I save around ฿19700 per year in changes which is not to be stiffed at

[HardenedSoul]

Best keep the money in the bank.

Why subject your ability to meet the criteria to currency fluctuations?

Why do you want to change anyway? Something expensive caught your eye?

Just don't take any unsolicited calls from expat pension chiselers

[giddyup]

Best keep the money in the bank.

Why subject your ability to meet the criteria to currency fluctuations?

Why do you want to change anyway? Something expensive caught your eye?

Just don't take any unsolicited calls from expat pension chiselers

Well. that 800,000 would buy me a new pickup with my old Isuzu as a trade in, with a couple of hundred thousand left over.

[giddyup]

I personally think it is a lot easier to leave the ฿800.000 in a Thai bank account....it only cost ฿100 for a letter of proof of money in your account from the bank. I would have to travel to the UK Embassy in BKK 1.5 hours drive and wait all day in the hope of getting the letter on the same day and getting changed ฿2300 for the privilege + diesel + time.

Then after getting my extension visa I use the money from that account for my living expenses ...and once a year or when the exchange rate is what I think is favorable I top up my account....this way I do not incur monthly transfer fees of approx ฿1300 and Thai bank handling charges approx ฿150 this way I save around ฿19700 per year in changes which is not to be stiffed at

I'm starting to see the benefits of having the 800,000 in the bank. Like you say, you waste a day, the embassy charges for the proof of income letter, plus it may involve an overnight stay in BKK if they can't do it the same day. I do have the 800K earning about 3% interest in the Siam Commercial Bank and when it matures I'll start drawing down on it and just top it up 3 months prior to my visa renewal.

[Jasun]

It won't take much a currency shift to drop below the 65,000. And with the Holden/Qantas news, there a lot of political pressure to reduce the value the Oz dollar right now. Going below 27 baht to the dollar (your threshold) is not unlikely.

[HardenedSoul]

Best keep the money in the bank.

Why subject your ability to meet the criteria to currency fluctuations?

Why do you want to change anyway? Something expensive caught your eye?

Just don't take any unsolicited calls from expat pension chiselers

Well. that 800,000 would buy me a new pickup with my old Isuzu as a trade in, with a couple of hundred thousand left over.

Yep, thought so

Nah don't do it.

[jpinx]

Horses for courses - I find the proof of income easy and much better value than the lost interest on 800K.

Edited to add -- but I am not Oz and not marginal in terms of income.

Edited December 16, 2013 by jpinx

[Beetlejuice]

If the currency fluctuations may be a problem, just show them (bank letter) some additional money on your account. You certainly have at least 100000 or so available. Don't need to be seasoned.

Yes, I agree.

Showing a pensions confirmation letter in my opinion is not worth the hassle, and if you can keep 800000 baht in a Thai bank for your visa extension each year, than what`s the problem?

Also consider this; usually when the Immigration department decides to increase the imposed amounts required to show for the retirement extension application it grandfathers the amounts who are already staying here on non Immigrant O visa extensions for retirement prior to the increases. If the amounts required were increased than those who are using the letter confirmation option rather than the 800000 baht in a Thai bank option may have to cough up with the increased amounts each year and not excluded from the increases as maybe those who use the money in a Thai bank system.

Food for thought.

[giddyup]

Horses for courses - I find the proof of income easy and much better value than the lost interest on 800K.

Edited to add -- but I am not Oz and not marginal in terms of income.

How much lost interest can there be? As I said I'm getting near enough 3% at present, the best I can get in Australia is 4.5%, but I lose 50 cents in the dollar off my aged pension with that extra income. That 3% is both untaxed or means tested here, so it works out about the same. BTW, I'm not marginal either, I have extra income earned from term deposits in Australia, but for visa purposes it can't be added in because it fluctuates so much.

Edited December 16, 2013 by giddyup

[jpinx]

Horses for courses - I find the proof of income easy and much better value than the lost interest on 800K.

Edited to add -- but I am not Oz and not marginal in terms of income.

How much lost interest can there be? As I said I'm getting near enough 3% at present, the best I can get in Australia is 4.5%, but I lose 50 cents in the dollar off my aged pension with that extra income. That 3% is both untaxed or means tested here, so it works out about the same. BTW, I'm not marginal either, I have extra income earned from term deposits in Australia, but for visa purposes it can't be added in because it fluctuates so much.

You are absolutely correct to do the calculation for your specific circumstances. As I said "Horses for Courses" and my situation is quite different. Even if I earned 3% on the 800k for a year I would still lose considerably more than the Embassy letter fee.

The point I am trying to make - I suppose -- is that there can be no general rule for everyone in this debate as it depends totally on an individuals tax/nationality/investment/etc status. Everyone must do the maths for themselves -- as you did

[Issangeorge]

If the currency fluctuations may be a problem, just show them (bank letter) some additional money on your account. You certainly have at least 100000 or so available. Don't need to be seasoned.

Yes, I agree.

Showing a pensions confirmation letter in my opinion is not worth the hassle, and if you can keep 800000 baht in a Thai bank for your visa extension each year, than what`s the problem?

Also consider this; usually when the Immigration department decides to increase the imposed amounts required to show for the retirement extension application it grandfathers the amounts who are already staying here on non Immigrant O visa extensions for retirement prior to the increases. If the amounts required were increased than those who are using the letter confirmation option rather than the 800000 baht in a Thai bank option may have to cough up with the increased amounts each year and not excluded from the increases as maybe those who use the money in a Thai bank system.

Food for thought.

To my knowledge the last time, and only time in 28 years of coming to Thailand the income threshold was increased was around 1998, just after the baht went from ฿25 to the US dollar to over ฿50. I don't see it increasing again anytime soon, unless they want a lot of retirees to leave with all their money.

Sent from my i-mobile IQ X using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[jpinx]

There doesn't appear to be much correlation between the requirement and reality. We all know it is quite easy to live on 25,000 Baht per month if you stay out of bars. Basic UK pension is £110.15 per week -- that's about £477.32 per month which these days is about 25,000 Baht, so a UK pensioner could roll along happily enough. Asking for 65,000 must be based on some other criteria - or is it just a figure plucked out of the air. ?

Tourists are potentially asked to show 20,000 baht when they have a 60-day visa, not 130,000 Baht. Apparently not much logic to how the rules are devised...

Edited December 16, 2013 by jpinx

[giddyup]

There doesn't appear to be much correlation between the requirement and reality. We all know it is quite easy to live on 25,000 Baht per month if you stay out of bars. Basic UK pension is £110.15 per week -- that's about £477.32 per month which these days is about 25,000 Baht, so a UK pensioner could roll along happily enough. Asking for 65,000 must be based on some other criteria - or is it just a figure plucked out of the air. ?

Tourists are potentially asked to show 20,000 baht when they have a 60-day visa, not 130,000 Baht. Apparently not much logic to how the rules are devised...

Maybe they take into consideration the possibility of ill health and a hospital stay. Would a pensioner living on the basic pension in Thailand be able to afford private health care? Would he/she be able to pay for some kind of emergency medical treatment?

Where did you get the info re tourists being asked to show 20,000 baht on a 60 day visa? In my many trips before settling here I was never asked to produce any evidence as to financial status.

[jpinx]

There doesn't appear to be much correlation between the requirement and reality. We all know it is quite easy to live on 25,000 Baht per month if you stay out of bars. Basic UK pension is £110.15 per week -- that's about £477.32 per month which these days is about 25,000 Baht, so a UK pensioner could roll along happily enough. Asking for 65,000 must be based on some other criteria - or is it just a figure plucked out of the air. ?

Tourists are potentially asked to show 20,000 baht when they have a 60-day visa, not 130,000 Baht. Apparently not much logic to how the rules are devised...

Maybe they take into consideration the possibility of ill health and a hospital stay. Would a pensioner living on the basic pension in Thailand be able to afford private health care? Would he/she be able to pay for some kind of emergency medical treatment?

Where did you get the info re tourists being asked to show 20,000 baht on a 60 day visa? In my many trips before settling here I was never asked to produce any evidence as to financial status.

a 40,000 surplus per month is a hell of a lot of medical care

TBH I can't remember where exactly I saw the 20K figure for tourists, but there is certainly a requirement for a tourist to be able to demonstrate their ability to pay their way during their stay. Tourists don't get asked many things on their way in - finances, insurances, etc.

[giddyup]

There doesn't appear to be much correlation between the requirement and reality. We all know it is quite easy to live on 25,000 Baht per month if you stay out of bars. Basic UK pension is £110.15 per week -- that's about £477.32 per month which these days is about 25,000 Baht, so a UK pensioner could roll along happily enough. Asking for 65,000 must be based on some other criteria - or is it just a figure plucked out of the air. ?

Tourists are potentially asked to show 20,000 baht when they have a 60-day visa, not 130,000 Baht. Apparently not much logic to how the rules are devised...

Maybe they take into consideration the possibility of ill health and a hospital stay. Would a pensioner living on the basic pension in Thailand be able to afford private health care? Would he/she be able to pay for some kind of emergency medical treatment?

Where did you get the info re tourists being asked to show 20,000 baht on a 60 day visa? In my many trips before settling here I was never asked to produce any evidence as to financial status.

a 40,000 surplus per month is a hell of a lot of medical care

TBH I can't remember where exactly I saw the 20K figure for tourists, but there is certainly a requirement for a tourist to be able to demonstrate their ability to pay their way during their stay. Tourists don't get asked many things on their way in - finances, insurances, etc.

40,000 baht would just about cover a couple days in Bangkok Pattaya Hospital. I know someone who had a heart attack, was admitted and a stent put in. Total stay with medical treatment 5 days, total cost 1 million baht. 12 months surplus @ 40k a month wouldn't cover half the hospital costs.

[jpinx]

ok - Let's not get stuck into the old topic about medical care and costs which is done to death in other threads in here. It would be obviously unreasonable to expect every tourist to have enough to cover anthing other than basic care in the nearest government hospital in a public ward.

The point I am trying to focus on is the disparity between what is expected of a tourist compared to what is expected of a retiree. A tourist can stretch a triple entry visa to almost a year, not far short of the retirement extension, but the financial requirements are a world apart. The only reason I went from tourist visa to retirement extensions was the costs of visa runs and the likelyhood of refusal because of successive tourist visas.

[OZEMADE]

You don't have to tie any cash up in the bank to get your Retirement Visa. Go to the Australian Embassy in Bangkok, fill out a Stat Dec form along the lines.

I receive an Australian Government age pension per month AU $

I receive a Commonwealth Super Pension per month AU $

I receive an Allocated Pension from ? per month AU $

I receive interest from name of bank per month AU $

Total Per Month AU $

Hand the Stat Dec to the officer in the OZ Embassy, they ask you for the cash in baht and stamp the stat dec. The only thing they check is your Passport to make sure it is you making out the Stat Dec.

Immigration will work out what you are getting in Thai Baht on the day you submit your application on the going conversion rate that day.

I would imagine you would be well over the monthly amount required with these 4 monthly deposits coming in, as you have stated.

I have done this for the last 8 years at Pattaya/Jomtien Immigration and never been questioned of had to show my bank deposit in Thailand.

[Rockhopper]

I have read most of the comments and haven't seen anything about this. You don't need 800,000 baht if you also have a monthly income as long as the combination of monthly income and amount in bank equals at least 800,000 baht. I have 400,000 baht in the bank account and with my monthly income added to that it is over 1,000,000 baht per year. Immigration accepts that as proof of yearly 800,000 baht.

[jacko45k]

Not sure, the proof of income method also has a lot of complainants.

I believe the letter of proof of income is pretty straightforward for the Australian Embassy, but that is a situation that could change.

I wouldn't like the hassle or expense of having to obtain the letter, and also believe having 800k is a form of insurance.

Besides, interest rates are better here than the UK.

[Bpuumike]

Best keep the money in the bank.

Why subject your ability to meet the criteria to currency fluctuations?

Why do you want to change anyway? Something expensive caught your eye?

Just don't take any unsolicited calls from expat pension chiselers

If you can afford to then keep money in the bank and on the best fixed deposit rate available.

The financial requirements are only likely to increase so try and be prepared.