Non O Expires Soon

[JohnOFphon]

OK so my non O that I obtained in Penang last year is close to the end.

I did not put any money in any Thai bank all year. What I do is take a cash advance on my credit card and then pay the credit card from my online bank account in the US.

So maybe that is not the best way to do it but it is the cheapest way for me.

My money in the States comes from severald sources if that is relevant.

I understand that I can go to the US embassy and get a certified letter of some sort that will please Thai immigration. What would this letter be called and what info would the embassy want.

Second question, Does my wife has to go to immigration with me to apply for the extension? We live way up north and she would have to take a day off from work to go to BKK. I can bring as many copies as needed of her cards, house regis, or what ever they need.

Lastly, where is the Thai immigration office that I would need to visit in BKK?

Thanks for any help guys.

John

[lopburi3]

1. You should have a Thai bank account for any extension of stay as there is a requirement for a letter from the bank as a basic requirement.

2. To obtain an extension of stay for support Thai wife you and wife must apply together every year.

3. If you have pension type income, a job overseas or are over age 50 a letter from Embassy confirming the amount may be accepted to offset any shortfall in the 400k bank account requirement. But there may be questions if under age 50 do to illegal work concerns without a record of travel.

4. Embassy will require your notarized sworn signature. Believe cost is about 1,200 baht.

5. Don't know where you are but perhaps there is a closer immigration office that you could apply at?

6. The application and final extension will normally have a few weeks between them and you will receive a short extension of stay to cover this time.

7. You should have a wire transfer agreement with your US bank and when you require funds in multi thousands of $ amounts remit into a Thai bank account. The cost of credit card cash advance it really quite high for most people and done at a poor exchange rate. The cw/at helps to prove you meet the immigration requirement for funds from outside Thailand if you do not have a work permit.

8. This extension of stay is, at it is named, for support of Thai wife. You must satisfy immigration that you are indeed supporting your wife.

Don't be put off by above. Most people will have no problems and officers will try to be helpful.

[eugengeri]

OK so my non O that I obtained in Penang last year is close to the end.

John

I assume, you have a multiple "O" Visa and I also don't see where you live, but when not in BKK, than you've to apply in your province (nearest immigration). Go a few weeks before your Visa is expired!

If you live in BKK:

Immigration Bureau

Soi Suan Phlu

South Sathorn Road

Bangkok 10120

Phone: (02)287-3101-10

Office hours: 9-12, 13-16.30, Monday to Friday. 9-12 Saturday.

[lopburi3]

From Bangkok Immigration Web Site:

Office hour: Mon-Fri 8:30 - 16:30

Closed on Saturday, Sunday and OFFICIAL HOLIDAYS 2005

[JohnOFphon]

OK, thanks for the prompt replies guys.

A bit more information. I am one of the lucky ones I guess. My credit card doesn;t charge me any fee for doing a cash advance and the interest charge is exactly the same as if I make a purchase.

I do not have 400K to transfer into Thailand before my Visa expires so I will have to go to BKK embassy and beg for a letter from them. Then go to the immigration office in BKK,with my wife,to make the application.

I called my bank today in the states and they told me that if I want to set up wire transfers, international, I need to go to the bank in person. They can not do it over the phone. Also they will charge me 35 dollars each and everytime I make a transfer.

12X 35 = 420, thats more than 16K baht a year......ouch.

One more question, If I go to the bank and make a withdrawl on my atm card. Inside the bank and not at the atm machine. Then instead of taking the money in cash, I immediately deposit 40,000 baht into my Bangkok Bank account. That's 480K a year. The teller can see that I am using a bank card from a bank in California. If I use the same bank everytime they should be able to write me a letter for immigration stating the funds came from outside Thailand......don't ya think? Or am I being too logical?

Sunday morning rant.

Thanks for listening.

John

[lopburi3]

I would never advise using wire transfer monthly. And for tax reasons you do not want to receive money that looks like current income rather than savings in any case. Most of us that use w/t make two or three large transfers each year. That way the large fee involved becomes less that the probably 1% or more that you will lose in the exchange rate using a card. When you use the w/t method to send foreign currency to Thailand the exchange takes place here at what is listed at "TT" rate.

People have different experience on what will or will not be accepted. I would not count on anything other than w/t.

Frankly I have never heard of a credit card not charging a fee for money advance from an ATM. You can avoid the charge with a debit card as it is taken from your account but how can a credit card allow you to withdraw $5,000 in January and not pay back until March without a fee? Overseas they could hid a fee in the exchange rate but in US it would be a total loss for them.

[JohnOFphon]

My credit card has a 0 balance at the end of every month. I withdraw 1,000 USD and pay the card through my online bank account the same day.

0 fees and 0 interest.......believe it or not.

[lopburi3]

That is called a debit card. You use the funds in your account rather than credit.

Or are you saying you have to manually go one line and make the transfer? And if done in same day they do not charge the normal advance cash fee?

[JohnOFphon]

No. Capital one credit card issued in the US. I have online bill pay associated with my checking account. I have a atm/debit card also, but they charge me $5.00 for every withdrawal outside the US.

If my credit card balance is paided in full before 28 or 30 days (I forgot which) there is no interest charge, and Capital One's does not charge a cash withdrawal fee. If you take funds via cash, the interest is the same as if you make a purchase.

[lopburi3]

That is very unusual as normally that only applies to POS sales but any cash advance from an ATM would get charged regardless. Be best to check the exchange rate you receive against the Thai bank TT rate for that day to make sure they are not getting it another way.

[JimGant]

My credit card has a 0 balance at the end of every month. I withdraw 1,000 USD and pay the card through my online bank account the same day.

0 fees and 0 interest.......believe it or not.

John,

If you pay off your balance the same day, I can see why you might not pay interest. And it's nice that Capital One has no cash advance fee (but, as Lop says, unusual).

But.........

If my credit card balance is paided in full before 28 or 30 days (I forgot which) there is no interest charge, and Capital One's does not charge a cash withdrawal fee. If you take funds via cash, the interest is the same as if you make a purchase.

Try not paying off your cash advance for '28 or 30 days' and I'll bet you pay big time. Unlike a purchase, which has a 'float' on Capital One's payment to the merchant (plus a nice fee), cash advances are cash payments upfront, with no float (and in your case, no fee). No bank can afford to give the 'float' advantage from himself to the customer (unless, maybe, he has a promotion going.....). That's why they'd love for you to use those blank checks they forward with the monthly statement -- as they generate instant interest.

The following is kinda interesting........

Avoiding Cash Advance Charges

Whenever you get a cash advance on a credit card, the bank starts charging you interest immediately, not after the end of the billing cycle's month as they do with purchases. That means if you take out $200 on the first day of a two-week trip, for two weeks the credit card issuer will be charging you the highest possible interest rate (not that introductory 9.67%, but the industry ceiling 19% or more), compounded daily, and will continue to do so until you pay your entire credit card bill all the way down. They often tack on a one-time fee as well.

You may be able to avoid this, however, by being a bit sneaky: they can only charge you interest if you're carrying a balance. The trick is to make sure you never carry a balance on the card by overpaying your bill (by however much you expect to withdraw in cash advances, plus purchases) the month before you leave. It's silly, but it usually works.

Capital One (depending on the issuing bank) seems to be one of the few credit cards these days that only charges 1% for international transactions (I just dropped MBNA 'cause they went to 3%). But if you find Capital One going to 3% (which I assume would attach to cash advances as well as purchases), you might be better off using your bank ATM, even at $5 a pop, if their international exchange fee remains in the 1% arena.

Just out of curiosity, what kind of exchange rate did you get with your last cash advance (and on what date)?