Clarifications of retiree intentions

[pewter]

I am 74 and have sold up and intending to end my last chapter in Thailand where hopefully, I will have a reason to get out of bed in a morning...

My Thai wife ( 20 years ) and I will be taking enough cash ( declared at airport ) to open an account in my name with the required 800K baht.

I will obtain a single or double entry visa and after two months apply for an extension based on retirement with necessary paperwork ?

Have I got this correct ?

thanks in advance to all you helpful people

regards

Ray

[glegolo]

Yes you got it 100% correct.. Du you know what kind of paperwork involved??

Glegolo

[ubonjoe]

You should get a single entry non-o visa instead of a tourist visa. You can easily get one based upon your marriage to a Thai at any embassy or consulate.

Then apply for the extension when you have the money in the bank.for 60 days.

If you needed more time than the 90 day entry you will get from the non-o visa you could get a 60 day extension to visit your wife.

If you get a tourist visa you would have to do a change of visa status at immigration to get a non immigrant visa entry before you could do your extension.

I assume you are aware that you could also get an extension based upon your marriage with 400k baht in the bank or an income of 40k baht.

[Brit_Doggie]

Correct to the point of you require a residence cert from immo with a photo of yourself to open up a first thai bank account,the same applies if you sell/buy car or motorbike.

But this is done in the same day, so no biggie.

Welcome to thailand enjoy.

Edited July 20, 2014 by Brit_Doggie

[ubonjoe]

Correct to the point of you require a residence cert from immo with a photo of yourself to open up a first thai bank account,the same applies if you sell/buy car or motorbike.

But this is done in the same day, so no biggie.

Welcome to thailand enjoy.

Since he is married to a Thai his wife can act as his guarantor to open his bank account by just showing her house book and ID card.

Also a residence certificates are not all that easy to get. Some immigration offices will not do them and others want you to be on a non immigrant visa or an extension.

[pewter]

Yes I will get non-o visa instead of a tourist visa, I forgot that.

I have been to Thailand every year since 1979 and I have opened a bank account

before with no problems.

Having read the many helpful postings on here, I gathered the extension based on marriage

was more hassle and the only benefit was the reduced amount of 400K which is no problem to me.

If someone could confirm the paperwork that I will need, I would be most grateful ?

Thanks again, you people really are available at short notice.

Correct to the point of you require a residence cert from immo with a photo of yourself to open up a first thai bank account,the same applies if you sell/buy car or motorbike.

But this is done in the same day, so no biggie.

Welcome to thailand enjoy.

Since he is married to a Thai his wife can act as his guarantor to open his bank account by just showing her house book and ID card.

Also a residence certificates are not all that easy to get. Some immigration offices will not do them and others want you to be on a non immigrant visa or an extension.

[ubonjoe]

You will need a bank letter confirming you balance and copies of your bank book to prove it has been there for 60 days.

Copies of passport photo page, visa, entry/permit to stay stamp and your TM6 departure card.

Some immigration office will want proof of residence. Some offices will require a rental agreement .In your case it could be your wife's house book if you are living where it is for.

[pewter]

You will need a bank letter confirming you balance and copies of your bank book to prove it has been there for 60 days.

Copies of passport photo page, visa, entry/permit to stay stamp and your TM6 departure card.

Some immigration office will want proof of residence. Some offices will require a rental agreement .In your case it could be your wife's house book if you are living where it is for.

Thanks for that Joe, the only grey area is obtaining the non-o at the Hull consulate where the info on their web site is vague re bank statements so I'll give them a call.

I am very lucky as I live only a few miles from their office.

[ubonjoe]

You will need a bank letter confirming you balance and copies of your bank book to prove it has been there for 60 days.

Copies of passport photo page, visa, entry/permit to stay stamp and your TM6 departure card.

Some immigration office will want proof of residence. Some offices will require a rental agreement .In your case it could be your wife's house book if you are living where it is for.

Thanks for that Joe, the only grey area is obtaining the non-o at the Hull consulate where the info on their web site is vague re bank statements so I'll give them a call.

I am very lucky as I live only a few miles from their office.

Don't bother with Hull. You can only do it in person there now. For a single entry non-o based upon marriage their should be no financial proof. You may not get one if you try to get if for retirement.

You can apply for post to the embassy if you apply for the non-o based upon marriage. Info for embassy application by post: http://thaiembassyuk.org.uk/?q=node/401

[gamini]

You should get a single entry non-o visa instead of a tourist visa. You can easily get one based upon your marriage to a Thai at any embassy or consulate.

Then apply for the extension when you have the money in the bank.for 60 days.

If you needed more time than the 90 day entry you will get from the non-o visa you could get a 60 day extension to visit your wife.

If you get a tourist visa you would have to do a change of visa status at immigration to get a non immigrant visa entry before you could do your extension.

I assume you are aware that you could also get an extension based upon your marriage with 400k baht in the bank or an income of 40k baht.

Its much easier to get a retirement visa than a marriage visa.

[coldmike]

Are medical certificates and/or criminal background checks also required for the OPs plan? If so, are they done in the UK or in Thailand?

[pewter]

Apparently they don't require much for over 65's only that your pension needs to be showing a minimum

Of 3 months entries in your current account so that rules me out.

There is something about a lump sum which after just selling my home would easily satisfy.

[Maestro]

For the retirement extension, the medical certificate is not mentioned in the rules but some immigration offices require it nevertheless. I saw Amnat Charoen mentioned recently in this respect.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[dieter1]

"and I will be taking enough cash ( declared at airport ) to open an account "

can someone confirm, this ?

No need to transfer the money via bank?

doesnt the bank have to confirm, that the money is from abroad?

Will they do it, if you give them cash money?

Edited July 20, 2014 by dieter1

[eppic]

Just a point of clarification for the OP. Since he is bringing in cash (assuming not THB), will he need to get a receipt from the exchange indicating that he brought in foreign currency? This is relevant for myself as well....on my first extension I had the money wired in and I got an fx notice from the bank, but if I decide to renew I may convert some extra SGD cash I have laying around.

The money changers such as SuperRich provide an fx receipt anyway, so hopefully that would suffice unless there is a special form required

Edited July 20, 2014 by eppic

[Maestro]

Good thinking, eppic. When applying for a retirement extension following a change of visa to non-immigrant at the local immigration office, many Immigration offices want to see evidence that the 800k were brought in from abroad. This is difficult to prove with cash carried into the country.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[ubonjoe]

Are medical certificates and/or criminal background checks also required for the OPs plan? If so, are they done in the UK or in Thailand?

Those are only needed if applying at the embassy for a OA visa.

There are a couple of rouge immigration offices that ask for a medical certificate when applying for an extension but you can get one for about 50 baht.

[ubonjoe]

"and I will be taking enough cash ( declared at airport ) to open an account "

can someone confirm, this ?

No need to transfer the money via bank?

doesnt the bank have to confirm, that the money is from abroad?

Will they do it, if you give them cash money?

Proof that the funds came from abroad is only needed when applying for a non immigrant visa entry because you only have a visa exempt or a tourist visa entry.

The OP is planning on entering with a non-o visa so he will not need it and will be able to apply for the extension without doing any conversion.

[AyG]

Personally I wouldn't carry that much cash on me going through the airport. That said, if you split the cash between the two of you there's no need to declare it to customs. It's only if an individual is carrying more than the equivalent of USD 20,000 that you need to declare. (See http://www.customs.go.th/wps/wcm/connect/custen/traders+and+business/prohibited+and+restricted+items/currency/currency.)

[ubonjoe]

I think perhaps the OP is under the impression that he will get a better exchange rate with cash than doing a transfer. But a little research would find that is not correct or that the small amount of difference is not worth the risk to carry that much cash.

If you compare bank exchange rates between cash and transfer in pounds into the country it would be found that the transfer rate is higher than cash.