Income requirement for Retirement (Extension of Stay) renewal

[howlee101]

Sorry if this has been asked and answered but my search on the forum has not been successful.

My situation:

- planning on moving to Chiang Mai late Dec 2015 or early Jan/Feb 2016

- I opened a Bangkok Bank account in my name (May 2015)

- I will transfer the equivalent of (at least) 800K baht from my US bank to the Bangkok Bank account in the next month or so

- I have a military pension but it doesn't meet the 65K baht per month requirement

The 800K should meet the income requirement for the initial "retirement visa".

My question....if I leave the 800K in the account, will this satisfy the income requirement when I apply for the one year renewal or do I need to show another 800K baht transfer for each year of the renewal?

Thanks in advance.

[Mario2008]

You can leave the money in the account to meet the requirement, no need to get a fresh 800,000 from abroad every year.

It is advisable to have a separate account with some money flow in it, to show you have money to spend.

[howlee101]

Mario, thanks. Do you mean a separate account in my name only? The wife (Thai) has a separate account that we can transfer to another account (in my name). Would that suffice?

[metisdead]

I use 2 accounts at Bangkok Bank, one is the normal savings account and the other is a fixed account. The two accounts never go below 800K in total, I transfer money from the US regularly into my savings account, have not had any problems with this method for 5 years. When it comes time for renewal of my retirement extension, the immigration agent deducts my fixed account balance from 800K and checks to make sure my savings account balance has not dropped below that deducted amount. Both accounts must be in your name.

[zeichen]

Since you are married to a Thai national, you only need 400k baht in the bank not 800k.

Also if you want to use your pension instead of money in the bank, just go to the US consulate and sign and affidavit that you get 65k baht a month pension.

[howlee101]

Great answers....thanks. The wife is Thai but is a US citizen. Also, I don't meet the 65K per month pension.

[Jingthing]

Since you are married to a Thai national, you only need 400k baht in the bank not 800k.

Also if you want to use your pension instead of money in the bank, just go to the US consulate and sign and affidavit that you get 65k baht a month pension.

Foul.

The OP said his income is under that.

This is not the place to counsel people to lie to their consulate and Thai immigration.

A person with an income stream can indeed use the COMBO method.

This mixes his pension and Thai bank account to total at least 800K.

Using this method, no bank account seasoning is required.

For example:

Pension 500K annually (get letter from consulate)

Money in Thai Bank account, at least 300K

Total of sum, at least 800K

This is a very common way to qualify. Immigration will be very familiar with it.

[BFerearnk]

Not forget that you can conbine your income with the money on the bank.

Say you have 50 000THB income of your pension, then it's enought to have 200 00THB on the bank.

Take care of the rate of exchange, better to have a bit more on the bank.

[moe666]

Since you are married to a Thai national, you only need 400k baht in the bank not 800k.

Also if you want to use your pension instead of money in the bank, just go to the US consulate and sign and affidavit that you get 65k baht a month pension.

For the 400.000baht amount he would need to apply for a marriage extension of stay which has a few more hoops to jump thru than the retirement extension of stay.

The OP has already stated his pension doesn't meet the 65,000b requirement are you suggesting he become a criminal to claim the 65,000b amount. One doesn't just sign a paper you must take a oath that the amount you stated on the form is correct.

The OP could do a combination of income and money in the bank to meet the requirement and avoid the 800,000b in the bank

Edited May 29, 2015 by moe666

[Jingthing]

Not forget that you can conbine your income with the money on the bank.

Say you have 50 000THB income of your pension, then it's enought to have 200 00THB on the bank.

Take care of the rate of exchange, better to have a bit more on the bank.

Indeed, that's what I was just talking about.

The combo method.

You are correct, you need to account for exchange rate fluctuations with the income part of combo.

So if you need at least 800K with the combo, of course go somewhat higher than that to be sure it meets 800K.

[SpokaneAl]

Since you are married to a Thai national, you only need 400k baht in the bank not 800k.

Also if you want to use your pension instead of money in the bank, just go to the US consulate and sign and affidavit that you get 65k baht a month pension.

Perhaps I am wrong, but doesn't the 400k in the bank requirement refer to an extension of stay based on marriage, as opposed to one based on retirement. And if this is true some of the requirements are different as well.

[BFerearnk]

Since you are married to a Thai national, you only need 400k baht in the bank not 800k.

Also if you want to use your pension instead of money in the bank, just go to the US consulate and sign and affidavit that you get 65k baht a month pension.

Perhaps I am wrong, but doesn't the 400k in the bank requirement refer to an extension of stay based on marriage, as opposed to one based on retirement. And if this is true some of the requirements are different as well.

He ask for a extention of stay based on retirement so 65000 or 800000 or combi

[Jingthing]

Assuming the OP will be seeking a retirement extension, he should DEFINITELY be looking into doing a COMBO method application. That way his Thai bank account can be presumably MUCH smaller than 800K as I reckon his pension while under 65K monthly is not nothing.

[ubonjoe]

Great answers....thanks. The wife is Thai but is a US citizen. Also, I don't meet the 65K per month pension.

Just because you wife has US citizenship does not prevent you from applying for an extension of stay based upon marriage. You only need to show her house book and ID card when you apply.

If you have an income of 40k baht or more you could apply for the extension without the need for money in the bank.

[Jingthing]

To add, generally it is considered the EASIER option to use retirement extensions rather than marriage based extensions. So in this case as there appears to be a choice, I would still consider using the retirement extension option, especially considering there is a pension to use for the retirement combo method, so a bank account as high as 800K will NOT be needed.

[ubonjoe]

To add, generally it is considered the EASIER option to use retirement extensions rather than marriage based extensions. So in this case as there appears to be a choice, I would still consider using the retirement extension option, especially considering there is a pension to use for the retirement combo method, so a bank account as high as 800K will NOT be needed.

I do my extensions based upon marriage (7 total) using my income. I have not found them that difficult. Certainly not enough to switch to retirement and having to deal with putting money in the bank for the combination method. The combination method also has a bit of uncertainty as far as how much to have in the bank and for how long. it should be in the bank. The rules say only on the date of application but some offices want it to be in the bank for 3 months.

[Lite Beer]

Agree with Joe.

The Marriage option is really not that difficult.

[Jingthing]

I have read many cases here over the years where immigration officers actually STRONGLY encourage applicants to use retirement rather than marriage when there is a choice. I'm sorry, I've been reading this for years, and you hear this again and again and again ... the retirement process is simpler and given it's something you must do year after year, I think that is something to take into consideration. Also, yet again, THIS applicant has a pension and can use the combo method for retirement ... so his bank account need will presumably be much less than 800K. From the OP it seems clear he didn't know about the combo method option.

Edited May 30, 2015 by Jingthing

[ubonjoe]

I have read many cases here over the years where immigration officers actually STRONGLY encourage applicants to use retirement rather than marriage when there is a choice. I'm sorry, I've been reading this for years, and you hear this again and again and again ... the retirement process is simpler and given it's something you must do year after year, I think that is something to take into consideration. Also, yet again, THIS applicant has a pension and can use the combo method for retirement ... so his bank account need will presumably be much less than 800K. From the OP it seems clear he didn't know about the combo method option.

I have never been told I should do it based upon retirement.by immigration.

You probably heard about the extension based upon marriage from people that have never done one. Many people that post about it have have only heard about it from others. Lots of false and exaggerated info has been posted on this forum about it.

Most people that have had a problem created it themselves.

[Jingthing]

OK, fine.

The OP has a choice.

He should learn all his options and make a decision.

There are different requirements for the marriage option in regard to proving the relationship.

Perhaps that can be referred to here for the OP's benefit as the thread was originally about using retirement.

Edited May 30, 2015 by Jingthing

[NancyL]

Hi Howlee101, I live in Chiang Mai. That office discourages people over age 50 from going the marriage extension route, which I don't really understand why some are suggesting that since your wife isn't Thai. Maybe they're suggesting a dependent extension, which I don't think is a good idea, either. I've seen too many situations where the primary holder of the extension dies and then the dependent has seven days to get everything sorted -- at a time there is just too much else to be handled. The last thing the survivor needs to do is a run to Vientiane, Laos to get a 90-day O visa -- a two day process.

Anyway, what you're planning to do per your OP is great. Bring in 800K into a Bangkok Bank account solely in your name and leave it there to justify your retirement visa. Then just don't touch it. No need to bring in another 800,000 K every year. But, yes it's a good idea to have another account to show how you live. That's what Hubby and I have. It's a joint account and despite what another person said, it never is above 200,000 baht because it's tied to our ATM cards and it's just not a good idea to have more than that accessible by ATM cards. But, it's very active. Every month his pension is deposited and we top it up several times a year with transfers from the U.S., too. And we make withdrawals 2 - 3 times weekly and pay our rent and utilities from that account. It wouldn't take a genius to look at the passbook and figure out it's the primary account of someone living here. And someone could figure out what we spend in Thailand every month pretty easily, too.

Immigration has never looked at it, but one year they did ask me how I have money to live in Thailand when I never touch the 800,000 baht I deposited at Bangkok Bank when I arrived in 2008. I whipped out our joint Bangkok Bank passbook and said "my husband's pension is enough for both of us, would you like to see?" and the Immigration officer just waved away the passbook. He didn't want to waste his time looking. He could tell from the color of the passbook that it was an ATM account, not a fixed deposit passbook, like the 800,000 baht account.

Edited May 30, 2015 by NancyL

[jpinx]

Retirement extension based on combo is slightly more paperwork -- you need your embassy letter *and* your bank's letter and bankbook updated, so there's probably not much to choose between marriage extension and combo-retirement extension in terms of admin effort. There have been a few posts about marriage-based extensions making you vulnerable to a wayward wife, but that's a whole different line of reasoning.

Edited May 30, 2015 by jpinx

[Jingthing]

Yes the combo method requires getting an income letter from the U.S. consulate each year. I think it would be worth it if it means the Thai bank account can be much smaller than 800K, as it appears to be in this case.

[technologybytes]

Mario answer was correct, no need to complicate things with more and more answers.

[Just1Voice]

I live in Chiang Mai, and yes, the Imm. Office DOES encourage those over 50 to switch from Marriage to Retirement. They strongly suggested it to me. And in the past 7 years, I've never once been asked to show a bank statement of money in the bank. I provide proof of my income, which well exceeds the monthly requirement, and they are happy with that.

Also, if approached the polite way, the people at CM Imm can be very helpful and happy to answer your questions, so when the OP comes here, he could easily go there and talk to them and find out what is the best way for him to do things. No two of us have exactly the same situation, so what may be good for one, might not be so good for another.

[Jingthing]

Mario answer was correct, no need to complicate things with more and more answers.

There is more than one correct answer here.

The general goal is to find the best option for the OP ... and given that he has a pension under 65K monthly, that would be the combo method or marriage based, his choice. No need for as much as 800K in the bank.

It is fair to assume from the OP that the OP thought his pension needed to be at least 65K per month for it to be useful for him in retirement extensions, but that is not the case. Smaller pensions can be used with the combo method.

Edited May 30, 2015 by Jingthing

[Kerryd]

If you can afford it just put the 800k into a fixed term account and leave it. Make sure you renew the term a little over 3 months (or more) before your next Extension is due. That way you have a decent "nest egg" set aside for emergencies and less stress about trying to meet the financial requirements of future Extensions. The interest you'll earn isn't great but it beats screwing up your Extension because of an "oops" that left your main account under the 800k level for a day or two. I've never had a problem (4 Extensions so far) with the fact the money has sat, untouched, in a Fixed Term account. My pension isn't that great so I don't even bother using it towards doing the "combo" method as it would just complicate things.

I've never done an Extension for Marriage, but as I noted in another thread, just did my Retirement Extension a couple days ago. Took an hour and 10 minutes total (over 2 days) for the Extension, Multi-Entry permit and 90 Day report. Simple, quick and easy (at Jomtien at least - results will vary in other locations). I then went to the bank (Bangkok Bank) and renewed the Fixed Term deposit so I'm pretty much set for next year already (hence the "less stress").

[billd766]

Since you are married to a Thai national, you only need 400k baht in the bank not 800k.

Also if you want to use your pension instead of money in the bank, just go to the US consulate and sign and affidavit that you get 65k baht a month pension.

Since you did not apparantly read the OP he was talking about a retirement extension to his O visa.

He also does not earn enough for the 65,000 baht monthly income.

Try reading and comprehending the post before replying, sometimes it helps.

Quote "

My situation:

- planning on moving to Chiang Mai late Dec 2015 or early Jan/Feb 2016

- I opened a Bangkok Bank account in my name (May 2015)

- I will transfer the equivalent of (at least) 800K baht from my US bank to the Bangkok Bank account in the next month or so

- I have a military pension but it doesn't meet the 65K baht per month requirement

The 800K should meet the income requirement for the initial "retirement visa".

Edited May 30, 2015 by billd766

[JLCrab]

18 U.S. Code § 1001 - Statements or entries generally

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of the United States, knowingly and willfully—

(1) falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact;

(2) makes any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation; or

(3) makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry;

shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years or ...

[Bruzzzz]

One thing that needs to be considered before depositing 800k in a Thai bank account is the interest eaned and the security of the funds.

I am an Australian living here on a retirement visa and it is better for me to have my cash invested in Australia at about 3% and the interest contributes to the 65k per month income requirement.

Sure, I have to go to my embassy in BKK annually and pay the thieves 800THB for the one page declaration document in which I clearly (and truthfully) state my income exceeds the 65k per month plus I also have more than the $800k in assets (effectively doubling up on the Thai requirements) and that seems acceptable to Thai Immigration........ For now. Ha ha!

Worst thing is I am forced to spend the night in BKK and it's horrible. Rather, my head is horrible, the next day.

Good luck OP.