Update for best place to keep 800K?

[louse1953]

If you have 15% tax withheld, you can ask to have it refunded.

Kind of a pain to do the first year. There's a steep learning curve, but with great help available from this sub-forum it's possible to do: getting a Tax ID number, filing the correct form at the proper local office, etc. At least it was for me last year. But I did finally get my full refund. I imagine it's a whole lot easier to do in subsequent years. In fact, I hear it's possible to file the necessary form online. I will be giving the online route a try in 2016.

Pretty easy i rekon,get form,walk to bank,walk back,submit form,wait 5 days,postie puts cheque in my hand.6000 bht.

[merijn]

Phuket Immigration has accepted both fixed deposits and the Mee Tae Dai savings account to satisfy the retirement extension requirement for me. I think it does need to be something that is accessible and where the principle is not at risk. Fixed deposits are immediately accessible (subject to a loss of interest for early withdrawal) and the principle is not subject to performance risk. Of course, different immigration offices and perhaps even different immigration officers might have a different interpretation, but my experience is that Phuket Immigration will accept either of these type of accounts.

That is correct,

fixed deposit accounts etc are accepted as long the money is readily available. (with or without penalty)

Therefore fixed term accounts are not accepted.

[8OA8]

Whatever you do, don't put or leave the funds in a current (cheque book) account, I found out the hard way and then had to shift the funds and wait another seasoning period last year, this was at Chaeng Wattana.

Sorry to hear this. I don't see why a current (checkbook) account wouldn't meet the accessibility and safety of principle criteria. Just when I think I understand the reasoning behind the rules....

Is it possible the current account was in more than just your name (i.e., a joint owner account)? Trying hard to see why a current account wouldn't suffice.

Sole owner account.

[skatewash]

Whatever you do, don't put or leave the funds in a current (cheque book) account, I found out the hard way and then had to shift the funds and wait another seasoning period last year, this was at Chaeng Wattana.

Sorry to hear this. I don't see why a current (checkbook) account wouldn't meet the accessibility and safety of principle criteria. Just when I think I understand the reasoning behind the rules....

Is it possible the current account was in more than just your name (i.e., a joint owner account)? Trying hard to see why a current account wouldn't suffice.

Sole owner account.

As explained by ubonjoe, current accounts are apparently not allowed because they lack a bank book. I was grasping at straws with the account registration.

[personchester]

For a retirement visa application just provide the 800.K in your bank account and hold inside the bank booklet three months prior to your visa application, the bank will provide you a letter for the Immigration office outlining the current money holding, but only your bank booklet will outline how long it was available and it must have been just over three months.

When that application is being done then there is no request from Immigration office to require a letter.from the Embassy.

[merijn]

For a retirement visa application just provide the 800.K in your bank account and hold inside the bank booklet three months prior to your visa application, the bank will provide you a letter for the Immigration office outlining the current money holding, but only your bank booklet will outline how long it was available and it must have been just over three months.

When that application is being done then there is no request from Immigration office to require a letter.from the Embassy.

This is not correct any more.

Besides the (signed/stamped) bank letter you will need a signed and stamped bank statement for the transactions over the 2/3 months period.

This can be printed on bank paper or a copy form our bank book pages.

But you will still need a bank book name page copy.

[allane]

To Skatewash:

It is fine to have the funds in more than one account. Immigration requires a letter from the bank, in addition to copies of bankbook pages for the two/three month "seasoning" period. I have used two different banks for the five occasions I have renewed. In both cases, the banks provided a letter which summarized and authenticated all my accounts on a single page.

[Estrada]

Immigration officers prefer the fixed term deposit account which has one deposit of B800,000 plus, in you name only, within a Thai bank. That makes their job easy as they do not have to leaf through pages of deposits, withdrawals, added interest etc to make sure you haven't gone below the B800K even for one day which is a basis for rejection. Some years ago they would only accept savings deposit accounts but later allowed Fixed Time Deposit Accounts for the reason given. I just took a new Fixed Time Deposit out for 7 months @1.875% at Bangkok Bank. Only hassle is that due to "America World Police' they don't like to open them for Americans due to the paperwork and reporting involved. They asked me if I was American and only when I told them I was not American they allowed me to open an account (My previous Time deposits and savings account have been with the Bank for 21 years). However they told me that there was a new rule and that I had to produce a letter from my embassy confirming my current address. I told them that this was totally illogical since the Embassy would need a letter proving my address from the Bank, in order to write to them confirming my address.

It looks like the problem with the USA Government requirements for reporting is making things much worse for us, as customers. So you may have problems opening a new account.

[merijn]

Immigration officers prefer the fixed term deposit account which has one deposit of B800,000 plus, in you name only, within a Thai bank. That makes their job easy as they do not have to leaf through pages of deposits, withdrawals, added interest etc to make sure you haven't gone below the B800K even for one day which is a basis for rejection. Some years ago they would only accept savings deposit accounts but later allowed Fixed Time Deposit Accounts for the reason given. I just took a new Fixed Time Deposit out for 7 months @1.875% at Bangkok Bank. Only hassle is that due to "America World Police' they don't like to open them for Americans due to the paperwork and reporting involved. They asked me if I was American and only when I told them I was not American they allowed me to open an account (My previous Time deposits and savings account have been with the Bank for 21 years). However they told me that there was a new rule and that I had to produce a letter from my embassy confirming my current address. I told them that this was totally illogical since the Embassy would need a letter proving my address from the Bank, in order to write to them confirming my address.

It looks like the problem with the USA Government requirements for reporting is making things much worse for us, as customers. So you may have problems opening a new account.

Which immigration office are you using as Fixed Term Deposits (not possible to withdrawn the money) are not allowed for extensions.

Only accounts which have the money readily available are accepted.

[skatewash]

Immigration officers prefer the fixed term deposit account which has one deposit of B800,000 plus, in you name only, within a Thai bank. That makes their job easy as they do not have to leaf through pages of deposits, withdrawals, added interest etc to make sure you haven't gone below the B800K even for one day which is a basis for rejection. Some years ago they would only accept savings deposit accounts but later allowed Fixed Time Deposit Accounts for the reason given. I just took a new Fixed Time Deposit out for 7 months @1.875% at Bangkok Bank. Only hassle is that due to "America World Police' they don't like to open them for Americans due to the paperwork and reporting involved. They asked me if I was American and only when I told them I was not American they allowed me to open an account (My previous Time deposits and savings account have been with the Bank for 21 years). However they told me that there was a new rule and that I had to produce a letter from my embassy confirming my current address. I told them that this was totally illogical since the Embassy would need a letter proving my address from the Bank, in order to write to them confirming my address.

It looks like the problem with the USA Government requirements for reporting is making things much worse for us, as customers. So you may have problems opening a new account.

Which immigration office are you using as Fixed Term Deposits (not possible to withdrawn the money) are not allowed for extensions.

Only accounts which have the money readily available are accepted.

I don't think Fixed Term Deposit means that you can't withdraw the money in the account whenever you want to. You may lose the interest you would otherwise be entitled to, so that may be considered a penalty for early withdrawal. I'm not familiar with a fixed term deposit account in which you are unable to withdraw money before the term ends. For example, the Bangkok Bank Fixed Term Deposits are discussed here (http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/PersonalBanking/DailyBanking/Accounts/FixedDeposits/Pages/Default.aspx):

If you withdraw your money prior to three months, you will get no interest on your deposit. If you withdraw it after that period, and before it matures, you will get the same interest rate as a savings account.

If there are Fixed Term Deposits where it is not possible to withdraw the money before the end of the term, I am unfamiliar with them.

[8OA8]

Whatever you do, don't put or leave the funds in a current (cheque book) account, I found out the hard way and then had to shift the funds and wait another seasoning period last year, this was at Chaeng Wattana.

Sorry to hear this. I don't see why a current (checkbook) account wouldn't meet the accessibility and safety of principle criteria. Just when I think I understand the reasoning behind the rules....

Is it possible the current account was in more than just your name (i.e., a joint owner account)? Trying hard to see why a current account wouldn't suffice.

Sole owner account.

As explained by ubonjoe, current accounts are apparently not allowed because they lack a bank book. I was grasping at straws with the account registration.

One thing that I forgot to mention was that on my first visit the officer at Immigration wanted to see proof that the Baht 800k funds had originally come from outside Thailand, she had also requested that I bring along all my passports (previously used with my WP visa) I managed to produce 3 expired passports, but on the day she didn't bother to look at them and was only interested in seeing the statement of the current account that showed the funds were originally remitted from overseas. Nothing I had read previously gave any hint that this was a requirement, fortunately I had everything as requested and it all went smoothly.

[khunPer]

To the OP:

You should have at least 2 accounts. For security reasons, you don't want to carry an ATM card which provides easy access to your major pool of money. I have an ordinary savings account with an ATM card, for day to day use. And I have term-deposit accounts too. I have established staggered 6 month term accounts, which together provide me with a maturity date every three months.

I understand the security reasons for having at least two accounts, but when you go to show immigration you have 800K Baht required for the retirement extension do you show them multiple accounts or just a single account? I was under the impression that the 800K Baht had to be in a single account. Is your experience different?

You can have the 800k in multiple accounts; just the sum is minimum 800k and seasoned for 3 month (2 month only first time you apply for extension based on retirement). All bank books must be in the applicants name only, no shared accounts allowed; however some Immigration Offices seems to accept shared accounts, if they hold the double value, i.e. 1.6 million.

The best is to keep 800k in a single account for that purpose only – which helps the immigration officer from getting irritated over calculating and checking multiple dates – and use another account for daily flow of money transfers in, and withdrawals for expenses; i.e. a fixed term account with high interest for the 800k deposit, and a normal savings account with ATM. You can withdraw the fixed deposit interest – 2½ percent gives you some 20k annually before withholding tax – but leave the 800k. When applying for Visa extension, have both accounts in the letter from the bank – you will show more than 800k – and show both bankbooks, so the immigration officer can see, you have a flow of money for expenses. The latter may not be a demand, but spare you for questions...

Immigration offices in different part of the Nation may have slightly different procedures; so what may be accepted in one place – for example Current account – may not be accepted in another province.

About normal fixed deposit accounts.

If you withdraw before the fixed term ends, you loose all the interest for that term; i.e. a 12-month account you can withdraw money any time, but loose your interest. Withdraw annual interest close after the interest has been deposited in the account. Some high interest agreed terms, for example 11-month, the interest will be added at the end of the term; if you don’t withdraw the funds and move them to another account, it typically continue on 3-month fixed terms with a fairly low interest, but still better than a savings account.

Some longer-term accounts, like 15-month, you may have interest after 12-month time, and the balance for the last 3 month when the fixed term expires.

Some long-time fixed term accounts may add interest quarterly, and the interest rate may grow during the period: i.e. beginning at low 1.5 percent and ending up at 4 or 5 percent for the last few month; some campaigns may pay out interest (transfer to another account) instead of summing up.

Shop around for the best offer at present – better than around 1½ percent at a normal 12-month fixed, you can almost double you outcome – next year it may be different...

[Hussain]

Sorry to ask but I couldn't understand that 800k for what for what purpose .. I m pakistani national thanks ... if I will deposit 800 k in Thailand can I get visa if yes for how long

[ubonjoe]

Sorry to ask but I couldn't understand that 800k for what for what purpose .. I m pakistani national thanks ... if I will deposit 800 k in Thailand can I get visa if yes for how long

The 800k baht is needed to obtain a one year extension of stay based upon retirement an immigration office. If you are 50 years old or older you could apply for ti.

[skatewash]

Sorry to ask but I couldn't understand that 800k for what for what purpose .. I m pakistani national thanks ... if I will deposit 800 k in Thailand can I get visa if yes for how long

The purpose of the 800k Baht deposited in a Thai bank is to qualify for an extension of stay for purpose of retirement in Thailand. You also need to be over 50 years of age to qualify. You could apply for a Non-O visa from the Thai Embassy in Islamabad. Information on how to do that is here: http://www.thaiembassy.org/islamabad/en/services/941 Once in Thailand you would open a savings account (or fixed term deposit account) at a Thai bank (something you should be able to do with a Non-O Visa). Transfer the equivalent of 800k Baht from outside Thailand into your Thai bank account. During the last 30 days of your 90-day permission to stay you would apply at your local Thai immigration office for an extension of stay for the purpose of retirement. Note, the 800k Baht must be in your account for a period of 2 months before you can apply for an extension of stay.

Your initial Non-O Visa would allow you to stay in Thailand for a period of 90 days (if single entry) or for a total period of 1 year (in up to 90 day segments, if multiple entry). If you got a Non-O Visa and obtained an extension of stay as outlined above you would receive permission to stay for one year.

Edited July 5, 2015 by skatewash

[Hussain]

Thanks a lot no I m not over age I m still young and since long time I m in United Arab Emirates and I m leaving this country for ever couse of some religion issue and I cant live in Pakistan and I m thinking to go thailand but I do not know i have some money like up to 2 million thai bath I can invest there plz some one guide me what will b the best for me I search for elit card too some says good some says not good so plz let me know what is bes way for me si will b thakfull of u even I can for guidance too..

2nd thing I want to ask that how I can open or start new topic in here .

Edited July 5, 2015 by Hussain

[ubonjoe]

Thanks a lot no I m not over age I m still young and since long time I m in United Arab Emirates and I m leaving this country for ever couse of some religion issue and I cant live in Pakistan and I m thinking to go thailand but I do not know i have some money like up to 2 million thai bath I can invest there plz some one guide me what will b the best for me I search for elit card too some says good some says not good so plz let me know what is bes way for me si will b thakfull of u even I can for guidance too..

2nd thing I want to ask that how I can open or start new topic in here .

To get an extension based on investment you must have 10 million baht.

Don't pay any attention to nay sayers about the Thailand elite program. There are many people that have had membership for many years and are very pleased with it. For 500k baht you can get a 5 year membership that will allow you to get a PE visa valid for 5 years that will allow you unlimited one year entries

See: http://www.thailandelite.com/glimpse.php

[skatewash]

Thanks a lot no I m not over age I m still young and since long time I m in United Arab Emirates and I m leaving this country for ever couse of some religion issue and I cant live in Pakistan and I m thinking to go thailand but I do not know i have some money like up to 2 million thai bath I can invest there plz some one guide me what will b the best for me I search for elit card too some says good some says not good so plz let me know what is bes way for me si will b thakfull of u even I can for guidance too..

2nd thing I want to ask that how I can open or start new topic in here .

Sounds like the Thai Elite Visa may be your best choice: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/770891-thailand-elite-membershipcard-the-low-down/

To start a new topic in this subforum (Thai visas, residency and work permits), go to the top of this page where you see:

Thailand Forum --> Visas & Immigration Forums --> Thai visas, residency and work permits --> Update for best place to keep 800K?

Click on "Thai visas, residency and work permits" to open that subforum.

You will see a black button with white lettering, "Start New Topic" in the upper right corner of the window. Click it, and you will be able to start a topic in this subforum.

If you wish to start a topic in another subforum navigate to that subforum first and then click on this button.

Edited July 5, 2015 by skatewash

[anono2223]

Once in Thailand you would open a savings account (or fixed term deposit account) at a Thai bank (something you should be able to do with a Non-O Visa). Transfer the equivalent of 800k Baht from outside Thailand into your Thai bank account.

I have a question about the above statement. I can't find anywhere that says the account must be filled from outside the country. Is this really the case?

Specifically, it cannot be funded from a different account/bank in country? Or say, a tourist makes a few trips to Thailand, opens an account and slowly deposits money until such time there is B800k in there.

Thank you,

Michael

[skatewash]

Once in Thailand you would open a savings account (or fixed term deposit account) at a Thai bank (something you should be able to do with a Non-O Visa). Transfer the equivalent of 800k Baht from outside Thailand into your Thai bank account.

I have a question about the above statement. I can't find anywhere that says the account must be filled from outside the country. Is this really the case?

Specifically, it cannot be funded from a different account/bank in country? Or say, a tourist makes a few trips to Thailand, opens an account and slowly deposits money until such time there is B800k in there.

Thank you,

Michael

There's no requirement that I know of in that regard, but I agree the statement seemed to imply that. So my statement would have been better worded as follows:

Once in Thailand you would open a savings account (or fixed term deposit account) at a Thai bank (something you should be able to do with a Non-O Visa). Transfer the equivalent of 800k Baht from outside Thailand into your Thai bank account.

Thanks for the opportunity to correct the misleading impression.

Edited July 5, 2015 by skatewash

[transam]

My bank account has lots of free space in it, your welcome to keep it there chum....... ......

[merijn]

I have a question about the above statement. I can't find anywhere that says the account must be filled from outside the country. Is this really the case?

Specifically, it cannot be funded from a different account/bank in country? Or say, a tourist makes a few trips to Thailand, opens an account and slowly deposits money until such time there is B800k in there.

Thank you,

Michael

No, there is no requirement that the money is coming from outside the country.

Most immigration offices don't ask for this.

[Estrada]

Immigration officers prefer the fixed term deposit account which has one deposit of B800,000 plus, in you name only, within a Thai bank. That makes their job easy as they do not have to leaf through pages of deposits, withdrawals, added interest etc to make sure you haven't gone below the B800K even for one day which is a basis for rejection. Some years ago they would only accept savings deposit accounts but later allowed Fixed Time Deposit Accounts for the reason given. I just took a new Fixed Time Deposit out for 7 months @1.875% at Bangkok Bank. Only hassle is that due to "America World Police' they don't like to open them for Americans due to the paperwork and reporting involved. They asked me if I was American and only when I told them I was not American they allowed me to open an account (My previous Time deposits and savings account have been with the Bank for 21 years). However they told me that there was a new rule and that I had to produce a letter from my embassy confirming my current address. I told them that this was totally illogical since the Embassy would need a letter proving my address from the Bank, in order to write to them confirming my address.

It looks like the problem with the USA Government requirements for reporting is making things much worse for us, as customers. So you may have problems opening a new account.

Which immigration office are you using as Fixed Term Deposits (not possible to withdrawn the money) are not allowed for extensions.

Only accounts which have the money readily available are accepted.

Your information is incorrect. The Fixed Term Deposit (printed as "Fixed Deposit Account" together with the fixed time period on the Bangkok Bank Passbook) is very much accepted by Chaengwattana Immigration Office. I have used this method for 5 years. Of course it is always possible to withdraw the money from a fixed term deposit account, so the money is readily available. The immigration officer likes the Fixed Deposit Account as it only has one entry and so it is easy for him to check against the bank letter that your deposit has not dipped below B800K, against the bank letter which you can get downstairs in the Government Centre.

[merijn]

Which immigration office are you using as Fixed Term Deposits (not possible to withdrawn the money) are not allowed for extensions.

Only accounts which have the money readily available are accepted.

Your information is incorrect. The Fixed Term Deposit (printed as "Fixed Deposit Account" together with the fixed time period on the Bangkok Bank Passbook) is very much accepted by Chaengwattana Immigration Office. I have used this method for 5 years. Of course it is always possible to withdraw the money from a fixed term deposit account, so the money is readily available. The immigration officer likes the Fixed Deposit Account as it only has one entry and so it is easy for him to check against the bank letter that your deposit has not dipped below B800K, against the bank letter which you can get downstairs in the Government Centre.

Fixed deposit accounts where the money is available are accepted as i said before.

But there are also fixed term deposit accounts where the money is not accessible and those are not accepted. (not all fixed term accounts are accessible before the end of the term)

[khwaibah]

Which immigration office are you using as Fixed Term Deposits (not possible to withdrawn the money) are not allowed for extensions.

Only accounts which have the money readily available are accepted.

Your information is incorrect. The Fixed Term Deposit (printed as "Fixed Deposit Account" together with the fixed time period on the Bangkok Bank Passbook) is very much accepted by Chaengwattana Immigration Office. I have used this method for 5 years. Of course it is always possible to withdraw the money from a fixed term deposit account, so the money is readily available. The immigration officer likes the Fixed Deposit Account as it only has one entry and so it is easy for him to check against the bank letter that your deposit has not dipped below B800K, against the bank letter which you can get downstairs in the Government Centre.

Fixed deposit accounts where the money is available are accepted as i said before.

But there are also fixed term deposit accounts where the money is not accessible and those are not accepted. (not all fixed term accounts are accessible before the end of the term)

There are immigration offices in Thailand will make you show that you have other monies that are available or they will not accept any fix account or foreign currency account.

[Najinsky]

Whatever you do, don't put or leave the funds in a current (cheque book) account, I found out the hard way and then had to shift the funds and wait another seasoning period last year, this was at Chaeng Wattana.

But...

I would recommend a Mee Tae Dai savings account at Krungsri Bank, currently paying from 1.85% for deposits in the range Baht 100,000 to Baht 10 million. It's not a fixed term deposit, calculates interest daily, pays interest monthly, two free withdrawals allowed per month (thereafter 50 Baht charge per withdrawal).

Details are here: https://www.krungsri.com/bank/en/PersonalBanking/DepositProducts/SavingsDeposit/MeeTaeDaiSavings.html

Current interest rates are here (the one for Mee Tae Dai is on the bottom of the second page): https://www.krungsri.com/bank/getmedia/ab8ae7e5-c514-4d35-a37f-207f86aa0fd6/Deposit-Rates-05062015.aspx

Caveat: because it's not a fixed term account the interest rate is not fixed. It can go up or down. It was 2.3% when I opened the account last year. Interest rates are currently going down. In those circumstances it may be worth your while to find a fixed term account paying higher interest.

Not all account types may be valid for obtaining the 800k retirement extension.

It is supposed to be an account which can be uses for living expenses, hence can be accessed.

Obviously a current or savings account would not be a problem, and fixed term deposits are being accepted, but there may be a proviso that the money can be accessed albeit with penalty.(Probably depends on the immigration official or particular office)

Don't forget the seasoning term (60 days 1st application, 90 subsequent).

Cant both be right.

[ubonjoe]

A current account will not be accepted to apply for an extension.

[AyG]

Am I right in thinking that Immigration (specifically Chaengwattana) will for a fixed deposit account accept the bank letter dated the previous day and won't require you to make a withdrawal or deposit on the actual day of one's extension, whilst with a savings account they will require a transaction on the actual day if the letter is from the day before? (Anything to simply things at Chaengwattana is most welcome.)

[Najinsky]

Could you just take cash and show them the cash?

[ubonjoe]

Could you just take cash and show them the cash?

Are you serious.

The rules state it has to be in a bank account for 2 or 3 months.