alternatives to retirement or marriaged based extensions

[Colabamumbai]

You do need the bank statement for immigration with the letter from your embassy.

[jacksam]

You do need the bank statement for immigration with the letter from your embassy.

Bank statement of what?? Funds in Thai bank. Yes of course not. The question was about stat dec. .. Using income method. In past only SD required. I just mentioned, maybe io might ask for some supporting info.

[Kenny202]

What are the Australian embassy attesting to on the stat dec? Obviously that you have an income from Australia but how do they know that? Like I said if I tferred 65k every month from my savings in Australia would that be considered income?

[jacksam]

What are the Australian embassy attesting to on the stat dec? Obviously that you have an income from Australia but how do they know that? Like I said if I tferred 65k every month from my savings in Australia would that be considered income?

They are doing nothing except to witness that YOU signed the stat dec in their presence showing your id. Which in this case would be passport. The liability of the statement falls upon you and you only. Might add it is not a light matter to make a false dec. Above fraud.

My point above was that Thai imm may want some supporting evidence. Again no first hand knowledge. Maybe a TV member might post their personal experience.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

And when you use the combination method for the retirement extension, the bank balance does not need to be maintained for 3 months as long as the total adds up to Baht 800,000 or more at the time you apply for the extension at MOST immigrations offices. I think there have been reports that some smaller immigrations offices still want the bank balance to be held for 3 months even when you use the combined income and bank balance method.

Actually, it's not just some smaller Immigration offices that have begun requiring 3 months seasoning for bank deposits used in connection with "combo method" retirement extension applications.

Bangkok ChaengWattana began requiring it last year as well. And, the combo method only applies for retirement extensions. For marriage extensions, it's either all monthly income or all Thai bank deposits.

[Kenny202]

What are the Australian embassy attesting to on the stat dec? Obviously that you have an income from Australia but how do they know that? Like I said if I tferred 65k every month from my savings in Australia would that be considered income?

They are doing nothing except to witness that YOU signed the stat dec in their presence showing your id. Which in this case would be passport. The liability of the statement falls upon you and you only. Might add it is not a light matter to make a false dec. Above fraud.

My point above was that Thai imm may want some supporting evidence. Again no first hand knowledge. Maybe a TV member might post their personal experience.

But a stat dec stating what? I have a 65k a month income from Australia? If so suits me fine. I have funds in Australia and bring in around that amount to live every month anyway. As far as supporting evidence well I have xx hundred k Aus dollars in the bank. Self funded retirement pension from my bank account. Do they stipulate it has to be a pension or wage or only "income"

[sandyf]

Sure !

If you can demonstrate a monthly income of 65,000/40,000 way of an Embassy letter that will be acceptable to immigration.

At the Aussie embassy you don't have to demonstrate anything. You just sign a statutory declaration as to your income, and that's accepted by Thai immigration. Obviously you are supposed to be honest, but there are no checks to substantiate your income.

Does the British Embassy require checks?

My understanding is the British Embassy will accept copy bank statements showing the money coming in,

I have a UK old age pension of 190 pounds per weekend am told with copy statements for a year I can get a letter for 52 *190 9880 pounds sterling per annum, I would just print off my Royal Bank of bank statements for the UK

In thai batt that would give 533,520, more than sufficient for the marriage ext.requirement of 400,000

You do not need bank statements, a copy of the letter from DWP is sufficient.

[Kenny202]

Just wondering, if for some reason Ur OA visa lapsed etc....how could u apply for another OA? Would u have to return to Ur home country and apply or can you apply in Thailand?

[ubonjoe]

Just wondering, if for some reason Ur OA visa lapsed etc....how could u apply for another OA? Would u have to return to Ur home country and apply or can you apply in Thailand?

Prior to the last one year entry from the OA visa ends you can apply for an extension of stay based upon retirement at an immigration office.

If not you would have to get a new OA visa in your home country.

[Kenny202]

So if for some reason u let Ur extensions laps...or didn't have the 800k thb in the bank u'd have to go home and reapply at a later date

[ubonjoe]

You would not have to go home for another visa. You could go to a nearby embassy or consulate and get a single entry non-o visa and apply for an extension again.

[Kenny202]

Just wondering, if for some reason Ur OA visa lapsed etc....how could u apply for another OA? Would u have to return to Ur home country and apply or can you apply in Thailand?

Prior to the last one year entry from the OA visa ends you can apply for an extension of stay based upon retirement at an immigration office.

If not you would have to get a new OA visa in your home country.

I asked this question yesterday Ubon Joe and didn't really get an answer. I'm on an OA visa. I have savings in Australia and bring accross about 60k every month to live anyway. Providing I have funds invested in Australia....for eg to fund an income of 65k thb a month (self funded pension?) would that fill the requirement of income without the need to have the 800k in the bank?

[ubonjoe]

If you could honestly do a statutory declaration at the OZ embassy showing 65k baht income you could use it to apply for the extension.

[Kenny202]

Well for eg I have $300k AUS in the bank in Australia....invested or otherwise. I think I can sign a stat dec with a clear conscience that I can provide myself an income of 65k thb a month. I don't want to do anything dodgy. Does that satisfy the requirement?

[ubonjoe]

That would meet the requirements..

[Kenny202]

That would meet the requirements..

that being the case I'd be stupid to have funds in Australia to live which I'm bringing accross monthly anyway, and then bring accross and tie up a further 800k thb at a possible horrible ex rate.

Thanks Joe. One more thing, the fact that I state I have enough to fund 65k thb a month wouldn't mean I'd necessarily have to bring that amount accross every month?

What does the AUS embassy require? I write a letter / stat dec stating I have a self funded retirement income of 65k a month and they witness and sign?

[Stevemercer]

I don't want to be alarmist, but just be aware of any possible tax implications. If you are resident in Thailand for more than 6 months in any tax year you must pay tax at a flat 33% and the tax free threshold (about $19,000 does not apply). I'm not sure is there is any cross-checking between the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Australian Taxation Office (e.g. if you get an income stat dec from the embassy they let the tax office know).

[Kenny202]

I understand what ur getting at and I believe they do cross check. Mate of mine reckons they'd know how many Singha beers u drunk yesterday but you only pay tax if you have earned an income ie interest on investment. They can't tax u for drawing on Ur savings

[Stevemercer]

I'm sure they'll figure out how to do that one day. But best of luck with the visa extension. It sounds like your on the right track and the exchange rate doesn't seem to be getting any better (bloody Aussie dollar, weak as piss).

[dzodun]

To get the multiple entry non-o visa just requires the marriage certificate plus a copy. signed copies of the wife's house book and ID card. The fee for the visa is 5000 baht.

[dzodun]

So I received my non O/A multiple entry visa last September 30th in Savannakhet. I have made three entries since then and plan a fourth before my last re entry date this month. Should I be expecting to receive a new 90 day extension or an automatic second year on my Non O/A, and what should be expecting to pay? Do I need all the paperwork again or simply exit and re enter at any border crossing? Thank you in advance.

[jacksam]

The 65k income requirement being met by investments in Australia be in real estate , super, or even a bank account is NEWS to me. Ubonjoe would be correct so I learn something every day. The OP talks about investments in AU. I understood that for Thai imm the income had to be exactly that....Income.

This would be interest earned or rentals, super income stream, etc etc. Exactly the way au tax man regards income.

[ubonjoe]

So I received my non O/A multiple entry visa last September 30th in Savannakhet. I have made three entries since then and plan a fourth before my last re entry date this month. Should I be expecting to receive a new 90 day extension or an automatic second year on my Non O/A, and what should be expecting to pay? Do I need all the paperwork again or simply exit and re enter at any border crossing? Thank you in advance.

You have a multiple entry non-o visa not a OA visa.

As long as you do an entry on or before the enter before date on your visa you will get a new 90 day entry.

After the enter before date you will need to apply for a new visa.

[roobaa01]

sorry but what do these people want in thailand if they cannot raise a tiny sum of thb 400.000 by taking out a personal loan in their home country

then paying it off with their pension. transfer the loan money to thailand put into for example land @ housing bank special savings account at 2 %

tax free so thb 8000 p.a., then applying for marriage extention of stay ,, what the heck is so difficult about???

wbr

peter 1

[IMA_FARANG]

If you are over 50 years of age you can:

• Show a monthly income of over 65K baht monthly OR
• A Thai bank balance of 800K Thai Baht OR
• A combination of the two sources above that totaled more than 800K annually.

That would be sufficient to meet the financial requirements for a one year (renewable annually)

retirement extension/visa.

I call it an extension /visa because it is not really a retirement visa, it is in fact an annual extension of an existing visa, based on retirement in Thailand.

Once you apply for this retirement visa, extension and are approved, you can continue to renew that same retirement visa /extension annually by showing the same funds available then.

For the combination method.... lets assume you can show an monthly income (preferably from outside Thailand) of 650K Thai Baht annually then you would only require a bank deposit of 150K Thai Baht to give you a cumulative income of 800K Thai Baht equivalent annually to qualify.

Or, if you can demonstrate the monthly income of 65K or better, then you would not have to maintain any funds deposited in a Thai bank account to qualify.

Alternatively, if you can afford the 500K Thai baht fee ..... look into purchasing a Thai Elite Card, which will supposedly give you a 5 year multi entry visa.

My personal question is, Considering the Political History of Thailand in the last decade or two....is it reasonable to assume the same government in Thailand that promises a 5 year visa for 500K Thai Baht..... will still be around 5 years from now to deliver on it's visa promise then?

Maybe, maybe not.

Anyway, these 4 options above are basically your 4 choices for a retirement visa or retirement visa/extension.

.

[evom]

Currently on my original AO (retirement) visa obtained in Australia and into the second year which will expire Jan 06 2016. I'm tossing up whether I will go with the 1 year extension method as I have documentable income but will still need to show some money in my Thai bank account to reach the 800K baht. Or leave and get a brand new AO again in Australia.

My questions are;

• Is it 2 or 3 months that I need to have the money deposited before applying for the extension? (confused cause I'm on my second year but will be my 1st extension application) I would hate to get that wrong!
• Will the BKK Immigration be closed over the Christmas/New year period (around when I need to go)?
• If I decide to leave Thailand and go back to Australia and apply for another, new AO Visa would I effectively get the same 2 years again when I come back to Thailand? I figure I could I do that as if I don't get a 're-entry' permit when leaving Thailand it would effectively cancel the old Visa.

The reason I am considering getting a whole new AO visa in Australia is that I would not need to deposit extra money in my Thai bank account at a crappy exchange rate plus the hope of getting another 2 full years from a new AO visa obtained in Australia! I just want to make certain that is the case as if it's only one year, I think I may just as well get the extension here in BKK and not leave.

What do you knowledgeable people think?

[oncearugge]

A new O/A visa will provide exactly the same !

An extension can be applied for 30 days in advance and 45 in some immigration offices.

The money needs to be in the bank for 2 months prior to application. (Theoretically there is no need for "seasoning" of money in the bank if using the "combo" method of reaching the 800k, some offices do however require this )

[ubonjoe]

I assume you meant to write OA visa there is no AO visa.

The funds only have to be in the bank for 60 days for the first extension which is what you will be doing. But if you are using the combination method there is no 60 day requirement according to the written rules but there are some immigration offices that require it.

Immigration will only be closed on the 31st of December and the 1st of January. No Christmas closure.

You will get the same 2 years of total stay if you get a new OA visa.

[Kenny202]

A lot of u guys have commented negatively assuming people don't have the 800k thb. I'm of the same mindset as this guy. I'm just at the end of my first year OA and have just left and re entered so I'm lucky I have another year. I have the 800k baht to bring over easilly. I don't have to worry about it for another year but at the current exchange rates I'd rather blow the money on a holiday back in Australia for a couple of weeks, reapply for another OA and leave my money invested in Aus at 4% rather than lose several $1000 bringing a large sum over at a crap rate. Could be stupid logic, maybe the rates will be worse in a year or two? Buggered if I know

[evom]

Thanks guys, some great responses. Yes OA is correct Ubonjoe!

Kenny202, yes it's a toss up hey? It's not so much trouble to get a new one again in Oz plus no exchange rate penalties.

A new OA probably works out a bit more expensive though..... airfare/travel expenses, the Police & Doctors report ($60?) and $225 AUD plus Express posts etc (say $300 AUD = 7500 baht @ 25 baht) but 2 years so $150 AUD per year (plus a trip out of the country at the 12 month mark too) Quick cause just send it all in and relatively easy to do if you qualify.

Compared to the 12 month extension method, 600 baht Oz Embassy stat dec, 3400 for a multi entry (4,000 baht= $160 AUD @ ex 25baht) for 1 year. Plus the headache of dealing with proof/bank deposits etc and the Thai Immigration office for a day or more 555