Retirement Visa for U.S. citizen

[Smoothkob]

My friend, he'd like to retire in Bangkok, he used to have agent here to help him do the paper work but she just told him yesterday that she cannot help him open the bank account any more because the rule has been changed. She also told him to get the approval from the Consular himself. If he could not open the bank account here then he is not going to get the retirement visa.

I don't know much about procedure to get the retirement visa here so I ask the agent that I found on the internet. She told me that her company is reliable and all my friend has to do is pay them 5000 fee for opening the bank account.

I need to know whether this company is reliable enough for me to help my friend and told him to go with this company. I'm afraid that it's going to be a scam. Actually this company has the advertisement on this website.

The company called "Thai Visa Expert".

Please anyone here help me out, whether I should believe that company and ask my friend to come here (he's in San Diego now) and do the visa with this company.

Below is our conversation through email yesterday

thanks for your email.

Many visa agents are having problems either with banks or with immigration but we are a registered company and have good reputation among banks as well as with immigration officials.

We can setup bank account for foreigners, all we need is a copy of passport and current visa page, we need 1 working day and a foreigner needs to come to the bank as per the appointment.

Please be informed fee to open bank account is 5,000THB

Please leave me your contact number, I will call you to explain in Thai

Best regards,

Marriage Visa
Permanent Residence
Overstay Clearance

On Wed, Mar 9, 2016 at 6:05 PM, <removed> wrote:

My friend, he’d like to retire here in Bangkok, he used to have the agent here to help him but now she said something like he needs to get approval from Thai consulate for opening the bank account here which she said she cannot do that anymore because of the changing of the rules.

She also mentioned that if you cannot get approval from the Thai consulate for opening the bank account which she cannot help then the retirement visa will not be possible to get.

Could you please help him? I said that I’d like to try to find another good agent here to help him.

Would it be possible to write in Thai? I might explain it better in Thai.

Could you please reply my email as soon as possible?

Thank you.

Anchalee

: Thai Visa Expert
Date: 9 มีนาคม ค.ศ. 2016 18 นาฬิกา 45 นาที 31 วินาที GMT+7
To: <removed>
Subject: Re: Retirement Visa for U.S citizen (Urgent)

Edited March 10, 2016 by ubonjoe
removed personal info business info

[ubonjoe]

I know nothing about that company.

A trip to the US embassy and paying $50 or 1850 baht would get him an affidavit to prove his address which is basically all that is required to open an account. http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/service/notarial-services.html#affidavit

If he has any kind of income he could also do a income affidavit that that could be used to open an account and be used to apply for an extension based upon retirement if it is 65k baht or more.

It is not really that hard to open a bank account. Same for getting an extension of stay.

[Pib]

Since your friend is still in the U.S. he has no need for Thai bank account to get a retirement "visa." He just needs to submit O-A Retirement paperwork to the Thai consulate servicing his region.

Now once his O-A Retirement Visa is close expiring and he in Thailand, if he he wants to use the Bt800K in a Thai bank approach to prove income then he just needs to open a Thai bank account after he arrives Thailand on his O-A Visa.

You don't need companies or lawyers to get a O-A Retirement Visa or later on a Retirement Extension of Stay....nothing complicated/hard about the paperwork. But the Visa is more of pain due to the medical and police clearances needed plus the additive cost where the clearances are not needed for a Retirement Extension of Stay...Extension of Stay annual renewal is just Bt1900.

Just go to this Royal Thai Consulate webpage on how to get a O-A Visa

[Gary A]

When my friend retired here, he tried to open a bank account. He could have tried different branches but he wanted his account at a bank near where he lived. I took him to immigration in Jomtien and explained that my friend wanted to apply for a retirement visa but the bank wouldn't open an account for him. The immigration officer wrote a note in Thai and told him to give it to the bank. We returned to the bank and they immediately opened an account for him.

[Moonsterk]

For that affidavit of income, can you go to the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur if applying for retirement visa in Penang?

[Moonsterk]

http://www.thaiconsulatela.org/service_visa_detail.aspx?link_id=48

This above quite a bit of documentation, I thought i read elsewhere on the forum the initial visa from consulate only requires income affidavit. ( or bank account) Which is correct?

[sunnyjim5]

http://www.thaiconsulatela.org/service_visa_detail.aspx?link_id=48

This above quite a bit of documentation, I thought i read elsewhere on the forum the initial visa from consulate only requires income affidavit. ( or bank account) Which is correct?

The LA Thai Consulate web site clearly indicates how the financial requirements can be met by ONE of three options.

"- applicant's bank statement (U.S.) showing a balance in the amount of not less than 800,000 Baht (current Thai exchange rate is available from the Bank of Thailand web site)

- or an income certificate with a monthly salary of not less than 65,000 Baht

- or a combination of a deposit account plus a monthly income totaling not less than 800,000 Baht a year.

(When submitting the bank statement, a letter from the bank verifying the account and balance is to be presented)"

Using ONE of the three options would be correct.

Edited March 11, 2016 by sunnyjim5

[ubonjoe]

For that affidavit of income, can you go to the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur if applying for retirement visa in Penang?

What kind of visa are you applying for. It would not be a non-oa visa unless you are a Malaysian or a legal resident.

I assume your intention is to get a non-o visa for being 50 or over.

Not sure if they would accept and income affidavit from the US embassy in KL. You would have to create you own affidavit. They do not appear to have any that are a fill in the blanks one. See: http://malaysia.usembassy.gov/notaries.html