Retirement

[Noel]

And to be clear, the above figures are when you are not married to a Thai. When married to a Thai the bank figure is 400,000. I am not sure of the income figure, though according to others here it seems to be 40,000

I do believe that the 400,000 'bank figure' no longer applies to new applicants applying after the 1st of October. They need to and can only rely on the 40,000 per month income.

[Sunbelt Asia]

I do believe that the 400,000 'bank figure' no longer applies to new applicants applying after the 1st of October. They need to and can only rely on the 40,000 per month income.

You are correct.

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com

[lopburi3]

And to be clear, the above figures are when you are not married to a Thai. When married to a Thai the bank figure is 400,000. I am not sure of the income figure, though according to others here it seems to be 40,000

The figures are for retirement, as is this thread. Retirement extension costs the same married or not.

[WilliamIV]

There is the 65K income option. And what this means is what finally came clear today.

Did you get a retirement extension, then, based strictly on having 65k income? I ask because another poster went the income route at CM Immigration, but they also wanted to see money in a Thai bank account (at least 200k was the 'recommended' figure, 'tho I doubt this is hard and fast, since technically you don't need *any* money in the bank).

Yes - that was my experience the past 3 years

Income alone - (I have more than the 65K)

is NOT Sufficient - that was the attitude

of the officer who processed my extension at Suan Phlu

- despite my having enquired of her Colleague a few days earlier

and had been told that my Bank Deposit Docs were not needed.

Anyway that is History

We now have to find out Current attitudes.

It seems there has always been "doubt"

- or maybe "Discretion" as to whether

Income alone was indeed accepted.

[khunyae]

I have been using 30-day Visas on Arrivals for years. I went to Jomtien Immigration last week and obtained a "Retirement Visa" without too much difficulty. Report HERE.

Note that I live in Pattaya. This is personal esperience and not heresay overheard in a pub. Hope it helps.

Thanks Khunyae - it was your report that got me thinking in the first place!

That's a good thing, isn't it?

[Maestro]

Yes - that was my experience the past 3 years Income alone - (I have more than the 65K) is NOT Sufficient - that was the attitude of the officer who processed my extension at Suan Phlu

It seems there has always been "doubt" - or maybe "Discretion" as to whether Income alone was indeed accepted.

Doubt, there should not have been. For retirement, even the text on the Immigration website clearly says “or”, at least in the English text but I believe also in the Thai text. However, it is quite possible that some officials are less knowledgeable than others.

According to reports in this forum it can do no harm to ask to speak to a superior officer when a junior official seems uncertain about a regulation. This is particularly useful to know in the present time when it is easy for an official to get confused with the ever-changing regulations.

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Maestro

[Tung_Thaid]

Yes - that was my experience the past 3 years Income alone - (I have more than the 65K) is NOT Sufficient - that was the attitude of the officer who processed my extension at Suan Phlu

It seems there has always been "doubt" - or maybe "Discretion" as to whether Income alone was indeed accepted.

Doubt, there should not have been. For retirement, even the text on the Immigration website clearly says “or”, at least in the English text but I believe also in the Thai text. However, it is quite possible that some officials are less knowledgeable than others.

According to reports in this forum it can do no harm to ask to speak to a superior officer when a junior official seems uncertain about a regulation. This is particularly useful to know in the present time when it is easy for an official to get confused with the ever-changing regulations.

---------------

Maestro

When applying for my extension at Chiang Mai this year based solely on (65k) Income (prior to 1 October 2006), I was referred to a senior officer by the processing officer because I did not have the "bank balance paperwork" in addition to the income certification, and the senior officer was better able to explain in English of their "preference" in this matter. "YES" - the regulations indeed did say "OR" - but could I please accommodate them by providing copies of my savings account with a bank-certified balance. (They really would prefer to see a balance of 100k-200k.) I got the impression that their approval couldn't be faulted by any peer review if they covered all bases. The whole episode was done with good humour and a "please go along on this" attitude. A quick trip to the bank - and paperwork in hand - and approval was granted with smiles all round. This seems to tie in with the other post here as to experience at Suan Phlu.

Tung_Thaid in Chiang Mai

[jas007]

Sorry to bore everyone with my confusion, but after reading this thread I still don't know if I understand what the current rules are.

While still in the USA, I applied for and received a one year multiple entry non-immigrant "O" visa for purposes of investigating the possibility of retirement in Thailand. I entered Thailand on November 2nd and was stamped in until January 30, 2007. Assuming I still want to go ahead with the retirement, my intentions are to go for the one year extention by obtaining the appropriate paperwork showing the 65K baht per month income. I assume I can get some paperwork from the US Embassy attesting to the income. I can also place some money in a Thai bank, perhaps 100K baht or so, if that makes a difference to anyone, although I'd rather keep my money in a US bank.

Assuming the regulations haven't changed, can I still do this - apply for the retirement extention based primarily on the 65K per month income? If so, is there some sort of deadline for the retiement extention application?

I assume I could also leave the country sometime before January 30, 2007, then renter and apply sometime thereafter during the next period?

Any comments would be appreciated.

John

[lopburi3]

Yes to all above. And there is no deadline.