Do You Think This Would Be Possible..?

[The Thai Whisperer]

Just had a thought, ive been extending my Non ‘O’ support visa (married to a Thai) for some years now

By showing 400,000 Baht has been electronically transferred from my UK bank account to my Thai Bank here,

I have a cheque book for my UK bank, (now may be here’s a silly question) could I just write my self a

cheque from my UK bank made out to my self, and pay it into my Thai Bank, would this be practical

or even possible. If it could be done would the Uk cheque be considered by Immigration as a transfer from

out of Thailand …? . The reason I ask this question is in the past ive been having problems arranging electronic

Transfers of money from my home bank to here in Thailand. …its just a thought ..?

TTW

[kudroz]

It will be considered as a foreign remittance. There will be fees and a compensation delay associated with processing a cheque drawn from a foreign bank, you might want check with your bank for the exact details.

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Just had a thought, ive been extending my Non ‘O’ support visa (married to a Thai) for some years now

By showing 400,000 Baht has been electronically transferred from my UK bank account to my Thai Bank here,

I have a cheque book for my UK bank, (now may be here’s a silly question) could I just write my self a

cheque from my UK bank made out to my self, and pay it into my Thai Bank, would this be practical

or even possible. If it could be done would the Uk cheque be considered by Immigration as a transfer from

out of Thailand …? . The reason I ask this question is in the past ive been having problems arranging electronic

Transfers of money from my home bank to here in Thailand. …its just a thought ..?

TTW

This works fine, I do it monthy, did so yesterday. Once a month I write a personal check on my U.S. bank account for the equivalent of baht 65,000. I get a fomal receipt for this foreign exchange check from the bank which shows both the $$ and baht amount. These are copied for Immigration when I head down for my "retirement" renewal. I've been dealing with several branches of the Siam Commercial Bank now for 17 years, has always worked the same. The SCB charge is baht 200 for the check plus baht 3 for a duty stamp of some sort. SCB holds my access to the baht 65,000 for 45 days even tho the check normally clears the U.S. bank in 7-10 days. This is only a "problem" for the initial check as afterwards you're ahead of the game and on a roll. I've been told by the bank that I do get interest on the baht from the day of deposit to the savings account.

FYI, my U.S. bank now charges $45 for an international wire transfer, up from $15 then $25 some years back, so it's a rare occasion that I use this mode of moving funds over here.

Mac

[wpcoe]

This works fine, I do it monthy, did so yesterday. Once a month I write a personal check on my U.S. bank account for the equivalent of baht 65,000. I get a fomal receipt for this foreign exchange check from the bank which shows both the $$ and baht amount. These are copied for Immigration when I head down for my "retirement" renewal. I've been dealing with several branches of the Siam Commercial Bank now for 17 years, has always worked the same. The SCB charge is baht 200 for the check plus baht 3 for a duty stamp of some sort. SCB holds my access to the baht 65,000 for 45 days even tho the check normally clears the U.S. bank in 7-10 days. This is only a "problem" for the initial check as afterwards you're ahead of the game and on a roll. I've been told by the bank that I do get interest on the baht from the day of deposit to the savings account.

FYI, my U.S. bank now charges $45 for an international wire transfer, up from $15 then $25 some years back, so it's a rare occasion that I use this mode of moving funds over here.

Mac

Wow. Live and learn! You mean that for B203, you can write a personal check from your US bank checkbook and deposit it into your SCB account in Thailand? The 45-day wait is no problem for me.

My US credit union charges a whopping US$50 for an international transfer to SCB bank.

[The Thai Whisperer]

Thanks for your comments and advice, just so Ive got this right , if I write a personal UK check say equivalent to 400,000 Baht ( the required immigration amount to enable the yearly visa extension ) and pay it into my Thai bank,

the bank then gives me a formal receipt for this foreign exchange, which can be copied to show immigration. (can this formal receipt be used instead of a bank confirmation letter as required by Immigration..? )

When I deposit my UK cheque into my Thai bank ( this is where I am a bit confused ) the UK cheque amount would not be shown in my Thai bank pass book for 45 days..? Or would the amount paid in by UK cheque be shown right away, in my Thai Bank book, but I would not be allowed to draw the equlivant cheque amount out of my account for 45 day's..? if its shown in the Thai bank book as an foreign exchange amount right away then as in the past when ive electronically transferred money to my Thai bank account I could then just get a bank confirmation letter as normal to show immigration, only if I put the UK cheque in my Thai bank at least 45 day's before I need to ask for a bank confirmation letter to show immigration..? or am I missing a point some where..?

TTW

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Thanks for your comments and advice, just so Ive got this right , if I write a personal UK check say equivalent to 400,000 Baht ( the required immigration amount to enable the yearly visa extension ) and pay it into my Thai bank,

the bank then gives me a formal receipt for this foreign exchange, which can be copied to show immigration. (can this formal receipt be used instead of a bank confirmation letter as required by Immigration..? )

When I deposit my UK cheque into my Thai bank ( this is where I am a bit confused ) the UK cheque amount would not be shown in my Thai bank pass book for 45 days..? Or would the amount paid in by UK cheque be shown right away, in my Thai Bank book, but I would not be allowed to draw the equlivant cheque amount out of my account for 45 day's..? if its shown in the Thai bank book as an foreign exchange amount right away then as in the past when ive electronically transferred money to my Thai bank account I could then just get a bank confirmation letter as normal to show immigration, only if I put the UK cheque in my Thai bank at least 45 day's before I need to ask for a bank confirmation letter to show immigration..? or am I missing a point some where..?

TTW

TTW & WPCOE

I just scanned the item from yesterday, printed it out intending to black out the personal info, scan it again and send as an attachment. It came out way too light, can't do. So, am headed down to the TESCO-LOUTUS at Klong 7.5 in a bit, will xerox darker and see if the scanning job works.

Mac

[george]

When you deposit a foreign check in a Thai bank, it will take around 3 weeks in my experience (Bangkok Bank and Kasikornbank). The amount will be deposited in your account in Thai Baht after being converted from USD (at the SWIFT rate for that day).

Technically the funds will arrive in Thailand as a SWIFT payment from overseas, and will be coded as such in your bank passbook.

[The Thai Whisperer]

Thanks George , well if the UK cheque is shown in the Thai Bank book as a SWIFT payment from overseas , then if I deposit My UK cheque well in advance of my visa extension application , I can then ask my Thai Bank ( Bangkok Bank ) to let me have a normal confirmation bank letter , to show immigration , and if the bank charge is as

thanyaburimac say’s may be around 200 Baht , could this be a cheaper way instead of arranging an electronic transfer ..? or again am I missing some thing..?

TTW

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Thanks for your comments and advice, just so Ive got this right , if I write a personal UK check say equivalent to 400,000 Baht ( the required immigration amount to enable the yearly visa extension ) and pay it into my Thai bank,

the bank then gives me a formal receipt for this foreign exchange, which can be copied to show immigration. (can this formal receipt be used instead of a bank confirmation letter as required by Immigration..? )

When I deposit my UK cheque into my Thai bank ( this is where I am a bit confused ) the UK cheque amount would not be shown in my Thai bank pass book for 45 days..? Or would the amount paid in by UK cheque be shown right away, in my Thai Bank book, but I would not be allowed to draw the equlivant cheque amount out of my account for 45 day's..? if its shown in the Thai bank book as an foreign exchange amount right away then as in the past when ive electronically transferred money to my Thai bank account I could then just get a bank confirmation letter as normal to show immigration, only if I put the UK cheque in my Thai bank at least 45 day's before I need to ask for a bank confirmation letter to show immigration..? or am I missing a point some where..?

TTW

TTW & WPCOE

I just scanned the item from yesterday, printed it out intending to black out the personal info, scan it again and send as an attachment. It came out way too light, can't do. So, am headed down to the TESCO-LOUTUS at Klong 7.5 in a bit, will xerox darker and see if the scanning job works.

Mac

OK, I'm back from the TESCO-LOTUS, Klong 3.5, not Klong 7.5, that's a Big C abuilding now.

" Or would the amount paid in by UK cheque be shown right away, in my Thai Bank book, but I would not be allowed to draw the equlivant cheque amount out of my account for 45 day's..?"

This is correct, you write the personal check made out to "cash," sign it, and sign on the reverse as an endorsment (don't know why this is so, but it is, TiT). After the paper shuffle by the gals at the bank, 20-30 minutes perhaps, they'll update your bank book to show the baht about of the check at the current rate of exchange, which was 36.52 yesterday at 1255 hrs.

As far as Immigration is concerned I give them:

-- the xeroxes of the monthly deposit receipts (have the originals handy in case they'd like to see);

-- the original of the annual letter from the bank that states I'm a good customer. SCB charges baht 200 for this letter;

-- xerox of my bank book pages.

I have four attachments scanned to show, now to see if this works, haven't tried an attachment on Thai Visa before.

Mac

[The Thai Whisperer]

Thank’s thanyaburimac for taking the time to post your details, its very much appreciated , and now it gives me some thing to think about when its near the time to try and electronically transfer money for my visa extension.

Just a second thought… if you say ……..

This is correct, you write the personal check made out to "cash," sign it, and sign on the reverse as an endorsement (don't know why this is so, but it is, TiT). After the paper shuffle by the gals at the bank, 20-30 minutes perhaps, they’ll …….. Update your bank book to show the baht

Does this then mean as the Baht is now shown in your bank book and as George has said a… Technically the funds will arrive in Thailand as a SWIFT payment from overseas, and will be coded as such in your bank passbook.

Then if the cheque amount is shown in my bank book as a SWIFT payment from overseas, could then I not just request my normal confirmation of funds in my thai bank letter ( normally costing 200 Baht ) ..?from my Thai bank to show immigration ...?

TTW

[gmac]

Just had a thought, ive been extending my Non ‘O’ support visa (married to a Thai) for some years now

By showing 400,000 Baht has been electronically transferred from my UK bank account to my Thai Bank here,

I have a cheque book for my UK bank, (now may be here’s a silly question) could I just write my self a

cheque from my UK bank made out to my self, and pay it into my Thai Bank, would this be practical

or even possible. If it could be done would the Uk cheque be considered by Immigration as a transfer from

out of Thailand …? . The reason I ask this question is in the past ive been having problems arranging electronic

Transfers of money from my home bank to here in Thailand. …its just a thought ..?

TTW

I wasn't aware that it was necessary to show the funds as having been received from outside of Thailand for the Thai wife extension. I have obtained mine for the past two years just by showing the balance in my account supported by the letter from Krung Thai Bank. As far as transferring the funds goes, I always just make a withdrawal using my UK Nationwide Flex card and pay the cash in over the counter, or for a large amount 400,000 say, they will sometimes just take the bank book with the visa slip to another desk and do the transaction for me. The Rate of exchange is always excellent and there are no charges either by Nationwide or the Thai bank!

[gmac]

Thank’s thanyaburimac for taking the time to post your details, its very much appreciated , and now it gives me some thing to think about when its near the time to try and electronically transfer money for my visa extension.

Just a second thought… if you say ……..

This is correct, you write the personal check made out to "cash," sign it, and sign on the reverse as an endorsement (don't know why this is so, but it is, TiT). After the paper shuffle by the gals at the bank, 20-30 minutes perhaps, they’ll …….. Update your bank book to show the baht

Does this then mean as the Baht is now shown in your bank book and as George has said a… Technically the funds will arrive in Thailand as a SWIFT payment from overseas, and will be coded as such in your bank passbook.

Then if the cheque amount is shown in my bank book as a SWIFT payment from overseas, could then I not just request my normal confirmation of funds in my thai bank letter ( normally costing 200 Baht ) ..?from my Thai bank to show immigration ...?

TTW

Just a thought on writing out UK personal cheques abroad. When I used to work for a bank in the UK I seem to recall that a charge was made for the conversion, probably around stg25 by now, and the rate Barclays used to use was always loaded by 2.5% in their favour!!

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Thank’s thanyaburimac for taking the time to post your details, its very much appreciated , and now it gives me some thing to think about when its near the time to try and electronically transfer money for my visa extension.

Just a second thought… if you say ……..

This is correct, you write the personal check made out to "cash," sign it, and sign on the reverse as an endorsement (don't know why this is so, but it is, TiT). After the paper shuffle by the gals at the bank, 20-30 minutes perhaps, they’ll …….. Update your bank book to show the baht

Does this then mean as the Baht is now shown in your bank book and as George has said a… Technically the funds will arrive in Thailand as a SWIFT payment from overseas, and will be coded as such in your bank passbook.

Mac says: I don't know how the funds get from Maryland to SCB HQ in Bangkok, but they do so I'll not worry much about the means. The "coding" in the bank book is usually, but not always, "X1" and "261B," and I have no idea what these mean. The "X1" also seems to apply to ATM transfers here in Thailand, that's how I pay for a couple newspaper and magazine subscriptions, saves a drive to pay cash and I don't really have a Thai checking account any more.

Then if the cheque amount is shown in my bank book as a SWIFT payment from overseas, could then I not just request my normal confirmation of funds in my thai bank letter ( normally costing 200 Baht ) ..?from my Thai bank to show immigration ...?

Mac says: Well, yes, probably could, but if you're going to be writing a check to your Thai bank on your overseas account anyway, the Thai bank will give you something similar to the "check deposit receipt" I scanned. Then the only additional cost to you is baht 12-24 for xeroxing the 12 receipts to show to Immigration. They seem to like these the last few times I've renewed my retirement extension.

TTW

[The Thai Whisperer]

Thanks Guy’s again for the comments and advice, when in the past ive managed to arrange an electronic transfer of money from my UK bank to my Bangkok Bank here, the transaction code in my bank book has all way’s shown it as .. CMB which on the list at the back of the bank book codes say’s … CMB = Combined No -Book transaction

Which I think may also means not only an electronic transfer form an over sea’s bank, but also if you put money in the account by writing your self a cheque from a UK bank..? There’s nothing shown on the bank book list of codes to indicate receiving money via an electronic transfer of money from out of Thailand ..? .

I all way’s assumed that to for fill the yearly visa extension requirements I had to show that I had received some money into my Thai bank account making it up to the required 400,000 baht …. from outside Thailand..?..... May be some one could just confirm for me that in fact when applying for a yearly support visa extension you have to show that you have been receiving money into your Thai bank account from out side Thailand (hence my arranging electronic transfers of money on each new extension application) If your Thai bank book does not show any money coming from out side Thailand, then would not Immigration want to know where the money in your bank book has come from..? .

________________________________________________________________________________

_

thanyaburimac your comment ….

Mac says: Well, yes, probably could, but if you're going to be writing a check to your Thai bank on your overseas account anyway, the Thai bank will give you something similar to the "check deposit receipt" I scanned. Then the only additional cost to you is baht 12-24 for xeroxing the 12 receipts to show to Immigration. They seem to like these the last few times I've renewed my retirement extension.

________________________________________________________________________________

_

If I only wanted to write one UK cheque out to top up my Thai Bank account to the required level for the yearly visa extension, the bank would issue me with some sort of check deposit receipt , which the Immigration may accepted in stead of a

Banks confirmation letter, ....?

I think I will have to take a trip to the Bangkok Bank and just see how this bank reacts to the paying in a UK cheque idea, and what sort of confirmation letter / receipt they may use when I tell them i need to show immigration some type of bank balance confirmation ..?

gmac .. your comments………..

I wasn't aware that it was necessary to show the funds as having been received from outside of Thailand for the Thai wife extension. I have obtained mine for the past two years just by showing the balance in my account supported by the letter from Krung Thai Bank. As far as transferring the funds goes, I always just make a withdrawal using my UK Nationwide Flex card and pay the cash in over the counter, or for a large amount 400,000 say, they will sometimes just take the bank book with the visa slip to another desk and do the transaction for me. The Rate of exchange is always excellent and there are no charges either by Nationwide or the Thai bank!

May be as the exchange transaction is thorough your Flex card it’s considered as an international receipt of money, and shown in your Thai bank book coded as money

Paid in from out side Thailand…? Which the Immigration see and accept..?

TTW

[wpcoe]

I have four attachments scanned to show, now to see if this works, haven't tried an attachment on Thai Visa before.

Thanks, Mac, for the time and effort you took to post that. I am most grateful to learn your process and will do it the next time I need to transfer funds. I just need to locate the bloody check book. I've been doing online banking for so long, that it has been *years* since I wrote a paper check!

So far, mainly because of the US$50 SWIFT transaction fee my credit union charges, my plan has been to transfer large lumpsum transfers that last me for several months. I just got my initial retirement extension stamp in September, so I'm still considering different strategies. I only need to show a balance of B200,000 to supplement my early-retirement pension to qualify for the retirement extension, so I transferred about B300,000 in September and am now just waiting to see how long it takes for me to spend that much.

I was a little surprised to see your SCB bank letter in English. My SCB branch provided me with a bank letter in Thai.

[The Thai Whisperer]

I all way’s assumed that to for fill the yearly visa extension requirements I had to show that I had received some money into my Thai bank account making it up to the required 400,000 baht …. from outside Thailand..?..... May be some one could just confirm for me that in fact when applying for a yearly support visa extension you have to show that you have been receiving money into your Thai bank account from out side Thailand (hence my arranging electronic transfers of money on each new extension application) If your Thai bank book does not show any money coming from out side Thailand, then would not Immigration want to know where the money in your bank book has come from..? .

Can any one please confirm the above for me please .... , or have I got it wrong and you just need to show the correct amount of maney in a Thai bank no matter where it came from ...?

TTW

[dr_Pat_Pong]

I all way’s assumed that to for fill the yearly visa extension requirements I had to show that I had received some money into my Thai bank account making it up to the required 400,000 baht …. from outside Thailand..?..... May be some one could just confirm for me that in fact when applying for a yearly support visa extension you have to show that you have been receiving money into your Thai bank account from out side Thailand (hence my arranging electronic transfers of money on each new extension application) If your Thai bank book does not show any money coming from out side Thailand, then would not Immigration want to know where the money in your bank book has come from..? .

Can any one please confirm the above for me please .... , or have I got it wrong and you just need to show the correct amount of maney in a Thai bank no matter where it came from ...?

TTW

Thai Immigration want to see evidence that the funds came from abroad. Otherwise they will conclude that the money was illegally earned in Thailand,

[The Thai Whisperer]

thanks .. dr Pat pong , just what I wanted .... what's your thoughts on my original post.....( using a bank cheque as a immigration transfer )

it does not sound too common a pratice..? but looks as if it should work out ok ..?

TTW

[Maestro]

Wow. Live and learn! You mean that for B203, you can write a personal check from your US bank checkbook and deposit it into your SCB account in Thailand?

The Thai bank’s charges may vary depending on the amount, for example 0.25% of the amount but minimum THB 200, maximum THB 500. Different banks may use different rates.

Your US bank may debit you a fee for each cheque you write. Check this out.

Some Thai banks may use different exchange rates for inward SWIFT remittances and for cheque deposits. For example SCB today, buying rate for USD:

– T/T (includes SWIFT): 36.62

– Cheques: 36.52

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

Maestro

[VBF]

I wasn't aware that it was necessary to show the funds as having been received from outside of Thailand for the Thai wife extension. I have obtained mine for the past two years just by showing the balance in my account supported by the letter from Krung Thai Bank. As far as transferring the funds goes, I always just make a withdrawal using my UK Nationwide Flex card and pay the cash in over the counter, or for a large amount 400,000 say, they will sometimes just take the bank book with the visa slip to another desk and do the transaction for me. The Rate of exchange is always excellent and there are no charges either by Nationwide or the Thai bank!

Can anyone else kindly confirm that it is possible to obtain the money on a UK Debit card (Visa or Mastercard), pay this into one's Thai bank account and still have it show up as being remitted from abroad? I favour SCB in particular and this method would be ideal for me rather than arranging for electronic transfers. (This, BTW would be to go towards the 800,000Baht for a retirement extension but I guess the principle is the same.)

Thanks people.

VBF

Edited November 6, 2006 by VBF

[Mumbo Jumbo]

I would also like to know ....any one Please...?

Thanks .........Mumbo

[philnicol]

Wow. Live and learn! You mean that for B203, you can write a personal check from your US bank checkbook and deposit it into your SCB account in Thailand?

The Thai bank’s charges may vary depending on the amount, for example 0.25% of the amount but minimum THB 200, maximum THB 500. Different banks may use different rates.

Your US bank may debit you a fee for each cheque you write. Check this out.

Some Thai banks may use different exchange rates for inward SWIFT remittances and for cheque deposits. For example SCB today, buying rate for USD:

– T/T (includes SWIFT): 36.62

– Cheques: 36.52

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

Maestro

Recently asked bangkok bank charge for depositing UK cheque and told 32USD - Bit more than 200-500 baht mentioned here?

[My Friend Same]

OK now let me get this straight, I want to make sure of something here. I will be going to apply for a retirement visa in the future. I have PERSONAL checks from my US checking account. So all I need to do is cruise into my BKK Bank branch with my savings passbook and US bank personal check for $25000, pay whatever fees and bingo I have just satisfied the financial requirement to get my visa. Is this correct? I never heard of this before but it sounds nice and easy

[lopburi3]

The 25k check has to clear which could be up to six week and the money has to be in account for 3 months.

[My Friend Same]

Thank you Lop, this is very good news for me when my time comes for that visa in another 2 years