Documents for retirement extension at Chaeng Watthana

[Card]

10 minutes ago, thaibook said:

I have a British passport but am/have been a fiscal resident of the USA so my income is in the USA.  I expect Thai immigration will not accept a letter from the American consulate, assuming they would provide such a letter to someone with only a green card, from someone with a British passport. Will the British consulate provide a letter without evidence of income or do I need to show them my US income? 

 

 

They always insist on proof of income these days, so I suggest you send them proof of your US income - they have a list of what constitutes proof of income of the Brit embassy website.

 

[performance]

15 hours ago, Card said:

Thanks for this but do I need both a bank statement and the passbook or just one or the other?

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Passbook updated on the day

[thaibook]

thank you Ubonjoe and Card

[Samyan]

Can the Income letter still be obtained in person at the Australian Embassy in Bangkok?

Last year I signed an affidavit there without proof of pension or other income. The cost of them witnessing my signature was 500 baht.

[ubonjoe]

10 minutes ago, Samyan said:

Can the Income letter still be obtained in person at the Australian Embassy in Bangkok?

Last year I signed an affidavit there without proof of pension or other income. The cost of them witnessing my signature was 500 baht.

Yes you can still do a statutory declaration at the embassy.

[Samyan]

Thank you Joe. Yes I should have said I signed a statutory declaration.

[Card]

Got my retirement visa yesterday at Chaeng Watthana. Arrived about 10.15am and left about 5.0pm – coz there were 3 checkpoints and a final wait for the actual stamp. This length of time is like the old days but they got over that at the govt complex but have now reverted to type. It’s not that they are careful about checking their customer’s diligence, it’s more about triple checking that of their staff. This could all be shortened if one application was dealt entirely by one staff member, instead of going up the chain of command. In the end that top official checked all retirement visa applications on the day. Anyway here are the documents that I submitted and were not queried:

1.      Completed application form – incl address at top of page of the back and signed front and back, but no address on lower part of back page, plus tel number on front written at top.

2.      Photocopies of passport – all individually signed - main page, original visa, all subsequent extensions, last entry stamp to country and the departure card.

3.      Original letter from bank confirming my (greater than) 800,000 baht deposit – done in 15mins, cost 100 baht at BKK Bank on ground floor of complex – after being updated by withdrawing cash from ATM machine outside.

4.      Copy of main page of bank book plus all pages within last 3 months showing clearly at least 800,000 deposit continuously.

5.      1,900 baht fee.

Note: no proof of address was requested or supplied, although I took my original rental contract just in case.

 

[maccra]

I may have an issue with the pages of a Bank Book. I have in my savings account more than 800K since about end of  July this year. However I never used to update my bank book very often because I use the internet online banking. The last time before July I had updated my Bank book on the 29.04.2016 (which shows less than 800k). I then updated it in November 2016 and the entries  jumped from 29.04.2016 to 27.10.2016 (it skipped about 6 months of entries).

In reality I have had the 800K since end of July (You can see this when you look at the online Banking).

 

I was planning to go to BKK Immigration this week and apply for Non-O (Change from Tourist Visa to Non-O, based on retirement, I am already over 50yr).

 

Now, My bank book does not show that I have continuous 800k for the last 3 months.

 

Is there any other document I can get from the Bank (BKK Bank), which will testify that I have had the 800k for more than 3 months? Is it possible to get a statement from the BBK bank for at least 3 months?

 

Would a print out from the online Banking site be useful as an additional backup document, as this would show that I have had the 800k for 3 months?

 

Exactly how many months do I need to show? In the list of supporting documents I have, it does not indicate any time frame at all!

[ubonjoe]

5 minutes ago, maccra said:

Now, My bank book does not show that I have continuous 800k for the last 3 months.

To do an application for a visa the money only has to be in the bank on the date you apply.

You will only need it to be in the bank for 60 days when you apply for the extension of stay.

 

[maccra]

ubonjoe... Many thanks for the reply.

 

Ok.. So that means I can go this week and apply for the Non-O visa, and for the extension (in about 80-90 days from now), I will have the history as required.

 

Again many thanks.

[Card]

20 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

To do an application for a visa the money only has to be in the bank on the date you apply.

You will only need it to be in the bank for 60 days when you apply for the extension of stay.

 

Maybe for an application, but not an extension.

Edited December 19, 2016 by Card

[jojothai]

On 12/19/2016 at 9:20 PM, ubonjoe said:

To do an application for a visa the money only has to be in the bank on the date you apply.

You will only need it to be in the bank for 60 days when you apply for the extension of stay.

 

Hi UbonJoe and others

I just got my first retirement extension yesterday at ChangWattana.

I understood from all the info I saw that you have to be able to show that the money came from outside thailand.

The standard Thai bank letter that I was given only states the amount. Not where it came from. Nor how long.

You need the bank book to show the time period AND the FTT as somebody pointed out earlier.

 

I only needed 2 months holding the amount and had that in my current book. however the amount was deposited a few weeks before in my previous book. i had the previous book and a copy.

The senior immigration lady approving the visa looked very carefully at the earlier bank book and circled the entry. She was obviously looking for when the amount was deposited. I dont know whether that was just for the date but the FTT was there to show it came from overseas.

 

I can also add comment to the debate over the bank letter. 

I saw somewhere that it can be up to 7 days before the application. Mine was 4 days before application and no problem was raised.

However as everybody points out I got my bank book updated on the morning of the application. Fine - no issue raised. (As pointed out by others you can do it downstairs after you get the queuing number.) 

 

I had the

Application form (with the one photo)

Passport and copies (signed)

TM 6 and copy

Bank letter , bank book(s) and copies

Fee

Got there early 7.45 and was about half way down the queue when doors opened, Completed extension 10.10 am.

Re entry took a lot longer because after my passport went in they stopped doing any stamping for about 40 minutes prior to lunch.

Had to wait until after lunch got away about 1.40pm.

 

Like to add that I was not asked for the following that I thought were required and I had with me.

Proof of residence (rental contract / chanote / house book)

Personal information form.

However I suggest that people take these and dont take chances. I have read some posts where they have been required

 

Also there was no need for medical certificate. Some people suggest this is necessary, but i understand that it is only when you apply for non-O overseas.

 

Hope this helps others

 

Jojo

[Card]

31 minutes ago, jojothai said:

Hi UbonJoe and others

I just got my first retirement extension yesterday at ChangWattana.

I understood from all the info I saw that you have to be able to show that the money came from outside thailand.

The standard Thai bank letter that I was given only states the amount. Not where it came from. Nor how long.

You need the bank book to show the time period AND the FTT as somebody pointed out earlier.

 

I only needed 2 months holding the amount and had that in my current book. however the amount was deposited a few weeks before in my previous book. i had the previous book and a copy.

The senior immigration lady approving the visa looked very carefully at the earlier bank book and circled the entry. She was obviously looking for when the amount was deposited. I dont know whether that was just for the date but the FTT was there to show it came from overseas.

 

I can also add comment to the debate over the bank letter. 

I saw somewhere that it can be up to 7 days before the application. Mine was 4 days before application and no problem was raised.

However as everybody points out I got my bank book updated on the morning of the application. Fine - no issue raised. (As pointed out by others you can do it downstairs after you get the queuing number.) 

 

I had the

Application form (with the one photo)

Passport and copies (signed)

TM 6 and copy

Bank letter , bank book(s) and copies

Fee

Got there early 7.45 and was about half way down the queue when doors opened, Completed extension 10.10 am.

Re entry took a lot longer because after my passport went in they stopped doing any stamping for about 40 minutes prior to lunch.

Had to wait until after lunch got away about 1.40pm.

 

Like to add that I was not asked for the following that I thought were required and I had with me.

Proof of residence (rental contract / chanote / house book)

Personal information form.

However I suggest that people take these and dont take chances. I have read some posts where they have been required

 

Also there was no need for medical certificate. Some people suggest this is necessary, but i understand that it is only when you apply for non-O overseas.

 

Hope this helps others

 

Jojo

You can see from my list above that I did NOT need an FET form for extending a retirement visa at Chaeng Watthana - I didn't take one and wasn't asked for one. You do NOT need proof that the 800,000 baht was brought into the country from outside. You may have presented the FET form and the official may have looked at it and maybe even have kept a copy of it - but that does not mean you need it.

 

I might add that you do NOT need proof of residence even though, again, an official may be very interested in it if you presented it to them.

 

I will also add that you can extend a retirement visa at least 2 weeks before expiry - I always do it 13 days before. It's been lucky for me!

 

All this applies to Chaeng Wathana - I do not know if it applies at other immigration offices around the country.

[jojothai]

58 minutes ago, Card said:

You can see from my list above that I did NOT need an FET form for extending a retirement visa at Chaeng Watthana - I didn't take one and wasn't asked for one. You do NOT need proof that the 800,000 baht was brought into the country from outside. You may have presented the FET form and the official may have looked at it and maybe even have kept a copy of it - but that does not mean you need it.

 

I might add that you do NOT need proof of residence even though, again, an official may be very interested in it if you presented it to them.

 

I will also add that you can extend a retirement visa at least 2 weeks before expiry - I always do it 13 days before. It's been lucky for me!

 

All this applies to Chaeng Wathana - I do not know if it applies at other immigration offices around the country.

Thanks and understood.

Maccra needs to note that his book will not actually show the 800K for 2 months unless he applies after 27 Dec. (from 27/10/2016).

 

Not sure what an FET form is. The FFT code is shown in the bank book.

The issue is whether there is the need for there to be a deposit from overseas. 

There are a number of advice sites that state the money is to be deposited from overseas. Overseas application requirements stated by MOF require a deposit equivalent to 800K and bank gaurantee letter.

If we are starting in Thailand and 800K in the bank, I dont see why we need to show where it came from. In my case I was covered anyway.

Maybe this particular requirement may only apply the first time of such application? 

If you are on a renewal, you should have money left from previous and you dont need to remit 800K again.

 

The point that should be noted from my experience is that my current bank book showed the amount as held for over 2 months, but not when /how it was deposited beforehand. In the book I had over 800K from 02/10/2016 to application 21/12/2016

The senior official took particular attention to the deposit that was made beforehand to achieve the 800K, that was earlier than the two months before, and she  circled and ticked things off from the previous bank book.

In reference to the post by Maccra above the bank book will not show the deposit to achieve 800K.

Referring to ubonjoes last post, if the amount only needs to be in the bank account 2 months then the official had no reason to review my previous bank book.

 

Suppose we will only know better if somebody confirms a problem for the first one year retirement application/ extension? 

Maccra could confirm what happens.

 

Note: Friends here that I know have no problem with this issue - but they have been on renewals for a long time.

 

Jojo

 

[jojothai]

On 12/19/2016 at 9:10 PM, maccra said:

Is there any other document I can get from the Bank (BKK Bank), which will testify that I have had the 800k for more than 3 months? Is it possible to get a statement from the BBK bank for at least 3 months?

 

Would a print out from the online Banking site be useful as an additonal backup document, as this would show that I have had the 800k for 3 months?

Hi Maccra

Note the 2 months must be satisfied, refer to UbonJoes post. So if your book shows only from 27/10/2016 then you need to wait for the 2 months.

Unless you can get previous bank statements.

 

The bank should be able to give you official statements for previous months, but will charge a fee.

Normally when i want to get records that have not been printed in my book they just do a print off, on plain paper.

Thats no use in immigration, and I dont think they will accept statements printed from online.

 

Provided it is your actual branch I dont see why they would refuse to do you some official statements.

I would expect they can make the official statement fairly quickly but have never had to do it.

 

 

[maccra]

All,

Thanks for the information. In my case, my application for a change of status to Non-O was not accepted. I needed a document from the bank that shows that the 800k was a foreign transfer. All my money in my Thai bank account has been from a foreign transfer, but mylast transfer was in 2012, and I could not get any document from the bank because it was too long ago, so I could not prove it. Immigration ask me if I was working here (maybe they suspected I was getting local money)

 

Anway, not sure what to do now.

I have been trying to open an other bank account but every branch/bank I go to say I need a Work Permit, which I don;t have, because I am not working here. I figured if I could open another account and make a new foreign transfer then that shouyld satisfy Immigration (at BKK).

 

If I can not open another bank account I can only see my option to go to Vientiane and get a Non-O there.

Is it required to proof of the source of the 800k at Vietiane, or is just Bank Book and Bank letter only required.

 

Thanks

 

 

[Lovethailandelite]

1 minute ago, maccra said:

All,

Thanks for the information. In my case, my application for a change of status to Non-O was not accepted. I needed a document from the bank that shows that the 800k was a foreign transfer. All my money in my Thai bank account has been from a foreign transfer, but mylast transfer was in 2012, and I could not get any document from the bank because it was too long ago, so I could not prove it. Immigration ask me if I was working here (maybe they suspected I was getting local money)

 

Anway, not sure what to do now.

I have been trying to open an other bank account but every branch/bank I go to say I need a Work Permit, which I don;t have, because I am not working here. I figured if I could open another account and make a new foreign transfer then that shouyld satisfy Immigration (at BKK).

 

If I can not open another bank account I can only see my option to go to Vientiane and get a Non-O there.

Is it required to proof of the source of the 800k at Vietiane, or is just Bank Book and Bank letter only required.

 

Thanks

 

 

Why not just do another foreign transfer into the Thai Bank account you have already. I cannot see why your trying to open a new account if you already have one?

[maccra]

I thought about that too. If I do a new transfer then I will have about 1.7m, say. I don't do it because I figure they may ask where the previous 800k came from. I just thought open new account would be "clean" with no history to try explain, or get rejected.

[ubonjoe]

12 minutes ago, maccra said:

All,

Thanks for the information. In my case, my application for a change of status to Non-O was not accepted. I needed a document from the bank that shows that the 800k was a foreign transfer. All my money in my Thai bank account has been from a foreign transfer, but mylast transfer was in 2012, and I could not get any document from the bank because it was too long ago, so I could not prove it. Immigration ask me if I was working here (maybe they suspected I was getting local money)

Anway, not sure what to do now.

I have been trying to open an other bank account but every branch/bank I go to say I need a Work Permit, which I don;t have, because I am not working here. I figured if I could open another account and make a new foreign transfer then that shouyld satisfy Immigration (at BKK).

If I can not open another bank account I can only see my option to go to Vientiane and get a Non-O there.

Is it required to proof of the source of the 800k at Vietiane, or is just Bank Book and Bank letter only required.

Thanks

How long had the balance been at 800k baht or more. Normally they will waive the foreign transfer proof if has been in the bank for some time.

Do you have your old bank books that would show the foreign transfers. Perhaps the bank would write the letter based upon those.

I assume you could do a transfer to your existing account.

Vientiane does not ask for proof the funds came from abroad.

[maccra]

The 800k have been since July 2016. My current Bank Book shows it from 14.11.2016.

They did not really look at my bank book much. Immigration just ask for the Foreign Transaction form from the bank.

[Lovethailandelite]

2 minutes ago, maccra said:

I thought about that too. If I do a new transfer then I will have about 1.7m, say. I don't do it because I figure they may ask where the previous 800k came from. I just thought open new account would be "clean" with no history to try explain, or get rejected.

I see no reason why they would ask and indeed if they did, look at your bank book on the far right of each entry of receiving funds in your account. There is a code, I have no idea who you bank with but for Kasikorn for instance, any funds coming in from abroad shows code MCL and then four numbers. MCL in the case of Kasikorn shows the receiving  funds coming in from outside of Thailand and the four numbers denote which institution sent the funds.

[Card]

20 minutes ago, maccra said:

All,

Thanks for the information. In my case, my application for a change of status to Non-O was not accepted. I needed a document from the bank that shows that the 800k was a foreign transfer. All my money in my Thai bank account has been from a foreign transfer, but mylast transfer was in 2012, and I could not get any document from the bank because it was too long ago, so I could not prove it. Immigration ask me if I was working here (maybe they suspected I was getting local money)

 

Anway, not sure what to do now.

I have been trying to open an other bank account but every branch/bank I go to say I need a Work Permit, which I don;t have, because I am not working here. I figured if I could open another account and make a new foreign transfer then that shouyld satisfy Immigration (at BKK).

 

If I can not open another bank account I can only see my option to go to Vientiane and get a Non-O there.

Is it required to proof of the source of the 800k at Vietiane, or is just Bank Book and Bank letter only required.

 

Thanks

 

 

I don't know why you should need a work permit to open a bank account in Thailand - I have opened loads and I've never worked in Thailand. I am on a retirement visa and opened 3 in BKK bank in the last year. I know you need a work permit to get a credit card but not an ordinary savings account.

[maccra]

@Card, I agree with you.

I currently have a BKK account. I am on a tourist visa. The BKK websites even states that foreigners on Tourist visa can open a bank account, but every branch I have been so far have ask me for a Work Permit, (have only been to 5 branches so far).

Can you suggest any BKK branches in Bangkok?

[ubonjoe]

14 minutes ago, maccra said:

The 800k have been since July 2016. My current Bank Book shows it from 14.11.2016.

They did not really look at my bank book much. Immigration just ask for the Foreign Transaction form from the bank.

The bank should be able to print out a statement going back to July. That might help to prove you did not borrow the money to apply for the visa. That is the primary reason they want the foreign transfer proof.

You could show more than one bank book also.

[maccra]

@Ubonjoe; Like I said, my last foreign transfer was in 2012. What I did was keep the money I did not need regularly, in a Mutual Fund. In July I transfered the 800k from the Mutual Fund to my savings account bank book and have kept it above 800k since July 2016 (I still have a lot more in the Mutual Fund)

I could do what you suggest ( I suppose immigration could just reject it again).

I suppose worst case I would need to go to Vientiane someday.

[Card]

14 minutes ago, maccra said:

@Card, I agree with you.

I currently have a BKK account. I am on a tourist visa. The BKK websites even states that foreigners on Tourist visa can open a bank account, but every branch I have been so far have ask me for a Work Permit, (have only been to 5 branches so far).

Can you suggest any BKK branches in Bangkok?

I opened one without a problem in Huey kaew Road Chaing Mai and Head office Silom, but then when I tried to open a term deposit in Silom at a later date a silly woman said I had to provide all new documentation, ie. passport and proof of address, for any new accounts even though I provided both of them for the savings account in the same branch. Suffice it is to say I blew a wobbly. Then I went to the branch on rama 4 and they opened a term deposit with only my passport. The one on Rama 4 might be your best bet after trying silom - but beware the woman bank manager - she's a bit of a hippy and will try to rope you into getting investments - even phoning u up later, and they don't speak much English but they will open anything for you :-). You will need passport and proof of address - I used my rental contract and deposit receipt in Silom first time.

[Lovethailandelite]

1 minute ago, Card said:

I opened one without a problem in Huey kaew Road Chaing Mai and Head office Silom, but then when I tried to open a term deposit in Silom at a later date a silly woman said I had to provide all new documentation, ie. passport and proof of address, for any new accounts even though I provided both of them for the savings account in the same branch. Suffice it is to say I blew a wobbly. Then I went to the branch on rama 4 and they opened a term deposit with only my passport. The one on Rama 4 might be your best bet after trying silom - but beware the woman bank manager - she's a bit of a hippy and will try to rope you into getting investments - even phoning u up later, and they don't speak much English but they will open anything for you :-). You will need passport and proof of address - I used my rental contract and deposit receipt in Silom first time.

Your on a retirement extension, he's on a tourist visa. That is the difference. It isn't as easy anymore opening bank accounts on a tourist visa as it once was.

[Card]

So why did they ask for a work permit if he was on a tourist visa?

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[Lovethailandelite]

1 hour ago, Card said:

So why did they ask for a work permit if he was on a tourist visa?

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That appears to be a requirement BUT if your on a long term visa or extension then some will open you an account. Kasikorn will do it on a long term visa with a bit of persuading but it's normally a minimum of 10,000Bt to open the account. Its a good account though with Internet banking and a Visa Debit ATM card. I see reports of Bangkok Bank not doing the Visa Debit card anymore but something else that hardly anybody accepts.

[Evilbaz]

Along similar lines I have had 6 retirement extensions in the past.

However for various reasons I went back to Australia and got a fresh OA Visa.

When I get to extension time will I only need two months "seasoning"?