Not using your retirement extension bank account for living expenses

[AbeSurd]

I read more and more reports about Immigration wanting to see that you're withdrawing from and making deposits into the Thai bank account the 800,000 baht for your retirement extension is in. The reason being that they want to see how you're funding your stay in Thailand - which is a fair enough reason, to my mind.

However I maintain two other separate Thai bank accounts for my living expenses money, and keep my retirement extension money in an account dedicated solely to that.

When I renew my retirement extension this time, I intend to take along with me the passbooks for these living expenses bank accounts to show Immigration (along with all the other paperwork that's required).

Will Immigration (specifically Chonburi Immigration at Jomtien) find this acceptable instead?

Thanks.

Edited February 17, 2017 by AbeSurd

[ubonjoe]

The few offices that want to see activity on the account with 800k baht in it  have accepted another account showing activity.

I don't recall any report of Jomtien wanting  to see activity in the account.

[meatboy]

i have had the same fixed acc.the past 8yrs.never touched it,but yes i have been asked many times what do you live on,so i always have a current acc.book with me showing monthly amounts going out,with a transfer once a yr.going in.

[AbeSurd]

2 minutes ago, meatboy said:

i have had the same fixed acc.the past 8yrs.never touched it,but yes i have been asked many times what do you live on,so i always have a current acc.book with me showing monthly amounts going out,with a transfer once a yr.going in.

Is this at Jomtien?

 

Do you do photocopies of your current account book for them or just show them the book?

 

Thanks.

[Phuket Man]

16 minutes ago, AbeSurd said:

Is this at Jomtien?

 

Do you do photocopies of your current account book for them or just show them the book?

 

Thanks.

No. He is in Korat.

[IMA_FARANG]

I have two Bangkok Bank accounts.

One is for my US pension account which by US social security rules I MUST NOT

 have an ATM card on, and a second account with an ATM card o n.

I use this account for my daily expenses by my ATM card

This 2nd account is separate from my retirement account which is kept above 800k Baht

This is how I was to do it by the US Social Security People

[Dan5]

I use Bangkok Bank to move money from the USA since as far as I know its the least expensive and quickest method. I also use that account for showing money for my visa extensions. I  transfer money from that account to my accounts at other banks that I use for my living expenses. So my Bangkok Bank pass book just shows money coming in internationally and going out to other local bank accounts.,  Immigration has never asked me for any information about those other bank accounts.

[KBsinter]

Several times had the issue with Jomtien,one of them told me she wanted to see

my bankbook, I said you have copies, "what you ask for" letter from bank dated

same day,luckily had copies of other bankbooks with me,which I showed to her

superior, job done, moved to BKK 2yrs ago just go down stairs put some money in

ok job done..............

[CMBob]

Chiangmai Immigration doesn't care as long as you've had proper amount in there for the required time period (90 days after the first extension).  Like Meatboy and others, I never touch my "visa" account and it shows no activity at all.  And Chiangmai has never asked to see my other bank account or asked me about what funds do I use for living expenses.  But, like Ubonjoe has suggested, different offices (and/or officers) may have different rules or questions.

[khunPer]

I have always kept my 800,000 baht retirement extension deposit clean, i.e. no withdrawals or deposits, so it's easy to check the money has matured; also because I use high interest fixed deposits to gain most from the "frozen" funds. I use a normal savings account with ATM for all daily transactions, including foreign transfers of fund for my living expenses, and massive number of ATM withdrawals, which account I also present and include in the bank letter and statement, when applying for my annual extension for staying in the Kingdom. That has always been accepted with a smile, as I can prove both the necessary funds, and that I don't work; i.e. foreign transfers coming in and spent. If one can afford to keep the two accounts separated, I think it's the best way, and more easy than the hassle of obtaining income statements from embassy...

[KBsinter]

1 minute ago, CMBob said:

Chiangmai Immigration doesn't care as long as you've had proper amount in there for the required time period (90 days after the first extension).  Like Meatboy and others, I never touch my "visa" account and it shows no activity at all.  And Chiangmai has never asked to see my other bank account or asked me about what funds do I use for living expenses.  But, like Ubonjoe has suggested, different offices (and/or officers) may have different rules or questions.

 

My money has been in the bank untouched for 5 yrs (well seasoned)................lol

[RodiThai]

1 hour ago, Dan5 said:

I use Bangkok Bank to move money from the USA since as far as I know its the least expensive and quickest method. I also use that account for showing money for my visa extensions. I  transfer money from that account to my accounts at other banks that I use for my living expenses. So my Bangkok Bank pass book just shows money coming in internationally and going out to other local bank accounts.,  Immigration has never asked me for any information about those other bank accounts.

I plan to use Bangkok Bank to move money from the USA too. Which other bank do you use and why not Bangkok Bank for your living expenses? Thanks

[melvinmelvin]

6 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

The few offices that want to see activity on the account with 800k baht in it  have accepted another account showing activity.

I don't recall any report of Jomtien wanting  to see activity in the account.

 

The way you phrase yourself it seems to me that the rules re this are unclear, (as most things in LoS).

 

I have a fixed bank acc with 800+ k in it, have had it for years.

Has Immigration recently changed their view on this?

May I risk being refused renewal of extension of stay? 'Cause the money is stable in the account?

 

(can't show any other passbook with money streaming in/out, don't use 'em. mostly I use credit cards for cash withdrawal/advances. of course I have records, but they will not be in Thai and they will not be in English.)

 

 

 

 

[ubonjoe]

10 minutes ago, melvinmelvin said:

May I risk being refused renewal of extension of stay? 'Cause the money is stable in the account?

As I wrote very few offices want to see movement in the account. There is no old or new rule requiring it.

If asked you could show ATM slips to prove how you get money to live on or bank statements showing the withdrawals done here. 

[Number 6]

I'm on an O marriage. My 400k Sat three months, I also attached addl accounts including one with my wife (to show the relationship). The IO tossed it all back and only kept the one acct with 400k. Not interested. BKK.

 

[MichaelJohn]

I have had my B800k in a separate (interest) account for the last 6 years and never been asked to show any expenditure (Cheng Wattana)

[Aforek]

6 hours ago, meatboy said:

i have had the same fixed acc.the past 8yrs.never touched it,but yes i have been asked many times what do you live on,so i always have a current acc.book with me showing monthly amounts going out,with a transfer once a yr.going in.

which fixed account do you have ? which bank, with interest? You have it for 8 years ?

I am at SCB, and I see they have fixed account for 3 years only ( many possible to renew it , I must ask )

I want a long term fixed account, with possible withdrawal

thanks

[1FinickyOne]

3 hours ago, RodiThai said:

I plan to use Bangkok Bank to move money from the USA too. Which other bank do you use and why not Bangkok Bank for your living expenses? Thanks

I have found Kasikorn to be best for money transfers. Money sent at night is in my account the next morning. Mostly, for daily expenses, I withdraw 20,000 baht from ATM machines and use it until I need more. 

[Craig krup]

I wonder if they would get uppity if it became obvious that you were living on very little. 

[khunPer]

2 hours ago, Aforek said:

9 hours ago, meatboy said:

i have had the same fixed acc.the past 8yrs.never touched it,but yes i have been asked many times what do you live on,so i always have a current acc.book with me showing monthly amounts going out,with a transfer once a yr.going in.

which fixed account do you have ? which bank, with interest? You have it for 8 years ?

I am at SCB, and I see they have fixed account for 3 years only ( many possible to renew it , I must ask )

I want a long term fixed account, with possible withdrawal

thanks

I'm not the quoted "meatboy"; but I can say about fixed bank account etc.:

It can sometime be worth shopping around between some major banks for the best interest, often the banks have promotion running from 7 to 15 month; some banks has 36-month accounts. The only important is that you shall always be able to withdraw any or full amount, at any time (demand from Immigration), which normally is possible with loss of interest only. All Thai banks are covered by a warranty, at the moment several million bath, but will in a few years be reduced to 1 million bath. At present, a few month ago, I found Bangkok Bank having the most favorable offer with 1.50% pa. – however, 15% tax will be withdrawn, but one should be able to claim back, if taxable Thai income is under minimum for paying income tax.

 

Using a separate account for daily transactions – foreign transfer and ATM withdrawals – can stay in same bank all the time, and not necessary the same bank as your fixed deposit. For extension of stay, you will need a bank letter and statement for the fixed account, and a statement for the daily transaction account; if not same bank, you will need two bank-letters. Normally a bank will charge 100 baht for a letter, and 100 bath for each statement, but that can vary from bank to bank. It may, as Ubon Joe say, not be a demand from the Immigration Office, but where I stay they like to see it, and with all paperwork in order from the beginning, application for extension of stay is a smooth process.

 

For foreign transfers, I was originally informed by a foreign real estate agent that K-Bank (Kasikorn) has slightly better foreign currency exchange rate than other banks – and one shall always transfer in foreign currency and let the Thai end exchange to baht, and only pay local sender fees abroad, and pay the Thai-end receiver fees here – whilst Bangkok Bank was one day faster than other banks for "normal" wire-transfer. However, it may have changed, but I normally use Bangkok Bank for transfers, and it's done within 3 bank-days, whilst I also sometime use SCB (Siam Commercial Bank), and lately it seem to be done within same time range as Bangkok Bank; so I cannot say if one is better than another with "normal" transfer. My foreign Danish bank has an Internet option, so I can transfer abroad on a small fixed fee – about $9 for "normal" transfer, no matter where and how much – so it's fairly cheap even one may need monthly transfers. If you can afford and plan for quarterly foreign transfers, i.e. 3-month expenses, or more, it's worth considering it both for fees, and because the interest rate on a normal Thai-bank's savings account may be slightly higher than in your home country (in Denmark it's 0% at the moment).

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, Craig krup said:

I wonder if they would get uppity if it became obvious that you were living on very little. 

The Immigration regulations for extensions of stay require folks to either have money in the Thai bank or show proof of a certain monthly income.

 

There's nothing in the regulations that requires anyone to actually spend any specific amount of money in or out of Thailand.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

5 hours ago, RodiThai said:

I plan to use Bangkok Bank to move money from the USA too. Which other bank do you use and why not Bangkok Bank for your living expenses? Thanks

For Americans, Bangkok Bank is the best Thai bank for transferring funds from the U.S. to Thailand, because they have their own proprietary transfer method that allows you to send from the U.S. starting with a typically free domestic ACH transfer to BKK Bank's New York office. And then, from there, they transfer it onward to your BKK Bank in Thailand for relatively low fee rates.

 

None of the other Thai banks have a similar method allowing domestic ACHs from the U.S., so with other Thai banks, you're typically going to be paying the usually higher fees for a traditional international wire transfer. For Americans, that means usually an expensive sending fee from your U.S. bank, oftentimes handling fees by correspondent banks as middlemen, and then finally receiving fees by the Thai bank.

 

I've never heard any American provide any proof of finding a lower cost traditional international wire transfer method from the U.S. to Thailand compared to Bangkok Bank's NY routing method.

 

Once your U.S. funds have arrived in your Bangkok Bank account in Thailand, I don't know of any reason why you wouldn't or couldn't want to spend them out of the BKK Bank account, as all their local Thai banking customer features are pretty much the same as the other Thai banks.

 

Edited February 17, 2017 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Craig krup]

51 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

The Immigration regulations for extensions of stay require folks to either have money in the Thai bank or show proof of a certain monthly income.

 

There's nothing in the regulations that requires anyone to actually spend any specific amount of money in or out of Thailand.

 

True, but their agenda is "No more frugal Dougals, if possible". They pretty obviously want you to come and spend. You can see their point. But for the non-drinker, non-party animal, gym-bunny reader, who doesn't count shopping as a hobby and lives in the boonies, it might be hard to blow through more than a very modest amount. 

 

I only spent £324 in six weeks without making any special effort. I think they'd rather you spent that every week, or every day if you could manage it. 

[thailand49]

20 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

The few offices that want to see activity on the account with 800k baht in it  have accepted another account showing activity.

I don't recall any report of Jomtien wanting  to see activity in the account.

Been doing my extension for over 10 years, used the Bank Account,  used the bank account along with letter from embassy for income each month, and last five years using solely the letter and never been asked anything about activity.

[snoopy21]

Yes, I do the same thing. There was no problem and ran smoothly when I renewed my retirement visa at Jomtien Immigration this January.

[siam2007]

18 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

As I wrote very few offices want to see movement in the account. There is no old or new rule requiring it.

If asked you could show ATM slips to prove how you get money to live on or bank statements showing the withdrawals done here. 

 

 

Good Idea

 

I usually keep credit card purchase slips or withdrawal slips for 3-4 months and then when all is above board when checking my accounts, I dispose them.

I guess I will now start keeping the withdrawal slips for a year or so. Unfortunately, many of them bleach out quickly no matter where you store them

[HampiK]

3 hours ago, siam2007 said:

 

 

Good Idea

 

I usually keep credit card purchase slips or withdrawal slips for 3-4 months and then when all is above board when checking my accounts, I dispose them.

I guess I will now start keeping the withdrawal slips for a year or so. Unfortunately, many of them bleach out quickly no matter where you store them

You not have a monthly credit bill, so you only have to store this 12 bills... I think would be much easier than keep the slips :)