THB800,000 can it also be in another currency for a retirement visa?

[polevalter]

Hi

I retired in Thailand and have a current retirement visa.

Normally I have the B800K in my Thai bank account but this year at renewal, I most probably will not meet that number in THB. 

However, I do have this equivalent amount in my home country bank account. 

Can anyone enlighten me on this please?

[ubonjoe]

You apparently have a one year extension of stay based upon retirement not a visa. The funds to apply for that must be in a Thai bank.

You could go home and apply for a OA long stay visa for retirement at a Thai embassy or official consulate there and use the money in a bank there to get it.

[Peterw42]

The money needs to be in a Thai bank account 3 months prior, a recent balance statement or passbook update, and a letter from the bank. A visit to a visa agent may help.

[IMA_FARANG]

If you can show a  pension of 65, 000 Baht monthly or better  that  will also be sufficient.

In fact that retirement extension will be approved if you have 800K in a Thai bank OR a verified pension of 65K Baht equivalent monthly OR a combination of the 2 sources that  is equivalent to 800K Thai Baht annually.

It  is possible.

 

 

[Pib]

OP, when you say, "....but this year at renewal, I most probably will not..." have the req'd Bt800K in your Thai bank account but have that equivalent amount in your home country bank account, well, if you have not reached the 3 months before renewal application if you do a transfer "now" to top-up your Thai bank account you would be OK.   But then again, maybe you do not have the money to transfer over "now?"  

[Suradit69]

6 hours ago, polevalter said:

I retired in Thailand and have a current retirement visa.

You apparently have an extension of stay based on retirement, not a visa.

If you have some sort of pension, social security, etc income that your embassy would certify, you can combine that with the balance held in a Thai bank account to satisfy the financial requirement for a renewal of your extension.

 

Depending on the office you use, they may or may not require the bank balance to have  been held for 3 months prior to the application for renewal when using the combination of certified income and bank balance in a Thai bank.

[Geordie59]

About 18 months ago I had a friend who had millions in a Thai Bhat deposit account and was refused. He had to transfer out of the deposit account and into a current account to get his Non Imm Visa and then his retirement extension.

[phuketjock]

8 minutes ago, Geordie59 said:

About 18 months ago I had a friend who had millions in a Thai Bhat deposit account and was refused. He had to transfer out of the deposit account and into a current account to get his Non Imm Visa and then his retirement extension.

The answer to the OP is yes your money in the bank for the purpose of obtaining

an extension of your permission to stay on the grounds of retirement can be in a

foreign currency which at the time of application must, i believe, have been in a

Thai bank account for two months for initial application and three months for each

subsequent renewal. The money must be in an account with instant access ie. no

restrictions on withdrawals. Below is a helpful guide to retirement extension requirements

taken from another thread in the Phuket forum, hope it helps anyone who needs this info.

Please bear in mind this is for the Phuket immigration office as different offices have

their own interpretations of the regulations, so please use this as a general guide. 

 

[Formaleins]

6 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

The money needs to be in a Thai bank account 3 months prior, a recent balance statement or passbook update, and a letter from the bank. A visit to a visa agent may help.

So then, how would you stand if you had the equivalent of say 800K Baht in the Siam Commercial bank in a Foreign Currency Account? (Which I think is what the OP was originally asking)

[phuketjock]

1 minute ago, Formaleins said:

So then, how would you stand if you had the equivalent of say 800K Baht in the Siam Commercial bank in a Foreign Currency Account? (Which I think is what the OP was originally asking)

Having had the said amount in the SCB in GBP for the last 9 retirement extensions

i would say you would be good as long as you met all the criteria for the granting of

a retirement extension.

[ubonjoe]

8 minutes ago, Formaleins said:

So then, how would you stand if you had the equivalent of say 800K Baht in the Siam Commercial bank in a Foreign Currency Account? (Which I think is what the OP was originally asking)

He was not asking about having a foreign currency account here. But some offices will accept them.

7 hours ago, polevalter said:

However, I do have this equivalent amount in my home country bank account. 

 

[ozgolfguy]

I understand that the letter certifying an income over THB 65,000 can also come from an employer (if you work overseas and your payroll is deposited overseas) and be certified by the local embassy with no need to have the THB 800K deposited for 3 months. However, I'm not clear on that letter being valid for 6 months - what does that exactly mean?

[Estrada]

2 hours ago, Geordie59 said:

About 18 months ago I had a friend who had millions in a Thai Bhat deposit account and was refused. He had to transfer out of the deposit account and into a current account to get his Non Imm Visa and then his retirement extension.

I do not believe his story. They prefer the money to be in a time deposit account as it is easy for them to see that the B800K has remained there for 3 months+. with a current account they have a problem seeing that the balance does not dip below B800K at any one time especially if your pass book is consolidated. You also have  a problem to make sure that your balance does not dip below B800K  as they will reject the application if the balance falls below B800K even on one day. Perhaps this was his problem, he had millions but the balance fell below B800K on a number of days during the 3 month period. Never had a problem in 23 years with the requirement myself. I have witnessed applicants trying to use money in overseas accounts and they cannot understand why their application is rejected. The point is that the B800K in country is supposed to prove that you have sufficient funds to live and pay living expenses and emergency medical treatment without posing a possible burden on the Thai Government.

[polevalter]

Thanks everyone for your valuable insights. Much appreciated.

[ujayujay]

52 minutes ago, Estrada said:

I do not believe his story. They prefer the money to be in a time deposit account as it is easy for them to see that the B800K has remained there for 3 months+. with a current account they have a problem seeing that the balance does not dip below B800K at any one time especially if your pass book is consolidated. You also have  a problem to make sure that your balance does not dip below B800K  as they will reject the application if the balance falls below B800K even on one day. Perhaps this was his problem, he had millions but the balance fell below B800K on a number of days during the 3 month period. Never had a problem in 23 years with the requirement myself. I have witnessed applicants trying to use money in overseas accounts and they cannot understand why their application is rejected. The point is that the B800K in country is supposed to prove that you have sufficient funds to live and pay living expenses and emergency medical treatment without posing a possible burden on the Thai Government.

Sure is possible. I had the same Problem. If you have too much THB on your Thai Account, they could ask you from where this Money is. I'ts about the Money Laundring rules. So I had to bring a Banking Statement from my Homecountry Bank about origine of this Money. Very complicated. So note: Don' t put much more than 800k THB on your Thai Bank.

[ubonjoe]

3 hours ago, Geordie59 said:

About 18 months ago I had a friend who had millions in a Thai Bhat deposit account and was refused. He had to transfer out of the deposit account and into a current account to get his Non Imm Visa and then his retirement extension.

I suspect he had the money in a investment account of some type that did allow withdrawals without delay or penalties other than loss of interest. 

I think he had to put it a standard saving account not a current account. Immigration will not normally accept a current account.

[Chip Allen]

10 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

You apparently have a one year extension of stay based upon retirement not a visa. The funds to apply for that must be in a Thai bank.

You could go home and apply for a OA long stay visa for retirement at a Thai embassy or official consulate there and use the money in a bank there to get it.

Could someone please comment on why the rules are different for the "monthly income method"??  Jomtien IO says my monthly income  from the USA can be in any bank in any country. This is very confusing, All I do is get a letter from my embassy and no one asks where the money is. Seems to make little sense if they want the money in a Thai bank. Currently, only my Social Security is deposited in Bangkok Bank, while the rest of my income from state pension and annuity are kept in a credit union back in the states. My state pension refuses to deposit my money into a foreign bank, although the annuity could be sent here.

[bazza73]

4 hours ago, phuketjock said:

 The money must be in an account with instant access ie. no

restrictions on withdrawals.

 

I've been doing retirement extensions for about six years now, the 800,000 baht is in a term deposit account. So far, I've never had a problem. Are you sure your advice is correct?

[Laza 45]

11 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

You apparently have a one year extension of stay based upon retirement not a visa. The funds to apply for that must be in a Thai bank.

You could go home and apply for a OA long stay visa for retirement at a Thai embassy or official consulate there and use the money in a bank there to get it.

That is correct... go home get an OA non immigrant visa... multi entry..  at the end of first year do a border run before the visa runs out and get another year (no entries.. you have to buy one if you want to make a trip in the 2nd year)..  I have been doing this for years... no money in Thailand..  or.. you can get an extension if your income (pension) is at least 60,000 Bt.... 40,0000 if you are married..  

 

[louse1953]

22 minutes ago, Laza 45 said:

That is correct... go home get an OA non immigrant visa... multi entry..  at the end of first year do a border run before the visa runs out and get another year (no entries.. you have to buy one if you want to make a trip in the 2nd year)..  I have been doing this for years... no money in Thailand..  or.. you can get an extension if your income (pension) is at least 60,000 Bt.... 40,0000 if you are married..  

 

You don't have to get a multi when you get the OA.Just a single before you go out.

[phuketjock]

42 minutes ago, bazza73 said:

I've been doing retirement extensions for about six years now, the 800,000 baht is in a term deposit account. So far, I've never had a problem. Are you sure your advice is correct?

First of all as I said all immigration offices interpret the rules as they see fit 

I deal with Phuket and as far as they are concerned your money must be in

an account that is readily accessible, ie no delay on withdrawals, either your

immigration office interprets the rules differently or your fixed term deposit

account has instant withdrawals, I have no way of knowing which.

I have had a fixed term deposit account with instant access so that is possible.

As you may see in the item I copied from the Phuket forum it does say that " only

savings or fixed accounts where the money is at anytime available are accepted "

Edited April 18, 2017 by phuketjock
addition

[Laza 45]

13 hours ago, louse1953 said:

You don't have to get a multi when you get the OA.Just a single before you go out.

Yes.. that is true.. a multi is just convenient if you plant to go out during the visa time...