[90 day signing and request to see bank details and statement of account]

4 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

Obviously not if your details are correct.

Entered Jan on a TV = 60 days until March.

Non O = 90 days March to June.

 

Again I'll ask if you used an agent?

Better still, attached edited copies of your TV, Non O and extension stamps.

Never used an agent.

My apologies should have said 30 day but I had to extend so same time limit as TV

However , can apply for extension 60 days after issue of non O. 

The relevant dates are as follows taken from passport

Returned to Thailand on 30 day - 5th Jan arrival

Extended  to 4th March  - needed 15 days remaining for non O application.

Non O issued 30th Jan

Extension 12 months granted 30th March with extension of stay until 28th April 2021

[90 day signing and request to see bank details and statement of account]

37 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

The way it should be is that you failed to comply with the requirements when you applied for your next extension they could refuse to accept you application. There is no requirement in the immigration order for your balance to be checked at any time other than then. 

Some officers are requiring proof you kept the 800k baht for 3 months after you applied and are giving people a notice to do it then. 

Wanting to check it when you do your 90 day reports is way over the top in my opinion.

As I wrote before you should return with proof you can meet the requirements by transferring the 65k baht into the bank every month.

I understand on application for renewal next year there could be an issue and I would simply exit and start again. I currently have 14 months of monthly transfers but only had 11 at the time of application for the non O and therefore used the money in the bank to obtain the visa. I do intend returning to complete the 90 day signing which was refused a few days ago and I will see what happens.

I agree in that it is a grey area but the purpose of the original post was to try and ascertain whether anyone has actually returned for the 3 month bank check having breached the conditions. I suspect if the balance has fallen below 800k why would anyone return for the check if it is not compulsory.

However , my experience with the refusal to be allowed to sign for the 90 days without the bank details caught me by surprise.

[90 day signing and request to see bank details and statement of account]

3 hours ago, Tanoshi said:

That just doesn't make sense!

 

Are you stating after having entered on a TV in January, CW issued you a 1 year extension in March, without first obtaining the Non O, or by any chance did you use an agent?

When did you move to Buriram and did you file a TM30?

I tried to limit the length of the original post. All done in correct order - TV , Non O then extension.

Moved to Buriram in April after obtaining extension from CW. TM30 filed and have receipt.

Never used an agent.

[90 day signing and request to see bank details and statement of account]

18 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

There are several issues in your case.

Can you please clarify already the following.

> Does the Buriram IO require retirees using the 800K money-in-bank method to visit their office after 3 months to check the bank-balance?

If that is not the case, it's strange that they ask you to show such evidence when doing your 90-day report in person.  These are two totally unrelated matters, and you could have easily done the 90-day report on-line, and doing so there is no need to provide evidence of your bank-balance. 

But it seems you have unwittingly awoken some sleeping dogs. 

> Are you now required to go back there to prove you still meet the financial requirements for your 1-year extension of stay?

If you used some of the 800K already, and Buriram IO does not accept your 14 months of monthly-income transfers, you are in an impossible situation, and will probably have to leave the country once the Amnesty is over, having to start all over again from scratch.

 

The extension was granted at CW and I was not given a slip to report back with bank book etc after 3 months. 

It was the first 90 day report at Buriram after re-locating and therefore I do not know whether it is standard practice for the bank details also to be provided after 3 months.

I will return in the next 7 days to complete the 90 day reporting with the bank details and see what happens. By attending to sign for the 90 days I am complying with the reporting requirements but you are suggesting that the extension is now invalid . No other issues - have TM30 receipt for new address in Buriram.

[90 day signing and request to see bank details and statement of account]

17 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Exactly. If you apply for an extension based on money in the bank then that's the deal. Fall below the 800k 3 month post then you won't be able to obtain new extension. OP needs to obtain new non o prior to current permission of stay ends.

Therefore you are suggesting if the conditions regarding the 800k post extension , 400k interim and 800k pre next extension are not compiled with then the original non O is invalid and have to exit Thailand and re-start the process even if the requirements can be satisfied with the full 12 months income at the time of next extension.

Not a problem for me personally to leave at any time once flights available since I would return with the evidence of the full 12 months income but I raised the issue for discussion regarding the validity of the current non O and extension once the money in the bank conditions have been breached. 

[90 day signing and request to see bank details and statement of account]

1 minute ago, cleopatra2 said:

One of the  conditions of the extension being granted was to maintain a balance of 800K three months after issue.

It was not to fulfil a requirement for the following years extension.

By failing to keep the required amount for the due length of time , the person has failed to maintain the requirements of the issued extension.

That is open to interpretation and that is the reason why I am asking for any personal experience. My view is that to be granted the extension you have to ensure you meet the conditions for application. What happens after that. I know the balance has fallen below 800k shortly after issue of the extension but I can support next years application with the monthly income which I could do at the present time. Am I in breach ? Is the extension invalid ?

At the end of the day I would start again if I had to do so with a visit abroad by the time of the next extension and then show a full 12 months with income from the UK. But the question remains. Is there a penalty for not adhering to the 3 months 800k in the bank. Why did the IO not let me sign the 90 days without the bank details.

[90 day signing and request to see bank details and statement of account]

19 minutes ago, cleopatra2 said:

My understanding is that the requirements to maintain the money in bank for 3 months was a condition  to  qualify for the extension on application. Not a requirement to qualify for the next extension.

 

I think you mean 2 months before application to qualify. The question is what happens if 800k is not kept in the bank for the next 3 months.

[90 day signing and request to see bank details and statement of account]

Hi All

Any comments would be appreciated on the below

Attended Buriram Immigration to complete 90 day signing today. ( from the UK )

I was passing so thought I would sign although not technically required at the present time.

Previously had Non O plus extensions for 3 years but through error on my part had to re-enter Thailand on Tourist Visa in January of this year and start the process again.

Unfortunately due to the rule changes and withdrawal of the Embassy Letter I only had 11 monthly transfers of over 65K from abroad and CW where I was residing at the time insisted that it was not a new Non O application and since I did not have 12 transfers I would have to transfer 800K across for the Non O

and then apply again after 2 months for the extension.

Money transferred and extension issued in March by CW

I had no intention of using the money in the bank method for next years extension and utilised some of the funds as a deposit for a vehicle shortly after receiving the extension.

At the present time I have 14 months of transfers from abroad and intend to utilise this method for next years extension after continuing to transfer the relevant amounts.

I did not bring any bank documents because I understood that 90 day signing and extension requirements are two completely separate issues. I realise some offices required applicants to return after 3 months to check the bank account.

The Immigration Officer insisted that I produce the bank accounts to show that the 800K remained for the 3 months after the extension. I tried explaining that I realised I no longer qualified for the money in the bank method for next years extension and that I would apply using the monthly transfers of which I already had 14 transfers.

The end result was that I was not allowed to sign for the 90 days and that I must produce the evidence of the 800k remaining in the account.

Two questions - 

1. I realise the IO's interpretation vary but was he correct according to the rules.

2. Has anyone returned after three months with the amount in the bank reduced below 800k and what has been the result. I am hoping that it has just been a question of no longer qualifying for the money in the bank method.

Any replies appreciated.

 

[Currency Exchange THB into GPB Bank Transfer]

TransferWise are not able to do the reverse transfer from Thailand to the UK.

Dee Money can transfer from a Thai bank account to a UK bank account.

The standard fee is 250 baht , irrespective of the amount but there will be an upper limit similar to your Thai bank.  Dee Money make their commission from the exchange rate so you need to look at the rate they are offering. You can register on line , they ask for ID documents scanning and sending. I have used the service previously and the transfer was received the following day in the UK bank account.

[PHOTOS: Immigration at Chaeng Wattana heaving with foreigners desperately trying to extend their visas]

This was not the situation yesterday 24th March - between 0730 am and 1030 am when I was there. Had a long queue to enter immigration which stretched a long way. People were made to stand in lines , similar to car lines waiting to board a ferry, at least 1 metre apart and every other chair inside had a notice placed saying NO on the seat. Immigration staff regularly walked down the waiting lines enforcing the 1 metre apart distancing. I appreciate 2 metres is recommended but in my view they were doing their best in difficult circumstances. I cannot speak for nearer lunchtime and at 1pm when immigration reopens.

[Retirement extension from non O visa 24/03/20 - comments please.]

Hi 

Regularly read the site but this is my first post and hoping to receive feedback on whether I have been given the correct information by Immigration at CW in Bangkok.

Background - from the UK and have been in Thailand since 2017.

Entered initially on Tourist Visa and converted to non O and retirement extension using UK Embassy letter confirming income in November 2017 and 2018.

I was a bit slow off the mark and did not start transferring funds until March 2019 but it was still accepted for the extension in November 2019 with 9 months of transfers.

 

Then in December 2019 went on a cruise and obtained a single re-entry permit. Big mistake.

Flight was from Thailand to Singapore - return -  and stupidly failed to recognise that since the cruise ship was visiting Phuket and Ko Samui the first visit to any resort in Thailand would use up the single re-entry permit.

Consequently , the only way I could re-enter back in Thailand was on the 30 day exempt and start over again with the non o visa and extension.

 

In mid January , with more than 15 days remaining on the 30 day exempt entry I went to CW hoping to convert to non o visa.

By this time I now had 11 months of transfers - all correctly coded FTT to show from abroad with other bank documents , income documents from UK , rental lease documents , hand drawn map etc. I realised from previous extensions that it was better to provide more supporting documents than less although many were not previously required.

 

CW Immigration stated that I need an embassy letter confirming income or 800 000 baht in the bank. I pointed out that it was a new application due to losing the previous extension with the re-entry permit and I could show 11 previous months of at least 65k transfer from UK. They would not accept and indicated I must have 12 transfers after the discretionary period changed on the 1st January 2020. I politely pointed out that a new application for a non o would be extremely unlikely to have 12 months of transfers and that I understood a minimum of 2 would be sufficient. 

Still not accepted it must be 800k baht.

No complaints regarding their attitude or manner but I then needed to generate 800k to transfer across from the UK to Thailand.

I later successfully applied for a further 30 day extension to generate the 800k and transferred the funds to Thailand a few weeks later.

The application for the non o visa was later successful on the basis of having 800k in the bank.

 

Today , the 24th March , I again visited CW with all the necessary bank statements, bank letter etc showing 12 months transfers of at least 65k from the UK - April 2019 to March 2020 inclusive. The bank account had over 800k but I wanted the extension on the basis of the 12 months of transfers. The non o extension to stay date is the 28th April and therefore I was applying 35 days early which I thought was acceptable as I understood CW would accept applications for extensions up to 45 days early.

I was told that the non o application was on the basis of 800k in the bank and it must be in the bank for 2 months before the application for the 12 months extension. I again politely pointed out the 12 months of transfers but no success and was told to come back next Monday in 6 days time.

 

I would welcome any comments on the following - 

 

1. Was I given the correct information initially when trying to obtain the new non o visa based on the 11 months of transfers and Immigration insisting I must have 12 months or 800k baht in the bank - remember no embassy letter can be obtained since I am from the UK - I am sure this will be of benefit to others.

2. Have I been given the correct information today in that I have to wait for the full 2 months for the 800k in the bank despite the fact I intend using the income method for the extension and had full evidence of 12 months of transfers from the UK.

3. When I attend CW next week can Immigration insist that the 800k remains in the bank for a further 3 months etc despite the fact I have always previously used and intended using the 12 months income method for this extension and future extensions.

 

Many thanks for any assistance and I hope everyone stays safe.