Frustration at Immigration Office regarding income affidavit policy

[smellyfish]

10 minutes ago, jesimps said:

Also I'm sure many people have savings locked up in investments, but use their income to legally obtain their visa. It's grossly unfair on them if they're producing the genuine documentation for their embassy letter and now through no fault of theirs they can't obtain said letter. Nor (at the moment) will Thai immigration accept any other form of proof. They possibly stand to lose a lot of money by cashing in said investments to provide the cash required for the lump sum in Thai bank method.

Has there been anything further on what I read on here a few days ago that the Danish embassy has stopped letters forthewith leaving people unable to season the lump sum. These poor beggars'll have to start again from scratch I assume if that's the case.

800k is not that much after a lifetime of working. releasing it is not going to be catastrophic. If its in a fund you just buy back in again after 3 months. Its a small tiny price to pay if you love Thailand

 

[Pattaya46]

1 hour ago, Issanjohn said:

// Because now the official word has finally been put out to the immigration offices.  Although maybe some IO’s at other immigration offices maybe haven’t read the official government guidance yet so there’s still probably at least some miscommunications about it. //

What are you talking about ???

Just more nonsense and false news again ? 

[Issanjohn]

1 hour ago, dick dasterdly said:

Those of us with renewals coming up in Jan or Feb next year have every reason to get stressed as to whether or not our income letters will be accepted (even with back-up documentary evidence) by our particular Immigration office!

I am not trying to argue I’m trying to help you if I can but I don’t know what your situation is.  I’m in that exact same situation myself mine expires in early February 2019, and I was very stressed out about it for a while as well like you probably are and I fully understand why you are stressed about it, but after speaking with my local immigration office on Friday they totally put my mind at ease and they laid to rest all of my concerns about the income affidavit being accepted after January.  Both the IO and the immigration supervisor confirmed that they will continue to accept the income affidavit after January and for up to six months after the date of completion.  I didn’t even tell them that I had already heard that information from the US Embassy, I just simply asked them both separately “how long will you continue to accept the income affidavit?” and I even showed them my blank copy and I told them that I plan on getting it done at the US Embassy next week.  And the IO and the boss both confirmed that yes the income affidavit will still be accepted in January and for up to six months after the date of completion, those were their exact words.  She the IO and her boss even emphasized to me and told me to “make sure that I have my income affidavit prepared before I come back to their immigration office for my extension in January” (30 to 45 days early).  

 

They actually emphasized to me that I must have my income affidavit done when I come back after the new year for my extension!  They emphasized how important it really is that I have my income affidavit done and yes even after January.  So I’m not in the least bit concerned about it anymore and I hope I can help put other people’s minds at ease who fall into our situation if your extension expires in February.  

 

I even told them that I was planning to have my blank income affidavit done next week and they said “good” and again they emphasized that I should definitely have the income affidavit done then or at least before I see them again in probably January but maybe late December if I can do it 45 days early.  Mine expires in early February but they told me that I can get my extension done between 30 and 45 days early.  So to be honest I’m not at all worried about it anymore and I already have a solid plan for next year as well.  

 

Probably next payday or in January I’m just going to open a Thai bank account and start transferring at least the minimum monthly income requirement from my bank in the states every month to a Thai bank account so that I should be covered for next year in January 2020 as well.  I’m retired military and a disabled veteran and I receive a monthly pension which is more than double the minimum monthly income requirement, so I should be fine regardless because I fall within their laws.  

 

As long as you fall within Thai immigration laws I would not worry about it anymore now that we do have at least some official guidance regarding the income affidavits at least.  Although I agree with UbonJoe they need to put out official guidance regarding how immigration will want to verify our income after the income affidavits totally stop being accepted after the six month transition period.  However there is a transition period so it’s probably not worth losing sleep over as I was back in October.  

 

Again I’m really not trying to argue with you I really do want to help you by sharing my experience with you and the official guidance that I’ve received from both my embassy and my local immigration office.  I’m honestly not trying to argue I do want to help relieve your concerns because I got some definitive information yesterday about it from my local immigration office.  

 

Although I don’t know what country you’re from, I don’t know your income situation or anything about you, and I honestly don’t know if these rules apply to every citizen living here from every country.  I don’t see why they would not but regardless I don’t know how it works for other countries.  So if I were you I would check with both your embassy and ESPECIALLY your local immigration office to confirm as I have.  I don’t know what city you live in either but you should really go ask A LOT of questions about this from your local immigration office and you might be surprised as I was what a relief it is.  Just ask your embassy first see what they say and then go to your local immigration office and very politely ask questions about this and when asking to see the supervisor be very polite about that so you don’t upset the IO and make them think they did something wrong.  Just explain very politely that you would like to confirm it from the supervisor.  That’s how I did it Friday at my local immigration office and it went extremely well.  They even confirmed that they have an official message from their immigration headquarters that they are supposed to continue accepting the income affidavit for up to six months after the date of completion and yes of course after January as long as you had it done within six months.  Although I have no idea or no way of knowing if EVERY immigration office has received that same official message from immigration headquarters yet, maybe it’s still being distributed I don’t know.  Maybe some immigration offices have not read it yet or are even ignoring it I don’t know that either.  I only know that my local immigration office is on the right page thank God.  So I highly suggest going to your embassy and then asking a lot of questions politely at your local immigration office yourself to be sure.  Don’t rely on all this here say.  

 

I received the exact same confirmation regarding the income affidavit from not only the US Embassy but also an Immigration Officer AND THE Immigration Supervisor at my local immigration office.  The immigration supervisor even confirmed for me that was actually the official message that they have received from their headquarters as far as the income affidavit still being accepted after January and for up to six months after the date of completion, those were the exact words of the embassy, and my local immigration office IO, and her supervisor at immigration.  I was very persistent about asking the question but also very polite and they were very reassuring because they could see that I was concerned about it.  The supervisor even tried to show me the official message about it received from immigration headquarters but I can’t read Thai very well so I took his word for it.  

 

So try not to worry as long as you fall within Thai immigration laws you should be okay but you should still talk to your local immigration office as I have, it’ll all work out it’s just an administrative issue when you really look at it the right way.  

 

Don’t worry.  

[fvw53]

5 hours ago, Tanoshi said:

Why do you consider Steve187's post misinformation?

 

The OP is married to a Thai national, just renewed his retirement extension, using the income method.

Next year provided he can stick 400K in a Thai bank for 2 months before his next extension renewal date, he can apply for an extension based on marriage. He at least has 10 months to sort out his financials.

 

Where is the disinformation.

 

to be precise : money must be in the bank 2 months before day of application to obtain FIRST extension...for later extensions the money must be in the bank 3 months in advance (correct?)

[jimn]

12 minutes ago, connda said:

For those with the cash on hand.  Not everyone does.  But there seems to be a subset of members who can't seem to help themselves by rubbing the obvious into the faces of those who don't have the funds readily available, and the worst of them end up spouting paternalistic drivel that those who can't come up with the money obviously 'can't afford to live here' and should 'go home.'  If the can't afford to live in Thailand, then how are they going to live in places like London, LA, or New York?  They can't live there either due to an obnoxious cost of living.  Many pensioners are here to stretch their limited income and to live the best standard of living they can afford.  And most have the funds need by Thai Immigration law, but simply have no way to 'prove' it.  It's not that most of these people don't have the income - it's Thai Immigration that is not accepting the forms of proof that they can supply: pension receipts, social security receipts, income verification from corporations, filed tax forms.  So it's a Catch-22 situation that is not the fault of those who use this method.  If the expat community had been given a year to 18 months notice, this would have been less of a problem.

For those of you looking down your noses at those who use the income verification method - try developing some humility and give these folk some respect.  I wouldn't want to be in their shoes right now nor experiencing the anxiety over what the future may bring that many are experiencing.  Don't add to their burden by being condescending.

What a great post. I have been thinking this myself but haven't got round to posting my thoughts. I am lucky enough to have sufficient funds because I choose to keep my money invested in shares in the UK. If I sold these shares I would stand to loose money and forfit a good dividend. I do not want to put 800,000 in a Thai bank account neither do I wish to deposit 65,000 each month to prove income. I choose to have my pension paid into my UK bank account and when I am in Thailand I bring cash to exchange and use my Halifax Clarity card for purchases where and when I can. Those people who choose to waste 800,000 in a Thai bank account obviously can afford to waste the money because it hardly pays any interest. Better to invest the funds in a good investment in your home country.

Unfortunately this is Thailand where they are living in the dark ages and cash is king and the use of paper and plastic is a disgrace.

[Issanjohn]

1 hour ago, jimn said:

Where do you get that nonsence from that official word has gone out to offices? What do you base that statement on? There has been no official word from which they will base their 'opinion'. Please stop posting this false information as their are some people on here who will actually believe you.

I’ll tell you exactly how I told the last guy.  A lot of stuff being posted in here is nonsense, I’ll copy and paste but this is factual information:  

 

I am not trying to argue I’m trying to help you if I can but I don’t know what your situation is.  I’m in that exact same situation myself mine expires in early February 2019, and I was very stressed out about it for a while as well like you probably are and I fully understand why you are stressed about it, but after speaking with my local immigration office on Friday they totally put my mind at ease and they laid to rest all of my concerns about the income affidavit being accepted after January.  Both the IO and the immigration supervisor confirmed that they will continue to accept the income affidavit after January and for up to six months after the date of completion.  I didn’t even tell them that I had already heard that information from the US Embassy, I just simply asked them both separately “how long will you continue to accept the income affidavit?” and I even showed them my blank copy and I told them that I plan on getting it done at the US Embassy next week.  And the IO and the boss both confirmed that yes the income affidavit will still be accepted in January and for up to six months after the date of completion, those were their exact words.  She the IO and her boss even emphasized to me and told me to “make sure that I have my income affidavit prepared before I come back to their immigration office for my extension in January” (30 to 45 days early).  

 

They actually emphasized to me that I must have my income affidavit done when I come back after the new year for my extension!  They emphasized how important it really is that I have my income affidavit done and yes even after January.  So I’m not in the least bit concerned about it anymore and I hope I can help put other people’s minds at ease who fall into our situation if your extension expires in February.  

 

I even told them that I was planning to have my blank income affidavit done next week and they said “good” and again they emphasized that I should definitely have the income affidavit done then or at least before I see them again in probably January but maybe late December if I can do it 45 days early.  Mine expires in early February but they told me that I can get my extension done between 30 and 45 days early.  So to be honest I’m not at all worried about it anymore and I already have a solid plan for next year as well.  

 

Probably next payday or in January I’m just going to open a Thai bank account and start transferring at least the minimum monthly income requirement from my bank in the states every month to a Thai bank account so that I should be covered for next year in January 2020 as well.  I’m retired military and a disabled veteran and I receive a monthly pension which is more than double the minimum monthly income requirement, so I should be fine regardless because I fall within their laws.  

 

As long as you fall within Thai immigration laws I would not worry about it anymore now that we do have at least some official guidance regarding the income affidavits at least.  Although I agree with UbonJoe they need to put out official guidance regarding how immigration will want to verify our income after the income affidavits totally stop being accepted after the six month transition period.  However there is a transition period so it’s probably not worth losing sleep over as I was back in October.  

 

Again I’m really not trying to argue with you I really do want to help you by sharing my experience with you and the official guidance that I’ve received from both my embassy and my local immigration office.  I’m honestly not trying to argue I do want to help relieve your concerns because I got some definitive information yesterday about it from my local immigration office.  

 

Although I don’t know what country you’re from, I don’t know your income situation or anything about you, and I honestly don’t know if these rules apply to every citizen living here from every country.  I don’t see why they would not but regardless I don’t know how it works for other countries.  So if I were you I would check with both your embassy and ESPECIALLY your local immigration office to confirm as I have.  I don’t know what city you live in either but you should really go ask A LOT of questions about this from your local immigration office and you might be surprised as I was what a relief it is.  Just ask your embassy first see what they say and then go to your local immigration office and very politely ask questions about this and when asking to see the supervisor be very polite about that so you don’t upset the IO and make them think they did something wrong.  Just explain very politely that you would like to confirm it from the supervisor.  That’s how I did it Friday at my local immigration office and it went extremely well.  They even confirmed that they have an official message from their immigration headquarters that they are supposed to continue accepting the income affidavit for up to six months after the date of completion and yes of course after January as long as you had it done within six months.  Although I have no idea or no way of knowing if EVERY immigration office has received that same official message from immigration headquarters yet, maybe it’s still being distributed I don’t know.  Maybe some immigration offices have not read it yet or are even ignoring it I don’t know that either.  I only know that my local immigration office is on the right page thank God.  So I highly suggest going to your embassy and then asking a lot of questions politely at your local immigration office yourself to be sure.  Don’t rely on all this here say.  

 

I received the exact same confirmation regarding the income affidavit from not only the US Embassy but also an Immigration Officer AND THE Immigration Supervisor at my local immigration office.  The immigration supervisor even confirmed for me that was actually the official message that they have received from their headquarters as far as the income affidavit still being accepted after January and for up to six months after the date of completion, those were the exact words of the embassy, and my local immigration office IO, and her supervisor at immigration.  I was very persistent about asking the question but also very polite and they were very reassuring because they could see that I was concerned about it.  The supervisor even tried to show me the official message about it received from immigration headquarters but I can’t read Thai very well so I took his word for it.  

 

So try not to worry as long as you fall within Thai immigration laws you should be okay but you should still talk to your local immigration office as I have, it’ll all work out it’s just an administrative issue when you really look at it the right way.  

 

Don’t worry.  If it hadn’t been for my visit to immigration yesterday and getting the same information from the embassy I’d probably still be worried about it as well.  ????

[smellyfish]

6 minutes ago, jimn said:

What a great post. I have been thinking this myself but haven't got round to posting my thoughts. I am lucky enough to have sufficient funds because I choose to keep my money invested in shares in the UK. If I sold these shares I would stand to loose money and forfit a good dividend. I do not want to put 800,000 in a Thai bank account neither do I wish to deposit 65,000 each month to prove income. I choose to have my pension paid into my UK bank account and when I am in Thailand I bring cash to exchange and use my Halifax Clarity card for purchases where and when I can. Those people who choose to waste 800,000 in a Thai bank account obviously can afford to waste the money because it hardly pays any interest. Better to invest the funds in a good investment in your home country.

Unfortunately this is Thailand where they are living in the dark ages and cash is king and the use of paper and plastic is a disgrace.

"Better to invest the funds in a good investment in your home country."

 

Tell that to the millions that got smashed in the market meltdown during the sub prime crisis . Home aint always the best.

[fvw53]

2 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Immigration will not accept one from an embassy outside of Thailand.

Indeed ...the letter has to be translated and legalised at the Thai Foreign Ministry and here the official has only copies of the signatures of the consuls stationed in Thailand

[Spidey]

9 minutes ago, Issanjohn said:

Probably next payday or in January I’m just going to open a Thai bank account and start transferring at least the minimum monthly income requirement from my bank in the states every month to a Thai bank account so that I should be covered for next year in January 2020 as well.  I’m retired military and a disabled veteran and I receive a monthly pension which is more than double the minimum monthly income requirement, so I should be fine regardless because I fall within their laws.  

And did your IO clearly state to you that this method of proving income would be acceptable for subsequent extensions? I don't think so.

 

You need to stop painting your hopeful assumptions as hard facts. Not helpful.

Edited November 18, 2018 by Spidey

[Issanjohn]

46 minutes ago, connda said:

There has always been significant inconsistency between Immigration districts, individual Immigration offices within the same district, and oft times between individual immigration officers within the same Immigration office.  Consistency has never been a hallmark of Thai Immigration.  If you've been here a decade you have no doubt experienced it first hand - (if not, can I have your passport number as I'd like to buy some lottery tickets).  So based on past experiences, I would not expect to see an 'official policy' on immigration letters uniformly applied across all offices.  That's just an unfortunate fact of life of living here.  You learn to roll with the punches. 

Well I agree sort of I think some immigration offices may not always get all the guidance or maybe not reading all of the messages because obviously they’re busy.  I used to work for the US government and it wasn’t much different that was always an issue with people ignoring or overlooking official messages.  I’ll give you the same information that I told the last guy about my visit to my local immigration office Friday and they really put my mind at ease.  So I kind of try to ignore all the hype and mass hysteria in these forums about this especially after what I found out at my immigration office on Friday.  I’ve read about the same thing a little bit about what you’re talking about in the past 4 years.  Here’s what I told another guy about what I learned on Friday I’ll just copy and paste:

 

I am not trying to argue I’m trying to help you if I can but I don’t know what your situation is.  I’m in that exact same situation myself mine expires in early February 2019, and I was very stressed out about it for a while as well like you probably are and I fully understand why you are stressed about it, but after speaking with my local immigration office on Friday they totally put my mind at ease and they laid to rest all of my concerns about the income affidavit being accepted after January.  Both the IO and the immigration supervisor confirmed that they will continue to accept the income affidavit after January and for up to six months after the date of completion.  I didn’t even tell them that I had already heard that information from the US Embassy, I just simply asked them both separately “how long will you continue to accept the income affidavit?” and I even showed them my blank copy and I told them that I plan on getting it done at the US Embassy next week.  And the IO and the boss both confirmed that yes the income affidavit will still be accepted in January and for up to six months after the date of completion, those were their exact words.  She the IO and her boss even emphasized to me and told me to “make sure that I have my income affidavit prepared before I come back to their immigration office for my extension in January” (30 to 45 days early).  

 

They actually emphasized to me that I must have my income affidavit done when I come back after the new year for my extension!  They emphasized how important it really is that I have my income affidavit done and yes even after January.  So I’m not in the least bit concerned about it anymore and I hope I can help put other people’s minds at ease who fall into our situation if your extension expires in February.  

 

I even told them that I was planning to have my blank income affidavit done next week and they said “good” and again they emphasized that I should definitely have the income affidavit done then or at least before I see them again in probably January but maybe late December if I can do it 45 days early.  Mine expires in early February but they told me that I can get my extension done between 30 and 45 days early.  So to be honest I’m not at all worried about it anymore and I already have a solid plan for next year as well.  

 

Probably next payday or in January I’m just going to open a Thai bank account and start transferring at least the minimum monthly income requirement from my bank in the states every month to a Thai bank account so that I should be covered for next year in January 2020 as well.  I’m retired military and a disabled veteran and I receive a monthly pension which is more than double the minimum monthly income requirement, so I should be fine regardless because I fall within their laws.  

 

As long as you fall within Thai immigration laws I would not worry about it anymore now that we do have at least some official guidance regarding the income affidavits at least.  Although I agree with UbonJoe they need to put out official guidance regarding how immigration will want to verify our income after the income affidavits totally stop being accepted after the six month transition period.  However there is a transition period so it’s probably not worth losing sleep over as I was back in October.  

 

Again I’m really not trying to argue with you I really do want to help you by sharing my experience with you and the official guidance that I’ve received from both my embassy and my local immigration office.  I’m honestly not trying to argue I do want to help relieve your concerns because I got some definitive information yesterday about it from my local immigration office.  

 

Although I don’t know what country you’re from, I don’t know your income situation or anything about you, and I honestly don’t know if these rules apply to every citizen living here from every country.  I don’t see why they would not but regardless I don’t know how it works for other countries.  So if I were you I would check with both your embassy and ESPECIALLY your local immigration office to confirm as I have.  I don’t know what city you live in either but you should really go ask A LOT of questions about this from your local immigration office and you might be surprised as I was what a relief it is.  Just ask your embassy first see what they say and then go to your local immigration office and very politely ask questions about this and when asking to see the supervisor be very polite about that so you don’t upset the IO and make them think they did something wrong.  Just explain very politely that you would like to confirm it from the supervisor.  That’s how I did it Friday at my local immigration office and it went extremely well.  They even confirmed that they have an official message from their immigration headquarters that they are supposed to continue accepting the income affidavit for up to six months after the date of completion and yes of course after January as long as you had it done within six months.  Although I have no idea or no way of knowing if EVERY immigration office has received that same official message from immigration headquarters yet, maybe it’s still being distributed I don’t know.  Maybe some immigration offices have not read it yet or are even ignoring it I don’t know that either.  I only know that my local immigration office is on the right page thank God.  So I highly suggest going to your embassy and then asking a lot of questions politely at your local immigration office yourself to be sure.  Don’t rely on all this here say.  

 

I received the exact same confirmation regarding the income affidavit from not only the US Embassy but also an Immigration Officer AND THE Immigration Supervisor at my local immigration office.  The immigration supervisor even confirmed for me that was actually the official message that they have received from their headquarters as far as the income affidavit still being accepted after January and for up to six months after the date of completion, those were the exact words of the embassy, and my local immigration office IO, and her supervisor at immigration.  I was very persistent about asking the question but also very polite and they were very reassuring because they could see that I was concerned about it.  The supervisor even tried to show me the official message about it received from immigration headquarters but I can’t read Thai very well so I took his word for it.  

 

So try not to worry as long as you fall within Thai immigration laws you should be okay but you should still talk to your local immigration office as I have, it’ll all work out it’s just an administrative issue when you really look at it the right way.  

 

Don’t worry.  

 

So after learning all that my concerns have been laid to rest, but that doesn’t mean that every other immigration office is on the same page as everyone else yet so you maybe right to an extent.  Hopefully by January every immigration office will be on the same page as mine is I hope.  

[Russell17au]

16 minutes ago, fvw53 said:

to be precise : money must be in the bank 2 months before day of application to obtain FIRST extension...for later extensions the money must be in the bank 3 months in advance (correct?)

Not correct. Marriage extension is 2 months for first bank seasoning application and 2 months for every year after that. it is only for the renewal of retirement extensions that it is 3 months

[jimn]

9 minutes ago, Issanjohn said:

I’ll tell you exactly how I told the last guy.  A lot of stuff being posted in here is nonsense, I’ll copy and paste but this is factual information:  

 

I am not trying to argue I’m trying to help you if I can but I don’t know what your situation is.  I’m in that exact same situation myself mine expires in early February 2019, and I was very stressed out about it for a while as well like you probably are and I fully understand why you are stressed about it, but after speaking with my local immigration office on Friday they totally put my mind at ease and they laid to rest all of my concerns about the income affidavit being accepted after January.  Both the IO and the immigration supervisor confirmed that they will continue to accept the income affidavit after January and for up to six months after the date of completion.  I didn’t even tell them that I had already heard that information from the US Embassy, I just simply asked them both separately “how long will you continue to accept the income affidavit?” and I even showed them my blank copy and I told them that I plan on getting it done at the US Embassy next week.  And the IO and the boss both confirmed that yes the income affidavit will still be accepted in January and for up to six months after the date of completion, those were their exact words.  She the IO and her boss even emphasized to me and told me to “make sure that I have my income affidavit prepared before I come back to their immigration office for my extension in January” (30 to 45 days early).  

 

They actually emphasized to me that I must have my income affidavit done when I come back after the new year for my extension!  They emphasized how important it really is that I have my income affidavit done and yes even after January.  So I’m not in the least bit concerned about it anymore and I hope I can help put other people’s minds at ease who fall into our situation if your extension expires in February.  

 

I even told them that I was planning to have my blank income affidavit done next week and they said “good” and again they emphasized that I should definitely have the income affidavit done then or at least before I see them again in probably January but maybe late December if I can do it 45 days early.  Mine expires in early February but they told me that I can get my extension done between 30 and 45 days early.  So to be honest I’m not at all worried about it anymore and I already have a solid plan for next year as well.  

 

Probably next payday or in January I’m just going to open a Thai bank account and start transferring at least the minimum monthly income requirement from my bank in the states every month to a Thai bank account so that I should be covered for next year in January 2020 as well.  I’m retired military and a disabled veteran and I receive a monthly pension which is more than double the minimum monthly income requirement, so I should be fine regardless because I fall within their laws.  

 

As long as you fall within Thai immigration laws I would not worry about it anymore now that we do have at least some official guidance regarding the income affidavits at least.  Although I agree with UbonJoe they need to put out official guidance regarding how immigration will want to verify our income after the income affidavits totally stop being accepted after the six month transition period.  However there is a transition period so it’s probably not worth losing sleep over as I was back in October.  

 

Again I’m really not trying to argue with you I really do want to help you by sharing my experience with you and the official guidance that I’ve received from both my embassy and my local immigration office.  I’m honestly not trying to argue I do want to help relieve your concerns because I got some definitive information yesterday about it from my local immigration office.  

 

Although I don’t know what country you’re from, I don’t know your income situation or anything about you, and I honestly don’t know if these rules apply to every citizen living here from every country.  I don’t see why they would not but regardless I don’t know how it works for other countries.  So if I were you I would check with both your embassy and ESPECIALLY your local immigration office to confirm as I have.  I don’t know what city you live in either but you should really go ask A LOT of questions about this from your local immigration office and you might be surprised as I was what a relief it is.  Just ask your embassy first see what they say and then go to your local immigration office and very politely ask questions about this and when asking to see the supervisor be very polite about that so you don’t upset the IO and make them think they did something wrong.  Just explain very politely that you would like to confirm it from the supervisor.  That’s how I did it Friday at my local immigration office and it went extremely well.  They even confirmed that they have an official message from their immigration headquarters that they are supposed to continue accepting the income affidavit for up to six months after the date of completion and yes of course after January as long as you had it done within six months.  Although I have no idea or no way of knowing if EVERY immigration office has received that same official message from immigration headquarters yet, maybe it’s still being distributed I don’t know.  Maybe some immigration offices have not read it yet or are even ignoring it I don’t know that either.  I only know that my local immigration office is on the right page thank God.  So I highly suggest going to your embassy and then asking a lot of questions politely at your local immigration office yourself to be sure.  Don’t rely on all this here say.  

 

I received the exact same confirmation regarding the income affidavit from not only the US Embassy but also an Immigration Officer AND THE Immigration Supervisor at my local immigration office.  The immigration supervisor even confirmed for me that was actually the official message that they have received from their headquarters as far as the income affidavit still being accepted after January and for up to six months after the date of completion, those were the exact words of the embassy, and my local immigration office IO, and her supervisor at immigration.  I was very persistent about asking the question but also very polite and they were very reassuring because they could see that I was concerned about it.  The supervisor even tried to show me the official message about it received from immigration headquarters but I can’t read Thai very well so I took his word for it.  

 

So try not to worry as long as you fall within Thai immigration laws you should be okay but you should still talk to your local immigration office as I have, it’ll all work out it’s just an administrative issue when you really look at it the right way.  

 

Don’t worry.  If it hadn’t been for my visit to immigration yesterday and getting the same information from the embassy I’d probably still be worried about it as well.  ????

Sorry but what are you on about. No need to waste space and post the same information I read it already. My point is that yes it is common knowledge that embassy letters are valid for 6 months

(old news). Also old news is that the embassies have said that Thai Immigration will continue to honour the 6 months after the embassies stop issuing letters. My point to you was that you said there was an official statement from Thai government officials when there clearly has not. If there were there would be a complely new topic on the statement started by the Thai Visa mods. All you have heard is an opinion from your local office. I hope it continues to be the case, but it is not an official statement and you should stop saying that it is. Thank you

[Issanjohn]

1 minute ago, Spidey said:

And did your IO clearly state to you that this method of proving income would be acceptable for subsequent extensions? I don't think so.

You mean a Thai bank account for January 2020?  No they didn’t I was only asking about the income affidavit when I was there Friday.  You’re right there hasn’t been any official guidance regarding the income verification process after the income affidavits totally go away after the six month transition period.  But according to the embassy and a lot of what I’ve been hearing Thai immigration will probably want to see money going into a Thai bank account every month or the lump sum or whatever but I’m not worried about that either because I’ve got over a year to prepare for it and by then I’m sure there will probably be more official guidance about that part of the issue.  As long as we fall within Thai immigration laws we should be okay.  The Thai bank account is just my own contingency plan for next time but no of course that’s not official yet and I didn’t even ask immigration about the Thai bank account because I know that they probably don’t even know yet.  For now I’m only concerned about facts and having a plan for 2020.  

[Small Joke]

I'm not currently affected, and I'm not privy to any unique info on the situation, but for what its worth, and since all the embassies seem to be jumping on the bandwagon, I would think the logical step for the Immigration office, is to ask for some form of proof from your national pensions office.

 

Probably just an acknowledgement of your situation.

Eg:

Mr Xyz is currently paid $nnnn per month/week/year.

Signed, the pension guys

Or

a bankbook from the expats bank either here or o/s showing regular fixed transactions.

 

I cant see how else the current requirement could be satisfied.

 

Also, these monetary requirements really do seem a bit pointless, even if I was broke, how could I sponge of Thailand?

The system is not in place whereby a foreigner could claim the dole, or any other handouts anyway.

Surely all they need is a law abiding resident contributing to the economy in whatever way they can?

[jimn]

20 minutes ago, smellyfish said:

"Better to invest the funds in a good investment in your home country."

 

Tell that to the millions that got smashed in the market meltdown during the sub prime crisis . Home aint always the best.

Not being from the States I assume that you are referring to the mortgage crisis in the housing market in 2008. Yes of course there are exceptions but I still stand by what I said. By the way I was referring to company shares that I have which pay a great dividend.

Edited November 18, 2018 by jimn

[Spidey]

Just now, Issanjohn said:

 For now I’m only concerned about facts and having a plan for 2020.  

I agree. My plan is to have 800k in a Thai bank account next. year. I know that this will be acceptable. 

 

Your plan isn't workable as, as things stand, it won't be accepted by TI. It's a hope not a plan.

[Russell17au]

12 minutes ago, Small Joke said:

I'm not currently affected, and I'm not privy to any unique info on the situation, but for what its worth, and since all the embassies seem to be jumping on the bandwagon, I would think the logical step for the Immigration office, is to ask for some form of proof from your national pensions office.

 

Probably just an acknowledgement of your situation.

Eg:

Mr Xyz is currently paid $nnnn per month/week/year.

Signed, the pension guys

Or

a bankbook from the expats bank either here or o/s showing regular fixed transactions.

 

I cant see how else the current requirement could be satisfied.

 

Also, these monetary requirements really do seem a bit pointless, even if I was broke, how could I sponge of Thailand?

The system is not in place whereby a foreigner could claim the dole, or any other handouts anyway.

Surely all they need is a law abiding resident contributing to the economy in whatever way they can?

I would not say from your "national pension office" because of the amount of people who have private pensions I think it would be better "from your national tax office" which would give your yearly taxable income

[Moonlover]

1 hour ago, connda said:

There has always been significant inconsistency between Immigration districts, individual Immigration offices within the same district, and oft times between individual immigration officers within the same Immigration office.  Consistency has never been a hallmark of Thai Immigration.  If you've been here a decade you have no doubt experienced it first hand - (if not, can I have your passport number as I'd like to buy some lottery tickets).  So based on past experiences, I would not expect to see an 'official policy' on immigration letters uniformly applied across all offices.  That's just an unfortunate fact of life of living here.  You learn to roll with the punches. 

I certainly agree with you on this one. I was actually thinking about this earlier and I concluded that we should not expect the Immigration Bureau to make a public, global announcement.

 

My rational for this is that, if they were to do so, they could be seen as having 'bent to the will' of the embassies and that would be deemed as a 'loss of face'. And we all know how important that is in Thailand.

 

Rather I would expect them to change the policy on income applications 'by stealth', by informing the offices of the change and leaving them to inform us of the changes as we start to seek information for our upcoming renewals.

 

Advantage to TI is that they now become the 'good guys' in saving us from our own embassy's folly. Good kudos for them. - Providing it's good news of course!!!!!!

[mfd101]

1 hour ago, simon43 said:

 

 

 

You mean I have to get married..... again!?

I would cheerfully go the marriage route but, unfortunately, my Australian civil partnership with my b/f is not [yet] recognized in Thailand ...

[Moonlover]

1 minute ago, mfd101 said:

I would cheerfully go the marriage route but, unfortunately, my Australian civil partnership with my b/f is not [yet] recognized in Thailand ...

Never give up hope ????

[seahorse]

2 hours ago, Just Weird said:

Good grief, Thaivisa is the place that relentlessly (and usually unjustifiably) slags off the Embassies at every opportunity!  Why should they now take kindly to the sad pleas from those same people at that very same source? 

 

If I worked for an Embassy I would tell any Thaivisa members submitting group complaints about something that is not the Embassies fault (this has been pointed out many times) to shove it where the sun doesn't shine.

Seems like you would fit in quite well at an Embassy.

[Issanjohn]

32 minutes ago, jimn said:

Sorry but what are you on about. No need to waste space and post the same information I read it already. My point is that yes it is common knowledge that embassy letters are valid for 6 months

(old news). Also old news is that the embassies have said that Thai Immigration will continue to honour the 6 months after the embassies stop issuing letters. My point to you was that you said there was an official statement from Thai government officials when there clearly has not. If there were there would be a complely new topic on the statement started by the Thai Visa mods. All you have heard is an opinion from your local office. I hope it continues to be the case, but it is not an official statement and you should stop saying that it is. Thank you

I’m sorry you miss understood me.  You’re right they have not put out official guidance yet to the public.  And that’s absolutely not what I meant.  I was only talking about official “messages” internally between the immigration offices about the income affidavit policy being valid for six months such as emails from the immigration headquarters to all of the local immigration offices, and yes you’re right it is old news but not everyone is aware of that so I was hoping to inform people that they are valid for six months after the date of completion into 2019.  I see a lot of people in this forum worried some of which are worrying needlessly and people shouldn’t have to worry if they don’t have to.  I’m just trying to help spread the word so people know and know how to find out for themselves officially.  

 

Anyway what happened when I visited my local immigration office on Friday was I was very politely but also very persistently asking questions about the income affidavits as far as how long they would be accepting them for and like I said they confirmed that yes it’s six months after the date of completion and of course after January.  Maybe what I wasn’t clear about in my post was that I was asking about the income affidavits so persistently at my local immigration office was that the supervisor very nicely even showed me the official message which was just an email that he printed from immigration headquarters to all local immigration offices regarding the INTERNAL policy on the income affidavits being valid for up to six months after the date of completion into next year.  

 

That’s all I meant I’m sorry for the confusion maybe I did make it sound like official word to the public WHICH IT WAS NOT, he was just telling me the INTERNAL policy about the income affidavits which was distributed to all the local immigration offices from the immigration headquarters via email NOT official guidance to the public.  So I apologize if I confused anyone, I DID NOT MEAN AN OFFICIAL STATEMENT TO THE PUBLIC FROM THAI GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, the immigration supervisor was merely just showing me the internal policy between immigration headquarters and the local immigration offices regarding the income affidavits.  That’s what I really meant maybe I just didn’t properly phrase it and I’m sorry but that’s what happened regardless.  

 

Again I was referring to internal immigration policy on the income affidavit that they told me about at my local immigration office NOT an official statement from Thai government officials not at all, just internal policy only between immigration headquarters and the local immigration offices.  I hope I have cleared up that confusion because what you’re inferring is absolutely not what I meant at all.  

Edited November 18, 2018 by Issanjohn

[fvw53]

42 minutes ago, Russell17au said:

Not correct. Marriage extension is 2 months for first bank seasoning application and 2 months for every year after that. it is only for the renewal of retirement extensions that it is 3 months

This Thai Law Office writes that for extension based on marriage one needs money in the bank 3 months before application 

http://www.thailawonline.com/en/others/immigration-law/extension-based-on-marriage.html

[JLCrab]

11 minutes ago, Issanjohn said:

I hope I have cleared up that confusion

Thank you and if I do my next extension in the same Isaan office as you, I hope my number never comes up after yours.

[Russell17au]

This link is to a directive from the Immigration Bureau which is dated 2013 as an agreement with the foreign embassies which should put a lot of minds at rest in regards to the transition period of the income letters/affidavits/stat dec's

See: Immigration directive for income letters.pdf

[Banana7]

15 minutes ago, Small Joke said:

I'm not currently affected, and I'm not privy to any unique info on the situation, but for what its worth, and since all the embassies seem to be jumping on the bandwagon, I would think the logical step for the Immigration office, is to ask for some form of proof from your national pensions office.

 

Probably just an acknowledgement of your situation.

Eg:

Mr Xyz is currently paid $nnnn per month/week/year.

Signed, the pension guys

Or

a bankbook from the expats bank either here or o/s showing regular fixed transactions.

 

I cant see how else the current requirement could be satisfied.

 

Also, these monetary requirements really do seem a bit pointless, even if I was broke, how could I sponge of Thailand?

The system is not in place whereby a foreigner could claim the dole, or any other handouts anyway.

Surely all they need is a law abiding resident contributing to the economy in whatever way they can?

Immigration wants proof of guaranteed income/funds for the forthcoming year for the visa applicant. Immigration needs a document, verified as being authentic by a competent authority, which indicates the necessary sum will be paid to the person applying for the visa, for the forthcoming year, at least.

 

Things like life annuities and lifetime pensions, from large financially stable enterprises, should qualify as sources of guaranteed income. However things like interest income, rental income, dividends, etc. won't qualify because they are not guaranteed. Transferring 65K baht a month from a foreign country into a Thai bank for the past year is no guarantee that there will be 65K baht per month income in the forthcoming year.

 

A letter from an Embassy which states a person swears under oath that they have X amount of income for the forthcoming year is no longer an adequate guarantee of income.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Russell17au]

7 minutes ago, fvw53 said:

This Thai Law Office writes that for extension based on marriage one needs money in the bank 3 months before application 

http://www.thailawonline.com/en/others/immigration-law/extension-based-on-marriage.html

Read the bottom of your own link and you will see that it states 2 months

[ubonjoe]

5 minutes ago, fvw53 said:

This Thai Law Office writes that for extension based on marriage one needs money in the bank 3 months before application 

http://www.thailawonline.com/en/others/immigration-law/extension-based-on-marriage.html

But if you look a little further down the page it quotes an old police order.

"who is an alien must have an average annual income of not less than 40,000 baht per month or a money deposit in a local Thai bank of not less than 400,000 baht for the past 2 months for expenses within a year."

 

The current police order 327/2557 states this in clause 2.18.

[JLCrab]

16 minutes ago, Banana7 said:

Transferring 65K baht a month from a foreign country into a Thai bank for the past year is no guarantee that there will be 65K baht per month income in the forthcoming year.

True -- but if there isn't, then you won't get an extension NEXT year.

Eazy Peazy.

Edited November 18, 2018 by JLCrab

[Issanjohn]

I need to clear up something that I posted earlier regarding my visit to my local immigration office Friday last week.  And I’m really truly sorry if anyone misunderstand me.  No Thai Government Officials have not put out official guidance yet to the public.  And that’s absolutely not what I meant.  I was only talking about official “messages” internally between the immigration offices about the income affidavit policy being valid for six months such as an email they showed me from the immigration headquarters to all of the local immigration offices, and yes this is old news as someone pointed out to me which I already knew but not everyone is aware of that so I was hoping to inform people that the income affidavits are valid for six months after the date of completion into 2019.  I see a lot of people in this forum worried some of which are worrying needlessly and people shouldn’t have to worry if they don’t have to.  I’m just trying to help spread the word so people know and know how to find out for themselves officially.  

 

Anyway what happened when I visited my local immigration office on Friday was I was very politely but also very persistently asking questions about the income affidavits as far as how long they would be accepting them for and like I said they confirmed that yes it’s six months after the date of completion and of course after January.  Maybe what I wasn’t clear about in my post was that I was asking about the income affidavits so persistently at my local immigration office Friday was that the supervisor very nicely even showed me the official message which was just simply an email that he printed from immigration headquarters to all local immigration offices regarding the “INTERNAL” policy on the income affidavits being valid for up to six months after the date of completion into next year.  

 

That’s all I meant I’m sorry for the confusion maybe I did make it sound like official word to the public WHICH IT WAS NOT, he was just telling me the INTERNAL policy about the income affidavits which was supposedly distributed to all the local immigration offices from the immigration headquarters via email NOT official guidance to the public.  I know that my local immigration office received the INTERNAL POLICY GUIDANCE because they told me they did on Friday.  So I apologize if I confused anyone, I DID NOT MEAN AN OFFICIAL STATEMENT TO THE PUBLIC FROM THAI GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, the immigration supervisor was merely just showing me the internal policy between immigration headquarters and the local immigration offices regarding the income affidavits six month validity.  That’s what I really meant maybe I just didn’t properly phrase it in a previous post and I just wanted to be very clear about that.  I’m sorry if I caused any confusion but that’s what happened regardless.  I really am sorry if I caused any confusion because I’m trying to help eliminate all of the misinformation about this issue with facts.  

 

And honestly that actually is the only official guidance we have so far as far as the income affidavits being accepted for six months after the date of completion.  I know that Thai Government Officials haven’t said anything about it but that is supposed to be internal policy at immigration.  At least it is in my city and most other Thai immigration offices that I’ve heard of.  Sounds like they’re mostly on the same page for the exception of maybe a few offices.  

 

Again I was referring to internal immigration policy on the income affidavit that they told me about at my local immigration office being accepted for six months after the date of completion into next year NOT an official statement from Thai government officials not at all, just internal policy only between immigration headquarters and the local immigration offices.  I hope I have cleared up that confusion.  I really am sorry if anyone misunderstood me.  Please accept my apology if anyone was confused by what I meant when I was writing I thought people knew what I meant, internal immigration policy regarding income affidavits not official word from Thai government officials.  Like I said the immigration supervisor and the female IO at my local immigration office told me the policy and even tried to show me the email from immigration headquarters (their internal policy messages) but I don’t read Thai very well so I took their word for it.  

Edited November 18, 2018 by Issanjohn