BREAKING NEWS Thai immigration reveals new requirements for retirement, marriage extensions (visas)

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

22 minutes ago, Poppin said:

Does anyone know for definite that the 400,000 and 800,000 is still available for long term visa.

 

 

Unchanged. Still available for marriage and retirement extensions of stay.

[dick dasterdly]

Just now, ubonjoe said:

I have confirmed that more than once in this topic.

Yes, it's becoming more than boring that a few posters are incapable of understanding that this is all about the income method - and has nothing whatsoever to do with the '400/800k in bank' method of obtaining the extension.

[ubonjoe]

8 minutes ago, TKDfella said:

Unfortunately there is no mention on the website as to whether it is, or not, the updated rules.

It does not show it yet and may not be updated for some time.

[kokesaat]

Question for the old-timers......those who have been here since 1998 and is over age 60:  Has anyone successfully used the 200k in the bank or 20k monthly income?  I've been here since 1996....consecutively (although used many reentry stamps), but I've always provided either the embassy letter or 800k in the bank.  For a variety of reasons (not financial), I've chosen to use the income letter for the past several years rather than 800k.  But I wouldn't have any objection to putting 200k in an account for 3 months.

Has anyone actually done this?

[Srikcir]

55 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

Does the Thai government understand that Thai banks have online banking?

Does the Thai government understand that Thai banks issue bank passbooks to account holders that contains the same information reported online?

If the government wants proof of qualified 12-monthly deposits into a Thai bank, why don't relevant copies of the passbook (with one's blue ink signature on each copied page) suffice as a "certification"?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

21 minutes ago, rexall said:

I might be wrong, but I have never understand the income be specifically form a pension, just offshore income from whatever source.

 

That's right. It just needs to be from abroad. No one here is caring what type of money is coming from abroad. Just that you're importing it into Thailand on a regular/monthly basis in the required amounts.

[NCC1701A]

OK everybody I think 21 pages just about covers it. Why don't we break for lunch and meet back at the "Health Insurance Now Required" topic and we can drone on endlessly about that.  

[JackThompson]

36 minutes ago, Easy Come Easy Go said:

I'm not on a retirement visa as I am only 30, but do other neighbouring countries such as Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia make it this difficult for elderly expats to stay for a long duration? The money in the bank, transactions etc, seems like a lot of hoops to be jumping through 

The Philippines is one of the easiest - may different ways - can stay as a tourist for 3 years at a time, with a quick flight out/back to repeat.  The long-stay options involve money in the bank, which you must leave in the bank, but it is yours to take when/if you leave.  That is available with under and over 50 options (with a break on the age restriction for US military vets).

 

Cambodia is also easy - about $350/yr for the visa.  This is an actual multiple-entry "visa" sticker, where you can stay in-country the full year, and apply in-country for another.  No "re-entry permits" to worry about - or border-bounces, neighboring-country or home-country consulates to travel to to submit paperwork, etc.

 

For Vietnam, tourist-options vary by country of origin - currently 1-yr for USA citizens.  That one involves border-bounces, but they don't reject-entry on the the border-bounces - pretending the rules they wrote weren't really the rules, as they do at some points of entry to Thailand. 

 

Both Vietnam and Laos have a "buy a business visa from an agent" system for longer-term stays, per reports - but that's not much different than the agent-option here - so nothing gained unless one prefers life there.

[Burma Bill]

I have all my UK pensions paid into a Thai bank. I have a "proof of pension income" letter from the British Embassy (shelf life of 6 months) so looks good for me for another year - thank you Thai Immigration.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

21 minutes ago, Vermaric said:

" Presumably all Thai banks will set up a way to provide a letter and statements confirming the international transfers - although there's no way they'll be able to confirm it's pension income."

 

It's a nice thought and may I say a sensible idea, but if they do this I for one will be astounded!

 

They won't have to confirm it's PENSION income in the traditional sense of that word in the English language. They'll just have to confirm it was funds transferred into Thailand from abroad in the required minimum amounts or more.

 

[abrahamzvi]

4 hours ago, Eligius said:

On the face of it, this looks EXTREMELY worrying for British retirees here. The irresponsible action of the British embassy in not confirming a retiree's income flow could be the death knell for many Brits here. Also, as far as I understand it, the British Government will not send pensions into a Thai bank account (only into a British one), and not every British bank will automatically forward a pension to a bank account in Thailand every month. Maybe I am wrong. 

 

Perhaps it is not as bad as I fear. What do other members think?

 

 

 

 

You can arrange for a bank, or FX agency,  monthly transfer of an amount equal of BTH 65,000 to Thailand. The amount in Pounds may vary from month to month depending on the exchange rate.

[geoffbezoz]

2 minutes ago, NCC1701A said:

OK everybody I think 21 pages just about covers it. Why don't we break for lunch and meet back at the "Health Insurance Now Required" topic and we can drone on endlessly about that.  

Good point but the "Russians racing back to Thailand" may be a better jovial subject to return to on a Sunday afternoon

[Baerboxer]

3 hours ago, janclaes47 said:

The way I read the OP it mentions only proof of monthly deposits in an account, but nowhere does it mention an account balance of 400 or 800K, so I assume that option is not considered anymore.

 

No change to the money in the bank basis. 

 

This is about ensuring there is prove of income. Embassies admitted they didn't check it and weren't going too but just relied on the paperwork presented and oath of the applicant.

 

The problem as always will be the devil is in the detail and how that detail will be interpreted by different offices and officers.

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

20 minutes ago, randy723 said:

does any one know if the 400k or 800k in a Thai bank account for at least 3 months still works or is it that you have to show  at least40k or 65k deposited into a Thai bank each month? some one please reply if you know .thank you

 

No change to the 400K / 800K deposits method for extensions of stay.

 

[david555]

2 minutes ago, kokesaat said:

Question for the old-timers......those who have been here since 1998 and is over age 60:  Has anyone successfully used the 200k in the bank or 20k monthly income?  I've been here since 1996....consecutively (although used many reentry stamps), but I've always provided either the embassy letter or 800k in the bank.  For a variety of reasons (not financial), I've chosen to use the income letter for the past several years rather than 800k.  But I wouldn't have any objection to putting 200k in an account for 3 months.

Has anyone actually done this?

there where 200k and after 500 k who were grandfathered , if continuous using that income method , but I think you example used already the 800 k , so no option for you I guess ,Many does even not know it was that low before, I am also on the 800 k , keep it safe as things go change more I think , and changing is loosing the grandfathering option .

[uwe_rayong]

3 hours ago, JLCrab said:

At this point I would presume the word "transfer" indicates an international transaction and not from domestic KrungThai Bank to domestic Kasikorn bank

That is an important question. 
If I transfer money I use most times a provider like transferwise.com as it is cheaper, faster and the conversion rate is often also a little bit more.
The difference is, if I receive a direct deposit from the EU it is declared as a "foreign currency deposit", if the transfer is made by transferwise it looks like a domestic transfer.

So I doubt that immigration will accept the domestic transfers, as otherwise it would be pointless.

If they would accept a domestic transfer, I could just give a 3rd person the amount in Thailand to deposit it into my account..????

 

So the questionis :


Does the monthly transfer have to originate from outside of Thailand?

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

17 minutes ago, yamuramachi said:

I think it would be best to contact the Thai consulate in your country of residence to confirm requirements. 

 

The Consulates are under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and deal with the visas that they issue.

 

Thai Immigration is a separate entity with its own rules, and they're the ones that handle extensions of stay -- not the consulates abroad.

 

[mikosan]

Seems reasonably staightforward to me.  P60 from the UK showing pension income.  12 months worth of Transferwise receipts showing the monthly transfer of the GBP equivalent of 65K THB from the UK to my Thai bank account and dependent on how long your bank keeps statements available, in my case two 6 month statements from my Thai bank, showing the money being transferred in.  That'll do for me, thanks.  Let's see what happens when I try to extend in August, but I am hopeful and there are a few months between now and then to determine whether this will suffice.

[shackleton]

when I was last in the Immigration at Wattana in October 2018

I was using the income letter from the British Embassy 

the immigration  officer mentioned to use the Bank option next time at 

40 thousand baht monthly income as married nothing mentioned about Pensions ect 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

17 minutes ago, Raymond Hoskings said:

I think the other major problem is the word pension, not everyone gets a pension, especially those who have not reached at least the age of 65, you can get a retirement visa from 50 on so what happens to them if they want to pay the 65000 a month. Also many people over 65 can not get a pension in their home country due a number of reasons what happens to them if they want to pay the 65000 a month from other income

 

Don't read the use of the term "pension" here literally. All that's going to matter is money coming from abroad, not what kind of money it is.

 

[Justin Side]

The UK State Pension is paid into my Thai bank every 28 days.

Not monthly.

One month a year there is 2 payments.

[aussieinphuket]

i am just glad i took ThaiElite beginning last year for 5 years at least i have some piece of mind and can sit back and not worry for a while , while this all works itself out again, i am sure its going to be a mess for a little while yet until everyone gets use to what is needed and the Immigration guys also.. good luck to everyone i hope there wont be any unexpected problems for you...

[Jonnapat]

4 hours ago, Eligius said:

On the face of it, this looks EXTREMELY worrying for British retirees here. The irresponsible action of the British embassy in not confirming a retiree's income flow could be the death knell for many Brits here. Also, as far as I understand it, the British Government will not send pensions into a Thai bank account (only into a British one), and not every British bank will automatically forward a pension to a bank account in Thailand every month. Maybe I am wrong. 

 

Perhaps it is not as bad as I fear. What do other members think?

 

 

 

 

You are wrong about British Government pension payments as my pension is sent to Bangkok Bank every quarter as requested 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

16 minutes ago, carken said:

Thank you seajae!!!

This is exactly right you nailed it

 

 

BJ, the immigration chief, was quoted in one of the papers some months back saying they would consider the idea of allowing spousal assets to be counted toward qualifying. AFAIK, that one report was the last that's ever been heard of that kind of change. Never say never, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

 

[moto77]

1 hour ago, ginjag said:

Philippines, for the retired person is the best option because they have an agreement with the UK, your old age pension is paid in full and you receive increment increases.

It's cheaper too. And Boracay is open again. 

Bali is a option as well. I've been entering on the APEC ID and they've been giving me 90 day stamps. Indonesian retirement (which I don't do) is a bit cheaper than Thai but requires you to hire a maid and have a 1 year lease. LOL

Edited January 6, 2019 by moto77

[Suradit69]

48 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

it has to be proof of 40 or 65k per month from the pension.

So you're choosing to stick to the "per month" and "pension", but ignoring the "evidence of average monthly income of B65,000" statement that refers to "average" and "monthly income," but no reference to "pension?"

 

4 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

For retirement extensions of no more than 1 year evidence of average monthly income of B65,000 is required.

It would seem that the use of "average" allows some wiggle room and that the use of "pension" is not intended to exclude income derived from sources that may or may not traditionally be considered pensions.

 

Clearly even the best translations into English can be misleading and ultimately it will depend on what individual immigrations offices and individual immigrations officers choose to worry about, but I seriously doubt that anyone is going to demand that monthly income must come from something explicitly labelled a "pension." 

 

Retired persons and those married to a Thai may have sufficient income to qualify for an extension but still be too young to be receiving a pension. Pretty sure most pensions don't kick in until one is in his 60's but you can get married or obtain an extension based on retirement below that age.

 

 

[animatic]

4 hours ago, dick dasterdly said:

For those using the income route for retirement 'visas', this sounds like good news?

 

i.e. "For retirement extensions of no more than 1 year evidence of average monthly income of B65,000 is required."

 

So a miscalculation due to exchange rates can be compensated another month.

 

Presumably all Thai banks will set up a way to provide a letter and statements confirming the international transfers - although there's no way they'll be able to confirm it's pension income.

 

i.e. "Letter of certification from a Thai bank supported by bank statements showing a pension being transferred to the pensioner’s bank account every month for at least 12 months."

 

The main problem that I can see, is if they are saying the pension income must be paid directly into a Thai bank account?

I asked SCB to print my entire deposit history for a dozen years. I got it.

SCB also accepts transfers in dollars to a dollar account and automatically converts to your thai baht savings account. But will ask for you to agree to exchange rate for larger transfers. 65,000 baht would be automatically done.

[Spidey]

1 hour ago, DPKANKAN said:

And that is, at least mine is for paying in for 42 years!!

Hasn't been a minimum of 42 years for quite a while. The Labour government dropped it to 30 years, only for the Tory government to push it back up to 35 years, where it currently stands.

[Expattaff1308]

2 hours ago, bluweyze said:

Absolutely not true, My British pension goes straight into my Bangkok Bank account every month

As does mine to my Kasikorn account.

[Humpy]

I have two pensions. One goes into my personal account and one goes into our joint account. The two pensions are more than the required monthly sum but not each one. I wonder if TI will accept that these two pensions ?