Will using a visa service end the need for using a Thai bank for transfers?

[KhunFred]

Otherwise, I have no way to pay credit cards and no way to transfer enough money to cover 65 thousand a month

[overherebc]

Is the combo method ( income plus savings to make 800,000 a year ) also a no go?

eg  400,000 in the bank and 40,000 a month income or other combined figures?

Above would total 880,000 so you could really have 320,000 in the bank but with exchange rates better to go higher.

Edited February 21, 2019 by overherebc

[ubonjoe]

Only for a substantial cost for a agent to put the money in the bank for you to meet the 800k baht in the bank option or enough to combine with the income you can bring into the country to reach a total of 800k baht.

[scubascuba3]

Otherwise, I have no way to pay credit cards and no way to transfer enough money to cover 65 thousand a month

Go and talk to an agent to see whether they can still do it, circ 12,900 a year after the first year

[onera1961]

Only for a substantial cost for a agent to put the money in the bank for you to meet the 800k baht in the bank option or enough to combine with the income you can bring into the country to reach a total of 800k baht.

Do you think agents will put 800k to remain throughout the year? Does the clause to waive seasoning and keeping at least 400000 baht through out the year exists for who could buy the privelege?

Sent from my JKM-LX2 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[lazygourmet]

21 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

Do you think agents will put 800k to remain throughout the year? Does the clause to waive seasoning and keeping at least 400000 baht through out the year exists for who could buy the privelege?

Sent from my JKM-LX2 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Same as usual, the money will never stay longer than ten minutes on your bank account.

Agents fees are not made to borrow money but to ease process at immigration offices.

And that is the reason why they are taking care, as well, of your 90 days report; because nobody wants to see your face over there.

[onera1961]

Same as usual, the money will never stay longer than ten minutes on your bank account.
Agents fees are not made to borrow money but to ease process at immigration offices.
And that is the reason why they are taking care, as well, of your 90 days report; because nobody wants to see your face over there.

Understood. But my question was specifically about the existence of a clause to waive seasoning (as exited before) and keeping at least 400k throughout the year for pevileged people otherwise it becomes illegal.

Sent from my JKM-LX2 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[ubonjoe]

47 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

Do you think agents will put 800k to remain throughout the year? Does the clause to waive seasoning and keeping at least 400000 baht through out the year exists for who could buy the privelege?

I have no idea what an agent will be able to do now. That is why I wrote at a substantial cost.

There is no clause that allowed them to waive the seasoning as far as I know. It is assumed by many that is what was done.

This is the only provision of the current police order that might be used,

"5. In the case where an alien applicant does not meet the full qualifications stipulated by the criteria herein or in other cases not specified in this Order but a competent officer equivalent to or higher than inspector is of the opinion that the alien has legitimate reason for staying in the Kingdom of Thailand, the application shall be forwarded to the Commander of the Royal Thai Police or an authorized competent officer for further consideration of the alien's application."

[JackThompson]

Just now, onera1961 said:

Understood. But my question was specifically about the existence of a clause to waive seasoning (as exited before) and keeping at least 400k throughout the year for pevileged people otherwise it becomes illegal.

There is some clause allowing a "senior official" to waive all the financials, but whether they bother to go through those motions is unknown. 

 

The "new rules" just change the seasoning - the 400K "year round" is just more seasoning.  When their agent-partners submit applications, the seasoning requirement is skipped.  The "new rules" were written in such a way that the agent-racket can be preserved.

[KhunFred]

55 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

Do you think agents will put 800k to remain throughout the year? Does the clause to waive seasoning and keeping at least 400000 baht through out the year exists for who could buy the privelege?

Sent from my JKM-LX2 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Please stop referring to 800 k in the bank. I use the monthly income method.

[KhunFred]

5 minutes ago, JackThompson said:

 The "new rules" were written in such a way that the agent-racket can be preserved.

Agents are not a racket for those who need . help.

[onera1961]

Please stop referring to 800 k in the bank. I use the monthly income method.

Agents only do 800k bank method. You can bring million dollars a month or 30k/ month, agents dont care. They put 800k and buy the previlege for waiving of seasoning from IOs. At least that's s how it used to work. Don't know how it would work now

Sent from my JKM-LX2 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[smedly]

16 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

Agents only do 800k bank method. You can bring million dollars a month or 30k/ month, agents dont care. They put 800k and buy the previlege for waiving of seasoning from IOs. At least that's s how it used to work. Don't know how it would work now

Sent from my JKM-LX2 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

it might work for your next extension application and they will take your money to facilitate - but come the next renewal the following year when they check your bank to see if you complied with the rules the previous 12 months  (and you obviously didn't) - what then ?, if your agent cannot bribe your next extension then you are shafted. 

[Mike Teavee]

If you know anybody who uses the 800k method and transfers money in on a regular basis to cover spends, you could (in theory) get them to transfer it to your Thai Bank account and then you pay it back  (possibly in 2-3 chunks so it doesn't look like churning) into theirs.

 

This would only work if the 2 sides trusted each other, and if I was the guy who's bringing the money in from overseas I'd want to cover myself by:-

1. Getting 65k up front (i.e. I'd be paying back the 65k, not advancing it)
2. Being very clear that a single missed payment would result in no more transfers, which could/would screw up the next extension

 

An enterprising person could make some money on this by charging a fee (say 1-1,500 THB per month) which in turn would cover his transfer costs.

 

Obviously they'd need to give me 10% for suggesting the idea ???? 

 

[onera1961]

it might work for your next extension application and they will take your money to facilitate - but come the next renewal the following year when they check your bank to see if you complied with the rules the previous 12 months  (and you obviously didn't) - what then ?, if your agent cannot bribe your next extension then you are shafted. 

What if every extension is treated as a new extension? Go out come back with a TV and apply fresh. Not breaking any laws. Perfectly legal.

Sent from my JKM-LX2 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[jacko45k]

2 hours ago, overherebc said:

Above would total 880,000 so you could really have 320,000 in the bank but with exchange rates better to go higher.

There is some opinions that for a combi method, the money in the bank must remain at a minimum of 400,000, and that will be for 12 months. Doesn't seem to be much of an option. 

 

[onera1961]

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

"5. In the case where an alien applicant does not meet the full qualifications stipulated by the criteria herein or in other cases not specified in this Order but a competent officer equivalent to or higher than inspector is of the opinion that the alien has legitimate reason for staying in the Kingdom of Thailand, the application shall be forwarded to the Commander of the Royal Thai Police or an authorized competent officer for further consideration of the alien's application."

Perfect, the gravy train continues. No wonder agents are not moved by recent announcements. They may be partying. More customers and legalized loophole to obtain privilege by offering money. 

 

1 hour ago, KhunFred said:

Agents are not a racket for those who need . help.

Agents are conduit for obtaining privilege. In today's society privileges are earned. One can earn privilege 1) by spending money, 2) by becoming famous, or 3) by connections. While 2) and 3) are bit difficult for most people, option 1 is easy for many as long as no body is breaking laws. 
 

 

Edited February 21, 2019 by onera1961

[smedly]

35 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

What if every extension is treated as a new extension? Go out come back with a TV and apply fresh. Not breaking any laws. Perfectly legal.

Sent from my JKM-LX2 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

if you think that is going to work then go for it, I rather suspect they will impose a time limit on when you can re-apply, maybe 6-12 months 

[ubonjoe]

6 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

Perfect, the gravy train continues. No wonder agents are not moved by recent announcements. They may be partying. More customers and legalized loophole to obtain privilege by offering money. 

I don't think the competent officer would be at a local immigration office. The lowest level might be at the division headquarters over the office where the application is done.

6 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

the application shall be forwarded to the Commander of the Royal Thai Police or an authorized competent officer for further consideration of the alien's application."

 

[baansgr]

Guys I know have asked their agent and even the agents in Pattaya dont know whats going to happen yet. They all say wait till after 1st March. It really could be a serious issue for many people that do actually spend a lot of money here 

[Caldera]

4 hours ago, KhunFred said:

Agents are not a racket for those who need . help.

Ah, just like with loan sharks, then!

[Mike Teavee]

20 hours ago, Mike Teavee said:

If you know anybody who uses the 800k method and transfers money in on a regular basis to cover spends, you could (in theory) get them to transfer it to your Thai Bank account and then you pay it back  (possibly in 2-3 chunks so it doesn't look like churning) into theirs.

 

This would only work if the 2 sides trusted each other, and if I was the guy who's bringing the money in from overseas I'd want to cover myself by:-

1. Getting 65k up front (i.e. I'd be paying back the 65k, not advancing it)
2. Being very clear that a single missed payment would result in no more transfers, which could/would screw up the next extension

 

An enterprising person could make some money on this by charging a fee (say 1-1,500 THB per month) which in turn would cover his transfer costs.

 

Obviously they'd need to give me 10% for suggesting the idea ???? 

 

Not sure why you thought this was "Sad" @moonlover, what is sad is that there are good guys out there who can happily live on <65k per month but can no longer meet the immigration requirements & the OP (based on this & other threads he's posted on) seems like one of them, he's genuinely asking for ideas of how he can stay living on an income that whilst might not meet the 65k mark, is enough for him.

 

Here's another idea for you... Get a group of (say 4) guys in a similar predicament & pool your home country resources so you make a single payment to each guys account each week.  Obviously requires co-ordination & maybe a 1 month buffer built up in the home country to start but as long as the inflow is regular (e.g. pensions) then it shouldn't be too hard to do with a bit of planning.

 

For the avoidance of doubt I use the 800K in the bank route so none of these "Ideas" are pertinent to me...

 

[Snow Leopard]

Competent Officer?