Popular Post bprhodes Posted March 19, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted March 19, 2019 Last Thursday I successfully completed my 1 year extension at CM immigration using the income method. I had an affidavit from the US consulate, but I prepared my paperwork as if I did not. 1. I had a bank statement for the last 15 months from BKK Bank, with all foreign deposits highlighted. 2. I prepared a summary spread sheet summarizing my monthly deposits from USA. I had 2 months with less than 65,000 baht, but my average was well over that amount. The IO said that didn't matter as long as the total for the year was more than 800,000 baht. Mine was comfortably above that. 3. I had the last 2 pages of my bankbook copied that showed transaction that came after the statement was printed. 4. I had a letter from US Social Security showing my monthly allotment (printed from their website) 5. I had a letter from my California Pension showing my monthly amount (printed from their website) 6. Had my affidavit (IO hardly looked at it - she was more interested in the bank statement). I did not have my tax return printed, but will next year. The IO complemented me on my organized paperwork. She went through my bank statement and underlined all the deposits, but unless she was a math savant, she did not do any addition - she apparently accepted my spreadsheet totals. She organized all my paperwork together, including SS and pension letters, she appeared to recognize these straight away for what they were, perhaps because of the training from the US consulate? The IO was businesslike and friendly - everything done in 20 min (although I did wait a long time for my Q number to get called - in at 9:15, called at about 12:45, out by 2:45 after getting re-entry permit). My experience was similar to every trip to the CM IO - businesslike but always friendly. From my viewpoint, CM IO has an undeserved bad reputation. 6 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrJack54 Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 You seem extremely well organized. My only problem is regarding the people that do not have "pensions", "social security" etc. Would it be so simple if income come from .... rental property....share dividends.. interest etc etc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtls2005 Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 24 minutes ago, bprhodes said: . I had a bank statement for the last 15 months from BKK Bank, with all foreign deposits highlighted. Can you expand on this? This was a statement you requested from Bangkok Bank? How long did it take to get? Is it signed/stamped? Did you do the highlighting? Did the monthly transfers exactly match the sum of your SocSec/CalPERS net or gross disbursements? (My guess would be no, hence providing these without prompting may be unnecessary?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimSaints Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 "Undeserved bad reputation" ….. just a great laugh, thanks 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vacuum Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 24 minutes ago, JimSaints said: "Undeserved bad reputation" ….. just a great laugh, thanks How come? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProbPossConf Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 It would have been interesting if you had only presented your income affidavit and see whether or not the IO would want supporting docs of which you had well prepared. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EL159 Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 OP is exaggerating significantly. My retirement extension ( I am British) was renewed yesteray at Chiang Mai in 30 minutes. All I needed was the British Embassy letter, Letter from my Pension Provider confirming my annual income, and certification of my residence in Chiang Mai. No bank statements, spreadsheets, or any of that guff! My only concern now going forward is can I bring "210,000" for three months, or do I need to bring "70,000" every single month. Nobody seems to KNOW the answer on this. Everyone has a view, but based on guesstimates not practical fact! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawrenceN Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 Mirrors my experience exactly, except I had no affidavit from the Consulate. I highlighted my deposits and brought statements from the Wisconsin Retirement System and a private fund to show the source of the funds. I reported it here and it led to at least 16 pages of discussion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfd101 Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 4 hours ago, EL159 said: My only concern now going forward is can I bring "210,000" for three months, or do I need to bring "70,000" every single month. Nobody seems to KNOW the answer on this. Everyone has a view, but based on guesstimates not practical fact! No doubt someone will try out the 'averaging' technique so it won't be long before we know what this IO or that IO said on the occasion. And then there'll be tears before breakfast. The written instructions from TI are however pretty clear (if one isn't into wishful thinking): A minimum of 65K EVERY month. I doubt they can be much clearer than that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thailand Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 4 hours ago, EL159 said: OP is exaggerating significantly. My retirement extension ( I am British) was renewed yesteray at Chiang Mai in 30 minutes. All I needed was the British Embassy letter, Letter from my Pension Provider confirming my annual income, and certification of my residence in Chiang Mai. No bank statements, spreadsheets, or any of that guff! My only concern now going forward is can I bring "210,000" for three months, or do I need to bring "70,000" every single month. Nobody seems to KNOW the answer on this. Everyone has a view, but based on guesstimates not practical fact! Most people know the answer by now. Many references to the fact that you need to bring in at least 65,000 baht per month for each of the 12 months prior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AAArdvark Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 (edited) 8 hours ago, bprhodes said: 2 months with less than 65,000 baht, but my average was well over that amount. The IO said that didn't matter as long as the total for the year was more than 800,000 baht. Mine was comfortably above that. Of course ฿65000 per month does not equal ฿800000. So, using this IO's logic, someone could apply using the income method and simply make one single ฿780001 deposit and thereby giving that someone an average of ฿65000 and eliminate the issues of keeping 800K/400K in the bank. Edited March 19, 2019 by AAArdvark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesimps Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 "My experience was similar to every trip to the CM IO - businesslike but always friendly. From my viewpoint, CM IO has an undeserved bad reputation." Took me ten minutes to stop laughing after reading the above para. Chiang Mai immigration should have you stuffed, you're a one-off. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfokevin Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 (edited) 8 hours ago, bprhodes said: My experience was similar to every trip to the CM IO - businesslike but always friendly. From my viewpoint, CM IO has an undeserved bad reputation. This wouldn’t happened to be you would it?... Edited March 19, 2019 by sfokevin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bprhodes Posted March 19, 2019 Author Share Posted March 19, 2019 Can you expand on this? This was a statement you requested from Bangkok Bank? How long did it take to get? Is it signed/stamped? Did you do the highlighting? Did the monthly transfers exactly match the sum of your SocSec/CalPERS net or gross disbursements? (My guess would be no, hence providing these without prompting may be unnecessary?) It was an official statement with stamp and signature on each page. I requested it at my branch, it took 1 week and cost 200 baht. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bprhodes Posted March 19, 2019 Author Share Posted March 19, 2019 9 hours ago, mtls2005 said: Did the monthly transfers exactly match the sum of your SocSec/CalPERS net or gross disbursements? (My guess would be no, hence providing these without prompting may be unnecessary?) No, not even close to matching the amounts. My transfers were “as needed”. And varied considerably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bprhodes Posted March 19, 2019 Author Share Posted March 19, 2019 It would have been interesting if you had only presented your income affidavit and see whether or not the IO would want supporting docs of which you had well prepared.I was more interested to know if my supporting docs were sufficient without affidavit. They were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bprhodes Posted March 19, 2019 Author Share Posted March 19, 2019 OP is exaggerating significantly. My retirement extension ( I am British) was renewed yesteray at Chiang Mai in 30 minutes. All I needed was the British Embassy letter, Letter from my Pension Provider confirming my annual income, and certification of my residence in Chiang Mai. No bank statements, spreadsheets, or any of that guff! My only concern now going forward is can I bring "210,000" for three months, or do I need to bring "70,000" every single month. Nobody seems to KNOW the answer on this. Everyone has a view, but based on guesstimates not practical fact! My IO said the total of transfers has to be 800,000 for the year. Not 65,000 every month. YMMV 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bprhodes Posted March 19, 2019 Author Share Posted March 19, 2019 "Undeserved bad reputation" ….. just a great laugh, thanksI’m just reporting my experience. I’ve never had anyone there be anything but friendly. Maybe it is because I always come well prepared, well informed, well and organized. So maybe they are happy to see me after the disorganized, uninformed people I’ve seen in line ahead of me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucky2008 Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 (edited) 9 hours ago, DrJack54 said: My only problem is regarding the people that do not have "pensions", "social security" etc. Would it be so simple if income come from .... rental property....share dividends.. interest etc etc I also did my extension last week but based on MARRIAGE. I'm in my early 30's and do not qualify for retirement visa. I had all regular paperwork in order including: *1 year statement showing 12 individual 70k deposits for every month of last year. *Bank Confirmation letter *12 Individual 'Credit Advice' for each FTT transfers received ( BBNY+Transfer-wise) IO officer looked at all documents and said NO, and that I needed 400K in my account. I tried to explain that the monthly transfers were INCOME from rental property back home. She handed back all my documents and just kept saying it wasn't possible and that I needed 400K for the extension. Instead of making a scene I just decided to leave and come back the next day. So... The next day I went to my embassy to get an affidavit before heading back to immigration that same afternoon. My number was called, the IO looked at all my documentation, and without saying a single word proceeded to process the extension. Looking back I should have just gone with the affidavit to begin with, but I was trying to see if it was possible to do the extension without it. I was also trying to save myself the 1500 baht affidavit fee. My conclusion is this: It doesn't matter if you have money coming in every month that you personally consider "INCOME" ( the exception to this is most likely a pension, disability or a social security check) Even with all the necessary financial proof from the bank, without the affidavit it seems your screwed, that is unless of course you have work permit here in Thailand, and can prove your income. No affidavit and you're at the mercy of the IO. But If you have an affidavit you're safe. Reason being is immigration does not want to challenge the embassy. My application was processed, and is now under consideration, but still NOTHING IS GUARANTEED until that final 1 year stamp is put into my passport. Edited March 19, 2019 by lucky2008 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrJack54 Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 (edited) 11 minutes ago, lucky2008 said: I also did my extension last week but based on MARRIAGE. I'm in my early 30's and do not qualify for retirement visa. I had all regular paperwork in order including: *1 year statement showing 12 individual 70k deposits for every month of last year. *Bank Confirmation letter *12 Individual 'Credit Advice' for each FTT transfers received ( BBNY+Transfer-wise) IO officer looked at all documents and said NO, and that I needed 400K in my account. I tried to explain that the monthly transfers were INCOME from rental property back home. She handed back all my documents and just kept saying it wasn't possible and that I needed 400K. Instead of making a scene I just decided to leave and come back the next day. So... The next day I went to my embassy to get an affidavit before heading back to immigration that same afternoon. My number was called, the IO looked at all my documentation, and without saying a single word proceeded to process the extension. Looking back I should have just gone with the affidavit to begin with, but I was trying to see if it was possible to do the extension without it. I was also trying to save myself the 1500 baht affidavit fee. My conclusion is this: It doesn't matter if you have money coming in every month that you personally consider "INCOME" ( the exception to this is most likely a pension, disability or a social security check) Even with all the necessary financial proof from the bank, without the affidavit it seems your screwed, that is unless of course you have workpermit here in Thailand, and can prove your income. No affidavit and you're at the mercy of the IO. But If you have an affidavit you're safe. Reason being is immigration does not want to challenge the embassy. My application was processed, and is now under consideration, but still NOTHING IS GUARANTEED until that final 1 year stamp is put into my passport. Thanks for detailed response. As for xpats of the big 4 embassies that have stopped the affidavit letter they don't have that option. I read lot of USA and UK folk using terms like pension and social security. Thai imm uses the word "pensions". Income that comes from rentals and many other sources can be difficult to show monthly. I'm thinking some imm officers wanting to see some sort of government " pension statement". Also the transferring of money costly. I have always used money in bank method. However the changes to those requirements are onerous and for some very difficult. Edited March 19, 2019 by DrJack54 Error Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
from the home of CC Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 1 hour ago, DrJack54 said: Thanks for detailed response. As for xpats of the big 4 embassies that have stopped the affidavit letter they don't have that option. I read lot of USA and UK folk using terms like pension and social security. Thai imm uses the word "pensions". Income that comes from rentals and many other sources can be difficult to show monthly. I'm thinking some imm officers wanting to see some sort of government " pension statement". Also the transferring of money costly. I have always used money in bank method. However the changes to those requirements are onerous and for some very difficult. IMO I would of thought that if you brought printouts of government accounts showing pensions they would need to be notarized or something for them to carry any kind of credence. Anybody can print anything off the internet. I believe the only document that is credible in the mix is the signed and stamped bank statement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackThompson Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 On 3/19/2019 at 8:04 AM, bprhodes said: My experience was similar to every trip to the CM IO - businesslike but always friendly. From my viewpoint, CM IO has an undeserved bad reputation. Unless you only recently began using them - after the reorganization - how did you avoid the system in past years of of "use an agent or camp in the parking lot for a slot"? On 3/19/2019 at 10:18 AM, Vacuum said: On 3/19/2019 at 9:53 AM, JimSaints said: "Undeserved bad reputation" ….. just a great laugh, thanks How come? In the past, a well-documented scam-system using agents encouraged by manufacturing insane queues. Recently that system has been shut-down, though they are still known to ask for more documentation to prove income than many other offices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackThompson Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 19 hours ago, bprhodes said: I was more interested to know if my supporting docs were sufficient without affidavit. They were. ... as long as you are from one of the countries where you cannot get an affidavit any more, yes. In other cases, we have reports of the affidavit being demanded - though that could vary by office, IO, and time of day. See lucky2008's reply, above, for what happens if you can get an affidavit and don't have it - though that was for marriage, and immigration generally make a lot more problems for people who are supporting Thai families vs those who are merely "retired" here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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