Which bank book should I use? Retirement Extension

[elviajero]

4 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

What kind of check back is done with the income method and the cash income method?

There is no check back on income. And as far as I know it’s only Jomtien (so far) that are checking the 800K after 3 months. Others might follow, but most reports so far suggest most offices won’t do any checks until you go to apply for the next years extension.

 

But even if they don’t insist you show the bank book after 3 months you still need to keep the minimum balances otherwise you could get the next years extension refused.

 

Income can be spent as and when you want.

Edited April 19, 2019 by elviajero

[55Jay]

8 minutes ago, elviajero said:

Surely you do it the other way around. Show the income first, and only if that’s not accepted pull out the account with 1M.

 

IMO opinion there is no advantage in needlessly tying up 800/400K.

Why are you talking about income?  OP's doing 800k show money in the bank and has to decide which account to use well before he ever gets to immigration, ie - tell the bank which account to base the bank letter on.  Just my opinion, use the cleaner one, keep it simple/straight forward.

 

Question of locking money up in a Thai bank isn't really relevant to OP's question. 

 

FWIW, my Immi office informed me last month that I had to leave my 800k untouched for 3 months after, and said it was subject to verification at my first 90-day report. Nothing in writing, they didn't specifically tell me I had to bring the bank book with me at the 90 day report either, but it was implied.  

[elviajero]

17 minutes ago, 55Jay said:

Why are you talking about income?  OP's doing 800k show money in the bank and has to decide which account to use well before he ever gets to immigration, ie - tell the bank which account to base the bank letter on.  Just my opinion, use the cleaner one, keep it simple/straight forward.

Because he has the option of applying based on income or 800K in the bank. If he does the former he can do whatever he likes with his money. If the latter he must keep minimum balances.

 

22 minutes ago, 55Jay said:

Question of locking money up in a Thai bank isn't really relevant to OP's question.

Using income gives more flexibility.

 

17 minutes ago, 55Jay said:

FWIW, my Immi office informed me last month that I had to leave my 800k untouched for 3 months after, and said it was subject to verification at my first 90-day report. Nothing in writing, they didn't specifically tell me I had to bring the bank book with me at the 90 day report either, but it was implied.  

It doesn’t matter if your office check or not. You need to maintain the minimum balances if you want to renew next year.

[55Jay]

Just now, elviajero said:

Because he has the option of applying based on income or 800K in the bank. If he does the former he can do whatever he likes with his money. If the latter he must keep minimum balances.

 

Using income gives more flexibility.

 

It doesn’t matter if your office check or not. You need to maintain the minimum balances if you want to renew next year.

Don't disagree with what you're saying, and I know you've got the OP's best interests at heart when talking about the merits of the income method.  I was simply giving my opinion based on the question OP asked. /// 

 

[marcusarelus]

It would be ironic if that as a result of Immigration new rules keeping money in a Thai bank longer that expats pulled it out and went to the income method so there was a net loss of foreign bank deposits.  That is not lost on me.  In fact it's kind of poetic justice. 

[elviajero]

46 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

It would be ironic if that as a result of Immigration new rules keeping money in a Thai bank longer that expats pulled it out and went to the income method so there was a net loss of foreign bank deposits.  That is not lost on me.  In fact it's kind of poetic justice. 

Given how hard the banks make it to open an account I doubt they care. They’re clearly not interested in our money in the first place.

[Lacessit]

28 minutes ago, elviajero said:

Given how hard the banks make it to open an account I doubt they care. They’re clearly not interested in our money in the first place.

Banks are always interested in money. I opened my Bangkok Bank account ten years ago with a tourist visa and my passport. About 5 years ago, I opened a Kasikorn Bank account by simply putting down 200K baht on the counter. They couldn't get their hands on it fast enough. Based on those experiences, I am wondering why you regard opening a bank account as difficult.

[elviajero]

26 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Banks are always interested in money. I opened my Bangkok Bank account ten years ago with a tourist visa and my passport. About 5 years ago, I opened a Kasikorn Bank account by simply putting down 200K baht on the counter. They couldn't get their hands on it fast enough. Based on those experiences, I am wondering why you regard opening a bank account as difficult.

Because of the countless reports from members over the years that have had difficulties opening an account.

[Lacessit]

33 minutes ago, elviajero said:

Because of the countless reports from members over the years that have had difficulties opening an account.

I guess I'm just one of the lucky farangs in Thailand that doesn't encounter countless issues like many TV posters then.

[MickeyDelux]

my 0.02 is to update both books, make copies of the books, have bank letters for both accounts and let the IO choose.  Better safe than sorry. Please follow up with what you did and what happened, if anything. Good luck!

[Olmate]

6 minutes ago, MickeyDelux said:

my 0.02 is to update both books, make copies of the books, have bank letters for both accounts and let the IO choose.  Better safe than sorry. Please follow up with what you did and what happened, if anything. Good luck!

Why? Never read such ado about nought ! Clearly way off topic now with income, monthly deposits! Looking for trouble is a sure way to find it.

[jacko45k]

17 hours ago, elviajero said:

There is no check back on income. And as far as I know it’s only Jomtien (so far) that are checking the 800K after 3 months.

I have heard of it being required in Chiang Rai. 

[Kerryd]

16 hours ago, elviajero said:

Because of the countless reports from members over the years that have had difficulties opening an account.

 

15 hours ago, Lacessit said:

I guess I'm just one of the lucky farangs in Thailand that doesn't encounter countless issues like many TV posters then.

I believe he means the "very few reports" from a tiny percentage of members spread over many, many years. Many of which were probably the cause of their own problems. Like the ones who think they are smarter than the banks and try to open a Chequing account expecting to deposit 100 baht and receiving a big book of shiny new cheques, just before their visa expires and they are due to fly out of the country. (They usually forget to mention such details when they whine about being turned down.)

Others try to get a credit card, no doubt with the same intent, and when they are denied they rush to TV to whine (without mentioning what they were REALLY trying to do of course.)
And for pretty much every thread that someone starts about not being able to open an account at (whatever) bank, there are usually a whack of replies from people who (easily) opened accounts at the same bank (maybe even the same branch). Which should make people wonder why so many were able to open accounts (easily, apparently) while some few individuals seem to have problems.

As for the OP - just use the Fixed Deposit book. Update it and get the bank letter the day before you plan on going to Immigration.

I've used a Fixed Term account for my Retirement Extensions for 8 years now with no problems at all (at Jomtien). The day before I plan on going to Immigration I go to the bank, put my book in the passbook update machine, it types out the date and current balance, I go inside and request the bank letter and a few minutes later I'm on my way.
No muss, no fuss, NO requirement to show any "transactions" on the account. (Jomtien knows that you don't normally make a lot of transactions on a Fixed Term account.)

 

Bring your bank book with you just in case you forget to photocopy one of the pages. In my experience, they want a photocopy of the page showing the current (updated) balance as well as the page that shows your name (which makes sense). If you plan on going in first thing Monday morning (or the day after a holiday) they are OK if the update and bank letter are dated on the previous Friday (or day before the holiday). If you go any other day though they expect the update to be no more than a day old.
 

[rwill]

Jeez, you have the fixed account so just use that.  Simple.  Much easier for immigration too.

[natway09]

Some offices do not like fixed deposit.

Suggest use the regular savings account if all the seasoning etc are good

[elviajero]

4 hours ago, Kerryd said:

I believe he means the "very few reports" from a tiny percentage of members spread over many, many years.

No, I meant countless reports.

 

4 hours ago, Kerryd said:

Many of which were probably the cause of their own problems. Like the ones who think they are smarter than the banks and try to open a Chequing account expecting to deposit 100 baht and receiving a big book of shiny new cheques, just before their visa expires and they are due to fly out of the country. (They usually forget to mention such details when they whine about being turned down.)

Others try to get a credit card, no doubt with the same intent, and when they are denied they rush to TV to whine (without mentioning what they were REALLY trying to do of course.)
And for pretty much every thread that someone starts about not being able to open an account at (whatever) bank, there are usually a whack of replies from people who (easily) opened accounts at the same bank (maybe even the same branch). Which should make people wonder why so many were able to open accounts (easily, apparently) while some few individuals seem to have problems.

Lots of assumptions to back up your opinion,

 

If the average foreigner walks in to an average Thai bank and asks for a simple savings account, they will be sent away. That is a fact based on countless reports by members over many years.

 

I am not saying it’s not possible, and I know people have easily opened accounts, but on the whole it still remains difficult for a foreigner, who’s not working, to open a savings account at most branches of most banks! That is a fact.

[jacko45k]

3 minutes ago, elviajero said:

If the average foreigner walks in to an average Thai bank and asks for a simple savings account, they will be sent away. That is a fact based on countless reports by members over many years.

And yet I walked into a Krung Thai bank with my tax refund and passport and opened one straight away. 

[elviajero]

1 minute ago, jacko45k said:

And yet I walked into a Krung Thai bank with my tax refund and passport and opened one straight away. 

You missed a bit...

 

7 minutes ago, elviajero said:

I am not saying it’s not possible, and I know people have easily opened accounts,

 

[malt25]

"Which bank book should I use? Retirement Extension"  Just go with the one that has the hottest tellers !