Extension of Stay monthly income - Bank reference GPSD

[Thailand]

Aiming to do extension of stay based on retirement with monthly income +leniency!

Just received 12 month statement from Bangkok Bank head office and it has references that I have not seen before, I can check at branch tomorrow but just thought someone may know.

 

The first ref (particulars) for overseas deposits is still Bahtnet although when it comes to "via" it shows "GPSD HEAD OFFICE".

The only thing I can find for GPSD is "Bangkok Bank Global Payment & Services Dept" (GPSD). Is that the indicator the funds are from overseas and acceptable to whomever? 

No guesses thanks, if you know great.

[ubonjoe]

What you found looks correct.

You could call the office in Bangkok that handles international transfers and is probably the department that code refers to. This is the phone number for that office.022301323. They speak good English and have helped me before.

[Thailand]

8 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

What you found looks correct.

You could call the office in Bangkok that handles international transfers and is probably the department that code refers to. This is the phone number for that office.022301323. They speak good English and have helped me before.

Thanks.

 

The reference is only on those funds that have been received from overseas, just need to find if this is an acceptable reference for BB to provide the golden "immigration letter".

BB bank in Chiangmai had previously declined to provide the letter based on Bahtnet transfers however the "GPSD" is only shown on the statement from head office, it does not appear on the bank book or statements provided locally.

[pontious]

My Bangkok Bank branch { small one in a Tesco } said they can give me a letter showing transfers UK to Thailand for the whole year. They just want the example letter published on TV somewhere that I showed them to copy. Cost Baht 100. It will take 2 hours.

[Thailand]

8 hours ago, pontious said:

My Bangkok Bank branch { small one in a Tesco } said they can give me a letter showing transfers UK to Thailand for the whole year. They just want the example letter published on TV somewhere that I showed them to copy. Cost Baht 100. It will take 2 hours.

Thanks

So they said GPSD HEAD OFFICE was acceptable as confirmation the deposits came from overseas?

[pontious]

From UK they always arrive FTT.

[ubonjoe]

1 hour ago, pontious said:

From UK they always arrive FTT.

That depends upon how they were sent and which bank it was transferred to.

Many banks do not use the FTT code. Some transfers go through a intermediary bank here that causes the transfers to be shown as a domestic transfer.

[Thailand]

1 hour ago, pontious said:

From UK they always arrive FTT.

If you read my original post you can see that my transfers from overseas do not arrive FTT hence the reason for the post in the first place.

[pontious]

54 minutes ago, Thailand said:

If you read my original post you can see that my transfers from overseas do not arrive FTT hence the reason for the post in the first place.

Maybe Joe can post the 2 example bank letters from Bangkok Bank - I can never find anything on TV.

If you show them to your local bank branch they may be able to help. Jomtien IO certainly accept them - they even show them as an example. I remember one letter said something like:

 

 

1.1.19             USD XXX                 THB XXXX

3.2.19            USD XXX                 THB XXXX

 

etc etc

[Thailand]

2 minutes ago, pontious said:

Maybe Joe can post the 2 example bank letters from Bangkok Bank - I can never find anything on TV.

If you show them to your local bank branch they may be able to help. Jomtien IO certainly accept them - they even show them as an example. I remember one letter said something like:

 

 

1.1.19             USD XXX                 THB XXXX

3.2.19            USD XXX                 THB XXXX

 

etc etc

I am aware of the letters I have copies. My bank would not issue a letter based on deposits via Bahtnet. The statement from head office which refers to GPSD HEAD OFFICE,again, this is the purpose of the post do you know if this is acceptable?

[pontious]

 

12 minutes ago, Thailand said:

do you know if this is acceptable?

No idea.

[Thailand]

3 minutes ago, pontious said:

 

No idea.

So if you had actually read the first post you could have saved a lot of wasted time.

[NanLaew]

8 minutes ago, Thailand said:

So if you had actually read the first post you could have saved a lot of wasted time.

You're the one wasting time here asking if anyone knows if Chiang Mai (?) Immigration office will accept what your BB long-form statement indicates.

 

I think a trip to to your local Immigration office would be far more helpful, no?

[Thailand]

4 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

You're the one wasting time here asking if anyone knows if Chiang Mai (?) Immigration office will accept what your BB long-form statement indicates.

 

I think a trip to to your local Immigration office would be far more helpful, no?

As it is a bank query and not an immigration problem that would be a bit pointless. And as I said in the first post I will check with BB today if nobody had the answer, is that OK with you?

[pizzachang]

I find it amusing that any bank would not know if a transfer is from another country.

In fact, I specifically asked about this at my local branch of BB.  I was informed that FTT means from a foreign source (as far as Immigration is concerned) I was also informed that yes Bangkok B knows fully well that when I use my ATM card from a US bank, that the funds must necessarily come from a foreign source.  The banker said that Immigration doesn't care about this fact but only wants to see the FTT ( or possibly some other code? My banker only mentioned the FTT) in the bank book. The "letter" from the bank, according to my bank officer, is more confusion for the bank, as the source of funds is not an unknown.  Any SWIFT transfer is coded FTT(again according to my bank officer) This from my visit this week to my local branch.

[pontious]

1 hour ago, Thailand said:

So if you had actually read the first post you could have saved a lot of wasted time.

You can be sure I will not waste anymore time.

[Tanoshi]

14 minutes ago, pizzachang said:

I find it amusing that any bank would not know if a transfer is from another country.

In fact, I specifically asked about this at my local branch of BB.  I was informed that FTT means from a foreign source (as far as Immigration is concerned) I was also informed that yes Bangkok B knows fully well that when I use my ATM card from a US bank, that the funds must necessarily come from a foreign source.  The banker said that Immigration doesn't care about this fact but only wants to see the FTT ( or possibly some other code? My banker only mentioned the FTT) in the bank book. The "letter" from the bank, according to my bank officer, is more confusion for the bank, as the source of funds is not an unknown.  Any SWIFT transfer is coded FTT(again according to my bank officer) This from my visit this week to my local branch.

The OP has his UK state pension paid direct to his Thai bank account.

These payments go through the Bank of Thailand and are coded as 'Bahtnet' transfers.

 

It's a system of International transfers that Immigration may not be familiar with.

Edited June 24, 2019 by Tanoshi

[ubonjoe]

7 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

These payments go through the Bank of Thailand and are coded as 'Bahtnet' transfers.

His transfers according to earlier posts in other topics are transferred via CitiBank from the UK to the branch here and then are sent to Bangkok Bank via BahtNet.

[Tanoshi]

5 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

His transfers according to earlier posts in other topics are transferred via CitiBank from the UK to the branch here and then are sent to Bangkok Bank via BahtNet.

All DWP (Department of Works and Pensions) payments are paid by Citibank to the bank of your choice.

In the case of a Thai bank, Citibank transfer the payments to the Bank of Thailand using the Bahtnet system of transfer, to his Bangkok bank account.

 

The exchange rates and transfers fees are far better than those offered by other banks or financial institutions such as Transferwise.

[Thailand]

 

1 hour ago, Tanoshi said:

All DWP (Department of Works and Pensions) payments are paid by Citibank to the bank of your choice.

In the case of a Thai bank, Citibank transfer the payments to the Bank of Thailand using the Bahtnet system of transfer, to his Bangkok bank account.

 

The exchange rates and transfers fees are far better than those offered by other banks or financial institutions such as Transferwise.

Yes,all that is correct.

 

Tanoshi  (thank you) advised me to get a 12 month statement from Head Office of Bangkok Bank,that is when the "GPSD HEAD OFFICE" reference that I have been querying came up. This will NOT show if you get a statement from your home branch

 

I called the number UJ gave me in his post and it is "Bangkok Bank Global Payment & Services Dept (GPSD)". The is the office that receives funds from overseas in either foreign currency or Thai baht and then forwards to the respective branches. The very helpful young lady gave me another number to refer the home branch to if they are still unable to comply with the request for the bank letter.

 

I also had some business via another Bangkok Bank branch and asked them about the reference, took a couple of people before a senior lady knew exactly what it was and said there should be no problem getting a bank letter from my home branch and if they had any queries to call her!

 

Anyway, that is what the reference  "GPSD  HEAD OFFICE" on a statement from Bangkok Bank Head Office means.

[Tanoshi]

7 minutes ago, Thailand said:

I also had some business via another Bangkok Bank branch and asked them about the reference, took a couple of people before a senior lady knew exactly what it was and said there should be no problem getting a bank letter from my home branch and if they had any queries to call her!

I think your major problem is your branch not understanding the 'Bahtnet' method of transfer and what's required for Immigration purposes.

There was an initial issue at my IO when statements with 'Bahtnet' were first supplied.

They phoned BKK for clarification and now accept without question.

My local BKK branch now include on the letter confirmation that the deposits are from an overseas source.

[Thailand]

10 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

I think your major problem is your branch not understanding the 'Bahtnet' method of transfer and what's required for Immigration purposes.

There was an initial issue at my IO when statements with 'Bahtnet' were first supplied.

They phoned BKK for clarification and now accept without question.

My local BKK branch now include on the letter confirmation that the deposits are from an overseas source.

A week or two ago I sat opposite a Bangkok Bank official at my home branch whilst he called BKK for clarification regarding Bahtnet and he was told they could not confirm the funds as coming from overseas, he even passed the phone over to me for the lady to confirm it!

 

Based on recent information the branch official and person to whom he spoke had no idea what they were talking about. Is there any wonder there is complete chaos in many cases.

[Tanoshi]

27 minutes ago, Thailand said:

A week or two ago I sat opposite a Bangkok Bank official at my home branch whilst he called BKK for clarification regarding Bahtnet and he was told they could not confirm the funds as coming from overseas, he even passed the phone over to me for the lady to confirm it!

 

Based on recent information the branch official and person to whom he spoke had no idea what they were talking about. Is there any wonder there is complete chaos in many cases.

In my personal experience, the absolute lack of training or knowledge by an individual or office with regards to foreigners affairs, is sadly lacking throughout Thailand.

They know only what was taught or told and when faced with something new have a fear of seeking advice from those above, for fear of losing face and looking stupid, as if they should have known.

'No have' or 'cannot' are regular answers.

[Thailand]

13 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

In my personal experience, the absolute lack of training or knowledge by an individual or office with regards to foreigners affairs, is sadly lacking throughout Thailand.

They know only what was taught or told and when faced with something new have a fear of seeking advice from those above, for fear of losing face and looking stupid, as if they should have known.

'No have' or 'cannot' are regular answers.

Fact! ????

[Thailand]

Called in to home branch of Bangkok Bank this morning armed with the new info. It appears that all may now be in order and they will issue the "bank letter" on request,probably. ????

 

What a sorry state when there is so much <deleted> around and stress to achieve what should be a simple process,my 18th consecutive extension of stay! 

 

The fault I guess lies with both immigration and banks to successfully coordinate the new changes and requirements?

[kensisaket]

I am from the U.S.; but, just went through this in Sisaket.  When I requested the funds letter from BKK Bank they sent off to Bangkok for it.  Got it a couple of days later.  When I went to the immigration office they wanted copies of my source of funds (income/tax statements from the U.S.); additionally, they sent me back to the bank to get a letter showing account balance. After they reviewed the initial letter they decided I did not need the source of funds proof; but, I did have to get the account balance letter. FYI, the account had less than 400k in it. I'm sure every immigration office has their own interpretation of requirements; but, it was pretty straight forward in Sisaket.  

Edited June 25, 2019 by kensisaket

[Thailand]

32 minutes ago, kensisaket said:

I am from the U.S.; but, just went through this in Sisaket.  When I requested the funds letter from BKK Bank they sent off to Bangkok for it.  Got it a couple of days later.  When I went to the immigration office they wanted copies of my source of funds (income/tax statements from the U.S.); additionally, they sent me back to the bank to get a letter showing account balance. After they reviewed the initial letter they decided I did not need the source of funds proof; but, I did have to get the account balance letter. FYI, the account had less than 400k in it. I'm sure every immigration office has their own interpretation of requirements; but, it was pretty straight forward in Sisaket.  

Monthly minimum of 65K from overseas? How many payments?