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Establishing bank deposits from foreign sources


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4 hours ago, jimmyyy said:

Navy federal Credit union charges me 25.00 USD a month to transfer 80,000 Baht into my Kasikorn account and it takes less than 2 hours to arrive.  Been doing this since January and it has not failed one time.  They show up as an International SWIFT, i don't think i will have any problems in January renewing my marriage extension of stay.

I honestly hope you don’t, but...it will depend on which office, which officer and what kind of mood they’re in at the time. 

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1 minute ago, Tanoshi said:

No fact, exactly the same happened to a colleague. 

He had bank statement with proof of between 67-68K per month from overseas transfers.

They requested his Pension statement letter, then totalled his pension and converted using the BKK exchange rate. Due to falling exchange rates, his monthly pension came to less than the required 65K per month and his extension was refused.

They completely dismissed the fact he had several thousand AUD sitting in his Australian bank account, more than enough to top up his monthly transfers to the required amount.

They blamed his Embassy (Australian national) and it's not the first time I've witnessed discrimination towards US, UK and Australians using the income method by way of bank statements, which they also claim creates more work for them.

 

It's totally wrong.

As long as each individual IO has discretion to do as he/she pleases none of us can be certain which way it’s going to go whether have everything in order or not. 

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27 minutes ago, Fairynuff said:

As long as each individual IO has discretion to do as he/she pleases none of us can be certain which way it’s going to go whether have everything in order or not. 

As I sat waiting, a Norwegian guy and his wife present an application for a change of Visa status from a TV to a Non O. For financial evidence he produces an Embassy Income letter.

They check, stamp and get him to sign all the documents and tell him they'll ring in a couple of weeks when it's been approved.

Next in line a British guy, same procedure, all documents in order, but he presents a bank statement and letter with proof of two 65K International transfers.

They refuse to process it and tell him to obtain a Non O from a Thai Embassy/Consulate.

They make reference to the Norwegians Embassy Income letter and state he should complain to his Embassy and it's their fault.

 

I'm not making this stuff up, I've witnessed similar on 3 separate occasions.

It's clear discrimination, blaming the US, UK and Australian Embassies because they no longer issue Income letters.

 

This was the same IO in each case and I know for fact that a Government official, the wife of a British expat, reported his behaviour to the senior officer and to Khon Kaen regional office ………. obviously to know avail.

Edited by Tanoshi
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14 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

In those cases where backup documentation of source is requested, I don't know that the amounts on the bank transfers and the amounts on the income source documents have to match exactly in order to satisfy Immigration. But I'd imagine they at least need to be similar or in the same ballpark, or it's potentially going to cause problems -- as the person in Tanoshi's report discovered

I think the criteria is not that the income source needs to be similar, but that it needs to be a regular/monthly income source that exceeds the 65/40k baht requirement. I don't think it can be a lower monthly income that needs to be topped up using 'savings' to qualify, even if the top up required each month is small.

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On 8/15/2019 at 12:10 PM, Max69xl said:

"That's about 2 years of avoiding petty immigration bureaucracy."

One question about that sentence:

What kind of immigration bureaucracy do you avoid having an O-A Visa compared to a Non-imm O Retirement Visa with a 1 year extension incl. multiple re-entry?

For those who are unable to commit to leaving 800 k baht untouched in a local bank account or simply prefer to put their money to work in more lucrative foreign accounts and/or investment vehicles, the recent 'proof of income' changes have been troublesome.

 

Beyond that and depending on what immigration office you are dealing with, you may have to make more than one and possibly up to three visits to that office just to get your 1-year extension renewed.

 

With the O-A, the only immigration officer you see are the ones stamping your passport at the airport and possibly the one handing back your passport with a re-entry permit pre-departure. if one opts for the multiiple re-entry, the chances of meeting that officer is virtually nil.

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6 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

For those who are unable to commit to leaving 800 k baht untouched in a local bank account or simply prefer to put their money to work in more lucrative foreign accounts and/or investment vehicles, the recent 'proof of income' changes have been troublesome.

 

Beyond that and depending on what immigration office you are dealing with, you may have to make more than one and possibly up to three visits to that office just to get your 1-year extension renewed.

 

With the O-A, the only immigration officer you see are the ones stamping your passport at the airport and possibly the one handing back your passport with a re-entry permit pre-departure. if one opts for the multiiple re-entry, the chances of meeting that officer is virtually nil.

I spent 5-6 min in Jomtien Immigration doing my last 1 year extension,incl. waiting.

My next 90-days report is the same day I have to show my 800k, that's a total of 5min.

You also have to do 90-days reports with an O-A Visa.

If leaving the country I can use multiple re-entry. Same procedure as with an O-A Visa.

TM30's also same procedure. 

There's no difference using a Long Stay O-A compared to a Non-imm O Retirement when staying in Thailand or leaving. The immigration nonsense is the same. 

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On 8/15/2019 at 6:46 AM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

That dropdown menu option with Transferwise for the transfer reason being retirement/longstay in Thailand is a relatively recent change in their system and coding...

 

So I guess the question is, for those here that have been and will be using it, will it prove to be a RELIABLE method over time for assuring their transfers are correctly coded as foreign? Meaning, each and every time without exception, both now and in the months ahead?

Transferwise have already said it's no more reliable than "call us ahead of time" or "place a notation on your account" and if one system is down then transfers will automatically be done via the backup, which leaves everyone where they were at the start of last month with no FTT flag on their transfers.

Edited by treetops
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20 hours ago, NanLaew said:

 

With the O-A, the only immigration officer you see are the ones stamping your passport at the airport and possibly the one handing back your passport with a re-entry permit pre-departure. if one opts for the multiiple re-entry, the chances of meeting that officer is virtually nil.

 

The flip side to the coin of the O-A visa vs an in-country extension, of course, are....

--required police clearance in your home country.

--required medical clearance in your home country.

--the cost of travel back and forth to your home country, and

--the looming elephant in the room of possible future health insurance requirement for the O-A.

 

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20 hours ago, Max69xl said:

I spent 5-6 min in Jomtien Immigration doing my last 1 year extension,incl. waiting.

My next 90-days report is the same day I have to show my 800k, that's a total of 5min.

You also have to do 90-days reports with an O-A Visa.

If leaving the country I can use multiple re-entry. Same procedure as with an O-A Visa.

TM30's also same procedure. 

There's no difference using a Long Stay O-A compared to a Non-imm O Retirement when staying in Thailand or leaving. The immigration nonsense is the same. 

As I said in my earlier post, if you leave the country frequently and don't do any 90-day reports then your exposure to Thai immigration bureaucracy is very much reduced.

 

You appear to be dealing with Jomtien. I feel your TM30 pain.

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11 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

The flip side to the coin of the O-A visa vs an in-country extension, of course, are....

--required police clearance in your home country.

--required medical clearance in your home country.

--the cost of travel back and forth to your home country, and

--the looming elephant in the room of possible future health insurance requirement for the O-A.

 

--only an issue if you have some 'form' back home.

--only an issue if you have "Leprosy, Tuberculosis, Elephantiasis, drug addiction, third stage of Syphilis"

--one r/t every 2 years isn't too expensive. Right now, you can get r/t on Oman Air for around 500 quid.

--only if one doesn't already have comprehensive medical insurance in place. I am sure that anything that may be proscribed by Thai Immigration won't be expensive or good value for money.

 

I see these as excuses for not doing anything to help oneself exercise a long-term visa option that is available. In the current state of play in Thailand, I would think the much larger elephant in the room is the smaller welcome mat. The O-A's "2-year" visa option (reviewable after 1 year), is probably prescient these days.

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Can anyone comment on whether a "Fixed Account" is OK for the 800,000 minimum required deposit for a Extension of Stay? I already have two accounts, one savings and one fixed, and I'd prefer to use the fixed one rather than open a new savings account just for this purpose. Thanks in advance. 

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3 hours ago, Bangkok Basha said:

Can anyone comment on whether a "Fixed Account" is OK for the 800,000 minimum required deposit for a Extension of Stay? I already have two accounts, one savings and one fixed, and I'd prefer to use the fixed one rather than open a new savings account just for this purpose. Thanks in advance. 

Fixed deposit accounts can be used as long as you can do a withdrawal with no delay or penalty other than lost interest.

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