OA visa extension funding questions...

[britishjohn]

I have to extend my OA visa for the first time in about 5 months and I believe with regard to the finance there are two options:  800kTHB in my Thai bank 3 months before or 12 x 65k THB paid into my Thai bank account in the previous 12 months.

 

So far I have transferred 7 x 70k THB (via transferwise) to my Krungsri account from the UK and will continue to do that. I was hoping to avoid the 800k lump sum, particularly given the appalling exchange rate.  However I'm beginning to wonder, given some of the stories I've read here whether the income method is just too risky.  But anyway a few questions about the income method all the same:

 

1. Is it ok that the money is coming from a savings account in the UK rather a pension or income as such ?
2. The transfers were not always done on exactly the same date. Sometimes a week later. Could this be a problem ?
3. What information will be required from my Thai bank to verify these transfers ? Could transferwise also be a problem ?

[UKresonant]

"1" There is a combo method on the e-system, can be income plus savings making a total, of the 800k THB equivalent in the UK & GBP, the 65k+/month and the 800k in a Thai bank could be used, but is more for doing and extension of the O-A later in Thailand.

Edited August 13, 2019 by UKresonant

[UKresonant]

1 hour ago, UKresonant said:

There is a combo method on the e-system, can be income plus savings making a total, of the 800k THB equivalent in the UK.

Similarly the 65k+/month and the Balance of the 800k in a Thai Bank can be used if the IO in the office has the understanding, I think that could be in a Krungsri  £ FCD.

So 70x7 + e.g £8600 (x36fx) SWIFT into the FCD to make the 800k total.

Please ignore #2 above!

Someone will perhaps have a Combo recently and confirm? The transfers coming from savings made in the previous calendar year is ideal perhaps, whilst showing a legitimate source as secondary proof. If you had a second savings account for all the transfers spaning 2020, even better.

Edited August 13, 2019 by UKresonant
#2 was gibberish,savings tax clarity

[overherebc]

This is an O-A visa.

Is this what you have?

[ubonjoe]

I checked you posting history and it appears you are on the last one year entry from a OA visa and are asking about extending that last entry for 1 year at immigration.

Since it will be your first extension of stay application you will not be required to show a full year of transfers from abroad.

1. Yes

But you may need to show proof of the source of your income. The rules state your income can be from a pension, investment or savings.

2. There is no requirement for the transfers to be done on the same day every month since that would be impossible since banks do close on holiday and weekends. As long as transfers are shown to be coming in on a regular basis every month they will be accepted.

3. You will need proof that the transfers came from abroad. Are your transfers shown as being international transfers?

You funds being sent via transferwise will not  be a problem but you will need proof the came from abroad.

I suggest you concentrate on your last few transfers to insure you have they came from abroad. 

[britishjohn]

Yes I definitely have an OA Visa. I am now in my second year in Thailand, having left and returned to the country just before my visa expired.

 

I will have  a full year of transfers into my Thai bank by the time I come to extend. I have checked my bank statement and it simply says "TN" beside each transfer. I assume this does not indicate that it came from the UK. I can show Transferwise documentation for each transfer but not sure if that will help.  I will from now on select the new option provided by Transferwise to show funds for long term stay in Thailand. However this will only show for the last 5.

 

Surprised to hear I am not required to show a full year of transfers. Is this because they are lenient on the first extension ?

 

clipping from my Krungsri statement attached

 

Edited August 14, 2019 by britishjohn

[ubonjoe]

I think TN may mean transfer in. I am not all familiar with all the various codes used by the banks since it varies from bank to bank.

I suggest you ask the bank for a credit advice that will detail what type of transfer it is. Is that a online statement for your account? One done by the bank may have more detail.

It is written in the police order that for the first extension of stay only one transfer is required for the first extension application. They wrote it that way since many people applying for the first extension would only have a 90 day entry from a non-o visa entry.

[Max69xl]

10 hours ago, UKresonant said:

Similarly the 65k+/month and the Balance of the 800k in a Thai Bank can be used if the IO in the office has the understanding, I think that could be in a Krungsri  £ FCD.

So 70x7 + e.g £8600 (x36fx) SWIFT into the FCD to make the 800k total.

Please ignore #2 above!

Someone will perhaps have a Combo recently and confirm? The transfers coming from savings made in the previous calendar year is ideal perhaps, whilst showing a legitimate source as secondary proof. If you had a second savings account for all the transfers spaning 2020, even better.

Regarding the combo-method. It depends on where in Thailand you're staying. The word in Chonburi is that the combo-method is denied. 

[britishjohn]

I transferred in another 70k today, this time choosing the Transferwise option "long term stay in Thailand". However my online statement looks the same with the code TN, which apparently stands for "Transfer Deposit No Book". I'll have to call into the bank and ask whether they can provide more detail.

[Max69xl]

2 minutes ago, britishjohn said:

I transferred in another 70k today, this time choosing the Transferwise option "long term stay in Thailand". However my online statement looks the same with the code TN, which apparently stands for "Transfer Deposit No Book". I'll have to call into the bank and ask whether they can provide more detail.

What bank in Thailand? I always get FTT in my bank book at Bangkok Bank using TW.

Edited August 14, 2019 by Max69xl

[britishjohn]

Krungsri

[onera1961]

Unless it is in one of their partner bank, (Bangkok and kk bank), selecting long term stay in Thailand option does not change the transfer code, I think

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

[Genericnic]

9 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

I checked you posting history and it appears you are on the last one year entry from a OA visa and are asking about extending that last entry for 1 year at immigration.

Since it will be your first extension of stay application you will not be required to show a full year of transfers from abroad.

1. Yes

But you may need to show proof of the source of your income. The rules state your income can be from a pension, investment or savings.

2. There is no requirement for the transfers to be done on the same day every month since that would be impossible since banks do close on holiday and weekends. As long as transfers are shown to be coming in on a regular basis every month they will be accepted.

3. You will need proof that the transfers came from abroad. Are your transfers shown as being international transfers?

You funds being sent via transferwise will not  be a problem but you will need proof the came from abroad.

I suggest you concentrate on your last few transfers to insure you have they came from abroad. 

@ubonjoe

 

You said "Since it will be your first extension of stay application you will not be required to show a full year of transfers from abroad." My extension of stay is due for renewal in December though I usually do it in November. Mine will not be a first renewal like britishjohn's but will be my 8th. I didn't get started doing the 65k transfer until March of this year after the US consulate stopped doing income letters. I'll be doing the extension in Chiang Mai, as usual. Do you see any problems with the less than 12 months transfer for the renewal? If so, I can always hop back to the US for a new visa but would just as soon not.

 

Thanks

 

David

 

[Max69xl]

2 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

Unless it is in one of their partner bank, (Bangkok and kk bank), selecting long term stay in Thailand option does not change the transfer code, I think

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

You might be right. 

[ubonjoe]

8 minutes ago, Genericnic said:

You said "Since it will be your first extension of stay application you will not be required to show a full year of transfers from abroad." My extension of stay is due for renewal in December though I usually do it in November. Mine will not be a first renewal like britishjohn's but will be my 8th. I didn't get started doing the 65k transfer until March of this year after the US consulate stopped doing income letters. I'll be doing the extension in Chiang Mai, as usual. Do you see any problems with the less than 12 months transfer for the renewal?

If I recall correctly Chiang Mai is honoring the memordom that states offices should accept less than 12 months of transfers this year since it would be impossible for people to meet that requirement.

Just be sure you can prove the transfers came from abroad and you should have no problem.

 

[britishjohn]

so if my bank statements don't show conclusively that it's an international transfer, I may have a problem right ?

 

Will Krungsri be able to supply any documents to satisfy them ? Transferwise also provide a transfer confirmation for each transfer which sets out all the details, dates, amount and which bank it was sent to. What if I take copies of all of those, do you think that would suffice ? Or is it just pot luck ?

 

[Max69xl]

37 minutes ago, britishjohn said:

so if my bank statements don't show conclusively that it's an international transfer, I may have a problem right ?

 

Will Krungsri be able to supply any documents to satisfy them ? Transferwise also provide a transfer confirmation for each transfer which sets out all the details, dates, amount and which bank it was sent to. What if I take copies of all of those, do you think that would suffice ? Or is it just pot luck ?

 

You have to check with Krungsri. Maybe they can write a bank letter for you. Documents from TransferWise is totally useless in the eyes of Immigration. 

[britishjohn]

So if no letter from the bank then maybe I'm screwed. 

If I had my application for extension refused, could I still make another attempt using an agent ? Or do you get only one shot at it ?

 

[Max69xl]

16 minutes ago, britishjohn said:

So if no letter from the bank then maybe I'm screwed. 

If I had my application for extension refused, could I still make another attempt using an agent ? Or do you get only one shot at it ?

 

Go and have a chat with Krungsri first. They can see that your transfers are from a foreign account and not domestic.The bank letter they provide is not the problem. But maybe the copies from your bank book are. I don't understand the codes from Krungsri. Where are you staying?  

[Nyezhov]

Chat with Krungsri all you want but a Transferwise transfer never going to show as a transfer from overseas because it isnt. Its a domestic transfer.

 

Krungsri is the easiest bank to get an account at, but it isnt going to help you with the Transferwise problem.

 

Considering all the time and effort involved in all this Visa stuff, and needing to tie up $30 large in a Thai bank, it makes sense I think to pay the $15K for a five year visa and be done with it.

 

Since Im a snowbird, I can get by with SETVs or METVs

[Martyp]

47 minutes ago, britishjohn said:

So if no letter from the bank then maybe I'm screwed. 

If I had my application for extension refused, could I still make another attempt using an agent ? Or do you get only one shot at it ?

 

One other option is to return the UK and get another O-A visa. Obviously plenty of people use an agent however I would think you would want the agent to get your extension legally. 

[britishjohn]

ok here's another question. Lets say I have the 800k in the bank and at the same time continue to pay at least 65k in every month. When I come to get the extension, will I be able to request that it's done on the basis of the 65k monthly transfers ? If successful I can remove the 800k if I want. If not the 800k is a fall back position.

 

So the question is will it be possible to determine which of the two methods they have relied on ? 

[UKresonant]

36 minutes ago, britishjohn said:

If successful I can remove the 800k if I want. If not the 800k is a fall back position.

 

So the question is will it be possible to determine which of the two methods they have relied on ? 

If you give them the option, I would guess, from everything read, you would end up with the 800k/400k trapped in the Account until you no longer need an extension. 

[britishjohn]

but can you specify you want the income option if possible ?

And is the basis on which you have been granted the extension stated anywhere ?

[UKresonant]

22 minutes ago, britishjohn said:

but can you specify you want the income option if possible ?

And is the basis on which you have been granted the extension stated anywhere ?

I would be presenting the account that receives the transfers with only perhaps 420kTHB balance. Suggest if you had another account with 401k+ in it for two months before your application, that you don't show, as your fall back last resort! 

P.S. I'm only studying the 0-A + ext, as an alternative, to my (now unavailable at London) ME Visa, as a possible next year solution...no hands on experience with immigration!

Edited August 14, 2019 by UKresonant

[Martyp]

5 hours ago, britishjohn said:

but can you specify you want the income option if possible ?

And is the basis on which you have been granted the extension stated anywhere ?

I think that if you meet one or both of the requirements you will be just fine. I wouldn’t ask them to choose. Apply using the monthly income method which I think is your preferred method. If they reject it you can talk to them about the banked method. You could go totally prepared for both methods or return another day with the documents for the banked 800,000k method.

 

If you ask them to choose I predict they will pick the banked money method because it is clearer and easier for them to validate but you will then be obligated to meet the requirements for the remainder of the year to be able to get an extension the subsequent year.

 

Apply as early as possible (30 or 45 days depending on your Immigration office) so you have time to deal with any unexpected complications.

[britishjohn]

To be honest I haven't even looked at the extension application form. Are you saying that you state on there which method you are applying under ?

[ubonjoe]

48 minutes ago, britishjohn said:

To be honest I haven't even looked at the extension application form. Are you saying that you state on there which method you are applying under ?

A TM7 application form has no space for stating which option for financial proof on it. It only has a space to state the reason for your application. 

Just show your preferred financial proof when submitting the application. 

[Martyp]

1 hour ago, britishjohn said:

To be honest I haven't even looked at the extension application form. Are you saying that you state on there which method you are applying under ?

If you are going to ask these types of questions here it would be useful if you did a little research first. You can easily download Immigration forms like the TM7 form. Google is your friend.

[britishjohn]

Thanks for your wise advice Martyp, apologies for the oversight. I now have a copy of the TM7. 

 

With regard to the preferred financial proof, as I understand it I would need to submit bank statements on the banks headed paper and a bank certificate. But if I only had one bank account with both 800k and monthly transfers coming in, how would I push one option over another ?

And if the extension were granted where would it be stated which option was used ?