A minor (but annoying) surprise on visa extension day

[EricTh]

2 hours ago, digger70 said:

I get the bank letter for the fixed deposit 1 or 2 days before i go for my extension  in Hat Yai and  the bank update the book at the same time ,they put the book in the machine and Then it shows the amount from the fixed deposit and the date  . The imm  officer can also  see the date when the fixed deposit  finished no need to put in /withdraw money. Immigration  has no probs with that.  

Which bank is that? Not all banks print the amount everytime.

[digger70]

3 hours ago, EricTh said:

Which bank is that? Not all banks print the amount everytime.

Bangkok Bank   ???? 

[Gilltom]

On 8/15/2019 at 5:58 PM, KiChakayan said:

The pertinent question would be "Which bank"..  ????

We have same account at siam bank do same just leave it there.no problem at jomtien 

[Max69xl]

On 8/15/2019 at 6:00 PM, mikesil said:

Fixed accounts in Thailand are not exactly like Certificates of Deposit in the US.  One of the differences is that you CAN add --- I'm not sure about withdraw (maybe with a penalty).  I knew this beforehand, but felt sandbagged learning about the 2000 baht minimum 30 minutes before my visit to TM.

 

Yes, I know it's still my money even though I'll never see it again.  Hope my heirs and descendants use it wisely.

If you withdraw money from a FDA,you lose interest,you get the same interest you get for a savings account. 

[Max69xl]

On 8/15/2019 at 6:32 PM, EricTh said:

Just tell immigration that this is a fixed deposit and not savings so we cannot update the balance on that day. 

Immigration wants for some reason see that the account is activate. Using a savings account, you withdraw some money same day you go to the bank for the bank letter. For the FDA you have to deposit money,not withdraw money.

[Max69xl]

On 8/15/2019 at 6:39 PM, wgdanson said:

O r take Bht 1000 out!   LOL

You can't withdraw money from a FDA, you lose interest. That's why you deposit the min. amount.

[Max69xl]

On 8/15/2019 at 6:48 PM, Pilotman said:

That's why I wrote that I didn't know if it was different as I had a savings account. 

You can add to a FDA. If you withdraw money,you lose interest.

[EricTh]

12 minutes ago, Max69xl said:

Immigration wants for some reason see that the account is activate. Using a savings account, you withdraw some money same day you go to the bank for the bank letter. For the FDA you have to deposit money,not withdraw money.

For fixed deposit, it depends on the bank.

 

Some banks like Bangkok Bank don't need you to deposit any money to print a balance on that day. Other banks do.

 

 

 

[Max69xl]

On 8/15/2019 at 6:46 PM, Pib said:

OP,

 

A deposit or withdrawal does not actually have to be done.  What the IO is looking for is the passbook to be updated to reflect the date you are applying for the extension.   The balance does not have to change up or down....the passbook just needs a transaction "date" update to reflect the current date. 

 

With Bangkok Bank fixed accounts (like you have) the bank can do a Balance Forward (B/F) transaction that simply causes the current balance to be printed in the passbook with the current date.  The teller clerk does this...forces the B/F transaction.    

 

I used Bangkok Bank fixed accounts for around 3 years for my annual extension of stay renewal.  Never deposited or withdrew even one stang on the day I was applying as the Bangkok Bank teller simply did a B/F transaction....takes the teller like 5 seconds to do it.  

Some immigration offices actually require a withdraw (if you have a savings account) the same day you do the extension. An update doesn't really show that the account is alive/active. You do the update so the total is same in the bank book and in the bank letter.

[Pib]

4 minutes ago, Max69xl said:

Some immigration offices actually require a withdraw (if you have a savings account) the same day you do the extension. An update doesn't really show that the account is alive/active. You do the update so the total is same in the bank book and in the bank letter.

Sure an update shows the acct is alive/active....otherwise the update wouldn't occur.  Plus you have the associated bank letter that says the acct is alive/active/valid/etc.

 

Immigration offices know that some types of accounts from certain banks may not print an update in the passbook unless a withdrawal or deposit is done.  Doing a withdrawal/deposit definitely generates an update in the passbook.   Or, like I described earlier for Bangkok Bank accts the bank can force a Balance Forward transaction without any withdrawal or deposit which generates a current day transaction update in the passbook.

Edited August 16, 2019 by Pib

[Max69xl]

On 8/15/2019 at 7:44 PM, Myran said:

The problem with posts like these are that you're presenting the quirks of your local immigration office as a global fact. This might be the case where you're staying, but it's not the case in many other.

You are correct, I have even heard rumours that some immigration offices doesn't accept FDA at all. I don't know if it's true.

[Max69xl]

11 hours ago, Farang99 said:

Fixed deposit accounts are not fixed in any meaningful sense. You can deposit or withdraw at any time, probably with a slight loss of interest - which is so small anyway it makes no difference. I have just withdrawn money from my account, used for 20 years for the purposes of immigration, in order to leave the 400K needed for a marriage extension.

If you withdraw money from a FDA you lose interest,you actually get same interest as you get from a savings account,which is not much. The idea having a FDA is the better interest. 800k in one year at BB is 12000 baht in interest. Not peanuts in my opinion.

[Max69xl]

11 hours ago, Suradit69 said:

And for some people that would drop the balance in the account below 800,000 if they had less than 801,000 in the account before following your advice.

And loss of interest as well.

[Max69xl]

11 hours ago, hobobo said:

Now that IS easy. I'll try it out next year. ????

TM is so much easier to say than IO,right? ????

[Max69xl]

9 hours ago, Pilotman said:

Open a savings account

Why? Because the IO was wrong? 

You actually get 12000 baht in interest for 800k in 1 year at Bangkok Bank. That's the good part using a FDA.

[Max69xl]

10 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Depends on the bank and the account type.

 

Mine cannot make an additional deposit at all, ever.

 

It is apparently possible to get an updated passbook or statement without a deposit, though many bank staff don't seem to know how so perhaps call the bank HQ.

What bank if I may ask?

[Sheryl]

3 minutes ago, Max69xl said:

What bank if I may ask?

 

Mine is Kasikorn and I think it is a special promotion rate that I got. No additional deposits allowed.

[Max69xl]

8 hours ago, Surasak said:

I could, but choose not to. It only happened on the one occasion, but as per usual there is always one weak link in the chain. There is also the point, a savings account is more easily accessed than a deposit account. S/A only needs one of either the book over the counter, with a filled form. Or a card at an ATM. A deposit A/C can only be accessed over the counter with the passport the A/C was opened with, even if that passport is out of date, as I found not a week ago when making an inquiry at the bank.

One reason for having let's say 800k in a FDA is the much better interest.

12000 baht interest in 1 year. 

[Max69xl]

6 hours ago, wgdanson said:

Then 'some people' must be stupid putting EXACTLY 800k in the bank.

You are not supposed to withdraw money from a fixed deposit account. If you start with 800k you have 812k in 1 year with 1,5% interest, at Bangkok Bank. That's the purpose with a FDA.

[Max69xl]

6 hours ago, wgdanson said:

Last time I had a Bkk Bank Fixed Deposit Account, several years ago, I did not get a bank book, only access at the bank it was held at.

Have things changed now?

The bank book is bright orange instead of the dark blue book for a savings account. Otherwise it has the same pattern. Google it and you will see.

[Max69xl]

1 hour ago, EricTh said:

For fixed deposit, it depends on the bank.

 

Some banks like Bangkok Bank don't need you to deposit any money to print a balance on that day. Other banks do.

 

 

 

In this thread people using BB says they had to deposit a minimum amount. I don't know who to believe. 

[Mahseer]

57 minutes ago, Max69xl said:

Why? Because the IO was wrong? 

You actually get 12000 baht in interest for 800k in 1 year at Bangkok Bank. That's the good part using a FDA.

Don't forget to deduct the 15% tax.

[BradinAsia]

On 8/15/2019 at 7:22 PM, Matzzon said:

It´s also nothing new. This has been posted many times before on Thai Visa.

A few years ago, I lived in Chiang Mai. Left in 2016 and came back to the Philippines. We miss a lot of things about Thailand, especially son-tam. But it's nice to be in a place where my annual immig. cost is 310 pesos (about 185 baht) and the immig. officers are polite & friendly and we never have to wait more than a few minutes. The main things I didn't like about Thailand was the ludicrous rules at immigration, the snottiness of the IOs, and the 20,000 baht or so we paid to an agency every year to take care of all the P.I.T.A. immig. stuff for us. In the Philippines, I go to the Immig. office once a year (anytime during Jan-Feb), pay 310 pesos and go home until the next year. So freaking simple.

Edited August 17, 2019 by BradinAsia

[Pib]

3 minutes ago, BradinAsia said:

So freaking simple.

Thai immigration don't do freaking simple.

[Max69xl]

20 hours ago, BradinAsia said:

A few years ago, I lived in Chiang Mai. Left in 2016 and came back to the Philippines. We miss a lot of things about Thailand, especially son-tam. But it's nice to be in a place where my annual immig. cost is 310 pesos (about 185 baht) and the immig. officers are polite & friendly and we never have to wait more than a few minutes. The main things I didn't like about Thailand was the ludicrous rules at immigration, the snottiness of the IOs, and the 20,000 baht or so we paid to an agency every year to take care of all the P.I.T.A. immig. stuff for us. In the Philippines, I go to the Immig. office once a year (anytime during Jan-Feb), pay 310 pesos and go home until the next year. So freaking simple.

If the papers are ok, it doesn't take that long to get the annual  extension done, unless you're doing it in BKK,and it me cost 1900 baht.