Verifying Financial Requirement

[JimmerJJ]

I am getting ready to do my annual extension of stay (retirement).  Previously I used the discontinued affidavit from US Consulate to show my monthly income.  So now I am gong the other route of transferring money into a Thai bank.  My understanding is that one way you can qualify is by having a lump sum of 800,000 THB in a Thai bank so I have done that and transferred the 800K into a Thai bank.  I am getting assistance from an attorney's office and am being told that in addition to the 800K I also need 3 months worth of deposits (65K each month).  I thought that if you had the 800K that was enough.  Did something change or am I missing something?  Thank you

[ubonjoe]

Only the 800k baht in a Thai bank for 2 months is needed. There is no requirement to show any income for any amount of time.

[fishtank]

I think you need to dump your attorney.

800,000 in the bank for 2 months is all you need.

[fishtank]

It just boggles my mind why people hire useless attorneys and agents when it is so easy and cheap to do it yourself.

[DrJack54]

OP, you are not missing anything. 800 in bank 2 month prior then 3 after and then not below 400.

Simple process. No need for agents or legal f..wits as per your legal advice.

Extensions walk in park for folk able to place money in bank. Agents useful for those without or desire streamline job

[JimmerJJ]

OkI understand but the stickler here is that I deposited the 800K on Oct 17.  So now rightfully you are all reminding me that it has to be in the account for 2 months.  So I guess in that case technically with the 800K I am not qualified until 2 months after Oct 17 which would be December 17, but the problem is that my Extension expires 3 days later on Dec 20.  So is that close date a big problem that might require that I would need to supplement the 800K with an additional 3 months of 65K transfers? Just FYI I made an additional deposit of 70K on Nov 20 for so now I have 894K deposited and the lawyer says I need to do an additional deposit in December. Do you think they are correct in that?  Unfortunately at my meeting with them they did not explain anything to me about this. 

[kingofthemountain]

1 hour ago, JimmerJJ said:

OkI understand but the stickler here is that I deposited the 800K on Oct 17.  So now rightfully you are all reminding me that it has to be in the account for 2 months.  So I guess in that case technically with the 800K I am not qualified until 2 months after Oct 17 which would be December 17, but the problem is that my Extension expires 3 days later on Dec 20.  So is that close date a big problem that might require that I would need to supplement the 800K with an additional 3 months of 65K transfers? Just FYI I made an additional deposit of 70K on Nov 20 for so now I have 894K deposited and the lawyer says I need to do an additional deposit in December. Do you think they are correct in that?  Unfortunately at my meeting with them they did not explain anything to me about this. 

The close date for the end of your actual extension is not a problem

you can do your renewal the 18 or the 19 december or even the 20

(But better to not wait the last day, just in case)

What immigration office do you use?

Also your initial visa was an OA?

If yes are you aware of the new insurance requirment?

Edited November 21, 2019 by kingofthemountain

[ubonjoe]

7 hours ago, JimmerJJ said:

So I guess in that case technically with the 800K I am not qualified until 2 months after Oct 17 which would be December 17, but the problem is that my Extension expires 3 days later on Dec 20.  So is that close date a big problem that might require that I would need to supplement the 800K with an additional 3 months of 65K transfers?

You can apply on December 17th without a problem. Just be sure you have all the required documents with you.

A letter from the bank confirming your account and the balance it on the date it is written. Your bank book updated on the day you apply and copies of it.

There is no need for monthly transfers into the country.

 

7 hours ago, JimmerJJ said:

Do you think they are correct in that? 

No

[Kron]

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

You can apply on December 17th without a problem. Just be sure you have all the required documents with you.

A letter from the bank confirming your account and the balance it on the date it is written. Your bank book updated on the day you apply and copies of it.

There is no need for monthly transfers into the country.

 

No

At Chumphon last Monday the Officer asked for a Bank Statement in addition to the above. First time.

 

Considering my funds are in a Fixed 1 Year Deposit Account the statement only covered the last investment period. In my case showed a deposit date 6 Sep 19 which could raise the question of not meeting the 3 months seeding. The bank book however showed the funds had been in the account for a lot longer. Providing this statement serves little point and could cause problems. The Officer did ponder over it for some time before accepting my paperwork.

 

As Chumphon does not issue Retirement extensions on the day, my application is under consideration, so I will know next month if I'm concerned over nothing.

[JimmerJJ]

9 hours ago, kingofthemountain said:

The close date for the end of your actual extension is not a problem

you can do your renewal the 18 or the 19 december or even the 20

(But better to not wait the last day, just in case)

What immigration office do you use?

Also your initial visa was an OA?

If yes are you aware of the new insurance requirment?

Hi King, thanks.  Yes I know there's a new health insurance requirement.  I have lots of health insurance.  Whether they are acceptable to meet the requirements here is another question.  But I am a US veteran with a 60% service connected disability so in USA I can go to any US VA Hospital or even military hospital and receive free care. Also I have retired military Tricare Overseas coverage which gives me some coverage in Thailand. And then I pay into Medicare every month so I have Medicare coverage.  In case of any catastrophic illness I would go back to USA for my healthcare.  There are probably many farangs here that have health insurance coverage back in USA so I hope Thailand with their new insurance rules will take that into account.  I am not clear on how to show Thai Immigration that I have all these coverages except to print out copies of my accounts (i.e. VA Disability, Medicare, Tricare)??  Is there a TM form?  Thanks again

[JimmerJJ]

3 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

You can apply on December 17th without a problem. Just be sure you have all the required documents with you.

A letter from the bank confirming your account and the balance it on the date it is written. Your bank book updated on the day you apply and copies of it.

There is no need for monthly transfers into the country.

 

No

Thank you Ubon.  Something else and I posted this to King above but I'd like to get your input on my health insurance. as well  I have lots health insurance but whether they are acceptable to meet the requirements here is another question. I am a US veteran with a 60% service connected disability so in USA I can go to any US VA Hospital or even military hospital and receive free care. Also I have retired military Tricare Overseas coverage which gives me some coverage in Thailand. And then I pay into Medicare every month so I have Medicare coverage.  In case of any catastrophic illness I would go back to USA for my healthcare.  There are probably many farangs here that have health insurance coverage back in USA so I hope Thailand with their new insurance rules will take that into account.  I am not clear on how to show Thai Immigration that I have all these coverages except to print out copies of my accounts (i.e. VA Disability, Medicare, Tricare)??  I read that the coverage required is  400,000 baht for in-patient coverage, or IPD 40,000 baht for outpatient coverage, or OPD however my military Tricare Overseas coverage (https://tricare.mil/selectoverseas) of course does not specify coverages in Thai baht (they just reimburse you with a certain percentage of the cost) so do you think my Tricare coverage would be acceptable?  Also I assume they require coverage in Thailand so even though I have lots of US coverage I guess that is out the window and they don't consider that?  PS Thank you, I can't say enough about the great help you provide to bewildered farangs like me.

Would that be acceptable to them? Is there a TM form? 

[ubonjoe]

11 minutes ago, JimmerJJ said:

Thank you Ubon.  Something else and I posted this to King above but I'd like to get your input on my health insurance. as well  I have lots health insurance but whether they are acceptable to meet the requirements here is another question. 

At this time nobody know what insurance will be accepted other than qualified local insurance companies than the one issued.

Where will you be applying for your extension at?

[kingofthemountain]

38 minutes ago, JimmerJJ said:

Hi King, thanks.  Yes I know there's a new health insurance requirement.  I have lots of health insurance.  Whether they are acceptable to meet the requirements here is another question.  But I am a US veteran with a 60% service connected disability so in USA I can go to any US VA Hospital or even military hospital and receive free care. Also I have retired military Tricare Overseas coverage which gives me some coverage in Thailand. And then I pay into Medicare every month so I have Medicare coverage.  In case of any catastrophic illness I would go back to USA for my healthcare.  There are probably many farangs here that have health insurance coverage back in USA so I hope Thailand with their new insurance rules will take that into account.  I am not clear on how to show Thai Immigration that I have all these coverages except to print out copies of my accounts (i.e. VA Disability, Medicare, Tricare)??  Is there a TM form?  Thanks again

You are welcome

Unfortunately and as far as i know Medicare is not accepted by the immigration office

a lot of topics here on Thai visa are actualy running about it, it's a new requirement and

there is still a lot of greys areas.someone can correct me if i am wrong on it.

The first thing for you is to know on what type of visa your reneview is based on. It you original

visa was an OA visa or an O visa? You need to check your passport for that.

The second thing is to know where you do your extension renewal, some offices are more hard than others.

Goodluck 

 

[Peter Denis]

36 minutes ago, JimmerJJ said:

Hi King, thanks.  Yes I know there's a new health insurance requirement.  I have lots of health insurance.  Whether they are acceptable to meet the requirements here is another question.  But I am a US veteran with a 60% service connected disability so in USA I can go to any US VA Hospital or even military hospital and receive free care. Also I have retired military Tricare Overseas coverage which gives me some coverage in Thailand. And then I pay into Medicare every month so I have Medicare coverage.  In case of any catastrophic illness I would go back to USA for my healthcare.  There are probably many farangs here that have health insurance coverage back in USA so I hope Thailand with their new insurance rules will take that into account.  I am not clear on how to show Thai Immigration that I have all these coverages except to print out copies of my accounts (i.e. VA Disability, Medicare, Tricare)??  Is there a TM form?  Thanks again

Hi,

You mention that you are aware of the new health insurance requirement for an extension of stay based on an original OA for retirement.

At the moment  - the situation is still not fully clear - it looks as if that requirement will be enforced for all OA Visas extensions based on retirement (thus also for a pre Oct 31, 2019 issued OA Visa, like yours).

BUT be aware, that even though you are well covered health-insurance wise, Immigration Officials ONLY accept thai health-insurance with the accompagning CERTIFICATE stating that it meets the IO requirements.

Obviously there is much controversy about this.  OA Visa holders like yourself that have policies with far better coverage would be forced to buy the expensive and almost worthless thai insurance just to get their extension of stay approved.  And if you are above 80 years of age, it is even impossible to buy such an approved thai health-insurance. 

So I suggest that you keep a close eye on the developments re the above matter, so that you are not taken by surprise when applying for your extension of stay mid December.

[kingofthemountain]

5 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

So I suggest that you keep a close eye on the developments re the above matter, so that you are not taken by surprise when applying for your extension of stay mid December.

Imo it should be also a good thing to go at his immigration office in the first days of december

and asking directly at the retirment extension desk what are exactly their demands and requirments about insurance. He could explain about his Medicare cover and have an answer, then he has time to go an other way if necessary.

Edited November 22, 2019 by kingofthemountain

[wgdanson]

4 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

A letter from the bank confirming your account and the balance it on the date it is written. Your bank book updated on the day you apply and copies of it.

Depends on the office. P'lok would accept 7 days old letter.

[JimmerJJ]

5 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

At this time nobody know what insurance will be accepted other than qualified local insurance companies than the one issued.

Where will you be applying for your extension at?

At Chaeng Watthana.  But this year because of these changes and unknowns I am using an Attorney.  I gave my Attorney all my information about my various health insurance and they were satisfied with that so apparently they think it is enough.  I was just wondering and trying to get information so that next year I can do it on my own.  I hope someone can bring it to the attention of Thai authorities that many farang still have health insurance in their home countries that they can use if necessary. Thank you

[grobec]

I’m a bit confused. (As usual)

i thought insurance was for nonO visas issued outside Thailand.

to my most recent info... ext os stay for retirement or marriage requires no compulsory Thai insurance. Ami i wrong?

[ubonjoe]

11 hours ago, grobec said:

i thought insurance was for nonO visas issued outside Thailand.

It is not required to apply for a non-o visa for any reason. It is only required to a apply a non-oa long stay visa at a embassy in your home country.

 

11 hours ago, grobec said:

Ami i wrong?

No

[Martyp]

14 hours ago, JimmerJJ said:

At Chaeng Watthana.  But this year because of these changes and unknowns I am using an Attorney.  I gave my Attorney all my information about my various health insurance and they were satisfied with that so apparently they think it is enough.  I was just wondering and trying to get information so that next year I can do it on my own.  I hope someone can bring it to the attention of Thai authorities that many farang still have health insurance in their home countries that they can use if necessary. Thank you

What visa did you enter Thailand with? A non-immigrant O-A purchased in your home country or a non-immigrant O. Is this your first 1 year extension?

 

 

 

[Peter Denis]

15 hours ago, JimmerJJ said:

At Chaeng Watthana.  But this year because of these changes and unknowns I am using an Attorney.  I gave my Attorney all my information about my various health insurance and they were satisfied with that so apparently they think it is enough.  I was just wondering and trying to get information so that next year I can do it on my own.  I hope someone can bring it to the attention of Thai authorities that many farang still have health insurance in their home countries that they can use if necessary. Thank you

Your Attorney is not well-informed when he believes that the various health-insurance policies you have will be accepted when you apply for an extension of stay based on your original OA Visa - retirement.

The Police Order clearly mentions that it must be approved thai health-insurance.  So even if you have a thai health-insurance policy, it must also be approved as meeting the IO requirements of 400/40K inbound/outbound patient care.  So without he specific CERTIFICATE confirming that, your health-insurance will not be accepted by IO.

Since the highest ranking officer of the IO can make exceptions on the requirements, it is of course possible that your Attorney has a means of convincing him that an exception should be made for your case.   

 

[Max69xl]

On 11/22/2019 at 12:48 AM, JimmerJJ said:

OkI understand but the stickler here is that I deposited the 800K on Oct 17.  So now rightfully you are all reminding me that it has to be in the account for 2 months.  So I guess in that case technically with the 800K I am not qualified until 2 months after Oct 17 which would be December 17, but the problem is that my Extension expires 3 days later on Dec 20.  So is that close date a big problem that might require that I would need to supplement the 800K with an additional 3 months of 65K transfers? Just FYI I made an additional deposit of 70K on Nov 20 for so now I have 894K deposited and the lawyer says I need to do an additional deposit in December. Do you think they are correct in that?  Unfortunately at my meeting with them they did not explain anything to me about this. 

Where did you find your lawyer?

You'll need nothing else than the 800k in the bank 2 months before applying for the extension. Then the money needs to stay in the bank 3 months after the application,and then never below 400k until 2 months before next extension when you have to top it up to 800k again.

Your 3 days is enough for the application as long as you have the required documents. You need to go to the bank and get a bank letter showing your 800k has been in the bank 2 months. Do it the same day if possible and update your bank book at the same time.

[Jaxxper]

I think the lawyer is suggesting to bring the Thb 65 K over to pay his/her fees.....555

With the Thb 800 k method , no monthly funds are required, just Thb 800 K 2 months before and 3 months after. After the 3 months elapses it cannot drop below Thb 400 K. Start cycle again following year with Thb 800 k 2 months before. Process is pretty easy and you can do yourself fairly easily.