Income Letter

[tamada]

..., Maybe they just want you all to go home ,to claim benefits , housing and health etc also to get the yearly increase in ya pension , =D>

Maybe taken a leaf out of DJT's book and it's the start of the much awaited, post-Brexit 'Make Britain Great Again' party?

[tamada]

Since the income letters may have up to 3 months validity (depending on where you are filing), those with Q1 extension renewals may manage to get their letter in December before the service is withdrawn and thus have another year to come up with an alternative plan.

Despite the BE staff diligently looking at documents provided and signing off on the financial 'proof', there's always been that discrete disclaimer printed across the foot of every BE income letter that basically says the BE isn't in any way responsible for the content. Maybe Immigration decided to pull them up on that little shoulder-shrug and suggested it makes the whole letter invalid, possibly fraudulent. Even if they themselves wanted to remove this disclaimer, pretty sure the FCO's lawyers said, 'Fat chance.'

I consider that faced with widespread fraud committed by underfunded foreigners and their complicit agents and immigration officers, the Thai authorities have asked the BE and other foreign legations to tighten up their act. The BE has stepped back, withdrawn the service and basically told the RTP Immigration Department to get its own house in order first.

Or, faced with a hugely imbalanced budget, the Article 44 guy has quietly found a way for ALL foreigners on long-term stays in Thailand to send ALL their money EVERY day of EVERY month to Thailand rather than rely on the dwindling amount of honest ones who leave a deposit festering quietly in a local bank account year on year.

[mak]

Asked if they were aware of action by other embassies the British Embassy Bangkok said:
"Yes we are aware that the US embassy will also be stopping their notarised income letter. Please contact them directly for further information".

[fdimike]

I sent an em to USEMB ACS this afternoon asking for their position on the matter. I'll post their reply here when I receive it.

[sometimewoodworker]

Asked if they were aware of action by other embassies the British Embassy Bangkok said:
"Yes we are aware that the US embassy will also be stopping their notarised income letter. Please contact them directly for further information".

If correct then I can see quite a lot of US citizens currently living in Thailand having quite significant problems due to inadequate income.

[Giggle]

Asked if they were aware of action by other embassies the British Embassy Bangkok said:
"Yes we are aware that the US embassy will also be stopping their notarised income letter. Please contact them directly for further information".

Gold standard?

[semperfiguy]

I keep more than the equivalent of 800,000 Thai Baht in a USDollar Foreign Currency Deposit Account. When I brought the money here the exchange rate was 36.50 Baht for $1 and then the Baht began to strengthen quickly before I could convert, so I left it in USD to protect the value of my dollars. If I converted my dollars now to move the money to an 800,000 Thai Baht account just to satisfy Immigration's requirement for a retirement extension, since the Thai Baht is trading right now at only 32.70 to $1 I would instantly lose approximately 92,966 Baht or US$2,843. I have asked Udon Immigration if they will accept my USD FCD Account in lieu of a Thai Baht savings account to satisfy the requirements for a visa extension, and the answer is a resounding "NO". This makes absolutely no sense to me, but it would be an exercise in futility to try and reason with them. They want USD amounts placed on the Income Affidavit and then they pull out their little calculators to determine if that meets the Thai Baht requirement, so why wouldn't they accept a USD Savings Account and simply do the same math? I have access to the money at any time just like I would with a Thai Baht savings account, and my dollars can be converted immediately for my use if needed. I can't imagine sitting down with the Udon Immigration boss and trying to get him to do a little critical thinking on this!

[tomboy]

my understanding is that the Thai immigration have not instructed the British Embassy to stop these income letters.Will the Immigration now allow us Brits to provide and accept these letters duly signed by a Thai Attorney.i am told that here in Udonthani they have already taken this as a cash reward.
The under counter (most farangs use here) for an illegal retirement visa has now been increased from 16.00 to 20.00 Baht.Good old British Embassy hanging us expats to dry.I will speak with Udonthani immigration as the alternative is to pay them for this service as, again ,I am told, they can give you an under counter visa much cheaper than the lady that accommodates the scores of expats for these illegal visa's.Honest documentation will no longer be required (if you keep your money in an uk bank) so one will have to revert to the Udonthani undercover system of gaining a retirement visa.
CORRUPTION PAY'S!!!

[tamada]

I keep more than the equivalent of 800,000 Thai Baht in a USDollar Foreign Currency Deposit Account. When I brought the money here the exchange rate was 36.50 Baht for $1 and then the Baht began to strengthen quickly before I could convert, so I left it in USD to protect the value of my dollars. If I converted my dollars now to move the money to an 800,000 Thai Baht account just to satisfy Immigration's requirement for a retirement extension, since the Thai Baht is trading right now at only 32.70 to $1 I would instantly lose approximately 92,966 Baht or US$2,843. I have asked Udon Immigration if they will accept my USD FCD Account in lieu of a Thai Baht savings account to satisfy the requirements for a visa extension, and the answer is a resounding "NO". This makes absolutely no sense to me, but it would be an exercise in futility to try and reason with them. They want USD amounts placed on the Income Affidavit and then they pull out their little calculators to determine if that meets the Thai Baht requirement, so why wouldn't they accept a USD Savings Account and simply do the same math? I have access to the money at any time just like I would with a Thai Baht savings account, and my dollars can be converted immediately for my use if needed. I can't imagine sitting down with the Udon Immigration boss and trying to get him to do a little critical thinking on this!

Pedants semperfiguy, simply pedants. The 'cannot!' mantra is so much easier than losing face and having to ask a superior or, heaven forbid, make a sensible decision based on sound fact and knowledge of the laws they're supposed to enforce.

Their gaffer is reportedly a decent chap so maybe worth bending his ear while flattering the other jobsworths with some fresh khanoms? Last November, he verbally approved the renewal of my RExt almost 2 months early... or rather he told the lame-ass 90-day report chap (K. Khanot) to just bloody-well do it and pocketed my 200 baht change.

[semperfiguy]

I keep more than the equivalent of 800,000 Thai Baht in a USDollar Foreign Currency Deposit Account. When I brought the money here the exchange rate was 36.50 Baht for $1 and then the Baht began to strengthen quickly before I could convert, so I left it in USD to protect the value of my dollars. If I converted my dollars now to move the money to an 800,000 Thai Baht account just to satisfy Immigration's requirement for a retirement extension, since the Thai Baht is trading right now at only 32.70 to $1 I would instantly lose approximately 92,966 Baht or US$2,843. I have asked Udon Immigration if they will accept my USD FCD Account in lieu of a Thai Baht savings account to satisfy the requirements for a visa extension, and the answer is a resounding "NO". This makes absolutely no sense to me, but it would be an exercise in futility to try and reason with them. They want USD amounts placed on the Income Affidavit and then they pull out their little calculators to determine if that meets the Thai Baht requirement, so why wouldn't they accept a USD Savings Account and simply do the same math? I have access to the money at any time just like I would with a Thai Baht savings account, and my dollars can be converted immediately for my use if needed. I can't imagine sitting down with the Udon Immigration boss and trying to get him to do a little critical thinking on this!

Pedants semperfiguy, simply pedants. The 'cannot!' mantra is so much easier than losing face and having to ask a superior or, heaven forbid, make a sensible decision based on sound fact and knowledge of the laws they're supposed to enforce.

Their gaffer is reportedly a decent chap so maybe worth bending his ear while flattering the other jobsworths with some fresh khanoms? Last November, he verbally approved the renewal of my RExt almost 2 months early... or rather he told the lame-ass 90-day report chap (K. Khanot) to just bloody-well do it and pocketed my 200 baht change.

Thanks for your comments Tamada. I have never heard the word "pedants", so I looked it up and it perfectly describes most of these pea brain government workers. I just had to chuckle! Do you know the name of the head guy at Immigration? Maybe I will try to arrange an appointment with him and present my case. I'm sure there are other guys who are caught up in the same sort of circumstance as myself, so maybe I can affect a positive outcome.

[fdimike]

The problem doesn't seem to be with Thai Immigration. The problem seems to be with the British Embassy and maybe others.

I receive this from the USEMB American Citizen Services re: the Income Affidavit.

"...We are currently evaluating options regarding the future provision of this document."

[RLTrader]

The problem doesn't seem to be with Thai Immigration. The problem seems to be with the British Embassy and maybe others.

I receive this from the USEMB American Citizen Services re: the Income Affidavit.

"...We are currently evaluating options regarding the future provision of this document."

Hmm, not good news, Mike.

Noticed embassy seems to be cutting back, now their web site is no longer updated with "OutReach" notices, seems that one needs to depend on the email notice, which I noticed about a year ago, didn't receive one. Fluke? Maybe.

Figure I need just one more to get me to end date, and they are coming next month, fingers crossed.

[fdimike]

RL I'm not sure where you're checking but here's the latest Outreach schedule: https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-se ... r-outreach which is posted on their website.

[runrunshaw]

my understanding is that the Thai immigration have not instructed the British Embassy to stop these income letters.Will the Immigration now allow us Brits to provide and accept these letters duly signed by a Thai Attorney.i am told that here in Udonthani they have already taken this as a cash reward.
The under counter (most farangs use here) for an illegal retirement visa has now been increased from 16.00 to 20.00 Baht.Good old British Embassy hanging us expats to dry.I will speak with Udonthani immigration as the alternative is to pay them for this service as, again ,I am told, they can give you an under counter visa much cheaper than the lady that accommodates the scores of expats for these illegal visa's.Honest documentation will no longer be required (if you keep your money in an uk bank) so one will have to revert to the Udonthani undercover system of gaining a retirement visa.
CORRUPTION PAY'S!!!

I really dislike banking in Thailand, and prefer to keep the bulk of my money in the States. Other than the fact I'm not retired, that's one reason that years ago, I opted against getting a retirement visa and have renewed my Non-O family visa every 15 months by flying back to Los Angeles.

I leave again at the end of this month. My RT China Southern Airlines ticket cost $435. Add $100 for a RT ticket Udon-Bangkok. At the Thai consulate in LA, it costs $200 for the Non-O 1-year visa (3 months extension no problem). So, in this instance, it's almost the same price to fly home for a new visa than to pay the 20K THB (same price in Pattaya, BTW) for an under-the-table Multiple-entry retirement visa.

That's kind of mind-boggling.

Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems the Thai are very inventive in the ways they make it hard for farangs to live here, and especially to work and thrive here. Payback for the way we bang the snot out of their women? Nah, it's just greed.

[FrazeeDK]

well, the U.S. Embassy provides a fill in the blank affidavit of income but the only "service" they provide for that letter is a notary stamp for $50 a pop... So, you're not paying for the affidavit of income you're paying for the stamp.... Funny you got an e-mail saying they're looking at it, I'm on their mailing list but didn't get anything.. Selective transmission by them?

[fdimike]

The reason I received an email from the embassy was because I sent an email asking them about the issue. they were kind enough to reply.

[FrazeeDK]

thanks.. that's enlightening..

[RLTrader]

RL I'm not sure where you're checking but here's the latest Outreach schedule: https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-se ... r-outreach which is posted on their website.

Right, but before as the date nears, before you could click on it and it would give all the info like date, time, and where. What was offered and how much. If you look at the link you will notice that CHIANG RAI: September 2018 gives No Info. So unless you got the info somewhere else, you know none of the above.
To me that is a cut back. Saw a post somewhere that to get the full info you needed to get the email notice. Sure someone will post here on this site, when the email goes out. Most of us will need the day and time along with where and how much to pay, which needs to be a draft from a bank.

[fdimike]

RL understand now what you're talking about. However if you read further it says: "Specific times and locations are released 10-14 days prior to each Outreach event through the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP). STEP is a free service of the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs which allows U.S. citizens traveling and living abroad to receive important information by enrolling with their nearest Embassy or Consulate. If you would like to receive specific dates and times of our Outreach Events, please register for STEP at https://step.state.gov/step/."

I don't see any cutback at all. It looks like they're trying to get more US citizens enrolled in their STEP program.

[mak]

https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-se ... vice-fees/
I would imagine the Udon Outreach will occur during the first week of November and the Phuket Outreach during the second week. Thanksgiving being on the fourth week.