Rumor Check: Problems with income method in Udon for extension based on retirement

[Old Grumpy]

At the risk of upsetting a few guys, I'll tell you what I think. A man works all his life and decides to retire in Thailand. If he can't scrape together 800,000 baht, he shouldn't be here. I'm certainly not wealthy but keeping 800,000 in my Thai bank is not a hardship. I'm legally married and could likely get a visa based on marriage but the visa based on retirement is much easier.

Agree.

I'm in the same boat. Did the marriage route for a few years, then did straight retirement. Much easier and quicker.

The 800,000 in the bank is even quicker.

Agree, of course quick and easy, the problem comes should you get sick, which is increasingly likely as we age and have a major bill from the hospital, what do you do the next year, not enough in the bank, possibly incapictated from the disease or injury you had, your once so loving wife already looking for your successor for your bed , how do you plan for that? Face up to it guys there's no social security here, so stop worrying so much, enjoy what time there is left for you and pray it just never happens , worrying just makes it more likely .the suns shining , have a nice day, it may be your last.

[mak]

What, me worry?

[saint]

I worry for Grumpy . Whilst i agree with most of what he says , that nonsense does happen at times , and worrying unduly will only put you in an early grave .
However the sun was not shining at 5.00 AM this morning . It was blacker than Newgates knocker .

[BillaRickaDickay]

At the risk of upsetting a few guys, I'll tell you what I think. A man works all his life and decides to retire in Thailand. If he can't scrape together 800,000 baht, he shouldn't be here. I'm certainly not wealthy but keeping 800,000 in my Thai bank is not a hardship. I'm legally married and could likely get a visa based on marriage but the visa based on retirement is much easier.

Agree.

I'm in the same boat. Did the marriage route for a few years, then did straight retirement. Much easier and quicker.

The 800,000 in the bank is even quicker.

Agree, of course quick and easy, the problem comes should you get sick, which is increasingly likely as we age and have a major bill from the hospital, what do you do the next year, not enough in the bank, possibly incapictated from the disease or injury you had, your once so loving wife already looking for your successor for your bed , how do you plan for that? Face up to it guys there's no social security here, so stop worrying so much, enjoy what time there is left for you and pray it just never happens , worrying just makes it more likely .the suns shining , have a nice day, it may be your last.

Yer right Mr Grumpy, no point in worrying about stuff, we live in dodgy times, loads of wonger today, all gone tomorrow. Banks Crash, Pension Funds get Stolen, Countries get invaded, There's only so many Gold Bars you can carry in yer crocodile skin satchel. Best spend yer cash on learning a few languages, Mandarin, Cantonese, Russian and Arabic could be useful.

[Lone Star]

All you can do is the best that you can do.

Let 'er rip.

[RLTrader]

Reference: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/11160 ... paign=news

Posted on 5 August, 2019 on Thai Visa forum by Ron Jeremy:
"I spoke with several expats in udon Thani who are now having the same problem, it seems they want the $800 in the bank. Not accepting the monthly income for many now. "

Can anybody confirm this or provide any details?

1st Sorry about the photo's quality and readability but one should get the pamphlet from Udon immigration as a 1st step. This was obtained Aug 7, 2019

#8 In case of having both monthly income and saving deposit account. Total sum of monthly income multiplied by 12 (Year Income) plus the current balance on Saving Deposit Account must be at least 800,000 Thai Baht. (evidence as mentioned in paragraph 4 & 6 must be provided too.)

good luck to all.

[glalt]

I had Thai health insurance and the policy stipulated that they would never cancel me because of age. What they didn't say is that they wouldn't price me out. At age 65, that's exactly what they did. My untouched nest egg in a US bank is worth more than the maximum payout of the policy so I cancelled the policy.

I hear guys say that they don't want to tie up their money in a Thai bank account. They should ask themselves how much their standard of living would improve if they were collecting interest on that 800,000. At this point in my life, I have no investments. What money I have is in safe secure US bank CD's. I know exactly what I have and in an emergency I can get that money quickly.

I have been legally married for probably about 15 years and it's not likely she will throw me out, BUT, she is a woman and one never knows for sure what they will do. I have always stuck to the plan to never spend more than I could afford to walk away from. I still have my condo in the farang ghetto of Jomtien and could be out of HER house within a day or two. I sleep well knowing that I will always have a roof over my head and won't miss any meals. I do love and trust my wife but I always keep in mind that I must always look after number one. Hope for the best but always have a plan for the worst.

[sometimewoodworker]

1st Sorry about the photo's quality and readability but one should get the pamphlet from Udon immigration as a 1st step. This was obtained Aug 7, 2019

#8 In case of having both monthly income and saving deposit account. Total sum of monthly income multiplied by 12 (Year Income) plus the current balance on Saving Deposit Account must be at least 800,000 Thai Baht. (evidence as mentioned in paragraph 4 & 6 must be provided too.)

good luck to all.

Regrettably the leaflet you have posted is such low resolution that the only thing that is clear is that it is dated 3rd December 2008. There is nothing to suggest that it has been updated for this year, so it looks as if it is just a reprint of the old leaflet and regulations and so is clearly out of date and doesn't cover the recent changes.

When I asked in June I was told that new leaflets were not ready yet, so probably immigration is just reprinting the old ones as much (but not all) of the information is still correct

[RLTrader]

Regrettably the leaflet you have posted is such low resolution that the only thing that is clear is that it is dated 3rd December 2008. There is nothing to suggest that it has been updated for this year, so it looks as if it is just a reprint of the old leaflet and regulations and so is clearly out of date and doesn't cover the recent changes.

When I asked in June I was told that new leaflets were not ready yet, so probably immigration is just reprinting the old ones as much (but not all) of the information is still correct

or Nothing has Changed!

If one was applying and in possession of said doc which they gave you, hard to say you don't qualify, one would think. but TIT, so anything is possible.

[sometimewoodworker]

Regrettably the leaflet you have posted is such low resolution that the only thing that is clear is that it is dated 3rd December 2008. There is nothing to suggest that it has been updated for this year, so it looks as if it is just a reprint of the old leaflet and regulations and so is clearly out of date and doesn't cover the recent changes.

When I asked in June I was told that new leaflets were not ready yet, so probably immigration is just reprinting the old ones as much (but not all) of the information is still correct

or Nothing has Changed!

If one was applying and in possession of said doc which they gave you, hard to say you don't qualify, one would think. but TIT, so anything is possible.

Income method change:
Change 1

It is completely clear that if you are from one of the Three countries that you can not get an embassy document supporting foreign income. Therefore a change.

Income method change:
Change 2
Foreign sourced income paid into a Thai bank for those 3 countries is now permitted. It was not before, therefore a change

Income method change or only deposit method change:
Third change that is not clear.
The requirement to maintain a bank balance throughout the year. It is not at all clear if this applies to the income method or only to the money in the bank method.

None of these changes are in the original 3rd December 2008 leaflet, so unless the one you have has been modified, without changing the front page, then the leaflet is clearly inaccurate.

The marriage leaflet, as far as I have seen, has also not been updated and is also 3rd December 2008 so is also inaccurate.

[Giggle]

Vagaries are intentional.

[RLTrader]

Obliviously Udon Immigration does not share your concern, for with 2 months passing they have done nothing to update their pamphlet.

[Lone Star]

Obliviously Udon Immigration does not share your concern, for with 2 months passing they have done nothing to update their pamphlet.

First year here, I picked up a pamphlet. Still asked the IO to clarify a few points. Never looked at or searched for a pamphlet again.

Always best to go to the immigration office and ask. Never heard of any incident where an IO bites. Final word of the IO rules. Three months later, double check. Simple process really.

[sometimewoodworker]

Obliviously Udon Immigration does not share your concern, for with 2 months passing they have done nothing to update their pamphlet.

I don't have any concerns about the leaflet, I was pointing out that to rely on the accuracy of all information it contains is a mistake, you seemed to imply that it is more correct than it is.

[tamada]

The leaflet is there for you to pick up, momentarily glance through and hold in your hand before seeking a staff member who can answer all your current questions. There's absolutely no need to refer to anything in the leaflet so pay attention to the answers given and make notes if your memory isn't too good.

After you receive your answers, please return the leaflet to the place where you found it for the next visitor.

[Bandung_Dero]

Have a friend who has decided to go down the 800K path. Been offered 1.85% interest on a term deposit THEN OUT COME THE HOOPS!!! His bank insists on a list of requirements including a fully notorised Thai translation of his passport by the Aust Embassy (I doubt they can do that?). I'm thinking this bank manager is pissed that he will not be getting a cut of Ms "Dodgy visa Udon" profits!

[sometimewoodworker]

Have a friend who has decided to go down the 800K path. Been offered 1.85% interest on a term deposit THEN OUT COME THE HOOPS!!! His bank insists on a list of requirements including a fully notorised Thai translation of his passport by the Aust Embassy (I doubt they can do that?). I'm thinking this bank manager is pissed that he will not be getting a cut of Ms "Dodgy visa Udon" profits!

If there is enough time then I suggest moving banks, Krungsri is close to immigration, can do a better interest rate and doesn't have those requirements.

[glalt]

[/quote]
Yer right Mr Grumpy, no point in worrying about stuff, we live in dodgy times, loads of wonger today, all gone tomorrow. Banks Crash, Pension Funds get Stolen, Countries get invaded, There's only so many Gold Bars you can carry in yer crocodile skin satchel. Best spend yer cash on learning a few languages, Mandarin, Cantonese, Russian and Arabic could be useful.
[/quote]

If I spent all my money on gold bars, they would fit in my pants pocket. The other problem is that is hard to buy a beer with gold bars.

[Lone Star]

If I spent all my money on gold bars, they would fit in my pants pocket. The other problem is that is hard to buy a beer with gold bars.

Yes, as we get older, yes WE -- cash is what it takes to get through the day. A gold bar wouldn't cut it, and come to think if it, I never invested in gold unless it happens to be part of a mutual fund portfolio.

[rickfarang]

Received my 1 year extension based on retirement today, using the income method. It only took three trips to the bank and three to Immigration. Remember 2020 is a leap year, so if your next one year extension covers the end of February, request an extension of 366 days (not 365).

It turns out that they need a one year bank statement, this year showing all activity on the account, not just a list of international deposits. Well, rules are rules. The statement needed to cover at least from January to October this year (I said "Well, I can get you half of October.") Also received by them was the list of international deposits, a copy of my yellow book, copies of passport pages, copies of bank book pages, the T.M. 7 with photo and 2,000 baht. No map to the house this time.

Next year they want to see a full 12 months of deposits.

I was prepared to show them informal information showing my income sources but fortunately the question did not come up.

A new bit of information is that they cannot process applications after about 15:30 because they have to send the cash somewhere at that time. I found that out when I tried to apply yesterday just after 15:30.

They also took another 90 day address report.

Having used Soi San Pluu in Bangkok, Nongkhai, and the Udon Thani office since they opened here, I have to say that I am very happy with the staff of the Udon Thani Immigration Bureau. I have been lucky that they have been so helpful and understanding all these years.

Next year I will use the 800k in the bank method. It will be a little simpler and less chance of a problem because of a poorly executed SWIFT transfer or something similar.