Thai Retirement visa

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plumbers
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Thai Retirement visa

Post by plumbers » October 14, 2012, 3:59 pm

One very good reason why i would not buy a house in Thailand , you are at the mercy of the ever changing rules
its obvious reading your post you have the funds but it does not fit into the Thai mind set , to us it is called common sense .



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parrot
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Thai Retirement visa

Post by parrot » October 14, 2012, 5:20 pm

The unfortunate incident with Stat is why I scan this forum and Thaivisa for info regarding extensions. This same thing happened to someone on thaivisa not long ago....not at Udon/Nongkai. You have to sift through the bs......people complaining about 'the rules', etc, but ultimately, you'll have a better idea if any of the rules have changed.

I'm not making excuses for their lack of flexibility, but the rules (in Thai) say:
มีเงินฝากคงอยู่ในบัญชีตลอดระยะเวลา ย้อนหลัง 3 เดือน ไม่น้อยกว่า 800,000 บาท
which says "the money must be in the account for the previous 3 months, not less than 800,000 Baht"
........when your fixed account comes due and you put it into another fixed account, you're changing accounts.......so, in effect, it wouldn't be in 'the account' for 3 months.

Again, thanks stat for passing on the info.

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stattointhailand
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Post by stattointhailand » October 14, 2012, 6:01 pm

I'm afraid I can't read Thai, Parrot, but I can tell you that whatever you have typed here in Thai is definately NOT the Thai wording used in the Udon Thani Immigration Office leaflet, and even if it were then sureley:

"the money must be in the account for the previous 3 months, not less than 800,000 Baht"

to me infers that it must be in a Thai Bank Account IN MY NAME, not a specifically numbered account :-k

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Post by Bonanza » October 14, 2012, 9:39 pm

stattointhailand wrote:I'm afraid I can't read Thai, Parrot, but I can tell you that whatever you have typed here in Thai is definately NOT the Thai wording used in the Udon Thani Immigration Office leaflet, and even if it were then sureley:

"the money must be in the account for the previous 3 months, not less than 800,000 Baht"

to me infers that it must be in a Thai Bank Account IN MY NAME, not a specifically numbered account :-k
Over the years there have been many discussions on this forum about the correct use of English (spelling and grammar etc) and this is an example of when it is important. The Thai translation (assuming it is accurate) uses the the English definite article 'THE', meaning a specific account, as opposed to the English indefinite article 'A', meaning any account. So, even though it might not be 'common sense' in the English fashion, it is quite clear that it must remain in the same actual account for that period.

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parrot
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Post by parrot » October 15, 2012, 9:00 am

I wouldn't read my translation as gospel.......the.....a.......it's probably a coin toss.....having said that......"money needs to be in an account for not less than 90 days" versus "money needs to be in the account for not less than 90 days"......both sound pretty much the same to me.

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stattointhailand
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Post by stattointhailand » October 15, 2012, 7:01 pm

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Regardless of what we think they mean, or what they actually meant to put, In the end of the day:-

YOU NEED TO HAVE YOUR 800,000 IN THE SAME ACCOUNT (with the same number) FOR THE COMPLETE PERIOD OF 3 MONTHS PRIOR TO YOUR VISA APPLICATION. YOU NEED TO HAVE A LETTER FROM THE BANK (BANK STATEMENT) DATED THE SAME DAY AS YOUR VISA APPLICATION

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parrot
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Post by parrot » October 15, 2012, 7:51 pm

"YOU NEED TO HAVE A LETTER FROM THE BANK (BANK STATEMENT) DATED THE SAME DAY AS YOUR VISA APPLICATION"

My letter was dated 2 days before we went to immigration.

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stattointhailand
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Post by stattointhailand » October 15, 2012, 7:58 pm

That's what i've always "assumed" and it's been ok up till now ..... but there again having two accounts was alright in the past :lol:

6. The Bank must issue a letter of verification. (Bank Statement) Stating the current balance of the saving deposit account. (Bank statement should be made the same day as application for visa extension is submitted) Copies of all pages of Saving Deposit Account Passport Book (Note; money must be in a Thai Bank.)

That's word for word from Udonthani Immigration leaflet.

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Post by kjellsnell » October 15, 2012, 8:27 pm

I always have my bank statement from the day before and never have no problems whit that - maybe cause i update my bankbook the same day i went to the immigration - then i can proof that the bank statement and the bank book has the same sum of money even the bank statement is one day older.....in and out.... the same procedure as always...for many years and never have no problem whit the immigration....and i have my money in one account for at least....3 months..
These days life seems pretty good and I eagerly look forward to the continuation!

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Frankie 1
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Post by Frankie 1 » October 15, 2012, 8:44 pm

Bonanza wrote:
stattointhailand wrote:I'm afraid I can't read Thai, Parrot, but I can tell you that whatever you have typed here in Thai is definately NOT the Thai wording used in the Udon Thani Immigration Office leaflet, and even if it were then sureley:

"the money must be in the account for the previous 3 months, not less than 800,000 Baht"

to me infers that it must be in a Thai Bank Account IN MY NAME, not a specifically numbered account :-k
Over the years there have been many discussions on this forum about the correct use of English (spelling and grammar etc) and this is an example of when it is important. The Thai translation (assuming it is accurate) uses the the English definite article 'THE', meaning a specific account, as opposed to the English indefinite article 'A', meaning any account. So, even though it might not be 'common sense' in the English fashion, it is quite clear that it must remain in the same actual account for that period.

Even if you have three or four accounts within the same bank(then you have three or four different numbers and three or four different bank books) then it doesn't matter in which one of your accounts ("the account" or "an account") the money has to stay for 3 months, it has to stay in your bank account (singular and not plural = one number with one bank book) for at least 3 months. So, of course you can't switch to another account. If it's in the same bank or in an other bank is irrelevant.

It's obvious that the purpose of this rule is to prevent people from playing tricks with moving money between accounts. It seems a pretty easy rule for both Farang and immigration officers. ... however, people can make it as difficult for themselves as they want.

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stattointhailand
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Post by stattointhailand » October 15, 2012, 10:51 pm

Frankie/KJ

I'm not having "a go" at the rules or any particular person within Immigration, just giving everyone a "heads up" as to the way the rules are being interpreted.

I have been to NK and Udon Immigration for the last 9 years and NEVER spent more than about 15 mins getting my renewal (even with the money in two seperate accounts on one occation)

Having spent the best part of 6 hours in the office (over two days) last week, I can report that the average time that people took to get their visa renewal whilst I was there, was over an hour. Now this may have been because those people all had probs, but I suspect that it is more than likely the fact that the rules are being more strictly adhered to. This was the prime reason for letting people know the mistake that I made, and the fact that the rules state that the bank statement should be on the same day as the visa application.

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Post by plumbers » October 16, 2012, 9:43 pm

I should think its more like they know farangs are now in financial difficulty with the problems in the eurozone and
dont want any body slipping through the net that may be short of funds .
The reason they tightened up on visas from the Uk was people arriving with out enough money, now they want to see the colour of our money dont want farangs to think they come here to live on the cheap just because its gone pear shape in their own country. May be im wrong but it seems to me they dont need us more than two weeks as tourists less hassle for the police no fighting drunk farangs no one trying to work ilegally , just my thoughts on the subject may be im wrong ,expats that have been here a few years will know more than me about changing attitudes of thai people .

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Post by mortiboy » August 19, 2013, 3:45 pm

I have just been informed.It is not required to have 800,000 baht in your account fo retire visa..... if your over 65!
This cant be so.Can anybody verify this? if so ...... WOOPEE \:D/

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parrot
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Post by parrot » August 19, 2013, 4:26 pm

mortiboy wrote:I have just been informed.It is not required to have 800,000 baht in your account fo retire visa..... if your over 65!
This cant be so.Can anybody verify this? if so ...... WOOPEE \:D/

Can you tell who informed you? Word of mouth or via personal experience? When it comes to immigration, there's nothing like the printed truth. Everything else (in my opinion) is rumor.
It'd certainly be a nice gesture on behalf of immigration to change that rule, but until I see it in black and white, I'd not go drawing down my retirement account!

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FrazeeDK
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Post by FrazeeDK » August 19, 2013, 4:32 pm

granted the MFA website could possibly be out of date (for O-A last updated in 2012) but no changes there http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/1 ... Stay).html
Dave

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BobHelm
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Post by BobHelm » August 19, 2013, 4:48 pm

mortiboy wrote:I have just been informed.It is not required to have 800,000 baht in your account fo retire visa..... if your over 65!
This cant be so.Can anybody verify this? if so ...... WOOPEE \:D/
I would imagine that it is someone getting his terminology mixed up.

The only retirement visa is an O/A visa. You have to obtain that in your home country & you would not need to show funds in Thailand.
You would need to show funds, medical suitability & criminal clearance to the Thai Embassy in your home country though.

That has nothing to do with the annual event of getting Permission to stay in Thailand where in country financial requirements still stand..

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Post by kubotatim » August 19, 2013, 5:17 pm

You can get an OA 12 month multi entry visa if over 65 by just showing that you receive a pension, no specific ammount required, this is in your home country.

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Post by BobHelm » August 19, 2013, 5:28 pm

kubotatim wrote:You can get an OA 12 month multi entry visa if over 65 by just showing that you receive a pension, no specific ammount required, this is in your home country.
That may well depend which country you are applying in.
London, for the UK are quite specific that you need to show them proof of income, no matter how old you are to get an OA visa.....
OA.jpg

http://thaiembassyuk.org.uk/?q=node/51

You can get a multiple entry O visa (from Hull) if you are over 65 just by showing proof of pension..

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Post by mortiboy » August 19, 2013, 7:46 pm

BobHelm wrote:
kubotatim wrote:You can get an OA 12 month multi entry visa if over 65 by just showing that you receive a pension, no specific ammount required, this is in your home country.
That may well depend which country you are applying in.
London, for the UK are quite specific that you need to show them proof of income, no matter how old you are to get an OA visa.....
OA.jpg

http://thaiembassyuk.org.uk/?q=node/51

You can get a multiple entry O visa (from Hull) if you are over 65 just by showing proof of pension..
But you still need go out of Thailand and return every 3 months
I want stay Thailand and only report every 3 months!
That no good for me.... Nothing changed! :cry:

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Post by fdimike » August 19, 2013, 8:58 pm

Mort

No need to leave the country every 3 months with an O-A visa. All you have to do is report to immigration every 3 months. The visa can be renewed from inside the country annually.
An ex-pat in the Land of Smile

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