Visa With 800,000 Baht

Anything and everything about Thailand
Post Reply
User avatar
Undaunted
Posts: 2567
Joined: Fri Aug 12, 2016 8:47 am
Has thanked: 23 times
Been thanked: 368 times

Re: Visa With 800,000 Baht

Post by Undaunted »

Dodger wrote: Tue Mar 03, 2020 7:15 pm
One of the requirements of the 65k method is that you show them a Bank Letter which lists each individual monthly foreign deposit. They won't look at lump sums stored in any bank account...just monthly deposits of 65,000 THB or more deposited in a Thai bank
How many consecutive months must you show?
"In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king"
thewayhelooks
Posts: 320
Joined: Tue Nov 17, 2015 4:40 pm
Been thanked: 58 times

Re: Visa With 800,000 Baht

Post by thewayhelooks »

Undaunted wrote: Tue Mar 03, 2020 9:41 am This information has been verified this morning Mar.3 at Jomtien immigration.
For those using the 800,000 baht option for a 1 year visa....The 800,000 must be on deposit a minimum of 2 months before applying or renewing the 1 year visa. The 800,000 must stay untouched for 3 months after receiving the 1 year visa after which it can be used, but must be replenished to 800,000 2 months prior to your next renewal."


What happened to the B 800,000 not dropping below B 400,000 for the remaining seven months of the year?
User avatar
Gaybutton
Posts: 21459
Joined: Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:21 am
Location: Thailand
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 1306 times

Re: Visa With 800,000 Baht

Post by Gaybutton »

thewayhelooks wrote: Tue Mar 03, 2020 9:55 pm What happened to the B 800,000 not dropping below B 400,000 for the remaining seven months of the year?
As far as I know nothing happened to it and that rule is still in effect.
User avatar
2lz2p
Posts: 957
Joined: Sun Aug 01, 2010 8:08 am
Location: Pattaya, Thailand (Jomtien)
Has thanked: 148 times
Been thanked: 108 times

Re: Visa With 800,000 Baht

Post by 2lz2p »

Undaunted wrote: Tue Mar 03, 2020 7:58 pm
Dodger wrote: Tue Mar 03, 2020 7:15 pm
One of the requirements of the 65k method is that you show them a Bank Letter which lists each individual monthly foreign deposit. They won't look at lump sums stored in any bank account...just monthly deposits of 65,000 THB or more deposited in a Thai bank
How many consecutive months must you show?
Chonburi (Pattaya) Immigration, Desk 8 (retirement extensions), when using the 65,000 baht per month income method to qualify and you cannot get an Embassy Certification of Monthly Income, requires a letter from your bank listing deposits from foreign sources for the 12 months previous to the application date -- they also require another bank letter verifying your account (same one required for those using 800k in bank). For initial applications (first time), it can be 2 or more months (e.g., arrive on Non-Immigrant Visa and get 90 day permission to stay, you can apply for one year stay after 60 days have elapsed -- they will expect transfers during those two months since arrival). These requirements are set out in Section 2-2 of the Immigration Bureau Rules for Granting Extensions of Stay. When I renewed in June, I had 12 bank statements certified by Bangkok Bank, but this was not acceptable - the IO gave me a sample of the letter they wanted and told me to get it at the branch where I opened my account (said other branches could not provide full 12 months) - I then went to the Branch where I opened the account, they prepared the letter (100 baht fee) by first printing out previous 12 months of Credit Advices (one for each transfer - fee 500 baht). Then back to Immigration to complete the renewal process).


thewayhelooks wrote: Tue Mar 03, 2020 9:55 pm For those using the 800,000 baht option for a 1 year visa....The 800,000 must be on deposit a minimum of 2 months before applying or renewing the 1 year visa. The 800,000 must stay untouched for 3 months after receiving the 1 year visa after which it can be used, but must be replenished to 800,000 2 months prior to your next renewal."

What happened to the B 800,000 not dropping below B 400,000 for the remaining seven months of the year?
The 800,000 must be on deposit 2 months prior to application for extension and for 90 days after the extension is granted. For the remaining months, a minimum of 400,000 must remain on deposit until 2 months before applying for the next extension. Again, this is in Rule 2.2 governing extensions for the purpose of retirement.
User avatar
Undaunted
Posts: 2567
Joined: Fri Aug 12, 2016 8:47 am
Has thanked: 23 times
Been thanked: 368 times

Re: Visa With 800,000 Baht

Post by Undaunted »

I wonder if you had a Thai account with 800,000 could you open another Thai account and transfer 65,000 a month from the 800,000 to the other account for 12 months or must it be from a foreign account, if you could do this you would be able to use the transferred monthly funds.
"In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king"
User avatar
Gaybutton
Posts: 21459
Joined: Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:21 am
Location: Thailand
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 1306 times

Re: Visa With 800,000 Baht

Post by Gaybutton »

Undaunted wrote: Wed Mar 04, 2020 11:05 am must it be from a foreign account
Yes. It must be a transfer from a foreign source. Immigration is very clear about that.

For awhile, those of us using TransferWise had problems when without warning they changed their method of sending money to our Thai bank accounts and the transfers were showing as a domestic, rather than a foreign, transfer. They have since fixed that problem via their sending options so that now for transfers into Thailand, you can have the transfer show as foreign and the banks do record it that way.

The problem with that might be for those using the 65,000 baht method could run into a problem when immigration sees some of the money coming in as domestic transfers. My guess is if the amount of money transferred in each month is relatively the same amount, then if immigration raises their eyebrows, an explanation of what happened will suffice. Again, that is only my guess. Perhaps someone can verify whether my guess is correct or not.
Dodger
Posts: 1926
Joined: Sun Aug 01, 2010 2:58 am
Has thanked: 133 times
Been thanked: 479 times

Re: Visa With 800,000 Baht

Post by Dodger »

I'm sorry I neglected to mention the 12 month deposit history before.

Yes, as R2d2, ...or was it 2Lz2p who stated correctly stated: You must show 12 consecutive foreign deposits of +65k in a Thai bank account to quality for the 65k method.

As GB correctly stated: These deposits MUST come from a foreign source or they will not be approved.

I'm really not sure why people using Transferwire services are getting all tangled up. Regardless of what code (domestic or international) the receiving bank applies to your bank passbook, the banks system can see which deposits came from foreign sources in your banking profile. When visa renewal times comes around, just ask the clerk to print a list of the last 12 months of deposits which originated at a foreign source. The clerk will have access to all of this information when he/she enters your on-line banking history.

Thailand banks do not use a standardized coding system for money transfers. Bangkok bank applies the "FTT" code for foreign transfers, other banks use different codes. None of this matters to Immigration. They just want to see the Bank Letter with the list of foreign deposits, and frankly, they couldn't read the codes if they had to.
User avatar
Gaybutton
Posts: 21459
Joined: Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:21 am
Location: Thailand
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 1306 times

Re: Visa With 800,000 Baht

Post by Gaybutton »

Dodger wrote: Wed Mar 04, 2020 3:00 pm I'm really not sure why people using Transferwire services are getting all tangled up. Regardless of what code (domestic or international) the receiving bank applies to your bank passbook, the banks system can see which deposits came from foreign sources in your banking profile.
That is correct, but that is not what happened. For example, TransferWise had been direct depositing into my Bangkok Bank account, which showed as a foreign transfer. Then, for whatever reason, that unexpectedly changed. The deposits went first to another Thai bank - it may have been Kasikorn Bank as I recall - and then from there it was transferred into my Bangkok Bank account. That's why it showed as a domestic, not a foreign, transfer. I never understood why they did that, but they did - without any kind of prior warning or heads-up - and that's what caused the problem.

If I am correct about Kasikorn Bank, maybe those who had their TransferWise deposit going to a Kasikorn Bank account in the first place did not have that happen. I don't know.
Dodger
Posts: 1926
Joined: Sun Aug 01, 2010 2:58 am
Has thanked: 133 times
Been thanked: 479 times

Re: Visa With 800,000 Baht

Post by Dodger »

Gaybutton wrote: Wed Mar 04, 2020 3:08 pm That is correct, but that is not what happened.
I can see exactly what's happening, but it really shouldn't matter. Your Bangkok Bank's information system will show a) where your transfer originated, b) where it got received in Thailand (possibly a transfer point such as Kasikorn, maybe another bank), c) final destination (Bangkok Bank). The bank can see all of this information. When you make your annual visit to get the Bank Letter - just make sure to tell the clerk you need a list of the last 12 months of foreign transfers which were entered in your Bangkok Bank account. The clerk will have no problem doing this. And this is all Immigration needs to see.
User avatar
Gaybutton
Posts: 21459
Joined: Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:21 am
Location: Thailand
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 1306 times

Re: Visa With 800,000 Baht

Post by Gaybutton »

Dodger wrote: Wed Mar 04, 2020 3:23 pm Your Bangkok Bank's information system will show a) where your transfer originated
I hope so, but before TransferWise initiated the choice to show the deposits as foreign, my bank passbook shows those deposits as a domestic transfer. If the bank traces the money back to its actual origin and includes that in the documents to show immigration, then problem solved - assuming a problem actually existed in the first place.

I'm not 100% certain a problem ever truly existed. I have not heard about anyone using TransferWise while deposits were showing as domestic being turned down for the retirement visa.
Post Reply