Retirement Visa problem - New Rules

[Tarl]

1 minute ago, Thaifix said:

I understand your points but the bit I have highlighted is interesting. I have NO currency fluctuation on my deposits here. Perhaps another variable to consider.

Sorry are you saying you have been transferring money from abroad into Thailand over the past decade and are getting the same exchange rates every time?

[Thaifix]

3 minutes ago, mcjimmys said:

So to sum it all up, you will either need to show that you have at least 65,000 baht a month coming into your Thai bank account each month. 12 deposits per year of at least 65,000 baht or you must bring over 800,000 baht and that money can not be touched for 6 months. 3 months before your visa and 3 months after. So in reality you need money to live on on top of the 800,000 baht. Thailand = a cheap place to retire. Well maybe not. As a reference. I have my own condo here, so I do not pay rent. I do not drink or  go to bars or fuck Thai prostitutes. I do enjoy going to the beach every day and I eat well. For the past 3 years my average monthly living experience is 20,000 baht per month and I do enjoy my life.  My question is why do I need to have so much money here? Another question I have is, Why does someone who is married only need to have 400,000 baht in the bank? They have twice the expenses that I do. How can life be cheaper if you are married and have a family than if you are single? Very confusing indeed. I am sure the Big Joke has it all figured out.  Just my thoughts 

The reason why spouses, or dependent kids, requirements are lower is not really for fiscal reasons.

Equate it to the same thing the other way round - its easier for a foreigner to go live in the UK if they married to a UK guy.

One thing of note in the last few months - a lot of people who were on "spouses visas" got switched to "dependents visas" without asking. Imm just did it telling them it was better/easier.

[Thaifix]

1 minute ago, Tarl said:

Sorry are you saying you have been transferring money from abroad into Thailand over the past decade and are getting the same exchange rates every time?

No mate I have had 1.5m in a Thai bank for 20 years. My "income" is obviously subject to fluctuation but my deposits are not. I shift lumps in only when the exchange is reasonable - havent done that for 5 or 6 years now. I am not rich but that makes sense I agree, hence why I have a 7 year old car now.

[davidge]

I’m 2 or 3 years away from thinking about getting a ‘Retirement Visa’ and staying longer in Thailand. My plan has always been to build up the cash in my Thai account to the 800000 baht and leave it there as an emergency fund in case of illness etc. I’d then send cash over 2 or 3 times a year to live off. Still plan on having a base in the UK.

I guess the changes so far haven’t really changed anything for me. If the proposed Medical Insurance requirement does get brought in then that would be a big chunk of change so I’d maybe rethink then. There are other options available as I don’t plan on being there permanently (at least I don’t think so).

[Spellforce]

There is a really interesting investment offered at CIMB Thai: https://www.cimbthai.com/en/personal/news-and-promotions/promotions/promotion/promo-021111.html

Fixed deposit max 1 MB, 24 month

Interests = 2,4% pa paid monthly

 

Does that mean if you make a deposit in that bank (800,000 bahts) = 2 years visa + good interest rates ?

[davidge]

I have heard of the occasional IO cause problems if the cash has just been left to sit there untouched. They’ve asked what people are living off and suspected them of working. They’ve insisted on seeing cash going in and out if the account during the year.

You can’t win either way.

[Tarl]

16 minutes ago, Thaifix said:

No mate I have had 1.5m in a Thai bank for 20 years. My "income" is obviously subject to fluctuation but my deposits are not. I shift lumps in only when the exchange is reasonable - havent done that for 5 or 6 years now. I am not rich but that makes sense I agree, hence why I have a 7 year old car now.

Visa changes won't bother you then as you have permanently parked 1.5 mill in a thai bank and don't use any of it to live on as it is not factored into your income which is affected by exchange fluctuations I imagine.

Edited February 3, 2019 by Tarl

[Tarl]

2 minutes ago, davidge said:

I have heard of the occasional IO cause problems if the cash has just been left to sit there untouched. They’ve asked what people are living off and suspected them of working. They’ve insisted on seeing cash going in and out if the account during the year.

You can’t win either way.

Have had 2 blokes I know tell me it has happened to them but was a while back. To be fair I always thought it should show money coming in and going out.

[Billyboy294]

11 minutes ago, davidge said:

I have heard of the occasional IO cause problems if the cash has just been left to sit there untouched. They’ve asked what people are living off and suspected them of working. They’ve insisted on seeing cash going in and out if the account during the year.

You can’t win either way.

A friend of mine kept 800,000 in a bank account for many years but was questioned within the past 12 months and implied he must be working.

Edited February 3, 2019 by Billyboy294

[Scuba+]

There is a really interesting investment offered at CIMB Thai: https://www.cimbthai.com/en/personal/news-and-promotions/promotions/promotion/promo-021111.html
Fixed deposit max 1 MB, 24 month
Interests = 2,4% pa paid monthly
 
Does that mean if you make a deposit in that bank (800,000 bahts) = 2 years visa + good interest rates ?

where do you get the 2 year visa idea from? i can't see anything in the link

A fixed deposit is ok as long as you can make a withdrawal, some fixed deposits can't be touched for an extended period

[mcjimmys]

2 years ago I wanted to open a second bank account here in Thailand. I had to get permission from immigration. When I went to get it the lady at immigration asked my why I wanted a second bank account. I told her that I had one for the 800,000 baht needed for my retirement visa and I wanted another one to use for my money to live on. She just looked at me as if I was nuts and said, Why can’t you live on the 800,000 baht in your retirement account? That is what it is for. Then she gave me the permission slip and I opened a second bank account. Now I am glad I did. 

[Ru4Real]

7 minutes ago, Scuba+ said:

where do you get the 2 year visa idea from? i can't see anything in the link

 

Based on the fact it's a 2 year term deposit.

[Scuba+]

Based on the fact it's a 2 year term deposit.

a 2 year term deposit has nothing to do with a 2 year visa

[Ru4Real]

1 minute ago, Scuba+ said:

a 2 year term deposit has nothing to do with a 2 year visa

It does when you look at it as having the 800K in an account for a minimum of two years i.e. 2 x extensions.

[Scuba+]

It does when you look at it as having the 800K in an account for a minimum of two years i.e. 2 x extensions.

so you think a 5 year term deposit would get you a 5 year visa too?

[usexpat46]

9 minutes ago, mcjimmys said:

2 years ago I wanted to open a second bank account here in Thailand. I had to get permission from immigration. When I went to get it the lady at immigration asked my why I wanted a second bank account. I told her that I had one for the 800,000 baht needed for my retirement visa and I wanted another one to use for my money to live on. She just looked at me as if I was nuts and said, Why can’t you live on the 800,000 baht in your retirement account? That is what it is for. Then she gave me the permission slip and I opened a second bank account. Now I am glad I did. 

That's strange.  I've been with 4 Thai banks while living in LOS and have never had to go to immigration.  Currently have accounts with 3 of them. 

[Ru4Real]

Just now, Scuba+ said:

so you think a 5 year term deposit would get you a 5 year visa too?

You're getting hung up on the terminology he used rather than the fact the 800K is there for the yearly extension and gaining interest. The example he found was a 2 year term deposit therefore, the money is there for 2 extensions, if there was a 5 year term deposit then you would have it ready for 5 extensions.

The question is; will Immi accept the money being in a fixed term account.

[Scuba+]

You're getting hung up on the terminology he used rather than the fact the 800K is there for the yearly extension and gaining interest. The example he found was a 2 year term deposit therefore, the money is there for 2 extensions, if there was a 5 year term deposit then you would have it ready for 5 extensions.
The question is; will Immi accept the money being in a fixed term account.

a 2 year visa is different to 2x1 year visas/extensions and all the faffing about that goes along with it. Like i said a fixed deposit is accepted if money can be withdrawn when needed

[regyai]

13 minutes ago, usexpat46 said:

That's strange.  I've been with 4 Thai banks while living in LOS and have never had to go to immigration.  Currently have accounts with 3 of them. 

Currently, have four myself & never had to beg permission off anyone

[frankholland]

"The question is; will Immi accept the money being in a fixed term account."

Here in Korat they do.

With a fix term deposit ( I use 2 years) you can get your money out any time you want. A few weeks ago i needed money, so one of my fixed accounts of more than 800K, i stopped, while is was only 4 months running. I did not get 1.45 procent, but only 0.5 procent, which I also get from my savings account. The nice thing is that if the account is finished its 2 year they automatic ad 2 year. So you do not have to run to the bank when the 2 year is over. Amazing Thailand.

Frank

[mcjimmys]

Hi I guess another question would be then. What is the purpose of having the 800,000 baht in your bank account if you can’t use any of it? It really doesn’t make much sense to keep that much money in an account if you will be kicked out of the country for using any of it. It is kind of like having food in your refrigerator but never being able to eat it. What is the real point ? The Big Joke’s idea behind this is to stop corrupt visa service companies from lending money to people for their retirement visas but he doesn’t want to punish the visa company’s so I guess he feels it is better to punish everyone who wants to get a retirement visa instead.  Go figure. 

[Scuba+]

Hi I guess another question would be then. What is the purpose of having the 800,000 baht in your bank account if you can’t use any of it? It really doesn’t make much sense to keep that much money in an account if you will be kicked out of the country for using any of it. It is kind of like having food in your refrigerator but never being able to eat it. What is the real point ? The Big Joke’s idea behind this is to stop corrupt visa service companies from lending money to people for their retirement visas but he doesn’t want to punish the visa company’s so I guess he feels it is better to punish everyone who wants to get a retirement visa instead.  Go figure. 

Immigration rules often don't make sense, they don't seem to think things through properly. People just follow procedures and don't ask "why"

[mcjimmys]

Rules change from week to week or day to day. 2 years ago I went to K bank, Avenue branch and Bangkok bank Central Festival and both told me I needed  an Immigration permission form to open the account. Today is another day and a different rule. All I am saying is what happened to me at the time I wanted to open a bank account.

[Spellforce]

37 minutes ago, Ru4Real said:

It does when you look at it as having the 800K in an account for a minimum of two years i.e. 2 x extensions.

That's what doing member @Soi7 .

But it has only a 1,5% pa interest. With CIMB yoy can have 2,4% with monthly payments, that's better. 2,4% is even better than the health insurance in Europe.

That was working untill now (at Jomtien) but will it still work ?

There is a lack of communication from Immigration and every office has his own rules. That would be nice that someone asks to the officials in Jomtien the list of all the options we have.

 

[usexpat46]

1 hour ago, mcjimmys said:

The Big Joke’s idea behind this is to stop corrupt visa service companies from lending money to people for their retirement visas but he doesn’t want to punish the visa company’s so I guess he feels it is better to punish everyone who wants to get a retirement visa instead.  Go figure. 

It's not only the visa service companies making some baht but someone at Thai Immigration is also involved.  Remember its not only having 800K in a Thai bank but  it has to be in the account for either 2 or 3 months prior to applying for the retirement extension.