It is true
Last week a friend obtained his 1 year extension from Nong Khai. He has a sterling account at the bank and a Thai Baht account. He obtained 2 letters from the bank(400 baht). One showed the amount of Thai baht the other showed how much money in his sterling account. Adding them together he was able to show 800,000 baht. They did seem a bit confused but accepted the amounts and gave him the visa. Don't know what exchange rate they based his sterling account on. Just a little reminder to take evidence of residence.

lepidoptra wrote:It is true
Last week a friend obtained his 1 year extension from Nong Khai. He has a sterling account at the bank and a Thai Baht account. He obtained 2 letters from the bank(400 baht). One showed the amount of Thai baht the other showed how much money in his sterling account. Adding them together he was able to show 800,000 baht. They did seem a bit confused but accepted the amounts and gave him the visa. Don't know what exchange rate they based his sterling account on. Just a little reminder to take evidence of residence.

Nice, thanks for the positive news.
Any idea what Bank? Kasikorn, Siam commercial,...

Cookie
I,m not sure what bank although I think it began with a K. Sorry I can't be more specific

Just something i saw today.....

Storm brewing over retirement visas


A report has come in from a retiree, a single man with no dependents in Thailand, who last week, applied, as usual, to Chiang Mai Immigration for a one year extension to his ‘retirement’ visa. The application was supported by the required letter from the UK consulate certifying the adequacy of his UK company pension paid in sterling to his UK bank account, and transferred as needed to Thailand.

Immigration refused his application on the grounds that the present unfavourable pound sterling - baht exchange rate gave an amount of less than the required 800,000 baht. Until the recent drop in the value of sterling, the applied exchange rate would have covered the legal requirements for an extension.

A representation has been made to Chiang Mai Immigration, who have replied that, although they have personal sympathy for affected retirees, they are only allowed to calculate in Thai baht the total amount as required by Thai immigration law. They suggest that more information may be obtained at www.immigration.go.th.
There has been no suggestion that the three-month deposit rule may be waived for retirees who find that they now need to top up their capital in a Thai bank to allow for a drop in the value of their pensions or other income.

We would advise those who are due to renew their permission to stay within the next several months, and are basing their application on either a pension or a combination of income and capital (whatever Western currency is involved), that they should check and confirm that they will not be affected by this decision. The alternative would be to revert to a Non-Immigrant ‘O’ visa, which has less stringent financial requirements, although it does require 90 day visa runs to Mae Sai.

It seems unfortunate that at least three months notice was not given by the Bangkok Immigration authorities in order that retirees here for the long-term could rearrange their finances.

Please also note that new regulations recently announced require that new applicants for ‘retirement’ visas must now show 800,000 baht or its equivalent in capital and income for two months prior to their application.

oh great, just what you need in your old age with failing health a load of aggravation with Thais over your retirement visa . no doubt at some stage they will raise the threshold even higher causing a elderly retire even more gnashing of the teeth ...you wouldn't have any of this hassle if you retired to somewhere warm in southern europe .
lets face it they really don't want you around

lest look back at the exchange rates a few years till the present ..

in 1997 rate was about 95 to the pound at the crisis ..that was 8421 pounds to the thai bank account

then last year was 65 to the pound ..that was 12,307 pounds

now its 50 to the pound ..so thats 16,000 pounds in the thai bank account ..

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Phuket Immigration clarifies new visa rules

Phuket Immigration Superintendent Col Chanatpol Yongbunjerd after yesterday's press conference.

PHUKET CITY: At a press conference held late yesterday, Phuket Immigration confirmed that foreigners arriving without visas at any of Thailand’s non-airport immigration checkpoints will be granted permits-to-stay of only 15 days, half the former number.

The conference was led by Phuket Immigration Superintendent Chanatpol Yongbunjerd, who also confirmed that the former rule limiting foreigners entering on “visa exemptions” from staying more than 90 days over a 180-day period was no longer in effect.

As a result, foreigners from any of the 40 countries eligible for “visa exemptions” can now legally reside in Thailand year-round, provided they don’t mind making a “visa run” every 15 days (30 days if by air) and abide by all other laws and regulations.

The new 15-day rule is now in effect at all 54 land border checkpoints, including the seaport checkpoint at Ranong, popular with Phuket-based foreigners doing visa runs to Burma.

The new order, issued on November 25, is intended as a way of stopping foreigners from working illegally in the country in industries such as real estate, Col Chanatpol said.

Col Chadpol said he was working closely with Thai Dive Association (TDA) President Ronnachai Chindapol to find ways to improve the diving industry’s compliance with Thai immigration and labor laws, recognizing the role that foreign dive instructors play in the industry.

On the issue of migrant workers from neighboring countries such as Burma, Col Chanatpol said he personally thought their number might be in the range of 70,000 to 80,000. Of these, as many as 50,000 might be unregistered, he estimated.

Col Chanatpol said he was in favor of raising the quota on such workers, as doing so would have many advantages. These would include stemming the spread of dangerous diseases such as dengue fever through mandatory health checks, and increasing government revenue through collection of work permit fees.

However, the previous Cabinet’s plan to raise quotas early in 2009 will now have to be put on hold until a new Cabinet is formed and decides on the issue, he said.

Col Chanatpol also used the meeting to introduce two new Immigration Inspectors recently assigned to his office: Lt Col Kanya “Taen” Petchpairoj, who will be in charge of visa issues and administrative matters, and Lt Col Suparerk Pankosol, who recently transferred from Samut Prakan and will be in charge of investigations.

During the press conference, Pol Capt Napat Noosen released figures for permit-to-stay extension applications received by Phuket Immigration in 2007. The list revealed the United Kingdom as the single greatest source of applicants, with 2,560 (1,207 on tourist visas, 1,353 for non-immigrant visas).

Rounding out the top ten were: 2. Sweden (total 1,411); 3. Germany (1,196); 4. France (1,174); 5. US (1,136); 6. Italy (1,135); 7. Switzerland (745); 8. Philippines (715); 9. Australia (671) and Burma (609).

Capt Napat implored people with non-immigrant visas planning to apply for permit-to-stay extensions to submit their applications no fewer than two weeks before their current permit is set to expire.


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Phuket, T

That that was definitely an interesting read!I don't know how changing the visa runs to every 15 days from 30 days helps keep people from working in real estate illegally,but now those that want to stay permanently can at twice the expense of before!

Renewed my Non IMM O-A at Nong Khai yesterday and basically a piece of cake. It was quite busy so took awhile for my number to come up. Even though I did not have the required residency doc's (had some mail) they let it slide and approved the extension anyway, but said next year I will need the proper paper work. It seems they like the 800k in the Bank option, maybe because there is no math involved;o)