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Can I switch from a 400K baht bank account method to the 40K/month income requirement for a Marriage visa extension in Thailand?

Marriage Visa Chiang Mai Immigration Financial Requirements Income Affidavit Thai Visa Rules Visa Extension International Money Transfer

March 28, 2023

2 years ago

ORIGINAL POSTER

Anyone with experience with Chiang Mai immigration office for  Marriage visas? 

I usually use the 400K baht in the bank account for the financial requirements, but I would like to use the 400K for some other things (I could take out a lump sum from my Canadian RRSPs, but that has relatively large tax implications since most of it would be charged at a higher tax bracket.)

Would there be an issue switching from the 400K bank account method to the 40K/month requirement when extension time rolls around this summer?

Like I said I could take out a lump sum from Canada, but I would rather use the 400K here with no tax implications and refill the 400K next year when I can keep much more of my Canadian RRSP withdrawals in the power tax bracket!

Any advise or experience in switching financial verification methods from bank deposit to monthly deposits would be appreciated.

Note: I do monthly deposits of at least 65K just in case I ever have to switch over to Retirment visa, I don't know if that has any relevance, but I thought I'd mention it just in case.

Thanks

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TLDR : Answer Summary

The author seeks advice about switching their financial verification method from maintaining a 400K baht bank account to proving 40K baht monthly income for a Marriage visa extension in Chiang Mai. They typically use the bank deposit method but want to avoid tax implications tied to cashing out their Canadian RRSPs. They mention previous experiences and whether monthly deposits would suffice, alongside relevant comments discussing options, such as income affidavits, and considerations regarding the Canadian embassy's requirements.

Bob **********

If you have 12 months of deposits from an international transfer you should have no problem

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John **********

As I believe the Canadian embassy in Thailand still issues income affidavits you have to use this method rather than transferring money every month

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David ********

ORIGINAL POSTER

@John *********

Ouch, having them issue an income statement affidavit is harder that dealing with immigration!

The last time I was there to ask about this they said they wanted to see documentation showing that the interest on my RRSPs showed more than 40K per month income ... (I'm not drawing from my Canadian pension yet since it continues to increase every year until I'm 70, so I'm using my private RRSPs and savings which does not have that kind of interest associated with it.)

Once I start drawing my Canadian pension the documentation for that will more than cover their requirement, but it seems saving and RRSPs (similar to 401Ks for Americans) have higher 'standards' for showing income (ie. pulling 65K out every month from my savings & RRSP is not good enough, they want to see evidence that my saving and RRSPs are earning me 40K/moth interest?)

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David ********

ORIGINAL POSTER

'depleting your savings' is a strange way to put it. I have a mixture of guaranteed income and regular RRSP savings. The RRSPs have to have a minimum amount withdrawn from them every year anyway, so it works out best for me to withdraw mostly from the RRSPs and allow the guaranteed pensions to fully mature.

So in theory there's no issue with 'proving' income except possibly for the potentially restrictive requirements that the Chiang Mai Canadian consulate might require from me.

I'm only looking for the details because I want to make some major purchases and using the money deposited in my Thai bank account makes sense from a tax perspective (if I take a big lump sum of money out of my RRSP, it will get taxed at higher rate than my normal monthly withdrawals, so if better to use the money here and then refill it over a few years with smaller lump sum withdrawals, taxed at a lower rate.)

If that's not possible then I'll take the more 'expensive' route ... But if I can save 5 or 10% then why not? ;-)

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John **********

as far as I'm aware you only have to prove your annual income to them, I didn't think it actually had to come from a pension. Although not being Canadian...

My understanding is that the option of transferring monthly income is only available to those that can't obtain an income affidavit

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David ********

ORIGINAL POSTER

@John *********

yeah, but that 'annual income' part is the issue. I went there last year to see how much effort it was to get that certificate and I was led to understand that I need to show them either documentation from guaranteed income sources (Canadian pension, private pensions of the guaranteed income variety, employment income, or investment income ... My understanding of the investment income was that the interest earned was the portion they considered as 'income', and not the investment 'principle' itself ... My situation is that I'm using the investment principle as my primary 'income' until I'm 70 and my guaranteed income pensions fully mature.)

Maybe I misunderstood, so lacking any definitive answer I'll go to the immigration office and the Canadian consulate to have them clarify what they want and what I need to show.

Thanks for your input though, at least it clarifies the questions I need to ask!

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Kool *******

where are you currently getting the money you've been transfering? If you are depleting your savings to do it then you've got problems. Immigration will want the statement from the embassy if you use the monthly deposit method. Immigration feels if you are transferring money in monthly it must be legal, and the Canadian Embassy should be able to prove that with a document.

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Paul *******

@John *********

Which is an increasing number of embassies.

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John **********

really? Which embassies have recently stopped providing this? The ones I'm aware of haven't done so for some time.

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Paul *******

@John *********

The only one I can think of that stopped doing so relatively recently was Belgium.

The others stopped back in 2018-19 (such as the USA and Australia).

As I wrote my comment, I was thinking about residency certificates/affidavits. The USA just stopped issuing them like earlier this month, whereas Australia stopped back in 2018. I thus deleted that comment as we're talking about income letters, not residency certificates here.

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Paul *******

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Will ************

You must have 40k paid into your bank account every month for 12 consecutive months on the day you apply for your extension and not on the date your previous extension finishes

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David ********

ORIGINAL POSTER

@Will ***********

Thanks, Yeah I should be good on that front since I've been doing transfers for almost 3 years now. I was just wondering if the Chiang Mai immigration office would have different rules or if switching over from 400K in the bank to monthly deposits (more than 12 consecutive) would raise any special 'alarms'?

So I can assume that the 400K OR 40K/mth is a 'rock-solid' rule (as 'rock-solid' as any immigration rule is likely to be!?) and either one is just as good as the other as far as immigration is concerned and shouldn't expect any issues as long as the monthly deposits meet the requirements?

I will be using an agent, but last time I asked this question of them they seem to just brush the question aside and said don't worry, you have the 400K (I don't think they understood the question I was asking, so I didn't push it.)

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John **********

it is FAR from a rock solid rule. The monthly transfers rule was brought in for passport holders of countries whose embassies stopped issuing income affidavits. Canada still issues these so you are meant to obtain one from your embassy. You need to speak to your local immigration office and see what their requirements are.

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Paul *******

I think with 3 years of history you should be fine. A couple of years ago, I was told for the first time, only having 3 months of transfer history was sufficient but this may have been something some offices were OK with, while most others want 12 months. Therefore, to be safe, a minimum of 12 monthly transfers on the day you apply is what you want to have, which you can meet so you're good.

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Paul *******

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David ********

ORIGINAL POSTER

Oh, a secondary question ... I use 'Wise' money transfer, and use the 'long stay' option when transfering to Bangkok Bank from Canada ... anyone have any issue with Bangkok Band and these transfers being verified as from a foreign source?

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Graham ******

Your other option is to get the 12 month mult-entry marriage visa from Suvannakhet with no financial requirements, it just needs a re-entry every 90 days.

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David ********

ORIGINAL POSTER

Not an option I would want to have to use, but thanks for the info just in case I ever find myself between in a dire situation! ;-)

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Graham ******

Always useful to have has a last resort if, for example, one of the monthly payments was not acceptable

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Graham ******

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