Unanswered2 years ago

Can I use an authenticated SS Income verification letter to meet the retirement visa income requirement in Thailand?

Visa Rules Thailand Retirement Visa Income Verification Royal Thai Embassy Notary Services Non-O Visa

Richard ********

asked Sep 12, 2024

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Question: 

The US Dept of State in Washington DC will authenticate my 'Authentic' SS Income verification letter (Issued on Official letterhead and signed and stamped by the SS Agency representative). It can then be Certified as a legal document by the Royal Thai Embassy in Washington, DC. 

There is a notary service that takes the document through the entire process for $372 US.

Has anyone successfully used this documentation method for meeting the minimum  ฿65,000/month for a retirement here in Thailand (in lieu of the  ฿800,000 bank deposit)?

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Summary so far

The post discusses the process of obtaining a notarized Social Security income verification letter from the US, authenticated by the Royal Thai Embassy, and whether this method is acceptable for qualifying for a retirement visa in Thailand. However, a comment indicates that this process is not recognized by Thai immigration authorities for initial visa application or first extension, as they only accept income verification letters issued directly by embassies in Thailand.

2 repliesnewest first

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Brandon ************

It doesn't matter what the Royal Thai Embassy in Washington DC does.

The only thing that immigration will accept is an income verification from your embassy in Thailand. The US embassy stopped issuing these many years ago, because the Thai immigration department found out that the US embassy does not, can not, and will not actually verify anything in the letters. They were just notarizing them. Therefore they were not deemed acceptable.

If you are from the US you cannot use income verification for the initial non-O visa (unless you obtain it in the US from a Thai embassy) nor can you use it for your first one-year extension. There are no exceptions. There are no workarounds. It is not an option available to you and many others from countries whose embassies do not offer income verification letters in Thailand.

2 years ago

Richard ********

@Brandon ***********

Thank you for your reply. I have to return to the US soon anyway. I think I'll just go through the application process there. The Thai Immigration website states "or overseas Embassy or Councilate" but no official here is willing to confirm that...

2 years ago