Answereda year ago
Does an SSI letter indicating a monthly income of over $3,300 replace the need for an 800,000 THB bank account for a Thai visa extension?
Does a US letter from SSI stating over 3300$ a month eliminate the 80k bank account requirement?
Answer summary
A letter from the US Social Security Administration (SSI) indicating an income of over $3300 per month does not eliminate the requirement of maintaining 800,000 THB in a Thai bank account for the first year of a retirement visa (Non-O visa) in Thailand. The Thai immigration authorities only accept evidence of funds held in Thailand, and the US Embassy no longer certifies income letters. For the first year, the funds must be deposited in a Thai bank account for at least two months before applying for the one-year extension. After the first year, if there's proof of regular international transfers, expats may switch to using income as financial proof for subsequent extensions.
19 repliesnewest first
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Willem ****
No
Eric *********
The United States government does not want you spending your money in another country they’re gonna do everything they can to get you to spend that money back home!  they will not certify any type of letter and that’s all that is accepted and the US government knows this
Graham ******
@Eric ********
but they used to, just like many other countries 😉Jason **********
You'll need 800k thb for the first year regardless. If you make international transfers monthly above the minimum requirements you can switch on year 2, however make sure you transfer more then enough to account for currency conversion shifts.
Graham ******
@Jason *********
No, not regardless. You need 800k for 2 months before applying for the extension then for 3 months after. For the rest of the year it cannot fall below 400k. Meanwhile you are sending 65k each and every month by international transfer starting before the first extension is granted to switch to this method for subsequent extension applications.Jason **********
@Graham *****
yes you're right I was generalizing.
Jeffrey *****
The US Embassy no longer gives those verification of income letters.
T ****************
@Jeffrey ****
The US embassy never did.
Andrew ********
No, you still have to show the 12k or 24k US in savings good idea to have 6 months of it and when you apply have statement that is new to reflect it.
They dont care about your income they want to see you can manage finances and can support yourself and not check to check
They dont care about your income they want to see you can manage finances and can support yourself and not check to check
Kool *******
When you initially apply for your type O 90 day visa based on retirement on the e-visa system in the US yes it does work, but after you arrive in Thailand on that 90 day visa you must get a Thai bank account and put the bt800,000 in it at least two full months before you apply for your one year extension of stay. The US embassy no longer issues wage statements so you must use the bulk sum method for your first year extension. There are no exceptions to this. By getting your type O 90 day visa before you arrive in Thailand it makes it very easy to get your required Thai bank account once you get here
Todd *********
hard no
Paul *******
It's easier to put the 800,000 into a Thai bank account and forget about it.
Graham ******
@Paul ******
There is no need to do that if you switch to the 65k monthly transfer but your choicePaul *******
@Graham *****
yes but you need 12 months of deposits. The OP's question regarding the letter indicates that he doesn't have that.Graham ******
@Paul ******
I know but I was replying to uou not the OP
Melissa *********
@Paul ******
agreed. I do the same and have a second Thai account for daily spending so never tempted to touch the 800k Thb.
Brandon ************
No. The only thing immigration office accepts is embassy certified income. The US embassy does not do this anymore for many years. So income is not an option for your first extension. You can use 12 months proof of monthly international transfers for subsequent years, but the first year will always be 800k in your Thai bank account.
Tim **********
@Brandon ***********
I have heard you can do it without a Thai bank, using US bank statementsBrandon ************
@Tim *********
Not an extension, you certainly cannot. For the initial 90-day visa from a Thai embassy then yes, you can do that. Because an embassy would not expect someone to have a Thai bank account to travel to Thailand. But once you're there, it's Thai bank account or you're leaving after 90 days.Activity
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