What are the rules regarding the 800,000 baht requirement for a retirement visa extension in Thailand?

I'm seeing a lot of comments about using an agent, just be aware that Immigration has been clamping down on this. One bank for instance apparently now locks the 800,000 baht in the account for 3 months after issuing a renewal letter to stop the money being put in just before the renewal & taken out immediately after plus for those areas that agents can bypass the system they appear to be increasing cost a lot, I've recently seen comments that it now costs between 50,000 and 70,000 to do a renewal without the money in the bank. I can't confirm this as I have the money in the bank and do my own extension. I wouldn't bypass the system myself as I don't want to be deported and have to wait 3 or 5 years before being able to return as I have a wife & good life here.

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Leo, I can see by your question and answers in your post that you will have many problems trying to make Thailand be what you want it to be.

The official line is , 800,000 in a account for 3 months not dropping below 400,000 , however this in reality is not the case, nearly everyone i know does one of 2 things , they have plenty of available cash and just leave it in the bank , however for 2 people that would be 1.6 mil , a lot of banks don't care and allow you to withdrawer the money , seems to be working ok , not heard of anyone having a issue a long as they use the account regularly for everyday stuff .

Also, Bangkok Bank make up their own rules, so be careful. To get a certificate letter showing proof of funds they refuse it the funds were not in your account for 4 months before renewal, although they do not tell you that until it is too late.

Yes, you must have 80,000 baht in your account, and it cannot be withdrawn.

Just left the 800.000 on bank, forget about it and no headache...is only 20.000€. If you to short that mean you didn't plan well.

Why not just keep the 0bht in the account permanently

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It was due to me using an agent for the initial non o retirement Visa that I had problems.

The agent would not accept that I already had an account with Bangkok Bank which already had 800,000 THB + and would only allow me to use there service if I agreed for them to open a new bank account at a different bank.

Obviously they get a kick back.

Because of this I couldn't extend my Non O Visa because I moved my money to my regular account prior to 3 months.

So now I need to start again.

At the time the agent did not make me aware of this.

Do your due diligence if using an agent.

The fee that I was charged was 70,000 THB.

I now know that that fee is way over the top.

My advice now is do it yourself with help from a Thai partner.

Cheers 🍻

Some shite comments on here 0 remain 2 or 3months never dropping below 0? Spent mine more or less once got retire o visa, just topped every month with minimum baht. Renewed 3years no issues

Sadly that is the case.

I was knocked back because I moved money from one account to another account at a different bank before that time period.

I was not aware of this at the time and now I have to go through the motions to start my non o retirement Visa again.

PITA.

It is actually 4 months after the visa issued

can i ask all how much is it for a married couple is it 800,000 each thanks all

The 0 baht is in lieu of showing income and could be wrong but believe it needs to be savings account every year when renewal comes around

As you can see not all immigration offices interpret the requirements the same. Find out what your local office wants and do whatever you need to make them happy. That's just the way things work in Thailand. I also keep 2 Thai bank accounts, one for My immigration obligation and one that I use for regular living. It makes things easier each year when I go to extend My visa. I live in a small town and most of the officers know Me but every once in a while they want something a little different than the previous year. An extra piece of paper, new pictures of my wife and I or our house. Remaining flexible is the key to success living in Thailand.

Why do people try to work the system? Put the 800K in the bank & forget about it. Some people are saying get an agent since you would receive very little in interest. No interest is better than the agents fees. Once you consider the fees you give the agent you are actually losing money.

Its all written here a copy of requirements for 1yr extension of nonO retirement

The money MUST be in a THAI bank account.

It can NOT be an "investment" or "RRSP" or "401k" account or in stocks or whatever else scammers pretend they have millions of baht invested in.

It CAN be in a Savings OR a Fixed Term Savings Account.

The money used to be the "guarantee" that you had enough money to live in Thailand for one year. And that is why it has to be "accessible" at any time.

But too many scammers posted on the internet about how they could get around the rules by "borrowing" the money for a day - so Immigration changed the rules.

I'm not sure about how the 65k a month works for the initial Extension application, but when you go to get your next Extension you will have to show (in your THAI bank book or bank statement) that you have received 65k (and not 1 baht less) EVERY month - from abroad - for the last 12 months.

(I know a guy who cut his transfers too close the penny and had his Extension denied because one transfer ended up being about 150 baht below the minimum.)

For the 800k (money in bank method) the FULL amount MUST be in your (Thai) account for 2 FULL months before you submit your application and for 3 months AFTER.

THEN you can withdraw up to 400,000 baht - but the FULL 800k has to be back in the account 2 (full) months prior to your next Extension application.

You can thank all the scammers out there for that.

Many people put the 800k into a Fixed Term Savings account because they don't issue you an ATM card for those accounts and to withdraw money YOU have to go to the bank IN PERSON with your passport and bankbook.

(That way the "wife you didn't meet in a bar just last week" can't go to the bank and clean you out the week after you married her and got caught cheating on her.)

But a LOT of Expats - despite their bragging on various forums - are nowhere near as rich as they often pretend to be and can't afford to keep 800k in an account.

So they scam the system by transferring 65 k to their Thai account each month - and then transferring it back to their "home" account so it can be transferred again next month and on their bank statements it looks like they're receiving 65k a month when in fact it's just one sum being transferred back and forth, over an over.

And some pretend they are richer than Thaksin but keep their money "at home" because they supposedly make millions more in interest in their savings accounts "back in Blighty".

And then they shuck out 25k(+) to an agent to get their Extensions done "hush hush".

I've done 13 straight Extension applications myself and never had a problem, thanks in large part to just sticking that "visa money" into that account and leaving it there.

But that's not an option for a lot of Expats, hence why you see so many posts from people trying to find a way to scam around the requirements.

it's always being 0 for singles which must be kept in your bank & 0 if married to a thai----simple as that & they do check

Use an agent, no need to keep that amount of money in your account

Yes they changed the law in 2012.

With renewal it is 3 months before renewal and 3 months after renewal.

The other 6 months at least 400.000 Baht in the bank.

Reconsider. You've got a 50,000 baht per month income. That's not enough. You're going to struggle

The 65k per month transfer method is the no-brainer best solution. Money not tied up, and no need to pay an agent a large fee

I just renewed my one year Dec 23rd and upon picking up my passport they also gave me a slip stating I must bring in my updated bank book on March 23rd to prove I still had the 800,000 baht in my account..so 3 months after.

I reveived this paper last time I renewed my non-O retirement visa

Keep 800K for 3 months after you get a one year visa and 2 months before you extend next year.

You can read all about it here (but even this document omits the 3 months before for the 2nd extension): /%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A3-7-6.-NON-O-%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A3%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%82%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%B9%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%95%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%AD%E0%B9%83%E0%B8%8A%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%8A%E0%B8%B5%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%95%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%B1%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%9B%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A2-TH-EN.pdf

If you are talking about an O-visa retirement extension and unless it has changed, it was you had to have the 800,000 for 2 months before you first applied (all the following renewals it has to be in for 3 months before you renew. You have to keep the 800,000 for 3 months after that and then for the remaining 6 months it must not drop below 400,000 at any time. A lot of people, myself included, just put the 800,000 in a separate account and leave it there considering it an emergency fund,

Don’t look on Google, try the official Thai visa website.

Not smart to believe Google !!!

Yes it's the law. 800k for 3 months and never going below 400k at any point. I'm not entirely sure how it works with part money and part income certificate, some immigration offices won't even allow that so if yours does it's best to ask them what you need to do. I'd guess you need to keep the 200k for 3 months and never go below 100k but you will need to confirm that directly

One of the requirements of using a bank deposit for your retirement extension, is that the balance must be 800,000 baht for 2 months before your apply for your extension, and must remain at 800,000 baht for 3 months after you receive your extension. It can never drop below 400,000 at any point.

You need to check with your immigration office if they accept the combination method for financial proof, as some immigration offices do not allow that. I've personally never heard of anyone using a combination of embassy letter + bank balance.

If your immigration office does accept it, you need to check with them how much they will require you to maintain in your bank account. My guess would be anything under 400,000 would need to be maintained year round.