What do I need to know about applying for a non-O retirement visa in Thailand while using a Bangkok Bank account?

Max *************

4 months of deposits is not enough,and it has nothing to with Bangkok Bank. You need 12 months of deposits showing up in your bank book when applying for the extension.The 800k option is what you need to go for. The money has to be in your account at least 2 months prior to the day you apply for the extension.

Simon *********

Depends on the province...

For example, I've been paying my pension into my Thai account for 3 years and now that I want to switch to retirement visa based on monthly income, my local immigration office won't accept bank statements, they insist on a proof of income certificate from the British Embassy... British embassy only do tea parties, so this certificate is unobtainable... Hence I need an agent...

You are supposed to to have proof of income, into a thai account, for 12 months, before it can be used for conversions or extensions. Weather or not it will be accepted, depends on the immigration officer

Peter *********

65k deposit each month has to show it comes from pension now new rules

Glenn *****

@Peter ********

still only requires foreign deposits

Ally ************

@Peter ********

Who's 'new rules' exactly.. and for what visa at what immigration office? Only in CM the rules read 'monthly income' and they are simply looking to see 12 deposits over a 12 month period.. and transfers from your overseas bank account to your Thai bank account are acceptable.. regardless of whether you are flipping the monthly pension you might receive into your overseas bank.. or whether it is coming from savings.. can you point me to the source of this requirement please.. and explain how you would evidence it.. thanks.

Peter *********

@Ally ***********

friend went to renew visa though agent in Pattaya they needed proof that money transferred into his thai bank was his pension income had to show uk bank detail showing it was pension income

Reply to

Peter *********

Jamie ******

Depends on YOUR Bangkok bank ,,I was thete TODAY ,,they said 6 months backdated ,,I wasn’t bothered,,,some might be

Max *************

@Jamie *****

You need to go for a 12 months bank letter from your bank,but most banks only issues a 6 months letter. They have to order a 12 months letter from the head office. My Bangkok Bank branch issues a 12 months letter,but that doesn't mean every branch does.

Jamie ******

you don’t need a 12 month bank statement on YOUR FIRST EXTENTION ..that’s what the OP is asking about and that’s what I was referring to.

From the second year you need 12 month bank statements .

If you do need a 12 month extention then it can take anything from a week or more to be processed

Max *************

@Jamie *****

If you're using the monthly deposit method, you do need a 12 months bank statement from your bank for the first 1 year extension.

Jamie ******

yes I agree with you ,,

The first year extention being the 2nd year ,is when you need 12 month bank statements …on the INITIAL non -0 extention ,you CANNOT use 12 monthly deposits ,,,that starts in year two ,,but THATS NOT what the op is asking

Max *************

@Jamie *****

At my immigration office it works perfectly well with a 12 months bank statement from your bank if you were smart and planned ahead before the first 1 year extension. But this is only for citizens from the US,UK, Australia and now also Canada.

Jamie ******

I agree with you and have experience of what your saying ,,but it’s not helpful to the OP As hes not asking that ,,and I personally know exactly what your talking about ,so thanks i don’t need the information from yourself ,,possibly the OP does for next year if he starts the monthly payments NOW alongside his

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0 deposit ,,,it might be ok for next year ,,it’s Thailand ,,just because it has worked for years doesn’t mean it will work the next time ,you ,me or anyone goes ,,it’s always up to the discretion of the officer ..enjoy your day and thanks for your time

Reply to

Jamie ******

Roberto ******

Similar question. If I have a Thai bank account that has had twelve months deposit of over 65.000/ month, can I use that for the one year extension?

Max *************

Yes you can.

Martyn ***********

not for first extension...

Max *************

With a 12 months bank statement from his bank, showing those deposits, it will work perfectly well.

Martyn ***********

not for the first year.. Read what Brandon put, he says the same 800k first and then can do 65 a month..

Max *************

Well,at my immigration office it works with a 12 months bank statement from a Thai bank if you planned ahead before the first 1 year extension.

Martyn ***********

Max *************

I haven't converted anything. This is not about me. Citizens from the US, UK, Australia and now also Canada must use a 12 months bank statement at immigration. The rest of the world must use a bank letter from an embassy or consulate. Get it? If a person from one of the countries I mentioned planned ahead and transferred 65k or more for 12 months,he can use a bank statement for the first 1 year extension.

Martyn ***********

I'm going to let you off because your a Leeds fan.. MOT

But the the original post cannot get a proof letter... So I'm right.. 555

Martyn ***********

was this the first extension when you converted the O visa on extension based on retirement? The first one? Because it's in the guidelines in black and white 800k or proof of income from embassy...

Reply to

Martyn ***********

@Roberto *****

not enough information... Is this your first extension? If yes.. Then no you can't... After that yes you can.

Roberto ******

so if I wait to come to Thailand on a first time 90 day non o and already have 12 months of

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deposits, I cannot use it to extend to one year retirement.

I must only extend the 90 day non o to one year with the 800.000 in bank for two months.

Then next year extension can use the 65.000/mo for 12 months to extend second time. TIA

Martyn ***********

@Roberto *****

As I'm aware.. And confirmed by Brandon. There are only 2 things you can use for the first 1-year extension.

1) 800,000 baht in your Thai bank account, for 2 months before.

2) Embassy certified income

Since most countries embassy do not provide income certification, you are left with option 1 only. You can renew 2nd year onwards with income from International transfers.

Roberto ******

thank you for the information

Reply to

Roberto ******

Marcus **********

UK govt does not issue pension certificate statement required for b65k monthly so that route is not open to you.

All IO offices vary. Based on my dealings with CM airport,

B800k must be transferred in to Thai account from abroad 1 month before retirement extension application and remain in there for 2 months after when it can drop to b400k until 3 months before renewal is required. Accurate dates and amounts are essential.

Thai banks seem to be moving goalposts on issue of certificates and statements required by IO as well as initial opening of accounts. Reportedly if the required amount has not been in Bangkok bank for 4 months prior to certificate/statement request the bank will freeze the account until 4 months has lapsed.

Simon *******

@Marcus *********

you can use 12 months bank statement from your bank account in Thailand as proof of the

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/ month

Graham ******

@Marcus *********

They do not freeze the account, they have the account holder sign that the 800k will be frozen in the account post-issuance of the Immigration documents

Reply to

Graham ******

Sam *******

This was displayed at Bangkok bank, someone else on FB posted it

Dick ********

@Sam ******

I think this may have been stated more directly by Bangkok Bank as follows: “Bangkok Bank will require that the account holder has held these funds in the account……..”

Ally ************

@Sam ******

This notice also ends by saying 'make sure it belongs to you personally' which is adding another condition for the certificate of balance.. immigration cover this by insisting that your deposit is reflected as an overseas transfer in relation to a retirement visa application.. however, this does not apply to married visa's.. so theoretically, you could transfer monies from your spouse's bank account into your own account to create the required deposit.. without this being a problem for immigration.. but Bangkok Bank are suggesting if they identify a situation where it looks like you've borrowed the money from someone else.. then they will also refuse to issue the certificate.. I'm getting the impression that they are acting in cahoots with immigration over this.. it's a sly way to make it difficult for people to use agents to front the money needed to season funds.. particularly for the married visa where there is no seasoning requirement before applying for the initial 90-day non-o.. this bank policy effectively introduces a 4-month seasoning period for this application.. which should not be necessary at all.. and to proceed with the 12-month extension upon expiry of your initial 90-days.. you'll need to keep the funds in the bank for a total of 7-months instead of 2 months.. that's 4-months before you apply for the initial non-o and then the whole 3-months after it's granted.. leading up to the application for the extension.. if you add in the requirement to maintain the balance for 2-months (post visa issue) with the retirement visa.. that's 9-months you're expected to leave the funds on deposit.. great idea to prevent an outflow of funds by the bank though !!

Reply to

Ally ************

John **********

Yes Bangkok Bank changed their requirements around a month ago. Normally you must use 800k baht for your first extension and honour the terms of that throughout the year. At the same time you can transfer a minimum 65k baht from overseas each and every month for a full 12 months prior to applying for your 2nd extension. You can't miss a month and you can't transfer a baht less than 65k, but you can spend the money as it arrives

Martyn ***********

How? If they can fiddle 2 months, they can fiddle 4..anyway it isn't their job to deal with immigration, other than give you the required letter at the required time (2 months)

John **********

you miss the point. The bank never had a 2 month requirement, it didn't have a requirement of any sort. That 2 month requirement was purely an immigration requirement. All the bank letter is doing is confirming how much is held in your bank account on the day it is written. The fiddle has always been between dodgy agents and immigration officers.

Martyn ***********

and the bank was and is involved the 'dodgy agents'.. How could they not be?

John **********

isn't that what they are trying to address?

Martyn ***********

I give in... You completely miss the point. Not bothered about agents....its not right and fair for THE BANK to be determining if you get the required letter after the money has been in there 2 months... It's an immigration issue.. They should just do the required. FFS don't mention agaments again...

John **********

its entirely up to the bank what they do. You don't walk into your bank and say immigration have sent me to demand a letter. You walk into your bank requesting they write a letter on their headed paper addressed to immigration stating the current funds you hold in your account at their bank

Reply to

John **********

Martyn ***********

Bangkok Bank shouldn't have 'requirements' they don't decide who or if anybody gets a visa... I don't know how they are getting way with that BS...

John **********

Bangkok Bank can set their own requirements, nothing to do with the visa process per se, everything to do with whether they will issue a letter certifying your bank balance. They are doing it for good reason.

Martyn ***********

So your basically saying the Bangkok Bank can decide weather you get your visa extension??? Sorry but no way... They can't add extra requirements and not give a letter which could lead to somebody having to leave the country even though they meet immigrations requirements??? What's the good reason by the way?

Dick ********

well, if one meets the visa extension requirements of having the funds on deposit for two months there will be no problem obtaining the letter from the bank. I don’t see a problem if one is complying with Thailand’s immigration requirements.

Martyn ***********

@Dick *******

keep up mate... The Bangkok bank is saying the money has got to in there 3 months or no letter.. So you could be meeting the immigration requirements and you still don't get a letter for immigration proof...

John **********

it's to stop agents abusing the system in my view. I believe they will still give the letter but will freeze the money so it is in the account for 4 months

Martyn ***********

Bangkok Banks have been in on the 'abusing' in fact it was the preferred bank of many agencies... What gives the bank the authority to deal with immigration issues?

And you think it's OK for them to freeze your money? Your supposed to have the funds for emergency, by freezing funds you can't use it for its intended purpose. It's out of order and should be stopped..

Dick ********

they’re not “freezing your money” and refusing access to it.

Martyn ***********

@Dick *******

you've to have i there and not take it out.. Isn't that freezing your cash?

Dick ********

Its the bank’s way of fighting corruption, no? I’d switch banks if I wasn’t happy.

John **********

I'll say it one last time, the bank are not dealing with immigration issues. They are dealing with their own issues

Martyn ***********

and I'll say it one more time... It's an immigration letter that they are putting extra requirements on by holding your money.... I'll say it slowly... IMMIGRATION..... Hence it's an IMMIGRATION... issue.

John **********

no its a BANK LETTER albeit addressed to immigration

Reply to

John **********

John ********

Once your first year is finished and you have completed the

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0 first year and then you have been paid in the

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for your 2nd year and then confirm it you will need to show the thai immigration office that you have done that you have to wait for the immigration office to say yes to you can continue the

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thb per month and you can also use the

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0thb in the bank account BUT don't touch the

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0thb until they have given you permission or the go ahead or you may have problems

Robert ********

First time must have

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0 for 2 months

Glenn *****

@Robert *******

yes, unfortunately, Immigration interprets it way

Reply to

Glenn *****

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

Your plan will not work. There are only 2 things you can use for the first 1-year extension.

1) 800,000 baht in your Thai bank account

2) Embassy certified income

Since the UK embassy does not provide income certification, you are left with option 1.

Steve *****

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

while your 800k is in the account, you start depositing 65k monthly. Once your extension is due you get the bank to show your monthly deposit. Then you don't need the 800k in the account anymore

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

@Steve ****

yes but this person was talking about making deposits for a year before they even travel to Thailand so they expected to use that for the first year, but it's not possible

Reply to

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

Frangipani *******

For your first extension, you will have to use the 800,000 method. Normally two months before applying and 3 months after.

Some people have reported that some Bangkok Bank branches now require the funds to be deposited for longer than two months, otherwise they will not issue you the certificate.

Please check with your local Immigration Office as well as your local bank branch.