Update on Retirement Visa supported by transfers using Wise App.
A couple weeks back I lodged a question to the group concerning how to show the required 65,000 baht monthly influx of foreign funds into my Thai bank account.
I was concerned because I had been using the Wise (formerly “TransferWise”) money transfer app which does not actually involve a transfer of money directly from my American bank into my Thai bank account. Instead, Wise uses local partners such as Kasikorn Bank or Deemoney, who then transfer the money domestically into my local bank account. I did not know to use the “funds for long stay in Thailand” option when choosing a reason for the transfer. As a result, not one of my transfers into the country appeared as foreign transfers on my one-year statement for Bangkok BANK. In addition, I never sent 65,000 baht in one lump sum, although that amount was reached cumulatively over the course of each month in several tranches as the need arose.
The summary consensus view from the comments made in reply to my questions was that I had no chance of renewal because I had done everything wrong: I used Wise, I didn’t choose the right reason for the transfer, I didn’t transfer in lump sum payments in regular intervals, and so forth.
I am happy to report that there were absolutely no issues today when I receive my one-year extension with multiple reentry permit from the Chiang Mai immigration office.
I provided immigration with confirmation letters from Deemoney and Kasikorn bank that the (38!) money transfers originated from my American bank. To facilitate their work, I provided them with the transfer confirmations I downloaded from my account on the Wise website which indicated the date of the transfer, the amount, and the identity of the local partner. Kasikorn bank was able to produce the necessary letter in about 90 minutes. It took Deemoney about 36 hours to deliver the letter to me. It took 7 days for Bangkok BANK to produce the one-year statement. But armed with that statement and the confirmation letters from the two Wise local partners, I spent less than an hour in the immigration office before I was given back my passport with the requested 1-year Visa renewal and multiple re-entry permit.
While I appreciate the thoughtful comments by those who gave a pessimistic prognosis of my chances, my advice is to use what you read on Facebook as a guide to what the issues may be, but do not be deterred simply on that basis. The immigration office in my case acted promptly and professionally without any punctilious attention to nits that some thought might derail the process. Yay for them.
