@Nick ***********

oK. Thanks. It seems that it’s a visa-specific thing. If your visa doesn’t require a Thai bank account, then I take it that the characterization of the transfers won’t matter.

@Nick ***********

can you explain the significance for those of us who don’t know?

Another option that lets you get away from your US cell phone for 2FA is to use an authentication app like Microsoft or Google Authenticator. They work great, but not every financial institution uses them. However, between email, authentication apps and Google Voice, I no longer need my US number when I’m overseas Of course some financial institutions may still require a regular home country phone number if they use txt-only authentication.

May be the requirements are different for the visa you want, but for the LTR visa, here are things that were useful to prove retirement income:

(1) copies of tax returns (2 most recent years) showing your pension income or (2) copies of an official tax forms (2 most recent years) reported to you and the government indicating your pension income (2 most recent years). I also had a letter from my former employer stating the amount of my pension benefit. The letter was not necessary and was NOT sufficient without other documentation. If the tax documents were not available yet they accepted 12 months of bank statements showing the monthly deposits. Regarding the bank statements, I also provided a cover letter with a summary spreadsheet giving the date of each deposit, the amount deposited and the name of the payor so they could easily match up that information with the bank statements. The letter detailed any discrepancies between the nominal benefit amount and the actual deposit for routine things like tax withholding.

@Roberto ********

what a silly comment. 😅

@Roberto ********

there’s nothing normal about what the Thai folks have proposed.

@Roberto ********

that’s why this concept is so stupid.

@Josh ********

even savings must have been income at some point.

For what it’s worth, the airlines ask for the onward ticket to protect themselves from the cost of having to return you to your starting point if the destination country rejects you. In most cases, if the airline asks to see an onward ticket, you can offer to sign an indemnity against the costs of taking you back. That has always worked for me, though it never came up re Thailand.

I have a US passport, am over age 60 and travel with a suitcase rather than a backpack. I’ve never been asked for an onward ticket in any of my dozens of trips to Thailand regardless of the airline and regardless of the country I’m departing from.