@John *********

Ouch, having them issue an income statement affidavit is harder that dealing with immigration!

The last time I was there to ask about this they said they wanted to see documentation showing that the interest on my RRSPs showed more than 40K per month income ... (I'm not drawing from my Canadian pension yet since it continues to increase every year until I'm 70, so I'm using my private RRSPs and savings which does not have that kind of interest associated with it.)

Once I start drawing my Canadian pension the documentation for that will more than cover their requirement, but it seems saving and RRSPs (similar to 401Ks for Americans) have higher 'standards' for showing income (ie. pulling 65K out every month from my savings & RRSP is not good enough, they want to see evidence that my saving and RRSPs are earning me 40K/moth interest?)

@Will ***********

Thanks, Yeah I should be good on that front since I've been doing transfers for almost 3 years now. I was just wondering if the Chiang Mai immigration office would have different rules or if switching over from 400K in the bank to monthly deposits (more than 12 consecutive) would raise any special 'alarms'?

So I can assume that the 400K OR 40K/mth is a 'rock-solid' rule (as 'rock-solid' as any immigration rule is likely to be!?) and either one is just as good as the other as far as immigration is concerned and shouldn't expect any issues as long as the monthly deposits meet the requirements?

I will be using an agent, but last time I asked this question of them they seem to just brush the question aside and said don't worry, you have the 400K (I don't think they understood the question I was asking, so I didn't push it.)

Oh, a secondary question ... I use 'Wise' money transfer, and use the 'long stay' option when transfering to Bangkok Bank from Canada ... anyone have any issue with Bangkok Band and these transfers being verified as from a foreign source?

@Graham *****

Not an option I would want to have to use, but thanks for the info just in case I ever find myself between in a dire situation! ;-)

@Roberto ********

lol ... no, I assumed we meant for a 90 day report or normal immigration 'stuff'.

If my agent came to me and asked for money for a bribe I'd be getting a different agent (just use them for getting my original Visa and yearly renewal ... just to save the hassle of filling out the paperwork and getting the right number of copies and stack them in the order that the immigration officer likes to see them in) I'd get a new agent.

On rereading your post I had read it as using a Visa agent was against the law, but I see now you meant that a lot of people who use visa agents do so to help them get away with breaking some part of the immigration law that might disqualify them for the visa.

Personally I have enough difficulty getting them to answer any questions I have on legitimate stuff, I would die of a nervous breakdown if I had to count on them to do something 'illegal' for me!! (ex. I keep both the min balance in my bank account and make sure I transfer at least the min monthly amount as well, because I can't get them to give me a straight answer as to whether the local immigration office would have any issues with just using the monthly income ... they give me a blank stare and pretend I didn't even ask, look at my bank statements and see the balance and say I don't need to worry about it .... yeah, but I didn't ask if I should 'worry', I asked if I needed to keep the min balance or is the monthly income enough!! ... anyway, more blank stares, so I keep saying, okay, doesn't matter, I'll deal with this next year!! LOL)

Ah, thanks ... looks to be different for the Australian embassy/consulate (unless this is something new ... I'll check the Canadian site, but I was just curious. I'm already on an 0, so I don't need it, but I do have a buddy considering retirement to Thailand, this might save him some expensive insurance money if he decided to retire here.)

@Roberto ********

How did you get an non-O outside the country? Is this something special for Australians? My experience is that it's O-A if you apply outside Thailand and O if you convert inside of Thailand!?

@Roberto ********

using a visa agent is against the law?

@Lisa *******************

Not if he's late ... he'll have to show up at an immigration office .. bring 2000 Baht, for the fine.

I got my O renewed last Aug through and agent, then waited 30 days to get the final stamp. I asked the agent if I needed to do the 90 days counting from Aug, or Sept when I got the final stamp in my passport ... she told me 30 days from Sept, so I go online in Dec, 2 weeks before I thought it was due and discovered I was more than 2 weeks late ... online checkin just said rejected, go see an officer at your local immigration office!

It was no big deal, they just said, yeah, you're late ... I tried to explain why, but I Don't think they cared either way, didn't seem a big deal to them either ... told me the fine was 2000 Baht, and to fill in the 90 day reporting form. While I went across the street to find an ATM the officer actually filled in the form for me, and when I got back (told me to come to the front of the line when I got back) he took my money, had me sign the form, added the new checkin paper to my passport and I was on my way!

Did my next 90 day online with no issues!

If you pretend you're blind when you're walking into the shopping center the guy at the Stoner Street Kiosk might not pressure you into buying some ... I believe there's still some red light intersections where you can still get a 'kilo' of pineapple. ;-)