Visa Extension based on Retirement 28.01.2019

Here is where we will consolidate all information about Thai visas and work permits (as they are closely related to the type and availability of your visa).
Vibration
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Visa Extension based on Retirement 28.01.2019

Post by Vibration » April 6, 2019, 9:32 am

On the 28.01.2019 I received my yearly Visa Extension based on Retirement with expiry date 26.02.2020 using the minimum 800000 THB in my Bangkok Bank account for the previous 3 months without any problems at all from Udonthani Immigration Office which has been the case for all previous extensions and they have always been very helpful.

After receiving this I then booked a holiday in the UK, bought Health Insurance for my Thai wife and myself and let the amount drop to approx 470000 THB which I normally do.

To my great shock after reading on Thai Visa I read about the new requirements from Visa Extensions based on Retirement starting 01.03.2019 stating that the money in the bank must not drop below 800000 for the first 3 months after being granted permission; myself and my wife then went back to Udonthani Immigration for clarification as to whether the new rules apply to extensions issued before 01.03.2019. We spoke to the Boss at Udonthani Immigration Office about this however at the time he was unable to provide any clarification at all regarding the new Rules.

Based on what has now happened I will now not let my money in the bank drop below 400000 and will get it above 800000 two months prior to the next extension.

Had I been informed of the rule changes from 01.03.2019 I would not have let the money drop below 800000 for the following 3 months.

This is creating a terrible stress for me such that I am seriously considering the 1000000 THB Thai Elite Visa for 20 years.

Has anybody had any similar experiences to my myself at Udonthani Immigration Office with retirement extensions done before 01 March 2019.

Good luck to all future Applicants for Visa Extensions.



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Stantheman
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Re: Visa Extension based on Retirement 28.01.2019

Post by Stantheman » April 6, 2019, 8:39 pm

Sounds like best bet is to put money in an account and just leave it alone completely, gaining a few baht interest, unless a dire emergency arises.

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sometimewoodworker
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Re: Visa Extension based on Retirement 28.01.2019

Post by sometimewoodworker » April 6, 2019, 9:12 pm

Vibration wrote:
April 6, 2019, 9:32 am
On the 28.01.2019 I received my yearly Visa Extension based on Retirement with expiry date 26.02.2020 using the minimum 800000 THB in my Bangkok Bank account for the previous 3 months without any problems at all from Udonthani Immigration Office which has been the case for all previous extensions and they have always been very helpful.

After receiving this I then booked a holiday in the UK, bought Health Insurance for my Thai wife and myself and let the amount drop to approx 470000 THB which I normally do.

To my great shock after reading on Thai Visa I read about the new requirements from Visa Extensions based on Retirement starting 01.03.2019 stating that the money in the bank must not drop below 800000 for the first 3 months after being granted permission; myself and my wife then went back to Udonthani Immigration for clarification as to whether the new rules apply to extensions issued before 01.03.2019. We spoke to the Boss at Udonthani Immigration Office about this however at the time he was unable to provide any clarification at all regarding the new Rules.

Based on what has now happened I will now not let my money in the bank drop below 400000 and will get it above 800000 two months prior to the next extension.

Had I been informed of the rule changes from 01.03.2019 I would not have let the money drop below 800000 for the following 3 months.

This is creating a terrible stress for me such that I am seriously considering the 1000000 THB Thai Elite Visa for 20 years.

Has anybody had any similar experiences to my myself at Udonthani Immigration Office with retirement extensions done before 01 March 2019.

Good luck to all future Applicants for Visa Extensions.
There is no problem with your current extension.
There is no requirement to keep any amount in the bank with your current extension.

It is only with an extension granted AFTER March the 1st 2019 that the new requirements come into force. They are not retroactive.

The new rules (if they are still active) will apply to you in 2020 not this year.

The speculation on if they will still be enforced is due to the new immigration head being transferred to an inactive post after only 7 months on the job. I have no special insight or information.
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sometimewoodworker
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Re: Visa Extension based on Retirement 28.01.2019

Post by sometimewoodworker » April 6, 2019, 9:16 pm

Stantheman wrote:
April 6, 2019, 8:39 pm
Sounds like best bet is to put money in an account and just leave it alone completely, gaining a few baht interest, unless a dire emergency arises.
Humm... my 400k is earning about ฿400 per month.
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kopkei
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Re: Visa Extension based on Retirement 28.01.2019

Post by kopkei » April 7, 2019, 5:47 am

i have done visa extension before march 01 , so the new rules don't affect me ,only starting next year (as stww said)...
i will go back to an extension based on marriage as i do not want to be taken hostage and forced to block money in a Thai bank ....(400.000 baht) ... ;)

Vibration
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Re: Visa Extension based on Retirement 28.01.2019

Post by Vibration » April 7, 2019, 8:59 am

Truly many thanks for all replies I am now a lot less stressed however I am still considering the 20 year Multiple Entry Thai Elite Visa for 1 million THB (50000 per year).

Good luck to all with your Visa Extensions of stay.

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Chriss
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Re: Visa Extension based on Retirement 28.01.2019

Post by Chriss » April 7, 2019, 10:08 am

I was told last month by Udon Immigration that there looks like a shake up of the marriage extension on the horizon due to the vast number of Expats moving from Retirement to Marriage extensions. There was a suggestion of aligning the financial with the retirement. As it was said to me " it is possible every person changing can take 400,000 bht away from Thailand " a lot of money the banks won't have to play with.....
But in light of Mr Joke no longer calling the shots we can only wait and see.

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Lone Star
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Re: Visa Extension based on Retirement 28.01.2019

Post by Lone Star » April 7, 2019, 10:36 am

Chriss wrote:
April 7, 2019, 10:08 am
I was told last month by Udon Immigration that there looks like a shake up of the marriage extension on the horizon due to the vast number of Expats moving from Retirement to Marriage extensions. There was a suggestion of aligning the financial with the retirement.

. . .
Since part of the reason for all of this is to prevent gaming the system, I won't be surprised if what you've posted comes to pass.

Rules are always made for rule-breakers, but they end up being an imposition for everyone.

Thanks for sharing that info!
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Re: Visa Extension based on Retirement 28.01.2019

Post by DuiDui49 » April 7, 2019, 10:50 am

If they could only get their act toghether..Make a overhaul for Marriage and Retirement,make easy for BOTH Immi.and us Expats.The more i read the regarding these "new"rules the more grey hair is added to to many already ;-)
-Yes,i understand now suddenly to many are applying /changing to Marriage VISA,and the workload on those checking this is overvelmed by the added workload..me guess.

Have a great Sunday Forums readers..:-)

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Re: Visa Extension based on Retirement 28.01.2019

Post by vincemunday » April 7, 2019, 4:53 pm

I'm pretty sure I've read that they're thinking about the increased financial requirements elsewhere too, does anyone have any concrete news about it or a link or is it just another rumour?
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Re: Visa Extension based on Retirement 28.01.2019

Post by sometimewoodworker » April 7, 2019, 6:12 pm

vincemunday wrote:
April 7, 2019, 4:53 pm
I'm pretty sure I've read that they're thinking about the increased financial requirements elsewhere too, does anyone have any concrete news about it or a link or is it just another rumour?
I have been reading everything I can and so far apart from talk about some changes to other extension categories than retirement being discussed and possibly being brought in there is nothing apart from rumours. I don't think that anyone has anything more than that.

That some change to deposit period may come in would not be surprising.

There are certainly wild rumours as there were about the retirement extension financials being doubled.
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Lone Star
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Re: Visa Extension based on Retirement 28.01.2019

Post by Lone Star » April 8, 2019, 5:32 am

Because Immigration has legitimate and sincere concern for the welfare and status of Thai Nationals, I am hesitant to think that they will put more financial restraints on expats with "marriage visas."

I think -- just a guess -- that there will be documentation hoops akin to providing that marriage certificate every time at renewal. However, that won't reduce the paperwork logjam for the officers.

As with anything else here in the LoS, anything can happen, and almost nothing that happens will be a surprise. We're used to it. There is one thing certain: those who were gaming the system created all of this.
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sometimewoodworker
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Re: Visa Extension based on Retirement 28.01.2019

Post by sometimewoodworker » April 8, 2019, 6:51 am

Lone Star wrote:
April 8, 2019, 5:32 am
Because Immigration has legitimate and sincere concern for the welfare and status of Thai Nationals, I am hesitant to think that they will put more financial restraints on expats with "marriage visas."

I think -- just a guess -- that there will be documentation hoops akin to providing that marriage certificate every time at renewal. However, that won't reduce the paperwork logjam for the officers.

As with anything else here in the LoS, anything can happen, and almost nothing that happens will be a surprise. We're used to it. There is one thing certain: those who were gaming the system created all of this.
The first paragraph is most likely to be what happens.

The last sentence completely true. Now those are, almost all, the ones who are complaining the loudest.
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Re: Visa Extension based on Retirement 28.01.2019

Post by vincemunday » April 8, 2019, 6:57 am

I think a raise in the financial requirement would be a real body blow to some, not everyone has 800,000 lying around, particularly those with kids and to be honest if they doubled the retirement requirement to 1,600,000 baht I'd consider moving to Laos or somewhere, having that kind of money sitting there doing nothing might be bit of a decider, different perhaps if the banks offered decent rates on long term deposits but that's not the case. I read about this "rumour" (as I hope it is) on a forum out of Pattaya but i can't find the source now, let's hope there is smoke without fire this time but of course this is the LoS and we are slowly but very surely becoming alienated and whether that's by design or not who knows?
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Re: Visa Extension based on Retirement 28.01.2019

Post by Lone Star » April 8, 2019, 7:06 am

vincemunday wrote:
April 8, 2019, 6:57 am
I think a raise in the financial requirement would be a real body blow to some, not everyone has 800,000 lying around, particularly those with kids and to be honest if they doubled the retirement requirement to 1,600,000 baht I'd consider moving to Laos or somewhere, having that kind of money sitting there doing nothing might be bit of a decider, different perhaps if the banks offered decent rates on long term deposits but that's not the case. I read about this "rumour" (as I hope it is) on a forum out of Pattaya but i can't find the source now, let's hope there is smoke without fire this time but of course this is the LoS and we are slowly but very surely becoming alienated and whether that's by design or not who knows?
Pretty much agree with all you have stated here. Especially the "rumor" part. This may have all grown out of an April Fool joke that I read on Thai Visa not long ago.

I think raising the amount for either of the two statuses would create a problem that is not the goal of Immigration. Ferreting out the "bad guys" was the mission. Raising the baht amount to such an exorbitant figure would be bad for everyone -- including Thailand. The Kingdom would lose too many of the "good guys" who have always followed the law, viewed their status here as guests and contribute in many good ways to the society.

You're right about having such a large amount of funds sitting there doing nothing. It would be unreasonable.
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Re: Visa Extension based on Retirement 28.01.2019

Post by kopkei » April 8, 2019, 8:32 am

one of the first things i learned after moving to Thailand, was was not to open the panic mower thai visa website anymore , lots of rubbish being told there making me worry unnecessary..., better go inform at the needed instances what is really applicable , the best thing one can do is post their own experience fe about visa extension and even that will not be the exact guideline for all others, being TIT ....best is to inform your self about what you need to do and not to follow all the rubbish spitting on some fora .... ;)

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Re: Visa Extension based on Retirement 28.01.2019

Post by Lone Star » April 8, 2019, 8:34 am

kopkei wrote:
April 8, 2019, 8:32 am
one of the first things i learned after moving to Thailand, was was not to open the panic mower thai visa website anymore , lots of rubbish being told there making me worry unnecessary..., better go inform at the needed instances what is really applicable , the best thing one can do is post their own experience fe about visa extension and even that will not be the exact guideline for all others, being TIT ....best is to inform your self about what you need to do and not to follow all the rubbish spitting on some fora .... ;)
My philosophy pretty much exactly. When in doubt, I go straight to my IO contact and ask.
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Re: Visa Extension based on Retirement 28.01.2019

Post by AlexO » April 8, 2019, 2:41 pm

My philosophy pretty much exactly. When in doubt, I go straight to my IO contact and ask.
[/quote]

I spoke to a fairly senior IO officer recently and he stated "Just marry her. There are no/will be no changes to the married visa requirements"

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Re: Visa Extension based on Retirement 28.01.2019

Post by DuiDui49 » April 8, 2019, 4:27 pm

AlexO wrote:
April 8, 2019, 2:41 pm
My philosophy pretty much exactly. When in doubt, I go straight to my IO contact and ask.
I spoke to a fairly senior IO officer recently and he stated "Just marry her. There are no/will be no changes to the married visa requirements"
[/quote]
I spoke to a fairly senior IO officer recently and he stated "Just marry her. There are no/will be no changes to the married visa requirements"
And just when we all read and don't understand why Mr.Big Joke himself is off to 20:th floor at RPT..and no one seems to know why...The you belive a farily senior IO officer telling you the above..Well i rest my case,and i hope you've got trustwordy information.More likely there will be some adjustment BOTH for MV and RT VISA's,me think
It seems that TiT will rule for another foreseeable future..Have a nice afternoon AlexO..:-)

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Re: Visa Extension based on Retirement 28.01.2019

Post by AlexO » April 8, 2019, 10:55 pm

I spoke to a fairly senior IO officer recently and he stated "Just marry her. There are no/will be no changes to the married visa requirements"
[/quote]
I spoke to a fairly senior IO officer recently and he stated "Just marry her. There are no/will be no changes to the married visa requirements"
And just when we all read and don't understand why Mr.Big Joke himself is off to 20:th floor at RPT..and no one seems to know why...The you belive a farily senior IO officer telling you the above..Well i rest my case,and i hope you've got trustwordy information.More likely there will be some adjustment BOTH for MV and RT VISA's,me think
It seems that TiT will rule for another foreseeable future..Have a nice afternoon AlexO..:-)
[/quote]

So far he has been correct, what more can one say. Glad Big Joke has been moved on as he was costing IO's big time. Same nonsense as that wonderfully thought out 'Under consideration for 30 days crap'.

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