Renewal of Retirement extension / 90 day Report

[avvocato]

Yes.  My old company from which I retired has an employee service center online.  Any time that I wish to get a letter of confirmation of my pension benefits, I can request.  It goes to my sister's house (I use it as my US address), and she scans and sends to me.

Frank or Savannah:
Another question. Did you have a certified Thai translation attached to the copy of the original letter? Thanks again.
Fred

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[fceligoj]

No.  She only asked for supporting data.

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[fceligoj]

Figured this would be as good a place as any to provide this happening.  Not sure if anyone else has come up with this problem and the 'solution' Khon Kaen Immigration required.

About two weeks ago (about 8-9 Oct 2019), a friend (from UK) went to renew his retirement extension.  He has been using TransferWise for his 'international' transfers.  Seem like one of the early transfers did not show 'from abroad'  but the normal 'local transfer.'  IMM would not accept it at face value (even with the TransferWise receipt) and refused to process the extension as is.

He was with his Thai gf and they tried to negotiate with whomever at Immigration and had a continuing conversation on what did they have to do to process it.

Well, of course Immigration came up with a solution.  Since this is the first time doing the 65K baht transfers per month where there was only one month with the problem, they would accept a 10,000 baht fee to proceed with the extension.

We now know what is required if an expat has this issue.

Another story.

Another friend (Aussie) uses a service in Bangkok, very expensive, to process the extensions for him.  They do all the work.  AND he is NOT required to have funds in a Thai Bank!  (Guess it must be a huge fee to process with this approach.)

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[Rex (Admin)]

Thanks for posting this, Frank. It is very disappointing that KK IMM chooses to be so strict about this (at least as it pertained to your friend). Especially disappointing as this is the first year people have had to demonstrate these deposits and an Imm Official said that they would show leniency the first year as people might have a problem getting the transfers set up and working properly.

I have read on another forum that agents are providing the service you describe for between B12K-14K. However, in those cases, the renewal is filed in Jomtien or in another Imm office which, of course, creates it's own set of complications and risks. With one, you can do it by mail.  With the one who reports in Jomtien, you have to be in Pattaya for a few days to file and then personally collect the visa.  The is one person who will apply locally which solves the above problems, but the fee is much higher, B20K.  Still, might come out the same considering a trip to Pattaya.  I posted this info a couple of weeks ago. If anyone has any questions, don't ask me about it. Contact the e-mail addy and get a call back. There are several lengthy threads about it on ThaiVisa.com.

My Thai Visa
Khon Kaen
som@mythaivisa.com

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[Rex (Admin)]

Just as an addendum, I don't mean to sound mysterious about any of this, just trying to exercise good judgement and common sense as pertains to myself and this website. The fact of the matter is, however,  that these several agents are operating completely out in the open, they have offices, they advertise, they are not at all coy about what they offer, and have been doing this for a long time. Considering that these agents might be providing some services that might be improper, how can the operate so openly?  I don't really have an answer for that except the cliche "This is Thailand."

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[russell17au]

First off, I am on a marriage extension and have never used any agents. I do know of agents here in Khon Kaen who do everything and you do not need the money in the bank but it costs 19000 baht. The big risk is that if anything goes wrong then you have no kick back. It is a risk if you use an agent to do your extensions. If anyone wants the contact details of the agent then post on here and I will get a contact for you

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[fceligoj]

90-Day Report - in and out in less than 7 minutes.  Even though 4 I/O's at their desks, only one working early (0835) and was just finishing up with a farang.  There two other individuals waiting for something more 'complex' than a 90-Day Report had to wait.

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[Savannah20]

Just a few minutes ago I did the online process for the 90 day report.


https://extranet.immigration.go.th/fn90online/online/tm47/TM47Action.do


New twist this time. I filled in the required info and hit the submit button. Instant approval. Printed out the form, which indicates I need to do it again in Feb 2020, to staple in my passport.  The instant approval was the new twist.

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[Reuben]

Just attempted the online 90 day reporting.  After I completed the forum and entering submit I got a message that said "contact the immigration branch office in our residence area".

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[Rex (Admin)]

Renewed my retirement extension today. Arrived Imm 11:53 am, out the door 12:18 pm, 25 minutes total.  The agent took care of everything while I sat and waited in the peanut gallery. The only actual contact I had with an I/O was briefly to have my picture took, after which she told me to return to the peanut gallery and think about my sins. Did my 90 Day at the same time.

The process leading up to that began at 9:00 with the agent picking me up at my house and taking me to her office to sort out documents. That would have been brief except that some clients had arrived ahead of me unexpectedly and delayed things for awhile. Then a couple of trips to the bank and one comic error (What would Thailand be without a comic error or two?)  Attempting to withdraw funds from my account, they noticed that I had not signed my bank book. The explanation for that seems to be that you sign the book with a pressure sensitive overlay that transfers signature to the book. The best guess was that I didn't sign with enough pressure to transfer the signature, and the woman who opened my account didn't notice. I remember that it was hectic in the bank that day and we had a lot of business to transact. In any event, that necessitated an unscheduled trip to my home Sri Chan branch to get a new bank book. Then, onward to Imm to get the renewal.

I have had immigration on my mind more this year than the previous 20 I have lived in Thailand. Probably more than the previous 20 combined, and I have have not enjoyed the process very much at all. Although this year, I have used TransferWise to transfer nearly B900K, I am unable to show 12 monthly deposits, hence the need for an agent this year. I suspect that next year--should I decided to remain in Thailand, which I probably will--I will have all of my ducks in a row and can do this on my own again.  However, it is nice to know that agent services are available if you need them.

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[avvocato]

I renewed my retirement extension on Tuesday - Nov. 12. It didn't go smoothly. I had all the paperwork for the 65,000 baht per month method as previously identified in this thread. When I was called to desk No. 2, I stated I wanted to renew using this monthly method. When the I/O went through the paperwork, she wanted to see the certification from my bank that I had 800,000 baht in for the last three months. I again said I want to use the 65,000 baht method. In the course of the conversation it was apparent sent didn't understand (or wasn't going to do this) because she kept asking for a "certification" from the bank. (what I had was the bank "official" one year bank statement that showed monthly foreign transfers of over 65,000 baht.) It soon became obvious that the only way I was going to get renewed was with the 800,000 baht method. Either she didn't understand or she did and was pushing me into that direction. Luckily I had this balance in my bank (I didn't want to dip below this not knowing how Imm. was going to handle the 65,000 monthly method). So in the end I went to a bank branch office and got the 800,000 certification /statement, returned to Imm. and got the renewal.
I didn't really want to argue with her about why she wasn't OK with the one year bank statement showing the 65,000 per month, so I took the path of least resistance, since I also met the criteria for the 800,000 lump-sum method.
Just be aware that you might have to find the right I/O, to use the 65,000 per month method.

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[Rex (Admin)]

Thanks for the report, Avvocato.  I am almost disappointed that you had the B800K in the bank  as it would be important to know what would have happened if you didn't have it. Really sorry to hear about your experience.

It is pretty clear that the process will no longer provide a sense of security that if you follow the rules you can relax and plan ahead for at least for another year.  Whether it is by design or just the way things are shaking out, the feeling of being unwelcome is becoming more and more palpable. Maybe we have always been unwelcome, but years ago the desire for foreign currency produced those phony-baloney smiles and a small measure of tolerance.

One of the important morals of your story is to make it a point to renew the full 45 days prior to your expiry date. That way, you have some time to take corrective measures if something goes wrong.

Terry or somebody:  What is the correct procedure in a situation like Avvocato's where you feel like you are in the right and have a legitimate gripe with the way your case is being handled by the I/O? Is there any appeal?  Can you ask to speak to the boss?  Is there any way to have the I/O's decision reviewed?

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[russell17au]

Well, Rex, I am off to Savannakhet to get a Multi Entry Marriage visa because I went to desk #1 to renew my marriage extension on 11 November on the income system and it was refused even thou I had all the correct paperwork, But like avvacato he was pushing for the certification letter from the bank. I think that they are trying to push us to go via an agent or they are only interested in the seasoned money in the bank system. There is an appeal system but how long does it take for that? We could end up on overstay be the time the appeal is heard. With the marriage system at least a person can go to Savannakhet and get a 1 year visa but it means that every 90 days you have a day out and do a border run but this visa can be good for 15 months if you do it right

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[Rex (Admin)]

Thanks for the report, Russell.  What a bummer!  We have been through enough pain getting these TransferWise transfers sorted out so that they show as foreign transfers, jumped through all the hoops, and now are refused an option clearly provided by Imm law.  Can others post their experiences here, please.   I am going to raise this on ThaiVisa and see if we can get additional info.

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[Henry]

 Just did my retirement extension. In and out in 15 minutes. 15 years ago, an IO at Nong Khai, said I should just park 800k in a bank account and leave it there. ( I guess she was assuming that wouldn't be a problem for any falang). I didn't have it, so my wife took 800k out of her US 401k pension and gave it to me. What a sweetheart! So I put it in a fixed account and never had a problem with extensions.


 I'm sure they prefer the 800k method because it's a lot easier for them. Less paperwork and all done on the spot.


 This year, I was waiting to see if they were going to tell me to bring in a bank statement with my next 90 day report to check that I still have the money in the bank. No mention of it at all.


 Also, I've never been asked for a TM30. I have one, but I'm not about to offer it if not asked. From what I've heard, they usually ask if the wife is also present. I always go alone. They have never asked about the wife before, but this time the IO asked if I came alone. I said yes and then at the end he asked why my wife didn't come. Not sure what was on his mind.

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