Enormous shakeup of visa and immigration rules

Post by **Coot** » October 2, 2006, 10:16 pm

The thing to do is wait for the posts of those who are going to due renewels over the next three months or so.Wait for hard facts.

Post by **Bump** » October 2, 2006, 10:17 pm

The web site is the Ministry of foriegn affairs

If you read further down you will find the following note bold statement which makes life SOOOOO interesting

At the end of the one-year stay, the alien who wishes to extend his/her stay shall submit a request for the extended period at the Immigration Bureau with documented evidence of money transfer,
or a deposit account in the Kingdom, or an income certificate, at the
amount of not less than 800,000 Baht, or an income certificate plus
a deposit account at the total amount of not less than 800,000 Baht a
year. Extension for one year at a time will be granted to this group of
people as long as they meet the requirements as earlier stated and is
at the discretion of the Immigration officer.

Again I would point out tht these changes are recent and a review of this site later would be a good idea.

Post by **Dakoda** » October 2, 2006, 10:20 pm

rickfarang wrote:2 x 800 k = 1.6 million. But in theory, you could just put 800k into the bank and leave it there

and live off your rich wife

it use to be, that they want to see that you used the monies to live on, and new monies needed to come from outside the country for the next year.

it's to soon to know, so its just something in a newspaper, so it should be taken with a grain of salt

Post by **Bump** » October 2, 2006, 10:23 pm

Coot is absolutely right we have to wait for this thing to shake out a bit before we know, but it is good to know that monitoring the situatuion is a good idea.

Oh I did check out Thai Visa you think we had somethings to say wow.,I would venture to say cooler heads here.

Post by **Bump** » October 2, 2006, 10:56 pm

Current posting on the immigration site
http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/en/base.php

Application for further stay for an alien husband who supports a wife who is Thai citizen or who is a permanent resident of the Kingdom of Thailand
Required Documents
Immigration Form 7
Copy of passport
A 4 cm. X 6 cm. Photograph
A 1,900 baht application fee
Marriage Certificate
Birth Certificate (if any)
Financial evidence showing financial status of the husband
Bank account pass-book, personal bank statement of the account owner.
Evidence indicating income along with related documents. If receiving pension, a document of pension payment certified by the embassy or consulate of the country that pays pension is needed.
In case of working in Thailand, Work permit and evidence of tax payment are required.
Documents indicating Thai nationality or permanent residence of the wife such as identification card (ID), census registration address / residence identification, or passport (in case that the wife is a permanent resident)
A record of interviewing the applicant and his wife.
Applicant must accompany his wife to the Immigration Bureau office to certify of all the documents. The couple will be able to confirm that they are still husband and wife.
Evidence certified by the applicant's embassy or consulate showing the applicant's marital status.
The officials reserve the rights to examine or ask for additional documents from the applicant if necessary.
Wife of Thai nationality:
TM. 7
Passport copy
Passport picture (4x6 cm)
Application fee 1,900.- Baht
Marriage certificate
House register and identification card of wife
Birth certificate of children (if any)
Interview record of applicant and wife
Applicant must accompany his wife to the Immigration Bureau office to certify of all the documents. The couple will be able to confirm that they are still husband and wife.
Financial documentation:
- Bank statement and copy of bank account showing at least 400,000.- Baht deposit
- Employment evidence, work permit, and tax documentation showing an income of at least 40,000.- Baht.
Wife permanent resident of Thailand:
TM. 7
Passport copy
Passport picture (4x6 cm)
Application fee 1,900.- Baht
Marriage certificate
Passport copy of wife, residence documents of wife
Birth certificate of children (if any)
Interview record of applicant and wife
Applicant must accompany his wife to the Immigration Bureau office to certify of all the documents. The couple will be able to confirm that they are still husband and wife.
Documentation of financial position of wife, such as
- Bank account
- Bank statement
- Employment evidence, salary statement, etc.
tax documents (if any)
The officer in charge reserves the right to request additional documents as needed.

Application for further stay to spend the remainder of life in the
Kingdom of Thailand
Required Documents
Immigration form 7 (Tor Mor 7)
Copy of passport
4 cm. X 6 cm. Photograph
1,900 baht application fee
Financial Evidence:
Bank account pass-book, bank statement
Evidence showing reception of pension accompanied with Thai translation certified by the embassy or consulate of the country paying the pension
Evidence presenting other sources of income or evidence of money transferred from overseas
In cases of having dependents (husband / wife, children), the applicant must provide evidence indicating their relationship. Evidence must be translated into Thai and be certified by the embassy or consulate of the non-Thai citizens.
Health Certificate for those who apply for further stay after Nov. 14, 2002.
The officials reserve the rights to examine or ask for additional documents, if necessary

Applications Consideration
A foreign national must be older than 50 years old.
Not be a prohibit person.
Financial documents state one of the following
A deposite of 800,000 baht at least , or
A minimum income of 65,000 baht a month , or
A deposite pluses (monthly income x 12) not less than 800,000 baht.
The Health Certificate must indicate that the applicant does not have the following serious conditions:
Leprosy
Turberculosis, TB
Elephantiasis, Filariasis
Drug addiction
Alcoholism
Syphilis

Post by **Bump** » October 5, 2006, 3:47 pm

Well I ran across the first annual visa renewal since Oct 1, posted on Thai Visa really seems to be business a usual, Just no request for the medical.

From Thai Visa:

Arrived at Immigration at 09:55 and got a number and renewal was completed at 10:20. This was my 6th renewal. Documentation that I had: Bankbook with B124,000 on deposit and letter from bank, letter from US embassy confirming income, application with photo and of course copies of pp and bankbook. No one asked me for the health certificate. Total cost: B3,300.

Post by **tennjed** » October 6, 2006, 10:18 pm

this sooooo reminds me of what Jame's has mentioned in the main discussion forum....

Post by **BKKSTAN** » October 8, 2006, 8:24 pm

This sounds odd to me,but a stickman viewer report from Pattaya Immigration:

Victim of the new visa rules.

I am pissed off! I just wasted a day applying for a year visa in Pattaya. I am 35, have lived here for 6 years, married over 4 and have a 3 year-old daughter. I went to Immigration today with all the required paperwork, marriage certificate, daughter's birth certificate, bank books, letter from bank etc. even took the wife and child with me. I have over 1,000,000 baht in the bank and have had for over 3 years, but the problem was, as of yesterday, a new rule, regardless of money in bank and the fact that you are married and have a child, you must show an income of at least 40,000 baht per month to qualify for a year visa, and if this income is from abroad then you must have a letter from your embassy verifying this. Others be warned, the goal posts are now being removed to ridiculous levels.

Post by **BKKSTAN** » October 8, 2006, 8:36 pm

Two more reports of visa runners on stickman:[quote]

A reader reports doing a visa run to Ban Lem, Cambodia last weekend where he saw they appear to have just built a swanky new border / immigration post, all set up with many windows and channels for the outgoing and incoming visa runners. The Cambodians take a different route. Now why would they spend so much and provide these facilities if a

Post by **Paul** » October 8, 2006, 9:47 pm

BKKSTAN wrote: This sounds odd to me,but a stickman viewer report from Pattaya Immigration:

Victim of the new visa rules.

I am pissed off! I just wasted a day applying for a year visa in Pattaya. I am 35, have lived here for 6 years, married over 4 and have a 3 year-old daughter. I went to Immigration today with all the required paperwork, marriage certificate, daughter's birth certificate, bank books, letter from bank etc. even took the wife and child with me. I have over 1,000,000 baht in the bank and have had for over 3 years, but the problem was, as of yesterday, a new rule, regardless of money in bank and the fact that you are married and have a child, you must show an income of at least 40,000 baht per month to qualify for a year visa, and if this income is from abroad then you must have a letter from your embassy verifying this. Others be warned, the goal posts are now being removed to ridiculous levels.

This is an extremely worrying tale at first read - it is a major change of the rules and (as yet) an unpublished requirement. However, what the author omits in his text is what kind of visa he is trying to extend. One imagines that with all the talk of being married and 'even taking his wife along - which is actually a requirement for a support Thai wife extension), that he is extending a 'marrige' visa - however it does not state this. He may in fact be extending a non imm B - (work) visa - in which case he does not satisfy the minimum salary requirement, which I believe is around 50,000 per month.

He may well have "been here for 6 years and married for 4", but it doesnt mean that he is extending a marriage visa.
Something is not right here and surely most applicants would fail if they wanted a lump sum AND a monthly income in order to extend.
I suspect there was an underlying reason here and its not quite as we first read it ??

Post by **john2005** » October 8, 2006, 9:59 pm

The mind boggles.However i do not give a lot of weight to a Stickman article,it's just a case of wait and see.

If he is extending an "o" visa for the first time then the new rule applies and he must have 40,000 a month proven income.Those who have an existing extention are grandfathered and can still use a bank balance of 400,000.

Post by **rickfarang** » October 8, 2006, 10:47 pm

It seems quite clear that the guy who failed to get the 1 year visa is very upset, but isn't telling the whole story.

Hmmmmm... I wonder if this grandfathering applies to retirement visas. I just chekced the document from Sunbelt, and they are now looking for 800K Baht for 3 months prior to renewal. Of course, I fall short by about one week.

I should be grandfathered in, right?
After all, I am a grandfather (three times over, going on four).

Post by **john2005** » October 8, 2006, 10:55 pm

As far as the three months goes it is up to the officer's discretion.I suggest you make sure you get squad leader Anan.

Post by **rickfarang** » October 8, 2006, 10:59 pm

Which office does Squad Leader Anan work in?

Post by **BKKSTAN** » October 9, 2006, 7:53 am

I agree with John,I wouldn't put to much stock in this reported PATTAYA experience.Bangkok is not having these experiences!

Post by **Paul** » October 9, 2006, 8:37 am

Unless the rules have changed and someone publishes this as an official document then the rule regarding finance is a lump sum OR a monthly income (or a combination of the two)
It is not - as far as I am aware, and until proven otherwise a lump sum AND a monthly income

For example - a lump sum of 400k OR a monthly income of 40K OR a lump sum of 200K and a monthly income of 20K

It is NOT a requirement to have 400K AND a monthly income of 40K

If anyone knows different - please speak up and link to the evidence.

Post by **BKKSTAN** » October 9, 2006, 8:47 am

Anytime there are changes to existing rules,the individual immigration offices and staff seem to have a hard time getting into sync.Remember when NK immigration used to have the rule ,actually posted on the wall,that you had to have the full amount in the bank and the monthly income!!
Of course,it wasn't true,but there was a long period of time before the problem was corrected and they got on the same page as Bangkok!

Post by **arjay** » October 9, 2006, 10:35 am

I totally agree with Paul's assessment. It's either or, not both.

I had the same situation with my Retirement Visa, when I went beforehand to AEK to check the up to date requirements, the younger guy there tried to tell me it was both (lump sum AND monthly income), despite handing me a proforma which said either or, or a combination.

Though when I subsequently went to Nong Khai, the Sqn Ldr guy looked at the bank book and letter but said nothing. I had the required monthly income, but only a modest amount invested.

It is a shame they can't all be singing from the same (pre published) hymn book!!

Post by **Bump** » October 9, 2006, 10:44 am

Oh I not only remember that sign I had to challenge it to get my first annual, didn't have the cash. I did it in a respectful manner, got the annual and more importantly was never singled or a treated badly, thereafter.

You know as to annuals I still have not found any changes on official Thai webs sites.

OK time to educate me, in order to qauilfy for the annual that we refere to as the retirement visa, married to a Thai (AKA support of a Thai), don't you still have to be 50 years old?

The guy in this situation as I recall was 34.

Post by **john2005** » October 9, 2006, 11:18 am

The guy is talking about a marriage visa i think and they are no longer available to new applicants with 400,000 in the bank.You have to show 40,000 baht a month income.No bank balance accepted.