CLARITY, PLEASE

A clear statement From Thai Immigration, please! There has been a lot of talk recently, most of it incomplete, ill-informed, alarmist or confused, about Thai Immigration’s recent bid to tighten up the rules requiring expatriates on either marriage or retirement visas to show that they have the required funds.

For a retirement visa or extension (marriage visa figures in brackets), the requirement is 800,000 (400,000) baht deposited three months prior to renewal in a Thai bank account or a verified income of 65,000 (40,000) baht a month. The deposit route isn’t changing, as I read it, with the verification being a letter from the bank.

The monthly income route is the issue, as the British Embassy (and others) have said they cannot comply with Thai Immigration’s verification requirements and are therefore ceasing to issue letters of verification of income from mid-December. This is odd as one has to provide proof of income — P60 and/or original pension letter — when one applies to the embassy. It would seem, however, that the issue is less one of proof of income as proof of that income being remitted to Thailand. But this is what the embassies have said and we as expatriates will have to work round it.

With that in mind, may I on behalf of expatriates here on retirement or marriage visas, ask Thai Immigration for a clear, concise and unequivocal statement of its requirements on this matter? Is the monthly income route being discontinued and, if not, where is the verification to come from and what must it consist of?

Perhaps such a statement might be made via the columns of the two English language newspapers in the kingdom? I am certain that not just expatriates would be grateful for such a statement, but regional Thai Immigration offices would be as well, to avoid them being besieged by hundreds of farang all asking the same questions!

In hope, if not expectation.

Col (Retd) Johnny Thoyts