IMMIGRATION BANK ACCOUNTS

[stuhan]

What is it with immigration, i have been informed now you must have have a Bangkok bank acc only, i do not want to change my bank that i have had for 7yrs.

Is this true ???

[Rookiescot]

Which immigration told you this?

[Faz]

Nonsense, who told you that?

The account must be in your sole name, and with a bank in Thailand.
It's written in the Immigration orders.

Amend 138-2557 (2014 ) clause 2.18-2.22 for Thai bank income ENG.pdf

[stuhan]

17 hours ago, stuhan said:

What is it with immigration, i have been informed now you must have have a Bangkok bank acc only, i do not want to change my bank that i have had for 7yrs.

Is this true ???

I also don't want two bank accounts, forgot to add that.

[Pinetree]

19 hours ago, stuhan said:

What is it with immigration, i have been informed now you must have have a Bangkok bank acc only, i do not want to change my bank that i have had for 7yrs.

Is this true ???

No, its not true. Mine is SCB, never an issue so long as you have the 800K locked in. 

[Chaimai]

21 hours ago, stuhan said:

 

Is this true ???

 

 

No!

[stuhan]

On 3/17/2023 at 2:11 PM, Rookiescot said:

Which immigration told you this?

My agent in chon buri who does all my paperwork with immigration due to my health

[Mamachigawa]

Rubbish

[KaptainRob]

26 minutes ago, stuhan said:

My agent in chon buri who does all my paperwork with immigration due to my health

One might postulate a commission being offered by a certain bank for each 'extension' deposit transferred to said bank, though I'm sure an agent wouldn't stoop that low 

[stuhan]

29 minutes ago, KaptainRob said:

One might postulate a commission being offered by a certain bank for each 'extension' deposit transferred to said bank, though I'm sure an agent wouldn't stoop that low 

My thinking too

[longwood50]

On 3/17/2023 at 1:54 PM, stuhan said:

What is it with immigration, i have been informed now you must have have a Bangkok bank acc only, i do not want to change my bank that i have had for 7yrs.

Is this true ???

No it is not true.  You must have an account with a Thailand bank.  Now with that said, I have had an account with Bangkok Bank for the past 5 years.  If you are using the 800,000 baht method any of them would work.  If you use monthly deposits it is my understanding that only two banks Kasikorn, and Bangkok bank show the deposits in the bank book as foreign transfers.  

Bangkok bank takes 1 week to get the required one year bank statement, and then you must request a letter detailing by month each of the transfers which of course can not be prepared until the statement arrives meaning you may or may not be able to get it same day.   

To eliminate that nuisance next year I opened an account at Kasikorn Bank which tells me that they give the 1 year statement and letter same day.  Only certain branches though.  In Pattaya only Pattaya Klang Branch. 

 

[Faz]

5 hours ago, longwood50 said:

If you use monthly deposits it is my understanding that only two banks Kasikorn, and Bangkok bank show the deposits in the bank book as foreign transfers.  

Your understanding is incorrect.
Only branches of Bangkok bank show the transfers in the passbook as foreign transfers.
Kasikorn list them as local/domestic transfers, and you need to request a credit advice receipt as proof of an international transfer, or a HQ statement, unless you bank at the HQ.
 

5 hours ago, longwood50 said:

Bangkok bank takes 1 week to get the required one year bank statement, and then you must request a letter detailing by month each of the transfers which of course can not be prepared until the statement arrives meaning you may or may not be able to get it same day. 

A request for a statement from HQ usually takes up to 5 days, but they can print them while you wait.
Not all branches of banks are prepared to draft a letter detailing just the month by month transactions.
They are clearly detailed on a statement.

[Chaimai]

On 3/17/2023 at 1:54 PM, stuhan said:

What is it with immigration, i have been informed now you must have have a Bangkok bank acc only, i do not want to change my bank that i have had for 7yrs.

Is this true ???

 

Can I ask if you have money in the bank for the extension (normal charge 8,500 Baht)  or is the agent using 'their money' (normal cost 12,500 Baht).

 

In the latter case I have heard that a Bangkok Bank account is required to facilitate money in, money out.

 

Note: If it is a requirement, it is a requirement of the agent. Immigration would not insist on a specific bank if you have your own funds.

[longwood50]

3 hours ago, Faz said:

A request for a statement from HQ usually takes up to 5 days, but they can print them while you wait.
Not all branches of banks are prepared to draft a letter detailing just the month by month transactions.
They are clearly detailed on a statement.

I have now done it for 4 years.  The short statement 6 month or less they can print while you wait.  The 12 month statement takes up to 1 week.  Now they can't prepare the letter until the 12 month statement arrives so that means you get the joy of either waiting while they prepare it, or as I have had, you get yet again another trip to the bank.

I hope next year Kasikorn is really being truthful and that they can prepare the 12 month statement and the letter as you wait.  That said, it is only the Pattaya Klang office in Pattaya that indicates they can do that. 

 

[Faz]

18 minutes ago, longwood50 said:

I have now done it for 4 years. 

I've done it for 10 years and on behalf of disabled expats.

19 minutes ago, longwood50 said:

The short statement 6 month or less they can print while you wait.  The 12 month statement takes up to 1 week. 

Even you can print a 6-month statement off online. The 12-month statements come from HQ and can be printed immediately if a staff member knows the password for the HQ accounts.
This is a case of not what you know, but who you know.

I've requested HQ statements previously and known them take 3–5 days usually, but I've also had them printed while I waited.

24 minutes ago, longwood50 said:

Now they can't prepare the letter until the 12 month statement arrives so that means you get the joy of either waiting while they prepare it, or as I have had, you get yet again another trip to the bank.

There is no requirement for a detailed letter itemising your monthly transfers under Immigrations orders. That's a quirk of an incompetent official who wants the bank to do his work for him.
I know exactly which kind of letter you're referring to;

Immigration orders specifically state;
2) Evidence showing pension - a letter of certification on deposit in the bank in Thailand and bank statement showing money transfer from overseas every month for the past 12 months.
Amend 138-2557 (2014 ) clause 2.18-2.22 for Thai bank income ENG.pdf 

Absolutely nowhere does it state the bank should pull off your monthly transfers and detail them in a separate letter. Once and only once did Immigration request such a letter and the bank rang them and basically said, "No, learn to read a bank statement".

[stuhan]

12 hours ago, Chaimai said:

Can I ask if you have money in the bank for the extension (normal charge 8,500 Baht)  or is the agent using 'their money' (normal cost 12,500 Baht).

In the latter case I have heard that a Bangkok Bank account is required to facilitate money in, money out.

Note: If it is a requirement, it is a requirement of the agent. Immigration would not insist on a specific bank if you have your own funds.

Yes i pay my agent to do the extension

[Chaimai]

3 hours ago, stuhan said:

Yes i pay my agent to do the extension

 

So you have money in the bank and you pay the lower rate to the agent just for processing the extension...

 

Then, "NO",  they (Immigration, the agent or anybody else) cannot insist on using a BKB bank account.

[TWS60]

You've got the idea already, no requirement for Bangkok Bank specifically; I've always used Krungsi for the annual money in the bank Immigration dog and pony show.  Tend to agree with previous rationale that your agent's bank "hook up" connection is probably at Bangkok Bank. 

-----

A symptom of a corrupt 3rd/Developing World country steeped in bureaucratic processes, paper work and official stamps, is secondary layers of verification and guarantees to verify and guarantee the already verified and guaranteed underlying data/info.   Thais know how bent they are, or can be, and there's plenty of precedent to not take things at face value - from watches and handbags, to bank books and Johnny Walker Black. 

Verify and guarantee the data and info at origin.  Prepare a consolidated letter saying it has been.  When that gets fiddled with, along comes another layer of redundant checks, often inconsistent between various Immi Office and provinces until HQ does a memo. 

Honest Joe farangs sit in the middle sucking up the growing administrative check list while the dodgy players simply find new ways to get around it.... until the next time Big Joke rocks up with his axe and blow torch.

[Golden-Triangle]

I have a Kasikorn account, last time I went to immigration I was informed that I needed a BKK account, no problem, I opened a BKK account and deposited 1000 Baht, every now & then I spend that 1000 and transfer a new one, all good. We all know how they like to jerk us around, just roll with the blows.

 

[longwood50]

19 hours ago, Faz said:

Even you can print a 6-month statement off online. The 12-month statements come from HQ and can be printed immediately if a staff member knows the password for the HQ accounts.
This is a case of not what you know, but who you know

Perhaps you are correct and I always found it strange why they would be able to do things electronically but somehow printing a statement was something only Bangkok could do.  One way or another, I have gone to multiple branches of Bangkok Bank.  1. I was told repeatedly that only Bangkok could produce the 12 month statement 2. That only the office that I opened the account at could request the 1 year statement ( I know that is untrue because I went to one of the other offices last year who ordered it for me) 3. The detailed letter was something mandated by immigration in Chonburi this year.  He would not accept anything other than that. 

So I could argue with the bank argue with immigration which neither gets me anywheres or I can surrender open an account with Kasikorn that says they can do both same day as I wait.  I took the point of least resistance and opened my Kasikorn account and made my first transfer to Kasikorn already this month. 

[Faz]

4 hours ago, longwood50 said:

Perhaps you are correct and I always found it strange why they would be able to do things electronically but somehow printing a statement was something only Bangkok could do. 

What many people fail to realise, is only the HQ of banks have a SWIFT code, therefore overseas transactions will always be received by the HQ office, before they then forward it to the local branches.
Bangkok banks HQ 'tag' the transfers to the local branches, hence they are coded FTT (Foreign Telex Transfer) in the passbook. Other banks HQ's do not 'tag' the transfers to local branches, hence they are coded as local/domestic transfers.

4 hours ago, longwood50 said:

1. I was told repeatedly that only Bangkok could produce the 12 month statement 2. That only the office that I opened the account at could request the 1 year statement ( I know that is untrue because I went to one of the other offices last year who ordered it for me) 

It's only the HQ statement that codes overseas transfers as 'International'.
Except for BKK, local branch statements do not code overseas transfers as 'International', hence other documentation such as a credit advice receipt is required.

5 hours ago, longwood50 said:

3. The detailed letter was something mandated by immigration in Chonburi this year.  He would not accept anything other than that. 

That's a rogue request and not listed in Immigration Orders.
In 2021, I applied for an extension on behalf of a disabled expat using the monthly transfer method, using a 12-month bank statement as evidence of the overseas transfers. The IO repeatedly stated he didn't earn enough, even though I highlighted the transfers, all over 65K.
He requested such a letter as you detailed, but on return to the bank, the manager flipped, rang Immigration and told them her staff had more important work to do than hand type written letters, when a statement provided all the details.
On returning to the Immigration office, they apologised, and another IO dealt with and approved the application. From what I gathered, the IO I initially dealt with, couldn't read English, so didn't understand a statement. The reason why he continually repeated 'not enough' was apparently because he'd been looking at the balance figures and not the deposit figures - incompetent.

[Faz]

5 hours ago, longwood50 said:

So I could argue with the bank argue with immigration which neither gets me anywheres or I can surrender open an account with Kasikorn that says they can do both same day as I wait.  I took the point of least resistance and opened my Kasikorn account and made my first transfer to Kasikorn already this month. 

Wouldn't Bangkok bank issue such a letter to satisfy your IO?

[longwood50]

11 hours ago, Faz said:

Wouldn't Bangkok bank issue such a letter to satisfy your IO?

Last year I went to a branch that was not the office I opened the account at.  They automatically did it despite the assertions that 12 month statements and such a letter could only be done at the branch the account was opened at.  

This year they repeatedly said they didn't do it, until I provided a sample from Chonburi immigration that clearly was on Bangkok bank stationary.  Now of course that letter could not be generated until the statement came in.  I went to the branch which is not close and of course now, was told I would have to come back yet again because such a letter would not be available until the next day.  I went to the office found that the letter did not detail the prior 12 months but rather 12 months ending on December 31, 2021 which would not be acceptable to immigration.  They did change it while I waited.  Now the end of the story is that when I got to immigration and presented the letter the immigration officer pointed out that though it was my name, the account number on the letter was not.  Hence another trip back to Pattaya Klang to correct that.  

In summary, after 4 years of dealing with this, I changed to Kasikorn. 

[longwood50]

11 hours ago, Faz said:

That's a rogue request and not listed in Immigration Orders.

As we all know what is written in Immigration Orders and what is required at various immigration offices is not the same.  As said, what was I to do, argue with him that the request was rogue and risk having "other errors" be found in my extension.  Was he being difficult, yes. But for all I know that was the request being made by the authorities in charge of Chonburi immigration. 

 

[Ivo_Shandor]

14 hours ago, Faz said:

Bangkok banks HQ 'tag' the transfers to the local branches, hence they are coded FTT (Foreign Telex Transfer) in the passbook. Other banks HQ's do not 'tag' the transfers to local branches, hence they are coded as local/domestic transfers.

It's only the HQ statement that codes overseas transfers as 'International'.
Except for BKK, local branch statements do not code overseas transfers as 'International', hence other documentation such as a credit advice receipt is required.

This is very interesting. 

Sorry if I ask for double-check, so whether one wants to show money in bank account to apply for certain non-o visas, and such money come from overseas,  the statement from bangkok bank is sufficient, whereas for other banks one will need that additional receipt, right?