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Immigration - why is nothing ever simple for me?


Jambo

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With Immigration closed tomorrow 13th October I had decided to visit today to present my bank book showing I still had the 800K lodged for the 90 days following my last Retirement Visa extension.

Anticipating that they might not accept me coming in a day early I called in last Friday and although they wanted me to come in on the 14th ( not convenient for me) they reluctantly agreed I could visit today, 12th October, one day short of the 90 days.

Their required list of items included "Update bank book" so my first stop was Krungsri Bank in Jomtien. I get a ticket from the man on the door and my number is immediately called so up I go the the cashier and politely ask:

"Can you please update for me?"

"You will need to make a transaction."

That made me pause for thought until the cashier suggests depositing 100 baht which I readily agree and hand over the said amount. He scans the book and says:

"Ah.... timed deposit account. Minimum deposit 1,000 baht."

Increasing 800,000 Thai baht even to 801,000 Thai baht sitting there earning virtually no interest is adding insult to injury but I count out another 900 baht and pass it to the cashier.

He puts my book into the piece of kit that prints the update. He takes the updated book, looks at it and his facial expression changes not for the better. He shows it to the cashier next to him and they both look at it for some time.

"What is the problem? "says I

He shows me the open page with the last entry which has printed kind of sideways mostly covering the previous entry which was the initial deposit of the 800,000 baht.

"Oh for fucks sake! " I say in despair.

Just give Immigration any excuse and they will grab it with open arms.

"You will have to reprint the entry showing the additional 1000 baht and the total of 801,000 baht." says I

A big stewards inquiry then takes place involving three members of bank staff who keep looking  alternately between the bank book and their computer terminal. Eventually a definitive answer:

" Cannot reprint that entry on the line below or on the adjacent page. Will have to move to the next two empty pages and then print that entry."

So that is what happened and they also printed an additional statement. I then went  to Immigration and much to my surprise was in and out in less than 5 minutes without them even making a comment.My blood pressure retreats to something near normal.

I am just going to use an Agent in future as I did recently on renewing my driving licenses. I have had enough of this aggravation . 😉

 

Edited by Jambo
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3 minutes ago, Jambo said:

am just going to use an Agent in future as I did recently on renewing my driving licenses. I have had enough of this aggravation . 😉

Which I have done always, everywhere...

Went to launch my yearly visa renewal this morning.

I'll maybe post something on that tmrw. 

 

 

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42 minutes ago, Jambo said:

With Immigration closed tomorrow 13th October I had decided to visit today to present my bank book showing I still had the 800K lodged for the 90 days following my last Retirement Visa extension.

Anticipating that they might not accept me coming in a day early I called in last Friday and although they wanted me to come in on the 14th ( not convenient for me) they reluctantly agreed I could visit today, 12th October, one day short of the 90 days.

Their required list of items included "Update bank book" so my first stop was Krungsri Bank in Jomtien. I get a ticket from the man on the door and my number is immediately called so up I go the the cashier and politely ask:

"Can you please update for me?"

"You will need to make a transaction."

That made me pause for thought until the cashier suggests depositing 100 baht which I readily agree and hand over the said amount. He scans the book and says:

"Ah.... timed deposit account. Minimum deposit 1,000 baht."

Increasing 800,000 Thai baht even to 801,000 Thai baht sitting there earning virtually no interest is adding insult to injury but I count out another 900 baht and pass it to the cashier.

He puts my book into the piece of kit that prints the update. He takes the updated book, looks at it and his facial expression changes not for the better. He shows it to the cashier next to him and they both look at it for some time.

"What is the problem? "says I

He shows me the open page with the last entry which has printed kind of sideways mostly covering the previous entry which was the initial deposit of the 800,000 baht.

"Oh for fucks sake! " I say in despair.

Just give Immigration any excuse and they will grab it with open arms.

"You will have to reprint the entry showing the additional 1000 baht and the total of 801,000 baht." says I

A big stewards inquiry then takes place involving three members of bank staff who keep looking  alternately between the bank book and their computer terminal. Eventually a definitive answer:

" Cannot reprint that entry on the line below or on the adjacent page. Will have to move to the next two empty pages and then print that entry."

So that is what happened and they also printed an additional statement. I then went  to Immigration and much to my surprise was in and out in less than 5 minutes without them even making a comment.My blood pressure retreats to something near normal.

I am just going to use an Agent in future as I did recently on renewing my driving licenses. I have had enough of this aggravation . 😉

 

I was never asked to go back to approve the funds the second time the first time when I renewed I was but when I renewed last year I was not given a letter telling me to go back and I was told not to bother. Regarding updating the bank book can't you do like I do it just put your passbook into the machine that automatically updates your account for that day with the balance?

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1 hour ago, Jambo said:

With Immigration closed tomorrow 13th October I had decided to visit today to present my bank book showing I still had the 800K lodged for the 90 days following my last Retirement Visa extension.

Anticipating that they might not accept me coming in a day early I called in last Friday and although they wanted me to come in on the 14th ( not convenient for me) they reluctantly agreed I could visit today, 12th October, one day short of the 90 days.

Their required list of items included "Update bank book" so my first stop was Krungsri Bank in Jomtien. I get a ticket from the man on the door and my number is immediately called so up I go the the cashier and politely ask:

"Can you please update for me?"

"You will need to make a transaction."

That made me pause for thought until the cashier suggests depositing 100 baht which I readily agree and hand over the said amount. He scans the book and says:

"Ah.... timed deposit account. Minimum deposit 1,000 baht."

Increasing 800,000 Thai baht even to 801,000 Thai baht sitting there earning virtually no interest is adding insult to injury but I count out another 900 baht and pass it to the cashier.

He puts my book into the piece of kit that prints the update. He takes the updated book, looks at it and his facial expression changes not for the better. He shows it to the cashier next to him and they both look at it for some time.

"What is the problem? "says I

He shows me the open page with the last entry which has printed kind of sideways mostly covering the previous entry which was the initial deposit of the 800,000 baht.

"Oh for fucks sake! " I say in despair.

Just give Immigration any excuse and they will grab it with open arms.

"You will have to reprint the entry showing the additional 1000 baht and the total of 801,000 baht." says I

A big stewards inquiry then takes place involving three members of bank staff who keep looking  alternately between the bank book and their computer terminal. Eventually a definitive answer:

" Cannot reprint that entry on the line below or on the adjacent page. Will have to move to the next two empty pages and then print that entry."

So that is what happened and they also printed an additional statement. I then went  to Immigration and much to my surprise was in and out in less than 5 minutes without them even making a comment.My blood pressure retreats to something near normal.

I am just going to use an Agent in future as I did recently on renewing my driving licenses. I have had enough of this aggravation . 😉

 

With respect, that doesn't sound like much aggrevation to me!

I was expecting some major problem at immigration.

Get yaself to soi Boomerang ASAP for some R and R.

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14 hours ago, Yesitisdakid said:

I was never asked to go back to approve the funds the second time the first time when I renewed I was but when I renewed last year I was not given a letter telling me to go back and I was told not to bother. Regarding updating the bank book can't you do like I do it just put your passbook into the machine that automatically updates your account for that day with the balance?

Unfortunately you cannot update this type of deposit account in an ATM.

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1 hour ago, Jambo said:

Unfortunately you cannot update this type of deposit account in an ATM.

 

1 hour ago, Jambo said:

Unfortunately you cannot update this type of deposit account in an ATM.

yes you can at KASIKORN BANK I update mine everytime an interast payment is due

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2 hours ago, Yesitisdakid said:

I have a time deposit also I use for immigration a 1-year time deposit but it is with Bangkok Bank and they do allow it to be updated via the machine. Time to change Banks. 

I don't know if it is different for the English ... but, when I opened an account at Bangkok Bank they gave me a form to take to the US Embassy to get notarized .... then I took the notarized form to Bangkok Bank and no issues at all  ...

I was also told at the Bangkok Bank branch I stopped into ( Pridi and Sukhumvit  -   Soi 71 ) that the only Bangkok Bank branch that would open the account for me was on Ekamai and Sukhumvit ...

I don't know if their rules change every week .. but, that is what I went through ..... the only gigantic hassle was getting an appointment at the US Embassy these days due to the Wuhan thing ....

I had no choice to open a Bangkok Bank account ... surprised the shit out of me when I got a check from the US Government for the Wuhan thing ... no other bank account that I have ( 4 different ones ) would accept the deposit of the check ... so it was either open a Bangkok Bank account to deposit the check or throw it away

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3 hours ago, Jambo said:

Unfortunately you cannot update this type of deposit account in an ATM.

 

2 hours ago, Yesitisdakid said:

I have a time deposit also I use for immigration a 1-year time deposit but it is with Bangkok Bank and they do allow it to be updated via the machine. Time to change Banks. 

No on line statement to download ?

 

 

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4 minutes ago, code_slayer_bkk said:

I don't know if it is different for the English ... but, when I opened an account at Bangkok Bank they gave me a form to take to the US Embassy to get notarized .... then I took the notarized form to Bangkok Bank and no issues at all  ...

I was also told at the Bangkok Bank branch I stopped into ( Pridi and Sukhumvit  -   Soi 71 ) that the only Bangkok Bank branch that would open the account for me was on Ekamai and Sukhumvit ...

I don't know if their rules change every week .. but, that is what I went through ..... the only gigantic hassle was getting an appointment at the US Embassy these days due to the Wuhan thing ....

Being an American make it a pain to open a bank account everywhere overseas. Even in HKG.

Due to they have to report you yearly to US revenue / tax dept or so. And if they do it properly they'll in trouble. Fined etc...

So, many dont even bother anymore.

 

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2 minutes ago, Thai Spice said:

 

No on line statement to download ?

 

 

I don't know about a www interface ( I am pretty sure they have ) ... but, all 4 of my Thai bank accounts provide you with a Apple phone app ... I can request statements from these phone apps to be sent to my email account ...

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1 minute ago, Thai Spice said:

Being an American make it a pain to open a bank account everywhere overseas. Even in HKG.

Due to they have to report you yearly to US revenue / tax dept or so. And if they do it properly they'll in trouble. Fined etc...

So, many dont even bother anymore.

 

Yea, that is why I always avoided Bangkok Bank ... in the past years no banks here ever asked you for your Social Security Number .. 

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30 minutes ago, code_slayer_bkk said:

Yea, that is why I always avoided Bangkok Bank ... in the past years no banks here ever asked you for your Social Security Number .. 

When I opened my Bangkok bank account in 2001 they didn't ask me for shit passport 5000 baht I got a passbook and an ATM card and I was out the door in 15 minutes. Those days are over

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35 minutes ago, Yesitisdakid said:

When I opened my Bangkok bank account in 2001 they didn't ask me for shit passport 5000 baht I got a passbook and an ATM card and I was out the door in 15 minutes. Those days are over

For sure!    That was exactly how it was like with my other 3 bank accounts .. 

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The 90 day financial report seems rather pointless. If for some reason you didn't maintain the required balance for 90 days after your extension, they can catch that lapse on your next extension to stay and then throw the book at you as a 9+ month overstayer. I would expect that Damocles sword hanging over your head would cause the vast majority of the longtime stayers here to toe the line and meet the financial requirement.

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11 hours ago, code_slayer_bkk said:

I don't know if it is different for the English ... but, when I opened an account at Bangkok Bank they gave me a form to take to the US Embassy to get notarized .... then I took the notarized form to Bangkok Bank and no issues at all  ...

I was also told at the Bangkok Bank branch I stopped into ( Pridi and Sukhumvit  -   Soi 71 ) that the only Bangkok Bank branch that would open the account for me was on Ekamai and Sukhumvit ...

I don't know if their rules change every week .. but, that is what I went through ..... the only gigantic hassle was getting an appointment at the US Embassy these days due to the Wuhan thing ....

I had no choice to open a Bangkok Bank account ... surprised the shit out of me when I got a check from the US Government for the Wuhan thing ... no other bank account that I have ( 4 different ones ) would accept the deposit of the check ... so it was either open a Bangkok Bank account to deposit the check or throw it away

I have my tax refund deposited to a US bank account, so they just put the Wuhan thing in there.  Easy.

 

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On 10/12/2020 at 5:12 PM, Jambo said:

With Immigration closed tomorrow 13th October I had decided to visit today to present my bank book showing I still had the 800K lodged for the 90 days following my last Retirement Visa extension.

Anticipating that they might not accept me coming in a day early I called in last Friday and although they wanted me to come in on the 14th ( not convenient for me) they reluctantly agreed I could visit today, 12th October, one day short of the 90 days.

Their required list of items included "Update bank book" so my first stop was Krungsri Bank in Jomtien. I get a ticket from the man on the door and my number is immediately called so up I go the the cashier and politely ask:

"Can you please update for me?"

"You will need to make a transaction."

That made me pause for thought until the cashier suggests depositing 100 baht which I readily agree and hand over the said amount. He scans the book and says:

"Ah.... timed deposit account. Minimum deposit 1,000 baht."

Increasing 800,000 Thai baht even to 801,000 Thai baht sitting there earning virtually no interest is adding insult to injury but I count out another 900 baht and pass it to the cashier.

He puts my book into the piece of kit that prints the update. He takes the updated book, looks at it and his facial expression changes not for the better. He shows it to the cashier next to him and they both look at it for some time.

"What is the problem? "says I

He shows me the open page with the last entry which has printed kind of sideways mostly covering the previous entry which was the initial deposit of the 800,000 baht.

"Oh for fucks sake! " I say in despair.

Just give Immigration any excuse and they will grab it with open arms.

"You will have to reprint the entry showing the additional 1000 baht and the total of 801,000 baht." says I

A big stewards inquiry then takes place involving three members of bank staff who keep looking  alternately between the bank book and their computer terminal. Eventually a definitive answer:

" Cannot reprint that entry on the line below or on the adjacent page. Will have to move to the next two empty pages and then print that entry."

So that is what happened and they also printed an additional statement. I then went  to Immigration and much to my surprise was in and out in less than 5 minutes without them even making a comment.My blood pressure retreats to something near normal.

I am just going to use an Agent in future as I did recently on renewing my driving licenses. I have had enough of this aggravation . 😉

 

Very well written Jambo. I couldn't help but snicker as I read it, because even though I didn't know what exactly the outcome would be i knew it was going to be some kind of mini train wreck. Sure enough.....   Funny as f**k though the way you presented it and I appreciate you taking the time to lay it out like you did. Gave me a good laugh, because every day we know anytime we walk into a place and ask for something you don't know how bad the shell shock will be when you walk out.

If we can't share this stuff and get a good laugh out of it we will surely end up having strokes. I'm sure at least half the guys in here are on some kind of b.p. meds. I am. Sharing of these little anecdotes is better than a pill buddy. Thank you !

Yep.... that's why I pay the 500 baht every 3 months for the 90 day reporting. Hand the guy my passport and a 5 spot. I look at him and say two words, ninety days. He nods his head and says nothing. I turn and walk out the door. Next day I walk in he gives me the passport with the new paper.  I say thank you, pet the cute little dog sniffing at my feet, smile and walk out the door. Well worth it to me.

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8 hours ago, tko said:

I have my tax refund deposited to a US bank account, so they just put the Wuhan thing in there.  Easy.

 

Yea, but I have always refused to give the IRS any account numbers for my international bank accounts .... plus,  I haven't had a US bank account for .. jeez 25 - 30 years ....

I was absolutely astounded that I even got a check from the US Government ....

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On 10/12/2020 at 5:12 PM, Jambo said:

I am just going to use an Agent in future as I did recently on renewing my driving licenses. I have had enough of this aggravation . 😉

 

Just make sure you can get one that you can trust ..... who has a stellar reputation .. even if you have to pay a little more baht ....

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