Bob wrote:I agree with Dodger that ultimately it likely will come down to the officers only agreeing to see Thai bank books
I also think that will be what will eventually be the case, but until immigration makes that official it would be foolish to
assume that will be the case or already is.
Unless there is official word that bank passbooks and pension statements will be accepted, all I can say is you still better have the 800,000 ready in case they won't accept it. Your friend's experience is a very good sign, but it still doesn't make anything official.
If you go to immigration in Pattaya with documents and immigration tells you they won't accept that, what are you going to do, say "But I know immigration in Chiang Mai accepted those kind of documents from a farang."? Good luck with that one. If immigration tells you no, then it's no.
Probably accepting documentation is not good enough for me. I want to
know they will accept documentation in lieu of the 800,000 baht before I would be ready to rely on that and start spending that 800,000 baht.
I also still advise applying for the retirement visa renewal at least two weeks in advance of the expiration date in case of any problems. That way, if any problems do arise, you'll have sufficient time to resolve whatever needs to be resolved. My understanding is the current rules allow for applying up to one month before the expiration date.
By the way, I recently read on one of the boards, I forget which one, that deposits to Thai bank accounts from TransferWise do not show as received from a foreign source.
WRONG! I just received my direct deposit from TransferWise and was notified that the money is in my account by a text message from Bangkok bank, and the text message stated the money was deposited from abroad.