Maco88 Posted October 18, 2006 Report Share Posted October 18, 2006 I know the banks in OZ report to the Tax office all transfers over $10k (300kTHB).. Not quite right. The $10k amount is for national transactions. Any amount of international transfers have to be reported to the authorities, so take note if your an ozzie, transfering small amounts offshore will not escape the gov't prying eyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jai-dee Posted October 19, 2006 Report Share Posted October 19, 2006 I've been reading with interest all these discussions about transferring funds in and out and what fees are charged by which bank. This is all very well, but what about the exchange rates? Last week I attempted to transfer AUD 5,000 to a Thai bank account, the fee was $22, all very well, but then I checked the exchange rate and it would have been a whopping 7% lower than the interbank rate. That's $350 or 10,000 baht! I can't imagine moving 800,000 baht in and out as a matter of routine. I tried another bank and with them I would lose only 6.8%. I ended up using ATM withdrawals over 5 days which cost only 3% in lost exchange rate, and that's including $5 fee per withdrawal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavanami Posted October 19, 2006 Report Share Posted October 19, 2006 You only need to show that you have the equivalent of 800K Baht in your account. Your account does not have to be in LOS, so keep the $$$ in your home country and avoid any exchanges at all. 3%, very high. I usually find that 1% or less is the norm. You might try another bank/ATM card. I have a credit card, Capital One from the USA and if I charge like a hotel room, they charge 0% for the "foreign transaction fee". I searched several companies and they were the only ones that do not charge the 3%, as of the present. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maco88 Posted October 19, 2006 Report Share Posted October 19, 2006 7%, wow thats extremely high Jai-dee. Try www.ozforex.com.au You'll find they will do a much better rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jai-dee Posted October 20, 2006 Report Share Posted October 20, 2006 Yes, ozforex seems to offers a good rate, but what good is it when they do not provide transfer of funds to the Phillipines, Thailand, Indonesia or Malaysia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardinalblue Posted October 20, 2006 Report Share Posted October 20, 2006 Are you addressing retirement visa amount status about maintaining in your home account vs in a thia bank account? Wiould you further elaborate what you mean by 800K in your "home" account rather than in a thai account? Thanks, CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavanami Posted October 20, 2006 Report Share Posted October 20, 2006 Yes. Keep the equivalent of the 800K Baht in an account in your home country. All you have to do is to prove/show that you do have the funds. A mate just renewed his retirement visa here in Bangkok. He keeps the 800K Baht (actually in US Dollars) in his US bank account. To renew, for a US citizen, go to the US Embassy, fill out the letter the US Embassy gives you and pay the $30 USD to have it notarized. Bring the certified letter to the Thai Immigration on Soi Suan Plu and you can renew your visa in a few hours. To get a retirement visa, for US citizens in the USA, just follow the instructions provided by the local consulate. It is easier to renew in Bangkok then to jump thru all the hoops in the USA but you need an Thai "O" visa to renew in Thailand and can not apply for an "O" in Thailand, should (must?) do in your country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rookie Posted October 20, 2006 Report Share Posted October 20, 2006 .....To renew, for a US citizen, go to the US Embassy, fill out the letter the US Embassy gives you and pay the $30 USD to have it notarized. Bring the certified letter to the Thai Immigration on Soi Suan Plu and you can renew your visa in a few hours. They call it an 'Income verification form", and on it you provide the amount of your monthly income. It's available at the American Services area of the Embassy. Thai Immigration wants to know that you have 800k-Baht annual income...whether just on this form (the monthly income x 12 months) or a combination of the amount on the form plus the amount in your Thai Bank acc't. It's _important_ to know that whenever you are using the 'income statement' form during a visa renewal, ALWAYS take the original and a copy. Immigration want to see the original and will keep the copy. If you give them the original to keep, you'll need to get another original from the US Embassy prior to the next time you renew your visa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maco88 Posted October 29, 2006 Report Share Posted October 29, 2006 Yes, ozforex seems to offers a good rate, but what good is it when they do not provide transfer of funds to the Phillipines, Thailand, Indonesia or Malaysia. I'm sure with alittle perseverance you can find one who does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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