Retirement Visa Extension and Wise (Transferwise)

[Big Boy]

Wow!!! That must be some sort of record. I've just requested this month's transfer, and it was in my Thai bank in less than 5 minutes.

[Chazz14]

I was just wondering...?
Has anyone been refused their Retirement Visa extension solely because they were unable to supply a full set of Credit Advice Receipts? If so, which Thai bank was involved?

[m_right]

I have transferred in every month (more than enough) by wire to Kbank. I will go to them tomorrow to get the documentation I will need at immigration. Can anyone who has done this tell me what I should ask them to give me? Can I get the same day? Will they understand what I am asking for?

[Big Boy]

You need to identify the transactions, and then ask for credit advices for each transaction. Mine are always e-mailed to me within 3 days of request.

In the beginning they used to look at me as if I had 2 heads but they are getting pretty good at it now.

[m_right]

Twelve times?

I can't wait to see how this goes.

[Big Boy]

I've received an e-mail from NatWest today advising they are dropping their charge for standard international money transfers. I guess Transferwise must be hurting them badly. All they need to do now is offer a better exchange rate and increase the speed of the transfer, and they might start to compete with companies like Transferwise.

[m_right]

I was just wondering...?
Has anyone been refused their Retirement Visa extension solely because they were unable to supply a full set of Credit Advice Receipts? If so, which Thai bank was involved?

I was. I had a twelve month statement that clearly showed the needed transactions. That is all a rep at Kbank would give me. I migration said "not good enough". I had to go back to the bank and get a different rep the next day who had to get Bangkok to send twelve individual Credit Advice statements that he was able to print out.. They still aren't prepared for this process at Kbank yet.
I was able to get my extension of O visa for retirement eventually using the monthly deposit method. No insurance required by the way.
Now another year of dreading my imigration visit.

[Big Boy]

They still aren't prepared for this process at Kbank yet.

I disagree with that statement. It was hard work originally, but it is simple these days - in and out in a couple of minutes. Necessary Credit Advices are e-mailed to me same day (used to take 2-3 days originally). I use the MV branch.

[Scout]

They still aren't prepared for this process at Kbank yet.

I disagree with that statement. It was hard work originally, but it is simple these days - in and out in a couple of minutes. Necessary Credit Advices are e-mailed to me same day (used to take 2-3 days originally). I use the MV branch.

At the Boonthavorn branch of Bangkok Bank they new exactly what I needed when I asked for “credit advice report for immigration”. They asked what time frame I needed them for, printed them out, handed them to me and I was one my way in less than 10 minutes.

[lomuamart]

I had trouble with the main KBank on Petchkasem Road back in August. It wasn't that they were saying they couldn't supply the credit advices at that time but that they wanted to charge me 500 THB for each one - 6 grand for the year.

Thanks to BB and caller, I got that sorted out and didn't pay anything but I actually am looking less forward to visiting that branch than I would be to Imm for my extensions.

There was some talk at this branch about 3 months worth being free and that came from BKK HO as well. So, I'll just pop in each quarter but I'm just not looking forward to it as Sept-Nov needs to be done and I've been putting off what I'm expecting to be another confrontation for 2 weeks now.

[Scout]

Bangkok Bank quoted me a charge of 500 baht if I wanted an entire 12 month report, but 6 months was free.

[Big Boy]

I'm in MV most days, so just call in each month when I receive confirmation the transaction from Transferwise has gone through.

[m_right]

They still aren't prepared for this process at Kbank yet.

I disagree with that statement. It was hard work originally, but it is simple these days - in and out in a couple of minutes. Necessary Credit Advices are e-mailed to me same day (used to take 2-3 days originally). I use the MV branch.

I stand corrected. It must have been somewhere else.

[Big Boy]

Or you simply got the wrong assistant helping you. We know TIT and one desk is always different to the next.

[Chazz14]

(Sorry to read about your recent experience, M Wright)

Following problems with SCB who I understand are not one of TFW “Agent Banks”( i.e. Kasikorn, BB and TMB) I transferred my account from SCB to Kasikorn.

Having made my first pension transfer a couple of weeks back, yesterday I visited a very helpful young lady in Kasikorn Cha Am to get the Credit Advice Form. She updated my Passbook and showed me that my transfer via TFW had been coded as the dreaded “MCL” which is not an international transfer! Because of that she could not provide the Credit Advice Form…

She said the only way to ensure a transfer was coded as “international” was to send money bank to bank via Swift i.e. forget TFW.

I did a quick comparison of the rates for TFW and my U.K. Bank, Nationwide. To transfer £1100 yesterday would have left me B1550 worse off. However, today a positive change as TFW quoted B40.23 and Visa was B39.43. This would leave me B1730 poorer.

As mentioned previously, I am currently “five CAFs short of a retirement visa extension” (as they say!) so I will let it expire and go down to KL for a couple of days and start from scratch.

I can’t justify continuing to use TFW as I don’t know when or if the MCL code might reappear...

Edited: I was wrong - Nationwide use their own rates these day:s

https://www.nationwide.co.uk/support/se ... ange-rates