# banking



## tintinsdog (Apr 3, 2014)

Im planning on moving over to nakhon thai in 3 months to be with my wife . to obtain an o visa I am going to have to show a small amount of money in a bank account to make up with my social security payments to 800.000 tb. does this have to be in an account under my name or will my wifes account work ? and no im not crazy I found a good one lol. Any help would be great. Thanks.


----------



## dhream (Jan 30, 2012)

Great user name, Snowy!

Short answer: No, you must have an account in your own name. There are important details you need to know about the whole account rigmarole and I suggest you read this http://www.expatforum.com/expats/basement-lounge/185161-retirement-visa.html thread from start to finish to find out what you can and cannot do in this regard.

Your wife (if you are staying at her address) will also need to complete a form TM30 as well, it is notification of an 'alien' at her address. This is designed to keep track of foreigners, and is used in conjunction with the 90 day reporting requirement for this purpose.

This should be handed or posted (registered mail) to immigration within 24 hours of your arrival, a fine for late lodgement applies.

You can print all the forms you'll ever need directly from the Thai Immigration Police website, makes sure it is double sided-printing or you will be sent away to do it again.

If she does not, then expect to be rumbled eventually when they spot the address on your form is not an hotel or guest house, you will be arrested and jailed (no bail) until it is all sorted out, and then fined too. 

I'm not sure how common it is in practice, but it is the letter of the law so at least now you know it is another gotcha to avoid...


----------



## dhream (Jan 30, 2012)

Note that the TM30 does not apply if she is staying at a domicile that you rent, this is because your landlord or their agent will have submitted the TM30 to the cops the day after you sign the lease (and shady characters like to think they can 'disappear' in Thailand hahah!)

The 90 day reporting requirement is used in conjunction with the TM30 data to keep track of foreigners in the Kingdom. 

I understand that next year (2015) the ASEAN bloc is going to attempt a 'no borders' policy for their collective citizenry, based on the EU model, you can expect the whole cumbersome system to get an overhaul then, or risk collapsing under its own weight... or, they will just sweep it all under the carpet, and keep doing things the old way. Who knows really...


----------



## tod-daniels (Dec 1, 2013)

You've got pretty good info about the money seasoning, being in your account only, and if using the combo method, having proof of overseas funds and the letter from your embassy stating it too..

I don't mean to be a naysayer, but if I were you; I'd discount the info about the TM30...

Honestly, most thai women with foreign husbands who live in the wife's house don't fool with that form at all. 

In fact not a single foreigner I know married to a thai or living with a thai in a house or an apartment has EVER had their significant thai other do one of those forms, no matter who owns the place they're living. No one cares and face it no thai is gonna get fined for having their foreign husband living with them without turning in the form.

At least here in Bangkok you don't give the form to Immigrations; instead you take it to to the Police Station in your district. That's why it's addressed to "the immigration officer or local police officer".

I'm also pretty sure dhream wasn't asked for the form by Immigrations. Instead they provided it for them. There's a BIG difference in being asked for a form and just handing it in to them without asking. I always try to give them JUST the stuff they want, not anything extra, because believe me IF they need something, they'll ask you about it. . 

I've been in my apartment 10+ years now and my landlord has NEVER EVER turned in that form, yet I use this address on everything! My thai driver's license, on my extensions of stay, my 90 day report forms, my bank accounts, my thai tax i/d card, my cable & internet, etc. Never ever had a problem, or ever been asked about it either.

One last thing the 90 day report foreigners do has NOTHING at all to do with that TM30.. They don't even share the same data base at Immigrations! Two completely different areas, one concerning where foreigners are staying and the other concerning THAIS reporting that foreigners are staying at their address.. They are horses of a different color!!

Still good luck..


----------



## dhream (Jan 30, 2012)

tod-daniels,

Thanks for that background.

I'm a stickler for detail -to a fault- at times, but I'm also learning from conversations in the real world with other long-term expats, that there is the 'official' version; and the way things can be 'arranged' particularly in smaller towns where one's Thai partner might be related or in cahoots in some way with an official, etc. 

As 'by the book' as I am, I do agree that the less info one provides, the better.
However absent any info on the TM30 here, and having come across in it my immigration research, I figured I'd better just have my housemate fill it out. 

I also believe everything you've said about this form being largely unheard of outside the tourisim industry, however...

It is on the statutes, and if ever they do decide to get persnickety, they can suddenly do astonishing things if the word from on-high is demanding enough! 

Remember how when Thaksin first arrived on the scene, the pop-up bars along Sukhumvit were swept away, there were drug swoops on tourist party venues, and even the toniest BKK nightclubs were all closed at 1am? 

If they can do all that, then policing a simple form remains a sleeping 'gotcha' for any Thai 'owner'. But as I pointed out here, or elsewhere, this is a form for the Thais to worry about, not the expat.


----------

