Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are talking about Bank Documentation associated with Thai Retirement Visas; let me get into this. I thought of making this video after reading a recent comment on our channel, quote: "One week for the largest Bank in Thailand. You need to plan the time you will use the Bank Letter and statement as Thai Immigration will not accept the document after 7 days of being issued. Best to go to Immigration on the day of issue, in case of unforeseen problems." What is he talking about there? 

There was a whole back and forth in one of the comment sections where they were talking about one) as we discussed in other videos now one of the “Big Banks”, I'll just call it that, is now coming - and this is Bank Policy this is not Thai Immigration Policy - is now coming down the pike and saying hey we are not issuing affidavits associated with financial documentation for Retirement Visas or any other visa for that matter, unless a balance has been maintained for 4 months or more. Now let me be very clear, this pertains to one big Bank specifically. There are other banking options and other banks are not necessarily imposing this type of policy so you may want to talk to a legal professional regarding how this is all playing out because you may need to switch banks or if you are coming in new, you may want to pick a bank that is not doing all of this weird stuff. 

But they bring up a really good point here and I want to go back to this. "Thai Immigration will not accept the documents after 7 days of being issued." So that's the thing then you get stuck in this time crunch where you need to have documentation showing bank balance information and it has to go back by 4 months and then you have got to get it issued and then you have got to get the thing done and process before it basically “goes stale” which can happen within 7 days. This, as you can see, kind of creates an onerous burden on those who are looking to extend their status. Now we here at our office, we are coming up with solutions to assist folks in getting Retirement Visa extensions. It is proving somewhat nettlesome in some cases, but long story short we are coming up with solutions. 

That being said, the thing to take away from this video and understand is Banking Documentation is becoming increasingly problematic associated especially with the Retirement Visa. Those who are coming in new who have not gotten to Thailand yet, it is a very good idea for you to talk to a legal professional before coming. If you are back in America, if you are back in the UK, back in Europe, Canada, Australia, wherever, it is a very good idea to talk to somebody before coming here and talk to them not a day or two before, but with enough time to make plans to get possibly Visas processed; it might not be necessary depending on the facts in the case, but you want to talk somebody with a few weeks out from a proposed departure date at a minimum would be preferable. Meanwhile, those that are already here, even folks that are already in status, may be finding doing an extension increasingly nettlesome due to banking documentation, and those folks may find some benefit in contacting a legal professional, gaining some insight and guidance into how best to proceed.