U.S. Town Hall Meeting at Uniserv

November 20

The U.S. Consul General in Chiang Mai,  Jennifer Harhigh, held a ‘Town Hall Meeting’ for U.S. citizens living in Chiang Mai at the Uniserv Building Chiang Mai University. The aim of this meeting was to provide up to date information for American citizens on the decision to cease to provide income affidavit. Effective from 1 January 2019 the United States Embassy in Bangkok and the U.S. Consulate General in Chiang Mai will no longer provide an income affidavit and will not notarize previous versions of the income affidavit. The Royal Thai Government requires applicants to meet a minimum income threshold to obtain a non-immigrant long-term stay visa (such as a retirement Visa). While the Thai government has previously relied on income affidavits to demonstrate this fact, the U.S. government has no mechanism to confirm individual incomes and cannot legally claim to do so. U.S. citizens residing in Thailand should refer to the Thai government for information about verifying their income moving forward. For the most current information, U.S. citizens should check with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Thai Embassy in Washington D.C., or their local immigration office. For more information in Embassy services to U.S. citizens, visit hhtp://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizens-services/