This is NOT an official government website. We are an independent resource providing information and assistance to travelers.
Can I open a bank account in Thailand before applying for a Non-O visa for my mom?
Non-O VisaVisa ApplicationThai Bank AccountExpat AdviceImmigrationRetirement VisaFinancial Requirements
Apr 27, 2026
3 days ago
Claud******
ORIGINAL POSTERTo apply a Non-O visa for my mom form my home country , is it possible to open a back account in Thailand now . Saving show money will be in home country bank account .
Thank you and appreciated for kind sharing!
Thank you and appreciated for kind sharing!
TLDR : Answer Summary
A user inquired if their mother, currently in Thailand on a tourist visa, can apply for a Non-O visa from her home country while needing to open a Thai bank account. Multiple comments reiterated that opening a Thai bank account typically requires a long-term visa, such as a Non-O, which cannot be applied for while in Thailand. Users suggested that to obtain the Non-O visa, she should leave Thailand, apply for it from her home country, and then upon returning, she would be able to open a bank account. Some banks may require additional documentation, like a residency certificate from Immigration, and experiences vary significantly based on location and the specific bank.
NON-O RETIREMENT VISA RESOURCES / SERVICES
- Go to the Retirement Visa Section for information on requirements, including age restrictions, financial requirements, and necessary documentation.
- For immediate assistance, contact Thai Visa Centre directly via LINE at @ThaiVisaCentre or Email them.
- Explore recent discussions by using the Non-O Retirement Visa tag in the search box at the top of the page.
- Join the Thai Visa Advice Facebook Group to ask your questions, and get advice from others.
Pelle Eriksson★★★★★
Absolutely Bangkok's best service I highly...recently on Facebook
Luca G.★★★★★
I used this agency for my DTV Visa...recently on Google
Trusted Retirement Visa Agent
OVER 100,000 EXPATS SERVED
#1 VISA AGENT IN THAILAND
James **********
This has been asked and answered 4 times since Sunday, use the search bar
Tongjun **
James Mitchell
Don’t be unkind
Don’t be unkind
James **********
Tongjun grow up, this question is repeatedly asked, one can find all the answers in seconds if they actually looked first
Claud******
ORIGINAL POSTERJames Mitchell Have a good day of you with more positivity and kindness.
Reply to
Claud******
Reply
Claud******
ORIGINAL POSTERJames Mitchell thank you for the kind help.
Reply to
Claud******
Reply
Malcolm **********
This has been answers hundreds of times. You can not open a bank account without a long term visa, not with a tourist visa. Once you have a non-O visa and are in Thailand you can open a bank account but need a residency certificate from Immigration but even then some banks can make it difficult, I have found Kasikorn helpful but it varies from branch to branch and more rural areas with few expats tend to be the most difficult probably because they don't understand the visa situation. I would recommend going to a bank it a city as you can always use the local branch for normal banking even if you account is in another branch.
Jonas *********
It’s super disturbing exactly this topic, because for a 1 year you need to have a Thai bank, and on the 3 months you have hard to find a bank there want to open.
Jim *********
Jonas Coronel you need to go to your local immigration office and apply for a resident certificate, it helps you open a bank account and get a driver's license. Ask the bank you want to open an account with what they require for a foreigner to open a svaings account. Most that I have heard of want a non-immigrant O, a copy of your lease and a resident certificate, maybe a TM30. I'm actually going to go ask at my local Siam Commercial where I had an account what they want. I'm tired of Bangkok Bank where I have two accounts. Next year I'm going to have my landlord go with me to the Amphur's office and apply for a yellow book to get a pink card so I don't have to pay immigration everytime I need a resident certificate. Register my marriage while I'm there as well to make things easier here. This marriage certificte thing having to be regisitered is pretty new. They used to take ours since it was in English. Not anymore! PITA!
Nongnuch ********
Jim McGowan having to present a Kor Ror 22 or 2 printout of the Amphur as proof of a valid and still existing marriage between a foreigner and a Thai, is nothing new. This has been standard practise for decades. An age older rose-bordered marriage certificate is no safe proof - you could already be divorced. A foreign marriage registration needs first to be acknowledged inside Thailand, to serve as a proof of an existing marriage, on Immigration. If your Immigration has acknowledged your foreign marriage documents in the past, you have been INCREDIBLY lucky
Jim *********
Nongnuch Kamdee it used to be if the document was in English in 2014 Phuket immigration accepted it. My wife also had a US Green Card (permanent resident), so that may have helped as well as I knew the immigration officer we usually saw since 2006. They finally didn't after COVID. If it wasn't in English it had to be translated to Thai back then. They also used to take an income affidavit from the US Consulate that would visit Phuket two or three times a year.
I've been here 21 years other than during COVID, we were at our house in California. I was working on getting an OA visa since insurance wasn't required then either, then everything came to a halt in 2020. When I came back he gave me two month extension in 2022, then I had to exit and re-enter and change to an O based on retirement. A search turned up this: Thai Immigration began strictly enforcing the requirement for foreign marriage certificates to be translated into Thai and recorded at a local Amphur office (obtaining a Kor Ror 22) around 2019-2020.
I've been here 21 years other than during COVID, we were at our house in California. I was working on getting an OA visa since insurance wasn't required then either, then everything came to a halt in 2020. When I came back he gave me two month extension in 2022, then I had to exit and re-enter and change to an O based on retirement. A search turned up this: Thai Immigration began strictly enforcing the requirement for foreign marriage certificates to be translated into Thai and recorded at a local Amphur office (obtaining a Kor Ror 22) around 2019-2020.
Reply to
Jim *********
Reply
Nongnuch ********
Jonas Coronel not true! . . . It is absolutely doable. . . Claudiy_roy . . . . You have 1-3 weeks to get a Thai bank account opened and the deposit transferred, after you entered on a 90-days Non-Imm-O Retirement Visa. If you use an agent in Pattaya, you will get your bank account opened within two days. The service costs 5000 Baht. They save you from running around trying out different bank branches. . . . Then you transfer the minimum deposit onto it, so on the day you apply for the 1-year extension of the stay permit based on retirement, the deposit will have "seasoned" in the bank account for the required 2 months
Jonas *********
Really can you send me a pm with an agent
Nongnuch ********
Jonas Coronel check "F.S.Consulting Co" Stefan Fabbro in the Prathumnak area of Pattya. Their price list quotes 5000 THB for opening an bank account - BUT pre-requisite is, you MUST have entered Thailand on a Non-Imm-O visa
Reply to
Nongnuch ********
Reply
Claud******
ORIGINAL POSTERNongnuch Kamdee Thank you and this is a big help ..!
Reply to
Claud******
Reply
Ant ***********
No
Only via an agent
Or leave Thailand
Apply for Non-O single entry 90 day Evisa -
Then come back and approach a bank and ask them what they require to open an account
Only via an agent
Or leave Thailand
Apply for Non-O single entry 90 day Evisa -
Then come back and approach a bank and ask them what they require to open an account
Claud******
ORIGINAL POSTERMom in Ching Mai and staying with tourists visa .But she will back to home country and apply Non-O at there.
Here opening a back account is chicken and egg things. You can’t open a bank account so you can’t apply a visa . And to be honest I’m tired of agent who sucks most of our pocket .
Here opening a back account is chicken and egg things. You can’t open a bank account so you can’t apply a visa . And to be honest I’m tired of agent who sucks most of our pocket .
Brandon ************
Claudiy_roy You cannot apply for a visa if she is in Thailand. It specifically and very clearly tells you that you cannot do so in the e-visa system. She would need to leave Thailand and apply for a non-O visa through the Thai embassy in whatever country she travels to. Then once she enters Thailand on that non-O visa, she can open a bank account. That's how it's supposed to do be done. There is no chicken and egg, visas are used for entering countries.
Jim *********
@Brandon ***********
not actually true, you can if you meet the requirements at your local immigration office. It costs ฿2,000. I have changed from a tourist exempt entry to a non-immigrant O twice in the past three years in Thailand, but I already have two Thai bank accounts. You can not change to a non-immigrant visa for the pupose of retirement without having a bank account with ฿800K in it on the day you apply for the visa change.Reply to
Jim *********
Reply
John **********
Claudiy_roy She could leave to a nearby country and apply for the 90 day Non-O visa there using funds in her home bank. Return to Thailand, open a bank account and place a minimum of 800k baht in and once it's been there for 2 months apply for the 12 month extension of stay
Reply to
John **********
Reply
John **********
Is your mother in Thailand now? If so what visa is she on? Bank accounts must be opened in person and normally can't be opened on a tourist entry
Reply to
John **********
Reply
22 comments
15 days ago
19 comments
2 months ago
11 comments
2 months ago
20 comments
4 months ago
26 comments
4 months ago
4 comments
4 months ago
20 comments
5 months ago
6 comments
5 months ago
26 comments
5 months ago
27 comments
6 months ago
29 comments
6 months ago
5 comments
6 months ago
36 comments
7 months ago
2 comments
8 months ago
14 comments
8 months ago
1 comments
9 months ago
30 comments
a year ago
31 comments
a year ago
73 comments
a year ago
22 comments
2 years ago
41 comments
2 years ago
9 comments
3 years ago
0 comments
4 years ago
9 comments
7 years ago
7 comments
a month ago
9 comments
a month ago
21 comments
a month ago
16 comments
a month ago
8 comments
a month ago
The ask:thailand community, consisting of multiple Q/A groups with over 100,000 members, powers this platform. It is not an official government resource. Our members actively contribute to this resource, and while we strive for accuracy, we cannot guarantee its complete reliability. Assistance to travelers is provided as a community service.