How can I demonstrate having 800,000 baht in a Thai bank for my visa application without being able to open a bank account in Thailand?

Your best bet is to spend your money and use a Visa service. The service I used I gave them all the proper paperwork on Tuesday by Friday I had my Visa approved and in my hand. You're wasting your time if you think you can open a bank account on your own. You will get the runaround from the Thai people.

Long stay visa

Yellow House book

Pink ID card

Takes a bit of effort but the answer is all there.

baht, bank account, visa O, drivers and motorbike license. Whats the problem?

You can put the money in my account and since my account is over three months old it wont matter.

Pay agent, no problem, about 5,000BT

Is there anywhere in Thailand other than Sin city, Bangkok, CM., and Hua Hin?

Go to Nan Services in pattaya.great visa lady....

As already stated, it’s not an easy task and almost impossible in most places. If you can afford, I wouid suggest an agent for the first one. Otherwise you will be stressed to the max 🤪

Take a stack of baht, then leave the centre of bangkok, head to the burbs a few stations along the way on the tube. Go in every bank along the way and tell them you need to deposit the money to buy a condo or car. Savings account in minutes.

@Yorgos *************

visit an agent, they can open a bank account for you on a tourist visa, and some even manage to open an account for you on a visa-exempt entry . . my recommendation is

@Stefan *******

and his F.S. consulting Co. in Pattaya. He will be pleased to open a bank account for you for 5000.- THB and no requirement for an unnecessary insurance

I had been refused 2 applications because I did not have the account for 1 complete year!!!!! I had 800,000baht showing 10 months straight months with no changes but i was still not accepted. Hopefully next year I will be fine.

It's puzzling and annoying! LOL

She can help.

I used my US Retirement Account and came over on an O-A visa.

Stayed for nearly a year, and before I left back home, opened two bank accounts, one with Bangkok Bank and one with Kasikorn. Then left during the pandemic, but have been sending $$$ over to those accounts regularly. I'll return in a few years, fully-funded in the Thai accounts and can get an O visa then.

Try some Bangkok bank branches , one will open for you. Go to your embassy first and let approve your passport copy ( I know makes no sense if you have the orginal passport with you anyway but they want have it ). Even if 3-4 places reject you, try more.

Scb

Bangkok bank is a good one. I have my account there

Ive been coming to Thailand for some years now and used to live here on a retirement visa..I’m currently here for 4 weeks and have noticed a.big difference in the cost of things and government red tape…My Thai wife and I own a villa here still..but to make money I’ve had to return to my home country..

If Thailand is not going to join the 21st century of streamlining its approach towards foreign visitors and expats its economy will suffer,local businesses will suffer as foreigners are finding other South East Asian countries more user friendly e.g. Vietnam …Phillipines …to name just a couple…

Vietnam although essentially a Communist country..has found a way to attract foreigners and the dollars 💵 they bring with them a boon

It's best to get a visa agency, they will take care of that for you.

Agent will

Bangkok bank will do it on a tourist visa. Just had to go to Bangkok and find one, sukumvit around 11

Go to a bank and tell them you want to open an account "for the purpose of buying a condominium" I did that and walked out with a debit card and bank book 15 minutes later

Man kann auch das Visa online beantragen, im Heimatland. Da muss man nachweisen das ich 800.000 Bath (Gegenwert) auf meinem inländischen Konto habe.

Best to apply for a 90 day non 0 visa from your embassy. That gives you the time to open an account in one month and hold the 800k funds to meet the requirements for a 12 month extension. Good luck

Would the 800k be classed at taxable amount for foreigners residents?

You must be on a tourist visa. You gotta go branch hoping to find one that will accept you're doing it for retirement purposes. I still have little understanding why a bank would refuse a customer just because he's not in a long stay visa. It's still all money for them but I guess it is Thailand and their must be reasons for it

Spend all inn one Bar and send the bill 💸 picture to the embassy 🤘🍻

Egg-Zack-ly !

You need address in Thailand from immigration, passport visa at least 30 days remaining I asked yesterday Bangkok Bank.

For all those saying open an acct when you get there …. When applying for your visa you need to you already have the 800,000 in thai bank account

Proof of it is part of the application process

Take an agent. Best experience I had

Get the correct form from immigration and take to the bank of your choice.

@Praewpan ******

can help you! Are is awesome

I have never paid an agent to do anything I could do myself. Visa, bank account, driver's license. Simple things are not hard to do. Now if I get deported, hook me up

I went to a visa agent in Chiang Mai in 2023 after getting sick of walking around banks and queuing up to be refused an account. One bank I didn't try and have been told since it's possible is the Bangkok Bank at Airport Plaza. I ended up paying a visa agents I think 1500 baht which included the initial bank deposit. It could have been more but not over 2000 baht I just don't remember the exact amount but I was surprised how cheap it was.

I then deposited the 800,000 baht and applied for the type O visa, then 3 months later had it converted to an extension of stay retirement visa. This was all done by Napa Visa in Chiang Mai. How I did it was coming in on a tourist visa exempt, went straight to the visa agent the next day and they started the process, first getting me a 30 day extension on my visa exempt to give me 60 days to get the type O and bank sorted. I think you need the 800,000 in the bank for 3 months to extend to the retirement visa not to get the type O. But I'm not 100% on that one.

The problem with this, as with so many other aspects of Thai regulations and rules is that they change all the time. Yes pre COVID and indeed up until Thailand became a signatory of the international bank data sharing in I think late 2022, maybe early 23, a set of rules applied. It all changed around the above date. In the Western would we would call it something like Know Your Customer, and it has been exceedingly difficult to open a new bank account almost anywhere in the world, without a pretty high level of documentation . So please peps no more posts about how easy it is to open an account Judy because you did x years ago. Can it be done on a tourist visa with more than 30 clear days, and a residency certificate from immigration ( not all offices will do these), and a friendly bank branch - yes, it is possible. How many taxi fares to different branch's? Maybe to an agent is cheaper and a lot less stress😉. Could the next person who posts about opening an account on a tourist visa please name the bank and the branch, and the date of opening as that would be a lot more helpful to those that are asking for help . thanks.

Stop being a Cheap Charlie

Get an Agent

You can, just find a branch that let you open it. Say it’s for retirement visa

Or your wife owns a home there helps

Get an agent, they will handle everything for you...

Bangkok Bank Hua Hin, on a 60 day visa . Easy

Walk into bangkok bank. They got an instruction paper from their main branch which points out that foreigners on a non immigrant O visa can open a bank account. Ask to see the instruction paper, and point to the line on the paper that says it. Sometimes a letter from immigration helps.

Because they want us to use agents

Thai visa express Soi 15 off such will do everything you want visa and bank account

Have you read or seen Catch-22?

I understand most of the reasons behind the multiple visa rules and the difficulty and complication in trying to stay in Thailand (the TM30 requirements, the 90 day reporting, the re-entry permits etc). Many countries have even more complicated systems. But given one of the basic requirements is the bank account, I simply can’t understand why it is so difficult to open one. Why would a Thai bank not give an account to someone wanting to deposit money? Yes I know I will get abuse about not understanding Thai - but it’s just ridiculous to me - chicken and egg

I got a Thai bank account with Bank of Bangkok on a 30 day tourist Visa. I didn’t have any trouble at all in Pattaya

Each individual bank office makes up its own rules. Try many different offices to find one which will help you.

Bangkok bank is the easiest . But visa makes things easy

Tu vai la digli volete un nuovo cliente ricco o no! Vedi che dicono in generale ogni banca nel mondo si cala le braghe pur di tenere i ricchi

The banking rules changed in 2023, maybe about a year ago? So, anyone in here saying "It's easy, I did it" and it was from a year or more ago, is giving outdated advice.

Sometimes, an immigration office can help by communicating with a bank that you're applying for a long-term visa.

If it were me, at this point, I'd get an agent.

One more thing thai people like to work with Thai people  they’re much easier with them than they are going to be with you. I know it’s not fair but that’s the way it is in that country.

Are you gonna always hire an agency to do it? Trust me it’s worth a couple hundred US dollars you’ll spend for them to do it for you less aggravation for you

Always smile always be nice. Trust me I’ll get you a long way. You just have to accept the way that they do business and the way that the government runs in Thailand. It is completely crazy but like I said, just smile be nice as to please explain to you in detail just don’t lose your temper because then they won’t give you shit.

You need a rental contract also or proof of owing a condo bring those to the bank bkk bank is easier

Bangkok Bank will open an account for a tourist on a tourist visa. Not sure about visa exempt as the bank stated there needed to be 30 days remaining on visa. Technically when you arrive visa exempt you would only have 29 days remaining.

It’s well possible. First of all you don’t need to season three months before application, but two.

You travel to Thailand on a non-O visa with reason ‘retirement’.

Once arrived in Thailand you make sure you have an address of stay. If renting you will probably need assistance of the owner but I’m not sure about that.

You visit immigration and ask for a document stating your intention to ask for an extension before the non-O expires. When you explain that you need the document for the purpose of opening a bank account they will know which document you need. While there also ask them for a list of documents which they require for the ‘extension based on retirement’. The list varies form one office to another. The

Now visit the bank. Bangkok Bank is the most easy bank for incoming farangs. Don’t let them trick you into buying insurance or other obscure fees. You may have to visit a number of bank offices before you get the account.

As soon as you have the account (include a bank app on your phone - the bank people will assist you with installing) transfer money from your home country into the account. I have read the some immigration offices require that the transfers must evidence that they come from abroad, so you can not use Wise for this but must transfer from home bank straight into the Thai bank. Bangkok Bank will mark the receipt as coming from abroad.

This all can be done within the 1st two weeks after your arrival in Thailand. When ready, collect your documentation while waiting two months. In the end visit the immigration office with all required stuff and request your extension of stay.

It seems you will need an updated bank book, a letter from the bank and bank statements on bank paper, stamped by the bank. I’m not sure of this - This might only be necessary at the annual renewal of the extension.

I read all of the comments over the past year of expats having trouble with agents. It scares me, I want an agent. But surly someone or two people have an honest agent they used? No one really recommends anyone? I need one in Hua Hin area. Thats where I want to live.

You can open a Bank account. Pm me if you require .

Try Bangkok Bank

It's why I decided to retire to the Philippines instead of Thailand, ridiculous rules, having to report to the authorities every 90 days! What do the thai authorities expect that every expat will rise up and overthrow the government if they only report once a year!! Arbitrary decision making about things like opening a bank account, and taxation on incoming foreign income. None of those things applied with a retirement visa for the Philippines, easy decision to make!

I opened a Thai bank account as a tourist pre covid. Its not a savings account. Can it be used for visa?

Classic chicken 21 right. Welcome to Thailand 🤷

Had an agent, paid $2000 US and they did not help me open the bank account, got only the retirement Visa and no further assistance!

Hire an agent they will take care of medical, visas and opening a bank account

I did it, Bangkok Bank. PM if you need details. Aloha🌺

Get the right visa before you make your way here, plain and simple and so easy to do.

If I open a joint bank account with my wife for the business that she runs in Thailand and she has lived there all her life could it be used for my retiring visa or will it have to be just in my name?

ask them

yes I got help from Thai lady and no problem .. pre covid thought

You can open a savings account on any visa but it all depends on the bank and indeed the particular branch. You can either pound the pavement until you find one or use an agent. It helps if you can take a Thai of good standing along to vouch for you

use an agent.

You get an agent, and that agent can open your bank account and take care of the deposit for you as well 

You can't. Immigration's little game. 😅😆😅😆

In Australia you can open a bank account as a tourist. They want your money

Why can't you open a Thai bank account? This can be done on any visa, even a 30 day visa waiver.

Get the proper visa before you travel to Thailand. It's much easier to open a bank account when you already have a long stay visa.

There's not many countries in the world where you can just show up as a tourist and open a bank account.

Otherwise try dozens of banks until you find one that will open an account for you, or use an agent to open an account.