What are the pros and cons of using a visa agency to help obtain a visa and open a bank account in Thailand?

I used an agency for my initial visa in Pattaya, I already had a bank account. I did not need to use the agency for my renewal which was done with the help of a friend in Chumphon.

I can only give you my personal experience. I used an agent for my non o based on retirement and the first two extensions. The agent also opened a bank account for me and put the required funds in to it for the first extension during covid when I did not have access to funds back in the UK. The procedure was slick and hassle free with no queuing BUT, and it is a big but, it was expensive and I did get problems at my local immigration office with a number of things particularly when it came to certificates of residence. My local IO made things quite difficult as they did not like the fact I had used an agent. I had to return to ba gkok several times for various issues one being transfer of stamp to new passport. On my third entry to Thailand I was stopped and the IO knew I used an agent and told me in no uncertain terms to do it myself next time. When the time came I gathered all the necessary documents which was not difficult and by then I had had the funds in the bank for the required three months. I got my extension fir 1900 baht. This year it was plain sailing and it took about an hour to get the statements from the bank and then get my stamp from local IO. They are much more co operative and helpful now. So, firstly it is not difficult to apply for and get the non o Visa for 90 days. If you have that already it should be possible to open a bank account. If you haven't then use the agent to open an account and do the rest yourself at your local immigration office. Secondly, if you use an agent this time there is no reason to continue doing so in future years. Talk with your local immigration officers, they are usually helpful and will explain what you have to do. Get them to write down in Thai what they require from your bank so that you get the right documents from there. I use Krungsri and it is possible to do the necessary at a branch where I did not OOEN the account. Other banks might be different. I now have a Bangkok bank account in my nearest city and will go the monthly income route next year. All is going well so far.

Finally, it is better to make the effort and do things yourself so you are sure that everything is above board and you will not get future problems. Everything from visas to buying a car and getting a driving license. The more you understand the easier it gets, trust me! Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Further tips of you use agent.

Use an agent who takes you to immigration to do the business. That way you know tge stamp is legit. Ask to pay half before and half when you have stamp in passport. Do not loose sight of your passport unless you are absolutely sure you can trust the agent.

following for info

Try to use an agent who will obtain the extension at your local Immigration Office. Then, if you choose to and can show the money (either lump sum of 800k or 65k a month), you can handle future renewals yourself for just 1,900 baht

If it's a visa and extention based on retirement and you are using your own 800k Thai Baht then you shouldn't have any problems using an agent

Seems there's a lot of copy & paste on these visa FB pages 😂

I have had some difficulties opening a bank account at one branch and trying to conduct business at another branch. I think some people have not had these difficulties.

Hence, you will likely want to open account at a branch near you.

You’ll need to provide the documentation for the agent yourself anyway and biggest con is paying 15-25K baht for something with an actual cost of 2000baht. If you use an agent to bypass formal legal requirements, there are several more cons.

As long as you have the money in bank and the visa is legit I would go with agency.

I have used

@THAI *****************************

from another province in the past. No issues at all

Do it yourself = cheap + hassle

Use Agent = expensive + hassle free

Up to you….

My only concern is if the agent gets your extension from Bangkok and not from the province where you live. If they get it from your ‘home’ Immigration Office then that’s fine, if not it would just niggle at me a little.

It's better to use an agency because you have to prepare many things and do a lot of running around to get those things. The agency will do everything for you. It will obviously cost some but it will save you a headache and a lot of time in the end.