What bank statements should I prepare for Thai embassies to avoid translation costs?

@Al**

I'm sure there are many financially illiterate people who do it voluntarily, some may earl barely any interest at all. And it's kind of what Thai govt. is pushing for since they probably want to help the poor banks a little. For the LTR you have to hold a lot of cash in low yielding Thai govt. bonds. DTV requirement is very moderate.

Your sources are correct. Have some emergency fund in cash, the rest in a brokerage account and real estate (better not in Thailand), that's a good strategy for growing your money.

@Alessandro ********

I don't like to waste money, sorry for being cheap. If wasting money wasn't an issue, I'd go for the Thai Elite visa, so I must assume most people in this DTV group are somewhat conscious about spending.

So far it's very foggy which embassy I need to work with. Maybe Argentina (doesn't answer) or some embassy near Thailand that is friendly, maybe Cambodia.

PS: I'm successfully 'living abroad' since 2020, mostly in Latin America, so don't worry.

@Thomas *******

that's how it is described on the e visa website and how it probably works with many first world embassies.

The embassies/consulates near Thailand have seen the problem that "agents" offer to deposit the 500k THB for a day or two in the client's name to get completely broke travelers a DTV and I can see why they are now asking for 3-6 months.

@Kool ******

seems not so much an issue with this visa. I only have to keep it in the account until I get the DTV, then I can do whatever I want with the money. 3-6 Months isn't much compared to the hassle and time wasted doing 5 years of visa runs, IMO.

But thank you for sharing your perspective. I guess you are on the other end of the scale, where

@Alessandro ********

is concerned if I can support myself at all abroad when I worry about 40 bucks, you seem to enjoy spending several working days per year in some crammed bus on visa runs to save visa expenses.

@Kelly *******

I second that. From reading other Thai visa requirements, they seem to be very focused on "bank statements" and often explicitly state that a stock portfolio does not count. I also let go of the idea that cash is a good way to keep your money, but for one, the stock market could crash and you'd find yourself in Thailand without funds, so theres some logic behind the Thai requirement. Also consider that the average Thai consular worker cannot distinguish the risk between a conservative all world ETF portfolio and some gambler with CFDs, Memecoins, and leveraged options. Also, the Thai government probably has some influence from banks that want to profiteer from the visa business just like language schools, muaithai schools, cooking teachers, etc.

@Piotr ********

Wise isn't a bank, but a money services provider (MSB)

Still good enough, apparently. I take that away from my poll here. 🙏