What is the process for getting a bank account and visa in Thailand with the help of an agent?

@Sharron ******

you should join Hua Hin Beginners & Locals - They will be able to answer most of your questions prior to moving to HH - very helpful and friendly group.

suis français, j'ai vu un agent qui m'a dit que si je veux m'installer en Thaïlande j'ai qu'à lui amener mon passeport c'est tout , il dit que je vienne simplement avec exemption de visa 60 jours, il mobtiendra le visa non 0, il déposera lui même les 800 milles baths ,moi je dépose rien,il ouvre un compte en banque et s'occupe de tout contre environ 1000 € , c'est la meilleure solution car aucun traca.. en faite c'est comme une magouille, mais une magouille légal et toléré, de plus l'agent peut m'avoir le logement avec le Tm30 , et pour tout problème il aidera, vaut mieux payer un agent qui fera tout l'administratif a votre place,c'est ultra cool comme ça

I bought my own place in 2002 for 1.15 million baht. I sold it in 2013 for 2 million baht. If I'd rented for 13 years at 10,000 bht a month, I'd of paid out 1.56 million baht in rent and had nothing to show for it 🤔.

Think it is always a good idea to rent overseas.

I was told if you have a certain amount of money in the bank you can get a visa for 2,000baht , if not it’ll be £300 a year ?

Don’t make my mistake!!!

You MUST get the non-o immigrant visa before you leave USA. Go online to the Thai embassy.

Then come to Thailand and open a bank account. Agents seem to be charging way more money, but you can pay it if you want. But if you come here with a non-o immigrant visa you can do it yourself.

This fello is brilliant

Pattaya maybe cheaper

I Just did ASK in Hua Hin at two Visa agencies

The price IS around 35 to 44 k. Thb

Why are you going for a retirement visa ??? Do a soft power activity and be eligible for a dtv. Much cheaper with all the same benefits. If your going down that path you need to travel from your home country before you travel

DO NOT BUY A COND0. RENT IS CHEAP ENOUGH. THERE ARE SO MANY CONDOS BEING BUILT. THEY ARE HAVING A HARD TIME SELLING THEM AND THEY JUST KEEP BULIDING AND BUILDING AND BUILDING

you don't need a law group to buy a condo. I bought mine using a real estate company

Best bet is apply 90 day Non O before you arrive. Will make opening bank account much easier.

Following

Please don’t buy. Rent for a year. Rent is cheap and used condos are impossible to sell. You may not be happy in that location. If so just leave and rent another.

I don't want to be rude but please do not buy a condo when you are 77. It is cheaper to rent and you don't want any emergency money to be tied up in a condo. Your condo will lose value here, it is not like America.

Listen. You come into thailand on a visa exempt and go straight away to an agent. They will make you a tm30 and they will get your bank account in a few hours in one day and done, then prep you for the non 0 visa. This process takes a few weeks…first day, They will fund your new bank account with 800,000 of the agencies money and then they will show you how to withdraw it back out into the agents account leaving your account empty, at this time its good to put a few hundred dollars in the account to keep if from closing over time. All done same day so you wont have too fund it yourself ever for the Visa. then the agent will walk you into immigration to drop off docs same day. Then you wait a couple weeks and go back to agent to get your passport with visa stamps. The whole process costed me $1200 usd the agent will report to immigration every 90 days for you no charge… renewal of visa is $375 a year. If you want a drivers lic they can do that too for cheap…The process is a no brainer because the agent does it all. they will also take care of passport photos. Some people say this is illegal. Bs. Cash is King in Thailand. Theres 1000s of agents doing this process everyday. All day long.

As soon as you arrive, go to immigration, ask for permission to open bank account to apply for retirement Visa, take that permission letter to Bangkok Bank, no other bank will do it for you

After you have your visa on your passport, then you can open with any bank.

why agent !! you can do it by your self

The visa service is a lot more than $150. And Siam Legal is not cheap. I suggest you contact some agents and Siam Legal. And get direct quotes from them.

It's better if you get the non-O visa from the Thai embassy before you travel. It makes everything easier and cheaper for you once you're in Thailand.

It's difficult to get a bank account in Bangkok if you don't have the non-O visa already. If you enter as a tourist, you will likely be forced to get a bank account in Pattaya. If you are already planning to live in Pattaya, then I guess that's fine.

Siam Legal does not offer a service just to open a bank account, similar to most agencies in Bangkok. Unless you purchase another service from them, they won't open a bank account for you. If your plan is to use them to open the bank account, deposit YOUR money, then have them apply for the visa/extension, then yes that's possible to do. That is going to cost significantly more than 5000 baht though.