Owning a condo/property not longer valid to unlock BB account, only valid visa.
Accounts on Tourist visas even if you own a condo has be closed down.
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TLDR : Answer Summary
Condo and property owners in Thailand are facing challenges due to banks freezing accounts linked to tourist visas. Recent changes mean that owning a property is no longer enough to maintain a bank account; a valid visa is now required. This has led to concerns about how to manage finances, especially regarding payment of bills and handling rental income without a Thai bank account. Many expats are unsure of how to proceed in this situation and are discussing alternatives and strategies for managing their finances.
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I knew this and thought of this long time ago. Nowadays, maybe since years? I feel that my money is not my money any more. To be honest, this is not only in Thailand to happen but also everywhere. People who have enough savings to retire would live in fear of their banks to freeze their accounts. You buy big shopping in a shopping mall or have a big dinner in a restaurant or in a bar etc, and suddenly your card does not work nor your bank account all stop. So how can you pay for that?? Well, you always must carry considerable cash or other methods to pay for that. Otherwise, you will get a big trouble. In Thailand of course. maybe thai people will beat you up or detain you until you pay. still cash is working well in most of places. But when the cashless payment comes into reality when the cash is not accepted in many places? You must totally depend on banks. Banks have your life. They can do to you whatever they want on the hostage of your money. For such cases, you probably need more banks accounts as possible to reduce your life risks. 2 is better than only one. so the more, the better. But what about the fees of the banks? All banks take fees from you. Your expense will increase too. There will be so many troubles and life harder due to the banks or the government. your money is no more your money. The banks and government make your life harder so seem to want you to give up and keep your money forever. Yes I have overstated. But, this happened and happens and will happen soon.. I have feeling like this since long time.
Very true I had my accounts frozen when I transferred a small amount into an account I had opened with another bank to test it. It was deemed as suspicious. The amount was $1.00🙂
Qr doesn't work if acct is frozen. That's how I found mine was frozen. And in thailand you need a thai bank to use qr code. So your solution has no merit
Reply to
Matthew *********
Reply
Bob **********
If they see any unusual activity there freezing them I’ve done the same thing every month for 15 years and so far I’m good
Bob **********
Hopefully I’ll stay lucky but opening a Kbank today
some people have posted accts frozen for suspicious activity on a 120 transfer. No other bank in world flag that and the fact yesterday central bank came out said many of people's balances were wipeout and accts frozen due to banking glitch in software.
and now I’m scared for my moms account. She opened bb account 9 years ago, it’s open now with the phone nr confirmed, but the issue is she doesn’t have secondary id, and frankly we have no embassy here. If they freeze it , it will be a very difficult situation. Any advice?
yeah this was sort of a blanket thing down in the Pattaya area. Essentially anybody I know who was a foreigner, especially ones that have opened up accounts within the last year or two had their accounts frozen. It’s not that any of us did anything wrong is a matter fact, my friend and I went through an agency to make sure everything went perfectly, but we’ve gone all going in and had all of the documents they needed proof that we had cell phone plans proof that we had lease proof that our immigration status was up-to-date proof that we have the proper visa and we gave them all that information they took all that information but so far nobody that I know has had their account unfrozen
Reply to
Daniel ********
Reply
Kaler *******
I have same situation.Property owner need to sell to get money back. I don't know how to sell it without bank to receive money too 🤣
yes had account frozen, went in with all documents including land registry for my Condo. 7 days later account ok. BK Bank's own website tells you who can and who can't have an account.
OK well I’m glad it worked out for you. I live down in Pattaya and I think our branch was one of the biggest culprits of the problems that they’re trying to fix now and I’ve had buddies that have gone in there the 18th or 19th of last month and still don’t have their accounts opened and they went in there with every piece of information that the bank required. I only went in about a week ago, so I’m just not too concerned with when they unfreeze it just as long as they do eventually. Thanks for the info.
Reply to
Daniel ********
Reply
Till ********
Wait, so what should a condo owner do now without a valid long-term visa? They still have to pay bills, maybe collect rent etc. How should they do it without a Thai bank account
i just walked in, gave them my passport, confirmation letter from phone provider confirming number, my name and passport number ....signed a paper and off I went..... no problems at all
not correct. There is no JUST do anything, it should be simple, but it isn't. My account remains frozen three weeks after confirmation of requirements, in person, at the branch where I originally opened the account: Passport, secondary ID (drivers license), legitimate Non O extension of stay (retirement visa), long standing, Thai telephone number linked to my passport. Residence certificate from Jomtien Immigration and copy of my condo contract. I am however, not surprised that the bank's head office staff are swamped by this self inflicted extra workload. I remain patient, but not being allowed access to my own money is wearing thin. Yes, I have other Thai bank accounts, but I can't transfer my funds until they unfreeze the account.
I had my BB account frozen, went into the branch and provided copies of my condo contract, valid visa and Thai driving licence. Waited a week. Meanwhile had to go change some Forex to pay rent and expenses. Opened an account in KBank to help with daily QR/Truemoney payments. Went back to the branch to ask why the delay. It turned out that they had not taken or, perhaps, misplaced my condo contract copy. That was done on the spot and 15 minutes later the account was working again. Tbh, both times the staff were nice and polite. It's not that Thailand does not "want foreigners". Just be on a proper visa for opening a bank account. In my opinion, the surge in scams over the last couple of years has led to an "unsafe" perception, leading to a significant drop in Chinese tourists (highest tourist revenue) and there was a need to clean up.
Please show me this news. I've never seen a single article about that happening and it was from the bank itself. You're just making stuff up and propagating unfounded rumors.
I had 60-day tourist visa and was permitted to open my account upon showing them my condo purchase agreement. That was only 2 years ago. I’ve since obtained my non o visa with one year extension but hadn’t updated the visa info to my bank. I’ve been out of the country and spoke with bank manager and they said no problem just bring in the paperwork and identification and I should be fine