This is NOT an official government website. We are an independent resource providing information and assistance to travelers.

What should expats know about Bangkok Bank's policies regarding DTV visas and account management?

Jun 28, 2025
21 days ago
A Bangkok Bank Update (yes, another one)

Background:

Long timer in Thailand. Recent years mostly tourist visas staying on/off in Thailand. Own condos in BKK since 2009 and more recent two condos in Pattaya since 2016 or thereabout.

Am from a Nordic country.

Have had bank account with another major bank but though I would get another one so set up one at Bangkok Bank via an agent about two years ago on a tourist visa.

Kept low balance at the Bangkok Bank but always incoming transfers from another Thai bank in my name. No big money movements.

Went back to the BKK Bank branch in Pattaya as I wanted to update my information (now on DTV visa, digital nomad, issued in my own country).

Had a good conversation with the manager at BKK Bank and they are certainly going through each account as mine was up for review with a high probability of closure.

After updating my info, and showing chanote and purchase contract on one of my condos in Pattaya, my account is now in good standing and will not be closed.

If I did not have property in Pattaya, the manager did not say it flat out, but I could tell my account would be closed. BKK Bank does not recognize the DTV-visa as a long-stay visa since "you can "only" stay max 180 days."

The fact that the visa runs 5-years does not matter to the BKK Bank people.

I am sure much of what I have written here is already known but I wanted to share my first-hand experience and the info given to me.

My strong recommendation is to either go to the BKK Bank branch you opened the account with to update your information if you fall into any of the categories where they will let you maintain your account with the bank even on a tourist visa or move all money out of the account soonest possible.

BKK Bank are actively closing non compliant accounts and there was one guy sitting there told me he just had his account closed.

So just because your account with BKK Bank hasn't been closed as of yet, there is a very big chance it will be. At least according to the BKK Bank manager I talked to.

I hope the above is helpful information for those affected by the same.
4,487
views
24
likes
131
all likes
60
replies
0
images
26
users
TLDR : Answer Summary
The post discusses a personal experience with Bangkok Bank concerning account status for expats on a DTV visa. The author, a long-term expat, successfully maintained their bank account after providing proof of property ownership in Pattaya, despite the bank’s stance that the DTV visa does not qualify as a long-term visa due to its 180-day maximum stay rule. The author warns that Bangkok Bank is actively closing accounts with insufficient documentation or compliance and recommends updating personal information at the bank to avoid account closure.
DTV VISA RESOURCES / SERVICES
Лена *******
in thailand there is a random system with immigration and banks. even accounts on "tourvisa" can live for years. do not declare what you do not know. the problems are with those who opened an account through agents, these are the accounts that were taken on ☠️
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Лена ******
Not at all necessarily. Most who opened using an agent was on a tourist visa so how to tell?
Liam ***********
Coup possibilities on the horizon,never far away,things could change overnight
pet****
what happens to the balance when an account is closed?
Bradley ********
petmaak it goes into probate if the account cannot be resolved and reopened.
Paul ********
petmaak The bank staff have a big party. :)
Joe *****
I bought a yacht in Phikhet but BKK still closed my account. After sailing around the world I bought a villa for 100m thb and finally BKK bank let me keep my account. My advice is to buy a yacht and 100m thb villa and u should be able to keep your BKK account open with a retirement salary like mine of
*****
thb a month. I have to go to my navy seals opp now.
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Joe ****
Funny post. I guess there has to be a joker in all these threads, right? But in this thread, those seats are already taken by others.
Joe *****
Anonymous participantthe law clearly states that you must allow competition.
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER
And to everyone that asks "how do they know what visa you are on"?. Answer: they don't have direct access to any immigration databases but they do however have access to the kind of visa you had when opening the account and that is what they are basing the judgement call on now. Hence my recommendation to update your data if you have a different situation now (visa, property purchase, marriage or similar) than when you opened the bank account.
Jennifer ******
It's basically a tourist visa with a 5 year free re-entry with a max stay of 180 days each time.
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Jennifer *****
That is correct. The fact that you can extend once to 360-days isn't considered as a factor by BKK Bank. In their eyes, it is max 180-days. I.e a longer term tourist visa.
Brandon ************
It has nothing to do with how long the DTV lets you stay. The DTV is specifically called a tourist visa in the law that created it, and the banks are not giving or keeping accounts for tourists.
Ja***
@Brandon ***********
The Privilege (Elite) visa is also in the same category of special tourist visa as the DTV but there is no problem opening or maintaining bank accounts with that visa.
Guillermo *********
@Brandon ***********
finally please. I have been saying this for a long time. DTV is a nonimigrant TOURIST VISA that JUST allows longer periods of stay up to 180 days but you are not expected to have accounts. Tourists are not considered residents and are restricted in this sense. IF YOU HAD 30 years of living in Thailand and want to keep things that way. STAY IN THE VISA THAT ALLOWED YOU TO HAVE SUCH LIFE. Plain and simple. The dtv was not intended for people save on visa fees. My 2 cents 🙏
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Brandon ***********
Correct as you say
Kool *******
Anonymous participant this applies to all banks, not just Bangkok Bank. 2
***
months ago they close 180,000+ mule accounts used in online scams, with a Bangkok Bank branch in Pattaya being a popular branch agents used to open accounts for people on tourist entries, and mule/proxy accounts used in scams.
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Kool ******
Nobody debates you on that fact. My own BKK Bank account were opened in the said branch. But other banks has been much more restrictive from Day 1 to open accounts for foreigners staying with a tourist visa only and, as such, are not affected in the same magnitude as Bangkok Bank.
Daniele *****
they said to me no pompem mister your account very old more 10 years
Pascal ***********
Why did you pay an agent to open a bank account when you Have properties in Thailand ? Makes no sense to me.
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Pascal **********
Fair question. One of the most intelligent here this far. I would ask the same. The past few years I have been here on tourist visas. Did not soend so much time here. On and off really so never bothered to go down a long-term visa even if I qualify for both investment visa (based on 10MIL investment) and retirement visa. Then DTV popped up which I just tried on a whim and received it. When I applied for the bank account via an agent I had tourist visa only. So it was pure laziness and cutting through red tape for a mere 3,000THB for it to be opened. It's not much more complicated than that. But a very valid question indeed.
Pascal ***********
Anonieme deelnemer thx for the reply. And for a very small fee of 3,000 THB I can understand you don’t want to spend time in a bank.

I’m in a similar situation. Used to spend 4-6 months a year on Tourist Exemption/TV/METV in Thailand. But when I bought my first condo with a foreign freehold title, I opened a Thai bank account. With the correct documents, it only took 1-2 hours.

Since October I have switched to DTV (workation), but no issues with my Thai bank account.
Toni *******
You can stay 360days so... you dont even know about the visa you bs about... if you had one, you would know better aight?
Colin *******
@Toni ******
incorrect. The entry is stamped for 180 days. If immigration so decide they may let you extend. Just like a 1 year visa being extended year after year forever. It's still a 1 Year visa.
Toni *******
Another anonymous bs post... I opened my account 2years ago (only visa exempt+extension), now have dtv and updated my info in bkk bank jomtien (actually with truemove was what counted, all info with bank was up to date still), they said i have nothing to worry about.

But yeah, they do close anonymous accounts. Anonymous people were the ones running scams so yeah, makes sense.
Abdulghani ******
It is pure BS information

Doesn’t carry shred of credibility.
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Abdulghani *****
You seem to have the mental bandwidth of a motorless tuk-tuk so I will not even give you a meaningful response. It happened as I said it happened. Deal with it Hassan.
Anonymous ******************
It seems most people that have problems with their accounts had an agent open it for them
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER
Anonymous participant 390 Yes, but it can have its reasons and being very explainable why that is. I have posted answers in these thread why that can be.
Wannikea *********
Keywords, Bangkok Bank, Pattaya, agent.
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Wannikea ********
Correct. But, as I said in another post, it doesn't necessarily mean that any account opened by an agent are at risk of getting closed. It is more the tourist visa, or that one hasn't updated their info if moved up to a long-stay visa and/or bought property, etc, that can be at risk. If you read my post, once I updated my data, all green flagged despite being on a DTV.
John *********
Not everyone banks with Bangkok Bank
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER
@John ********
But many do and they have been too relaxed on their own rules which came back to haunt them so now they panic and go through all accounts. I myself have another bank I use as my main bank and have done so for many years.
Marc **********
Curious.. if they close the account, they can legally keep your money or later do they re-open if you clear up any issue (e.g, proper visa, etc.)? ALso how do they know what type of Visa you have (they have access to gov records)?
Bradley ********
@Marc *********
it goes into probate if the account cannot be resolved and reopened.
Kool *******
@Marc *********
you present your passport to open, or update your account. In all the documents you sign, you give them permission to check your status. As far as your money in the account goes, if they close it, they first freeze the account requiring you to physically go in, at which point if you don't have appropriate visa extension, or own a condo, they close the account, and give you your money on the spot.
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Kool ******
This is correct. It is the same procedure as with any bank if a bank wish to close an account. However, in most more developed banking countries, you don't have to walk into a branch to do the final transfer. At least in the Nordic countries where we barely have any physical bank branches left. All gone digital.
Kool *******
Anonymous participant lots of people simply don't understand that with Thailand being an exporting country, and yes the major percentage of their GDP is export, and that Thailand deals internationally with every country in the world, they have some of the most advanced banking systems in the world, having to meet banking regulations with every country they deal with.
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Marc *********
Unless they think it's money laundering or similar, they just freeze your account until you physically come in and update your data and/or withdraw the balance. But you need to do so in person.
Wannikea *********
@Marc *********
of course they can't keep your money
Anonymous ******************
@Wannikea ********
yes they can, and they do unless you come in with a “valid visa”. Get your facts straight, it’s theft.
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER
Anonymous participant 480 Why spreading false information? No, they do not steal your money. They simply close your account and freeze all transactions until you have been there physically to instruct them where the money should be sent (must be your own account) or withdrawn in cash. People like you are the reason why so many get worked up. Why even post about something you have ZERO clue about?
Anonymous ******************
Anonymous participant literally just left Kasikorn ans they asked for proof of funds, and accused me of money laundering! And if you’re not in the country ? Sorry not sorry, this is extortion, and not news. Look around.
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER
Anonymous participant 480 We don't know neither you nor your transaction history do we so how would we be able to tell? I have moved millions and millions into the country. Never had any question but every transaction could be verified where the money came from and its origin. Seems they don't want you as their client for whatever reason.
Luit *****************
@Marc *********
I am sure they legally have no right to keep your money.

If they close your account because it is signalled somehow, they just can ask you what visa you have.
Marc **********
I would hope so.... so thats how they are checking.. they maybe flag a suspicious account then ask you to come in to validate your Visa.
Luit *****************
@Marc *********
Or they just ask all foreigners for proof, just like in the beginning of this year all Thai people needed to show the phone number for the app is registered on the same name ast the bank account.
Anonymous ******************
@Luit ****************
this wasn’t only Thais luit…. I also had to do this with a passport (Thai child visa) and a letter from AIS.
Anonymous ******************
Just wait until other banks follow suit 🙈
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER
Anonymous participant 747 Not sure that they will. They are far less exposed to what BKK Bank are exposed to as they have done things much differently throughout they years.
Pavel ************
Via agent .
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Pavel ***********
Correct. And that is not that strange really. Most people who used/are using an agent are on tourist visa. So it correlates. It doesn't necessarily have to be that you used an agent. It is more the visa that you were on when opening the bank account.
Anonymous ******************
Anonymous stories are alway the best
Anonymous ******************
Participant anonyme 921 Until they become reality... 😜 But hey keep your eyes closed. I mean it's not like it has been reported by numerous people (anonymous or not) 😝.
Luit *****************
Anonieme deelnemer 921 says who?
Toni *******
@Luit ****************
add it up, only anonymous people have problems 🤣 maybe jealous people who got rejected or dont meet the requirements to apply
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Toni ******
"Only anonymous people have problems". If you read my actuial post, I do not have any problems any longer, nor am I in the risk zone of account closure, but I guess it is too much to ask to understand what you actually read? Anyway, your post is highly informative and adds to the discussion......
Greg ********
Good info. It mirrors what others have said here and elsewhere.
Dave ****
@Greg *******
Good info, really?. Move all of your money out of your account on the basis of an anonymous fb post. Yeh I'll just do that right now 🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Dave ***
Just relaying what was said to me by the bank manager, my own experience and recommendation. Not all anonymous posts are BS.