What should I do about opening a bank account in Thailand with a tourist visa before my marriage?

Oct 23, 2024
a month ago
Scott ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
Gday all.....applied and recieved 3 month eVisa from Canberra before l left for Bangkok on Oct 22.....absolutely useless as Airport immigration officer saw no merit in it ..and stamped for a 2 month Tourist Visa only.....am getting married on November 10...so in order to meet the Marriage Visa requirements of having 400k baht in a Bangkok Bank for 3 months...l went to open a Bangkok Bank Account today......NO CAN DO...will not grant a Bank account on a Tourist Visa only...so where do l stand here....and any optiobs please....lve been on this forum and have been very impresses with the wealth of knowledge....l am 59...and have retired after 31 years at Qld Health ..,thx all in advance
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TLDR : Answer Summary
The poster received a 2-month tourist visa upon arrival in Thailand, despite applying for a 3-month eVisa from Canberra, which he believes is inadequate for meeting the financial requirements for a marriage visa. He is struggling to open a bank account due to being on a tourist visa. Comments suggest exploring options to extend the tourist visa, looking for other banks to open an account, seeking assistance from visa agents, or possibly applying for a non-O visa after marriage.
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Xjwhudkwhry ********
maybe the universe is trying to tell you something...like DON'T DO IT...
Lion *****************************
have you tried your nearest Immigration office. Take your wife.. explain nicely..lots of smiles..no anger no finger pointing..

Officers have lots of discretion !
Scott ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Lion ****************************
getting married Nov 10...definitely worth a try....thx for your reply
Lion *****************************
@Scott *******
Good luck..IMO its best to get it from the horses mouth. so you know exactly where you stand.. Be very nice..ask for their help...beg if necessary .. . Thai govt officers like to show they can help in these situations... just no "foreign" anger.. I am sure they can help you.
Ian **********
Money only has to be in the bank for 2 months not 3. I'm guessing you bought a 2 month Tourist (TR) Visa when you should have bought a 3 month Non O Visa and that's why you were only stamped in for 2 months. Or perhaps you didn't show the IO your visa when you arrived so he just stamped you in visa-exempt for 60 days. Opening a bank account is now very hard as you have to prove your address. You will need a letter from your embassy proving you are free to marry and only marriages at the Amphur are legal. Village and Temple marriages are just a blessing. Sin Sods (dowry) are only paid if your fiancé has never been married and doesn't have children so don't fall for that one. Make sure you list all your assets at the Amphur as these will not then be included should the marriage result in a divorce. You need to get all your ducks in a row before you get married and there is no rush and no need to set a firm date until everything is in place. If you find a visa agent they can open a bank account for you, I think they charge about 2000 baht. Remember marry in haste and repent at leisure.
Scott ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Ian *********
mate your spot on with your appraisal...much thx
Toon **********
@Scott *******
I paid for help from this law office. Got my bank same day on a 30 day visa.

********************************************************************************
Colin *********
@Scott *******
so you are now in Thailand on a 60 day Visa Exempt stamp (in your passport). As others have said, you can get a 30 day extension on that at a cost of 1900 Baht at the nearest Immigration Office to where you are staying. If you were already married to your Thai partner, getting a Non-O visa based on marriage before leaving Australia would have made it fairly easy to open a bank account when I'm Thailand. As you're already there and not married yet, there's apparently very few bank branches that will let you open an account. Your best option is to find an Agent in Thailand that can help you do that, but it will cost you and from the many posts I've read, it might cost in the region of 5000 Baht. Opening a bank account should be high priority. Are you now staying in the Province where you intend to live full time with your future partner? From the information I've gleaned over almost two years, it's best to open a bank account in the Province where you'll live, otherwise you might end up paying unnecessary fees to the bank (ATM fees at least). If you're currently in Bangkok and intend to live in another Province, then the best option apparently, is to open an account (using an Agent) with the Bangkok Bank Head Office. They supposedly make it a lot easier than other Banks/branches, to transfer your account to one of their branches in other provinces.
@Pete ******
said the funds need to be seasoned for 2 months. I think that's the case with all, or most provinces, but check with the Immigration Office where you intend to reside and they can provide you also with the list of requirement for the Non-O visa based on marriage also, if you don't already have it. Not enough time to season your 400k? Then follow Pete's advice.
Pete *******
@Colin ********
100 baht! Bargain…
Colin *********
@Pete ******
oops, autocorrect problem that I didn't pick up on. I'll correct it 🤦😊
Yvan **********
Ok. You can be on a tourist visa for up to 90 days. Then visit a Thai immigration office to ask for your mariage Visa. You will then be granted a 90 day « temp » mariage visa before you get your 12 months. This 3

Months granted « temp » will give you the right to open a bank account. Also, some agents are helping out for your bank account 😉
Ken ***********
@Yvan *********
tell me more
Ken ***********
Yvan **********
Yvan **********
You need to be married before asking for the visa. Your wedding paperwork at Amphur might be little tricky 😊
Steven *******
I had kind of the opposite happen to me when I landed at Phuket Airport 2 days ago. I came in visa-exempt but made the mistake of telling the Passport Control agent I was visiting my wife instead of just saying I was on vacation. She asked me why I didn’t have a Non Immigrant O visa. I told her I would have to pay for that and don’t have to pay for visa-exempt. She called her supervisor over, they chatted for a minute, then she stamped me in for 60 days. I was seriously concerned before then.
Danny *******
I also applied for a extra 30 days tourist visa and it was granted by the Thai embassy in Sydney, I was hoping that it would give me 60 + 30 days thus saving me having to go to immigration in Thailand to extend my stay. It appears I may have wasted $65 for a visa that is useless, ahh well we live and learn. I will arrive in Thailand in 3
***
weeks and will see what happens
Ellen *************
I’m so sorry! This is so stressful in a time that is supposed to be joyful. It sounds trite to say it

but good luck. This is so awful.
Peter *****
The Bangkok bank in Silom had a lovely young chap who spoke very good English when I was there in August.
Peter ********
My thai wife got me an account opened at krungrisi all your future wife needs is proof of address and I think they needed to check my passport as well, Good luck
Tony *********
Johnnie ********
Get an extension, I did, no problem at all BKK, easy as🙏🇹🇭🙏🙏🇹🇭🙏
Angelo ***********
Try different bank branches and take your future wife with you for translation. It should be no problem to get a bank account on visa exempt. It is just not every bank ready to do it.
Ron ********
I have read all comments and disagree

I also applied for a 90 day visa from the Thai embassy in Canberra and was stamped with a 90 day visa on arrival

It seems the Thai Immi officer has made a mistake on arrival
David ********
At the time when you applied and obtained a 90-day tourist visa, you could use it to apply for a retirement visa in Thailand and were able to open a Thai Bank Account. The visa exemption does not allow this.
Todd *********
@Ron *******
no mistake was made by immigration. He applied for a tourist visa (60 days only), not a 90 day non-immigrant visa
Michael ********
@Ron *******
tourist visa or Non O ?
David ********
If you apply for a 90-day tourist visa in your home country it is only good for 60 days, that in English is an oxymoron. But allows you to go to immigration and renew that visa for a further 30 days inside the country for Bt1900. They call it a 90-day tourist visa as in all Thailand just to confuse patrons. I believe it is just confusing for novices and is really obsolete, the 60 visa exemption is now available and for 60 days, you just go to Immigration pay another Bt1900 and extend that visa-free visa to 90 days. (another oxymoron). Simple hay but only in Thailand. TIT. Would you believe it works?
Nick ************
I am not aware there has ever been 6 month or 8 month tourist visa. Those entitled to 60 days visa exempt can extend fir 30 more days at immigration which was introduced in July. For those not entitled to 60 days visa exempt they can apply fir 60 day tourist visa which starts when they enter Thailand at any time up to 90 days after being granted. That can also be extended by 30 days. You can not apply for a visa based on being over 50 on any kind if tourist visa. Fir that you apply for 90 day non O get the money in the bank for the right amount of time and then apply for 12 month extension.

There is a lot of confusion in this thread. There is also the option of the non IA visa that dies not require cash in thai bank but has other stipulations.
David ********
Yes, give it a break, you clearly do not know what you are talking about.
David ********
Give it a break. This is on the Thai Embassy website today
*****
/2024...read it.
David ********
You get your 90-day tourist visa from your home country's Consul or Embassy. It is good for 60 days before you need to extend it at Thai immigration in Thailand. I've had 12 of them. That is a fact. There is or was a 6-month tourist visa as well which you have to do a border run after 2 months when you return it is stamped for another 2 months. After that further 2 months, you do a border run again and return for a further 2 months, You can do the same again making the number of times you can extend it to a 6-month tourist visa to 8 months there are financial conditions. Maybe they have cancelled that arrangement but I have not seen that so far. It was very common until they introduced the present visa exemption. I really don't care what Thailand calls it but in plain English, a visa exemption is a visa.

**********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************


A 90-day Thai tourist visa allows a visitor to enter Thailand and stay for up to 90 days:

The visa is valid for 90 days from the date of issue

Visitors must enter Thailand within the 90-day period

The initial stay is 60 days

Visitors can request a 30-day extension from an immigration officer, for a total stay of up to 90 days

The extension fee is 1,900 baht

Visitors should check their passport's immigration stamps to ensure they don't overstay their visa

The penalty for overstaying is a fine of 500 baht per day and a ban on entry for at least five years

To apply for a Thai tourist visa, you can visit or contact the nearest Thai Embassy or Consulate in your country.
Nick ************
@David *******
not everyone is entitled to 60 days Visa exempt. If you are not then the 60 day tourist Visa is good for you. It is not valid for 90 days but you can enter Thailand at any time during the 90 days to get your 60 days. There is nothing confusing about it.
David ********
@Nick ***********
Thank you it seems you agree with me. I've had 12 x 90-day tourist visas issued from the Thai Consul in Perth in the past and in Sydney, all done by mail from my home and paying about AUS $70. Most of them were extended in Thailand to 90 days by presenting an application form, a new passport photo not more than 6 months old, waiting many hours for a police interview and finally paying Bt1900. The first time I applied I gave the policeman Bt1900 he handed it back and said you do not live in Hua Hin province, you have to go to Petchburry province as I then lived in Cha-am. Just more palava and red tape. Only made that mistake once. It took the best part of 2 and a half days to get the extension. The visa-exempt method appears to be a better idea now.
Nick ************
@David *******
the visa exempt is better if you are entitled to it. I believe that you have to apply for an extension to that in the province that your tm 30 is registered in. If you need an extension outside your home province then stay one night in a hotel which will do a tm30 for you there. I have never heard of anyone having a police interview for an extension. Do you mean immigration Officer?
David ********
@Nick ***********
All Immigration offices in Thailand have police on their staff. The manager at Hua Hin Immigration office at the time I did business some years ago was a woman. Even though I recently had my visa exemption renewed at Blupoint Shopping Centre the 1st part of the process was to be interviewed by a policeman attached to that office, like the other 20 or so people waiting to renew. In all the 12 previous tourist visa renewals I had over the years the 1st part of that process has been with a policeman ... allways.
David ********
We seem to be discussing 2 different things and just confusing other patrons. Clearly, the older 90-day or 6 months which was good for an 8-month Tourist Visa is now not required but is still available and the visa exemption is offered to persons just arriving as I experienced granted a 60-day visa exemption. Under the Thai 90 tourist visa, you could use that to apply for a retirement visa and mostly get a Thai bank account which you had to have to get a retirement visa. They are 2 different things.
Steve *******
@David *******
The single entry tourist visa is valid to USE once to enter Thailand for 60 days. It doesn't allow you to renew that visa for a further 30 days, you have to apply for an extention of stay and each application is granted at the discretion of the Immigration Office where you apply. Technically it is a 90 days visa but only because it has to be used within 90 days from it's issue date.
David ********
@Steve ******
No it's called a 90 tourist visa which is only good for 60 days. After applying in your home country you also have 90 days to use it. That has nothing to do with the mechanics of that visa when you enter Thailand at your convenience during those 90 days. it is called a 90 day tourist visa because you can enter fo 60 days and pay Bt1900 to extend till 90 days. A real dodgee way of doing business.
Steve *******
@David *******
Incorrect. It's called a Single Entry Tourist Visa. The 30 days 'extention of stay' has to be applied for in Thailand and, although rarely refused, is NOT a given.
Pete *******
@David *******
you fundamentally misunderstand how it works. Tourist visas are valid for 60 days.
David ********
Just about everyone gets palaver when they visit Thailand and they are constantly looking hard to include more ways to include more palaver as politicians try to put their brand on anything. Thailand revamped the word, its a bit like too much "red tape." in contracts.
David ********
David Walden

Yes, that is correct but they call it a 90-day tourist visa but it is only good for 60 days. I've had 12 of them, going back 15 years. There is no misunderstanding from me. Nobody gets it much nowadays because the Visa exemption is free and you don't need a visa to get into Thailand, It's now a visa exemption but the 30-day extension costs Bt1900 without much of the palaver. The end result is the same and simpler. You just arrive and get 2 months and can extend 30 days for a total of 90 days... your choice. A Tourist visa is for 90 days but is only good for 60 days you get it in your home country only. It costs about Aus $70 and you have 3 months to use it and you can extend it to 30 days. similar to the visa exemption. A 90day tourist visa and a
***
months visa exemption are 2 different things
Stephen ********
@David *******
maybe called that because the visa is valid for 90 days 🤷‍♂️
David ********
Yes, that is correct but they call it a 90-day tourist visa but it is only good for 60 days. I've had 12 of them, going back 15 years. There is no misunderstanding from me. Nobody gets it much nowadays because the Visa exemption is free and you don't need a visa to get into Thailand, It's now a visa exemption but the 30-day extension costs Bt1900 without much of the palaver. The end result is the same and simpler. You just arrive and get 2 months and can extend 30 days for a total of 90 days... your choice. A Tourist visa is for 90 days but is only good for 60 days you get it in your home country. It costs about Aus $70 and you have 3 months to use it and you can extend it 30 days. similar to the visa exemption. A 90day tourist visa and a
***
months visa exemption are 2 different things
John ********
@David *******
i’m 68 and haven’t seen or heard the word “palaver” in at least 5 of those decades. It’s like reuniting with a lost friend. Ty
Frankie *******
Contact thai visa center pay them n let them do their job to get u a visa
Nick ************
You should have applied for 90 day non o visa, got the money in a Thai bank account which that visa makes easy and then applied for 12 month extension based on being over 50.
John **********
@Nick ***********
he can't do that as not yet married
Nick ************
@John *********
not true. You can apply for a 90 day non o Visa from home country, come to Thailand, open a bank account and then meet the requirements fior a number of 12 month extensions 2 of which are being over 50 and married to a thai.
John **********
@Nick ***********
he could apply for a 90 day Non-O visa in his home country if he meets the criteria. If he wants to apply for a 90 day Non-O visa based on marriage he needs to be married, if he wants to apply for a non-o visa based on being over 50 then he needs to be 50 or over. Once he wends his way to Thailand he can indeed apply for a 12 month extension but only based on the reason he was granted that 90 day Non-O visa
Ruth *******
@John *********
Nick said “then applied for 12 month extension based on being over 50.” He made no mention of being married.
John **********
@Ruth ******
the original poster stated he was planning to get married next month
Ruth *******
@John *********
He did. I’m not sure where the confusion is. Leave marriage completely out of Nick’s comment as:

1). He did

2). As you’ve noted, the OP is not married.

The OP is not required to get a marriage visa. Even if he were married, he would not be. Nick recommended a solution to his problem, which is a visa based upon being over 50 if he has the funds.
John **********
@Ruth ******
but he clearly said "in order to meet the marriage visa requirements"
Ruth *******
@John *********
He also said, “so where do I stand here” and that he was 59, presumably for a reason. You can’t just cherry pick a phrase out of a post to try to prove how right you are.
John **********
@Ruth ******
no but you can give an answer appropriate to the question
John **********
I think you are confused. On what grounds did you apply for a 90 day visa?
Scott ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@John *********
.

Being a novice...a tourist visa....on refection...silly ....Nick...in the below comment...summed up what l shouldve done very well
John **********
@Scott *******
a tourist visa gives you 60 days and you can extend for a further 30 days at your local immigration office
Tony **********
I think you have to be married already for a marriage visa to be valid. Hence why the IO saw no merit in it. This is an opinion!
Pete *******
Get yourself to Pattaya, open a bank account via agent same day. Get funds into account. Funds need 2 month seasoning for Jomtien. Apply non-o based on marriage. If not enough time after marriage apply 60 day visit family then apply non-o. Good luck.
Paul ********
@Pete ******
Agree. 5K @ TikTok and account opened within an hour.
Lynnette *******
When approved, the "visa" is the permission to enter within 90 days. On entry you receive 60 day stay as a tourist. You can extend that by 30 days. Keep trying other banks. . Foot slog!
Elías ********
You've got 3 months to enter Thailand after the visa is granted. At the airport, you'll get a stamp for 60 days, and then, within Thailand, you need to visit an Immigration office to get the additional 30 days (by paying a fee, maybe 1.900 baht) That's the normal procedure
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