In May my wife and I will be going to Thailand for 7 weeks on a Non-Immigrant O Visa – we are 77 and from the United States. Unfortunately, we can not stay long enough to season our money in the bank since we are going to Africa to do a gorilla trek and our dates are set. Our goal on this trip is to set up bank accounts to deposit 800K into each account using wise. We have rented an Airbnb condo and have received from the owner the 7-week lease, her ID card, and her ownership of the condo document. In December we will return on a new Non-Immigrant O Visa and after two months apply for an extended stay permit for a year.

Our Problem: I am reading in Facebook that Kasikornbank (K-Bank) and other banks will not allow us to open bank accounts with that short a lease (even though we will have a TM30, Certificate of Residence, photos, and Thai phone numbers linked to our passports).

I see 3 possible outcomes:

1. Kasikornbank will allow us to open accounts.

2. We have to rent a cheap condo while we are gone for a year ($300/mo) just to have a lease.

3. Use an agent.

From your experience, will Kasikornbank allow us to open an account. Are some branches or cities better to use? If not, and we have to use an agent, what would the cost be using our own money and not the agent’s.