That's Thailand for you. Policies are written for whomever to interpret however.

@Graham ******

thank goodness there's bribery

Thank you all. Seems getting an international driving permit would be the simplest and quickest. And, I'll need to go to the dept of land transport to do that.

@Chris ****

when push comes to shove...

@Brandon ***********

I'm trying to convert a tourist visa to a non-O.

Thank you all. From your comments and my current experience, I've come to the conclusion that, as of Aug 2024, opening a bank account on a tourist visa is impossible, at least in BKK, unless you pay an agent. The banks claim it's their policy to refuse tourist visas, while Immigration claimed to know nothing about bank policies. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I should have applied for a long-term visa before arriving, instead of trying to convert a tourist visa to a non-O. But then, there are still agents to resort to.

@Stuart **********

many thanks

@George ********

can I use the visa to open a local account and deposit the money. The headache right now is getting an account on a tourist visa

Thank you all for your comment. For clarification, what do you mean by 'tied to them'? So the visa would be obtained through bribery?

@Michael ******

seems to be the least painful way