Be careful! Some agents are not reliable. I know of an agent that has taken over 90 days to process an extension based on retirement. Officially that's a one year ban, but the agent assures the owner of the passport that they have sorted the over stay out, but hasn't done the extension yet'

Neil Walters You are right in saying as it stands now. Everything can change in an instant. The fighting could suddenly stop tomorrow or, as Trump seems to expect, go on for several weeks. Doha airport could be safe or could be bombed to the ground in an hour.

If I were flying through that area and couldn't postpone indefinitely, I would definitely cancel my flight now and seek an alternative route before they are fully booked.

Do Thai people have to show their ID cards when topping up.

How can you live without a bank book in Thailand? I seem to remember I had one in England about 50 years ago, but I'm not sure.

@Charles ********

I am on a marriage visa. 2 years ago, we didn't book an appointment, and arrived at Chaeng Wattana at 10 am and were finished at 8 pm. There were still several couples after us.

@Charles ********

I don't understand why people need to pay an agent. Just check with immigration about what documents are needed, fill them out properly and the whole process is a breeze. You have to turn up in person anyway to have your photo taken. The whole process takes about 20 minutes. The only problem is the loooonnnngg waiting time if you don't make an online appointment.

@David *******

so there is a reason. The account holder needs to verify (maybe again) who is. Yes, it's irritating and I am also pretty irritated that I have to verify myself every year on another foreign banking app I have.

@Reinhard *******

They are not stealing your money. No one has lost any money and if they did, it would be a case for the police. They are simply freezing the account until the holder meets the right criteria. Yes, it is annoying, but there have been so many "mule" accounts and other frauds. I have 3 bank accounts I Thailand and all 3 " reminded" me of the rules about telephone number and bank account being in the same name. I went with proof of this and 5 minutes in each place, everything was corrected. I had a bank account " frozen " in a European country where I lived and worked for 25 years, and have 2 children there. It was frozen because I didn't live there anymore. A simple call to the bank and they told me to transfer all the money to Thailand even though I travel to that country 3 or 4 times a year to visit my kids. Yes, it's annoying, but these rules exist because there are so many people who abuse the system. Btw, we still don't know why the OP's account is frozen.

@Bruce ***********

well he does say his friend " visits" Thailand as a tourist, which implies that he comes regularly.

Why did they freeze his account? A bank wouldn't freeze an old account like that without reason?

There are 2 things he can do.

1. Ask on Facebook and get lots of different answers.

2. Go to the bank and ask. There he will get all the info he needs.

My friend has a business account here, but lives in UK. His account here was frozen as there were signs of fraudulent activity. He went to the bank and it was sorted out.