And make sure u send photos of ur Vietnam boarding pass, hotel details, map to hotel location, and pictures with you in the hotel. If you can add timestamps, that’s the best thing to do.

While still in Hanoi, try an agent like Issa Compass. They have a refund offer, too. Changing to Muay Thai after applying for cooking could be a red flag. I’d try another cooking school, which that agent above has promos with. Maybe u could make a trip to HCM for ur 2nd attempt, best of luck!

Perhaps it was a condition do open the account you needed for the visa. The other account is likely a fixed savings, where you need to leave it for X many months. If you have the money to spare, I would just do it. The way they’re cracking down on banks, you were lucky to get one opened now.

Barely using it is a far cry from never using it. I agree I don’t need my account on a daily basis, but when I do use it, it’s nice to have it.

The real question is why wouldn’t you want a Thai bank account to pay for food delivery, shop on Lazada, pay for Grab, send money to friends and family, use cardless atm anywhere, keep xXx,000thb on hand without carrying a bucket of cash. Imagine living in US and not having a local bank.

I had to go into the bank to transfer BBL app. SCB I could do myself. Many years ago I could move the BBL app myself with an ATM card to request the customer ID, but it wouldn’t let me this time. Annoying but painless to go the branch.

laos is the easiest, though it’s been a few years since I’ve gone. Just take the overnight bus to mukdahan, cross the friednship bridge and chill for a few days along the river while waiting for the visa. The sandwiches there are really good.

For non-o marriage, I didn’t need to any funds to show. Only to extend after 90 days did u need to have the 400k in a Thai bank.

Head to Hanoi Vietnam and you can probably get approved with the 500k bank balance deposited the same month.

Open a Wise account for international transfer and then withdraw it to your Thai bank. It will be cheaper and less hassle.

fully agree - it’s just one of those things we have to deal with. I’m even thinking of changing to a DTV to get around it, but I hear they might reject me since I’ve been on marriage extension forever now. I’m locked in until I turned 50 — haha. Well, you and the misses can relax for another year :-)