@Billy *********

it's not against the law. It's bank policy. There's no law that says people on tourist visa cannot get a bank account.

But each bank branch manager is the king of their branch and has discretion to add their own rules or interpret bank policy as they see fit.

I haven't seen anyone report success in a long time. Banks simply aren't offering accounts to people in Thailand as a tourist anymore (and the DTV is classified as a tourist visa).

A new law went into effect recently which makes banks responsible for all scam and fraud losses, and they are doing everything possible to ensure they're not liable for any financial losses.

It's usually best to say what type of visa you're asking about, and which embassy you'll be applying at.

Anonymous participant no problem

You could try messaging the consulate through their Facebook page. They tend to respond fairly well on Facebook. Just make sure you only send a single message, short and concise, with all the necessary information.

Hello my name is xxx, passport number xxx and OA visa application XXXX. I submitted my application on xxxx and wanted to check on the status as it has been a month and my flight date is soon.

Something like that.

There's no requirement to be on any visa type to rent any property. But the landlord also isn't going to care if you don't have a visa and then you can't get back into Thailand, they're still going to expect you to pay rent or lose your deposit.

The "facts" come from the embassy you'll be applying at. But yes, non-O has a financial requirement. The exact amount and how long you have to show it for are up to the embassy you'll be applying at. They don't require you to have a Thai bank account, it's immigration in Thailand that requires that.

These are the financial requirements for a non-OX visa directly from the London embassy website.

An OX visa requires 3 million baht in a Thai bank account. The only embassy in the world that lets you use money in your home bank account is Sydney. I'm not sure where you're finding this 80,000 baht number but it has nothing to do with an OX visa. The only people who actually use this visa are from Australia.

For a non-O you're only required to have the account at 400,000 for the 2 months before you apply for the extension. Once you receive the extension there's no requirement for there to be any money in your bank account until 2 months before next year's extension.