I have been told that you can not pay online in Laos and need to schedule an appointment at the embassy... I don't know if this is true, but worth checking out...

@Nongnuch *******

sure whatever. I just opened the plan B account, because it's easier to get the letter for immigration. Still keep my original as they have a branch in my home country and it's easy to ACH money into my account in Thailand without dealing with SWIFT or WISE . As for the opening a new account, I would personally disagree. I have friends in CMX who had to go back to BKK to go to the branch where they opened the account to deal with some issues. Even though the banks maybe national, they seem to be different entities in each providence.

But you do you...

@Paul *******

definitely a plan B. Go to a real branch, not a bank in a big mall full of tourists. Dress nicely, didn't act like an entitled cun! and it's all pretty easy if you have the right documents. If it doesn't work, be nice and just go to another branch. You will have to go back to the branch you opened your account with for most things, so make sure it's convenient to get to. If you move to another providence, open another account. You'll save aggravation, travel and fees.

It should take under 10 minutes if you have the information collected. The O-A is much more of an in-depth application.

Just remember all the bank statements need to be in one file, you can only upload one file for each section.

You need to be in Thailand to open the bank account. I would suggest going to a stand alone branch and not one in a mall.

@Todd ********

Exactly. I didn't bust my ass for years to put up with nonsense. All the fees for an agent are seriously in the noise. If you are worrying about every baht... I'm really sorry... Not my problem

@Todd ********

well, you're going to spend it here anyway. I used to be an advisor and there are reasonable arguments on both sides. Honestly 800,000 thb is in the noise. What's your time worth... Mines with a lot ( at least to me and who knows how much there is ) you do get a discount from agents if you deal with the bank issues... They just collect the info and get in the front of the line at immigration. I have no desire to ever step foot in there again.

@Max ************

I was thnking the same thing. Let's say you earn 12 percent a year. 800,000 thb is about $25,000

So each month you could have made $250 return. Depending on the bank it's 3-4 months, so $750 - $1000. Which happens to be what agents are charging. So it's close to a wash. As with everything, up to you

@Terry *********

3 or 4 months, depends on the bank. Immigration only wants 2, but the banks won't give you the letter unless you comply with their rules

@Stephen ********

there have always been more options. LTR is good if you qualify

Thai privilege if you just want to burn cash

@David *********

not that easy to get the money out