@Tony ****

use an agent, costs something like 5000 THB, they definitely can get a bank account opened for you on a simple single-entry Non-Imm-O visa. It is just those incompetent lazy bank staff they don't know what to do and will pull out of their noses anything they dream up

@Ant **********

that Non-O visa had not been issued yet, when he entered Thailand. So he got in on a visa-exempt entry and got stamped in for 60 days. On this "touristic" entry, you cannot get a bank account opened anymore since February 2025

Peter Roberts . . So, you are on a touristic entry and CAN'T get a bank account opened.

Firstly, you MUST exit Thailand and re-enter using the 90-days Non-Imm-O Visa you got issued.

Stamped in on this Non-Imm-O visa for a 90-days stay permit, you visit Immigration, have them issue a “certificate of residency”, get a Thai mobile SIM card and number, and get the Thai bank account opened in your name.

Then deposit the 800K, and as soon as the money has been sitting in the account for 60 days, get the bank letter that confirms it, and apply for the 1-year extension of the stay permit

@Mikkel ******

Sorry, the first part is correct, but the second part is wrong! "Only way without exiting Thailand, would be to deposit 800K in a Thai bank in an account in your name only, and buy the 90 day non o directly at an immigration office here." . . he is on a touristic entry and CAN'T get a bank account opened. Firstly he MUST exit Thailand and re-enter using the 90-days Non-Imm-O Visa. Only stamped in on this Non-Imm-O visa, he can get the Thai bank account opened, deposit the 800K, and as soon as the money was in the account for 60 days, he can apply for the 1-year extension . . . . . . . he can't buy the 90-days Non-Imm-O visa on Immigration, because for this he first needs the Thai bank account. I don't understand - you described everything correctly in the first part, but with the end part of your reply, you are completely lost

why would you go via the Non-O/A route? The 90-days single entry Non-Imm-O visa is much less complicated, has no mandatory health insurance requirement, no police clearance requirement. Only when going from the 90-days stay permit to the one-year extension of stay, the 800,000 THB which you would need on your home bank account for the application to the Non-O/A visa, needs to be deposited in a Thai bank account in your name instead. That's the only difference. If you can't afford the loss of interest of funds at home compared to the low interest for funds in a Thai bank, you should rethink your retirement plan. You might also not afford to ring the bell in any bar after you lost "4-wins" for three consecutive streaks

@Mark *******

and

@Keith ******

. . I reckon we shouldn't continue this discussion. Let the OP do the 90-days report by registered mail and let her find out how far it carries 😉

@Mark *******

and

@Keith ******

. . now! it starts to get really funny. The Question&Answer Games have begun! 😂😂😂

@Mark *******

I actually asked Google 😂😂😂😂😂

@Mark *******

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

@Iliyan **********

I realized a long time ago that asking Google or ChatGPT does not always result in a correct reply. The reason is that many Facebook groups and other visa-advice related groups, are flooded with wrong information, and ChatGPT is fishing in a pond of wrong info, and if the wrong content is in the majority, ChatGPT algorithms will draw the conclusion that the wrong info must be correct