@Tore ********

okay, I had not heard of that before, but I guess 99% of people will not come to Thailand needing medical treatment.

@Tore ********

do you know anybody that has opened one in the last 6 months?

I opened an account 3 years ago, but the banks are much stricter now.

Do you have a Thai bank account already?

If not, it is virtually impossible to open an account on a tourist visa.

Much easier to get the non O before you come to Thailand.

@Ray *********

you are welcome, it's really stressful, so good luck.

I found Santander to be the worst of my accounts when I came to Thailand, they froze my card very quickly. Luckily I most of my money was in other accounts.

As Lynnette stated (and other people have said it to me previously) Nationwide seem to be the most lenient, so maybe try them.

I have extended my stay 3 times now and on average it has taken me 45 minutes.

You go to immigration and get a list of requirements.

You need to complete a very simple A4 form with questions like; name, passport number, date of arrival in Thailand etc.

You supply the documents on the immigration list and pay 1,900 Baht, wait a few minutes and you are done for another year.

I personally don't think it's worth using an agent for this simple task and immigration are helpful.

As for circumventing the law by using an agent to deposit the funds, this is a mistake IMO as it is illegal and people do get their Visas cancelled for this reason. It's up to the individual what they want to do.

@Jason *******

there's no mandatory health insurance requirement with the non O.

Easy to open a bank account in Thailand if you have a non O visa.

@Nick ********

I didn't apply for the non OA visa when I came to Thailand, so I am not an expert (I got the non O visa, so didn't need insurance).

I think to get the non OA you would need to show your insurance policy and if declined (unlikely) you would have wasted your money.

@Nigel *******

he has the option of non O or OA.

If he wants to get the mandatory insurance, health and criminal records checks, it's the non OA.

If not, he applies for the Non O.

They are both available for over 50 retirement.

You could do it online, it only takes a few minutes.