@Jo *********

apologies I replied to wrong person.

@John ********

am I missing something here. I came from England 3 years ago with a Huawei phone that had 2 sim card slots. I used my English pay as I use sim card and bought a Thai sim card when I arrived. I use the Thai sim card as the Primary, but text messages from banks etc still arrive. I bought a new cheap Samsung about a year ago that has 2 sim card slots and that works exactly the same. Is the USA different?

If you have access to a Monza or Starling type account (no fees,abroad) get one or both before you travel.

You can use the card to pay for things here in Thailand and also they are free to withdraw cash. Simply go into a bank and present your card and passport. There is no fee and you get nearly the daily exchange rate. You can also use the ATM but there's an additional 220 baht fee. Enjoy!

Opening an account without a visa used to be possible, but i believe the rules have changed and it seems to be very difficult now and you will be lucky to find a bank to open without.

I think with any long term visa it should be possible.

If you are struggling it might be worth paying an agent to assist in opening the account.

As always with Thailand it depends on which Immigration Office you deal with. My experience in Hua Hin and Sri Racha was that you need individual residence certificates for; opening bank account, obtaining a driving licence, buying a car etc.

I have seen online that other offices provide a general residence certificate. Also, some offices charge for issuing them (Hua Hin and Sri Racha did), but other offices do not.

Hua Hin meets your requirements, give it a try.

@Victoria *********

depends which bank your UK account is. The high Street banks like HSBC and Barclays will give a very poor exchange rate.

@Victoria *********

as Henrik stated it's a 220 baht fee at the ATM, but free if you go inside the bank with your passport.

@Andy *********

very true. I was making it a general response without listing countries individually. I suspect he will want to take her to places like Italy, Spain, France and maybe Switzerland. If he's going to do it he needs to check the individual countries to ensure the Shengen covers it.

I use a Starling debit card and it is brilliant. She can use it to pay for things in supermarkets and shops that accept cards. She can also withdraw money using the card. If she goes into the bank with her passport, there is no fee and they pay the Starling rate of the day and that is usually as good as anywhere.

I also use Wise, but only to transfer cash to my Thai bank account.

I believe that Monzo is very similar to Starling, so maybe get both, just in case anything goes wrong with one of the cards.