Philip Lipscombe Thanks for the update, would be a problem for me as I've been here 14 years and have no ID from UK except passport

This has been answers hundreds of times. You can not open a bank account without a long term visa, not with a tourist visa. Once you have a non-O visa and are in Thailand you can open a bank account but need a residency certificate from Immigration but even then some banks can make it difficult, I have found Kasikorn helpful but it varies from branch to branch and more rural areas with few expats tend to be the most difficult probably because they don't understand the visa situation. I would recommend going to a bank it a city as you can always use the local branch for normal banking even if you account is in another branch.

Martyn Goddard If you don't have an exit booked from Thailand within the duration of a visa ( days) and you are refused entry by Immigration then the airline can be held responsible and have to return you at their cost so yes they can and have refused bording under those circumstances. Just book a train or bus ticket to take you to Laos before the end of the visa term and show that and you might also need it at Thai immigration, you don't have to use it if you get the extension but it's probably the cheapest option. You can just wing it as most people do and don't have problems but do you want to risk it?

From what I can tell it all depends on where you do the extension and even what officer you see as they can interpret the rules differently. The rules are not 100% clear and you should go and talk to the office you will be using when you arrive. Everybody's circumstances are different and for you having the house built would be different to someone living in a hotel and also being on a married extension will probably be considered differently to a retirement extension.

Why is a passport not a government issued ID, it's what I and all of my friends have used so is this a new thing that's come out in about the last year or are some people trying to open accounts without passports. Maybe if you want to open an account then take the documents that we know are needed (residency certificate & Passport) and if they ask for a UK driver's license say that you don't drive so what else will they accept.

In my experience I would recommend Kasikorn bank as I've had 4 accounts with them over the last 14 years and apart from 1 less than helpful branch they have been excellent The last time I opened an account was 3 years ago and I don't think there have been major changes so here's what I needed. First you need a residency certificate from immigration and for that you may need a 'fixed' address so either a lease or letter from a hotel stating you are staing for several months. You will also need your passport for ID and finally your phone if you want to use the app but the SIM/contract must be in your name. I have no idea what the UK driver's license is all about.

I came over in 2012 on a non-O retirement visa and didn't get a police report, it didn't stop me from getting the extension but then things might have changed since then.

I opened 2 Kasikorn bank accounts just over a year ago and I am on a non-O with retirement extension and had no problems, all I needed was the residency certificate and my passport plus my phone (account in my name) if I wanted to install the app. Things do change and some more rural branches might require a yellow housebook but none of my friends have had to present a lease agreement when opening a bank account. Kasikorn bank appears to be the easiest going but still needs proof of residency and you can only get the certificate from Immigration if you are on a long term visa such as a non-O and it's possible that Immigration will require the lease agreement before issuing the certificate so that might be where confusion comes from. I'm in Khon Kaen and found that the Kasikorn branch in Central were not very helpful and the lady there really didn't want to deal with me but the branch at Lotus was extremely helpful as was the branch further along the main road, remember that you don't have to use the branch nearest to your home as you can do banking at any branch and in fact I keep my 800k in the Jomtien (Pattaya) branch but get the statement and letter needed for my yearly extention from the Khon Kaen branch.

I've seen comments about UK banks closing accounts if you are not living in UK, I haven't found that to be the case for me but it might be true for some banks. I am with HSBC and have my Thailand address registered with them plus I have been living full time in Thailand since 2012 and don't have a problem. HSBC is advertised as an 'international' bank so maybe it's different to other UK banks. All banks are different regarding money transfers and I can only talk about the banks I've used, before I left UK I had to go into my other bank to transfer money in person or use a service like Wise which is why I opened the HSBC account and I can transfer using the Internet for a fee of about £4 and I always transfer in GBP doing the exchange in my Thai bank (Kasikorn) for the best rate. Do what I did, go to the banks and ask them directly about what happens if you move and how you will be able to manage transfers without being in UK. As far as having the pension paid into a Thai bank, that's a possibility but I prefer to have it paid into my UK bank and transfer it when the exchange rate is higher and also transfering it in GBP as if it's paid direct to the Thai bank the exchange is more likely to be done in the UK bank (they make more money that way) and it will be worse plus you will be paying a transfer fee each time so you could lose quite a bit of money over the year. Just in caase you are wondering, yes I have informed UK pensions that I am living in Thailand so that is not the reason that I am still using a UK bank. Another concern might be if you intend to make frequent trips to UK and if so having money in the UK bank makes more sense, I don't go back so that's not the reason for me.

You can't open a bank account on a tourist visa