Try the second floor at Bangkok bank in Nana - it’s a main bank and it’s where Siam legal use to set up accounts. They are very used to Farang and are helpful - I set up a fixed deposit account there yesterday to get interest on my money. They will probably ask you to set up 1 year life insurance which they charge in cash I think it’s 2k baht.

@Graeme *****

your correct sorry for slight misinformation, it is just O

@Mark *******

I have just completed this process yesterday. Get the visa exempt which I believe is being reduced back to 30 days in the next few weeks (apparently the Thai hotel association have persuaded the government that the 60 day exemption is leading to illegal condo renting). Use an agency to get you a 3 month OA visa and they will help you open a bank account (there is a cost of insurance paid in cash) but this will allow you to transfer the 800k baht so that it can be there a minimum of 2 months before you get the 12 month retirement extension to the OA visa.

Its not cheap using an agency but it removes most of the headaches and enhances the success rate. I tried to open a bank account without the agency with a Thai speaker and no joy went back with the agency and the Thai speaker and no problems even with exactly the same documents and correct process.

Wise is totally transparent tells you what you pay, what they take and what will be in your Thai account. They also give you a comparison to other transfer sites so you can use it to shop around

If you have an email for the person you want to talk to you could use Teams or Zoom - if it’s a cold call that will not work

I did an overnight in KL and came back into BKK with no issues. I had previously had 3 x 30 day exemptions (before the change to 60) and had been in and out to the UK and other parts of Asia. I panicked and tried to get the Thai visa office in the UK to give me a tourist visa. As I was in Bali they refused took my £50 (actually apologetically) and told me the visa exemption was fine to use. I took the email with me but had zero issues at the airport. I came back last September and did the KL hop in December. I was actually helping a business colleague out and had initially was going to get the 30 day extension. I got the 60 day and that gave me the time to apply for the retirement visa and get the bank account set up

@Henrik ****

not wishing to get into a long winded he said you said; I agree the laws changed, agents are saying different things but my advice would be to go to somewhere like Siam Legal pay a little more and get a better outcome.

@Henrik ****

rules continue to change, my point was the fact a good agent can open closed doors. Reading enough posts on here teaches us that exceptions seem to be as frequent as what was expected. I felt it was worth speaking to someone like Siam legal before living in Cambodia et al trying to get a visa that way. If I knew the correct answer I would not be reading the posts

I opened my bank account 3 months ago on a visa exempt stamp and paid the extra money to the legal company who were progressing my retirement visa through the non O route. I tried myself with a native Thai speakers help and all the correct documents ( same used in both applications) and was rejected went back with the legal team and magically came away with the bank account in Bangkok

Thanks everyone for your help it’s appreciated