There is no health insurance requirement for the O visa.

I find that letters sent to me as tracked regular mail get to me in 10-14 days. That was last year when my sister sent me a credit card from California.

I don’t have a problem with the KYC policy. The process to get where they are to where they want to be is a bit of a disaster though.

I had my Kasikorn account hacked last year. I would have appreciated some controls. I’ve got a Bangkok Bank account now. No problems at all with it. I opened it with an LTR visa. Got my face scanned. My phone number and bank account have the same passport number.

@Darren ********

The wealthy pensioner LTR requires $80,000 passive income.

@Brown *******

a retirement visa and extension amount is 800,000฿

@Angie *********

My impression is that they looking at accounts opened fairly recently so you may be OK with your old account but you really want to get a long term O visa and extension and update your information with the bank to be safe.

Let me tell you what everyone is already telling you. You do not need a background check for an O visa. You can get an O visa in the US, in a neighboring country, or in Thailand and in all cases you do NOT need a background check. You can only get an OA visa while in the US. The OA visa does require a background check. I know because I originally came to Thailand on an OA visa.

The DTV is a 5 year visa. I'm not sure the answer to this issue but I don't know how you get off of a DTV during that 5 years. You may be stuck with it if you get it. Anyone have an answer to this?

@Angie *********

The DTV visa, even though it is 5 years, is considered a tourist visa. The change in bank policies during the past few months is that people on a tourist visa cannot get a Thai bank account. That means tourists cannot open an account and those that previously opened an account while on a tourist visa may have their accounts frozen until they can show that they are now on a long term visa or extension.

You should be listening to Brandon. The O and OA are different visas with different requirements. You want the O visa which does not require a background check.

If you were to get a DTV then you cannot have a Thai bank account or you are in danger of losing an existing Thai bank account.

@Martin *********

Hospitals often can help with immigration matters. Even if you are home you might ask your doctor if they can help. Doing immigration stuff on time is best but if they can’t help then a letter about your condition may be handy later on. Good luck.