It's not hard to open up a Thai Bank account if you have the right paperwork. The main thing is you need either a Yellow Book, or a letter from immigration stating what your address is for bank accounts. Without either of these two items, you are not going to be able to open up an account in accordance with Thai Law. Also, you need something similar to get a license. FYI, if you are staying in Thailand for more than 90 days and driving on an IDP, you are not driving legally. With this said, I would recommend taking the time to get a Thai Bank Account and Thai Driver's Licenses. Also the Thai Licenses are good for all of ASEAN. And paying for thing in thailand by using the banking apps is so much easier, versus caring round wads of paper in your pocket and getting change back. But when that said, there is no way in hell that I would have 500K baht in a Thai Bank. They can forget that. Also, that is not a requirement. May want to try a different immigration office.
Complete BS. I had no issues opening my account up last year. However, you can’t just show up at the bank with your passport and expect them not to follow the law. You need to get the paper from immigration of your official Thai address for banks.
people do extend. Or they might travel to other countries by land. Many reasons why you don’t need a return ticket. Thai immigration rarely ask if you are a first world country citizen.