Something doesn’t seem right. For the last year and a half I’ve made (2) ฿35,000 transfers back to back straight from my bank in the US to my Krungthai account. Every transfer has been instant except maybe two months where it took about one to two hours. Check with your bank.

Opened account with Krungthai through an agent in Bangkok when I first got my Non immigrant O based on retirement and year extension

of stay so I don’t know how difficult it would be to open on your own. But when I applied for my next extension I was worried because I was now living in Korat (different province) and was thinking there would be “issues” but everything went very smoothly. Got my 12 months of statements (using monthly deposit method) and certification letter upon walk-in. Was in and out in less than 30 minutes for only 100 baht. Also have had no issues with monthly Wise transfers from US bank and never any issues with local scan payments or online payments with Agoda or Lazada. Very happy with Krungthai (light blue) Bank.

@Nongnuch *******

Nongnuch, I understand exactly what you are saying and believe me, I have been really dreading this renewal. I had all kinds of contingency plans in mind if it didn’t work out but fortunately everything worked out perfectly, Especially being able to continue with my monthly deposits vs the full ฿400k deposit. I have nothing but high praise for not only all the people we dealt with at immigration but also Krungthai Bank. I was anticipating all kinds of possible problems since the agency opened my account in Bangkok, but again very smooth and painless. Thanks for your continued comments and insights , they have always been helpful understanding the system and possible pitfalls. All my best for a happy and healthy new year.

Nongnuch, I understand exactly what you are saying and believe me, I have been really dreading this renewal. I had all kinds of contingency plans in mind if it didn’t work out but fortunately everything worked out perfectly, Especially being able to continue with my monthly deposits vs the full ฿400k deposit. I have nothing but high praise for not only all the people we dealt with at immigration but also Krungthai Bank. I was anticipating all kinds of possible problems since the agency opened my account in Bangkok, but again very smooth and painless. Thanks for your continued comments and insights , they have always been helpful understanding the system and possible pitfalls. All my best for a happy and healthy new year.

The answer is yes but I can only speak from my experience in my province of Nakhon Ratchasima. I was in the same situation last month. I arrived October 2024 and received a 90 day Non-O based on retirement and a one year extension of stay stamp all through an agent in Bangkok using their funds. From the moment I received my bank account (Krungthai) I faithfully deposited a minimum of ฿70,000 via Wise on the first of every month. All year long I read post after post about the problems of being on the “agency hamster wheel“ and was concerned about my extension renewal, especially being from the US and not being able to get an embassy certification for my retirement pensions. In July, my fiancé and I were married, and I soon decided to pursue switching the extension stay from retirement to marriage.

End result… just received my final extension and reentry stamps on Christmas Eve. Everything went even smoother than I hoped. The first trip to receive my 30 day “under consideration” stamp only took a half day at immigration including the very easy process of getting my statements and bank letter that morning at Krungthai bank. Also the home visit which they did that same week went very smoothly and actually was an enjoyable experience. Going back this week on the 24th for my final stamp was only slightly delayed because of the amount of people at immigration.

My suggestion to anyone (marriage or retirement) is to make sure you follow the list of items needed which you receive from your immigration office “to the letter” and more is always better than not enough when it comes to the supporting documents. I provided monthly statements from my US bank showing my military retirement and Social Security deposits as well as the monthly transfers via Wise. I highlighted each deposit and transfer (color coded by type) to make it very easy for them to see. I think this was helpful and appreciated by the IO officer. I also provided the online statements of benefits from both the military and Social Security accounting offices. They never asked for any certification from my embassy.

Again, I say this knowing that every provincial immigration office is different but want you to know what you asked is possible because I just did it in Nakhon Ratchasima. Best of luck to you and feel free to DM me if you have any questions.

@Wannikea ********

thanks, will do

@Graham *****

…thanks

Thanks for the information Jesper but one last question please. I think I read quite a while ago about someone having a short term stamp mistakenly placed in their passport when they returned and didn’t realize it until they got back home. Everyone said they should have checked before they left immigration and had it corrected because without it being corrected it negated their original expiration date. When I return, will they place any type of new stamp after my original 12 month stamp and if so, I suspect it should have my original expiration date of 5 January 2026?

Thanks for the information Jack but one last question please. I think I read quite a while ago about someone having a short term stamp mistakenly placed in their passport when they returned and didn’t realize it until they got back home. Everyone said they should have checked before they left immigration and had it corrected because without it being corrected it negated their original expiration date. When I return, will they place any type of new stamp after my original 12 month stamp and if so, I suspect it should have my original expiration date of 5 January 2026?

Hi everyone, question to ensure I don’t miss something. I have a multiple entry stamp with my 1 year extension of stay for retirement and will be leaving the country for the first time next month on a short trip to Vietnam. Is there anything I need to do or have with me before leaving and returning other than the normal exiting and return processing through immigration with my passport? Thanks for your input and expertise.