What are the steps for opening a bank account in Thailand without a work visa?

Ok. Am in Pattaya. Spent morning going to numerous banks to open an account to deposit 800k for retirement visa. . They all wanted a 1 year visa.

All i have is UK passport + 30 day exemption stamp. No lease. No local girl.

Any one can recommend any specfic branch in pattaya where they have *recently* opened one? Thanks

One bank branch was prepared butbwoukd cost 5900 for an account with accident insurance + 600 for atm card.

Quoted the same by an agent

If you are British go to Bangkok Bank in London and open an account it's in "The Gerkin"

SCB. Allowed. With tabien barn married paperwork passport

Open at a BKK closest to where you live. Is not like in USA where you can always go to any branch. Many things you can only do at your "home" branch. Especially true if you intend to live in Bangkok. The Bangkok branches are kind of separate. Also there is a branch of Bangkok bank in New York City

If your partner is Thai, bring them with you. Having a Thai person accompany you to the bank makes a huge difference for some reason.

have bbk and kasikorn no drama,s

/permalink/9/

Technically it's not allowed. If you find a bank to bend the rules I'm not sure I'd trust them.

Depends on the branch. I got an account in a tourist visa from Bangkok Bank in Ari.

Dress nice, have a wad of cash in your hand to deposit.

Deutsche Bank. They also have offices in BKK.

I say again, BkkB AirPort plaza. Trust me.

Recommend Bangkok Bank and Krungsri Bank. Look for big branches in tourist areas or areas where expats are likely to live, and most importantly where you can be sure that there are English speaking staff. It's helpful to have an embassy letter (just verifies your address in Thailand and indirectly your passport). You may be able to get a Certificate of Residence from your local immigration office (although not all will do for visa-exempt entry some will). Have a Thai friend go with you especially if they bank at the same branch. Dress well. Behave well.

If above fails, you may find a Bangkok Bank that would open an account for you if you are also purchasing a Personal Accident Policy (PA 1st Smart) which is actually decent accident insurance and covers you for motorcycle accidents (one of the few that does). Believe the bank representative gets some sort of commission when doing this so greases the wheels a little.

Finally, if even that fails, look into an agent who will want to charge something in range of 3,000-4,000 baht to open an account for you.

BKK Bank AirPort plaza know how to fix it. You need to have an address through. They r on groundfloor close to Tops.

Go to a main branch with a manager. You don’t need a work permit. The average clerk will refuse you as they have never done it before and don’t know how. They don’t want to risk getting in trouble. I did mine years ago at Bangkok Bank with just a passport and my GF to vouch for me. All done in 30mins. Card, internet banking, mobile app everything.

Try krungsri, they only asked for my passport before.

What i hear the most: you need work permit or letter embassy. The lady was kind enough to let me take a photo of one from my country ( bangkok bank emquartier branch). I try to attach to this post. Bring as many papers as you can find. If they see many "official" letters fir example bank statement from your home bank. They love paper here. And sign every copy. No matter if it’s intended to be signed or not. Makes you look important. I opened mine on a tourist visa 3 yrs ago. Now i wanted another one because the branch i opened it is too far. They can’t move you, only open a 2nd account with the same bank. So make sure to search in the area you live in first. If i lose my Bank book, i don’t want to drive 4 hours just to visit my "home branch", where they send you when you have a problem later

If you're married and present your 'ornate' married certificate (in Thai คร3), that will assist you to open an account.

If you try Kasikorn, and still get refused, refer them to the bank's official guidelines...

Assuming you have an account open! Keep in mind that if you are a 🇺🇸 citizen, you must report your foreign account to FinCen every year; if you don’t, and they catch you, it is a 10K USD fine per omission.

I went online search found Krungsri emailed a few times back and forth then opened same day easy to deal with as well

You will probably need some for of proof of residency like a lease

K Bank @ Lotus in Korat will let you open on TR visa I did mine there.

If it helps

Stuart wrote it all.

What you got to do is going from bank to bank, branch to branch. A few do it. You have to find them. Sounds crazy but that's how is the situation for farangs in Thailand right now.

Tell them you want to open to deposit 800k for retirement visa.

Maybe state where in Thailand you are and others may be able to suggest an exact branch to try.

This is difficult to answer as each bank is different, best to shop around at different banks, from my experience and what a lot of other people say, Bangkok bank seems to be the easiest, but then again even their branches will be different, good luck but keep looking around.

Unfortunately there is no set answer to this. Each branch of each bank has their own set ways. Some will let you open an account with a visa exempt entry, some insist on a long term visa or even a work permit. There’s no rhyme or reason as to which branch will let you do what. Just takes a bit of leg work trolling through various branches to see which one will let you open an account. Nothing in Thai law stops anyone opening an account on any visa type but the branch manager has sway on what happens in their branch. In tourist type areas you’ll probably have more luck as they’re used to foreigners. In Nakhon si nowhere you are probably going to be out of luck.

Shoparound

Try another bank. Keep trying until you find one that will take you on