@Ca***

it's Indonesian, they also have Garuda as their national symbol

The problem is compounded by the instructions saying "Your name must be spelled exactly as it appears in the machine-readable zone (MRZ) at the bottom of the biographic data page of your passport."

The MRZ doesn't include hypens.

@Ro***

I read it as him saying you could save money as in, save up the money and then buy Elite. Not that you pay less for it.

@Ro***

it doesn't save money, it's much more expensive. But it does give you up to 20 years security of tenure, or even 30 years or life if you find a second hand one. Up to individual if they feel it's worth spending what is a lot more money to get that, but you do can over 5 years, that's the point.

@Ar***

to clarify I'm not having a go at you, like I said my preference is to DIY as well even if it does take a bit longer and I'll only use an agent if the trade off is just too much. I didn't use an agent for my own bank account opening, but it was easier a decade ago.

I sort of figure it has got so much more difficult at this stage, if an agent was offering it for a few thousand baht, that's probably not much more than you'd pay anyway between residence cert and the bank possibly pushing insurance on you. And then you get the bank account guaranteed done without spending a lot of time running around trying to find the right branch and then the right documents (which you probably also have to pay for, I did pay for my residence cert).

There's just a point at which it's difficult enough without and easy enough with that using an agent starts to make sense, that's all I meant. And agents here are not crazy expensive either.

@Pa**

work permits aren't issued or necessary for remote work. It's the same with the LTR "work from Thailand professional", no work permit is issued or possible. Digital work permit on LTR is for "highly skilled professionals" working for a local Thai company.

@Ko ******

sure, just saying it's the better option for Americans, which OP seems to be, if you can get it it's the one to have. Some other countries have similar options, like Starling in the UK or ING in Australia. These don't refund the Thai-side fee like Schwab but they are zero ATM fee the home bank side.

@Ko ******

they used to but they stopped issuing cards for Americans, I presume it's some regulatory issue. If you have a card, Wise has its own ATM fee once you go beyond a very low monthly limit of around $200/€200, they charge you a small fixed fee and the percentage I mentioned. Withdrawing 25k would cost about 675B (220B Thai side plus 455B Wise side). This isn't a currency charge, it's an ATM charge and they charge it everywhere, you'll pay it in Europe or the US as well whatever currency you use. Schwab is zero both sides, it's a much better option for Americans. Wise is good for transfers, and spending with the card is free.

@Ar***

agent is a person known to the bank that provides a reference for you. This is a documented option for opening an account, it's not necessarily anything illegal.

It used be a lot easier to open accounts even on a tourist entry, they have definitely tightened up. May not be impossible but it's a lot harder than it was.

@Ar***

DTV is officially a type of tourist visa. So is Elite though. It may be possible to get an account open without using an agent, people suggest using an agent as it may be the easier option and they value their time more than what an agent charges. One of the official options for opening an account is a reference from an existing customer known to the bank and it's possible this is what an agent is providing for a fee, may let you sidestep some of the other requirements.

If you want to DIY try to find information on a specific branch that has opened an account for DTV holder and what they required. Typically here in Chiang Mai Bangkok Bank at least wants a residence cert from immigration which you can get by bringing a lease to immigration. Still have to pay an agent for this (~1,000B) if you want it next day, no agent service it is free or a nominal charge but takes 3 weeks.

There's also the matter of banks wanting you to take out insurance to get an account open. It may be worth it just to pay an agent a few thousand rather than pay for the residence cert, pay for the insurance, etc.

I generally try to avoid using agents if at all possible and I originally opened my bank account, almost a decade ago on a tourist entry, without one. But with the way things have changed I do think this is a scenario it might make sense to use one, if they can just get the whole thing done for possibly not much more than you'd spend anyway and much less time.