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Wylie ******
This is a summary of
Wylie ******
's contributions to the platform. They have posed 10 questions and added 577 comments.

QUESTIONS

COMMENTS

Wylie *******
@Robert *******
I'm not denying that at all or saying Thailand shouldn't follow suit. All I'm giving is facts for how it has been in the past and what the Thai laws allowed. It was a very common practice for people to do because it used to be just as easy as getting the visa before coming. It seems that may no longer be the case.
Wylie *******
@Andy ***********
because several years ago this was a complete non issue. It wasn't any more difficult to do it in country than outside of thailand. Its only become a problem recently.
Wylie *******
@Andy ***********
if you are applying for an extension then it means you already have the non-o in which case the banks don't seem to have an issue with opening an account. This is why it has been recommended for the last 1-2 years to get the non-o in your home country before coming to Thailand. When you apply for the non-o outside of thailand the financial requirement does not need to be in a Thai account, an account in your home country is sufficient. Once in Thailand you open the account right away and deposit the money so you can meet the 2 month seasoning requirement to get the 1 year extension.
Wylie *******
@Sean *********
there is no such thing as a "retirement" visa. What many refer to as the retirement visa is actually a non-o visa based on retirement. To apply for this inside of Thailand, and many other variations of the non-o including marriage one needs to have the money in the bank the day you apply. I have never heard of any office giving a 30 day grace period for this.
Wylie *******
@Bob *********
I'm not referring to seasoning of funds. For the initial non-o the funds need to be in a thai bank account in your name only. It doesn't need to be seasoned, with the exception you mention, but it does need to be in the bank before you apply.
Wylie *******
@Andy ***********
that was my point. Years ago it was easy to open a bank account on a tourist visa or visa exempt. There is no actual law against and it is a requirement to apply for the initial non-o in country.

Within the last year or two it has become a catch 22. You need the bank account to get the non-o, but banks also started requiring the non-o to open the account. That is exactly what this post, my comment and many posts in the past year are saying. Within the last year or so people had to start resortig to using an agent. Now it seems even that is not possible, leaving obtaining the non-o outside of thailand first as the only option. That or a letter confirming income from ones embassy, which many countries no longer offer. Again there is no current Thai law against a tourist opening an account and it is still a requirement to apply for the non-o in country.
Wylie *******
@Andy ***********
that's not at all the way it has gone the last several years or how this post sounds. Once upon a time you could enter on a tourist visa, open a bank account and apply for the non-o. I did it 5 years ago and even then it had started to be a hassle. There have been a ton of posts in the last year of people trying to legitimately open an account to deposit the required funds and being denied. Even after trying a bunch of banks and branches. They had to use an agency, not to bypass the financial requirements. Just to open the account.
Wylie *******
@Andy ***********
pretty hard to get one if you can't open a Thai bank account to meet the financial requirements though.
Wylie *******
@Denice ******
I'd buy the phone in the US. Many phones here will have different components than the US version. For instance most of the Galaxy phones will have a different chip that doesn't perform as well. As far as the carrier it's WAY cheaper here. You can get a 30GB per month plan for less than $10.
Wylie *******
@Neil ********
that's not inherent to esims, but rather the company and plan you got.