skatewash

Second the recommendation of zenni optical online. Much less expensive than anything I've seen in Thailand.

Your extension of stay is independent from your 90-Day Reporting. The extension of stay is very important, screw that up and you go on overstay and all sorts of negative consequences can follow from that. The 90-Day Report isn't as important, screw that up and you face a 2,000 baht fine for filing late. It has absolutely no effect on your permission to stay, you do not go on overstay if you fail to file a 90-Day Report. You should do a 90-Day Report when due (you can do it up to 14 days early online or in person, and up to 6 days after the due date in person. You can also do it by mail. When you apply for a new annual extension of stay the additional year you will get is added on to your current permission to stay. That is, you lose no days by applying for your extension of stay early. In fact, it is very advisable to apply for your new extension of stay as early as you can (leaves lots of time to fix any problems). You can apply as early as 45 days in advance of the expiration date of your current permission to say at some immigration offices and at least 30 days in advance at the rest of the immigration offices. The 90 day clock on the 90-Day Report usually starts when your 90-Day Report is approved. So if you file your 90-Day Report early (before it is due) you do lose some days from the maximum you could have gotten. If you file it after your 90-Day Report is due (during the 6 day grace period following your due date) then you actually gain some days in the sense that you get more than the 90 days you were otherwise entitled. Personally, since the 90-Day Report doesn't cost anything to do and I can do it online, I do it as early as possible (again allows for things to go wrong and you have more time to fix any problems). I figure I lose about on average about 14 days every time I file my 90-Day Report early. Over the years I have probably filed a few more 90-Day Reports than I would have had to file if I had done it on the actual due date rather than earlier. I don't lose any sleep over this. ????

I think you will find that Thai banks don't typically have a monthly or annual fee for having the account. There may be an initial one-time fee for issuing an ATM Debit card (100 baht or more) and then recurring annual fees for having the ATM Debit card (maybe 200 or thereabouts depending on the bank and the card). There may be minimum amounts needed to open an account, but generally no minimum balances to keep the account. You do want to get a Thai Tax ID card from the Thai Revenue Department (you may already have if you are working) and take that card with you when you open up any Thai savings accounts and have the number associated with the account. The benefit is that it will forestall automatic tax withholding of 15% on interest earned from the first baht. Otherwise, you would need to file a Thai Income Tax Return (PND-91) to reclaim the tax withheld on your interest earned.

I opened a Schwab High-yeild interest checking account which comes with an associated brokerage account you don't have to use. Not an international account. No minimum balance. No fees of any sort, basically a free account. The interest rate is awful, I just use the account for the ATM card. If I haven't been clear before I think the OP can solve his own problem by using a US address and US phone number. If the OP goes with another bank and continues to not use a US address and phone I suspect he will encounter the same or similar problems which are driven by US government policy that makes it difficult for US financial institutions to serve customers living outside the US. I'm giving my specific case as an example of how one can live overseas and still maintain US financial accounts. So far anyway...

Yes

I think you can get the same features from a Charles Schwab Checking account and from CapitalOne Credit cards. I was able to open those accounts from Thailand. I was not able to open an SDFCU account from Thailand using either my US address or Thai address. Customer service in my case was non-existent. They seemed to be incredibly unhelpful in my case.

The Schwab International account is not as good as the US Schwab account, although I did not know you were not being allowed to specify a beneficiary. If you are American you should have been able to get a US Schwab account (which I think does allows you to specify a beneficiary), although you would have had to use a US address. As for SMS alerts I would again suggest that you open a free Google Voice account using your Skype phone number. I have success getting my 2-factor authentication SMSs on my Google Voice number.

I imagine it would. But best to actually test it out for yourself. I think most VPNs will give you a free trial period where you can test whether it's going to work for you or not.

Yeah, use my Schwab ATM Card in a Krungsri Bank ATM to withdraw 30,000 THB in cash instantly. I can take the cash to the next Cash Deposit Machine for a Thai Bank I have an account at and deposit it into that account. I can do this once per day (a Schwab limitation). The 220 baht ATM withdrawal fees are reimbursed to me in my Charles Schwab account once per month. I get whatever the VISA exchange rate for Thailand (USD to THB) is on that day. Absolutely not useful for immigration purposes though.

Look at the map of the US for the location of 23+ cities: https://surfshark.com/servers/usa Here are some of the US cities that have SurfShark servers: But actually, it's usually enough to set your VPN to any of the servers in the US, doesn't necessarily have to be in the city in which you have your US address. There are no problems checking your Wells Fargo Account in San Francisco from Boston. There could be problems checking your Wells Fargo Account in San Francisco from Bangkok, Thailand.

It appears you misunderstood me. When I lived in the US I did not have any Schwab Account. I moved to Thailand. I opened a Schwab account for the first time from Thailand using a VPN set to the US. I used my address in the US which is a virtual mailbox address (travelingmailbox dot com) and a US phone number through MagicJack (VOIP) and a Google Voice phone number I also set up from Thailand using my MagicJack phone number. Bank policies do change, especially in response to government regulations.

While I do have a valid state driver's license I didn't know where it was when I opened the Schwab account so would have had to use US passport book or US passport card because those were the only US identification I would have had at hand in Thailand. I was a bit surprised I was able to open the account. Issues about living overseas simply didn't come up during the application process. There is very little that actually needs to be mailed if you sign up for electronic delivery of documents (aside from the ATM Debit card and the checks which were mailed to my US virtual mailbox address and forwarded to me in Thailand). It wouldn't make any sense (to me) to have anything mailed to me in Thailand when it can be mailed to me in the US and I can have it scanned or forwarded to me in Thailand. Yes, I faked it well, so that I as a US citizen who happens to live in Thailand can have a US checking account in the US. Next thing you know I'll be "laundering money" by sending myself funds from my US bank account to my Thai bank account so I can pay for my expenses in Thailand. What a nefarious little scoundrel am I. ????

US financial institutions think I live in the US because I use only a US address for those accounts. Thai financial institutions (banks) know I live in Thailand. As I have $10,000 or more USD equivalent in a Thai bank, every year I file an FBAR with Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) for all my Thai bank accounts. I file US Income Taxes every year using my US mailing address in which I declare interest earned in my Thai bank accounts. The point is that Thai banks are not going to restrict my account or close my account if they find out I'm living in Thailand (or even if I'm living outside of Thailand). US financial institutions on the other hand can and do restrict or close the accounts of people who do not live in the US (that is, for example people who use addresses outside the US). The US government imposes regulations on US financial institutions regarding where their customers live. US financial institutions perform due diligence to determine whether they have any customers who live outside the US. If they really wanted to find where I live, it wouldn't be hard. But I'm not going to volunteer the information.

Except that I did open a Charles Schwab account from Thailand. But I do agree with your point, open all the US financial institution accounts you think you will ever need while you are in the US. It's simply easier.

The US government wields a big stick regarding how US financial institutions need to treat customers who live outside the US. I respectfully suggest that the reason you had problems with Charles Schwab was not of CS's doing but imposed by the US government and had you used a US address (even a virtual mailbox one) and a US phone number you would have had no problem with CS. As for your problem with Skype and getting security codes, you might try using the free Google Voice phone service which you should be able to open from outside the US if you use your Skype phone number. I regularly get SMS security codes on my Google Voice number for 2-factor authentication while in Thailand. Also, strongly suggest you only access your US financial institutions when using a VPN set to the US. Nothing good comes from your US financial institution knowing you live outside the US. That your US financial institution doesn't care today is not a guarantee they won't care tomorrow. And after the fact there's nothing you can do about it, before the fact there is.

Well, I had just the opposite experience. Could not open a State Department Federal Credit Union with either a US (virtual) or Thai (actual residence) address and phone number. Rejected. Did open a Charles Schwab account from Thailand using my US virtual mailbox address (travelingmailbox dot com) and magicJack phone number, and a VPN (SurfShark) set to the US. Accepted. Opened 3 CapitalOne credit card accounts (no-foreign transaction fees) from Thailand using same virtual mailbox address and US magicJack phone number.

Was able to open a Charles Schwab Checking Account (and associated brokerage account) while in Thailand using my virtual mailbox address in the US (travelingmailbox dot com) and magicJack (VIOP phone) and free Google Voice (for SMS used in 2-factor authentication). Unfortunately, given the way things are today you are asking for trouble by letting any US financial institution know you live outside the US. Banks that don't care today, could start caring tomorrow. Your signal that they care will be restrictions on your account and possible closure. Too late at that point. Always use a US address and phone number for US accounts. Always use a VPN set to the US to access your US accounts online (I use SurfShark). Had a much less than satisfactory experience trying to open an account at State Department Federal Credit Union. It's like they don't think people actually live outside the US. Was rejected for the account. Meanwhile I applied successfully from Thailand online (using VPN set to US) for a Charles Schwab account with no foreign transaction fee and and unlimited ATM reimbursement (e.g., the 220 baht fee for using a Thai ATM is completely reimbursed). Also opened 3 CapitalOne credit cards from Thailand using my US virtual mailbox address and magicJack US phone number. No US financial institution knows I live in Thailand.

You might want to try the new online 90-Day Report first. https://tm47.immigration.go.th/

Guide to the new Test and Go rules: https://www.tatnews.org/2022/02/thailand-reopening-exemption-from-quarantine-test-go/?fbclid=IwAR2OVcaAP-u4owuzY-ADPe8I7lbN3fPv5wjN-5nDLwcu6tD79O1NPU7uox8 Guide to the new Sandbox rules (although would be highly unusual to choose Sandbox when Test and Go is available): https://www.tatnews.org/2022/02/thailand-reopening-living-in-the-blue-zone-17-sandbox-destinations/?fbclid=IwAR30P1QYmKKHvn4S2lMe2YInkj5kR9MtQrSdMiPaoY74fNprYARheMaNV10

Luckily there's a website that contains solid and up-to-date information about this topic put together by Chris Larkin who has been through the process himself. https://www.thaicitizenship.com/ UbonJoe is correct regarding the requirements he stated. There is a lot of outdated and flat out incorrect information about this subject. Take a while to read the website I've recommended. I believe that will answer 95% of the questions you may have about the process. Good luck!

For the curious: As a result, this year TTB is identified as one of domestic systemically important banks (D-SIBs) in addition to the existing 5 D-SIBs, namely Bangkok Bank, Krung Thai Bank, Bank of Ayudhya [aka Krungsri Bank], Kasikornbank, and the Siam Commercial Bank.Aug 23, 2021

I was relieved to receive my refund check from the Revenue Department and see that it was an actual check rather than "report to Krung Thai bank" for an e-Money card. All my interactions with Krung Thai Bank take well over an hour due to crowding and the branch is far from where I live. I did learn not to deposit the check at SCB bank however, because they charged me a 10 baht counter service fee. I think I could have deposited it without fee at either Bangkok Bank or Krungsri Bank. I have the EZ Saving account at SCB if that makes a difference. I know they try to discourage in person use of the bank when having that particular account.

Granted it may be rubberstamping, as you say, but fail to do any of the rubberstamping when required and you lose your permanent residency. That's not the case with citizenship. No rubberstamping required at all. Citizenship is also a considerably less expensive process than permanent residency. §ď

If you had Thai Immigration transfer any stamps from your old to new passport, then one of the first stamps in the new passport should be one that explains in Thai what your previous passport number was. As this is a Thai Immigration stamp, in Thai, it may be useful if you have it to demonstrate that you are the same person and that those two passport numbers are connected to the same person. Always a good idea to update Thai bank accounts when your passport number changes and always a good idea to keep old passports.

The directions are very detailed and very exacting at the US Embassy Bangkok site, a very different experience than dealing with Thai Immigration. ???? You need to get a bank draft to pay for the postage associated with the return of your passports (old and new) by mail. Instructions to do that are very detailed. So, no you don't provide your own envelope to be returned. Yes, aside from paying for the postage, you only need give them your address where you wish to receive your passports. In my case, the passports came together by mail, but the passport card was delivered subsequently (not an issue if you don't get one of these). The best possible advice is here from the horse's mouth: https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/passports/adult-passport-renew/ I was not made aware of any time limit during which the stamps had to be transferred from old to new passport. I did it a matter of days after receiving my passports back. I think you could postpone it without problem until you needed to do your extension of stay. However, I don't use Bangkok Immigration offices and therefore don't know if it's better to do in two trips or in one trip. In Phuket it was better to do in two trips, but then going to immigration in Phuket is easy for me. I understand Bangkok may be different.