eppic

Actually, this is not completely accurate (we moved to Phils from BKK a few months ago). Bank rules vary slightly, but its pretty universal that you do have to be a resident and in fact they will ask for the ACR (residence card) and lease agreement. In fact, even Filipinos must have a valid written lease agreement or proof of home ownership, which is part of the reason a very large proportion of Filipinos are unbanked (cash is still king here). We spoke to several banks and I have never heard of 3-yr rule, although its possible it exists at a bank I never spoke with. In the end, I decided to not bother with getting accounts in my name -- my wife is a Filipina, so eventually (after securing apartment lease, etc.) we were able to open accounts in her name. I still can't open an account as I have no intention to get the ACR card since I can get a 12-month stamp at entry as long as I arrive with her -- very easy and puts the Thailand spouse visa (or any other visa) to shame. Bottom line, if you close the account it will be impossible to open a new one without moving here and officially stablishing residency

Ubonjoe or anyone with direct knowledge, is it still true that children under 12 are not fined for overstay? Our 6-yr-old is currently on overstay because we did not want to repeatedly take him to crowded immigration while forcing him to miss school. Before this visa-exempt arrival we had always extended him as required but we are now leaving permanently in a few days. I just want to be prepared with 20k baht in hand if there is any chance we will be fined upon departure. TIA

Thanks, may I assume the Samitivej booth provides some sort of certificate for travel? We are going to Philippines which also accepts rapid antigen but I want to make sure they will provide the necessary document showing it was administered by healthcare professionals. Traveling with family so we can't risk it if there is any doubt.

We are in a similar situation, arrived on 22 Dec. At MTT, my wife and I were both unlucky to get the infamous "dragon lady" who seems to scold and shout at everyone. In my case, after seeing I had requested 60 days, she loudly announced "no more 60 days!" to me (this was my first ever Covid extension) then asked me to physically write down the date I would be departing, although she did not demand an air ticket. She was not quite as aggressive with my Asian wife, but still demanded an exact departure date. So some immigration officers would clearly prefer to stop allowing extensions if it is within their power to do so. Not sure if we would actually attempt another extension since we plan to leave anyway, and not sure of the purpose of asking for a written departure date other than perhaps the intimidation factor. Just another day at immigration in the Land of Smiles, really makes us feel so welcome here ????