Caldera

No, I understand that. What some don't seem to understand is that the OP's friend will have no trouble opening an account at the agent's preferred bank, without having to pay the agent extra to facilitate that. It's nonsensical to tell the OP that opening the account will cost an extra 4.7k to 6k baht, THAT was my point.

I don't understand why some posters make a big deal out of the guy having a bank account at "the wrong bank". He currently has a valid 1-year extension, so he can walk into pretty much any bank and open a new account wherever it suits him, without any assistance from an agent. It's tourists wanting to "convert" to a Non-O visa who have trouble opening an account, not someone who already has a longterm extension

If you have to ask... 555 Since I mentioned gross negligence, I think it's obvious who's the one I was talking about!

I'm not surprised, it simply means that Trump is doing an even better job destroying the dollar than the Thai government does tanking the economy.

Their offering is about as uninspired as the name of this event.

It's pretty much time for the next one.

If I was a scammy airport taxi driver, I would hate Grab as well. As a passenger, on the other hand...

I'm sure her family can easily pay by stealing a little bit more from Thailand.

Wow, that is textbook gross negligence, what a stupid thing to do.

That is hardly surprising, considering the stories that have made the news in China with regards to Thailand. Also, there are affordable and more controlled alternatives nearby, such as Vietnam.

In Biden's footsteps? That's some epic footage in any case. Be well, Watchman!

I fully expect that those "medical certificates" will be sold by clinics just like they're already selling certificates for driving licenses, work permits, university admissions and whatnot - a useless paper shuffling exercise without any tangible benefit (other than to the clinics $$).

Sounds great, I'll check them out. Thank you very much!

Great to hear that! If you don't mind, it would be nice to know which bank.

All true and I do spend quite some time in Vietnam already as things are, but to split my time more or less equally, I'd need what we'd call a "proper visa" here, just for Vietnam as well. That's what I meant For example, I used to have a Vietnamese bank account, but that's impossible nowadays on tourist visas, so I couldn't even pay my rent by bank transfer. It's problems like that, also you can't get a Vietnamese DL on a tourist visa etc.

It's merely a proposal at this point, let's see if something will materialize. Personally, I wouldn't mind splitting my time between Thailand and Vietnam, both are great countries with their unique charms and annoyances.

That doesn't sound great at all, it will make it even more difficult for regular foreigners to open bank accounts in Thailand.

The more I see of this current government, the more I miss General Prayuth and his fellows. I have the feeling that this sentiment is shared by some Thais as well, at the very least there's considerable disappointment.

They might, especially if you have a good explanation. I did check in without my original passport sometimes when my passport was at an embassy for visa purposes.

Oh okay, so they're not only at their wit's end with all the uprisings across the country, but also running out of money, so it seems like a good idea AGAIN to fool some foreign governments and NGOs into believing that democracy is coming back, please please donate and rebuild etc. etc. The old play book, I can't even count how many times they've pulled that stunt already.

So a few Chinese on tourist visas managed to open more than 100 bank accounts at one particular branch of a bank in Pattaya, yet the staff were totally unaware of what they were (or might have been) up to? Yeah, right... Anyone who has recently tried to open a bank account (ONE bank account) on a tourist visa knows that it's pretty much impossible, at least without some greasing of the wheels. So it would be fair to assume that some of the bank staff profited from opening those accounts for the Chinese scammers.

You go to the same counter where you got your extension to cancel it.

I've had both name orders over the years (different DLs issued by different DLTs), and it has never been a problem anywhere, airports included. But I must say that I prefer the "First Last" name order that my current DL issued in Bangkok has, too.

It really isn't a pretty sight. There used to be a lot more eye candy, and fatties were few and far in between.

So you pay good money for a 10-year tourist visa that the minister promotes for long-term stays, and then a few years down the line, some random immigration officer will deny you entry based on spending "too much" time in Thailand as a tourist. I can just see that coming. No thanks, I'll get a retirement "visa".