Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh now demanding ONLY Bank Statements for proof of money for tourist visa

[FangFerang]

I have to go back tomorrow.  They will not accept ATM balance slips, nor cash in hand, nor screen captures from accounts.  The Cambodian toad working the window didn't even tell me a date range for the account statement.  How the hell do they expect people to get Bank statements when in a foreign country? 

[DrJack54]

Considered an agent? 

 

[Sheryl]

AFAIK there is no required date span. You just need to show you have at least $1,000 bank balance as of when you apply.

 

A simple letter from your bank stating that you have a balance of X, dated the day of your application, will do.  But of course if you do not have a Cambodian bank account that is hard to arrange -- in  which case I also suggest an agent.

 

Some people use this place

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=lucky+lucky+phnom+penh+visa+agent&client=firefox-b-d&tbm=lcl&ei=cPhxYvSbCc-TseMPttelsAY&oq=lucky+lucky+phnom+penh+visa+agent&gs_l=psy-ab.3..33i160k1l2.10659.12496.0.12758.11.11.0.0.0.0.120.902.8j2.10.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..1.10.901...0i22i30k1j33i10i160k1.0._Ig1zT1KxmY

 

Another option would be to get an evisa using your home country address. I believe  these will accept screen captures .

 

https://www.thaievisa.go.th/

[userabcd]

Official Bank statement showing name and address and account balance is the usual form of evidence showing a bank account balance, not an atm slip.

[Caldera]

1 hour ago, FangFerang said:

How the hell do they expect people to get Bank statements when in a foreign country? 

Those Thai embassies I've used before, including the one in Phnom Penh, accepted bank statements downloaded from online banking. From your report, it isn't clear if that would still be acceptable, but I'd guess it is. If they're after a stamped original, only those with a local bank account could apply, which would be quite insane. 

[BangkokReady]

1 hour ago, DrJack54 said:

Considered an agent? 

 

Can you actually find an agent that will allow you to get a tourist visa while not meeting all of the requirements?

[DrJack54]

19 minutes ago, BangkokReady said:

Can you actually find an agent that will allow you to get a tourist visa while not meeting all of the requirements?

TBH, personally never obtained a TV in Phnom Penh, however over the years reading about PP many suggest use of agent is best option. You must meet the requirements. 

Think Penang another one where agent is suggested as preferred option. 

Saigon on the other hand very simple and helpful Thai consulate. 

 

There is two recent threads regarding obtaining TV in PP and was a straight forward process and done without agent. Also one easy successful non O (single entry) obtained recently in PP. 

Edited May 4, 2022 by DrJack54

[Caldera]

28 minutes ago, BangkokReady said:

Can you actually find an agent that will allow you to get a tourist visa while not meeting all of the requirements?

I don't think so, but they might be a bit more sympathetic if there's some minor issue.

 

When I used an agent to obtain a SETV in Phnom Penh in 2018, I did have to supply a bank statement, for what it's worth. 

[thecyclist]

I thought it was 20000 Baht (cash or bank account) that was needed for a TV. When did that change? Or is that the mercurial PP embassy again, making things up as the mood strikes them. In PP always go through an agency. 

[mvdf]

6 hours ago, FangFerang said:

They will not accept ATM balance slips, nor cash in hand, nor screen captures from accounts.

Will your country's embassy accept what you wrote above as proof of funds? Or am I asking a rhetorical question here?

 

When we Asians apply for a visa to visit your country, we can't just prance into your embassy with a bagful of EUR or USD and show it to the visa officer. ATM slips and screen shots of bank account balances are equally frowned upon. They want a genuine, original and current document and I quote verbatim from a consular source:

 

Additionally, it is important that all of your documents are original, in English (or an official translation attached), and official. Your bank documents should be on bank letterhead with the name of the account holder, account number, and the total amount of funds indicated on the forms.

 

Why then should the Thai embassy adjust and adapt for your excellency's convenience?

 

[Sheryl]

Cambodian friend here in Thailand now on a TV told me she had to get a bank letter, signed and stamped, they would not accept print out from online app etc.

 

There has long been a proof of $1,000 requirement to get a TR. The 20,000 baht mentioned by another poster was for funds in hand when entering the country. A different matter.

What has changed, with the advent of the online evisa is that proof of $1,000 is now required of everyone regardless of nationality, I believe in the past when Embassies issued the visas, some Western Embassies did not ask to see  it -- understandably since it is beyond imagination that anyone flying all the way to Thailand lacked a total net worth of $1,000.  The evisa did away with that discretion. And also introduces a new problem in that one must now upload a bank statement to an insecure website. Thai government websites are notorious for getting hacked.

[Sheryl]

8 hours ago, Caldera said:

 If they're after a stamped original, only those with a local bank account could apply, which would be quite insane. 

 

Not really, since the Embassy's visa services are there for the benefit of host country nationals (i.e. Cambodians). And its rules are framed  with that group in mind.

 

Most Westerners  have the option of doing an online evisa.

[misterphil]

9 hours ago, FangFerang said:

How the hell do they expect people to get Bank statements when in a foreign country? 

Download them from internet banking. Not that difficult really. My Kasikorn sends me a monthly statement straight to my inbox every 1st of the month. 

[Caldera]

3 hours ago, Sheryl said:

 

Not really, since the Embassy's visa services are there for the benefit of host country nationals (i.e. Cambodians). And its rules are framed  with that group in mind.

 

Most Westerners  have the option of doing an online evisa.

There's a clear distinction being made between visas that they are willing to give to non-residents of Cambodia, such as the SETV that is being discussed here, and other visas that they only issue to residents of Cambodia.

 

For the SETV, I'd assume they still accept online statements, just as they did before. The same might not be true for say the METV that requires residency in Cambodia.

[Pattaya Spotter]

Your application was incomplete - slip a $20 bill in your passport, along with the application and supporting documents, and then your application will be complete.

[Lemsta69]

2 minutes ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

Your application was incomplete - slip a $20 bill in your passport, along with the application and supporting documents, and then your application will be complete.

you've done this recently in PP or just speculating?

[Sparktrader]

13 hours ago, misterphil said:

Download them from internet banking. Not that difficult really. My Kasikorn sends me a monthly statement straight to my inbox every 1st of the month. 

Yes

[Sheryl]

10 hours ago, Caldera said:

There's a clear distinction being made between visas that they are willing to give to non-residents of Cambodia, such as the SETV that is being discussed here, and other visas that they only issue to residents of Cambodia.

 

For the SETV, I'd assume they still accept online statements, just as they did before. The same might not be true for say the METV that requires residency in Cambodia.

People with residency in Cambodia are nto the subject  here. It is Westerners making brief (very brief) trips to Cambodia for purpose of getting a visa.

 

Or (less often) passing through Cambodia while travelling in the region.

 

They are not accepting downloaded statements for SETV applications by foreigners as far as I know.

[Sheryl]

39 minutes ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

Your application was incomplete - slip a $20 bill in your passport, along with the application and supporting documents, and then your application will be complete.

This has nto been my experience, nor the experience of my Cambodian friends.

 

You seriously need a financial statement signed by a bank.

 

And they aren't taking money in the manner you describe at the Embassy.

 

Some slight "expediting" (i.e. quick processing) can be had via an agent, who presumably greases palms somehow (lijkley a flat amount per month not per visa -- the increased cost per visa to the applicants is small, just a few dollars).

 

But even the agents can't get around the need for bank statement.

[Caldera]

3 hours ago, Sheryl said:

They are not accepting downloaded statements for SETV applications by foreigners as far as I know.

In the absence of a recent report, we can all just speculate. Maybe the OP will update after their next attempt.

 

They did accept downloaded statements pre-Covid, but of course it's possible that they no longer do. We all know that they've never been particularly "friendly" compared with other nearby embassies and consulates, but then again, my personal experience with them wasn't bad.

[FangFerang]

On 5/4/2022 at 5:24 PM, mvdf said:

Will your country's embassy accept what you wrote above as proof of funds? Or am I asking a rhetorical question here?

 

When we Asians apply for a visa to visit your country, we can't just prance into your embassy with a bagful of EUR or USD and show it to the visa officer. ATM slips and screen shots of bank account balances are equally frowned upon. They want a genuine, original and current document and I quote verbatim from a consular source:

 

Additionally, it is important that all of your documents are original, in English (or an official translation attached), and official. Your bank documents should be on bank letterhead with the name of the account holder, account number, and the total amount of funds indicated on the forms.

 

Why then should the Thai embassy adjust and adapt for your excellency's convenience?

 

In Laos seven years ago, they accepted ATM slips showing he last 4 card digits, with copies of bankbook and full name.  Why should they also in Cambodia? Because uniformity of regulations shows an advanced government lacking in the LOS (Land Of Scams), and by proxy their international demesne, creating said problem, as well as a lack of specificity on their website for that particular distant and utterly secular branch. And subsequently, because we, oh lowly philistine of a peasant, had a branch of our Thai bank in Phnom Penh, and they printed one for me (after tea and crumpets, of course). Your snide appellations are ineffective, and your boorish sarcasm is on a third grade level,  Get thee to a nunnery, woman.