The authorities yesterday proposed the allowing of individuals to open foreign currency accounts in a Thailand based bank account of up to $100,000 or the equivalent in other currencies in order to curb the Baht’s appreciation. I am interested to know what our experts think of the possibility of using these as an alternative for the annual extension of stay either now if the proposal is proceeded with or in the future if regulations are changed to allow the use of these foreign currency accounts for extension of stay purposes?

Any thoughts on this would be purely speculative, but I really doubt that it would happen.

If you had an a/c with HSBC in Bkk you could aleady do this. You can hold several designated currencies in your account and the total is listed in Thai Baht. In the past members have reported that they have used such accounts for visa renewal purposes.

As Thailand has plans to liberaslise the banking system and allow further competition from foreign banks, it follows that domestic banks will need to improve their services.

I have not noted any such report. The poster is talking about the grandfather rule for support Thai wife (400k) and that has, at least in most case, required a passbook type account in baht that was being used for support.

For retirement extensions it may be an option. It already is (overseas) for the O-A visa issued by a Consulate.