E-visa and opening bank account

[The Great Tortoise]

My mother has just moved to Thailand from the UK on an O-A Retirement visa, issued before she left, to live with us. In order to extend it she needs to open a bank account. Of course, there are the usual difficulties with this, but there is now a new one.

 

The London Embassy no longer issues physical visas. They only issue E-visas, which you must apply for online. There is therefore no visa sticker in her passport, only an entry stamp with her visa type scrawled in biro by the officer. Of course, an entry stamp is relatively easy to fake, so the banks are not accepting her passport because there is no visa sticker.

 

We have a print-out of her e-visa and a certificate of residence from the immigration office but without the physical visa sticker we are just getting ไม่ได้ at every branch we try.

 

If we really can't open an account for her she will have to shell out for an Elite visa.

 

Has anyone else had this problem?

Edited May 17 by The Great Tortoise

[Pattaya57]

Go to a different bank. I just opened an account at Krungsri bank with a non-o e-visa and all I had to show was the entry stamp with the non-o scribbled in pen (I brought the e-visa printout as well but they didn't want to see it)

 

Edited May 17 by Pattaya57

[The Great Tortoise]

3 minutes ago, Pattaya57 said:

Go to a different bank. I just opened an account at Krungsri bank with a non-o e-visa and all I had to show was the entry stamp with the non-o scribbled in pen (I brought the e-visa printout as well but they didn't want to see it)

 

This is an encouraging response! Do you mind if I ask which Krungsri branch you went to?

[Pattaya57]

1 minute ago, The Great Tortoise said:

This is an encouraging response! Do you mind if I ask which Krungsri branch you went to?

Central Festival shopping centre in Pattaya (opened 20 April)

[The Great Tortoise]

3 minutes ago, Pattaya57 said:

Central Festival shopping centre in Pattaya (opened 20 April)

Thank you.

[Chivas]

Worst case scenario agent will open Bangkok Bank for you for around 3500 net (varies slightly)

[Upnotover]

I recently opened an account at Kasikorn (Bangkok, Sukhumvit) with a non-O e-visa so it is certainly possible. Or failing that, as mentioned, use an agent 

[Liquorice]

1 hour ago, The Great Tortoise said:

My mother has just moved to Thailand from the UK on an O-A Retirement visa, issued before she left, to live with us. In order to extend it she needs to open a bank account. Of course, there are the usual difficulties with this, but there is now a new one.

You are aware you can stay in Thailand for up to 2 years with the 0-A visa, before the need to visit an Immigration office to extend her permission of stay.

 

Some banks also like a reference from an existing trusted customer.
Very surprised your own bank branch hasn't allowed her to open a Savings account.

[DrJack54]

OP, with a non O-A visa (show eVisa printout) I'm sure you with find Kasikorn will open an account.

Which immigration office. 

[Maestro]

@The Great Tortoise  On what one-year extension of stay, if any, are you?

[The Great Tortoise]

3 hours ago, Upnotover said:

I recently opened an account at Kasikorn (Bangkok, Sukhumvit) with a non-O e-visa so it is certainly possible. Or failing that, as mentioned, use an agent 

Thank you for the recommendation. The pattern I am seeing is to approach a bank branch in an area frequented by foreigners.

[The Great Tortoise]

2 hours ago, Liquorice said:

You are aware you can stay in Thailand for up to 2 years with the 0-A visa, before the need to visit an Immigration office to extend her permission of stay.

 

Some banks also like a reference from an existing trusted customer.
Very surprised your own bank branch hasn't allowed her to open a Savings account.

My mother's entry stamp is for one year so she will need to extend next May. However, we want to get started on this process now rather than in a big rush later on. We tried my own branch first and you are quite right -- a Savings account should in theory be available for her given her documentation. However, the lack of a physical visa sticker was their reason for ไม่ได้.

 

The lack of a printed visa sticker in her passport was cited at the other banks and branches we visited. This is in Nakhon Si Thammarat.

Edited May 17 by The Great Tortoise

[The Great Tortoise]

1 hour ago, Maestro said:

@The Great Tortoise  On what one-year extension of stay, if any, are you?

I am on a marriage visa. I have been renewing it without any problems for three years now. My mother is on a newly-minted e-Visa from the Thai Embassy in London.

[Dan O]

Krungsri Bank should open an acct with the stamp in passport and proof of an address. They are very accommodating and when there's any question they call the  main branch in Bkk to confirm. What you were told at whatever bank you went to is bs

[The Great Tortoise]

1 minute ago, Dan O said:

Krungsri Bank should open an acct with the stamp in passport and proof of an address. They are very accommodating and when there's any question they call the  main branch in Bkk to confirm. What you were told at whatever bank you went to is bs

We will try some branches over in Phuket and see if we have more success in an area with more foreigners. Thank you for the tip about Krungsri.

[Dan O]

5 minutes ago, The Great Tortoise said:

My mother's entry stamp is for one year so she will need to extend next May. However, we want to get started on this process now rather than in a big rush later on. We tried my own branch first and you are quite right -- a Savings account should in theory be available for her given her documentation. However, the lack of a physical visa sticker was their reason for ไม่ได้.

 

The lack of a printed visa sticker in her passport was cited at the other banks and branches we visited. This is in Nakhon Si Thammarat.

NST has a Krungsri Bank a few KM from the imm office on the same road. That office is one of easiest and better offices to deal with. 

[DrJack54]

2 minutes ago, The Great Tortoise said:

My mother's entry stamp is for one year so she will need to extend next May.

Read @Liquorice post where he states the following.....

"You are aware you can stay in Thailand for up to 2 years with the 0-A visa, before the need to visit an Immigration office to extend her permission of stay"...

 

Yes currently she has a 12 month permission of stay.

Non O-A is a multi entry visa.

Every time she exits and reenters Thailand she will be stamped in for 12 months for the validity of the visa.

If she exits and reenters just prior to expiry she will receive another 12 months.

Her need for extension will be in a couple of years if she wants. 

[The Great Tortoise]

2 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

OP, with a non O-A visa (show eVisa printout) I'm sure you with find Kasikorn will open an account.

Which immigration office. 

Nakhon Si Thammarat Immigration Office. They have been as helpful as they can be. I have been dealing with them for three years for my own extensions and they've always been super helpful to me.

[The Great Tortoise]

Just now, DrJack54 said:

Read @Liquorice post where he states the following.....

"You are aware you can stay in Thailand for up to 2 years with the 0-A visa, before the need to visit an Immigration office to extend her permission of stay"...

 

Yes currently she has a 12 month permission of stay.

Non O-A is a multi entry visa.

Every time she exits and reenters Thailand she will be stamped in for 12 months for the validity of the visa.

If she exits and reenters just prior to expiry she will receive another 12 months.

Her need for extension will be in a couple of years if she wants. 

OH MY GOSH! I need to check this out! This is new information! THANK YOU! (And sorry for shouting!)

[The Great Tortoise]

2 minutes ago, Dan O said:

NST has a Krungsri Bank a few KM from the imm office on the same road. That office is one of easiest and better offices to deal with. 

Fantastic! I'll try them!

[1tent42]

I tried Kasikorn at Silom Complex on an OA e-visa last February.   They had no problem with the stamp but they wanted to see a certificate of residence which I didn’t have. 

[DrJack54]

14 minutes ago, The Great Tortoise said:

OH MY GOSH! I need to check this out! This is new information! THANK YOU! (And sorry for shouting!)

It's not clear your mother's Long term plans.

If she plans ongoing living in Thailand then the non O-A was perhaps not the best option.

If it's for 2 years then fine.

If longer, then extensions to a non O based on retirement is perhaps better option as no insurance requirements.

[Liquorice]

8 minutes ago, The Great Tortoise said:

OH MY GOSH! I need to check this out! This is new information! THANK YOU! (And sorry for shouting!)

Read this attached explanation document.

How - The Non Imm O-A Visa ..odt 

 

17 minutes ago, The Great Tortoise said:

I am on a marriage visa.

Not your not.
You have a 1 year extension of stay based on Thai spouse, which is a permit, not a visa.

 

I assume you originally had a Non Imm O visa which granted you a stay of 90 days.
You then extend that initial 90 day stay for a further 365 days each year.

TM7. Extension of temporary stay in the Kingdom of Thailand.

Visas cannot be extended, they are either used on entry, or expire on the 'enter before' date.

[The Great Tortoise]

This is a non-O A based on retirement.

10 minutes ago, Liquorice said:

Read this attached explanation document.

How - The Non Imm O-A Visa ..odt 45.56 kB · 0 downloads  

 

Not your not.
You have a 1 year extension of stay based on Thai spouse, which is a permit, not a visa.

 

I assume you originally had a Non Imm O visa which granted you a stay of 90 days.
You then extend that initial 90 day stay for a further 365 days each year.

TM7. Extension of temporary stay in the Kingdom of Thailand.

Visas cannot be extended, they are either used on entry, or expire on the 'enter before' date.

 

Of course yes, but "Marriage Visa" was the shorthand I used in the chat for my own situation, which is not really relevant to my mother's process. I am doing precisely what you described, of course.

Edited May 17 by The Great Tortoise

[The Great Tortoise]

8 minutes ago, 1tent42 said:

I tried Kasikorn at Silom Complex on an OA e-visa last February.   They had no problem with the stamp but they wanted to see a certificate of residence which I didn’t have. 

Thank you for this tip. It confirms the pattern that it is better to go to a place with a lot of foreigners.

 

I am beginning to suspect that the bank staff in NST are aware that there are tighter rules for foreigners since 2023 but they see so few foreigners that they don't realise that some foreigners on e-visas do not have physical visa stickers.

[DrJack54]

1 minute ago, The Great Tortoise said:

Of course yes, but "Marriage Visa" was the shorthand I used in the chat for my own situation, which is not really relevant to my mother's process. I am doing precisely what you described, of course.

I repeat....is your mother's plan to "retire" in Thailand and remain here? 

Simple question.

 

[The Great Tortoise]

1 minute ago, DrJack54 said:

I repeat....is your mother's plan to "retire" in Thailand and remain here? 

Simple question.

 

 

Yes, that is her plan. She applied for a one-year OA retirement visa which allowed her to receive a stamp for 12 months on arrival. She wishes to continue to renew every year, just as I do as a person married to a Thai national. She doesn't need to renew until next May but she will need to deposit her 800,000 at least 60 days before she applies for the extension.

 

I was excited by the suggestion that it could be used for 2 years without extension but that suggestion seems to be contradicted by this web page:

 

https://www.mfa.go.th/en/page/non-immigrant-visa-o-a?menu=5e1ff71bc4281a00c812e8e2

 

5. Recommendations for foreigners with Non-Immigrant Visa “O-A” (Long Stay) while staying in the Kingdom

 

            5.1  Upon arrival, holder of this type of visa will be permitted to stay in Thailand for 1 year from the date of first entry.

 

(Emphasis mine.)

[Liquorice]

8 minutes ago, The Great Tortoise said:

Of course yes, but "Marriage Visa" was the shorthand I used in the chat for my own situation, which is not really relevant to my mother's process.

It is relevant as your Mother has been granted permission of stay for 1 year, a permit of stay.
The only difference is she still has a valid visa.

[DrJack54]

6 minutes ago, The Great Tortoise said:

Yes, that is her plan. She applied for a one-year OA retirement visa which allowed her to receive a stamp for 12 months on arrival. She wishes to continue to renew every year .......

The non O-A was not the best choice.

Since she has the non O-A she will require ongoing useless insurance for every extension.

 

This forum has zillion threads of folk exiting Thailand to "kill off" their non O-A. 

Then renter having obtained a non O based on retirement from outside of Thailand or by entering visa exempt or tourist visa and obtaining a non O at local immigration office.

That enables ongoing extensions without the need for health insurance. 

 

[Liquorice]

8 minutes ago, The Great Tortoise said:

5.1  Upon arrival, holder of this type of visa will be permitted to stay in Thailand for 1 year from the date of first entry.

Yes, first entry, but as the visa is multiple entry and valid for 1 year, she can exit and enter Thailand as many times as she wants until the 'enter before' date of that 0-A visa and on each entry she will be permitted to stay for 1 year (subject to expiry date of the Health Insurance).

If she crossed a border and re-entered the day before the visa expires in May next year, she will be granted further permission of stay until May 2025.