Opening a Thai bank account as a foreigner questions

[INANIMATECARBONROD]

Good afternoon everyone, 

 

I just arrived in Thailand (not my first visit) and I need to open a Thai bank account so that I can apply for my 1 year, non-o visa (Thai wife). 

 

1. What is the best bank account for a foreigner to open?  I need to deposit 400k prior to applying for my visa.  Most of my research points to Bangkok Bank and Kasikorn Bank being the best options, but I wanted to ask here for the most updated info. 

 

2. Do I need to visit the bank location that I opened my bank account at to get documents that are required for my visa application?  This would be a major pain if I opened in bank account in Bangkok and had to travel back here and visit my 'home branch' to get the documents. 

 

3. Do any Thai banks have partnerships/alliances with banks in North America (in particular BMO or TD) that give any benefits or preferential treatment to customers? 

 

If there is anything else you have experienced in this regard, please do share. For example, I had problems several years ago trying to transfer my money from my SCB Bank account (Pattaya Central Festival location) to my BMO account back home.  They had 5 or six bank employees trying everything they could to prevent this. It was an awful experience but they eventually did it. 

 

Thank you in advance for your help!