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Posted

Hi asking for a friend , normally gets 60 days on arrival and dose border bounce, he is looking for a agent to arrange the bank account also a ME O Visa, one agent on a soi off beach road  said they could do it for 42,000b, anyone know another agent . Thanks in advance .

Posted

He should apply for a NON-O visa outside Thailand, and then come back in and open an account legally on his own. Multiple entry NON-O visas are not available inside Thailand anyway. 

 

He can find an agent happy to promise the moon and the stars, but even if they’re aren’t lying he risks having the account closed anyway at a later date.

 

All this reliance on agents is expensive and foolish. Just do things right and save a fortune. 

 

That may not be what he wants, but want in one hand and crap in the other and see which fills up first.

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Posted
5 minutes ago, Everyman said:

He should apply for a NON-O visa outside Thailand, and then come back in and open an account legally on his own.

Using an agent to open a bank account is not illegal!

 

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Posted
2 hours ago, Everyman said:

he risks having the account closed anyway at a later date.

No. he does not; using an agent to open a legitimate bank account does not jeopardise the account.

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Posted

But why use an agent to open an account? Is it really so difficult these days? And if it? What's to stop the bank closing the account at a later date? I just opened mine when my address was a hotel room. The good old days.

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Posted
30 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Using an agent to open a bank account is not illegal!

 

 

Most banks simply won't open accounts for people on tourist visas, and as of this year, some banks have been freezing accounts suspected of not being completely legit.

 

But help opening an account doesn't normally mean "go with me to the bank to fill out paperwork."  It usually means, "I don't want to fund the account with my own money.  I want the agent to put up the money for me, so I can secure the visa."  After the visa is secured, the agent pulls the funds.  The fee is a nice big chunk of interest on their short 3 month investment - a bit more than 20% ROI

 

11 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

No. he does not; using an agent to open a legitimate bank account does not jeopardise the account.

 

But... who does this?

 

Sure, an agent can help with the visa application process if the guy is too intimidated by the process at Thai Immigration (or if they simply can't be bothered).

 

But the OP specifically mentioned getting an agent's assistance with opening a bank account as being the main issue.  To me that implies the issue has something to do with funds.  Because if you've got the funds, and you're legally allowed to open an account, then this is one of the easiest parts of the whole visa process.

 

It simply isn't difficult.

 

So to the OP....

 

If you've got the funds, and you're legally entitled to open an account, then opening one easy to do.  If banks are turning you away, you might want to figure out why they are turning you away.  It may just be that you need to get the visa process started first, as Everyman indicated in his post....

 

2 hours ago, Everyman said:

He should apply for a NON-O visa outside Thailand, and then come back in and open an account legally on his own. Multiple entry NON-O visas are not available inside Thailand anyway. 

 

He can find an agent happy to promise the moon and the stars, but even if they’re aren’t lying he risks having the account closed anyway at a later date.

 

All this reliance on agents is expensive and foolish. Just do things right and save a fortune. 

 

That may not be what he wants, but want in one hand and crap in the other and see which fills up first.

 

    

 

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Posted
8 minutes ago, asiacurious said:

But help opening an account doesn't normally mean "go with me to the bank to fill out paperwork."  It usually means, "I don't want to fund the account with my own money.  I want the agent to put up the money for me, so I can secure the visa."

That is different from just opening a bank account which is what I was commenting on.  Bank accounts do not need to be "funded" to facilitate opening, a nominal deposit is acceptable initially.

Posted

Opening a bank account is, like many things in Thailand, "at the manager's discretion!

The agent knows how to attract that discretion!

Posted
3 hours ago, Everyman said:

He can find an agent happy to promise the moon and the stars, but even if they’re aren’t lying he risks having the account closed anyway at a later date.

 

Exactly. One of my bank accounts has been frozen very recently, incl. my debit card... I opened it with a tourist visa (which was common back then) about 16 years ago. Just imagine what they will do with accounts opened by agents...

Posted
11 minutes ago, DezLez said:

Opening a bank account is, like many things in Thailand, "at the manager's discretion!

The agent knows how to attract that discretion!

 

Managers come and go. Easy for the head office to order accounts to be frozen, or closed... Personally, I won't leave a lot of money in Thai bank accounts ever again, be it for visa or other purposes.

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Posted
29 minutes ago, StayinThailand2much said:

 

Managers come and go. Easy for the head office to order accounts to be frozen, or closed... Personally, I won't leave a lot of money in Thai bank accounts ever again, be it for visa or other purposes.

What has that got to do specifically with an agent if the bank manager can do that with ALL accounts?

Posted
11 minutes ago, DezLez said:

What has that got to do specifically with an agent if the bank manager can do that with ALL accounts?

 

Yes, you're right. But why are agents used? Because those people couldn't usually open an account at that bank. Guess, which accounts the head office will order to be closed or frozen first, if they decide to do that at all of their branches.

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