7 minutes ago, khunPer said:

you need to leave Thailand, apply for a new visa and re-enter

You can only apply for a Non-OA Visa in a country where you have permanent residency so this works well with Snowbirds escaping their home country for winter, but not so good for people who may be splitting their time between Thailand & another country where they don’t have Permanent Residency rights.

On 3/4/2026 at 7:03 AM, Kyoto Kyle said:

But if that money were sitting overseas right now rather than being brought into Thailand, you could have it in a stable fixed income investment earning close to 4%.

Overseas where?

I bank in Singapore and Thai interest rates are better!

I'm happier to leave the money on time deposit in Thailand than faff around shunting it back and forwards. I don't need the stress, nor the humps & bumps of currency exchange, nor the potential tax pitfalls, besides it's makes a handy emergency fund.

On 3/4/2026 at 11:24 AM, Yellowtail said:

Krunsri pays ~1.5% on my Mee Tai Dai account, so that knocks the 4% down to 2.5% which would yield B20K or ~$634. How much does the Agent charge if one does not have money in the bank or enough income?

But 4% better than I can get at Chase, my US bank. Where are you getting 4% in the US, and what is the term?

The best I can get at Chase is 3.5%, and that's for three months. Anything longer, and it drops to 2% od below. I can do a little better at Fidelity, but the OP said bank.

In the last year, the USD is down ~7% against the THB. So with the 1.5% from Krunsri, that's 8.5%. Where can I get a fixed account in the US that pays 8.5%?

Having the money in a Thai bank satisfies the visa's financial requirement, but it also serves as a hedge against the dollar.

In any event, I understand why would use an agent to circumvent the law if they are broke, but I do not understand people using an agent to circumvent the law just because it saves them a few dollars.

I have a Krungsri Mai Thai Dee account, it pays 0.9% and that's taxed at 0.15%. I know it states 1.5% if you open the Mai Tahi Dee online , but a foreigner cant open one on line , i have tried.

The SCB however do have an EZ account that I use and that does pay 1.5% , much better than the Mai Thai Dee account as that's subject to 3 withdrawals per month , after that a penalty applies , where the SCB EZ account is instant unlimited withdrawals without any penalty's,

Only one thing to consider, is the EZ account is 1.5% up to 1 Million and the Krungsri MTD is 0.9% up to 2 Million