Hi everyone,

I wanted to share two recent branch experiences with tax residency / CRS updates at major Thai banks, as I'm seeing a lot of similar confusion in the existing threads.

At Krungsri, during account opening, the staff strongly insisted I had to provide a registered address in my "passport country" (even though I no longer live there or use any address there). It went back and forth several times. They even suggested I could just "make something up" for that field. I refused and instead put the registered address from my actual country of tax residency (not Thailand). They eventually let me sign a CRS/FATCA form, but it looked like they filled most of it out themselves - and they never asked for any Tax ID from my tax residency country nor had me declare tax residency properly.

At Bangkok Bank, I recently updated my Thai address (mailing address). When I also tried to update my registered address (which should reflect my tax residency in another country, not my passport/home country) and asked about declaring the correct tax residency, the staff said they could only update the "Thai tax ID" and claimed they don't have or need any CRS form. When I explained that the CRS self-certification form is something every bank in Thailand uses, they pretended not to know what I was talking about. They did update the Thai mailing address fine which I've verified in the app, but hesitated on the registered/residency address and seemed to just squeeze my details into the existing "country of residency" field.

Has anyone successfully managed to properly update their tax residency (to a country other than Thailand or their passport country) at Bangkok Bank or Krungsri in 2025–2026?

• What exact process or official CRS Individual Self-Certification form worked for you?

• Did you need to escalate to a supervisor, call the hotline (1333 for Bangkok Bank, 1572 for Krungsri), or try a different branch?

• Any experiences where staff filled the form themselves or mixed up a simple address update with proper tax residency declaration?

• Is it common for branches to default to the passport country and resist changes?

I'm concerned that without a proper, complete self-certification on file, the Thai banks might still report the accounts to the wrong tax authority in my passport/home country. This could trigger unnecessary and time-consuming audits or reviews that could easily be avoided if the Thai banks reported the information accurately based on the correct tax residency.

Any practical advice on how to get this fixed cleanly (without ever providing false information) would be really helpful.

Thanks in advance!

It's a bit hilarious how much Thai banks push these international CRS rules, sending letters threatening to freeze or close accounts if the information isn't updated, yet when you go to the branch, the staff seem completely clueless about the actual forms and procedures.

2 hours ago, Tailwind said:

It's a bit hilarious how much Thai banks push these international CRS rules, sending letters threatening to freeze or close accounts if the information isn't updated, yet when you go to the branch, the staff seem completely clueless about the actual forms and procedures.

I opened last month an account with SCB in Bangkok with only Non O Thai wife extension, Thai marriage certificate, wife ID + Tabien baan, residence certificate from embassy. Teller asked if I had an address in my home country, replied No as all my ID docs indicate my Thai address. No further question nor mention of CRS form.

I went to "my" Bangkok Bank branch some 8 months ago to make sure they had, among other things, my tax TIN on file, and also to ask whether any CRS form needed to be filled. They made me wait for ages, then when I showed a screenshot of the CRS form to an employee, she exclaimed "are you from the US?". I said "no" and left. No use insisting if bank staff haven't a clue.

Bangkok's Bank broker (Bualuang Securities) know their job though. They've carried out CRS verifications for at least two years now. It can be done online. My tax residency country is Thailand. The only irritating aspect is that with each new verification, the tax residency country is reverted to my passport country by default. So I need to correct that and enter the Thai TIN again.

7 hours ago, JackGats said:

So I need to correct that and enter the Thai TIN again.

Why? Who cares? It's irrelevant

3 hours ago, ukrules said:

Why? Who cares? It's irrelevant

I don't know. If my passport country is registered as my tax residence country, my Thai broker would be sending CRS reports to my passport country. Not a good thing, better let sleeping dogs lie.

6 minutes ago, JackGats said:

I don't know. If my passport country is registered as my tax residence country, my Thai broker would be sending CRS reports to my passport country. Not a good thing, better let sleeping dogs lie.

No issue if your passport country is aware of your current/up-to-date tax residency.

Anyway you have no control on how a financial institution internally manages CRS/FATCA and where and which precise information is sent to, regardless of what you tell them.

3 hours ago, Yumthai said:

No issue if your passport country is aware of your current/up-to-date tax residency.

Anyway you have no control on how a financial institution internally manages CRS/FATCA and where and which precise information is sent to, regardless of what you tell them.

100% true, as you said it's out of my control where information is being sent to. But I guess the CRS/FATCA form has the purpose to send reports to the correct authorities, otherwise it's missing its point.

1 hour ago, Tailwind said:

But I guess the CRS/FATCA form has the purpose to send reports to the correct authorities, otherwise it's missing its point.

CRS is OECD point, FIs just have to comply with a regulation they gain nothing but extra work.

Assessing - wrongly - passport country as (additional or by default) tax residency is common mistake if self-certification fails their "reasonableness test", which varies according to FI internal policy.

Sending too much information is always less damageable than not enough.

Again, if passport country tax authority is well informed of the individual tax residency status there is no issue. CRS information received will simply be ignored.

Wow, that all looks like a huge pain in the ass.

Makes me glad I’m American - I have to deal with one group of <deleted> - the IRS. As long as I play straight with them, pay them as needed, and file all the right forms, the worst that can happen is I get audited.

23 hours ago, Everyman said:

Wow, that all looks like a huge pain in the ass.

Makes me glad I’m American - I have to deal with one group of <deleted> - the IRS. As long as I play straight with them, pay them as needed, and file all the right forms, the worst that can happen is I get audited.

I'm jealous (kidding 😉)

On 4/23/2026 at 6:41 PM, Everyman said:

Wow, that all looks like a huge pain in the ass.

Makes me glad I’m American - I have to deal with one group of <deleted> - the IRS. As long as I play straight with them, pay them as needed, and file all the right forms, the worst that can happen is I get audited.

what about the FBAR which goes out of IRS to Justice Department (treasury folks)?

8 hours ago, Presnock said:

what about the FBAR which goes out of IRS to Justice Department (treasury folks)?

FBAR is just a report. It's very simple and can be filed in conjunction with tax forms.

23 minutes ago, kimothai said:

FBAR is just a report. It's very simple and can be filed in conjunction with tax forms.

even more simple than the 1040

FBAR is just a report. It's very simple and can be filed in conjunction with tax forms.

Exactly. I never have more than 10,000 USD in a non-US account anyway. If i did, I would report it and that would be that. All my income is US sourced so it’s not like they don’t know where it came from in the first place.

If I made money overseas then I would have to file more forms but probably not have to pay taxes on it, especially if I had already paid in Thailand, for example.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t love the IRS or their intrusion in my life. But it’s just a paperwork problem, at the end of the day.

One benefit though is that’s easy to keep making social security payments from abroad. The UK system on that seems complicated.