Anyone Recently Opened A Bank Account Without Wp?

[jbd]

If you recently opened a bankaccount in Bangkok without the need of a workpermit, can you please let me know what bank and the branch.

I have a friend who has failed in all the branches he has been to and I have talked to the office where I have been doing all my business transactions for the last 3 years if they could help, but they said "no workeprmit, no account"

Anyone?

Thanks

RR

same thing happened to me a few years back. i was refused in all the major thai banks on silom. i arrived in samui and was accepted by the first one i tried which was SCB. i have never heard of anyone being refused there.

[Barefoot]

I have read all of the TV threads on this topic and found most to be unhelpful, ranging from the daft (no need for work permit) to barely helpful (bank name but no branch, or old information). Please be specific about what branch you used and when, if you were successful.

I have also run into the "no work permit" bull feathers at every bank branch I tried, until today. I am happy to report that the Kasikorn Bank, Langsuan branch (Langsuan runs between the Chitlom BTS and Lumpini Park) opened an account for me without any drama, including an ATM card and internet banking.

I was concerned at first, as I was the only foreigner in this small branch among about 30 customers (it was the lunch hour -- not good timing). I dealt with a Thai man in his mid-30s. The only other Thai man working the desks was in his 50s and the rest were women. He was friendly but all business. I couched my request as follows:

I have been living on Langsuan for 6 months. I am getting a retirement Visa this year, and I need to transfer 800,000 Baht to a Thai bank (use your big numbers early on), so I would like to open a passbook savings account. I have an "O" Visa. I then handed him my passport and my lease. He said no problem. After he started filling out forms, I asked about an ATM card and internet banking, and he again said no problem. The whole process took about 30 minutes. I opened the account with 10,000 Baht.

Good luck!

If you recently opened a bankaccount in Bangkok without the need of a workpermit, can you please let me know what bank and the branch.

I have a friend who has failed in all the branches he has been to and I have talked to the office where I have been doing all my business transactions for the last 3 years if they could help, but they said "no workeprmit, no account"

Anyone?

Thanks

RR

same thing happened to me a few years back. i was refused in all the major thai banks on silom. i arrived in samui and was accepted by the first one i tried which was SCB. i have never heard of anyone being refused there.

[jetzie]

anyone any luck wit bangkok bank? failed today @ the 1 near suttisan

[sonicdragon]

anyone any luck wit bangkok bank? failed today @ the 1 near suttisan

I had trouble with BBL as well, but found this to work: call their helpline (1333) from the branch, who will verify the conditions of opening an account (certified copy of passport, no WP required) and then ask them to explain that to the staff in the branch who refused you.

[smartecosse]

anyone any luck wit bangkok bank? failed today @ the 1 near suttisan

went to Bangkok bank today and opened and account with no problem. They simply wanted a copy of my passport and didn't even ask to see my WP

[jetzie]

anyone any luck wit bangkok bank? failed today @ the 1 near suttisan

went to Bangkok bank today and opened and account with no problem. They simply wanted a copy of my passport and didn't even ask to see my WP

oh my, which branch was that ?

so far tried 2 branches both reject

[Juzrelax]

Bangkok Bank on Thonglor. You can open an account if you have a letter from your employer. I did about 3 months ago.

[sonicdragon]

Bangkok Bank on Thonglor. You can open an account if you have a letter from your employer. I did about 3 months ago.

The OP does not have a work permit therefore I would be surprised if he can get an employers letter.

To the OP: Just do what I said above, call the helpline from inside the branch - they will explain it to the staff and you won't have a problem. This was recommended to me and I did it with no problem and I have since recommended it to others and they had no problem.

[blizzard]

you only tried 2 banks? hahaha

try 18 more!

[jetzie]

you only tried 2 banks? hahaha

try 18 more!

Haha, at the looks of it, i'm gonna get close soon!

[foolforlove]

It really depends on the the personality of the manager working at that branch. And their impression of you.

I think it helps if you show up in business attire (ie shirt and tie) and make a good appearance.

I think also sometimes they are sticklers on the WP if they are afraid of helping you (ie they don't feel they know enough English to complete the transaction).

I had an account from Kaisokorn (that my employer opened for me).

I went to Bangkok Bank, and they seemed like they were not interested in opening up an account for me because I didnt have a work permit. The manager finally said to me "how can you live in Thailand for 2 years and not have a bank account?" To which I pulled out the Kaisokorn passbook and said "I do but its at your competitor". He looked at the lower level employee and said "open the account!". No more questions asked.

Everytime I have dealt with a bank, I bring a letter from my apartment building's office (on their letterhead), written in Thai. It says basically "to whom it may concern, Mr. Joe Smith lives at our building since (date) and his address is 123/4 Soi Suan".

This letter has been useful in many situations to convince banks (and other places) that I am not some fly by night person here for 2 weeks, but here for the long haul. To get this letter, I just went to the office and said I needed something to show to a bank to prove my address. They knew exactly what I wanted and had a template for such a need as this and whipped out the letter in a few minutes.

[Aussietraveller]

Opened an account today in Phuket.

SCB at Big C.

Only ID provided was Passport with Non Imm O.

Passbook account with ATM Card, Internet Banking.

Very helpful, took less than 30 Minutes.

[MaximumSecurity]

You should be able to open a savings account at any bank without a work permit by showing a lease.

If you recently opened a bankaccount in Bangkok without the need of a workpermit, can you please let me know what bank and the branch.

I have a friend who has failed in all the branches he has been to and I have talked to the office where I have been doing all my business transactions for the last 3 years if they could help, but they said "no workeprmit, no account"

Anyone?

Thanks

RR

[jetzie]

You should be able to open a savings account at any bank without a work permit by showing a lease.

If you recently opened a bankaccount in Bangkok without the need of a workpermit, can you please let me know what bank and the branch.

I have a friend who has failed in all the branches he has been to and I have talked to the office where I have been doing all my business transactions for the last 3 years if they could help, but they said "no workeprmit, no account"

Anyone?

Thanks

RR

Lease from thai apartment ? i got a 6 month contract with them, will showing them the bill/contract do?

[blizzard]

dude, get a certifiedcopy of yr p.port and try bangkok bk.

[Sarge]

Kasikornbank rocks, re-opened (expired card, they were called Thai Farmers bank then) the account, with the help of my partner and mother of my young daughter. I don't even live in Thailand, never did. I was on holiday, visiting family at the time. Now I can do internet banking all the way from Sydney and have just set up a monthly standing order from my account into my daughter Kasikornbank's account (yes, we opened one at the tender age of 4 months).

Easy peasy

[sonicdragon]

dude, get a certifiedcopy of yr p.port and try bangkok bk.

blizzard, for once I fully agree with you. I don't understand why this needs to be repeated so much. If there is any problem in the BB branch once you have your certified passport, just call 1333 and let them explain it to the branch staff.

Kasikorn is also good, and I had no problem opening an account there too (with only my original passport, not a certified copy, and without wp), but I have heard that their official policy is that you are supposed to show proof of address (although I didn't have to) and since some people report not being able to open an account at some branches maybe the strategy of calling their helpline from the unhelpful branch might not work if you don't have said proof of address. On this latter point, all I had to do was have my wife speak to them on the phone in order to write our address in thai.

[ding]

KASIKORNBANK

Kasikorn Bank at On-Nut soi 77 refused our joint account w/o my having a work permit, even with my Thai wife right there smiling and everything.

Bangkapi branch of Bangkok Bank made it work for us, however. But this is a joint account with my Thai wife. 2nd floor on Sukhuvit... maybe soi 15-20? South side of Sukhumvit. I needed a letter of introduction from the US Embassy -no problem, say Hi to Faith!

Edited September 30, 2007 by ding

[Topprofile]

I will go tomorrow with my friend...

Will report back with what happens..

Thanks

[Topprofile]

I will go tomorrow with my friend...

Will report back with what happens..

Thanks

Had to reschedule for next Monday..

[blizzard]

fkkkkkk........ i cant wait!

[jfchandler]

I went thru this turmoil recently as well in BKK. As anyone who reads all the posts here can tell, there IS a TREMENDOUS amount of variability among banks, and even within banks among their different branches. But success can be had.

In my case, Sept. 07, I went to the Siam Commercial Branch on Suk Soi 11 near my home with my Non Imm B Visa and was flatly turned down, with them telling me I needed a work permit. The manager there told me they'd been having problems with farangs and money laundering....and it was bank policy.

Later, I heard the supposed rule about requiring a work permit might only apply in BKK, not outside. So I called Siam Bank's call center to ask, and they told me any branch should open an account with a Non Imm B visa and passport, regardless of WP.

When I told them what happened on Soi 11, and asked, the Call Center suggested their branches in Siam Paragon or Siam Square. I ended up going to the Siam Square branch, where the original customer service woman had to call over an asst. manager. They seemed to be looking for a work permit also.

But after I explained repeatedly what their own Call Center had said, and was politely and persistently firm, they agreed to open a free savings account, issue an ATM card and set up Internet banking. They did also ask for a copy of my lease agreeement for my apartment, which I didn't have with me then, but promised to provide later. They opened the account anyway that day.

So, wherever you try, be sure to bring your original passport preferably with a longer term visa and anything like a lease establishing your residence here. I also pulled out all my American ATM and credit cards for them to see, which seemed to help move the process along.

To whichever bank you intend to apply, I think the advice above about consulting with their Call Center first is well-put. That way, if you get a different answer at the local branch, you can always tell them what the Call Center said and/or call them from the branch to get the same answer.

There may also be something going on about the actual practices used in the branches being tougher in BKK than in the outlying cities/provinces. One of the SCB people (rightly or wrongly) told me they have tougher practices for branches in BKK than outside.

But obviously, I was able to prevail with Siam Commercial, and various posters above seemed to have pretty good success with various branches of Kasikorn Bank, under similar (non-WP) circumstances.

John (formerly) from Los Angeles.

[trader1]

I tried to open at Bangkok Bank in sukhumvit 11 last week- NO way without a work permit. Not a big deal, I just returned later with my WP..