Here Is Possible To Open An Account Without Work Permit

[pisico]

It is true that many clerks in commercial banks will opt the easy way out and tell you that it is not possible to open an account without a Work Permit. If they do not speak English or one does not speak Thai, that is a distinct possibility.

It is up to the branch manager also to make that decision. Example. I went to open an account at Kasikorn in Central Pinklao, reputed to be Farang friendly. After a 30 minute wait, a snooty lady right off the bat told me (in Thai) that I had to have a work permit. I insisted to speak with the manager. She never got up from her chair and instead, called someone on a mobile phone (away from me) and then told: it's not possible without a work permit. I doubt it that she spoke with the manager.

Undeterred I went to Tesco Lotus nearby in Pinklao and went to the 4th. floor where a handful of banks have small offices there. I went into Kasikorn minuscule office and a very kind young fellow listened to me in my broken Thai and said "I will check." He called the main office and explained that I needed the account to transfer money as one of the steps necessary to apply for a retirement visa. No Work Permit: no problem. Only the passport is a must. After that it was like doing business in any bank in the USA. In 15 minutes I had my passbook with my name on it marching out of the office a happy camper.

WHERE: Kasikorn Bank on the 4th. floor at Tesco Lotus on BOROMMARATCHACHONNANI (near Central Pinklao).

WHO:The very able and kind Assistant Manager understands English and the plight of Farangs. His name:

Mr. PAWAT JAISUTTI.

I hope this info will help those needing to open an account in LOS . Pisico

[lovelomsak]

Good post. Whebn I first retired here in Pitsanulok I opened an account with 30,000 baht. The next time I came in the manager came over and tols the woman serving me I could keep my account because I didnot have a work permit. I refused to close the account because i had a transfer of $30,000 canadian in process to that account, that i had just started that morning with my canadain bank. Well next day I get a call from kasikorn bank. My transfer of funds is in. I went to the bank and the manager politely took me in his office and did all the paper work for me and told me they were happy to have me as a customer. Funny how bigger deposits change their minds. I now do all my banking with krung thai  I left kaiskorn.

[sulasno]

I never had a problem when opening a savings account with KBank

[sevenhills]

I never had a problem when opening a savings account with KBank

KBank seem to be the easiest to open an account without a Work Permit. Good luck

[pkrv]

There is a hard fought for pinned thread here:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/260738-opening-a-new-bank-account-in-thailand/

[boney]

Siam Comercial Bank, no problem, I have opened joint acount and an account in my name only with them. Transfer funds in and out of the account nationaly and internationaly.

[buckhumyai]

I walked into Siam commercial Bank in a smallish town in isaan not long ago and when my wife asked to open an account in my name, the guy just waved us away with his hand and walked away, leaving us standing there. He did not ask one question or say one word. Dont these people know that a lot of us are planning on keeping at least 800 000 Baht in their bank? Immigration insist now on the account being in your name to gain an extension of stay based on retirement yet a lot of banks are still asking for a work permit or just refusing to open accounts for foreigners full stop! It certainly used to be the law that you required a work permit to open an account although this was often overlooked. It cant possibly be law now or it would be impossible to get the necessary paperwork to do a retirement visa.

My suggestion is try banks in Farang areas ie Pattaya that have experience dealing with foreigners on a daily basis. Banks in small Thai towns with no English don't want to lose face with their colleagues over how poor their English skills are and how they have no idea of how to complete the process.

[Theo007]

I have two accounts with KBank, one in Bangkok and the other in Pattaya. Neither requested to see a work permit.

[glegolo]

Good post. Whebn I first retired here in Pitsanulok I opened an account with 30,000 baht. The next time I came in the manager came over and tols the woman serving me I could keep my account because I didnot have a work permit. I refused to close the account because i had a transfer of $30,000 canadian in process to that account, that i had just started that morning with my canadain bank. Well next day I get a call from kasikorn bank. My transfer of funds is in. I went to the bank and the manager politely took me in his office and did all the paper work for me and told me they were happy to have me as a customer. Funny how bigger deposits change their minds. I now do all my banking with krung thai  I left kaiskorn.

For what it´s worth. I did find kasikorn bank in beach Road Jomtien to be fantastic and they spoke some good english.

Up here in Chaiyaphum (Isaan), Kasikorn is the worst you can ever face what it concerns banks. They are completely out of english, and most of the times I have been in there, they "show" how much they love us falangs.

The other side of the same coin is Khrung Thai bank here. Speak english, friendly (like to talk) and it was easy to open an account. On either bank nobody ever ask for any work permits...

Glegolo

Edited July 13, 2010 by glegolo

[pisico]

Good post. Whebn I first retired here in Pitsanulok I opened an account with 30,000 baht. The next time I came in the manager came over and tols the woman serving me I could keep my account because I didnot have a work permit. I refused to close the account because i had a transfer of $30,000 canadian in process to that account, that i had just started that morning with my canadain bank. Well next day I get a call from kasikorn bank. My transfer of funds is in. I went to the bank and the manager politely took me in his office and did all the paper work for me and told me they were happy to have me as a customer. Funny how bigger deposits change their minds. I now do all my banking with krung thai  I left kaiskorn.

For what it´s worth. I did find kasikorn bank in beach Road Jomtien to be fantastic and they spoke some good english.

Up here in Chaiyaphum (Isaan), Kasikorn is the worst you can ever face what it concerns banks. They are completely out of english, and most of the times I have been in there, they "show" how much they love us falangs.

The other side of the same coin is Khrung Thai bank here. Speak english, friendly (like to talk) and it was easy to open an account. On either bank nobody ever ask for any work permits...

Glegolo

It would be helpful in addition to our personal experience (good or bad), to mention the name of the bank, and the exact location of the bank (city, street, mall, etc.) that is Farang friendly.That is the best way to make available good information to those who need to open the account for the purposes of retirement and/or extension of visa.

Pisico

[cjars]

Banking proceedures seem to vary between provinces. If you live in a heavily falang populated area then the big 4; BBL, KBANK, TMB and SCB will almost certainly give you an account if you can show you are here for the long term. Non-O, E, B etc... May need to show Tambien Baan, Marriage certificates and passport stamps as proof. Have never been asked for work permit unless opening a business account, credit card account or home refinance. If you live baan-nawk and they don't get many falang, then they will probably follow the strictest paperwork code possible, and ask for more than they need, just to cover their unknowing asses. Thailand loves the paperwork, if you have it, things are easy, if ya don't i imagine things are tough and costly to get done quickly. Using any of the what i refer to as Thai-only Banks: Thanachat, Ohmsin etc.. will almost cerainly make your life difficult, paperwork or not, i feel the system is not developedenough to run as well as the big 4.

[chiangmaibruce]

It would be helpful in addition to our personal experience (good or bad), to mention the name of the bank, and the exact location of the bank (city, street, mall, etc.) that is Farang friendly.That is the best way to make available good information to those who need to open the account for the purposes of retirement and/or extension of visa.

Pisico

Sorry, no disrespect intended, but I don't think it is particularly helpful at all. There are various reasons why different people are told different things at different times in different banks.

The single most significant variable is the particular bank staffer you have contact with. If that bank staffer leaves that branch or changes his/her role at the branch, then the next guy who wants to open an account ... and who has driven across BKK to seek out the famous farang-friendly bank that he read about in Thaivisa ... gets told that he needs a work permit (or some other bit of paper). If you have read enough of these Thaivisa threads you will even see instances where someone claims a particular branch is easy and then someone else (in that thread or a later one) says that they couldn't open an account at that branch.

So rather than rabbit on about "oh you will have no problems at this branch" and sending people off on wild goose chases ... I'd suggest that it's better to just walk on down the road and simply try the next bank you come across.

[Rama]

Thai banks are very feudalistic in their policies, just like local immigration offices. If the Manager understands what can and can't be done, no problem. Most of the time a foreigner is a new problem that the bank clerk/manager has not experienced in their banking career. Most Thai banks rotate their managers after a few years on the job. A bank that is foreigner friendly can suddenly become foreigner unfriendly.

Usually banks on areas where their is a heavy foreigner population understand the policy - you can open an account without a work permit - and it can be a savings account earning interest, it does not have to be a current account. Banks in very rural areas and even banks in cities that are outside areas with heavy foreigner presence sometimes even tell you you have to have a Thai joint account holder (untrue).

Best thing is to just try a number of banks.

[Tropicalevo]

I opened my account with the Bank of Ayudhya with only a passport. I know that a lot of my neighbours/friends also managed to open accounts with the same bank.

The Siam Commercial Bank was also very open to foreigners having accounts using just the passport. This may be because Samui has a lot of foreigners per capita looking to invest/retire.

By the way - we are talking about a savings account here, not a chequing or company account