Work permit and M.E visa to non b

[jayjay2001]

I have a Bangkok Bank account in Pattaya as I used to live in Thailand, lastly with a retirement visa. I left Thailand last September (2012), so my retirement visa is no longer valid (I, of course, was not in Thailand for my 90 day check-ins). I am going back to Thailand entering the country with a 30 day stay without a visa. As far as I know, and I will check, my Bangkok Bank is still open (they told me when I withdrew my money last September leaving a zero balance that it would remain open for 2 years).

Before I leave for Thailand from the U.S. this coming May, I want to tranfer money into my Bangkok Bank account (about USD $5000).

Here's the question:

Does anyone know if I would run into any problems if I have to interact with bank personnel, with me not having a visa for those 30 days? (I do plan on getting an Eduacation Visa or a Retirement Visa towards the end of the 30 days.)

I still have my Bangkok Bank debit card, and, like I said, I'll call Bangkok Bank here from the U.S. to make sure my account is still open before I look to tranfer funds from my bank account here in the U.S. to Bangkok Bank. I probably will only need to use my Bangkok Bank debit card during those 30 days, but I guess I am paranoid that if I tranfer funds into Bangkok bank there might be problems accessing that money without a visa. I don't want to use my U.S. bank debit card as they charge 3% on the amount withdrawn from a foreign ATM (plus, there is the ATM charge by many Thai banks for the withdraw (except Aeon, if that's still true)).

It may seem like a silly question, but it is Thailand.

Thanks for any info. Sorry for the long message.

JJ

Edited March 1, 2013 by jayjay2001

[RKASA]

Get free or cheap travelers checks from your bank and cash them at your bank here they pay same as cash. I have never had to pay any fee to use them at Bangkok Bank and you can deposit them - save the transfer fees etc. They won't care about your visa status to cash travelers checks anyway or if you deposit them because you already have an account.

[jayjay2001]

Get free or cheap travelers checks from your bank and cash them at your bank here they pay same as cash. I have never had to pay any fee to use them at Bangkok Bank and you can deposit them - save the transfer fees etc. They won't care about your visa status to cash travelers checks anyway or if you deposit them because you already have an account.

RKASA, thanks for your response. I had thought about travelers checks, googled them, and saw that their use has been in decline since the 1990s, and aren't accepted as they used to be. So, I wasn't sure if they'd be honored at a Thai bank. Thanks for letting me know Bangkok Bank honors them.

[wooloomooloo]

I believe that an account with Bangkok Bank only remains open for one year if there's been no activity on the account.

If the account has a balance of <500 baht then a fee of 50 baht per month is due.

You could just as easily transfer the funds to the account prior to arrival if this suits.

Edited March 1, 2013 by wooloomooloo

[jayjay2001]

I believe that an account with Bangkok Bank only remains open for one year if there's been no activity on the account.

If the account has a balance of <500 baht then a fee of 50 baht per month is due.

You could just as easily transfer the funds to the account prior to arrival if this suits.

Thanks for the reply. I'll give them a call to see if it's still open.

[54321]

If I understand correctly you are concerned about

a. is the account still open

b.Issues with obtaining your funds if you only have a 30 day on arrival visa

a. you said you would call them

b: I just made a transfer to buy 2 condos, and experienced no issues withdrawing cash and cheque only having a visa on arrival

On a side point, the Superrich in BKK are over 50 satang better than bangkok banks TT rate, so you would be better of with cash and incur no fees

Hope I understood and hope that helps

[jayjay2001]

If I understand correctly you are concerned about

a. is the account still open

b.Issues with obtaining your funds if you only have a 30 day on arrival visa

a. you said you would call them

b: I just made a transfer to buy 2 condos, and experienced no issues withdrawing cash and cheque only having a visa on arrival

On a side point, the Superrich in BKK are over 50 satang better than bangkok banks TT rate, so you would be better of with cash and incur no fees

Hope I understood and hope that helps

Thank you very much for your information. Yes, you understood me correctly. I appreciate your info on both (1) being able to transfer and withdraw funds having only a 30 day on arrival visa and (2) the Super Rich exchange info. I just checked out their website and they do, indeed, have a better rate than Bangkok Bank. However, I arrive in Bangkok late Saturday night and leave for Pattaya on Sunday. Becuase Super Rich is not open on Sunday, I won't be able to exchange with them. The money I would save waiting until Monday to exchange with them would be negated by another hotel night in Bangkok.

In any case, I'm thinking of going to Thailand with travelers cheques as suggested by RKASA. I can avoid the tranfer fees that way. Unfortunately, I won't have the opportunity to excahnge with Super Rich in BKK as stated above.

Thanks again for your reply and information.

Cheers,

JJ

[Tomtomtom69]

There is no problem transferring money into your account irrespective of visa type. Nobody asks, nobody cares - just make the transfer. I have received money transferred into my Bangkok Bank account numerous times by my Chinese company, including last week and there were no problems (I am also on a visa exempt stamp).

For some bizarre reason however, in order to apply for internet banking you need a work permit. For every other type of banking transaction, your visa type doesn't matter.

[jayjay2001]

There is no problem transferring money into your account irrespective of visa type. Nobody asks, nobody cares - just make the transfer. I have received money transferred into my Bangkok Bank account numerous times by my Chinese company, including last week and there were no problems (I am also on a visa exempt stamp).

For some bizarre reason however, in order to apply for internet banking you need a work permit. For every other type of banking transaction, your visa type doesn't matter.

Tomtomtom69,

Thanks for your reply and information. It's good to hear. I really appreciate you letting me know. Thanks again.

Cheers,

JJ

[Sophon]

If I understand correctly you are concerned about

a. is the account still open

b.Issues with obtaining your funds if you only have a 30 day on arrival visa

a. you said you would call them

b: I just made a transfer to buy 2 condos, and experienced no issues withdrawing cash and cheque only having a visa on arrival

On a side point, the Superrich in BKK are over 50 satang better than bangkok banks TT rate, so you would be better of with cash and incur no fees

Hope I understood and hope that helps

It is correct that Super Rich gives a better rate for cash than the bank's TT rate, but only slightly so and not by as much as 50 Satang. The current rates are:

Super Rich cash (100 USD bills): 29.75

Bangkok Bank TT buying rate: 29.67

You can see current currency rates via this link.

Sophon

[lopburi3]

............

For some bizarre reason however, in order to apply for internet banking you need a work permit. For every other type of banking transaction, your visa type doesn't matter.

Just to correct that - a work permit is not required for internet banking (although an official may say so - as they did to me) and application is now available on-line.

http://www.bangkokbank.com/OnlineBanking/PersonalBanking/iBanking/BualuangiBanking/HowtoApply/Pages/ApplyviaWebsite.aspx

[Pib]

The only time a bank branch might want to see "your visa" is if you were "opening" a new account. I'm sure you've see the many posts of how some folks easily open a bank acct with only a short term visa where others get turned down because the branch wanted to see a long term (1 yr) visa or work permit.

When you withdraw money Thai banks do want to see your passport for identification purposes since that's the best form/most standardized form of ID for a foreigner....the banks don't care about what visa you may or maybe not have stamped in the passport since the acct is already open and they only need to see the passport to confirm you own the acct. As you know, for Thai's the banks want to see the Thai National ID card.

Regarding how long your acct will stay open with zero balance and associated fees when the acct get too low, see Q&A 13 at this Bangkok Bank Link. But here's a cut and paste:

Are there any account maintenance fees?
If your savings account balance is less than 2,000Bt and if the account has been non-active for more than one year, 50Bt will be deducted from your account each month. When the balance is at zero, your account will be automatically closed without prior notice.

If the monthly current account balance is less than 1,000Bt, you will be charged 100Bt per month, excluding any overdraft charges.

Since you have a debit card you could just call the number on the back of the card (i.e., banking by phone), follow the instructions, and you should be able to determine if the account and card are closed or still open.

[jayjay2001]

If I understand correctly you are concerned about

a. is the account still open

b.Issues with obtaining your funds if you only have a 30 day on arrival visa

a. you said you would call them

b: I just made a transfer to buy 2 condos, and experienced no issues withdrawing cash and cheque only having a visa on arrival

On a side point, the Superrich in BKK are over 50 satang better than bangkok banks TT rate, so you would be better of with cash and incur no fees

Hope I understood and hope that helps

It is correct that Super Rich gives a better rate for cash than the bank's TT rate, but only slightly so and not by as much as 50 Satang. The current rates are:

Super Rich cash (100 USD bills): 29.75

Bangkok Bank TT buying rate: 29.67

You can see current currency rates via this link.

Sophon

Yes, but with, say, USD $5000, there's a 1550 baht difference (using exchange rates: 29.73 (http://www.superrich1965.com/rate.php) and 29.42 (http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/Pages/homepage.aspx)). That'll get you a hot date on soi6 6 in Pattaya

[jayjay2001]

The only time a bank branch might want to see "your visa" is if you were "opening" a new account. I'm sure you've see the many posts of how some folks easily open a bank acct with only a short term visa where others get turned down because the branch wanted to see a long term (1 yr) visa or work permit.

When you withdraw money Thai banks do want to see your passport for identification purposes since that's the best form/most standardized form of ID for a foreigner....the banks don't care about what visa you may or maybe not have stamped in the passport since the acct is already open and they only need to see the passport to confirm you own the acct. As you know, for Thai's the banks want to see the Thai National ID card.

Regarding how long your acct will stay open with zero balance and associated fees when the acct get too low, see Q&A 13 at this Bangkok Bank Link. But here's a cut and paste:

Are there any account maintenance fees?

If your savings account balance is less than 2,000Bt and if the account has been non-active for more than one year, 50Bt will be deducted from your account each month. When the balance is at zero, your account will be automatically closed without prior notice.

If the monthly current account balance is less than 1,000Bt, you will be charged 100Bt per month, excluding any overdraft charges.

Since you have a debit card you could just call the number on the back of the card (i.e., banking by phone), follow the instructions, and you should be able to determine if the account and card are closed or still open.

Pib,

Thanks for the info. I called and, yes, my account is still open. So, it's still open after zeroing out the account last August (2012).

[Sophon]

If I understand correctly you are concerned about

a. is the account still open

b.Issues with obtaining your funds if you only have a 30 day on arrival visa

a. you said you would call them

b: I just made a transfer to buy 2 condos, and experienced no issues withdrawing cash and cheque only having a visa on arrival

On a side point, the Superrich in BKK are over 50 satang better than bangkok banks TT rate, so you would be better of with cash and incur no fees

Hope I understood and hope that helps

It is correct that Super Rich gives a better rate for cash than the bank's TT rate, but only slightly so and not by as much as 50 Satang. The current rates are:

Super Rich cash (100 USD bills): 29.75

Bangkok Bank TT buying rate: 29.67

You can see current currency rates via this link.

Sophon

Yes, but with, say, USD $5000, there's a 1550 baht difference (using exchange rates: 29.73 (http://www.superrich1965.com/rate.php) and 29.42 (http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/Pages/homepage.aspx)). That'll get you a hot date on soi6 6 in Pattaya

But the poster I was responding to was comparing Super Rich's cash buying rate with Bangkok Bank's TT buying rate, while you seem to be comparing to Bangkok Bank's cash buying rate.

Besides, my point was that the difference in exchange rates between Super Rich and Bangkok Bank is not as much as he quoted (more than 50 satang) - not that it's not worth using Super Rich. Obviously, for larger amounts any little difference in exchange rates can make a worth while difference in how much you end up with.

Sophon