Opening a bank account on a tourist visa

[aut031]

HI,

 

I just signed up to this site to add my feedback as the information I learned here was very helpful for me.

 

I have no work permit and am in Thailand on a 30 day Tourist Visa. I went to SCB, Kasikorn, Thanachart, Krungsri, Bangkok Bank, Citibank, UOB, Standard Chartered, Government Savings Bank, Krungthai to open an account. I did this same process about 18 months ago and got nowhere.  This time I took my Thai speaking girlfriend which was the difference maker as I found many banks didn't really know their own policies on accounts for foreigners with no work permit.  Having her meant we were able to explain to staff what the company website stated and to speak to the right person in each branch.

 

All of the banks I visited where either at Emquartier/Emporium Shopping Centre or within walking distance.

 

A simple breakdown of my experience:

SCB, Kasikorn, Thanachart, Citibank, UOB and Krungthai would only open accounts with work permit.

 

Bangkok Bank and Government Savings Bank both said yes but I needed a letter from my home countries embassy or a referral from someone who was a premium customer (Equivalent to Citi Gold, HSBC Premier etc) for at least 2 years.

 

Standard Chartered and Krungsri both said yes as long as I have a lease agreement (i.e. permanent address) in my name. Standard Chartered however informed me that they are closing all Thailand branches in the next 3 months and so my account would be closed.

 

So that left me with Krungsri. Thankfully they were great. They opened 2 accounts for me with 2 Visa Debit cards attached to my accounts. 1 account was a foreign currency savings account in USD (as I get paid in USD from outside of Thailand so this lets me store my savings in USD without paying a currency conversion fee) and the other account was a THB savings account.

 

The whole process took about 90 minutes but most of that was because the staff were unfamiliar with opening a foreign currency account.  I would say it would take about 30 minutes if I only wanted a THB savings account.

 

The only documentation I provided was passport, lease contract (which was only for 3 months) and the name and contact details of my employer in New Zealand which they did not contact. They never asked why I wanted to account or how long I was staying in Thailand.

 

If anyone else is looking to open a bank account without work permit Krungsri is where I would start.

 

 

 

[roobaa01]

gdaya folks,

 

for pattaya as follows :

 

1.kungsri branch next to soi 5 in joimtien

passport, setv or metv, certificate of residence from the immi purpose to open a bank account

 

2. bkk bank, kasikorn bank  bigc pattaya klang docum as under 1, however they will try to sell an insurance additionally to someone

 

3. uob bank , naklua road docs as 1 also insurance sale.

 

wbr

roobaa01

[The Old Bull]

On 2/7/2017 at 8:11 PM, trigpoint said:

Do you know how much the ATM charges for each withdrawal, a scandalous 200 bht + your bank charges at home, that's why if you're on a extended holiday you need a Thai bank account, for safety reasons at least.

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If you transfer from an overseas bank you also get a better rate than you get using an overseas ATM card.

[trigpoint]

gdaya folks,
 
for pattaya as follows :
 
1.kungsri branch next to soi 5 in joimtien
passport, setv or metv, certificate of residence from the immi purpose to open a bank account
 
2. bkk bank, kasikorn bank  bigc pattaya klang docum as under 1, however they will try to sell an insurance additionally to someone
 
3. uob bank , naklua road docs as 1 also insurance sale.
 
wbr
roobaa01

Immigration Will not give a certificate of residence on a tourist visa, I tried to open an account for my g/f at the Krungsri bank Jomtien, said sure, we need a cert of residence.

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[roobaa01]

@trigpoint

 

3 of my friends obtained last week the certificate of residence in joimtien, soi 5, each having a setv and metv as residential address they presnted a pay slip from the hotel, their condo rental or sales contract.

 

wbr

 

roobaa01

[aut031]

On 06/03/2017 at 9:35 AM, trigpoint said:

Immigration Will not give a certificate of residence on a tourist visa, I tried to open an account for my g/f at the Krungsri bank Jomtien, said sure, we need a cert of residence.

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@trigpoint

 

Sorry for late reply but I did not have a certificate of residence.  My mum came to visit me and this week Krungsri in Emquartier shopping center (i know is long way from Jomtien) opened an account for her too. No questions asked she just had a copy of her 30 day lease and passport.  She like me was given a Visa Debit card on the spot. If she was staying in Hotel they probably would not have accepted but as I got her an apartment in my building for 30 days she was able to show a rental contract which they did not read.

[trigpoint]

2 hours ago, aut031 said:

@trigpoint

 

Sorry for late reply but I did not have a certificate of residence.  My mum came to visit me and this week Krungsri in Emquartier shopping center (i know is long way from Jomtien) opened an account for her too. No questions asked she just had a copy of her 30 day lease and passport.  She like me was given a Visa Debit card on the spot. If she was staying in Hotel they probably would not have accepted but as I got her an apartment in my building for 30 days she was able to show a rental contract which they did not read.

It varies from branch to branch plus the fact my g/f is Cambodian and not Western, this makes a lot of difference.

[FritsSikkink]

On ‎06‎/‎02‎/‎2017 at 8:34 AM, the guest said:

Banks are not allowed to open an account for tourists. 

Nonsense

[trigpoint]

1 hour ago, FritsSikkink said:

Nonsense

You have not been here long enough, if indeed you are here, it can be yes or no, depends on the bank and circumstance and whether the bank or immigration officer is in a good mood, tourist or o visa, retiree ,country of origin, take your pick.

[Evilbaz]

There is no " 30 day tourist visa ".

[trigpoint]

1 hour ago, Evilbaz said:

There is no " 30 day tourist visa ".

Who said there was or wasn't for that matter? We are talking about opening a bank account. Keep to the thread pls.

[Andrew Dwyer]

You have to shop around, don't despair if one BKK branch knocks you back because you don't have a work permit ( or some other reason) !
I got a BKK bank savings account with ATM card on a tourist visa at my third attempt.
As stated earlier, not all branches know the correct requirements and eventually you'll find one who will take you on board.

Money talks !!

[FritsSikkink]

6 hours ago, trigpoint said:

You have not been here long enough, if indeed you are here, it can be yes or no, depends on the bank and circumstance and whether the bank or immigration officer is in a good mood, tourist or o visa, retiree ,country of origin, take your pick.

The statement was "Banks are not allowed to open an account for tourists.", Banks are allowed but it depends on the discretion of the bank manager to refuse or not.

 

"depends on the bank and circumstance and whether the bank or immigration officer is in a good mood"

Banks don't have a mood, people do. The immigration officer has nothing to do with it.

 

"You have not been here long enough, if indeed you are here"

What is that supposed to mean?

 

 

[SergeD]

Folks, almost any Bangkok Bank branch will open saving account for you with only visa exempt stamp and affidavit from your embassy (they calls it "reference letter" but really it is affidavit where you declare your address in Thailand and consul just notarises your signature). If you stay at the hotel or guesthouse just don't write hotel's name in address, it should looks like an apartment address in residential building. But bear in mind that if you need internet banking they will send letter with password by regular post.

 

Edited March 28, 2017 by SergeD

[Evilbaz]

8 hours ago, trigpoint said:

Who said there was or wasn't for that matter? We are talking about opening a bank account. Keep to the thread pls.

Refer post #31

Please try and keep up.

[Kaalle]

Hijacking the thread  a bit.

 

I will be receiving euros every month from the UK. What sort of account should I try to get and what bank is the best option here in Thailand? Basically all of it will be spending money for use here in Thailand. Thx!

[newjohnny]

Kasikorn Bank. The easiest bank to open an account with a tourist visa.


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[Kaalle]

Thank you Johnny! And would it be wise to just receive the funds as is and have the bank convert or how does it work? 

[ubonjoe]

10 hours ago, Kaalle said:

Thank you Johnny! And would it be wise to just receive the funds as is and have the bank convert or how does it work? 

You get the best exchange rate when the transfer is done in a foreign currency rather than in baht.

All Thai banks will accept the transfer and use the exchange rate for time and date it is processed at the bank. For transfers it is higher rate than the rate for exchanging cash.

[Kaalle]

You get the best exchange rate when the transfer is done in a foreign currency rather than in baht.
All Thai banks will accept the transfer and use the exchange rate for time and date it is processed at the bank. For transfers it is higher rate than the rate for exchanging cash.

Thx a lot!

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[Pib]

To get a general feel for/comparison of the various exchange rates provided by Thai banks such as their Notes (Cash), TT (incoming international transfers), etc., you can use below website.  Just select the appropriate currencies and type of exchange and click Show Rates.  But to get historical data and more detail you will need to visit the banks' exchange rate webpages.

 

https://daytodaydata.net/default.aspx

[jeab1980]

Just a genral note if anyone who is in Pattaya is having problems opening a bank account on a tv pm me i have a good friend working for bkk bank who wilĺ asist you.

[Kaalle]

Went to a couple of different banks today in Phuket, no account without work permit here it seems [emoji21]

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[newjohnny]

Thank you Johnny! And would it be wise to just receive the funds as is and have the bank convert or how does it work? 

Foreign transfer fees are prohibitively expensive from US banks and the exchange rate is bad. I deposit cash into my account when I get to Thailand. It's safer than a hotel safe (which I rarely have anyway)and much cheaper than making endless ATM withdrawals.


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[observer90210]

On 06.02.2017 at 4:21 AM, Munotlaw said:

 Ok, I only open this topic to see the different opinions. Of course you can open an account on a tourist visa. Especially most of the Mabooklong branches are more than happy to serve Falangs. (another one SCB Tesco Lotus, Ratchada branch) 

Munotlaw 

what is Mabooklong if I may ask?

[melvinmelvin]

3 minutes ago, observer90210 said:

what is Mabooklong if I may ask?

A rather big shopping center just across from Skytrain at the final stop on Silom line.

Often just called MBK.

 

[observer90210]

1 minute ago, melvinmelvin said:

A rather big shopping center just across from Skytrain at the final stop on Silom line.

Often just called MBK.

 

Oh I see now, thanks for the information.

[howard ashoul]

It was really easy to open bank account 1 or 2 years ago. At that time I opened bank account on tourist visa without any problems too.

 

But situation and rules changed. So people who opened account 1 or 2 years ago, and now are comenting here, how easy it is, are providing old info.

[observer90210]

Just now, howard ashoul said:

It was really easy to open bank account 1 or 2 years ago. At that time I opened bank account on tourist visa without any problems too.

 

But situation and rules changed. So people who opened account 1 or 2 years ago, and now are comenting here, how easy it is, are providing old info.

True. A friend of mine with a German/European passeport, 30 day visa was refused in every branch he tried in Bangkok, Hua Hin and Phuket,  This was in january 2017.

[observer90210]

1 hour ago, newjohnny said:

Foreign transfer fees are prohibitively expensive from US banks and the exchange rate is bad. I deposit cash into my account when I get to Thailand. It's safer than a hotel safe (which I rarely have anyway)and much cheaper than making endless ATM withdrawals.


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Your are very correct. Not to mention also that during the transfer the banks in Thailand will screw you on the exchange rate. If you locally look around a bit, you will get a far better rate in changing your foreign exchange directly in a money changing booth rather then do it through bank transfer. If the amount is substantial, so will be be the extra cash you'll get if you do it yourself. Enjoy and Thailand permits to import upto US$ 20'000,-- without having to declare/display your cash to a potentially corrupt customs cowboy at the airport.