How to open bank account

If you are a foreigner in Thailand and ever tried to open Bank account. You may know how difficult to open Bank account for foreigner. It is quite difficult, because we don’t know the right process. For those who have work permits or Long stay Visa such as Student Visa, retirement visa etc can open Bank account easily.
But those who just visit In the country as tourist it's quite hard to Open bank account. But don't worry here i have found an useful information about, How to open Bank accounts in Thailand. It is written by Ekarin Bumroongpuk and published on The Nation website

Bank accounts for foreigners

By Ekarin Bumroongpuk
The Nation
Published on June 26, 2008

A look at the qualification criteria at various institutions and the documents you need
Expatriates living and working in Thailand need to conduct financial transactions such as opening a bank account, applying for a credit card, money transfers, investment and insurance. But due to their foreign status there are some transactions they cannot undertake.

The Nation has gathered information on what expatriates can and cannot do in terms of products offered by local financial institutions.

Let's begin with a truly fundamental product - the bank account.

Foreigners are classified into four groups: permanent residents in Thailand, foreigners with a work permit, foreigners with a long-stay visa (non-immigrant) such as international students, and foreigners with a tourist visa.

The first group are foreigners who live in Thailand. They are supposed to show an alien certificate and copy of their house registration for identity verification. The second group needs to show a passport and a work permit.

In general, Thai commercial banks require a work permit and a passport to open a savings account, current account and fixed-deposit account.

For example, Siam Commercial Bank and Bank of Ayudhya require a minimum work-permit period of six months. Kasikornbank ( used to Thai Farmers Bank) requires the same but if a foreigner has no work permit, they must show a document which confirms that their stay in Thailand is for at least three months ( Some Hope to Open Bank account without Work Permit.)

Foreigners with these required documents are qualified to open bank accounts and hold a debit or ATM card.

However, there are still many foreigners who have no work permit, such as foreign students who hold a long-stay visa. Therefore, they need to hand in confirmation documents from their colleges or school. A foreigner with no work permit is supposed to supply any additional documents that a bank may require, before it decides whether to approve the application.

Among the large banks, only Bangkok Bank allows foreigners with tourist visas can open a ‘Resident Baht Account’ and make transactions via any Bangkok Bank’s counter or you can apply for a Be1st debit card to use within Thailand. This account provides foreigners with tourist visas access to their funds from any ATM machine in the country however, foreigners will not be able to access funds from overseas. However, applications from this category are considered on a case-by-case basis and tourists must stay at least 180 days in the Kingdom.

Foreigners who enter Thailand via an on-arrival visa - valid for 30 days - will not be considered.

A Bangkok Bank savings account requires a minimum initial deposit of Bt500, plus a Bt100 joining fee and Bt150-Bt200 annually for an ATM card or Be1st debit card.

A current account, which allows customers to use cheques, requires a much higher minimum initial deposit of Bt10,000. However, very few retailers in Thailand accept cheques, except when there is an established relationship with the customer.

Fixed-deposit accounts require a minimum initial deposit of Bt1,000-Bt2,000 and customers can choose from a range of periods, such as three months, six months or one year.

Right now, Bangkok Bank is keen to expand its expatriate customer base. It is, therefore, inviting Immigration Bureau staff to train its employees on the basic rules on classifying foreigners into various visa and work-permit categories.

-- This is the first article in a series about personal finance for expatriates. The second part will appear next week.
Source: - Bank accounts for foreigners
Secret Tip To Make Bank manager happy is Telling that you need the account for transfer some money from your home country, they like that.
Print This Page