Transcript of the above video: 

Unfortunately, I am making this video regarding Thai Immigration matters and Banking. I had thought I had gone into this in rather explicit detail in a prior video, but I didn't make a specific video on it. I mentioned it tangentially in a number of other videos and got into it, so I think it's worth pointing out again, especially as I saw a comment and I also received correspondence from multiple different sources on this topic of Destination Thailand Visa holders and Banking. 

I think this comment sort of will help as a touchstone and then we will go from there. Quote: "Ben, can you talk about the latest weirdness from Bangkok Bank. Many people including me got a mobile notification this morning to visit the branch where we originally opened our accounts, with our passport and Bank book within 30 days. If we do not respond, they may suspend access to our account." So note, this isn't a digital banking issue. This is the underlying account itself, suspension of the account. That is worth pointing out. Quoting further: "There are people claiming that they are closing accounts for DTV Visa holders."

Yeah, well look I talked about this before, and we had anecdotal evidence. I made videos, I talked about it but again let's acutely sort of focus on that issue. Yeah, it looks like Destination Thailand Visa holders moving forward are not going to be able to get banking facilities in Thailand. As we discussed in other videos, those Visas are not work authorized for Thailand. I talked about this right when this came out. Again I felt like it was bad policy to create this Visa in the first place as it was entirely the creation of Ministry of Foreign Affairs which only operates outside of Thailand, and it was not very functional for inside of Thailand, most notably Ministry of Interior and the Immigration apparatus thereunder, was not apprised of it and really had no input in how this was created.

As we discussed even after that, then the Ministry of Interior came out and issued notification that anything that impinges upon the Thai economy is considered work, and therefore you need work authorization for it. The Destination Thailand Visa does not cover work authorization; it's not work authorized. Now they have said and again it's all of this kind of frankly kind of mealy mouth kind of double speak where, "oh well, you may be a nomad and if what you do pertains to abroad, it's no big deal", but at the end of the day, as I have discussed in many other videos, work authorisation is what it is in Thailand. The definition of work is what it is in Thailand; it is broad. And again, the Interior Ministry itself was quoted as saying, "if it impinges upon the Thai economy", well anything could impinge upon the Thai economy. Inbound funds that are utilized in Thailand could impinge upon the Thai economy. It reminds me of "minimum context" in a jurisdictional context in what is called the "International Shoe” case. It is a kind of famous case for those who are into Civil Procedure in the American legal context, I mean honestly, it's a very low bar.  It is basically anything; it could be interpreted to be or inferred to be anything that has any kind of impact on the overall Thai economy. So that looks to be the basis for saying, "hey these folks cannot have banking facilities in Thailand because they are not work authorized in Thailand, they are just able to be here basically." And again I think it was overall bad policy thinking to allow that because sort of what is the point of having them then? I guess there is an argument to be made that okay they can use their ATM cards or their credit cards or whatever and bring in money from abroad that way. They could even avail themselves now of digital wallet facilities going through this Bitcoin to Baht sandbox scheme that they are coming up with, which we have discussed in other videos. But long story short, it is a very obtuse position or precarious position to be in here in Thailand with regard to one's position as a foreigner, because again it looks like those who have already gotten banking facilities are having their banking facilities suspended or canceled or will shortly hereafter or more specifically, folks who come in further in the future on Destination Thailand Visas - and to be clear that seems to only pertain directly to Destination Thailand Visas - are not going to be able to get banking facilities moving forward. So it's not a great place to be in. 

A couple of things here as I have discussed in other videos, if you are over 50 and you have been using the Destination Thailand Visa, it may seriously be time to consider moving over to a standard Retirement Visa or some other type of Retirement Visa. If you have the financial resources and you are on a Destination Thailand Visa, it might seriously be time to be thinking about possibly the Elite Visa if you want to remain in Thailand long-term, and again avail yourself of things like banking facilities etc. Again, the Elite Visa is not work authorized, but it is kind of a different scheme, and it was set up at a time where it is really like a long Tourist Visa, but at the end of the day, it is a Non-immigrant Visa unlike the Destination Thailand Visa which apparently is not considered as such.

Meanwhile another thing to think of, especially if you are actually working here in Thailand, and again I am not getting into the whole word play of "am I working really in Thailand" or whatever, there is no point to that in my opinion, but long story short, it may not be a terrible time to seriously think about Business Visas, Work Permits. Those types of Visa options can lead to Permanent Residence here in Thailand and can even lead to citizenship. I myself naturalized to Thai citizenship and I used the path of Business Visa and Work Permit and went through all of those steps to eventually become a citizen myself. The other thing to think about is if you have a Thai significant other, if you have a Thai spouse - and now even it is possible to have the same sex spouse here in Thailand - you may be able to also avail yourself of an O Marriage Visa which again is Non-immigrant Visa status which would again allow for banking facilities here in Thailand. 

So these are all things to think about, but I think it is important to point out that it looks like DTV Visa holders are having serious problems maintaining or in the future even having, banking facilities here in the Kingdom of Thailand.