Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing the so-called “Banking Paradox” associated with Thai Retirement Visas. I thought of making this video after reading a recent comment on our channel, quoting directly: “Speaking of streamlined Immigration, can you comment on recent changes by Thai Banks who require Long Term Visa and Work Permit to open an account?”

Well, I will comment on that specifically as we have discussed in other videos; that has been an ongoing requirement. Different Banks have always had pretty high thresholds associated with being able to set up a Thai Bank Account; Work Permits oftentimes are one of the requirements but it is bank specific protocol so different banks may do things a little differently.

Quoting further and more to the point of this video: “Foreigners are caught between two sets of rules. Thai Immigration requires a Bank Account two months prior with a certain amount of deposit for a Non-O (Marriage/Retirement) Visa. Thai Banks will not allow foreigners to open an account without a Long Term Non-O Visa and/or a Work Permit. It is presently impossible for anyone to apply for a Non-O visa because Banks don’t allow foreigners to open accounts.” Yeah, it is a Catch-22. You need a Bank account to get the visa; you need a visa to get the Bank Account. Now you may be able to deal with this by possibly getting a Visa abroad. We assist a number of clients in cutting the Gordian Knot by assisting them in getting a Bank Account opened and then getting their Retirement Visa sorted out. Now, there are different methodologies associated with this depending on the different offices you are going to be using and it will also depend on the Banks in question. So again it is going to be circumstantially dependent.

For those who are out there that are sort of looking at the Thai Retirement Visa scheme system, don’t be put off by this. There are solutions to this overall issue; there is a way of dealing with this sort of Bank Paradox, in a relatively straightforward manner. Now that said, again it will differ from Immigration Office to Immigration Office and for that matter from Bank to Bank but we have found a number of solutions that we have ironed out, even during COVID, on behalf of clients. So those who are out there who are worried about this, it may not be a terrible idea to contact a legal professional, gain some insight and guidance into how best to proceed.