Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing updates to the requirements for Thai Tourist Visas. We have spoken about this at length and one major update that has occurred at least with respect to Americans and UK citizens, is the fact that it is no longer officially required that one show a 500,000 Baht bank balance. 

This came from the Royal Thai Embassy in Washington D.C. under the heading: Visa and Certificate of Entry Procedures for non-Thai nationals wishing to Enter Thailand for Tourism Purposes. Before they had a note under 2.9, subsection 2.9 of that page which stated you needed to show 500,000 Baht in a Thai bank account or approximately I believe $17,000 in an account in the States. Now 2.9 reads "Copy of recent bank statement, $700 per person and $1,500 per family." The name of the applicant must be indicated clearly. In case of submitting a family bank statement, proof of relationship i.e. birth certificate, marriage certificate must be provided". So that is major news for Americans. 

Meanwhile over on the Thai Embassy in London's website under subsection 4 under, For Tourism Purpose and when they are talking visas on that page it says for tourism purpose, single entry Tourist Visa only. Subsection 4: "UK / Irish bank statements with sufficient fund to cover your trip to Thailand." So again where it once said 500,000 Baht, it now simply stipulates sufficient funds.

So this is a major development especially for folks in the UK and the US. Presumably, I am not going to go out on a limb and presume completely, but it stands to reason or it could be logically inferred that more Thai Embassies are going to adopt this same protocol if they are already issuing Tourist Visas. We will make other videos on this channel specific to that.

So the thing to take away from this video is specifically this pertains to the US and the UK. The other countries out there both in the Commonwealth as well as in Europe and in North America and elsewhere for that matter again, different Embassies and Consulates have different ways of processing things and they have different protocols by which they will adjudicate a visa application. This may not be broad around the world with respect to every Embassy and Consulate but it is probably a good indication of the way things are heading and hopefully we are going to see more tourists coming to Thailand as a result of this development in the coming days.