Opening a Thai bank account as a foreigner: what the banks actually ask for

The most useful thing to know first: there is no one set of rules. Every bank decides its own policy for foreign customers, and a branch can ask for more than its head office publishes. That is why two people on the same visa get opposite answers on the same street.

What does not vary much is the pattern. Banks want to see that you are living here, not passing through — and your visa is how they judge that.

What three banks publish

Checked on each bank’s own savings-account page, 24 September 2026:

Kasikornbank (KBank) — the most explicit of the three.

• Passport
• A Non-Immigrant visa, of any type
• A government-issued ID from your own country, such as a national ID card or driving licence
• A document matching why you are here — a work permit if you work, a certificate from your university or school if you study
• No minimum opening deposit

And, in KBank’s own words, accounts are not opened for tourist visas or “other types of visa intended to travel in Thailand” — which it spells out as Visa on Arrival, visa-exempt entry and the Destination Thailand Visa (DTV).

SCB (Siam Commercial Bank) — for its general savings account, a foreigner identifies with a passport and work permit. Minimum opening deposit 500 THB.

Bangkok Bank — minimum opening deposit 500 THB. For foreigners the page lists no documents at all and sends you to a branch, which tells you it is decided case by case.

What that means for your visa

• Work permit holders have the easiest time: every bank above accepts a work permit.
• Retirement (O / O-A) and other Non-Immigrant visas: KBank’s published list covers you. Bring your home-country ID as well as your passport.
• Education visa: KBank lists a certificate from your school as the supporting document. Ask your school for one before you go.
• DTV: KBank names it as excluded. Worth knowing before you spend a morning at a branch.
• Visa-exempt entry and Visa on Arrival: excluded at KBank, and SCB asks for a work permit. Plan on managing with foreign cards for now — the currency page covers the options.

Before you go to the branch

• Take originals and a photocopy of everything.
• Have a Thai phone number ready — mobile banking here is set up against one.
• Bring something showing where you live — a lease, or the TM30 receipt from your landlord (see 90-day reports and TM30). None of the three banks lists it, but KBank says a branch may ask for more than its website shows, and this is the obvious thing to have on hand.
• If a branch says no, that is one branch’s answer. KBank and Bangkok Bank both send you to the branch for the final word, so another branch — or another bank — may decide differently.

Why it matters beyond convenience

A Thai account is not only for paying rent without transfer fees. Some visas are built on it: the O-X retirement visa, for instance, requires its deposit to be held in a Thai bank located in Thailand, so for those applicants the account is part of the application, not an afterthought.