DTV visa and a Thai bank account: what the banks actually ask.

No central rule, one policy per bank

We found no Bank of Thailand or Anti-Money Laundering Office page setting out which foreigners may open an account. Banks run their own identity checks and publish their own lists of documents. Those lists change, and the branch has the last word on the day.

None of the bank pages we read names the DTV - neither to accept it nor to refuse it. Reports on forums and in the press say some banks have stopped opening accounts for DTV holders; we found no bank page that says so, and none that says the opposite.

What two banks publish

• KasikornbankIts savings account pageasks foreigners for a passport, a “Non-Immigrant Visa (All of types)” and an identity document issued by their own country. Accounts are not opened for holders of a tourist visa or of other visas intended for travel in Thailand.
• KrungsriIts foreign currency deposit page says foreign customers with a tourist visa cannot open an account. It asks for a passport, documents showing the purpose of your stay - such as a work permit or a non-immigrant visa - and a home-country identity document, and may ask for more case by case. Its deposit terms describe eligible foreigners as those authorised to stay in Thailand for at least 3 months, or holding a work permit.

Read against those lists, a DTV is not a tourist visa, and one entry gives 180days of stay. Whether a bank reads it as a “non-immigrant visa” in its own sense is not stated. That is the bank’s decision, and it can differ from one branch to the next.

You do not need one for the visa

The DTV’s financial test is shown before you travel, on your own bank statements: 500,000 THB or its equivalent, in an account you already hold. No official source asks for a Thai account at any stage of the application. The field note on the financial requirement sets out what the posts accept.

Before you go to a branch

• -Ask first. Call or message the branch and ask whether it opens accounts for DTV holders, and with which documents. The answer can differ between two branches of the same bank.
• -Bring the originals. Your passport with the visa and your latest entry stamp, and an identity document from your own country.
• -Expect further questions. Banks keep the right to ask for more documents case by case: why you are in Thailand, where you live, how long you stay.

Where we fit

We prepare DTV applications; our work ends when yours is submitted. We do not open accounts, we have no arrangement with any bank, and we will not tell you a branch is “DTV-friendly”. A bank’s policy is the bank’s to state.

The short version

No rule gives a DTV holder a Thai account, and no rule refuses one. Banks refuse tourist visas and ask for a non-immigrant visa or a work permit; none names the DTV. You do not need a Thai account for the visa. Ask the branch before you go.

Common questions

Can I open a Thai bank account with a DTV visa?

Possibly, but nobody can promise it. Each bank sets its own policy, and branches apply it. The banks' pages we read refuse tourist visas and ask for a non-immigrant visa or a work permit; none of them names the DTV. Ask the branch before you go.

Which documents do Thai banks ask foreigners for?

Kasikornbank lists your passport, a non-immigrant visa and an identity document from your own country. Krungsri asks for your passport, documents showing why you are in Thailand, such as a work permit or a non-immigrant visa, and a home-country identity document, and may ask for more case by case.

Do I need a Thai bank account to apply for the DTV?

No. The 500,000 THB is shown on your own bank statements when you apply, before you travel. No official source asks for a Thai account.

Can DTV Thailand open the account for me?

No. We prepare DTV applications; opening an account is between you and the bank, in person.