Job Discussion Forums

[billie]

My boyfriend and I are moving to Thailand in September to get certified and teach. It will be the first time for both of us living overseas and we had some questions about this move.

How do people generally move their money to Thailand. I've seen lots of websites that offer advice for carrying and handling money while on a vacation but how do you move your money to thailand with you? Do people generally wire the money over to open a bank account in Thailand? or carry it on them in TC's, atm cards, or cash even? We would each be bringing over a few thousand to help us get settled.

We also were wondering what to expect as far as the cost of living. We are unsure if we will end up wanting to teach in Bangkok or a smaller town so we would appreciate advice on both. We will obviously be splitting the rent so that should help lower the cost. I've heard that in Bangkok in addition to apartments, houses are also an option. Is this the case and would it be the same in smaller towns?
In many discussions of cost of living in Thailand nights on the town and beer seem to figure into the conversation quite a bit. We are not big drinkers or clubbers. We hope to splurge on weekend trips to neighboring areas of the country.
Between the two of us what should we expect to spend for our rent, food, and travels?

I realize this is an individual thing but any ballpark figures are helpful.
Thanks

[kenkannif]

Check some of Kent's stickies at the top, I think a lot of your questions are answered there.

[Volodiya]

Since I can give what I think will be a simple answer to the money question, I'll go ahead, based on my limited, personal experience.

Bring a sum of cash with you (I understand you're already planning to do this). You can then go to any Bank of Bangkok branch and open a passbook savings account in Thai baht. (I mention Bangkok Bank because they are the only one I've had experience with.) You can, at the same time, request an ATM card which will be effective worldwide (and, of course, in any city in Thailand). [All of the banking I've done in Thailand has been when I was in the country on a tourist visa, in case you're interested in this question. (I live in China.)]

When you need additional money in the account, you can make a deposit, or request a wire transfer from your bank back home into your new account, where the money will be automatically converted to Thai baht, upon arrival. (As it's expensive to transfer money, you'll probably want to transfer a significant amount, when you do.)

At the main branch of Bangkok Bank, in Bangkok itself, you can also open foreign currency accounts, if you should decide you would like to, for any reason. (These are not very convenient, compared to the baht accounts, as you have to personally go to the bank to conduct business on these accounts.)

[bluffer]

Where are you coming from Billie?

Opening a bank account is not quite as easy as Volodiya suggests.

Its a bit of a grey area whether its actually the law but a lot of Banks want to see your passport with a non immB visa inside or even a work permit before they will open an account. This being thailand of course, not all branches of the same bank follow the same policy.

If the first branch turns you down for only having a tourist visa, go to the next one until you find one that will open one for you. I have heard a a couple of people that werent even asked for their passport but this is very rare.

Cash. Only bring enough for the first few days. Ask your current bank about foreign curreny withdrawals and see what they charge. It may be better to take cash out that way. If it is too expensive, bring travellers cheques, unlike cash they can be replaced if lost or stolen.

[billie]

thanks bluffer,
im coming from the US. i'm doing the tefl international course so i'll be there at least a month without working probably. i was hoping to avoid the atm fees that my bank in the states will charge.
i've never used travellers checks. is it best to plan ahead and cash them in the bigger cities prior to any excursions throughout the rest of the country?
when i begin to work legally in the country will i then be able to get a bank account without much hassle? don't most teachers get accounts with a atm card? or do most of you guys cash the paycheck and ride it out till you get the next one?
i want to bring several thousand dollars with me because i have to make an expensive airfare purchase within 4-5 months of being in Thailand. i'd rather close my accounts at home so that i am not being charged fees to keep them open (i need to have direct deposit of my paycheck to avoid the fees now). you really recommend bringing it all over in travellers checks? or should i wait until i have the proper visas to open an account that i can then transfer the money to?
sorry this message is kind of all over the place. can't seem to organize my thoughts right now. hope somebody can make some sense of it.
billie

[Volodiya]

Sounds like others may have had some problems opening accounts, based on Bluffers comments. That's unfortunate, because the Thai Banking system has proven to be rather convenient.

If I'm going to spend much time in a country, I like to open a bank account, just for convenience (not having to carry lots of cash, mainly).
On one trip to Thailand, I decided to open a savings account at the Banglumpoo Branch of Bangkok Bank. On a subsequent visit I ordered an ATM card for that account. On other visits, I opened a foreign currency account at the main branch of Bangkok Bank. I have since visited these branches on several, additional occasions to request banking services of various kinds: it was, in each instance, treated as a routine matter. I was asked, at each visit to both branches, to produce my passport- from which they copied my entry permit (no visa is required for Americans entering Thailand for a stay of less than 30 days), and the photo page of my passport.

Withdrawals, using the ATM card I found to be free, if in Bangkok, and 10 baht, elsewhere in Thailand. I found I could use my bank card with any ATM, in Thailand, and abroad. I use it regularly, here in China, when I need cash, and have used it in Vietnam, as well. [A very amusing, additional feature was that I found I could use it at any ATM machine in Thailand, to transfer money from my account- to any other account, at any bank, in Thailand. This came in handy when a guesthouse in a remote part of Thailand asked for a bank transfer to their account to secure the room. It cost just 30 baht to make the transfer, using the ATM.]

As I said, this information is based on personal experience over a two year period of time, only, so I can't make a blanket statement that would apply to everyone; but I never felt, nor was given any reason to think, at any time, that I was being extended any special courtesies. I was, after all, just one more tourist among the millions who visit each year.

(I recognize that there is always a risk that others' experiences will not be the same as mine. Bluffer has called the OP's attention to that possibility.)

[tedkarma]

I just use the ATM card from my credit union in Arizona. Works just fine at the ATMs in Thailand. No problem. No fuss, no muss. Check out a credit union near you - I pay no fees whatever on the account. They have a checking account "billpay" - but I have to pay the postage (no big deal).

For another bank without fees try a place like First Internet Bank - at FirstIB.com. I have an account there too. Also their ATM card works fine here. There are fees - but it's free if you keep $500 there - and it has free checking - they will pay any bills you have back home - you don't even have to pay the postage.

I've only ever used my bank account(s) in Thailand for direct deposit of my pay check - that's it.

It's really best to keep things as simple as possible - otherwise too many things can go wrong.

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Bluffer is right.

It's definitely a 'grey area' with regard to opening bank accounts in Thailand without a Work Permit.

I was turned down at Siam Commercial Bank on Sukhumvit 71 - even with a multiple entry non-imm B visa.

I now keep what little cash I have in a cleverly disguised "decoy" - a wrapped roll of kitchen paper towels.



billie:

When I arrived in Bangkok last year I carried roughly US$4,000 in cash with me, although I don't recommend it for everybody. Travelers' cheques are safer and easy to use, as other posters have already stated.

fyi - I spent roughly $2,000 of that initial $4,000 getting settled in. I arrived without a firm job offer, but had several interviews lined up and was hired within the first 3 days on the ground. Of the $2,000 I spent before my first payday arrived, the bulk of the $$$ went toward general living expenses & moving into a new apartment.

As a rule of thumb: you'll need roughly $700 ~ $1,000 per month to live comfortably on --- plus apartment move-in expenses, which will, of course, vary according to the monthly rent of the apartment you choose. For details & links regarding apartment rental, you can also read FAQ 3 on The Master Index, located at the top of this forum.

[Volodiya]

First, I want to thank Kent and the others who contribute to this forum on a regular basis. It's just amazing how much good information for teachers you've managed to put out over the years, and I will continue to rely on it.
__________________

But, about bank acounts in Thailand-

To speak of it as a "grey area" is not informative to the reader. It just suggests that it's mysterious, ill defined, or unknowable. To speak thus may cause others to lose the benefits of what has proven, in my case at least, to be a very convenient option for handling money in Thailand.

Why do you think I've received this "favorable" treatment from the banks I've dealt with? Age, appearance, manner? (I don't recall any case in which they first asked how much I was planning to deposit.) I've given the name and address of my guesthouse as my address in Thailand. (This, too, has never been an issue, even though I was staying in Banglumpoo!)
_____________________

Banks the world over, including those in Thailand, are restricted in various ways from opening accounts for non-residents. (I looked at the Thai law before approaching the banks the first time, and saw that there are limitations written into the Thai banking laws.)

I'm not afraid of banks (I say that only because I've heard some people say they have some kind of negative, emotional reaction to walking into banks.) In addition to Thailand, I've opened accounts in Finland, and Turkey- though I've never been doing more than opening accounts for my convenience- on tourist visas, or no visas (as in Thailand)- without ever being questioned about it. In no place has a bank officer suggested that I shouldn't be doing it, nor that they were doing me any kind of favor. Can it be that they make an independent evaluation of the risk for the bank, in each case, when they open an account, rather than seeing themselves as barred from doing it?

If this is actually the case, it might be more accurate and informative to to say that banks have a right, in Thailand and elsewhere, to refuse to accept new accounts, at their discretion- and this could present some difficulties, in some cases, in opening new accounts.

[As further evidence that the banks are acting within their regulatory authority in opening these accounts for me, Thai income tax is being withheld from the interest earned, at the rate of 18%. The bank officers told me at the time I opened the accounts that they would be doing this and that, as a non-resident and one not obligated to pay these taxes, I could get a refund by filing a Thai tax return.]

What we do with our money is a matter of choice for each of us. I just object (mildly) to the suggestion that Thai banking is somehow more complicated, less efficient, less user friendly than in other places in the world- when all of my experience has been that it is not.

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Thanks for that good explanation, Volodiya.

I've done some additional research on the subject today, and I believe what you're saying is true.

It seems, however, that some banks (Bangkok Bank, for example) require Non-Residents to open their accounts at one particular branch, which would be a good thing for people to know:

" ... You can open the account at our head office on Silom Road where our Marketing Officers are available to give you more information and help you with your needs. This account operates at Bangkok Bank's head office on Silom Road by counter service only."

weblink: http://www.bangkokbank.com/Bangkok+Bank/Personal+Banking/Foreign+Customers/default.htm

In addition to getting yourself to the right branch, it's probably worth mentioning here that there seem to be slightly different regulations and requirements depending on the following two factors:

A) the particular bank in question

and

B) the type of account you wish to open (foreign currency, Thai Baht, Savings, ATM, Online Banking, etc.)

Based on my personal experience last year at Siam Commercial Bank on Suk 71,

it appears that the ' at their discretion thing ' you mentioned in your post was spot on.

It may also be a simple case of certain staff at certain banks not being up-to-date on BOT regulations and/or not trusting their English skills when faced with 'Farang'.

[kenkannif]

Generally we open saving account here.

As Bluffer said go to a few banks and on them will let you open an account with an ATM card etc. Even person to person in the bank they might have different ideas. Like atImmigration it's how the individual there interprets the laws.

I went to the Bangkok Bank main branch when I first got here a few years ago (I had 3,000 Quid in cash) and they would only let me open an account there is I didn't get an ATM card (i.e. I'd have to make all deposits and withdrawls from that branch). So I didn't bother, I got to Samui and opened one right away with an ATM card etc.

I know now of a Bangkok Bank up the road from us that will allow account opened as long as you have a Non-imm B Visa, or a letter from a potential employer.

It wouldn't surprise me if your provider was chummy with a bank.

The funniest thing is to get a retirement Visa you need 800,000K in a THAI bank (but a lot of them will ask for a WP).

[Sheep-Goats]

BTW, you need to steel yourself for the incredibly reception your boyfriend will have here among the girls. It'll be pretty much a role reversal -- back in the states you had to say no now and then and he had to work hard to get noticed, and it'll be the opposite in Thailand.

I'm not posting this just to scare you, but you really will need to pay more attention to keeping your boyfriend happy here than you did back home.

[billie]

haha thanks sheepgoats!! I'm expecting that to happen as he is quite goodlooking and will be foreign. I keep warning him about it but I don't think he will be able to understand it until he experiences it.
don't worry about scaring me - he's a very good man.

[kenkannif]

I might be able to help with some good Visa info, where are you coming from (rough area and country)?

[billie]

i'm coming from the US. new york state. i am doing my training through language corps though and they are handling all the Visa stuff. but i'd still appreciate any info.
thanks