Open a Bank Account in Chiang Mai as a Foreigner (2026)

Kasikornbank opens a savings account for a foreigner with a passport and a non-immigrant visa of any type, and refuses tourist, Visa on Arrival, free-visa and DTV holders. For a retiree without a work permit, it is the clearest of the four. SCB wants a passport with a work permit.

By Vincent Nguyen

Your visa decides whether a Thai bank opens an account at all. Kasikornbank refuses tourist visas and other travel-type visas, and so does Krungsri.

Which banks accept which visa status

The four banks below are the ones with a branch in the Nimmanhaemin, MAYA and Tha Phae areas. Two of them publish a refusal list. SCB and Bangkok Bank do not name visa types.

A work permit changes the picture at SCB. For a savings account SCB asks a foreigner for a passport with a work permit.

The DTV article covers what that visa lets you do. The visa types guide covers which routes count as non-immigrant.

Documents each bank asks for

Kasikornbank

Kasikornbank asks a foreigner for four things. The first is a passport. The second is a non-immigrant visa of any type.

The third is a document matching why you entered Thailand, such as a work permit for working here or a university or school certificate. The fourth is government-issued ID from your home country, such as a national ID card, driver’s licence or household registration.

The bank adds that it may request further documents, and that more information is available at a branch.

If you are retired and have no work permit

A retirement visa is a Non-Immigrant O visa. Kasikornbank accepts a non-immigrant visa of any type, so a retiree’s visa fits. Its examples of the purpose document are a work permit and a school certificate, and it does not say what a retiree shows.

Krungsri’s foreign-currency page names a non-immigrant visa as a purpose document. SCB wants a passport with a work permit and names nothing for a visa alone. Bangkok Bank publishes no document list. Start with Kasikornbank.

SCB

For foreigners SCB asks for one thing at a savings counter: a passport together with a work permit. Its general savings account opens with a minimum of 500 baht. For an individual current account, SCB asks for the same passport and work permit and a minimum opening deposit of THB 10,000.

Krungsri

Krungsri’s English page read covers its foreign-currency deposit account. A non-Thai resident brings passport-type identity documents, documents matching the purpose of entering Thailand such as a work permit or non-immigrant visa, and ID issued by the home government.

Bangkok Bank

Bangkok Bank publishes no document list for foreigners, so contact a branch. You can open an account with only 500 baht.

Its foreign-currency account for non-residents opens with at least USD 1,000 or the equivalent. For Non-Resident Baht Accounts you need to visit the Head Office, 333 Silom Road, Bangkok.

How to open the account

1. Check the status on your visa against the table above.
2. Choose a bank whose list matches your papers.
3. Collect the passport, the visa, the purpose document and ID from home.
4. Go to a branch yourself. Bangkok Bank cannot open an account from abroad.
5. Expect the branch to ask for more papers: Kasikornbank may request them.

You can open an account at any Bangkok Bank branch in Thailand. The four Chiang Mai branches follow.

Bangkok Bank on Nimmanhaemin Road

The branch is at 22/3 Nimman He Min Road, Suthep, Chiang Mai 50200. Its weekly hours are Monday to Friday, 10 AM–6 PM, and closed on Saturday and Sunday.

Kasikornbank in MAYA mall

The Kasikornbank branch is in MAYA Lifestyle Shopping Center, floor 3, room 301, 55/5 Huay Kaew Road, Chang Phueak, Chiang Mai 50300. It opens daily, 11 AM–6 PM.

SCB on Nimmanhaemin Road

The SCB branch is at 19 Nimmanahaeminda Road, Suthep, Chiang Mai 50000. Hours are 9 AM–4 PM from Monday to Friday, and the branch is closed on Saturday and Sunday.

Krungsri on Tha Phae Road

The Krungsri branch is at 222, 224, 226 Tha Phae Road, Chang Moi, Chiang Mai 50300. Hours are 8:30 AM–3:30 PM from Monday to Friday, and the branch is closed on Saturday and Sunday.

Using the account once it is open

A local bank lets a foreigner living in Thailand do day-to-day banking in baht without the extra charges that may apply to an overseas account and cards.

PromptPay links an existing bank account to a citizen ID or phone number through mobile banking, internet banking, an ATM or a branch. The Bank of Thailand page does not say what a foreigner without a Thai citizen ID uses, so ask the bank.

Foreign cards at Thai ATMs cost a fee per withdrawal, which the ATM fee comparison lists by bank. Exchanging cash is covered separately.

Before you go

• Take the passport, the visa, the purpose document and ID from home listed under Kasikornbank above.
• Check the opening hours listed above before you travel to a branch.
• Expect to open the account in person at a branch in Thailand.
• The bank pages carry no date, so the documents and minimums are as read on 13 October 2026.

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Not confirmed: Proof of address: none of the four bank pages names a residence certificate or landlord letter, so ask the branch which it accepts. Retirees: no page names a retirement visa as the purpose document, so ask Kasikornbank what it takes for a Non-Immigrant O visa. Bank pages carry no date.

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General information checked against the sources listed above, not legal advice for your situation. Rules and office practice change; confirm with the immigration office or a licensed adviser before you act. See how guides are checked.

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