Southeast Asia, Europe and South America sell different dreams: beaches and street food, old cities and café life, mountains and low rent. The paperwork underneath is the same loop everywhere. Your visa, your address and your bank account each depend on the other two.
1. Visa: your status unlocks everything else
Southeast Asia: in Bali, your visa dictates how long you can stay, whether you can open a bank account, and whether you can legally work. Long stays need a KITAS, which requires a sponsor, either an individual or a company. Thailand adds a recurring chore: every 90 days you must notify immigration of your current address.
Europe (Portugal as the test case): two bodies handle two stages. The consulate issues the visa, and the immigration agency AIMA finalises the permit after you land. Since 28 April 2025, AIMA only accepts fully complete applications, and automatic permit extensions ended on 15 October 2025. Documents that got you the visa may not be enough later. Bank statements from your visa application won’t reflect your situation in Portugal today.
South America (Colombia as the test case): the visa is only step one. If you hold a migrant or resident visa valid for more than three months, you must get a cédula de extranjería, the foreigner ID card. The same guide says to apply within 15 days of arrival.
2. Housing: your address is a legal document
Southeast Asia: in Thailand, the landlord files a TM30, the notification that a foreigner has moved into a property, and some banks ask for it. In Vietnam, the accommodation side has to declare a foreign guest’s stay to the police or the immigration system. A KITAS in Bali needs your address and a copy of the lease.
Europe: your tax number is needed to sign a lease and contract utilities. Western European landlords commonly want proof of income, a tax number, and sometimes a local guarantor or extra months of deposit. Housing protests and anti-gentrification sentiment are now part of the conversation in Portugal.
South America: your lease doubles as banking paperwork. Colombian banks want a utility bill or lease showing your Colombian address. Some may also ask for references or a Colombian guarantor, which employers are often willing to provide.
3. Money: where the loop closes
Southeast Asia: in Bali, banks often refuse accounts without a KITAS or a trusted recommendation. In Thailand, banks got much stricter with foreigners in 2026, although a long-term visa makes it far easier. In a recent forum thread, new arrivals needed an account early for their visa extension, but banks wanted a lease they hadn’t signed yet.
Europe: opening an account can require proof of address, and securing an address can require a bank account. The bank account is also required as proof of funds for the residence visa. The one easy win is the tax number. The NIF is normally issued the same day.
South America: a Colombian bank guide warns that without a cédula de extranjería, almost no bank will open an account. The card has to be the physical one, not a photocopy or the receipt. And banking matters for housing: some landlords will walk away from a rental deal if you can’t show a Colombian bank account.
The loop
Strip out the local names and it’s one circle:
The visa wants proof of money and an address
The bank wants the visa, the ID card and an address
The landlord wants the bank account and a registered stay
Each office is waiting on another office. That’s the system, not a glitch.
Filing it is its own ordeal
Knowing what’s required is half the fight. Actually getting it filed is the other half.
Getting in the door is a battle. In Portugal, the recurring complaints about AIMA are hard-to-get appointments, a very large backlog, card delays even after approval, and the near-impossibility of reaching the agency by phone or email. A mid-2026 strike warning covered the cancellation or postponement of scheduled in-person appointments.
One gap and the file bounces. Documents often need translation, apostille and notarisation before they’re accepted. Since AIMA only takes complete files, a missing stamp doesn’t slow you down. It sends you back to the start.
The answer changes by branch. In Colombia, requirements vary between banks and, frustratingly, between branches of the same bank. One expat’s account of opening an account: the teller spent twenty minutes on the phone, the account manager was out, and the account was only opened on a return visit three days later after another hour’s wait. Thai forum commenters give the same advice: try several branches until one says yes.
Nobody owns the process. A survey of expats found lack of clear guidance and not knowing who to speak with were the main problems with bureaucracy. One commenter on an expat site said they don’t mind the bureaucracy itself, only the lack of solid information.
Everything is in a language you’re still learning. The same survey respondents flagged material in Spanish and Catalan as a barrier.
None of these is hard on its own. Stacked on top of the loop, with deadlines running, they eat weeks.
Bottom line
Different continent, different forms, same pattern. The paperwork is circular, and the offices behind it are slow, inconsistent and hard to reach. Budget time for both.