onthemoon

Oh, I see. I thought he would have to cancel his Thai visa in any case, even though it has already expired, to get it out of the MOFA computer that thinks an alien is still in Thailand. A high-tech police BMW might be coming for him.

It was passed to MOI in April 2020, after all docs were complete. That would have meant in pre-Covid times that the MOI interview would be in October 2021. Last time I called (in November), I was told that April 2020 applications haven't been interviewed yet but will be "soon".

Nothing yet, I am currently overseas and will check again when I am back in Thailand in early January.

Semantics. If I don't have the yearly stamp, I'll lose the PR upon return. That's the point I'm making. Anyway, we are going in circles. All has been said. I have another rant about the blue (or white) book, if you'd like to hear it... ???? Good to hear that you live in the Immigration building and don't have travel time. It costs me at least half a day each time. As I said, I wouldn't mind so much if this is only about the fees, and I would be happy to do it online.

Sarcasm well noted.

It's a major nuisance when you are at the airport, leaving for a business trip and that stamp has just expired. It means that the permanent residence is anything but permanent, it is only valid for a year - if you leave the country regularly and forget this useless stamp. Right. I am not in that category. Even now, during Covid, I have to keep the stamp updated in case there is a family emergency overseas. I understand others do not plan for leaving the country unexpectedly. And if you leave the country without it, your PR will be cancelled upon re-entry. Why do we need that yearly renewal? And by the way, if it is about the fee we have to pay, I would prefer to do it online. Why do I have to waste half a day driving out to Chaeng Wattana? No, there is nothing good or OK about the requirement of a yearly renewal and it is more than a little annoying. People who don't get that yearly stamp basically cut off the option of leaving the country for whatever reason - I would not feel happy with that limitation of freedom of movement.

I don't need to fill in any forms for repatriate funds. Well, the problem is that you need to have a re-entry permit (called Non-Quota Immigrant Visa) which has to be renewed every year. If you don't have it, your PR will be canceled upon re-entry in the Kingdom.

Well noted, thanks.

Noted. Paying into Social Security of having the Gold Card has the same effect, free treatment at a specific hospital. Or is there a difference I should be aware of? Right now, Gold Card plus pension sounds like the smarter option.

Wait, you can get the pension and the Gold Card at the same time?

Thanks for the tip, I just called. My application is not in the list yet, but it should be "very soon now". I plan to call every month now.

Thanks for this info in pre-Covid times; I am trying to find out when I can expect to be invited, considering the delays caused by Covid.

Thanks, but I believe you have already completed the process. Or were you in the batch that was interviewed last week? - Around 18 months was normal, I am now well over the time frame and would like to find out how much the Covid-related delays are now.

Good to hear! The applicants that were interviewed has their documents handed to the MoI when? I just want to check how long it currently takes from the docs arriving at MoI to the interview date.

Your experience is different from mine then. My witnesses were not asked a single question about my finances, but they were first asked how long they know me and how they know me to establish that they can say something about the following questions which centered around whether I am a reliable person and of good character. That's what they told me, I have no protocol of that interview.

Interesting. In my case, the witnesses for my citizen application were character witnesses. I fully understand that the government wants to hear their statements, and they were asked questions accordingly. I wouldn't know what the witnesses in for a marriage would witness. Every business contract in Thailand needs to witnesses and they just witness that the contract was signed by the two people, they don't need to know them or say anything about the signors' characters. So we might be talking about different things here.

No, high stranding is not necessary. One of the key questions there were asked was how they know me and how long they have known me. And then there were apparently some questions about my character.

Sorry, I got confused. My PR application was over 10 years ago, the citizenship application only 2 years. And yes, they definitely had to go.

I don't know about most cases, and mine was more than 10 years ago.

It was smart to bring the witnesses on that day, because I didn't. They went the next day without me (I wasn't free) and it went smoothly.

I did not need any certificate of legal age and I guess that is because my hair was already greying at time of application. I believe this is only required if the applicant is young. For example if someone is 19 at time of application, does that mean he is an adult according to his or her country's laws and can really make any legal decisions? How about 17?

I'm not clicking on that, thanks.

I am a bit suspicious here because of the domain mywallet.co. How can this be an offical Thai government website? They ask for ID number and phone number. What does the SocSec office have to do with my phone number? Looks more like a phishing site to me.

To add to the confusion, I understand you are only exempted if you have Thai Social Security.

LOL! True, the books are totally pointless since the advent of computers. The pink ID card already exists and it should be made mandatory instead. Why it does not have a chip is beyond my understanding though. But alas, only ten or so more years and I will have a blue card...