onthemoon

I don't know about most Thais. How big was the sample size you surveyed? The Thais I know tell their friends when they first introduce me that I am Thai. Some are surprised that I don't have Thai nationality yet. YMMV.

I have heard people say (in Thai), "I am not a farang with a Thai passport, I am a Thai with a farang face". ???? I liked that.

I am always amazed by your in-depth knowledge and find it very interesting. Thanks for sharing. Would you know any details about the new ministerial regulations? I am aware that they have not become valid, as they were never published in the RG, but it will show us what direction the line of thought was last year.

1. You need to stay in Germany for 7 years consecutively on any visa and pass a basic language test and have some basic knowledge about the country (like we have this test at SB). They want to reduce this to 5 years now, at least if you are married. I know a number of Thai people who have German citizenship. 2.) It is a myriad of papers that have to be handed in if you want to become a Thai citizen. The list will have been posted here several times and is probably available on the SB website as well. You have to have paid at least so much in taxes, hand in your company's documents (too bad if you don't work), have made donations to "prove" that you are a good citizen, and it takes many many years. I'm sorry, it simply does not compare. You must be really committed if you want to become a Thai citizen. Which I am. I'm just saying it is not easy.

It is also much easier for a Thai to get German citizenship than for a German to get Thai citizenship.

Is your ID at Kbank your passport or your pink ID? I think that is the issue. No problem if it is the passport.

Noted. Thanks for your reply.

Thanks. At least now I know I am not the only one. ???? Was that also at Kbank, or was it at another bank?

As expected. ???? I agree with your sentiment of the Thai language education system.

In my pink ID, it shows only my middle initial, not the full middle name. In the work permit, it shows the full middle name, and I also have the full middle name in the citizen ship application. Of course, it is only one long first name with a blank in the middle, but since the computer can handle that, I have no problem. Anyway, I wonder whether the middle initial in the pink ID will cause a problem when I apply for my first light blue ID card... I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. ????

For ID, we often need both the ID card and the tabien baan from Thai customers, for example at customs. That's why I thought the land department might ask for it too.

Very interesting, thanks. Shouldn't be necessary - they are saying that the Thai ID is a fake, or that the office that issued the ID made a mistake, so they need to double-check their colleagues.

I think this was the main reason. Thank you also for your elaborate explanations of scams. This will be useful for some of us.

I am not sure whether this request for your foreign passport despite your Thai ID card was from customs or rather an idea of the UPS staff. They should also have asked for your tabien baan, BTW.

Was that a mandatory interview, or were they just curious? I mean, "how long have you had Thai nationality" - what difference does it make?

Thank you. What is say is good news.

Noted, thanks.

You are a Thai citizen and transfer to an overseas account that is in your own name? If I understand this correctly, that would be great. What do you state as the purpose of transfer?

I don't have anybody here who has an account in my country, and I don't want to transfer to my mother or anybody else. I want to transfer to my own account, and I am certainly not willing to pay Western Union charges. Kbank charges THB 100 for transfer fee, and the full amount in euros without deduction arrives in my account there. ????

I thought so. The software sees the 13-digit number and mistakenly "thinks" that I am Thai. The software people may have never heard of foreigners having 13-digit ID numbers. But now my other question comes up again: How do you trnasfer money home once you have your Thai citizenship?

Great, thanks for the info. Looks like a bug in the Kbank software.

No, I am not sure that this is the new law. I think this is a bug in the Kbank software. That's why I asked for experiences with other banks here.

Do you mean KTB? And I understand you are registered at the bank with your Thai ID or pink ID, not with your foreign passport.

I transferred with the app many times without problems. It started to act up two months ago, but it still worked if I just set relationship to family. Now it does not work at all anymore, just says "you cannot transfer to your own account overseas". So, yes, all is set up for international transfer. Call center only said I cannot transfer because I use my pink ID card and therefore the system thinks I am Thai. I changed it to my passport, and now it works again without problem.

Tell this to the software guys. The software asks for my (sender's) relationship to the recipient, and I have the choice of own, family, friend or business. This is my own account at the overseas bank. A month or two ago it worked when I just chose "family" but they have closed that "loophole" now and actually compare the account names.