khongaeng
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Posts posted by khongaeng
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I have found that the humidity in Thailand is particularly rough on our documents. For the first 5 years I kept our marriage certificates, birth certificates, passports, etc. in plastic sleeves in a drawer in my house, when I noticed ink starting to soak through to the other side of the page and generally the paper degrading, I decided something needed to change. I bought one of those water-resistant, fire-resistant safes (3000 baht if I recall) and put one of those moisture absorbing canisters in the back of the safe (100 baht each). I have found out that the canister needs to be switched every 6 months or so as moisture is collected inside.
Since making the change, my documents do not appear to have degraded a single day. I too considered laminating my documents, but I now prefer keeping them in individual plastic sheets in a humidity minimized safe, mostly because I know that the country of my previous nationality does not accept laminated documents and some Thai officials I have asked in passing have grunted their displeasure with laminated documents. Even the dust cover on my passport gets removed almost every time because I suppose immigration officers (of various countries) can only detect forgeries if they put their grubby paws on the actual cover of the passport.
One of the benefits of getting Thai nationality is that I almost never have to crack open my safe for various documents anymore. I just have to wip out my blue ID card from my wallet.
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9 hours ago, Badger18 said:mm but it doesn't sound much like you ever do have any intention of renouncing citizenship, you just say you do in order to get your Thai citizenship. I'm not criticizing here, just trying to understand how it all works.
This all depends on the country of your original citizenship. When you obtain Thai citizenship, the Special Branch will send a letter to your embassy saying that you have obtained Thai citizenship. If you are from a country that can't be bothered like the US, UK, Canada, Australia.... then I assume the letter goes in the waste bin. I have heard from my US friends that they actually have to pay 3000 dollars to renounce their citizenship, and if they formally say that they are doing it to avoid paying taxes, they will not be allowed to renounce their citizenship. For countries that don't care about dual nationality, you can just say that your intentions to renounce citizenship changed. However, if you are from China, Singapore, Germany, India, to name a few, you will be required to renounce your citizenship, based on their own laws.
I doubt that the Thai authorities will ever require you to give up a second nationality because I have known some very powerful people in the government and Thai social structures that are dual nationals. Axing dual nationality will directly affect them too.
Travel is not a problem at all. I have already flown in and out of the country multiple times with 2 passports, and immigration doesn't care if you have a visa to the country you are going to or not. If you are particularly worried, just go through the automatic immigration gates. But you will need to show your foreign passport at check-in if visa is required.
GabbaGabbaHey is also correct based on what I have heard. In talking with some friends that work in their respective embassies if you enter into Thailand with your Thai passport (which you are legally required to do, if you are Thai) that you are no longer able to seek diplomatic assistance of any sort from your embassy. You can always renew your passport and take care of citizenship services, but if you get thrown in jail as a Thai, you are stuck. When Nato forces pulled out of Afghanistan, all of the foreign nationals that were left behind were dual citizens that were not on the embassy records because they had arrived in Afghanistan on their local Afghanistan passports. I assume this would be the case if there is ever a need for medical or emergency evacuations from Thailand for specific nationals. You are a Thai, so you are stuck here.
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23 hours ago, Arkady said:
So is SB insisting on interviewing the witnesses in most cases these days? For some years they were happy to write up imaginary interviews to avoid bringing them into the office.
From what others have said, it sounds like it is not required for witnesses to visit SB. When I visited SB during my paperwork collection phase, they. said that I needed 2 witnesses but that they could "arrange" them for me. Avoiding the possible awkwardness if payment was required for these "arranged" witnesses, I opted to find my own 2 witnesses. I assumed that they would have to come to the office, so I brought them with me when I finalized my application, but I suppose it may not be required. They were interviewed for less than 5 minutes and then were allowed to leave. I suppose this is an indication that their presence was not even required.
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1 hour ago, moochai87 said:
Ok that makes sense - I think I should be fine too ???? . One other follow up I have, is that for the two Thai people you need a copy of their TabienBaan and ID card, do they actually need to go with you when you apply? Or you can just bring the copies along with you? Trying to avoid any unnecessary trips to SB police for my friends? On that actually, does my wife need to attend anything?
I took my witnesses to the office on the day that I "finalized" my application, which was not the day that I was finger printed and interviewed with the big boss and then the big big boss. SB should be able to tell you when you need to bring your friends. Your wife will need to be with you during all interviews at SB, NIA (background check interview), and MOA (big group interview). I can't remember if she has to be there when you take the oath or not. After you have taken the oath she does not need to come with you to pick up your certification of citizenship, but that takes only 30 minutes after minimum 3 years after you have started the process. Basically, your wife will need to be with you the entire time whenever there is an official interview. In my case, I felt more comfortable with my wife there, too, so that I wouldn't be asked for a bribe when she was not there to protect me as a Thai. I should say now, that I doubt that I would have been asked for a bribe and the officers I interacted with were respectful and straightforward, but I suppose you never know what could happen. Best of luck in your application!
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8 hours ago, yankee99 said:
Maybe someone can share their experience with flying out of thailand.
Tomorrow im going to the airport do i just hand the check in counter both passports?
Go to the thai immigration hand them my thai passport and ticket?
Check In - Thai Passport (and foreign passport if no visa in your Thai passport)
Immigration - Thai Passport Only, in 10s of trips out of Thailand for my dual national relatives, I have never seen immigration want to see another passport ever.
At the Gate - Depends on which passport the check in counter used to check you in. I recommend you using your Thai passport, but you can use either. If you give them the wrong one, the automatic scanner will beep requiring you to walk 1 meter to the people behind the computers who will scan your boarding pass and look at the passport you handed the gate agent, they will then promptly wave you through.
My general policy is to only use my foreign passport when absolutely necessary (like at check in when a visa is required for the final destination), once you are out of Thailand you can flash which ever passport you want while in transit to your final destination. I have never seen agents at the boarding gates check for visas in your passport unless you are boarding a flight to the US (there may be others), so I typically just use whichever passport is handy from then on. When arriving at your destination immigration, use whichever passport is required to enter that country. On the way back, just reverse the process.
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5 hours ago, Arkady said:
Having said that I was surprised that it got as far as cabinet approval which shows the decision makers in the cabiet were convinced the overall visa proposals might really result in a huge inflow of foreign lolly to bail out the Thai economy.
This would seem quite short-sighted of the government though. If there is significant foreign investment like this, I would suspect it would drive up land prices significantly, putting them even more out of reach for the average Thais. Just look at the crazy prices for condos in places like Pattaya or Hua Him or Bangkok where foreigners can own condos. You can buy a nice house with land for the price of a condo! This will make a lot of Thais (who own land) very happy in the short term as now they could potentially offload their properties easier, but once prices go up, I could see a bubble forming very quickly like it has with Condos.
Of course, this policy could just be like so many other government policies where foreigners just avoid the whole thing because it is too complicated, or just too risky overall. For instance, didn't the government expect a few million tourists in Thailand already with the Sandbox program. In a way, I do hope they overcomplicate the process for foreign investors to buy land.
In any case, a good rule of thumb for any recession is that cash is king in the short term before things equalize. I certainly don't hope for a recession, but I'm glad that I'm finally in the position where I can invest directly in Thailand real estate when / if paper assets hyper inflate or become worthless, as would be the case if things crash hard.
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3 hours ago, kst said:
Mine was showing my passport number so I updated it as DLT branch was near to the khet.
Do they still issue lifetime driving licenses here? Mine is for 10 years. I renewed once and you have to sit thru a 1 hr video showing gross accident videos, pass the colour test, braking test and the other test with the strings before they renew it for you.
I thought licenses were good for only 5 years. Do you recall how you got the 10 year? As far as I understand, lifetime licenses stopped being issued around the year 2000. If you got one before then, then you are golden. Back when they were issued, they were simple pink cards with a small picture that you had to get laminated yourself. I've always wondered how good their recording keeping from back then was, and if there would be some way to get one "retroactively"
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On 9/5/2021 at 7:03 AM, DrJoy said:
Thanks for the detailed answer. I dont think its luck. MOI is very strict about the paperwork.
Ministerial guidelines mention` He should have a regular occupation`
They have not mentioned explicitly that gaps in WP is a ground for rejection.
Encouraging information for the future candidates.
What was your timeline, from start to finish?
On 9/5/2021 at 10:20 AM, Arkady said:My application was missing the first WP which was nearly 2 years of the 3 year qualifying period because my SB case officer refused to take the copy from me, saying they only wanted the current one. This sounded very wrong to me and I urged her to take it but she wouldn't and there was nothing I could do. So it wasn't a big surprise when I got the call from the MoI section head 3.5 years later saying it was missing and telling me to report to the office the same day with old WP in hand, although it was a surprise that she called in person. As a result of my case officer's stubborn incompetence, my WPs probably got more scrutiny than they otherwise would have. Anyway, I am of the view that WP gaps will still be grounds for rejection, if they are noticed.
My experience was actually similar, but fortunately it was caught at SB. When I initially applied, I was told by SB officer that they didn't need a copy of my WP from the first 2 years of my 3 year period prior to application, but that they only needed a copy of my current WP. Then I got a call back from SB 1 year later that they needed a copy of my first WP, "just in case". I quickly rushed back to the office to provide a copy of my first WP, and that was the end of it.
By the way, at no point did anyone want to see that actual old original WP, they were happy with copies of every page with any sort of details printed or hand written. I was only required to show my current WP when I first applied at SB and at the NIA interview, I never had to show it again, even though I diligently maintained it throughout the process.
I posted my experience in detail on page 201 of this thread. In summary it took me 3.75 years.
I'm not sure if I am allowed to link to it directly or not. Sorry moderators if this is not allowed:
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On 9/3/2021 at 4:28 PM, Lacrimas said:
Thanks that's a good idea. I have to hire two Thais though, right?
This is what I did. It worked out perfectly in the end. Only 2 Thais are required if you are married to a Thai, otherwise 4 are required, wife (shareholder) can't be one of them. Minimum Thai salary is 9,000 baht per month. Your salary must be minimum 40,000. They both have to be registered with social fund. Since you are a shareholder, you will not need to be registered for social fund.
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2 hours ago, DrJoy said:You were the one who had a long gap in your WP?
On paper there was no Gap because the WP was still "Valid" and BOI didn't stamp anything into my WP when I left the company. But, if I remember correctly there was a 4 or 5 month Gap between working at my previous company and working at my new company before I got a new work permit. I even had to "renew" my visa after leaving my previous company because BOI cancelled my reentry and gave me 10 days to apply for an extension, but when I renewed my visa, immigration stamped that I was continuing my previous visa (Non-O due to Thai wife), so I don't really understand why there weren't any issues. I honestly was surprised when Special Branch accepted my application and when there were no issues afterwards. They seemed to be only interested in my total income for that year and they divided it by 12. Even with the 4 months without salary, I was still well over the threshold to get the required points. Arkady has added some excellent insights into the requirement of continuity of a WP prior to and after applying. In my case, I'm not sure if I was lucky that they didn't notice the break in a WP, or if the most important part is the paying of taxes at the required threshold, or if I made it through just because on paper it looked like I had continuity of WP, but no one cared to check the annotation on my passport pages. It is all still a mystery to me.
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I cancelled both my Visa and Work Permit the day after receiving my ID card. It took 15 minutes to cancel the work permit, it's the same documentation that a company would use to say that a foreign worker has left their company. No documents were required other than a couple of forms that were provided at the office.
Cancelling my visa took 30 minutes (admittedly it went faster because I have developed friendships with some of the immigration officers in my province, and they were genuinely happy to see that I had received Thai citizenship. I never paid any bribes or gave any gifts, I was just genuinely friendly every time I went in and after many years, they remembered me. They wrote a half page note in my passport that my visa was cancelled because I had obtained Thai citizenship, but they did not stamp my visa or re-entry permit VOID. They needed my naturalization certificate, my blue ID card, and my previous nationality passport. No forms or documents were required.
When I left Thailand for the first time on my Thai passport, I got an exit stamp without any questions from the officer in the VIP lane.
Big congratulations to all of you that will be getting your Shiny new Blue ID card in the coming weeks!
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4 minutes ago, onthemoon said:Allow me a question: I heard that membership in the Thai Chamber of Commerce also counts. Is that correct? My company is member in TCC as well as a number of foreign chambers.
That’s correct. The Thai Chamber of Commerce is one of them, you are lucky because I think there are only 4 that qualify . I got all of my information from https://abtc-jsccib.org/login-page.html When I applied. You will need to check with whoever manages the membership for the Thai Chamber of Commerce at your company, because I think there might be a limit on the number of ABTC cards that can be sponsored by a company. Since I am the only person from my company with an ABTC card, I never ran into any issues. Since 10 year passports are now a thing, If I could start from the beginning again, I would make sure to have a 10 year passport first. You may want to consider getting a 10 year passport before you start your application process because the ABTC card will be tied directly to your passport number.
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On 8/9/2021 at 1:41 AM, david143 said:5 years 1000THB
10 Years 1500THB
I will apply straight 10 YearsI guess this is typical. They announced in 2019 that they would make 10 year passports available. When I applied for my passport earlier this year, there were only 5 year passports available.
I used to run out of space in my old passport every 3 years due to Thai stamps, and since I won't be getting those anymore, a 10 year passport will definitely be a benefit.
On 8/8/2021 at 11:44 PM, heiri007 said:So ABTC only issued for company reps, not privat "biz traveler"?
That is correct. In Thailand you must be a director or above representative for your company and your company has to be registered with one of the "federations" like the trade federation or manufacturing federation. It is not expensive to join (a few thousand baht if I remember correctly), and was easy enough that I did all the paperwork myself for my own company, but you do have to jump through some hoops for your business to qualify. The funny thing is that each country has different qualifications to get the card. In Australia, you have to be a director in a million plus dollar company, while in the US you just pay $70 and they give you the card without any effort or paperwork. In Singapore it is also easy to apply, I have heard, and in Hong Kong you don't even have to have citizenship, only PR.
In the end, I calculated that the hassle of applying for a visa to many of the countries that are part of the scheme more than justified the relatively minimal (Less than 10,000 baht) cost altogether for membership / application fee / etc.
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On 8/6/2021 at 11:13 PM, onthemoon said:Thanks for the info. Can you apply for the ABTC card right away, or do you have to prove with your new Thai passport first that you actually travel a lot on business to the member countries?
I do (or did, before Covid), and that card would help me a lot.
I got my Thai ID card one day, applied for my passport the next, and applied for ABTC a few days later when I received my passport in the mail. With COVID-19 some countries are not approving the visas at all (it seems) and others take much longer than the advertised 1-2 months, but within 4 months, I already had 17 out of 19 countries in the scheme approving my application, so I paid an extra 1000 baht to get a "temporary" card that is valid for the 17 countries I am already approved for. I suspect sometime later next year, I will finally get the "real" ABTC card, but since it is only valid for as long as your passport is and only up to 5 years, and since Thai passports are still only valid for 5 years, I decided that I should apply for ABTC as soon as I got my passport to maximize the time I can use the card before having to renew. Everything worked without at hitch. I set up my own company to check the boxes for applying for citizenship, and now that I have citizenship, it now qualifies me to apply for ABTC. The timing just happened to work out perfectly since the company has to be "on the books" for at least 3 years before anyone at that company can qualify to apply for an ABTC card.
Application for the card is incredibly easy, if your company meets the requirements. It requires about the same level of effort as renewing a Non-O visa every year, except for the fact that you go through the process entirely online! The card is worth it for me since now I can travel visa free to countries like China and Russia where my previous passport required me to go through the hassle of applying and paying for visas, this, in addition to the benefit of going through the diplomatic lanes in the airports in Asia (even including the US, Mexico, and Canada!) is worth its weight in gold. Flying into South America and going through the diplomatic lane as a Thai was a cool experience last week. Not looking forward to quarantine in Thailand when I return...
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10 hours ago, yankee99 said:Let me say the paperwork is really not terrible i probably spent less than 7 days (not full days) getting it together including trips to the embassy and amphur. Once you get through SB and NIA which are not a huge deal its just a waiting game. Anyone that has a wife and 3 years tax returns should apply if they want citizenship.
Big congratulations to all of you on this most recent batch. Just this last week I travelled on my new Thai passport. Since I applied for an ABTC card, I even went through the diplomatic/VIP security. What a great experience to go through immigration as a Thai!
I agree, the paperwork is not much more difficult than the annual visa renewal. The difficult part is making sure you have all the boxes checked. If you are married and employed then you should start the process right now, because it is just a waiting game. I have a few friends that were paying millions of baht in Taxes each year for decades, but they didn't apply for citizenship when they had all the boxes ticked. Now that they are retired, they are no longer eligible and have to restart Non O visa and set up their own company to have a WP just to jump through the hoops to apply now. See if you qualify, and if you do, don't hesitate, life is so much easier (assuming you are from a country that doesn't require you to renounce your original nationality).
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On 6/10/2021 at 10:06 PM, Arkady said:
I found this on Tilleke and Gibbon's website regarding a relaxation of the foreign exchange regulations in 2019.
Outward transfers
When conducting outward transfers of foreign currency in an amount less than USD 200,000, the customer is no longer required to provide supporting documentation to commercial banks. This represents an increase from the previous threshold of USD 50,000.
When I switched my Bangkok Bank accounts over to my new Thai identity, I asked them this question. They said that even though I had previously set up the special ability to remit funds back to my home country as a foreigner (which required a work permit, passport, etc.), I would have no problem remitting as much as 10 million baht per day. So this would be in line with the 200k USD that you mentioned. I have never had the chance to test that limit, but that is what they told me, after talking the the central branch on the phone while I was sitting there.
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On 6/11/2021 at 12:53 PM, Arkady said:
Does anyone have experience of getting a foreign passport for a child born after they got citizenship? I wondered, if it would create any complications with both parents being Thai on the birth certificate since the parents' nationality on the birth certificate can be used as evidence of nationality by passport authorities.
At least with a Thai father on the birth certificate a child will have the opportunity to be promoted above the rank of private, if he or she joins the Thai military or gets drafted. That archaic regulation is a disgraceful piece of racial discrimination against Thais with foreign fathers that is also unconstitutional. I know one look krung who was an officer in the Thai army but it was his mother who was farang, so he was OK.
I have never had an issue with getting the first passport for a child from an embassy that on the child's birth certificate neither father or mother have that nationality listed. I suppose it depends on if the country allows dual nationality (you might have issues with Germany). My experience is that if the parents are already registered with that embassy, if they bring the documents showing the child is theirs, then the child is added to the system.
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6 hours ago, Neeranam said:they meant my visa didn't allow it!
I have been tempted in my dreams to be a taxi driver in Bangkok just to see the shock on everyone's face to see a foreigner driving a taxi around.
I find that very surprising that a Thai would say something like that. What nosy and rude neighbors you must have!
I'm glad that I haven't had any horror stories yet in passing as a Thai. I've whipped my ID card out at least 20 times now, usually without anyone asking to see it first, but knowing it will simplify the discussion, and there has been no discussion after a very quick glance.
I think that it will never be possible to just be taken for my word that I am Thai. I've just accepted the fact that I will need to flash my ID card whenever I do anything where there is a deliberate differentiation between Thais and foreigners. In any case its a nice reminder every time I pull that blue card out of my wallet of the years of waiting, the numerous and humorous hoops I had to jump through, and the final sense of accomplishment when I beat all the odds against me and entered a club with on a few thousand other people living in Thailand.-
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On 10/13/2017 at 11:35 AM, khongaeng said:
Letter of Intent - Thai.docx 114.24 kB · 17 downloads
Letter of Intent.docx 82.13 kB · 14 downloads
Passport Affidavit and Criminal Record - Thai.docx 122.29 kB · 16 downloads
Passport Affidavit and Criminal Record.pdf 190.68 kB · 17 downloads
Years ago when me and my American friend started the process, I posted the templates that he used on for the US Embassy. I don't know if they are applicable today or not. My experience at my Embassy was similar with @onthemoon so I can't tell you much about the American Embassy except what I have been told.
The funny thing about the US Embassy from what I have heard is that you can fill out a generic affidavit saying that you graduated from university on so and so day, or that you have no criminal record, or that you like to wear pink underwear... and they will sign it and stamp it (embossed) for a flat rate of 50 USD per page. The especially strange part about it is that the Thai authorities generally accept such documentation as official without question. He explained to me that the US Embassy will not issue any sort of documentation certifying any vital details for you, the only method you can use is an affidavit form. I'm glad that my Embassy was more helpful than the Americans
My friend told me that he actually combined a few statements like his passport details and no criminal record and "of age" details all on the same affidavit.
I hope this helps.
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No one asked to see a single one of my documents from the time I finished my NIA interview until the time I actually got my Thai ID card. This includes MOI interview, Oath, and picking up my Citizenship Certificate.
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1 hour ago, Neeranam said:My immigration told me I needed to show them the blue housebook, the RG announcement was not enough. However, I think the certified RG with the Naturalization Cert. should be enough for them, even if it is a temporary visa until you get the ID. Btw, when I went to immigration, I never had to show the housebook, just my ID and they said that I didn't need to cancel it, as it had expired(but I was the first they had ever done). I asked them to write something in my passport, which the boss did. On reflection, I think nothing would happen if I hadn't cancelled it but the imm. office is 5 minutes from my house so better to cover all bases for peace of mind, which I have now ????
I maintained a valid visa and work permit until the day I received my ID card. My SB officer instructed me that I needed to do so, even though they said I was officially Thai from the day the RG was posted. Having said that, I was not required to show my visa or WP at the MOI interview, Oath, or picking up my naturalization certificate. The Khet asked to see my WP when I got my ID, but I think this was mostly due to the fact that my place of work is different from my house registration on my naturalization certificate because I moved my record to Bangkok only so I could apply at the SB in Bangkok. In theory you could probably get by without renewing the visa, especially if your name is already in the RG, but I personally wouldn't take the chance, after waiting so long and jumping through so many hoops, I wanted to make sure I dotted all my i's and crossed all my t's until the very end.
5 hours ago, ExpatOilWorker said:Amazing detailed time-line. Congratulations.
What was the initial criteria for applying?
You have worked and paid tax here for +3 years?
What was the total cost?
KST, I think answered the questions. I meant to include that the total price breakdown is as follows:
- 5120 baht paid on the day you lodge your application at SB - 5000 for the application fee and 120 for the fee they charge to give you the letters to take to your embassy, Khet, etc.
- 500 baht paid on the day I picked up my Naturalization certificate
- Everything else was free, including getting my first Thai ID card, and receipts were given to me each time I paid any money.
Quite a small fee considering I spent almost that much for visa renewals and reentry permits each year.
4 hours ago, dbrenn said:Well done. You'll see the place in a different light, free as you are now from all those tedious rules and regulations that you've had to follow for so many years. There's no feeling quite like it - although it did feel a bit strange to me at first - almost like Stockholm Syndrome, no longer using my former nationality, along with all the familiar paperwork that went with it. Enjoy your freedom.
dbrenn, you are seriously a hero of the Naturalized Thai community here. It was your thread that inspired me 11 years ago when I stumbled across it, when it was still only page 13 or something. When I could check all the boxes, I applied, and here I am now, victorious at the finish line. Like others have said, it feels like I "hacked the system" somehow, as I am still in disbelief when I open my wallet and see a Thai ID card. The feeling of freedom is definitely there! Thanks again!
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Here is a complete report of my experience in gaining Thai citizenship. I just finished applying for my passport today. I plan to stick around this forum to encourage others to push through to the end. Thanks to all the forum regulars that stick around and gave encouragement as I went through the process. All the best to everyone in the New Year! I hope that many of you finally get your shiny blue ID card this year!
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4 hours ago, Neeranam said:
Yes, Thais don't need a letter from their old amphur. They advised me to wait one week. They said the owner has to remove my name from the housebook first, which doesn't mean I have to be there. Actually, they said that can be done online too. They also said it might be difficult as my province have never done this before.
Thank you Neeranam, this is very helpful. This is the first I have ever heard about removing a name from a housebook online. Do you by change have a link to the webpage where that would occur?
This whole process seems so odd, and not in line with what "real Thais" are privileged to do. Moving my children's house registration within days of birth was never an issue without any sort of reporting or paperwork from the origin office. Everything was taken care of at the destination office. This seems very similar to what those with yellow books have to do. Is this another instance where Naturalized Thais are second-class Thais when compared to people "born Thai"?
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17 hours ago, Neeranam said:
I believe it is all stored online these days.
I changed my yellow book a couple of times and needed a letter from the outgoing provincial office to show the new office. However, my wife and kids didn't need such a letter; the house owner removed their names and no letter was needed as the info was online.
I plan to change my blue book in a week or so.
The Bangkok office I talked to made it sound like I would need a letter even after I am on the blue book. This would be a pain to get the house owner to come to the office again only to get a "Move Out" letter. I am familiar with this process for yellow books, but I thought Thais could move into any house registration without a letter from the outgoing registration office.
Where you able to get a letter when you got your first ID card, or are you planning to try the move at the destination office first? Did they recommend that you wait for a while on your first house registration before moving? The office I talked to said I should wait 2 weeks after being on the Blue Book before initiating the move to the new registration and that I might require a letter too.
Story Of My Thai Citizenship Application
in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits
Posted
Fortunately my ABTC (APEC Business Traveler Card) card with my Thai passport gets me into most of the countries I need to go to including Australia, New Zealand and Mexico. Unfortunately it does not give a visa to the US and Canada. If you qualify through your company, this is definitely the easiest way to get a visa for most countries that touch the Pacific Ocean.