highrider

It's based on nationality in Thailand, unless it's a private attraction whereby expats are often included as well. Therefore, for any government attraction - expect to pay the foreigner price if you don't hold Thai citizenship.

Well, that is a fair bit cheaper in Thailand. However, I know that cars are generally cheaper in Australia and the USA than in Thailand, though pickup trucks are often cheaper in Thailand compared to those two western countries.

NO, it is not. It's called a NON-Thai ID card. It is NOT and never was intended to be a "Thai ID card". It IS not generally intended nor does it generally confer discounts to foreigners when entering dual price attractions.

You can get it at the amphoe. It's useful only for interactions with banks and the DLT - whereby you won't need to obtain a certificate of residency. Other than that, can't think of much.

I've got a 3 year pass (technically, 3 year and 2 months) for Safari World, that only Thais and expats are allowed to hold. Officially, you need proof you hold a work permit. In practice, once you've purchased the pass online (on the Thai language page) you're done...you'll get in and won't need to present any additional proof of anything once you have it. I'm sure many other private establishments are similar.

Except that it isn't a proof of citizenship and as such, those holding one can't expect to get into dual pricing venues where the qualifying factor is being a Thai citizen. Such cards may be useful only in situations like renewing a driver's license...whereby you don't have to get a certificate of residency from immigration or your embassy if you possess a yellow book.

Nonsense. That's not a Thai ID card. You clearly have trouble understanding the concept of citizenship.

I'm not sure why this topic keeps cropping up. Firstly, nothing is being done about it...it's just all noise and a chance for foreigners/expats to complain again. There's no political will and besides, why should Thailand abandon dual pricing when other countries are introducing it? Secondly, dual pricing is EXPANDING. I know of at least a couple of venues which have either introduced dual pricing in 2025 or have made it more expensive for foreigners, while keeping the Thai price the same. Thirdly, as you state, many countries are now introducing dual pricing themselves (or have done so in the last few years): France, USA, New Zealand, Singapore and Japan and these are all developed countries. As such, a developing country like Thailand, where average salaries are still 7-10 times lower than in the west will NOT be abandoning dual pricing, probably ever. Therefore, it might be time to just stop and accept this. The only changes that should be made are that dual pricing venues SHOULD request ID cards or other proof of citizenship as a matter of course (I hear that this is now happening on Koh Samet and is common at the Grand Palace) to ascertain eligibility. Anyone who can't show proof of Thai citizenship should be made to pay the foreigner fee. This is how it's done in Malaysia. No ID = you pay the foreigner price, which they simply call the "normal" price. For electronic ticketing, a Thai citizen ID number should be made mandatory when purchasing tickets at national park websites and such. Without one, you pay the foreigner fee. More residency based pricing would be welcome...particularly at private establishments (I can't see government ones allowing it). There should be days of the year when everyone can enter government establishments for free, particularly around vacation / holiday times (this is something the fine arts department usually does but some years it's for just 3 days other years for 15-20 days). This should include national parks...which had such a promotion in place for expats for around 2.5 months in late 2023-early 2024 for some national parks, allowing free entry! Unfortunately, this scheme was abandoned and has never been revived (sadly).

Bring along their ID cards. While you as a visitor (even as an expat) can't be expected to be granted the local price since signs clearly state "FOREIGNER PRICE" vs "THAI PRICE" your children have the same rights as your wife. As Thai citizens, they're charged the Thai price. If there's a problem, you call the manager or the police. For you, you have no rights. For my son, I would simply say "1 Thai child" and no issues at national parks...however, I did bring along his Thai passport (before he was eligible to obtain an ID card) and now I bring the ID card, just in case. Never a question nor problem whatsoever and I've not had to show his ID card so far, either. So, again, in Thailand, there is generally limited residency pricing. It's FOREIGNER vs LOCAL, so unless you become Thai, you remain a foreigner, even if you manage to hold permanent residency. Unlike in the USA (and many other western countries) permanent residency in Thailand does NOT confer basically the same rights as citizenship.

You're not getting a Thai ID without Thai citizenship....just the way it is. It's called a "national ID card" for a reason. Same reason one can't get a Swiss citizen ID card if you're American and haven't been naturalized as Swiss. Once you are naturalized, you can hold both passports and it's the same if you become Thai. Not all countries issue national ID cards...America and Australia don't...but most European countries as well as Asian countries mandate their use and don't always allow passports in lieu of citizen ID cards, due to the ID cards having microchips and being able to be inserted into ATMs and other government computers, something that can't be done with passports.

I thought cars in the west were cheaper than in Thailand. Thai car prices, even locally manufactured, are way too expensive given the low salaries here.

Nonsense. Your "facts" are all over the place. Firstly, relatively FEW expats in Thailand work and pay taxes here. Seems like everyone is either a retiree, a digital nomad or "long-term" tourist who is seemingly able to survive without working here. These people survive on pensions, savings and investments or remote work, or a combination of some or all of these. These individuals do NOT have access to Thai citizenship. Thailand wants people who pay income taxes and contribute to society. Mere residency, while not being able to speak any Thai is NOT a good enough reason to become a Thai citizen. Perhaps come to Thailand for work (Thailand is one of the few countries full of non-working expats) or start a business and then you might have a better case for naturalization. Thai language proficiency is something that one should expect after years of living here, but thanks to the laziness of many western expats, those few of us who do speak Thai fluently have to suffer because many Thais assume we're as lazy and incapable as the majority...thus we always have to make it clear we can speak Thai and prefer to speak Thai, otherwise, we get addressed in English as if we were first-time visitors, based purely on the assumption that "farang = dumb and incapable of speaking Thai". This doesn't happen nearly to the same extent with residents from neighboring countries, who actually put an effort into learning Thai. Most Japanese, Chinese, Burmese, Cambodian, Vietnamese and even Indian etc residents can eventually speak quite fluent Thai after a while, even if some of them struggle being understood due to their thick accents (particularly Chinese, Burmese and Japanese people). However, surprisingly, Thai language fluency is generally NOT required to obtain Thai citizenship. It is desirable and it certainly helps, but you only need to have a relatively basic to intermediate understanding of the language to qualify. Permanent residency is NOT required to become Thai, unless you're not married to a Thai (which is RARE)...since who lives in Thailand without being married to a local? This isn't America or Australia, where immigrants form their own ethnic communities and don't integrate into the majority. Thailand forces you to integrate if you want to have any level of permanency here. Thailand is NOT and hopefully will never become a multicultural society. Westerners need to understand and accept this. The "quota" system applies to applications for permanent residency, NOT to citizenship. While wait times can extend into years, I know of and have met several individuals who became Thai, including, none other than Bill Heinecke! I even saw a westerner who re-entered Thailand through Suvarnabhumi airport carrying a Thai passport back in mid-January. He used the autogates. Thus, Thai passport and ID card carrying westerners aren't quite as rare as some make them out to be.

Nonsense. They're FOREIGNERS and moreover, from a poor country, so they'll probably receive the death penalty. Does Koh Tao ring a bell for you?

Nonsense. He's not Thai...the penalties will be massive.

In the past, yes, you could stay overnight but not anymore, as it's too dangerous. Travel was always to/from Kengtung, not from China (unless you were Chinese). Nowadays, even Chinese will find it difficult to visit legally.