Mr Patrick

I'm not understanding your point. I am the sole breadwinner in the family to my Thai wife and children. This seems obvious. The question is not if I meet any specific criterion, since I meet them all. I need clarity on the application window and timing, which seems to be a moving target.

As indicated in my OP, the requirement for citizenship is three years on the same work permit for the same company. The nature of my employment has made this requirement problematic. My most recent Thai work permit ended in 2024. Currently I am working for a US multinational as an external consultant/contractor in the AI staff compliance and enforcement sector. No work permit is required in humanitarian category for PR, only tax returns.

My tax returns are in order. In fact it's only two years for humanitarian category. EDIT: 3 years is correct, including 2 consecutive years at or above required income threshold.

It was immigration that tipped us off to the method and offered to switch me to supporting Thai child method there and then, my wife and son sitting next to me (we'd missed a dot on an i or omitted to cross a t or something like that and they said "why don't you just do it THIS way"). Yes, every immigration office has their own ways and means, but ultimately it comes down to the letter of the law and to my knowledge there is no impediment to extensions based on having Thai children, married or otherwise. Not really on topic, but I'd be happy to discuss my experiences in another thread. I've heard all the low hurdle arguments. It's not those 'low' hurdles that are the problem, it's every other damned issue, hurdle, or outright block that comes through the year with being an alien on extensions. Appreciate the good wishes.

There is always that small but ever present risk the extension is denied, not to mention a the administrative overhead that we can just do without. Add to this, the constant banking hassles, the most basic things in commercial society just such a hassle. Melodramatic maybe, but I'm pretty sure criminals on probation don't have to report that their address has not changed, almost a hundred times over a quarter century. Yes married to Thai. Presently extensions based on having a Thai son. We switched to this method (previously spouse method) 4 or 5 years ago because my wife and I realised the paperwork was easier. Also 400K only needs to be on deposit for one day (seaoning not required).

In 2019 I was preparing to apply for Thai citizenship (I am British), the direct route, my circumstances such that I can bypass PR. The problem I had faced was remaining on the same work permit for more than a few years, the nature of my work (consulting) meant I had gaps and short spells of time at different entities, but I was close this time. . . but, Covid hit, the company collapsed, and it was over. So, I went into a kind of deep depression regarding that issue for some time, it affected me quite deeply. My background and life history is complex, my entire family are dual Thai/British nationals, wife and kids. I however have somehow found myself in this rather jarring position of having been in Thailand for 25 years but still on annual extensions. This must end because I cannot tolerate it anymore. I have realised that I have a very strong case for PR in the humanitarian category, so I will apply this year. I have a 12 year old son, my wife and adult stepdaughter are helping me prepare. The application pack will include letters of support from my immediate family. I also gave a job to a Thai man many years ago (not part of my family), gave him a shot, and we became good friends, he will write my character reference. I am aware of Camerata's very long thread on the topic. I actually know the guy that wrote it, we used to go drinking back in the day. We have lost touch in recent years however. I think rather than the months it would take to read through that entire thread, I would rather spend the time improving my Thai. I can get by, but since my family are all dual nationals (my Thai stepdaughter was educated in the UK and speaks perfect English) we are an English speaking household, my work environments have largely been English speaking, and I am therefore nowhere near as proficient in the language as I should be considering most of my adult life has been spent in Thailand, and I'd honestly be pretty embarrassed to apply for PR if my Thai is anything less than high level. . . I do however have some concerns over timing. I'm struggling to understand the current state of play with application window. If there is anyone here that can bring me up to speed on that I'd be grateful. Presently I am assuming Oct - Dec window or thereabouts and will aim to initiate document preparations in August (DNA paternity, police reports etc etc)