Bobcat

I have tried to find information about the test on the internet, but there is not much available. I will be calling the Ministry of Education to find out more information. One of the things that I have managed to find out so far is that the 3-hour test (conducted, I believe, at the Ministry of Eduction) is divided into 5 components, each worth a certain number of points, for a total of 100. The breakdown is as follows:

Writing a Letter - 20 points

Writing a 33 line (one A4 page) composition on a given topic - 30 points

Dictation - 20 points

Comprehension test (reading a passage and answering multiple choice questions) - 20 points

Reading a passage aloud to an assessment officer - 10 points

I will post more information when I find out.

Cheers,

Bob

I am also planning to do the Bor6 exam this year. I believe that the exam is in the middle of December. I am currently trying to obtain more information and I will let you know when I find out.

Cheers,

Bob

No, you do NOT need to have PR first and hold it for a minimum of 5 years.

Basically, there are two ways to apply for Thai citizenshih:

1. Obtain a PR first and after possessing it for a minimum of 5 years apply for citizenship. The application will solely be based on being a long time resident of Thailand.

2. Staying for a minimum of 5 years in Thailand consecutively means single enty non-immigrant visa with annual extensions of staying permit in the Kingdom. Apply for citizenship on base of humanitarian reasons and/or being beneficial for the country, her culture and her people.

It is very difficult to find reliable information about applying for citizenship. I have been informed by the police unit in charge of such applications that the only evidence acceptable to show point 2 above is to have your name in a BLUE tabiann baan for 5 years prior to application. As far as I know, following discussions with the loacl authorities when I obtained my PR, a foreigner cannot get his or her name in a blue tabiaan baan without PR.

So, the plot thickens.

Bob

I have recently sold my condo and used Khun Joe at Bangkok Home Real Estate Co. Ltd. (http://www.bangkok-home.com). He is very professional and speaks English fluently. I sold my condo within 2 weeks of it going on the market.

I am planning to sit the Bor 6 exam in December this year, and was wondering whether anyone sat the exam in 2004. I would be very interested in any tips, suggestions etc.

Thanks,

Bob

Well, I can assure you that the lawyers are totally wrong. Most Thai lawyers are clueless. I have just been through the entire process with the Land Department, and have reviewed all of the relevant laws and regulations in detail. I can assure you that if your name is in a tabian baan for one year prior to selling your apartment (and assuming you are selling within 5 years), you only need to pay 0.5%. I urge you to contact the Land Department and ask for copies of the relevant laws and regulations.

Does the same special business tax apply to a Thai national when she sells a condo she owns?

Yes, this applies equally to foreigners and Thais - although it is easier for a Thai to get their name put into a tabian baan - as this thread shows.

Also, just to clarify, the special business tax doesn't apply at all after you've held the property for 5 years.

Yes, the blue book they gave you is the tabian baan. Unless you have permanent residence (PR), you will not be able to have your name put into the blue tabian baan book. However, as the previous poster mentions, there is a yellow tabian baan book for foreigners. Make sure you get your name into this book! Otherwise, if you sell your property in the future and at the time of sale you cannot show your name has been in a tabian baan (either yellow or blue) for at least one year before the sale date, you will have to pay 3.3% special business tax on the sale price - as opposed to 0.5% if you have your name in the tabian baan book for at least one year prior to the date of sale.

Cheers,

Bob

Do you have to present your red residence book together with your passport?

No, only passport and blue residence book. No need to bring the red residence book with you when you travel.

Another point, you still have to report your whereabouts every 90 days (at least I do, and so do other people I know who have PR). This started to be enforced last year (in Bangkok at least).

I was also curious about this so when I received my PR earlier this year I asked the immigration officials about the need to continue the 90-day reporting requirement. The official ripped the little white departure card from my passport and threw it into the rubbish bin. She said that as a holder of PR, the 90 day reporting requirement no longer applies. So I have not reported since. Also, now when I return to Thailand from abroad, the officials at the immigration desk at the airport no longer staple the departure card in my passport anyway.

I was also told by the immigration officials at the airport that PR holders should use the line designated for Thai passport holders. I was reluctant to do this at first for fear of rejection , but now I use the Thai passport holder line each time and I have never had an issue at all.

Cheers,

Bob

For me, the benefits of PR are as follows:

1. Security/peace of mind

2. No more 90 day reporting

3. No need to send money from abroad when buying a condo.

4. Ability to apply for Thai citizenship in the future.

5. Name in tabian baan

Number 1 and 4 are the most important to me.

Cheers,

Bob

I would take their offer. 8,000 Baht difference isn't that much, anyway. Get the job, get over here and start working. Once you have experience under your belt, getting a better paying job down the road will be easier.

Do not tell them you have another offer. It would just make you look pathetic.

I say - go for it!

Check out the http://www.bangkok-home.com website

Really professional agents who speak great English. Ask for Joe.

The concept of a legal trust does not exist under Thai law, as it does, for example, under UK or Australian law.

Lopburi, you're right. I just double checked with the lawyer, who confirms that in fact it's both parents with PR, not just one.

I have discussed this with an nationality lawyer who tells me that the term "Legal Alien" means an alien with PR status. A child born of non-Thai parents in Thailand may, therefore, be eligibe for Thai citizenship if one of its parents has PR status at the time the child was born.

Afronaught, good for you. Stranger things have happened in Thailand, so anything's possible. I believe you are the first foreigner I have heard of who has had his name registered in a chanote as the co-legal owner of land.

The Tabien ban book also alows you to own 49% of LAND, The building is a seperate entity and is Taxed seperately as I understand it. I hav a 60 Rai Farm here and I leagaly own 49% of it on Paper commonly refered to a Chanote. I did not have to broduce any Bank statements or proof of income or Business rites. My wife owns the other 51%

A yellow tabian baan book does NOT allow you to own 49% of land in Thailand. I am sorry to be so suspicious, but I I find it difficult to believe that your name is written on the chanote as the owner of 49% of 60 rai of land. Perhaps you own the land through a Thai company, and you own 49% of that company. I do not wish to cause you concern, nor am I saying that you are not telling the truth - I am simply very doubtful that things are as you say they are.

I have a couple of questions for you:

1. Can you read Thai? If yes, have you seen the chanote and confirmed your name on it? If you cannot read Thai, have you independently confirmed that your name in on the chanote?

2. Are you certain you own 49%? What makes you believe this?

3. If the property was purchased through a company, what rights do you have as the 49% shareholder that have been built into the articles of association?

I am sorry if these questions are offensive to you. That isn't my intention. I just want you to be aware that a yellow tabian baan book doesn't give you the right to own 49% of land in Thailand - period.

Cheers,

Bob

Also after some enquiring around from the Local Ampur office and a few contacts I have in the foreign ministary. With this tabien baan I am allowd to change to a Blue tabien baan after five years and am also eligable to obtain a Thai ID Card. This came from the Horses mouth in the Foreign Ministary. To me this sounds rediculously easy, And I'm currenly trying to get this confirmed from other sources in the Ministary.

Also with the Yellow tabien baan I have Just recieved my Thai Drivers Liscence. and I am also able to own 49% of property in Thailand without having to prove any Ofshore income or investment. Or register under a Company. I do however still have to meet the Visa Requirements in Thailand.

I was always under the impression that one could not obtain a blue tabian baan book unless one either had PR or Thai citizenship. I was not aware that simply having your name in a yellow tabian baan booklet for five years would allow you to "upgrade" to a blue book. But this does raise some interesting issues about the qualifications for Thai citizenship. I have reviewed the regulations many times and must say that I still find them to be unclear. There is something that says that one of the qualifications is that you have PR for 5 years or your name has been registered in a tabian baan for 5 years. My lawyer friends have told me that the tabian baan being referred to here is not the yellow one, but the blue one. Therefore, logically, ou cannot obtain Thai citizenship unless you have PR - simply becuase you cannot get your name in a blue tabian baan booklet unless and until you have been granted PR. That seems to make sense to me. However, as many regulations are unclear, perhaps it is possible to obtain Thai citizenship without PR if the authorities consider the yellow book to be a tabian baan for the purposes of the citizenship regulations. This would, of course, disturb me beyond measure, as I could have had my name in a yellow tabian baan book 5 years ago.

I am very interested to hear from anyone on this board who has actually applied for Thai citizenship on the basis of their PR or their being in a tabian baan booklet (either blue or yellow). I'm thinking of simply going down to the police officer in charge of citizenship applications - I believe he is stationed at the police station opposite Central World Plaza. Couldn't hurt to go down and get the word from the source. If I do, I'll be sure to report my findings to the group.

As to the matter of your having obtained a driver's license, I'm not sure what that has to do with the ability to own property. Generally, foreigners cannot own land (other than in the the "1 rai of land for residential purposes / 40m Baht investment" exception). You may be referring to ownership of condominiums - whereby a foreigner may own 100% of a condo provided that the total number of condos in the building doesn't exceed 49%. Having a Thai driver's license doesn't allow you to own property.

Cheers,

Bob

George is correct. No need to have PR for the yellow tabian baan. However, a foreigner can get a blue tabiann baan only if he/she has PR. Both the tabian baan books (blue and yellow) are totally different to the blue and red books given to foreigners who acquire PR in Thailand. Different books, issued by different departments.

The only "yellow" book I know of is the yellow tabian baan - or house registration. Foreigners can apply for (or have their names inserted into) a tabian baan, but only get a yellow one unless they have PR. If you get PR, you get two books - one blue (from immigration) and one red (from your local police station). The blue one is your residence permit, and the red one is your alien book (equivalent to Thai ID card, but for foreigners with PR).

PR is approved by the Ministry of Interior and applications are made at Room 301 (Suan Plu Immigration) every December.

It doesn't sound to me like you're talking about PR with your yellow book. When you say you applied for residency and just got it, what exactly did you apply for, where, and what did you get? What fee did you pay? PR costs around Baht 192,000 if you're not married to a Thai or about Baht 95,000 if you are married to a Thai national. If you haven't paid these fees for your "residence" then I think you're talking about something else entirely.

Digger has it right. Keep a low profile, don't advertise your services, don't receive payment in Thailand. You'll be fine.

People in this forum are jaded. Don't pay them any attention. If you've got spunk, a good head on your shoulders, and some ideas - by all means come over and give it a go. What have you got to lose? If things don't work out, you're still young and can easily try somewhere else.

I beleive the capital required for a hihg-end spa would be significant. In addition, the market is almost at saturation point already. There are high-end spa's all over Bangkok.