Immigration Announces Permanent Residency Application Dates As 12 to 29 December 2017

[ubonjoe]

Announcement posted on immigration website yesterday December 12th 2017 here https://www.immigration.go.th/read?content_id=5a2f65816a9aa3c5de1b8498 

Announcement title translated from Thai.

Quote

Notice of Immigration Bureau Application for residence in the Kingdom of Thailand for the year 2017

Announced dates and quotas are here in Thai: PR applications 2017.pdf

Download on the announcement is is a zip file that extracts to 15 PDF files. The first three relate to the quotas and/or dates of application. The remainder are the requirements in Thai and English along with application forms and etc.

 

[Peterw42]

Can you get residency on a Retire extension?

I notice that even under the Thai spouse application they want employment history/letter.

[ubonjoe]

1 minute ago, Peterw42 said:

Can you get residency on a Retire extension?

I notice that even under the Thai spouse application they want employment history/letter.

To apply for PR you must be working with a work permit for the 3 years and paying taxes. Not possible with an extension based upon retirement.

[Arkady]

2 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

To apply for PR you must be working with a work permit for the 3 years and paying taxes. Not possible with an extension based upon retirement.

 

I recall from the Camerata thread that someone who was not working in Thailand got his lawyer to put in an application under the humanitarian category because at that time the guidelines didn't specify that the 'patronage provider' needed to be working in Thailand. Immigration tried to prevent him from applying but the lawyer pushed them to accept the application on the grounds that his client was ostensibly qualified according to Immigration's own guidelines.  Anyway we never heard anything more from that poster and can assume he was not successful.  Now Immigration has closed that loophole in the wording by specifying that the 'patronage provider' needs to be working in Thailand.

 

Unfortunately the translation of the English guidelines is still close to incomprehensible in parts.  One would have thought that a national immigration department could find some staff who were fluent in written English to translate or at least edit announcements. I guess that it's a matter of face and no one wants to ask for help.      

[Koratjohn77]

7 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

To apply for PR you must be working with a work permit for the 3 years and paying taxes. Not possible with an extension based upon retirement.

So are you saying that it's impossible to get permanent residency on a non-o visa?  I've been living here on back to back marriage visa extensions for almost 4 years now.  I don't work here I'm retired on a pension is it possible for someone in my situation to get permanent residency?  I don't understand why that would be a problem because people like us do nothing except pump money into their economy.  People like us are good for Thailand.  And are you saying that we can't get permanent residency?  

[ubonjoe]

16 minutes ago, Koratjohn77 said:

So are you saying that it's impossible to get permanent residency on a non-o visa?  I've been living here on back to back marriage visa extensions for almost 4 years now.  I don't work here I'm retired on a pension is it possible for someone in my situation to get permanent residency?  I don't understand why that would be a problem because people like us do nothing except pump money into their economy.  People like us are good for Thailand.  And are you saying that we can't get permanent residency?  

If there was a way of doing it I would of found it already. I am on my 10th extension based upon marriage.

I considered starting a company a few years ago to do it but decided it was not worth the trouble.

[Thaidream]

Permanent Residency doesn't provide that much in benefits except security in that one doesn't have to apply for an extension of stay each year.

 

PR is not cheap- once approved if married the fee is a tad more that 95,000 Baht and if single 191,000 Bht.  Divide those numbers by 1,900 Baht per year and it would take one 50 years to break even if married to a Thai and if single 100 years. I think I'll stick with the yearly extension but everyone to their own.

[jayboy]

2 hours ago, Thaidream said:

Permanent Residency doesn't provide that much in benefits except security in that one doesn't have to apply for an extension of stay each year.

 

PR is not cheap- once approved if married the fee is a tad more that 95,000 Baht and if single 191,000 Bht.  Divide those numbers by 1,900 Baht per year and it would take one 50 years to break even if married to a Thai and if single 100 years. I think I'll stick with the yearly extension but everyone to their own.

Are you qualified for PR? If you are not (e.g no ongoing income tax payments and not meeting all the other criteria) sticking with yearly extensions is mandatory; you have no choice in the matter.

[Arkady]

5 hours ago, Koratjohn77 said:

So are you saying that it's impossible to get permanent residency on a non-o visa?  I've been living here on back to back marriage visa extensions for almost 4 years now.  I don't work here I'm retired on a pension is it possible for someone in my situation to get permanent residency?  I don't understand why that would be a problem because people like us do nothing except pump money into their economy.  People like us are good for Thailand.  And are you saying that we can't get permanent residency?  

 

A non-O visa with extensions based on marriage is OK but only if you are working in Thailand. 

 

It is not that they don't think people like you are good for Thailand.  They do. That's why they make it relatively easy to get non-Os and extensions based on marriage and retirement.  The answer to this lies deep in the past.  Permanent residence was originally granted largely to Chinese migrants straight off the boat, as long as they could prove they had a profession or trade through which they would be able to support themselves. Later on, when they thought they had enough Chinese and were concerned about communist infiltration, they established the annual quota of 100 per nationality, having admitted up to 5,000 a year, and made it progressively  much harder to get PR.  But the work requirement has stuck and the wording is not much different from when it started in the late 20s. 

 

Someone who is married to Thai and working in Thailand may well be better off applying for Thai citizenship directly but the work requirement is similar for males, although the minimum salary is less (B40k a month vs B80k for PR).  If you were to decide to go back to work in Thailand, that might be your best option.  Otherwise, without a job and a work permit it is absolutely impossible for a male to get PR or citizenship.      

[unblocktheplanet]

It is my understanding that one must be able to show three years of tax records in Thailand in order to apply directly for citizenship from a Thai spouse visa. Anyone successful in applying?

[ubonjoe]

9 minutes ago, unblocktheplanet said:

It is my understanding that one must be able to show three years of tax records in Thailand in order to apply directly for citizenship from a Thai spouse visa. Anyone successful in applying?

It is 3 years of tax records from here earned for working here with a work permit. Also at least 3 years on extension of stay.

There have many that have done it. Info is in this topic.

 

[Number 6]

What's a fair price for an atty to prepare papers for PR or citizenship?

 

I'm early retiree. Married late in life, now 5 yrs. I think 4 on O extension. Went back to work. First few months won't count. Next school a bit under 40k, then 45.5 now 51k pm. Work at high profile school that will get me props.

 

Wife has 10yr visa to US if it matters.

 

Anybody? Cost? Possibilities?

[Peterw42]

On 13/12/2017 at 8:09 AM, ubonjoe said:

To apply for PR you must be working with a work permit for the 3 years and paying taxes. Not possible with an extension based upon retirement.

 

Ubonjoe,

 

There is a specific paragraph, in the "Notification of Immigration Commission" document that states if the person supporting is over 50 then (only) an income of 65,000 per month, no mention of work permit, tax returns  (all the other humanitarian ones mention work permits, tax etc.) 

 

2) The patronage provider is an elderly, (1) Up to the date of application submission, the applicant must be at least 50 years old and (2) Be a lawful spouse and registered their marriage for at least 2 years before the date of application submission and (3) The patronage provider must earn annual income of at least Baht 65,000 per month in average for at least 2 consecutive years up to  the date of application submission and  (4) There is a Thai national who reveal one’s purpose to provide patronage or to be under patronage of the applicant. 

 

It would appear a specific spouse qualification, possibly a new addition, has been written to cover retire extension. even the same income amount.  

 

(the specific paragraph is at the top of page 6 in the "Notification of Immigration Commission" document in the download on the link you supplied.)

[ubonjoe]

11 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

There is a specific paragraph, in the "Notification of Immigration Commission" document that states if the person supporting is over 50 then (only) an income of 65,000 per month, no mention of work permit, tax returns  (all the other humanitarian ones mention work permits, tax etc.) 

They have scrapped those clauses in the order. The will not accept a application under either of those clauses.

I am not even sure that order is still valid since it was issued in 2003. I suspect that that there is new one that nobody has seen dated sometime in 2009 or earlier.

[Arkady]

15 hours ago, Number 6 said:

What's a fair price for an atty to prepare papers for PR or citizenship?

 

I'm early retiree. Married late in life, now 5 yrs. I think 4 on O extension. Went back to work. First few months won't count. Next school a bit under 40k, then 45.5 now 51k pm. Work at high profile school that will get me props.

 

Wife has 10yr visa to US if it matters.

 

Anybody? Cost? Possibilities?

 

It is normally assumed that a minimum salary of B80,000 is needed for permanent residence.  You might be better off applying directly for citizenship, if that interests you and the wife you refer to is Thai. For males with Thai wives, working in Thailand the minimum salary for citizenship applications is B40,000.   Three years' of marriage, work permit and tax receipts are required.  For more see the citizenship thread referred to by Ubonjoe.

 

No, any visas issued by foreign countries to your wife are not relevant in this context.  I have no idea what lawyers charge for preparing applications but I would say they are for businessmen who don't have time to attend to the details themselves and there is still a lot that you have to do for yourself anyway.  Very few Thai law firms have any clue how to do this but all will eagerly bid for your business, nevertheless.  There are also reports here of lawyers squeezing 'bribes' out of clients which were almost certainly never passed on to Immigration or any other official. This is something you and your Thai wife should be capable of doing without a lawyer.  I prepared both my PR and citizenship applications without a lawyer or other paid helper.