Story Of My Thai Citizenship Application

[sas_cars]

On 6/24/2018 at 12:36 PM, sathuluv said:

Received my Thai ID went well before time of the appointment time 9am. The officer called my missus mobile and asked to come if we are in and went to see her at 8:50am and few documents were like marriage certificate and my daughter birth certificate. Few more documents which the officer prepared in the Amphur office we both signed. Officer said it might take till noon to move from yellow to Blue book. Have to get the approval from Chief of Amphur.

Post lunch can do your ID card.

Luckily there was no many people and our documents were straight forward and we had all on hand(I know this is something over doing) but having all original documents and 2 copies comes handy to move the process faster.

Later the Chief invited me and my missus. Asked our history etc. After a while she signed our documents and sent to ID section. 8:50-10:40 entry to Blue book. 10:40-11:15 received my ID card.

Next week planned to go to Passport office in Bangna.

One question do I need to cancel my NON-O visa now or let it expire? Same for work permit as well. Then I could complete this formality to close the records in Thai system that I’m not an Alien anymore.


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

You should cancel your Non-O extension and let them put in passport that reason for cancelation is that you acquired thai nationality. My sister had a nightmare when attempting her first overseas trip due to this (She also acquired thai citizenship but did not cancel her extension of stay) . The immigration at suvanabhumi airport was adamant for her to pay 20,000 Baht overstay fine before she could be allowed to leave thailand, no matter she acquired thai nationality.  It took a great length of discussion and reasoning and her point blank refusal of paying the fine that immigration finally relented after detaining her for 3 hours

[qualtrough]

UPDATE: That was timely! Just received the call from the NIA. Very nice lady provided me with the date and time and the documents they will be requiring. Bring the wife, no kids. One thing she mentioned that was never mentioned by the SB  (at least to me and I don't recall seeing it in any written docs) was evidence of previous divorces. Also, just the wife and myself, no agent or other assistant. Luckily someone else had mentioned the divorce paper requirement here earlier and during a recent trip to the US I obtained those docs. I told her they had not been translated and certified by the FM, but she said never mind, I can show her the originals and send the certified translations later. She said she loved my pronunciation of ร, which made my day! Fingers crossed!

Edited June 25, 2018 by qualtrough

[samran]

On 6/24/2018 at 12:36 PM, sathuluv said:

Received my Thai ID went well before time of the appointment time 9am. The officer called my missus mobile and asked to come if we are in and went to see her at 8:50am and few documents were like marriage certificate and my daughter birth certificate. Few more documents which the officer prepared in the Amphur office we both signed. Officer said it might take till noon to move from yellow to Blue book. Have to get the approval from Chief of Amphur.

Post lunch can do your ID card.

Luckily there was no many people and our documents were straight forward and we had all on hand(I know this is something over doing) but having all original documents and 2 copies comes handy to move the process faster.

Later the Chief invited me and my missus. Asked our history etc. After a while she signed our documents and sent to ID section. 8:50-10:40 entry to Blue book. 10:40-11:15 received my ID card.

Next week planned to go to Passport office in Bangna.

One question do I need to cancel my NON-O visa now or let it expire? Same for work permit as well. Then I could complete this formality to close the records in Thai system that I’m not an Alien anymore.


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

My wife cancelled hers. She went to apply for her first passport at Chaeng Wattana in the morning (which took about 15 mins) and then went to immigration. That took a fair chunk of her day. I recall she got there at 10.30am and didn't leave until after closing. Don't know if it was because they so rarely do it, or something else, but it might be something you have to prep yourself for mentally!

[Arkady]

6 hours ago, sas_cars said:

You should cancel your Non-O extension and let them put in passport that reason for cancelation is that you acquired thai nationality. My sister had a nightmare when attempting her first overseas trip due to this (She also acquired thai citizenship but did not cancel her extension of stay) . The immigration at suvanabhumi airport was adamant for her to pay 20,000 Baht overstay fine before she could be allowed to leave thailand, no matter she acquired thai nationality.  It took a great length of discussion and reasoning and her point blank refusal of paying the fine that immigration finally relented after detaining her for 3 hours

 

There have been differences of opinion about this in the thread.  Some people seem to have got away with not bothering to cancel their visas but your sister's nightmarish scenario is exactly what can happen, if you don't.  I saw no reason to cancel my WP which is a finite thing that just expires without issue, if you don't renew it.  However, it never occurred to me not to return my PR documents, as I didn't want to remain on the various records as a foreigner, even though there was no risk of being detained and fined as an overstayer.  Returning my alien book and residence book only took me 20 minutes at CW on the way to apply for my first passport at the Consular Section nearby.  

 

If you are willing to take a gamble, you can save the trouble of cancelling a Non-O extension and see if you are one of the lucky ones that Immigration overlooks.  Immigration has also imposed overstay fines on dual nationals, resident abroad, who entered Thailand on a foreign passport and then left on a new Thai passport that they got during their trip to Thailand.  They are clearly acting properly according to their own regulations by fining people who have overstayed on a foreign passport, even if they are Thai citizens, although I think they might lose in the Administrative Court, if anyone ever bothered to challenge them there.  While most dual nationals who enter on a foreign passport and leave on a Thai one don't have the option of cancelling their visa, you do have that option, if you have just acquired Thai nationality.  This is a special case and is the only circumstance in which you can cancel your visa.  My advice would be to bite the bullet and do it, rather risk either being hassled and fined by Immigration and/or missing your flight while you argue the toss with them.  

[onthemoon]

You can only use your new Thai passport after you have received it. I read here over the last couple of days that from becoming a Thai citizen to receiving the ID card (which you need to apply for a passport) takes a long time (weeks, months?). 

 

What if you have to travel in the meantime? If you use your foreign passport after you have received the Thai citizenship, they can take it away right away, and if you go an cancel your visa when you become a citizen, you don't have a passport to travel on.

 

So you're in trouble either way, or you have to stay in country until the ID card is issued. Right?

[sathuluv]

5 hours ago, samran said:

My wife cancelled hers. She went to apply for her first passport at Chaeng Wattana in the morning (which took about 15 mins) and then went to immigration. That took a fair chunk of her day. I recall she got there at 10.30am and didn't leave until after closing. Don't know if it was because they so rarely do it, or something else, but it might be something you have to prep yourself for mentally!

Thanks samran for your inputs. Appreciate that ?

[Arkady]

37 minutes ago, onthemoon said:

You can only use your new Thai passport after you have received it. I read here over the last couple of days that from becoming a Thai citizen to receiving the ID card (which you need to apply for a passport) takes a long time (weeks, months?). 

 

What if you have to travel in the meantime? If you use your foreign passport after you have received the Thai citizenship, they can take it away right away, and if you go an cancel your visa when you become a citizen, you don't have a passport to travel on.

 

So you're in trouble either way, or you have to stay in country until the ID card is issued. Right?

In the weeks between your announcement in the RG and the time you get your ID card and passport, there is no problem with using your foreign passport, as usual. If you have to renew your NON-O extension or get a new endorsement as a PR (the latter is only necessary, if you want to travel abroad), there should be no problem with this, even though it would be a bit galling, knowing you are already Thai.  Getting your passport is very quick, once you have your ID card.  You apply without an appointment and receive it by EMS within 3 working days or pay extra for 1 day express service.

 

I think Immigration needs your ID card to cancel your visa.  Anyway, it would be rather pointless to try to do it before you get it and put yourself in a limbo for several weeks.

[onthemoon]

25 minutes ago, Arkady said:

In the weeks between your announcement in the RG and the time you get your ID card and passport, there is no problem with using your foreign passport, as usual. If you have to renew your NON-O extension or get a new endorsement as a PR (the latter is only necessary, if you want to travel abroad), there should be no problem with this, even though it would be a bit galling, knowing you are already Thai.  Getting your passport is very quick, once you have your ID card.  You apply without an appointment and receive it by EMS within 3 working days or pay extra for 1 day express service.

 

I think Immigration needs your ID card to cancel your visa.  Anyway, it would be rather pointless to try to do it before you get it and put yourself in a limbo for several weeks.

Thanks for your reply. It puts my mind at ease.

[sathuluv]

2 hours ago, onthemoon said:

You can only use your new Thai passport after you have received it. I read here over the last couple of days that from becoming a Thai citizen to receiving the ID card (which you need to apply for a passport) takes a long time (weeks, months?). 

 

What if you have to travel in the meantime? If you use your foreign passport after you have received the Thai citizenship, they can take it away right away, and if you go an cancel your visa when you become a citizen, you don't have a passport to travel on.

 

So you're in trouble either way, or you have to stay in country until the ID card is issued. Right?

For me it was one week from the date I received the certificate from SB Office to Thai ID. As I went the same day to Amphur for appointment.

Passport can be applied and received within 3 days. I planned to cancel my Non-O and WP and will share the same once completed.

[onthemoon]

7 hours ago, sathuluv said:

For me it was one week from the date I received the certificate from SB Office to Thai ID. As I went the same day to Amphur for appointment.

Passport can be applied and received within 3 days. I planned to cancel my Non-O and WP and will share the same once completed.

That's not too long then.

[Big Guns]

I cancelled my visa at immigration in Rayong after gaining Thai citizenship (and my Thai ID card & passport). It was very quick and painless as my employer had given them advance notice. At the end the member of staff said welcome to Thailand (in English) ?

[MrPatrickThai]

20 hours ago, qualtrough said:

UPDATE: That was timely! Just received the call from the NIA. Very nice lady provided me with the date and time and the documents they will be requiring. Bring the wife, no kids. One thing she mentioned that was never mentioned by the SB  (at least to me and I don't recall seeing it in any written docs) was evidence of previous divorces. Also, just the wife and myself, no agent or other assistant. Luckily someone else had mentioned the divorce paper requirement here earlier and during a recent trip to the US I obtained those docs. I told her they had not been translated and certified by the FM, but she said never mind, I can show her the originals and send the certified translations later. She said she loved my pronunciation of ร, which made my day! Fingers crossed!

Congratulations!

 

You've basically got Thai citizenship now, just a wait for it, and a few formalities.

[sathuluv]

8 hours ago, onthemoon said:

That's not too long then.

Update:

1. Passport applied today in Thanya Park. Was amazed on the whole process from IN- getting the 'Q' till the receipt and OUT. Whole process was Lean and more efficient with total time of 11mins. They mentioned I can receive the passport on Thursday morning in person or via EMS. Opted for EMS as it will arrive by Thursday. Really good job in the passport office as its been outsourced to a 3rd party security company which does the stamps, bank books, ATM cards etc.   
WHY this was not followed when I applied for my NON_O Visa renewal huh!. 
2. VISA: went to cancel my VISA the immigration officer asked for the RG Announcement copy and the Thai ID card. She smiled and said so, no need to do VISA anymore. Happy for you and this time there was no FUSS and took 25mins including Q waiting.
3. WP I had given to my employer and power of attorney to cancel it.
 

[qualtrough]

4 hours ago, MrPatrickThai said:

Congratulations!

 

You've basically got Thai citizenship now, just a wait for it, and a few formalities.

 

Thanks! I hope you are right. Difficult not to be nervous! Just getting to this point involved overcoming so many hurdles.

[onthemoon]

15 minutes ago, sathuluv said:

Update:

1. Passport applied today in Thanya Park. Was amazed on the whole process from IN- getting the 'Q' till the receipt and OUT. Whole process was Lean and more efficient with total time of 11mins. They mentioned I can receive the passport on Thursday morning in person or via EMS. Opted for EMS as it will arrive by Thursday. Really good job in the passport office as its been outsourced to a 3rd party security company which does the stamps, bank books, ATM cards etc.   
WHY this was not followed when I applied for my NON_O Visa renewal huh!. 
2. VISA: went to cancel my VISA the immigration officer asked for the RG Announcement copy and the Thai ID card. She smiled and said so, no need to do VISA anymore. Happy for you and this time there was no FUSS and took 25mins including Q waiting.
3. WP I had given to my employer and power of attorney to cancel it.
 

Thanks, this is really good news.

[Pupes]

1 hour ago, sathuluv said:

Update:

1. Passport applied today in Thanya Park. Was amazed on the whole process from IN- getting the 'Q' till the receipt and OUT. Whole process was Lean and more efficient with total time of 11mins. They mentioned I can receive the passport on Thursday morning in person or via EMS. Opted for EMS as it will arrive by Thursday. Really good job in the passport office as its been outsourced to a 3rd party security company which does the stamps, bank books, ATM cards etc.   
WHY this was not followed when I applied for my NON_O Visa renewal huh!. 
2. VISA: went to cancel my VISA the immigration officer asked for the RG Announcement copy and the Thai ID card. She smiled and said so, no need to do VISA anymore. Happy for you and this time there was no FUSS and took 25mins including Q waiting.
3. WP I had given to my employer and power of attorney to cancel it.
 

Hi, 2.VISA - Can You share where did you go for Visa cancellation? Chamchuri Square or Chaeng Wattana? Thanks.

[GarryP]

6 minutes ago, Pupes said:

Hi, 2.VISA - Can You share where did you go for Visa cancellation? Chamchuri Square or Chaeng Wattana? Thanks.

I was given the run around for this. I was told to go to Chaengwattana so there I went. I was there for half a day before they told me that as I received my last extension from Chamchuri I would have to cancel my visa there too. Taxi across town, arriving just in time to pick up one of the last two queue numbers I had to wait for several hours before the process was completed. They did not really know what they were doing and admitted this to me. Hopefully, by now they will have done a few more so it should be straight forward.

 

To conclude, cancel your visa at the place where you received your last extension. To be honest I do not see the importance of location as I understand they all log in to the same database.  

[Pupes]

4 minutes ago, GarryP said:

I was given the run around for this. I was told to go to Chaengwattana so there I went. I was there for half a day before they told me that as I received my last extension from Chamchuri I would have to cancel my visa there too. Taxi across town, arriving just in time to pick up one of the last two queue numbers I had to wait for several hours before the process was completed. They did not really know what they were doing and admitted this to me. Hopefully, by now they will have done a few more so it should be straight forward.

 

To conclude, cancel your visa at the place where you received your last extension. To be honest I do not see the importance of location as I understand they all log in to the same database.  

Thanks GarryP for insight... ?  Though I'm still waiting for RG Announcement (almost 2 months now from Oath) , I think i'm my case would also be Chamchuri then...I got my last extension there... 

[sathuluv]

3 hours ago, Pupes said:

Hi, 2.VISA - Can You share where did you go for Visa cancellation? Chamchuri Square or Chaeng Wattana? Thanks.

Chamchuri

[qualtrough]

Did my NIA interview today. All staff were very friendly. In the small waiting room a very chatty lady told us what to expect. Two things stand out:

 

1. Don't lie about your income. They don't tell the tax people what your income really is. Funnily enough this question did not come up in the actual interview.

 

2. If you have been married before don't lie about it. Fortunately someone here clued me into the need to show previous divorce docs. Over the phone I was told I could bring them back later once they have been through the embassy/translation/FM certification process, but in the interview she said I need not bother. I will go ahead with that anyway in case it comes up later. Better safe than sorry.

 

I asked the woman in the waiting room  (she was doing interviews in the afternoon) if many people failed and she said she could only think of a couple of times. Basically because they did not meet requirements and were mislead by agents.

 

She did say that several times there have been incidents where the husband/wife revealed a previous marriage previously unknown to their spouse. Had to be put in separate rooms to cool off.

 

Main question was about family back home and what they do, parents, how we met, why I want to obtain citizenship, children,  how I came to be here, what I like about Thailand, the usual.

 

Lots of original document verification, notetaking.

 

Not adversarial at all. Took up about 25 minutes. My wife was interviewed by a friendly guy while I was interviewed by a woman. At the same table, side by side.

 

Question: Now I just sit back and cool my heels for an indeterminate period? Who will be contacting me about the next step, which I assume is the MOI? committee.

 

Thanks again to everyone here who have helped get me to this point!

[yankee99]

12 minutes ago, qualtrough said:

Did my NIA interview today. All staff were very friendly. In the small waiting room a very chatty lady told us what to expect. Two things stand out:

 

1. Don't lie about your income. They don't tell the tax people what your income really is. Funnily enough this question did not come up in the actual interview.

 

2. If you have been married before don't lie about it. Fortunately someone here clued me into the need to show previous divorce docs. Over the phone I was told I could bring them back later once they have been through the embassy/translation/FM certification process, but in the interview she said I need not bother. I will go ahead with that anyway in case it comes up later. Better safe than sorry.

 

I asked the woman in the waiting room  (she was doing interviews in the afternoon) if many people failed and she said she could only think of a couple of times. Basically because they did not meet requirements and were mislead by agents.

 

She did say that several times there have been incidents where the husband/wife revealed a previous marriage previously unknown to their spouse. Had to be put in separate rooms to cool off.

 

Main question was about family back home and what they do, parents, how we met, why I want to obtain citizenship, children,  how I came to be here, what I like about Thailand, the usual.

 

Lots of original document verification, notetaking.

 

Not adversarial at all. Took up about 25 minutes. My wife was interviewed by a friendly guy while I was interviewed by a woman. At the same table, side by side.

 

Question: Now I just sit back and cool my heels for an indeterminate period? Who will be contacting me about the next step, which I assume is the MOI? committee.

 

Thanks again to everyone here who have helped get me to this point!

Next step SB should contact you when your file is ready/goes to moi. 

 

 

Personally {just a feeling} i think the NIA interview is very important and weighs heavily on the process as from what others have said its longer and more intense then the moi interview. 

[Neeranam]

1 hour ago, qualtrough said:

Did my NIA interview today. All staff were very friendly. In the small waiting room a very chatty lady told us what to expect. Two things stand out:

 

1. Don't lie about your income. They don't tell the tax people what your income really is. Funnily enough this question did not come up in the actual interview.

 

2. If you have been married before don't lie about it. Fortunately someone here clued me into the need to show previous divorce docs. Over the phone I was told I could bring them back later once they have been through the embassy/translation/FM certification process, but in the interview she said I need not bother. I will go ahead with that anyway in case it comes up later. Better safe than sorry.

 

I asked the woman in the waiting room  (she was doing interviews in the afternoon) if many people failed and she said she could only think of a couple of times. Basically because they did not meet requirements and were mislead by agents.

 

She did say that several times there have been incidents where the husband/wife revealed a previous marriage previously unknown to their spouse. Had to be put in separate rooms to cool off.

 

Main question was about family back home and what they do, parents, how we met, why I want to obtain citizenship, children,  how I came to be here, what I like about Thailand, the usual.

 

Lots of original document verification, notetaking.

 

Not adversarial at all. Took up about 25 minutes. My wife was interviewed by a friendly guy while I was interviewed by a woman. At the same table, side by side.

 

Question: Now I just sit back and cool my heels for an indeterminate period? Who will be contacting me about the next step, which I assume is the MOI? committee.

 

Thanks again to everyone here who have helped get me to this point!

I was only interviewed by one woman.

Nice to get it out the way.

If I were you. I'd check every now and then to SB, to see if they've sent your application to the MOI.

They called me actually, to ask me to help another applicant in regards to an embassy issue and mentioned that mine had been sent, 2 months after the NIA interview.

Hopefully, I'll get the MOI interview by the end of the year. They said they sent it in March, but no confirmation letter of yet.

Edited June 28, 2018 by Neeranam

[samran]

On 6/26/2018 at 8:30 PM, sathuluv said:

Chamchuri

Congrats! 25 minutes to cancel the visa is great. 

[samran]

2 hours ago, qualtrough said:

Did my NIA interview today. All staff were very friendly. In the small waiting room a very chatty lady told us what to expect. Two things stand out:

 

1. Don't lie about your income. They don't tell the tax people what your income really is. Funnily enough this question did not come up in the actual interview.

 

2. If you have been married before don't lie about it. Fortunately someone here clued me into the need to show previous divorce docs. Over the phone I was told I could bring them back later once they have been through the embassy/translation/FM certification process, but in the interview she said I need not bother. I will go ahead with that anyway in case it comes up later. Better safe than sorry.

 

I asked the woman in the waiting room  (she was doing interviews in the afternoon) if many people failed and she said she could only think of a couple of times. Basically because they did not meet requirements and were mislead by agents.

 

She did say that several times there have been incidents where the husband/wife revealed a previous marriage previously unknown to their spouse. Had to be put in separate rooms to cool off.

 

Main question was about family back home and what they do, parents, how we met, why I want to obtain citizenship, children,  how I came to be here, what I like about Thailand, the usual.

 

Lots of original document verification, notetaking.

 

Not adversarial at all. Took up about 25 minutes. My wife was interviewed by a friendly guy while I was interviewed by a woman. At the same table, side by side.

 

Question: Now I just sit back and cool my heels for an indeterminate period? Who will be contacting me about the next step, which I assume is the MOI? committee.

 

Thanks again to everyone here who have helped get me to this point!

Congrats on the NIA interview. I reckon the hardest bit is behind you now, apart from the waiting. Hopefully not too long.

 

curious where you did the interview? They used to do them at KFC or McDonalds at a central mall in Bangkok somewhere. Sounds like they do to that any more?

[Arkady]

13 hours ago, qualtrough said:

Did my NIA interview today. All staff were very friendly. In the small waiting room a very chatty lady told us what to expect. Two things stand out:

 

1. Don't lie about your income. They don't tell the tax people what your income really is. Funnily enough this question did not come up in the actual interview.

 

2. If you have been married before don't lie about it. Fortunately someone here clued me into the need to show previous divorce docs. Over the phone I was told I could bring them back later once they have been through the embassy/translation/FM certification process, but in the interview she said I need not bother. I will go ahead with that anyway in case it comes up later. Better safe than sorry.

 

I asked the woman in the waiting room  (she was doing interviews in the afternoon) if many people failed and she said she could only think of a couple of times. Basically because they did not meet requirements and were mislead by agents.

 

She did say that several times there have been incidents where the husband/wife revealed a previous marriage previously unknown to their spouse. Had to be put in separate rooms to cool off.

 

Main question was about family back home and what they do, parents, how we met, why I want to obtain citizenship, children,  how I came to be here, what I like about Thailand, the usual.

 

Lots of original document verification, notetaking.

 

Not adversarial at all. Took up about 25 minutes. My wife was interviewed by a friendly guy while I was interviewed by a woman. At the same table, side by side.

 

Question: Now I just sit back and cool my heels for an indeterminate period? Who will be contacting me about the next step, which I assume is the MOI? committee.

 

Thanks again to everyone here who have helped get me to this point!

Love the bit about the couples having to be put in separate rooms to cool off and the advice about not lying about previous marriages. Since the government is happy to rely on foreigners self-certification of freedom to marry, I am not sure how the NIA with its meager budget and resources would uncover any undisclosed marriages, not that I am advocating any dishonesty. But the advice obviously works, if people do actually break down in the interview and confess in front of their partners.

 

I wonder, if they have a similar success rate in persuading applicants to disclose any additional income not declared to the Revenue Dept or SB. This would presumably invalidate the application as SB requires the income on the salary letter and your tax receipt to match. Again I wonder how NIA would find out that someone has some additional income fron, say, private English lessons or digital nomad work for overseas clients. When I did the interview the officer told me frankly that they had no budget to even go and check applicants’ homes and workplaces, as they done in the past. Perhaps they have received an infusion of cash, now that they have several officers involved in each interview, rather than one guy at McD’s with s budget for one bottle of water for each applicant. Still can’t see them flying overseas to investigate undisclosed marriages.

[qualtrough]

14 hours ago, samran said:

Congrats on the NIA interview. I reckon the hardest bit is behind you now, apart from the waiting. Hopefully not too long.

 

curious where you did the interview? They used to do them at KFC or McDonalds at a central mall in Bangkok somewhere. Sounds like they do to that any more?

It was in an obscure small office in a police compound right across from the Ministry of Education.

 

People at the guardhouse were very friendly and walked us to the small waiting room with two couches. One of the interviewers was actually in the guardhouse.It looks like they had scheduled 4 interviews for the morning and an unknown number for the afternoon. When our turn came we were walked to a room in a larger building where the interview took place.

 

One thing I remember is she said that starting last year they started getting a lot more applications, and she indicated a stack about two feet high that they were working through. They do the interviews once a week she said.

 

BTW, just down the road inside in the same compound there is a good court you can wait at if you come early and want a bite to eat or something to drink.

Edited June 29, 2018 by qualtrough

[Arkady]

1 hour ago, qualtrough said:

It was in an obscure small office in a police compound right across from the Ministry of Education.

 

People at the guardhouse were very friendly and walked us to the small waiting room with two couches. One of the interviewers was actually in the guardhouse.It looks like they had scheduled 4 interviews for the morning and an unknown number for the afternoon. When our turn came we were walked to a room in a larger building where the interview took place.

 

One thing I remember is she said that starting last year they started getting a lot more applications, and she indicated a stack about two feet high that they were working through. They do the interviews once a week she said.

 

BTW, just down the road inside in the same compound there is a good court you can wait at if you come early and want a bite to eat or something to drink.

 

Interesting re the additional new applications. When I applied in 2010 the vast majority of applicants were still coming via PR and there were only a small number of males applying on the basis of marriage to a Thai.  But that was only 2 years after the 2008 amendment that permitted bypassing of PR for males married to a Thai.  At first they tried to keep a low profile on the amendment by not referring to it in the guidelines or other documentation.  When I asked why, I was told with a straight face at SB that it was better not to advertise this or there would not be any square meter left for Thais by birth to stand on.  Gradually the cat got out of the bag and it is pretty obvious that there are only a small number of people with PR who are eligible to apply (and many of those don't want to go further than PR), compared to a much larger number of people working in Thailand with Thai wives who are eligible.  For them moving up to citizenship from a NON-O visa is much more worthwhile than upgrading from PR, although that is also worthwhile in my opinion.  It was inevitable that, as word got out, there would be a much larger volume of males with Thai wives applying.   The flip side of this is that the greater volume of applicants will inevitably lead them to look for ways to make the process more difficult to discourage applicants, as has happened with PR.

[samran]

1 hour ago, Arkady said:

 

Interesting re the additional new applications. When I applied in 2010 the vast majority of applicants were still coming via PR and there were only a small number of males applying on the basis of marriage to a Thai.  But that was only 2 years after the 2008 amendment that permitted bypassing of PR for males married to a Thai.  At first they tried to keep a low profile on the amendment by not referring to it in the guidelines or other documentation.  When I asked why, I was told with a straight face at SB that it was better not to advertise this or there would not be any square meter left for Thais by birth to stand on.  Gradually the cat got out of the bag and it is pretty obvious that there are only a small number of people with PR who are eligible to apply (and many of those don't want to go further than PR), compared to a much larger number of people working in Thailand with Thai wives who are eligible.  For them moving up to citizenship from a NON-O visa is much more worthwhile than upgrading from PR, although that is also worthwhile in my opinion.  It was inevitable that, as word got out, there would be a much larger volume of males with Thai wives applying.   The flip side of this is that the greater volume of applicants will inevitably lead them to look for ways to make the process more difficult to discourage applicants, as has happened with PR.

I think there is a relatively 'new' class for foreign men married to Thai's who are now applying for this. More than ever, I've noticed and ever larger cohort of professionals who have made Thailand home - and the way that the government has structured it, you basically have to be in this category if you are ever going to be able to apply. Its still a relatively small, but very much wanted group of people, based on policy makers I've spoken to.

 

But I still think you are right in that over time, there will be some re-jigging of the rules, misguided as they may be (or not!).

 

One thing I'll note was my surprise at the other end of the spectrum, foreign women married to Thai's. My wife recently shared on one of those secret FB forums for foreign women married to Thai men her experience of getting citizenship, thinking she was helping people out. 

 

Turns out that many of them don't qualify - the 30K per month requirement is too high. Not to mention the paperwork was too much for some to cope with.

 

It was food for thought for me that despite the appearance of the rules making it easier on paper for women to apply, the 30K income requirement appears to be been set too high for many - and perhaps intentionally so. 

[Johnniey]

In the grounds of Parusakavan Palace is the NIA interview

[Arkady]

3 hours ago, samran said:

I think there is a relatively 'new' class for foreign men married to Thai's who are now applying for this. More than ever, I've noticed and ever larger cohort of professionals who have made Thailand home - and the way that the government has structured it, you basically have to be in this category if you are ever going to be able to apply. Its still a relatively small, but very much wanted group of people, based on policy makers I've spoken to.

 

But I still think you are right in that over time, there will be some re-jigging of the rules, misguided as they may be (or not!).

 

One thing I'll note was my surprise at the other end of the spectrum, foreign women married to Thai's. My wife recently shared on one of those secret FB forums for foreign women married to Thai men her experience of getting citizenship, thinking she was helping people out. 

 

Turns out that many of them don't qualify - the 30K per month requirement is too high. Not to mention the paperwork was too much for some to cope with.

 

It was food for thought for me that despite the appearance of the rules making it easier on paper for women to apply, the 30K income requirement appears to be been set too high for many - and perhaps intentionally so. 

 

It must be a tough life for farang women married to Thai guys who either can’t make the minimum income requirement or just can’t get the paperwork together for the wife’s citizenship application. The fascination of being on a permanent holiday in Thailand might wear off at some point under those circumstances, particularly if children arrive. Actually I was under the impression that the husbands only needed to show income of B15,000 a month and only going back one tax year.

 

There are also a lot more women from neighboring countries marrying Thai men and settling in Thailand. Many of them must be workers who come under the annually renewed MOUs. In Ubon where Mrs Arkady’s mater hails from quite a few local men have acquired Lao wives. I am not sure on which side of the border they met. A lot of locals there are doing business in Laos now. I guess there a lot of cross border marriages with Laotians, Cambodians and Burmese in all border provinces. There is not much cultural or linguistic difference between Laotians and Isaan people and there are also many Khmer and Shan speaking parts of Thailand along the Cambodian and Burmese borders. Surprisingly a lot of Thai guys married to women from neighboring countries managed to get citizenship for their wives and they were included in the long backlog approved by Gen Anuphong soon after the coup.