Story Of My Thai Citizenship Application

[sinthavee]

13 hours ago, qualtrough said:

Update: I moved my address from the old yellow book address that I used for the process to my real address on my wife's blue book. So I am on that now. Once that was done I obtained a new ID card to match that address. No cost, as apparently they only charge for lost or damaged cards. That took about 1.5 hours including waiting time, but not including lunch. Very smooth.

 

Then down to Chaeng Wattana to apply for a passport. I have been there before for family members and that is a world-class operation that beats the pants off the US system. Maybe 30 minutes start to finish, and they take your photo. Cost is 1500 baht plus 40 baht for EMS. Should be ready in five days. No appointment was required and it was not very busy. By way of contrast,  a friend in the US has been waiting more than a month for an 'expedited' US passport for his son while they are in the US. Fees are outrageous too.

 

Next week I will cancel my WP and visa and report back.

Hearty Congratulations Qualtrough brother.

 Information on your passport experience is very helpful. Thank you.

I will go there on Monday morning(10th Jan 2022) & apply for my passport.

[sinthavee]

1 hour ago, sinthavee said:

I got my Thai ID card yesterday. From application at Santiban to finally getting the ID was 3 years 5 months and 18days.

I was at the Khet by 8:08 AM.

I had taken prior appointment on 29th Dec 2021. Officer started to work on my Tabienban name changing & preparing necessary documentation for the Thai ID from 8:45 AM.

Both the witnesses required were with me in the office right from 8:45 AM. I had to sign free documents in Thai. Witnesses too had to sign a document each.

By 12:15 PM he completed changing my nationality in the Tabien ban to Thai. He handed me the documents required for ID card issuing department to process further & issue me the ID card.

After lunch, I met the staff processing the documents for issuing ID card. She took all the documents and asked me to fill up the application form seeking ID card. She also took 2 photographs (2x2.5” white background) from me. I signed the form and the witnesses also signed the form.

 Finally, the documents were ready & were sent to the Head of Khet. I was called to the Khet Head’s office. She had few general questions & wished me all the best.

I was asked to go get photo for getting  my ID card. Removed Shoes & mask, had my photograph taken, both the thumb fingerprints were registered.

 Later the staff asked me to come to the counter and collect my ID card. Before collecting, she recorded both my index finger prints.

 Officer in the morning as well as staff in the afternoon had scanned and saved relevant pages of my passport,PR book,Red book,Pink ID card and the Naturalisation Certificate. Officer also had taken my signatures on many pages of photo copies of my travel documents.

i did not have to make/submit any photocopies of my original documents. Whatever was required was copied by the officer on the office copier, & he only asked me to sign each of the page. He also had taken 4 photographs (2x2.5” white background) from me, and used on the documents he prepared. I got my ID at 3:15 PM. My witnesses had to stay till that time. One was the owner of the the house in which my name appears & another was his sister staying in a separate house of her own.

 Overall it was a long but pleasant experience.

For those who are yet to complete the Tabien Ban updation to change Nationality to Thai & get Thai ID card issued, take home points are:

1.Be prepared for a long day at Khet office.

2.Have 2 witnesses; if you are a member of a household, owner of the house must be one of the witnesses. Both the witnesses also need to be with you from start to end of the process. Please inform them in advance that they might have to spend almost a day.

3. Be prepared to forgo lunch (you might carry some food & eat it during lunch break) or eat whatever is available near the Khet office.

4. Carry all your original documents including the documents provided by Santiban. Remember to carry at least 6 Nos of 2x2.5” size white back ground photos. Also, the original Tabien ban book.

5.You need to write the names of your parents & siblings in Thai on the ID application form. ID application needs to be written in Thai(you might use chrome browser for transliteration of Names from your language or English). If you can not write your self, have someone with you to help you,on this.

5. Have patience; officers and staff need time to complete the required documentation process. They can’t bypass our short cut & shorten the process. Depending on their experience & skill, some one could process faster & some other could be slow.

 

Wish you all the best.

 

Some corrections in the above post are given below. Sorry for the unintended error.

 

“ I had to sign few (not free) documents in Thai.”

” They can’t bypass or (not our) short cut & shorten the process.“

 

[RJaidee]

Has anyone heard anything recently after finishing the Special Branch stage?

Seems a long delay to the next stage

[onthemoon]

21 hours ago, sinthavee said:

I got my Thai ID card yesterday. From application at Santiban to finally getting the ID was 3 years 5 months and 18days.

I was at the Khet by 8:08 AM.

I had taken prior appointment on 29th Dec 2021. Officer started to work on my Tabienban name changing & preparing necessary documentation for the Thai ID from 8:45 AM.

Both the witnesses required were with me in the office right from 8:45 AM. I had to sign free documents in Thai. Witnesses too had to sign a document each.

By 12:15 PM he completed changing my nationality in the Tabien ban to Thai. He handed me the documents required for ID card issuing department to process further & issue me the ID card.

After lunch, I met the staff processing the documents for issuing ID card. She took all the documents and asked me to fill up the application form seeking ID card. She also took 2 photographs (2x2.5” white background) from me. I signed the form and the witnesses also signed the form.

 Finally, the documents were ready & were sent to the Head of Khet. I was called to the Khet Head’s office. She had few general questions & wished me all the best.

I was asked to go get photo for getting  my ID card. Removed Shoes & mask, had my photograph taken, both the thumb fingerprints were registered.

 Later the staff asked me to come to the counter and collect my ID card. Before collecting, she recorded both my index finger prints.

 Officer in the morning as well as staff in the afternoon had scanned and saved relevant pages of my passport,PR book,Red book,Pink ID card and the Naturalisation Certificate. Officer also had taken my signatures on many pages of photo copies of my travel documents.

i did not have to make/submit any photocopies of my original documents. Whatever was required was copied by the officer on the office copier, & he only asked me to sign each of the page. He also had taken 4 photographs (2x2.5” white background) from me, and used on the documents he prepared. I got my ID at 3:15 PM. My witnesses had to stay till that time. One was the owner of the the house in which my name appears & another was his sister staying in a separate house of her own.

 Overall it was a long but pleasant experience.

For those who are yet to complete the Tabien Ban updation to change Nationality to Thai & get Thai ID card issued, take home points are:

1.Be prepared for a long day at Khet office.

2.Have 2 witnesses; if you are a member of a household, owner of the house must be one of the witnesses. Both the witnesses also need to be with you from start to end of the process. Please inform them in advance that they might have to spend almost a day.

3. Be prepared to forgo lunch (you might carry some food & eat it during lunch break) or eat whatever is available near the Khet office.

4. Carry all your original documents including the documents provided by Santiban. Remember to carry at least 6 Nos of 2x2.5” size white back ground photos. Also, the original Tabien ban book.

5.You need to write the names of your parents & siblings in Thai on the ID application form. ID application needs to be written in Thai(you might use chrome browser for transliteration of Names from your language or English). If you can not write your self, have someone with you to help you,on this.

5. Have patience; officers and staff need time to complete the required documentation process. They can’t bypass our short cut & shorten the process. Depending on their experience & skill, some one could process faster & some other could be slow.

 

Wish you all the best.

 

Thanks for the detailled report. Which Keht was that?

[DrJoy]

On 1/8/2022 at 7:21 PM, RJaidee said:

Has anyone heard anything recently after finishing the Special Branch stage?

Seems a long delay to the next stage

It takes 18-24 months to get to the MOI interview 

[sinthavee]

Today morning, I went to the passport section located in the 2nd floor of the Department of consular affairs MFA, Chaengwatana.

I reached there at 9AM. I went to the counter & handed over my Thai Nationality Certificate, Thai ID, Tabien Ban book & my native country passport. I was given a small application form in which I had to fill the country of birth, Name & address. I had to give the names of 2 relatives with phone number for any emergency contact. I filled up the form in English.
If one desires, one can add the delivery address (for EMS  delivery of the passport).

i preferred to pick it up once ready.

I was told that I could pick it up at 2 PM today.

I selected 10 years PP instead of 5 years. Fee:1500 Baht.

i was directed to the hall which consists of checking height of the applicant & several booths(50 or 60 nos), each of which are equipped to take the biometric details of the applicants, photograph & signature. Finger scans, iris scan, signature recording & photograph was done. Officer showed me my photo & the details entered in the system from form, on the monitor located in applicant’s side for any corrections. There were minor corrections of emergency contact name spellings & the job was completed. I was directed to the cashier to pay the PP fee. I paid 1500 Baht cash & got the receipt. One staff after the cashier’s counter checked the receipt & noted in a register & attached a slip giving collection time from 2:30 PM to 4:30 PM today.

I left the building at 9:49 AM & returned at 2 PM & picked up my passport from the passport delivery section located in the 2nd floor. I got my Thai passport in a record time of about 5 hrs. From submission of application to delivery, it was only 4.5 hrs.

As Qualtrough brother wrote in his post, it is truly a world class operation in all respects. 
 

P.S: I didn’t have to submit any document copies for getting my Thai passport. All required copies of my documents were scanned and saved in the system by the officer who recorded my biometrics & other details.

[DrJoy]

59 minutes ago, sinthavee said:

Today morning, I went to the passport section located in the 2nd floor of the Department of consular affairs MFA, Chaengwatana.

I reached there at 9AM. I went to the counter & handed over my Thai Nationality Certificate, Thai ID, Tabien Ban book & my native country passport. I was given a small application form in which I had to fill the country of birth, Name & address. I had to give the names of 2 relatives with phone number for any emergency contact. I filled up the form in English.
If one desires, one can add the delivery address (for EMS  delivery of the passport).

i preferred to pick it up once ready.

I was told that I could pick it up at 2 PM today.

I selected 10 years PP instead of 5 years. Fee:1500 Baht.

i was directed to the hall which consists of checking height of the applicant & several booths(50 or 60 nos), each of which are equipped to take the biometric details of the applicants, photograph & signature. Finger scans, iris scan, signature recording & photograph was done. Officer showed me my photo & the details entered in the system from form, on the monitor located in applicant’s side for any corrections. There were minor corrections of emergency contact name spellings & the job was completed. I was directed to the cashier to pay the PP fee. I paid 1500 Baht cash & got the receipt. One staff after the cashier’s counter checked the receipt & noted in a register & attached a slip giving collection time from 2:30 PM to 4:30 PM today.

I left the building at 9:49 AM & returned at 2 PM & picked up my passport from the passport delivery section located in the 2nd floor. I got my Thai passport in a record time of about 5 hrs. From submission of application to delivery, it was only 4.5 hrs.

As Qualtrough brother wrote in his post, it is truly a world class operation in all respects. 
 

P.S: I didn’t have to submit any document copies for getting my Thai passport. All required copies of my documents were scanned and saved in the system by the officer who recorded my biometrics & other details.

Good to know abt your detailed experience.

 

Good Luck

[qualtrough]

Thanks for the report Sinthavee. I applied for my passport late Friday and opted for EMS service. 10 year passport for 1500 baht plus 40 baht EMS fee. It arrived this morning. 

 

Cover is brown, which from what I have been able to determine on-line is the color for the latest version of the 10 year passport.

 

I enjoyed the first concrete benefit the other day, other than the privilege of being Thai and not needing a visa and WP anymore. Namely, I exchanged my regular Rabbit card for a Senior Rabbit card (over 60s) entitling the holder to 50% off MRT fees among other things.

 

Another benefit will be that I can make bank deposits at our local 7/11 using my ID rather than having to use a family member's ID.

 

Can't wait to visit a state park to whip out the ol' blue card.

 

We should compile a list of benefits here for a sticky. 

Edited January 11, 2022 by qualtrough

[DrJoy]

@qualtrough and @sinthavee Please share your experience of updating Thai nationality in your bank accounts.

 

Thanks!

[sinthavee]

59 minutes ago, DrJoy said:

@qualtrough and @sinthavee Please share your experience of updating Thai nationality in your bank accounts.

 

Thanks!

Yes DrJoy; sure, once it is done.

[heiri007]

Good day everyone, this seems interesting. Looks like from now on Thai writing is also required for citizenship applications - but the process will be faster.

 

With the language requirement there might be less applicants though. And no longer Santiban in charge of applications? And you can apply from abroad? Looks like a lit of changes - or just more paperwork:

 

<removed>

Edited January 12, 2022 by ubonjoe
Link to Bangkok Post removed (forum rule)

[BKKBike09]

On 12/30/2021 at 4:07 PM, qualtrough said:

BTW, I have not received any MOI letter by mail. I have heard it is hit and miss on that. In any case, not needed, right?

My khet (Wattana) insist on a copy of the MOI letter sent to the individual applicant - NOT the letter sent by MOI to SB advising that 'X' has been approved for Thai nationality, a copy of which you get given by SB. Luckily I did receive said letter although it's literally just a pre-paid postage item folded and stapled, not even in an envelope and certainly not registered / EMS delivery.

 

Incidentally, the letter says that the process at the khet has to be completed within 60 days of getting Thai nationality, which it specifies as the date of publication in the RG. Of course the letter was dated a month after RG publication and didn't arrive at my address for another 2 weeks ...

 

Once I've completed all the steps at Wattana I'll post more fully but for now let's just say it's by no means "in an out in a day".

[heiri007]

1 hour ago, BKKBike09 said:

My khet (Wattana) insist on a copy of the MOI letter sent to the individual applicant - NOT the letter sent by MOI to SB advising that 'X' has been approved for Thai nationality, a copy of which you get given by SB. Luckily I did receive said letter although it's literally just a pre-paid postage item folded and stapled, not even in an envelope and certainly not registered / EMS delivery.

 

Incidentally, the letter says that the process at the khet has to be completed within 60 days of getting Thai nationality, which it specifies as the date of publication in the RG. Of course the letter was dated a month after RG publication and didn't arrive at my address for another 2 weeks ...

 

Once I've completed all the steps at Wattana I'll post more fully but for now let's just say it's by no means "in an out in a day".

Wattana is a bit tricky, I just completed my ID marathon there in Sep/Oct last year. They insist on the district chief signing everything, but she's hardly ever available... you have to keep pushing... the 60 days no one respects, they all say 60 days doesn't matter.

 

At Wattana they also say they receive so many NEW citizens, so they are overworked... guess it's mainly the government employee's syndrome. During last Covid measures they issued tickets, to please come the next day... yet most staff were sitting idle... nice people, and once the ball gets rolling things move quickly.

Edited January 12, 2022 by heiri007

[david143]

3 minutes ago, heiri007 said:

Wattana is a bit tricky, I just completed my ID marathon there in Sep/Oct last year. They insist on the district chief signing everything, but she's hardly ever available... you have to keep pushing... the 60 days no one respects, they all say 60 days doesn't matter.

 

At Wattana they also say they receive so many citizens, so they are overworked... guess it's mainly the government employee's syndrome. During last Covid measures they issued tickets, to please come the next day... yet most staff were sitting idle... nice people, and once the ball gets rolling things move quickly.

they are lazy .
i have seen from my eyes my last ID when i moved from 1 province to another, they open QUE online and once i went inside on my date, i saw staff bring there kids they are plying inside , from 1 desk to another desk, and all are sitting playing damn mobile,,

 

[yankee99]

14 hours ago, DrJoy said:

@qualtrough and @sinthavee Please share your experience of updating Thai nationality in your bank accounts.

 

Thanks!

I did this not to long ago and at bkk bank and kasikorn. Kasikorn only looked at my house book and id. Gave me a new book for free with my name in thai and takes a week to get in the system. 

 

Bkk bank needed my naturalization papers with my id and house book. Had to pay for new bank books and takes about a week to get in the system. 

 

fwiw the the paotang app (gwallet) was much harder to get activated but saved me 40% on every centara hotel charge 

[DrJoy]

3 hours ago, heiri007 said:

Good day everyone, this seems interesting. Looks like from now on Thai writing is also required for citizenship applications - but the process will be faster.

 

With the language requirement there might be less applicants though. And no longer Santiban in charge of applications? And you can apply from abroad? Looks like a lit of changes - or just more paperwork:

 

<removed>

What's the source of this info?

@Arkady please confirm

[BKKBike09]

56 minutes ago, heiri007 said:

Wattana is a bit tricky, I just completed my ID marathon there in Sep/Oct last year. They insist on the district chief signing everything, but she's hardly ever available... you have to keep pushing... the 60 days no one respects, they all say 60 days doesn't matter.

 

At Wattana they also say they receive so many NEW citizens, so they are overworked... guess it's mainly the government employee's syndrome. During last Covid measures they issued tickets, to please come the next day... yet most staff were sitting idle... nice people, and once the ball gets rolling things move quickly.

Yeah, I got the "there are so many foreigners applying for Thai nationality in Wattana" spiel as well. But on the 4 consecutive days I went there the Registration section had no more than a handful of people waiting at any one time. 

[BKKBike09]

34 minutes ago, DrJoy said:

What's the source of this info?

@Arkady please confirm

It was in the 'other newspaper' this morning.

 

"The cabinet on Tuesday approved new ministerial regulations requiring Thai citizenship seekers to pass a Thai language test, with fees for citizenship applications going up by twofold, deputy government spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek said."

[DrJoy]

35 minutes ago, BKKBike09 said:

It was in the 'other newspaper' this morning.

 

"The cabinet on Tuesday approved new ministerial regulations requiring Thai citizenship seekers to pass a Thai language test, with fees for citizenship applications going up by twofold, deputy government spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek said."

I read that. It also mentions that citizenship applications will be processed in 90 days.

 

What a joke ????

Edited January 12, 2022 by DrJoy

[onthemoon]

41 minutes ago, BKKBike09 said:

It was in the 'other newspaper' this morning.

 

"The cabinet on Tuesday approved new ministerial regulations requiring Thai citizenship seekers to pass a Thai language test, with fees for citizenship applications going up by twofold, deputy government spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek said."

I read that too. It is not clear to me whether this is only for new applications or also for applications already submitted. Any idea?

[ubonjoe]

47 minutes ago, BKKBike09 said:

It was in the 'other newspaper' this morning.

It is in the news now.

 

[david143]

For amendment in 1967 Nationality.
Documents are forward to PM for reconsideration and Approval.
Its still a news until it will Publish in RG.
FYI
This law will applicable for new comers.

[yankee99]

Wonder what 90 day processing means? 

[onthemoon]

On 11/25/2021 at 1:49 PM, Marcati said:

I had my wife call a couple of months ago and the guy wouldn't give her any information.  Just said wait for your queue and we will contact you ><

 

If anyone can a more detailed response I would love to know the current timeline as well ????

Just called to MOI. Applications that reached them in 2563 are not yet scheduled for interviews. They couldn't say when this will be known; I will be contacted by letter and phone.

[BE88]

Goodbye to take Thai citizenship now you need to have done at least one primary school in Thailand compliant with the new law today.

[GarryP]

Surely, "all applicants have to be able to converse and understand Thai." does not equate with being able to write Thai? Although further down in the article they do say "speak and write Thai". Clarification is needed on this point. If writing is a requisite, I would not qualify, not that it matters for me now.  I can speak Thai pretty fluently (I speak Thai about 90 to 95% of the time), and am able to read Thai to a level where I am able to translate court documents into English, but for the life of me I can't write for sh!t. Even when writing my own name in Thai it looks like it was written by a four year old.  

[onthemoon]

15 minutes ago, yankee99 said:

Wonder what 90 day processing means? 

Yep, good question. 

 

I got the primary school degree 20 years ago. It requires listening and reading  comprehension as well as writing. There were five parts, I need to dig out the documents to find them. Not easy for most, I'd say.

[Marcati]

11 minutes ago, onthemoon said:

Just called to MOI. Applications that reached them in 2563 are not yet scheduled for interviews. They couldn't say when this will be known; I will be contacted by letter and phone.

Given the meetings are being done by Zoom now and the interviews only last a few minutes it really boggles me why they are so far behind in processing the applications for this last interview.

Edited January 12, 2022 by Marcati

[Marcati]

4 minutes ago, GarryP said:

Surely, "all applicants have to be able to converse and understand Thai." does not equate with being able to write Thai? Although further down in the article they do say "speak and write Thai". Clarification is needed on this point. If writing is a requisite, I would not qualify, not that it matters for me now.  I can speak Thai pretty fluently (I speak Thai about 90 to 95% of the time), and am able to read Thai to a level where I am able to translate court documents into English, but for the life of me I can't write for sh!t. Even when writing my own name in Thai it looks like it was written by a four year old.  

I'm in the same boat, even I went to school to study to read and write, I always default to Google voice and then just read what it spat out to ensure it's correct 55555. If I have to write manually will take me 10 min to send a simple message

[GarryP]

5 minutes ago, onthemoon said:

Yep, good question. 

 

I got the primary school degree 20 years ago. It requires listening and reading  comprehension as well as writing. There were five parts, I need to dig out the documents to find them. Not easy for most, I'd say.

Back when I was teaching English to Japanese housewives about 35 years ago, they were all taking the Primary School level Thai language classes. It was something they did to fill their day. I assume it will be something similar.