Story Of My Thai Citizenship Application

[desertsky]

On 7/15/2024 at 10:24 AM, Arkady said:

 

For information candidates don't meet the big MOI committee.  They are interviewed by the little MOI committee.  The big committee meets traditionally within a few months to review applications approved by the little committee to confirm they can be forwarded to the minister for signature.  It seems to be mainly rubber stamp that is required by the Nationality Act.  I assume they may review more than one little committee batch at a sitting. The agencies that sit on the two committees are exactly the same, i.e. 8 out of 15 are MOI departments, but the departments tend delegate less senior staff to the little committee.  Of course the head of the nationality section is most likely always there.

@Arkady We all know that the little moi committee interview has been on hold for more than 1 year but how about the big committee meetings? Are they still happening?

[saakura]

On 7/15/2024 at 10:24 AM, Arkady said:

 

For information candidates don't meet the big MOI committee.  They are interviewed by the little MOI committee.  The big committee meets traditionally within a few months to review applications approved by the little committee to confirm they can be forwarded to the minister for signature.  It seems to be mainly rubber stamp that is required by the Nationality Act.  I assume they may review more than one little committee batch at a sitting. The agencies that sit on the two committees are exactly the same, i.e. 8 out of 15 are MOI departments, but the departments tend delegate less senior staff to the little committee.  Of course the head of the nationality section is most likely always there.

Oh wow, thanks. I did not know that there is a big & small MOI Committee. 

[Arkady]

23 hours ago, saakura said:

Oh wow, thanks. I did not know that there is a big & small MOI Committee. 

 

The big committee meetings are contingent on the little committee meetings and usually take place quite soon afterwards.  I expect they would have organized things so that a big committee meeting was held to clear the last little committee approvals under the previous government, as they could guess a new government might stonewall them and they have gone to the trouble of interviewing them.  However, that is just my guess work. If that was done, there is no need for big committee meetings  at this point.  Unfortunately the minister can stonewall applicants already approved by the big committee under the previous government indefinitely.  It says in the Nationality Act that it is up to his discretion.  I expect the logjam will break eventually. It is unusual for nothing to move forward at all under a particular government but it can be precious little.

[david143]

Big committee is like this.
When i was in the process I have completed my interview @ Moi 19 Dec 2019.
round table with 20 different department staffs, including immigration
After that on 4th of Feb 2020 , just before the Covid restrictions started, my wife received a call from MOI staff that คณะกรรมการ Hua na big committee already approved my Application, it was strange for me because as i heard they never call, unless interview call. i even received a letter from MOI that your Application is approved you need to visit SB and pay 500 baht for Nationality certificate.

[Marcati]

On 7/18/2024 at 1:16 PM, david143 said:

Big committee is like this.
When i was in the process I have completed my interview @ Moi 19 Dec 2019.
round table with 20 different department staffs, including immigration
After that on 4th of Feb 2020 , just before the Covid restrictions started, my wife received a call from MOI staff that คณะกรรมการ Hua na big committee already approved my Application, it was strange for me because as i heard they never call, unless interview call. i even received a letter from MOI that your Application is approved you need to visit SB and pay 500 baht for Nationality certificate.

That's strange. I got the letter from SB once everything was 100% completed and told to pay my 500thb to pick up my Certificate, following the RG announcement

[heiri007]

A friend just smilingly showed me his spanky new TH passport. RG announcement was on April 6, MOI interview two years before. Process somewhat still moving it seems, but not sure what it takes so still make it.

[onthemoon]

22 hours ago, heiri007 said:

A friend just smilingly showed me his spanky new TH passport. RG announcement was on April 6, MOI interview two years before. Process somewhat still moving it seems, but not sure what it takes so still make it.

 

The last MOI interview was, I think, in Q4 2023. Your friend was lucky to have had the interview before that.

[Marcati]

On 7/20/2024 at 12:32 PM, heiri007 said:

A friend just smilingly showed me his spanky new TH passport. RG announcement was on April 6, MOI interview two years before. Process somewhat still moving it seems, but not sure what it takes so still make it.

He was in the same batch as me then

[Freddy42OZ]

On 5/18/2007 at 10:33 PM, dbrenn said:

Late 2003 - Picked up the checklist from the Police Headquarters on

Rama 1 Road

 

 

May 2007 - Got the paperwork and certificate from the Police HQ to

take to the disctrict office to get my ID card.

 

Now I must return my

work permit, alien residence certificate and certificate of residence

to respective authorities as these are no longer needed. Now I can

apply for a passport

 

 

Congratulations!  4 years doesn't seem that long to me, for something that gives you so many amazing benefits. 

I just wish they would allow people to get citizenship without the language requirements. I'll probably be here for 40 years but I will never learn Thai.

It would be nice to have citizenship rights in 3 countries (currently I have a British Passport and HK PR) so I can live, work, own property etc in two countries that I will never live in, whilst I live in a country where working is 'difficult', I can't own a business and I can't own land.

[Scouse123]

If that's what you wanted, good luck to you Well done.

 

I am happy myself as a British passport holder.

 

I wouldn't ever want to jump through the hoops you have had to do for the sake of free entry to the Grand Palace and Thai rates for national parks.

[digbeth]

55 minutes ago, Freddy42OZ said:

I just wish they would allow people to get citizenship without the language requirements. I'll probably be here for 40 years but I will never learn Thai.

 

Imagine the furor if immigrants in say, the UK or Australia are allowed citizenship without being able to speak English

At least the Thai citizenship don't test you on history or cultural bits

[Thingamabob]

Maybe answered already, but can you keep and use your home passport ?

[Barty]

1 hour ago, Thingamabob said:

Maybe answered already, but can you keep and use your home passport ?

If your original country allows it, you can have both passports and retain citizenship of both countries. You can only use your original passport outside of Thailand.

[onthemoon]

1 hour ago, Thingamabob said:

Maybe answered already, but can you keep and use your home passport ?

 

Provided your country allows you to have dual nationality, Thailand requires that you declare intent to renounce your current citizenship when you apply for Thai citizenship once you become a Thai citizen.

 

Some people argue that "intent" does not mean that you actually have to give it up once you become a Thai citizen. There is no deadline how long after becoming a Thai citizen you have before you need to give up your original nationality and in practice, the Thai government does not follow up on this.

 

Thai law also says that your new Thai citizenship can be revoked if you use your previous passport/nationality. Some people argue that this only means that you cannot use your previous citizenship in Thailand anymore (which is fair), but you can keep it and are free to use it in other countries, because Thailand has no jurisdiction there. Many people have reported that they left Thailand on their Thai passport without visa for the destination country, and Thai immigration does not ask questions.

 

Since the legal wording is beautifully unclear, many people do keep their original nationality and use it overseas, for example when travelling to their own country if a Thai citizen would need a visa. It is common practice. You cannot use your original passport in Thailand, though. In Thailand, you are only Thai. So, you have to update all your bank accounts, for example.

[thaiowl]

I applied for PR in 2007 and eventually got it in 2012. I was thinking  about applying for citizenship but didn't bother in the end. Don't need to own land/business and am retired, so no need to work. In hindsight, I should have applied for citizenship and not bothered with PR.

[sidneybear]

9 hours ago, Scouse123 said:

I wouldn't ever want to jump through the hoops you have had to do for the sake of free entry to the Grand Palace and Thai rates for national parks.

How about being able to own your house and your business, and never having to think about visas again?

[sidneybear]

5 hours ago, onthemoon said:

Many people have reported that they left Thailand on their Thai passport without visa for the destination country, and Thai immigration does not ask questions.

That's exactly what happens. Check in for your flight to exit Thailand, show both passports. Exit Thai immigration, show Thai passport. Enter farangland immigration, show farangland passport..  . Check in to exit farangland, show both passports. Exit farangland immigration, show farangland passport. Enter Thailand, show Thailand passport. 

 

Works every time.

[Scouse123]

12 hours ago, sidneybear said:

How about being able to own your house and your business, and never having to think about visas again?

 

 

You have a valid point, but for me, it's a lot of hoops to jump through.

 

Anyway, I've been with the other half for 27 years now, so I can't see us having difficulties.

 

If it works for you, good stuff.

[heiri007]

In my MOI interview batch most candidates were Chinese. I wonder whether some Chinese applications continued to be processed while the official process came to a halt? I mean the officials' uproar regarding this passport "scam" is kind of telling. Closing the case was surprisingly quick and efficient.

 

https://thethaiger.com/news/national/chinese-couple-deported-over-passport-sale-billboard-in-bangkok

[heiri007]

On 7/25/2024 at 8:11 AM, digbeth said:

 

Imagine the furor if immigrants in say, the UK or Australia are allowed citizenship without being able to speak English

At least the Thai citizenship don't test you on history or cultural bits

 

However, citizenship application in the west is much quicker, more transparent, much less bureaucratic process. And yes, I met farang folks here with a Thai ID who cannot speak a sentence of Thai. They hired agents to get things done.

[SiameseOne]

On 7/26/2024 at 1:48 PM, heiri007 said:

 

However, citizenship application in the west is much quicker, more transparent, much less bureaucratic process. And yes, I met farang folks here with a Thai ID who cannot speak a sentence of Thai. They hired agents to get things done.

I was quoted 500k-1 mln baht from different agents and law firms.
Doubt that those money can lube anything anywhere in the process.
People who received TH passports say Thai wife/assistant is enough

[onthemoon]

11 hours ago, SiameseOne said:

I was quoted 500k-1 mln baht from different agents and law firms.
Doubt that those money can lube anything anywhere in the process.
People who received TH passports say Thai wife/assistant is enough

Wow! Seems to be a good business for these agencies and lawyers. No, you don't need them. But I am now considering to change my line of business... 😂

[DrJoy]

12 hours ago, SiameseOne said:

I was quoted 500k-1 mln baht from different agents and law firms.
Doubt that those money can lube anything anywhere in the process.
People who received TH passports say Thai wife/assistant is enough

Interesting bar stool gossip

[GarryP]

Coming through the arrivals this morning, the e-gates wouldn't work for me. Apparently, this was due to booking my air tickets using my British passport resulting in my boarding passes being linked to the same. As such, I had to have an immigration officer handle the entry and she asked as to which passport I'd used to buy my tickets. When told I'd used my British passport, she asked to see the same, but stamped my arrival in my Thai passport. 

[SiameseOne]

I had a conversation with M******** partners, they said the donation should be not less than 1 mln baht, to some government hospital, for example.
And 1 mln for their services, 50% upfront and 50% after the first interview.

"but none of my friends donated more than 15,000 baht"
"new changes, if you really want to get it. Otherwise everyone would be a Thai citizen"

Feel down.

 

Edited August 6 by SiameseOne

[david143]

donation is still 5000K THB
i paid on the day of Submission at SB
Red Cross Thai .
 

[kiwiaussie]

18 hours ago, SiameseOne said:

I had a conversation with M******** partners, they said the donation should be not less than 1 mln baht, to some government hospital, for example.
And 1 mln for their services, 50% upfront and 50% after the first interview.

"but none of my friends donated more than 15,000 baht"
"new changes, if you really want to get it. Otherwise everyone would be a Thai citizen"

Feel down.

 

When you apply yourself, these conditions mysteriously vanish.

 

https://www.thaicitizenship.com/thai-citizenship-lawyer-recommendations/

[onthemoon]

1 hour ago, kiwiaussie said:

When you apply yourself, these conditions mysteriously vanish.

 

https://www.thaicitizenship.com/thai-citizenship-lawyer-recommendations/

I 100% agree with what is said on this website. I keep telling people that if they want to hire someone, they should hire me: I will charge only THB 100,000 to read the list of required documents to them and later check whether they are complete! 😂

[onthemoon]

3 hours ago, david143 said:

donation is still 5000K THB
i paid on the day of Submission at SB
Red Cross Thai .
 

 

Donations to charity (with official receipt) are indeed required, and it was THB 5,000 when I applied. However, a donation of 1 million Baht to the lawyer's coffers is anybody's own decision. 

[david143]

10 minutes ago, onthemoon said:

 

Donations to charity (with official receipt) are indeed required, and it was THB 5,000 when I applied. However, a donation of 1 million Baht to the lawyer's coffers is anybody's own decision. 

exactly brother, 5K i paid to Red Cross on the day of submission documents, officer said go right now and pay the donation fees 1000 X 5 Receipt .
my total expenses was only 10100 THB
Nationality Fees : 5000 + 100
Donation: 5000THB
All other documents are prepared by my office.