Story Of My Thai Citizenship Application

[Kwarium]

On 5/7/2018 at 12:39 PM, sathuluv said:

Hi Kwarium, based on my recent experience in SB office for taking Oath.
Preparation:
a) My wife was chatting on LINE with the SB officer. And she asked for THB 3,000 for the accessories (garland, candle etc)for the oath taking. Don't ask me why its 3k. 

b)Suit with tie
c) All original documents (Passport, Yellow book, WP) and 2 copies of each. But, I carried my document package for safety (you never know what comes out of the pandora box of requirement!).
At the SB office:
1. Give your passport and copies
2. Once more you have to sign in Thai language (same as on the date you submitted the application)
3. Will call you for finger printing (same as on the date you submitted the application)
4. With the prepared garland and offerings they will invite you to move to the shrine or if you are a muslim Holy Quran to take the oath
5. The officer will read through the oath script you have to repeat them. I found it challenging and missing/mis-pronounce few words. My wife was laughing while she was taking the pictures.
6. Say bye to all and sign-off.
Hope this helps.

 

Thanks! That’s pretty much how my oath vist went, except the guy forgot to mention yellow book on the phone, and it wasn’t in my document bag! So I showed orig. work permit, orig. passport, and copy of yellow book. No garland or joss sticks. I’m pretty sure I held a bible while butchering the oath in Thai. The entire visit seems to be a bit of a formality, with fingerprinting the only practical bit. I have no idea what the oath language was all about, beyond my understanding of the concept of king, country, flag, loyalty, etc.

 

Btw- we parked at Central and walked out through the office tower next to Zen, straight across the road to SB. 

 

aidenai, that was an epic wait!

 

garryp, was your speed just luck of the draw?

 

Sww, too bad about the marriage not working out. 

Edited May 9, 2018 by Kwarium
Wrong guy mentioned in last line!

[Arkady]

35 minutes ago, Kwarium said:

Thanks! That’s pretty much how my oath vist went, except the guy forgot to mention yellow book on the phone, and it wasn’t in my document bag! So I showed orig. work permit, orig. passport, and copy of yellow book. No garland or joss sticks. I’m pretty sure I held a bible while butchering the oath in Thai. The entire visit seems to be a bit of a formality, with fingerprinting the only practical bit. I have no idea what the oath language was all about, beyond my understanding of the concept of king, country, flag, loyalty, etc.

 

Mrs Arkady told the officer that I wanted the Buddhist wording before I could answer the question about my religion.  She decided that my adherence to the C of E faith into which I was baptised and confirmed was somewhat tentative, given my sporadic attendances in church only for weddings, funerals and to admire famous works of art on European trips. Being considered ripe for conversion, I went along with the Buddhist text and didn't understand any more of it than you did of the Christian one.

[GarryP]

16 hours ago, Kwarium said:

Thanks! That’s pretty much how my oath vist went, except the guy forgot to mention yellow book on the phone, and it wasn’t in my document bag! So I showed orig. work permit, orig. passport, and copy of yellow book. No garland or joss sticks. I’m pretty sure I held a bible while butchering the oath in Thai. The entire visit seems to be a bit of a formality, with fingerprinting the only practical bit. I have no idea what the oath language was all about, beyond my understanding of the concept of king, country, flag, loyalty, etc.

 

Btw- we parked at Central and walked out through the office tower next to Zen, straight across the road to SB. 

 

aidenai, that was an epic wait!

 

garryp, was your speed just luck of the draw?

 

Sww, too bad about the marriage not working out. 

No, the speed of my application was not the luck of the draw. My wife diagnosed with cancer and the long term outlook was not good. As such, I went down to the MOI near Sanam Luang, to request that they speed up my application. After a long wait I managed to talk to a couple of officials who agreed to move my application up as a special case.

 

When called for the interview at the MOI I went with my son, as my wife was too sick to attend. I thought everything went as well as it could and that I would just have to wait for the next step. However,  citizenship applications were then moved out to BORA in Lamlukka and I learned a number of months later (can't recall exactly) that I had to go through the whole interview process again (I had about 72 hours notice). The people at BORA noticed that the number on my application was more recent than some of the other cases they had just started to consider so it rang alarm bells. By that time my wife had already died. I went to the interview at Lamlukka with my son again. I got to meet the chairman in private before the interviews started and presented my case, and he was fair and reasonable. I still had to take the interview before the committee and put my case to them too but that was expected. The long and the short of it is that I am now a Thai citizen. 

 

To conclude, my case was speeded up because my wife was dying.          

[samran]

On 08/05/2018 at 10:12 PM, Arkady said:

Yes. Fortunately, everything got back after the interview and all was plain sailing thereafter. There were a few moments when I felt like Josef K in Kafka’s The Castle though, never knowing what curved ball the administrators in the castle were going to throw next.

 

Two hiccups for my wife’s application.

 

First was for family reasons we had to move back to Australia for a couple of years. We got called up with about 72 hours notice that her interview was set about 8 months into our return. A lighting visit was impractical so we spent a Friday afternoon sorting faxes to special branch and MOI asking them to put her application on hold while we were away. 

 

Fast forward three years and we were back, and with another letter we were literally on the top of the list, except then the PDRC did their thing and we were worried that our application might literally go up in smoke if things got nasty. 

 

Then the coup happened and as luck would have it this Minister was for some reason quite enlightened, so as far as I can gather my wife was literally first cab off the rank at the MOI interviews apart from a police general who got an unofficial top of the queue ticket when he and his  genuinely lovely Chinese wife were whisked in for what I’m sure was a rubber stamping excercise. 

 

The only time I got nervous at the interview was when I was asked how I was a thai national (so as to pass it onto my wife). Although by birth it was overseas and I know that some in the MOI take a dim view of dual nationality, so I was momentarily worried. But I answered honestly ‘my mother is Thai, from Bangkok’ and that seemed satisfy the bloke who asked it. 

 

Although it takes longer I am slightly envious of the whole ceremony and oath swearing.

 

all my wife got was a stamped photocopy of the RG pages stating her name, a standard civil service cover letter with the Garuda at the top signed by SB. No certificate,  no nothing! 

Edited May 10, 2018 by samran

[qualtrough]

I have my two missing documents now (พงด 50 for 2560 and updated salary letter) and have scheduled a meeting at the SB  to submit those and take the culture/language test. Need to bring my two witnesses again too. Fun day for them!

 

I have gathered what I have found so far here regarding questions that might appear on the test:

 

Number of Provinces: 77

Number of consonants/vowels: 44/32

Age for 1st ID card: 7

Age of Majority: 20

Flag: Nation/Religion/King - Red/White/Blue respectively

Rama 9 Birthday: 05/12

Rama 10 Birthday: 28/07

Rama 9 Queen's Birthday: 12/08

 

If anyone spots any mistakes please let me know.

 

If anyone has any other questions/facts that might be ask PLEASE chip in here! If anyone adds some more I will summarize again and post as a resource.

 

BTW, is the multiple choice in Thai? Not an issue, but curious.

[Arkady]

35 minutes ago, qualtrough said:

I have my two missing documents now (พงด 50 for 2560 and updated salary letter) and have scheduled a meeting at the SB  to submit those and take the culture/language test. Need to bring my two witnesses again too. Fun day for them!

 

I have gathered what I have found so far here regarding questions that might appear on the test:

 

Number of Provinces: 77

Number of consonants/vowels: 44/32

Age for 1st ID card: 7

Age of Majority: 20

Flag: Nation/Religion/King - Red/White/Blue respectively

Rama 9 Birthday: 05/12

Rama 10 Birthday: 28/07

Rama 9 Queen's Birthday: 12/08

 

If anyone spots any mistakes please let me know.

 

If anyone has any other questions/facts that might be ask PLEASE chip in here! If anyone adds some more I will summarize again and post as a resource.

 

BTW, is the multiple choice in Thai? Not an issue, but curious.

 

I was asked questions about the nationality process, e.g.

At what point do officially become Thai? On publication in the RG.

Who the authority to grant Thai citizenship?  It is up to the discretion of the Interior Minister.

How long to wait to vote.  5 years?

I think I was asked on what days you can apply for citizenship at SB. Any working day of the week from 8.30am to 4.30pm.

It's a good idea to read the Nationality Act, at least in translation.

 

Re Royal Family they like to ask you to recognise their formal titles.

 

What is the constitutional structure of Thailand?  A constitutional monarchy with the King as head of state.

 

They can ask who is the PM or Interior Minister.  

 

 

[qualtrough]

13 hours ago, Arkady said:

 

I was asked questions about the nationality process, e.g.

At what point do officially become Thai? On publication in the RG.

Who the authority to grant Thai citizenship?  It is up to the discretion of the Interior Minister.

How long to wait to vote.  5 years?

I think I was asked on what days you can apply for citizenship at SB. Any working day of the week from 8.30am to 4.30pm.

It's a good idea to read the Nationality Act, at least in translation.

 

Re Royal Family they like to ask you to recognise their formal titles.

 

What is the constitutional structure of Thailand?  A constitutional monarchy with the King as head of state.

 

They can ask who is the PM or Interior Minister.  

 

 

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply with that helpful information!

 

Were the questions in Thai or in English? Oral answers or written (Multiple choice?)

[yankee99]

6 minutes ago, qualtrough said:

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply with that helpful information!

 

Were the questions in Thai or in English? Oral answers or written (Multiple choice?)

Multiple choice written in thai

[qualtrough]

5 hours ago, yankee99 said:

Multiple choice written in thai

Thanks! Quite a relief to have that confirmed. I would not like to have to worry about spelling ราชกิจจานุเบกษา correctly! 

[Kwarium]

GarryP- sorry for your loss. It’s awesome that all the players came together and did the right thing for you and your son! 

[Kwarium]

Qualtrough- don’t forget there are many mentions in these 254 pages of subtle and not so subtle assistance offered in the form of pointing, winking, nudging, etc. I think you should put the pen on an answer and hesitate/ look up to see if your intended choice gets a reaction! Good luck. 

[Arkady]

11 hours ago, yankee99 said:

Multiple choice written in thai

 

Everything to do with the citizenship application is in Thai, which is as it should be. Nevertheless, you are allowed to have your spouse or other Thai speaking helper translate the questions for you which makes it far less daunting, if your Thai reading ability is not up to it.

[samran]

Asking for a friend...

 

I might impose on the good contributors to this thread. This thread is now 250 pages long and 11 years old and I'm not finding the search function any help.

 

I've got a mate who's working here - good job etc etc and Thai wife. What are the basic requirements these days for one in this situation?

 

I must admit I used to pay a huge amount of attention to this thread but haven't recently, so am unsure of there is any thing 'new' that the SB require these days that they didn't a few years back. The discussion of late seems to indicate there are a few more things one needs to be aware of, and a few potential twists and turns.

 

Many thanks!

Edited May 12, 2018 by samran

[Neeranam]

14 minutes ago, samran said:

Asking for a friend...

 

I might impose on the good contributors to this thread. This thread is now 250 pages long and 11 years old and I'm not finding the search function any help.

 

I've got a mate who's working here - good job etc etc and Thai wife. What are the basic requirements these days for one in this situation?

 

I must admit I used to pay a huge amount of attention to this thread but haven't recently, so am unsure of there is any thing 'new' that the SB require these days that they didn't a few years back. The discussion of late seems to indicate there are a few more things one needs to be aware of, and a few potential twists and turns.

 

Many thanks!

I've been reading this thread for years and things seem much easier more. I applied last December, and got my NIA interview on Jan. My application was sent to MOI in March.

The main requirements seen to be the tax for 3 years.

 

Off topic, I went all the way to Oz last month to see my favorite Cats play at the MCC. If that's you in the avatar, you ruined it all for me ?!

[samran]

8 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

I've been reading this thread for years and things seem much easier more. I applied last December, and got my NIA interview on Jan. My application was sent to MOI in March.

The main requirements seen to be the tax for 3 years.

 

Off topic, I went all the way to Oz last month to see my favorite Cats play at the MCC. If that's you in the avatar, you ruined it all for me ?!

Thanks for responding so quickly. What was the income threshold for you being married? I know they've raised it for the Thai man married to a foreign woman from 15K to 30K. Has it gone up for foreign men married to a Thai woman?

 

Also did you need a history of donations?

 

And yes, sorry about that game. Bashar is one of the most under rated Tigers players at the moment, you get it to him and he'll get it into the forward line for you. Perhaps even kick a goal or two. Thought he was a shoe-in for the Norm Smith in the granny last year, but it really was Dusty's year.  13 votes to 10. My favourite player to watch.

 

Sorry about beating you guys. The cats are a fantastic team and I get nervous anytime we played. You guys, Adelaide and Sydney all are able to beat us consistently.

 

Ah to have an MCC membership. I've had an application in for 12 years. I think I'm about 5 or 6 years off. Even harder to get than Thai citizenship I think!!

 

 

[yankee99]

You definitely need seasoned charitable donation and i dont know the minimum but 65,000 gets max points on the SB score. 

[ubonjoe]

27 minutes ago, samran said:

What was the income threshold for you being married?

As far as I know it is still 40k baht income.

[Neeranam]

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

As far as I know it is still 40k baht income.

Yes, that's correct.

[Neeranam]

1 hour ago, samran said:

Thanks for responding so quickly. What was the income threshold for you being married? I know they've raised it for the Thai man married to a foreign woman from 15K to 30K. Has it gone up for foreign men married to a Thai woman?

 

Also did you need a history of donations?

 

And yes, sorry about that game. Bashar is one of the most under rated Tigers players at the moment, you get it to him and he'll get it into the forward line for you. Perhaps even kick a goal or two. Thought he was a shoe-in for the Norm Smith in the granny last year, but it really was Dusty's year.  13 votes to 10. My favourite player to watch.

 

Sorry about beating you guys. The cats are a fantastic team and I get nervous anytime we played. You guys, Adelaide and Sydney all are able to beat us consistently.

 

Ah to have an MCC membership. I've had an application in for 12 years. I think I'm about 5 or 6 years off. Even harder to get than Thai citizenship I think!!

 

 

Actually, I thought it was the captain of Hawthorn, Roughead, shows how much I know. I'm not a member, but my sister and her kids are. I think they may have got it due to a relative being a great cricketer, and seemingly having a stand named after him, Bill Ponsford. 

The club I would want to join is the Royal Mel golf club, which sadly I didn't get a game at. However, Victoria GC was really nice!

 

I only showed donations of 5000 baht to the rotary Club, and a couple of thousand for a couple of years.

There are many charities willing to help here.

Edited May 12, 2018 by Neeranam

[samran]

4 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Actually, I thought it was the captain of Hawthorn, Roughead, shows how much I know. I'm not a member, but my sister and her kids are. I think they may have got it due to a relative being a great cricketer, and seemingly having a stand named after him, Bill Ponsford. 

The club I would want to join is the Royal Mel golf club, which sadly I didn't get a game at. However, Victoria GC was really nice!

 

I only showed donations of 5000 baht to the rotary Club, and a couple of thousand for a couple of years.

There are many charities willing to help here.

Misread your post and read it as ‘last year’ so thought you were referring to the finals where we beat Geelong.

 

thanks for the info on the donations. Do you have to have a few years worth or just have donations that aren’t made a few weeks before application? 

 

Thanks again.

[Neeranam]

2 hours ago, samran said:

Misread your post and read it as ‘last year’ so thought you were referring to the finals where we beat Geelong.

 

thanks for the info on the donations. Do you have to have a few years worth or just have donations that aren’t made a few weeks before application? 

 

Thanks again.

I was told it just had to be 5000, and not obvious that it was made just for the application. I threw in a couple of other years just to make it look better, consistent.

I had heard it had to be 5 years, but they told me 3 years was ok.

 

I never saw the final last year, but the semi was amazing!!

Edited May 12, 2018 by Neeranam

[qualtrough]

On 5/11/2018 at 7:38 PM, Kwarium said:

Qualtrough- don’t forget there are many mentions in these 254 pages of subtle and not so subtle assistance offered in the form of pointing, winking, nudging, etc. I think you should put the pen on an answer and hesitate/ look up to see if your intended choice gets a reaction! Good luck. 

Good to know, thanks!

[qualtrough]

On 5/11/2018 at 9:20 PM, Arkady said:

 

Everything to do with the citizenship application is in Thai, which is as it should be. Nevertheless, you are allowed to have your spouse or other Thai speaking helper translate the questions for you which makes it far less daunting, if your Thai reading ability is not up to it.

I have been doing everything by myself and the language isn't an issue. I just want to be sure I know the answers that are expected so I can bone up on them. Prior to this I had no idea that ID cards are needed from seven years for example.

[onthemoon]

3 hours ago, qualtrough said:

I have been doing everything by myself and the language isn't an issue. I just want to be sure I know the answers that are expected so I can bone up on them. Prior to this I had no idea that ID cards are needed from seven years for example.

Same here too. 

[Neeranam]

20 hours ago, qualtrough said:

I have been doing everything by myself and the language isn't an issue. I just want to be sure I know the answers that are expected so I can bone up on them. Prior to this I had no idea that ID cards are needed from seven years for example.

And they need a new one at age 15, for a girl, changes from dek ying to nang sao.

[sathuluv]

Guys just checked the RG website today and found that there was a list published today (15.05.18) and my name is in there.

Wow!. Good feeling. But, still many more steps to go isn't it.

What would be the next steps now, Shall I call up SB officer and ask for it or I should wait for them to call me back?

 

Appreciate your feedback.

[GabbaGabbaHey]

52 minutes ago, sathuluv said:

Guys just checked the RG website today and found that there was a list published today (15.05.18) and my name is in there.

Wow!. Good feeling. But, still many more steps to go isn't it.

What would be the next steps now, Shall I call up SB officer and ask for it or I should wait for them to call me back?

 

Appreciate your feedback.

Congratulations Sathuluv! not that many steps left and just few months to the ID... From what I have read SB should issue the letter shortly, others can confirm. Unless you're in a hurry, waiting for 2-3 weeks and calling if nothing has happened seems relevant to me.

[GarryP]

1 hour ago, sathuluv said:

Guys just checked the RG website today and found that there was a list published today (15.05.18) and my name is in there.

Wow!. Good feeling. But, still many more steps to go isn't it.

What would be the next steps now, Shall I call up SB officer and ask for it or I should wait for them to call me back?

 

Appreciate your feedback.

Congratulations.

[onthemoon]

8 hours ago, sathuluv said:

Guys just checked the RG website today and found that there was a list published today (15.05.18) and my name is in there.

Wow!. Good feeling. But, still many more steps to go isn't it.

What would be the next steps now, Shall I call up SB officer and ask for it or I should wait for them to call me back?

 

Appreciate your feedback.

Congratulations!

[aidenai]

9 hours ago, sathuluv said:

Guys just checked the RG website today and found that there was a list published today (15.05.18) and my name is in there.

Congratulations.

 

9 hours ago, sathuluv said:

Wow!. Good feeling. But, still many more steps to go isn't it.

About two weeks after the publication in the RG I got a message from SB that I could pick up my Naturalisation Certificate. With that I made an appointment with the Amphur for my Thai ID card. It couldn't be done by walk-in. From publication in the RG to the issuance of the Thai ID card took in my case about one month.

 

Good luck.