Story Of My Thai Citizenship Application

[aidenai]

Congrats! The fact that you were able to wait it out shows you have what it takes to be Thai.

Are you okay, mate?

[dbrenn]

On the subject of the new requirement to renounce existing nationality, the Special Branch is giving new applicants the attached letter template as an example of what is expected. Basically, the applicant is now required to substitute his/her own details into the letter and and sign/notarise the declaration at the embassy. Whether or not there is a legal mechanism to enforce such a declaration and subsequent renunciation of original nationality is open to question.

Submission of this letter is required before the Special Branch forwards the completed application to the Interior Ministry.

[Mario2008]

It is not a renunciation, only a declaration that you intend to renounce your own nationality. Intentions can change and some nationalities you can't renounce as some countries simply don't allow it.

But is sure shows that they want you to renounce your old nationality when you want to become a Thai citizen, as many countries do when you want to opt for their nationality.

[aidenai]

On the subject of the new requirement to renounce existing nationality, the Special Branch is giving new applicants the attached letter template as an example of what is expected. Basically, the applicant is now required to substitute his/her own details into the letter and and sign/notarise the declaration at the embassy. Whether or not there is a legal mechanism to enforce such a declaration and subsequent renunciation of original nationality is open to question.

Submission of this letter is required before the Special Branch forwards the completed application to the Interior Ministry.

Thank you very much for posting this, dbrenn.

[dbrenn]

It is not a renunciation, only a declaration that you intend to renounce your own nationality. Intentions can change and some nationalities you can't renounce as some countries simply don't allow it.

But is sure shows that they want you to renounce your old nationality when you want to become a Thai citizen, as many countries do when you want to opt for their nationality.

That's my take - the letter is simply a statement of intention at the time of writing, but you can always change your mind.

Actual renunciation (of British nationality) involves a lodgement of a form and subsequent process that is not referenced in the letter.

[Arkady]

So far this declaration is all that is required but the Interior Ministry will follow up by informing your embassy, if and when your Thai citizenship comes through. For nationals of certain countries this will likely lead to the automatic revocation of your original nationality, if you don't do it voluntarily first, e.g. China, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, Japan and this case probably covers well over half the applications for Thai nationality. For many, for example, Indians, Singaporeans and Malaysians, it may not even be viable to try to maintain their original nationality, as their laws are clear cut and their immigration officers are draconian about examining passports for evidence of a second nationality. For Indians, on the other hand, it is not a big deal as they are entitled to Overseas Indian Citizenship which not really citizenship but is a stamp in the passport that entitles them to permanent residence and full investment privileges in India as if they were still Indian (all rights except voting). Nationals of Taiwan, Bangladesh and Pakistan are allowed to obtain a second nationality but most Asian countries do not permit it. There are very few non-Asians applying for Thai nationality and some farang countries, e.g. most of Northern Europe excluding France and the UK, do not permit a second nationality by naturalization either. This being the case, the shadowy Interior Ministry mandarins may feel the latest move is sufficient to protect national security. If they wish to go further and require evidence of actual renunciation, it is possible that amendments to the Nationality Act would be required that would also affect Thais naturalized as something else and luk kreung. My guess is that it will always be easier to let sleeping dogs lie and leave things ambiguous and open to various contradictory interpretations which seems to be the position most favoured by Thai law makers. Unfortunately the case of Thaksin and his Montenegrin citizenship may have a bearing on this. No doubt government lawyers have been poring over the Nationality Act to see if they can revoke his Thai citizenship and make him ineligible for political office.

[TheChiefJustice]

I wonder with some concern how this Declaration of Renunciation might affect those who have already applied for Thai citizenship. Take me, for example - I applied in May 2007 and my application was officially submitted to the Interior Ministry in July 2007. I had my formal interview with the Interior Ministry in July 2008. Since then, almost three years since my application, not a peep.

I wonder how, if at all, the Declaration of Renunciation will affect my application. Will I be required to submit such a declaration in the future even though it was not a requirement when I submitted my application? Any thoughts?

I am an Australian citizen. I was told by the Special Branch that I scored 92 points on my original citizenship application in 2007 - not that that has any bearing on this issue.

[TheChiefJustice]

Sorry for flogging a dead horse. Anyone?

[EdtheTruth]

Sorry if this has been answered elsewhere, but I can't seem to find it. What does it mean to say that those married to a Thai are exempt from the Thai language requirement? Does that just mean you don't have to sing the songs and take the tests, but you lose those possible points? Or do you automatically get those points without doing anything?

Confused, thanks for any clarification.

[aidenai]

What does it mean to say that those married to a Thai are exempt from the Thai language requirement?

I haven't heard about that. All your interviews are in the Thai language.

[KhunHay]

I read through all the info on this site and on one point I am still not quite clear as reports seem to be contradicting:

Is it a requirement to have permament residency status to apply for Thai nationality?

I am already living in Thailand 5 years and I have had yearly VISA extensions 4 times already, plus a work permit. The VISA I had was always a Non immigramt B visa.

Now on some posts I read that this would be sufficient to apply but on other posts I read that only a permament residency will work and that even non immigrant B visas for 5 years straight is not enough.

What is correct now? Can I apply or not?

The latest Interior Ministry guidelines have just been posted on Special Branch's website http://61.90.151.131/upload/pb/naturaliziation.pdf. Check them out. I have only had time to glance at them but noticed two things immediately: they have posted the application form for the first time, although they in fact fill this in for you with the information you provide; very importantly the allocation of the qualifying points seems to have changed significantly, e.g. the points for knowledge of Thai have been increased from 10 to 15 and the points for residence have been increased from 10 to 20, making 35 for these two categories (I haven't identified what has been reduced yet).

Under the latest system you will unfortunately get nil out of 20 for your residence. I think it starts starts with 5 points for those with a tabien baan but no cert of residence or alien book for more than 5 years and the max of 20 goes to those with full PR documentation for 10 years. There is no way to earn points just by being in Thailand on a non-imm visa.

For more specific questions about your case, if you are interested to apply at any time in the future, please go and ask at bdg 24 National Police HQ. They are pleased to answer all enquiries and the answers are often not what you would imagine. If you learn anything new, please share it here.

Your link is in Thai language. Any english version? Many thx.

[EdtheTruth]

This is from a post earlier in this thread by Arkady.

"Juat learned from Special Branch that the Ministry of Interior now requires applicants to sing the National and Royal Anthems from memory without looking at cheat sheets and they are also more serious about singing them right without mistakes in the words or the notes and knowing the meaning. The good news, however, is that, if you are married to a Thai national, you no longer have to sing them at all or do the Thai language tests at Police HQ or the Interior."

Just wondering what it means to not have to sing the songs or take the Thai tests. As I asked before, does that mean you get the points anyway?

-Ed

[Arkady]

This is from a post earlier in this thread by Arkady.

"Juat learned from Special Branch that the Ministry of Interior now requires applicants to sing the National and Royal Anthems from memory without looking at cheat sheets and they are also more serious about singing them right without mistakes in the words or the notes and knowing the meaning. The good news, however, is that, if you are married to a Thai national, you no longer have to sing them at all or do the Thai language tests at Police HQ or the Interior."

Just wondering what it means to not have to sing the songs or take the Thai tests. As I asked before, does that mean you get the points anyway?

-Ed

It later turned out that Special Branch will still let you sing from a sheet but the Interior Ministry now expects applicants to sing from memory when they go before the committee at the ministry. Applicants who have Thai wives may now opt not to sing, read or write but of course, they cannot expect to get any points for these tests, if they decline to take them. I am pasting a post of mine from another recent thread (http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Thai-Nationality-Application-t371416.html&st=25&gopid=3671668#entry3671668)that relates to this question, in case any one is interested.

"I have done this recently at Police HQ under the new points system that came in in March this year. Now there are 15 points for knowledge of Thai language, compared to 10 before. You get 8 points for being able to speak and understand Thai, 2 points for being able to sing the National and Royal Anthems, 2 points for being able to read Thai and 3 points for being able to write it. Previously there were 5 points for speaking and understanding Thai and another 5 for being able to sing the two anthems. Under the 2008 Nationality Act you are exempted from the requirement to have knowledge of the Thai language, if you are a married to a Thai citizen. They will still assign you a score for your speaking and understanding but the reading, writing and singing tests are optional. In fact they may assume you don't want to do them. So make sure you let them know you want to do the optional tests. The singing is done in front of the boss who also interviews you with your Thai wife, if you have one. He lets you sing from whatever song sheet you want but warns you that you will have to sing without a crib sheet at the Interior Ministry, under the ministry's new (unwritten) rules. If you are fairly confident in your Thai and singing, you should certainly do the full Thai tests. I got the full 15 points which I am sure does no harm, even if it doesn't speed things up for you.

For the speaking and understanding I was not set any special tests. I had had several meetings with the officer handling my application by then and she assigned me points based on those conversations. The reading and writing is quite easy. There is also no set format. They will usually ask you to read aloud some documents they have at hand that will probably be to do with applications for Thai nationality. Likewise the writing will probably be some simple things to do with nationality, the police, special branch etc. Of course, it may be different in each case because it is up the officer. The new general knowledge of Thailand test (10 points) is compulsory for all applicants. It is a multiple choice set format but I believe the questions are changed regularly, so applicants can't pass on the information. Again there will probably be some questions about the process for applying for citizenship, as well as probably about the Royal Family, system of government and general questions about Thailand. If you can't read, you can have the questions read out to you but it is much easier if you can read them for yourself. The Thai is medium level and requires some knowledge of basic formal Thai and rajasap. Hint 1: bone up on the Nationality Act and the Interior Ministry guidelines on applying for Thai citizenship in the original before you go for this test; hint 2 take your time and read all the choices before answering because there is often a false friend that looks right at first glance but isn't. This test is probably the hardest part of the testing at Police HQ and requires the most advanced knowledge of Thai in my opinion, even though it is not specifically part of the Thai language requirement but that is not much different than what is required by Western countries these days. There is another 5 points for personality which I believe is assigned by the boss based on your interview. They will tell your points in the tests. I didn't ask what I got for personality but things seemed to go well. Most of the other points you can work out for yourself, if you read the guidelines as they are pretty clear based on length of PR, age, education level and salary. I got just under 90."

[Arkady]

I noticed a letter in the Bkk Post today from a well known Thai businessman suggesting that the Interior Ministry should review the Nationality Act with a view to stripping Thaksin of his Thai citizenship now that it has been confirmed by Montenegro and Thaksin himself that he is a naturalized Montenegrin. The letter quoted a former dean of the Thammasat U law faculty saying the Nationality Act provides for the revocation of Thai citizenship of Thai who has acquired another nationality by naturalization. He was presumably referring to Section 22:

"A person of Thai nationality who has been naturalized as an alien, or who has renounced Thai nationality, or whose Thai nationality has been revoked, shall lose Thai nationality."

This is poorly written (perhaps deliberately) which leaves it ambiguous. While it appears to provide for revocation of Thai nationality, it stops short of saying that Thais who naturalize as aliens shall automatically have their Thai citizenship revoked. The Foreign Ministry interprets it to mean that reouncing Thai citizenship is voluntary and goes out of its way to renew passports for Thais living overseas who clearly have another nationality. Immigration interprets it to mean that it is illegal for those naturalized as aliens to retain Thai nationality and sometimes gives them a hard time entering the country. The Interior Ministry once asked the Foreign Ministry to provide it with lists of Thais known by Thai embassies abroad to have been naturalized as aliens with a view to announcing the revocation of their Thai citizenship in the Royal Gazette, although that was in the early 70s. I don't know of any more recent interpretation from the Interior Ministry but that doesn't mean there hasn't been one. (See this thread for more discussion on this topic: Immigration Directive Regarding Dual Nationality - Thailand Forum

I have been expecting the Thaksin case to produce sentiment of this type and wouldn't be at all surprised to see the Interior Ministry coming out with a new interpretation of the Act that would allow the revocation of Thaksin's Thai citizenship, or even amending the Act to remove all ambiguity over dual nationality. This would not really affect Thaksin too much. He would face three possible scenarios: 1) he stays abroad and doesn't need his Thai nationality anyway which is currently useless to him without a passport, while Montegrin passports provide more visa free travel anyway; 2) he stays abroad for a long time but eventually gets a pardon and comes back as an elderly man and is allowed a fast track naturalization as a Thai on the grounds that he is a former citzen, although naturalized Thais are not permitted to hold public office; and 3)Pheua Thai forms a government and annuls the revocation of Thaksin's citizenship by the Abhisit government and restores his citizenship and political rights. Losing his Thai citizenship would not hugely inconvenience Thaksin under any of these scenarios, although he would understandably not be happy about it. On the other hand, reviewing or amending the Nationality Act in such a way simply to spite Thaksin would cause a great deal of grief to thousands of other Thais who have been naturalized as aliens. Perhaps the fact that the government was too scared to strip Thaksin of his police rank can be taken as sign in this respect. In fact he retired from the police as only a lowly captain and spent most of his service studying abroad or moonlighting and running his own businesses. The promotion to Lieutenant Colonel occurred when he became prime minister many years after his retirement from the police and, as such, one would have thought it would be logical and simple step to strip him of his rank or just bust him back down to Captain. Worst of all would be, if the Interior Ministry amended the law and took action against just about everyone else but left Thaksin unscathed out of fear of reprisals.

[phomsanuk]

Hmm, and I thought this was some kind of a pipe dream

[Arkady]

I wonder with some concern how this Declaration of Renunciation might affect those who have already applied for Thai citizenship. Take me, for example - I applied in May 2007 and my application was officially submitted to the Interior Ministry in July 2007. I had my formal interview with the Interior Ministry in July 2008. Since then, almost three years since my application, not a peep.

I wonder how, if at all, the Declaration of Renunciation will affect my application. Will I be required to submit such a declaration in the future even though it was not a requirement when I submitted my application? Any thoughts?

I am an Australian citizen. I was told by the Special Branch that I scored 92 points on my original citizenship application in 2007 - not that that has any bearing on this issue.

I don't think this would affect your case because the October 2009 Interior Ministry guidelines were not in effect when you applied. The process takes such a long time that things are bound to change during the course of individual applications and I don't think the Interior Ministry would make new requirements retroactive. For example, they are not likely to chase up pending applicants for another B5,000 once the application fee is raised from B5,000 to 10,000. On the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised if applicants who applied under the old guidelines but haven't been before the Interior Ministry committee got popped the question by the committee because they will probably now be asking every one for a verbal confirmation of intention to renounce existing nationality. Since you have already passed the committee, that shouldn't be an issue. It would do no harm to ask Special Branch directly. Although they can never give a definitive answer about the workings of the ministry, their guess would be better than ours.

[TheChiefJustice]

Thank you, Arkady. This is what I suspected but it is good to get your input. I am now trying to use a couple of my contacts to speed the process along. We shall see - but I won't hold my breath!

[nickcar]

I have read these posts with great interest, particularly as I have just completed the process with the police. My original application was around august 2009. The head of the department didn't give me the choice of singing with a cheat sheet so I had to do it from memory. I had spent many hours learning it by heart anyway. Had a pleasant discussion with him at the end of which he told me he had no problem. Although I was given the "test" - 10 or so questions about Thai culture etc, the policeman assisted with any part of the questions I could not read. I was not specifically tested for reading or writing although the policemen insisted that I sign the documents in Thai.

I also had to present letters to immigration and the local town hall and also my embassy. The local town hall to arrange a Thai Name and the embassy to guarantee that I was old enough to make a sensible choice ( I am 65 but look a little younger )

At some later point (around Jan 2010) I was interviewed again at the local MacDonalds - presumably by the secret service?

I have just recently been given a copy of the letter from the police to the interior ministry which states that I got more than 50 points and fullfilled all the requiremenst etc. I have no idea how many points I actually got although I would expect it to me over 75.

I was warned the the ministry might take between 1 and 10 years!!,

Any advise on how to speed up the ministry would be well received.

Regards

Nick

[skyaslimit]

No offence

But

To me this story seems like a big true lie which ever forum I visit, I find the same f*****g story all around , is there any one else been through this ? if yes please contact me at

[Arkady]

I have read these posts with great interest, particularly as I have just completed the process with the police. My original application was around august 2009. The head of the department didn't give me the choice of singing with a cheat sheet so I had to do it from memory. I had spent many hours learning it by heart anyway. Had a pleasant discussion with him at the end of which he told me he had no problem. Although I was given the "test" - 10 or so questions about Thai culture etc, the policeman assisted with any part of the questions I could not read. I was not specifically tested for reading or writing although the policemen insisted that I sign the documents in Thai.

I also had to present letters to immigration and the local town hall and also my embassy. The local town hall to arrange a Thai Name and the embassy to guarantee that I was old enough to make a sensible choice ( I am 65 but look a little younger )

At some later point (around Jan 2010) I was interviewed again at the local MacDonalds - presumably by the secret service?

I have just recently been given a copy of the letter from the police to the interior ministry which states that I got more than 50 points and fullfilled all the requiremenst etc. I have no idea how many points I actually got although I would expect it to me over 75.

I was warned the the ministry might take between 1 and 10 years!!,

Any advise on how to speed up the ministry would be well received.

Regards

Nick

Yes, the interview in McDonalds at Amarin Plaza is with the National Intelligence Agency. Their office is somewhere in Dusit and they are decent enough to meet applicants at a more accessible and central location. If you are married to a Thai, they will interview you as a couple. The interview is to gather and verify information about your circumstances in Thailand and about your marriage and how you met, if you are married to a Thai. I don't know what checking they do afterwards. It probably depends on the case. The interview normally takes place within 2 months of your application being accepted by Special Branch and is part of the checking by various agencies including the Narcotics Bureau, the Criminal Records Dept etc.

Re singing you have to ask permission to use a cheat sheet. I was allowed to do so but warned that the Ministry no longer allows cheat sheets. However, I don't know whether the Ministry asks applicants married to Thais to sing at all or gives them the option, as Special Branch now does. The reading and writing tests were only introduced under the latest points allocation guidelines which came in in I think in March 2010 and assigns 15 points for knowledge of Thai language, up from 10. I had to ask to do the reading and writing tests, as well as the singing, but I don't know if this is always the case - perhaps just in the case of applicants with Thai wives. The reading and writing tests I did were ad hoc and involved reading out a memo on the officer's desk and writing out something very short and official sounding dictated by the officer. Some knowledge of civil service Thai is required. I got full marks for Thai language and singing was told my points for all the tests except "personality" (5 points) on the spot. I calculated I probably got 88 or 89 overall - not much I can do about not having a PhD etc.

Even 1-10 years may be too conservative. I was shown a new naturalization certificate, issued 11 years after application. I have been told that only extremely high up connections can be of help in speeding up the process. I take this to mean at Interior Minister level or higher and the connection should remain in office long enough to see the process concluded which may not be very easy in Thai politics.

[aidenai]

Yes, the interview in McDonalds at Amarin Plaza is with the National Intelligence Agency. Their office is somewhere in Dusit and they are decent enough to meet applicants at a more accessible and central location. If you are married to a Thai, they will interview you as a couple. The interview is to gather and verify information about your circumstances in Thailand and about your marriage and how you met, if you are married to a Thai. I don't know what checking they do afterwards. It probably depends on the case. The interview normally takes place within 2 months of your application being accepted by Special Branch and is part of the checking by various agencies including the Narcotics Bureau, the Criminal Records Dept etc.

Our interview took place one month after the application at the Special Branch.

Lucky bloke I was. The investigators came to my province and we had our interview at the The Provincial Administrative Organisation, 5 minutes away from my house.

Three months later my application was sent to the Interior Ministry.

Thanks again, Arkady for all your time informing the members at this board. :jap:

[nickcar]

Yes, thanks Arkady for all your helpfull comments.

Regards

Nick

[davelec]

I wonder with some concern how this Declaration of Renunciation might affect those who have already applied for Thai citizenship. Take me, for example - I applied in May 2007 and my application was officially submitted to the Interior Ministry in July 2007. I had my formal interview with the Interior Ministry in July 2008. Since then, almost three years since my application, not a peep.

I wonder how, if at all, the Declaration of Renunciation will affect my application. Will I be required to submit such a declaration in the future even though it was not a requirement when I submitted my application? Any thoughts?

I am an Australian citizen. I was told by the Special Branch that I scored 92 points on my original citizenship application in 2007 - not that that has any bearing on this issue.

I don't think this would affect your case because the October 2009 Interior Ministry guidelines were not in effect when you applied. The process takes such a long time that things are bound to change during the course of individual applications and I don't think the Interior Ministry would make new requirements retroactive. For example, they are not likely to chase up pending applicants for another B5,000 once the application fee is raised from B5,000 to 10,000. On the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised if applicants who applied under the old guidelines but haven't been before the Interior Ministry committee got popped the question by the committee because they will probably now be asking every one for a verbal confirmation of intention to renounce existing nationality. Since you have already passed the committee, that shouldn't be an issue. It would do no harm to ask Special Branch directly. Although they can never give a definitive answer about the workings of the ministry, their guess would be better than ours.

I know of one guy here 30 years who has gone through this process, his ratings etc are impeccable. He has spent a great deal on it already and several years down the line he was informed if he wanted it to finally go through 'quickly' it would be 250k, rather a lot of tea money. He declined and the latest figure they gave him to expedite his case was 500.000 baht. !!

Two things strike me, one is why do these people think their crappy passport is worth that to anyone, and second why any falang would want to pay it after forking out substantial sums already. Also, who would want a passport from one of the most corrupt countries in the world anyway even without the corruption involved in getting one. On the other hand any old Thai tart can marry a bloke from the UK lets say, divorce him after a minimal amount of time and then claim residency and a passport, something don't seem right.

[salomon]

9) I have a new Thai identity, forename and surname. Good for

travelling to places that dislike my country of origin

If he is from Israel he can now visit the Muslim countries that were off-limits with an Israeli passport, such as Malaysia.

If he is American he can reduce his risk of trouble in whatever country has anti-US riots...

well , thats true but when he got his thai citizenship his skin colour and body shape didnt change so he will allways have difficulties explaining he is a thai and not farang

like if he is an american booldozer and enters an arab country he will be seen as an american and not as thai no matter what the papers show

[GarryP]

I note that Ananda (spelling?) Everingham got his Thai citizenship recently. He claimed that it only took two weeks and was much easier than PR. It is things like this that actually get my goat. TheChiefJustice has been waiting over two years, while this other fellow gets it in 2 weeks. Double standard? One is a heartthrob actor and the other, I don't know, but it is certainly unfair. To be fair, Ananda said that the system is unfair, so despite protestations to the contrary having someone of influence in your corner certainly does help.

[Mario2008]

I note that Ananda (spelling?) Everingham got his Thai citizenship recently. He claimed that it only took two weeks and was much easier than PR. It is things like this that actually get my goat. TheChiefJustice has been waiting over two years, while this other fellow gets it in 2 weeks. Double standard? One is a heartthrob actor and the other, I don't know, but it is certainly unfair. To be fair, Ananda said that the system is unfair, so despite protestations to the contrary having someone of influence in your corner certainly does help.

Their situations are totally different. The ChiefJustice is applying for naturalization as a Thai citizen, Ananda has Thai nationality by way of being born in Thailand.

[GarryP]

Noted. It still seems a bit strange to go through the PR thing if he was entitled anyway through being born in Thailand. And why now, won't he be subject to conscription. Maybe, like me, he had been given incorrect advice down the line. Luckily, TV has set me straight.

[samran]

Noted. It still seems a bit strange to go through the PR thing if he was entitled anyway through being born in Thailand. And why now, won't he be subject to conscription. Maybe, like me, he had been given incorrect advice down the line. Luckily, TV has set me straight.

I suspect it is faster as it goes through seperate channels.

Arkady is the real pro on this one, but ammendments to the nationality act in 2008 opened up the right for those born in Thailand to foreign parents between 1972 and 1992 to become Thai citizens, so long as the could prove an ongoing link to the country.

My understanding of this is that the process is handled through the Ampur who have the guidelines laid out for them, rather than the MOI and the national police. No ministerial discretion involved.

Essentially, so long as you approach an enlightened Ampur, your status as a Thai citizen by birth will be recognised, and you'll be granted an ID.

Google ฟองจันทร์ สุขเสน่ห์ ได้สัญชาติไทยแล้ว and you'll see a video result showing a news story of a young lass born to American parents who when through the same process (aplogies, but pasting the direct link takes you to another video for some bizzare reason).

This in itself, is sufficient to make one eligible for mililary conscription. Me thinks though as he is likely to have reached his 30th birthday, this makes him ineligible for call up (only 18 to 29 year olds can be conscripted).

[samran]

I have read these posts with great interest, particularly as I have just completed the process with the police. My original application was around august 2009. The head of the department didn't give me the choice of singing with a cheat sheet so I had to do it from memory. I had spent many hours learning it by heart anyway. Had a pleasant discussion with him at the end of which he told me he had no problem. Although I was given the "test" - 10 or so questions about Thai culture etc, the policeman assisted with any part of the questions I could not read. I was not specifically tested for reading or writing although the policemen insisted that I sign the documents in Thai.

I also had to present letters to immigration and the local town hall and also my embassy. The local town hall to arrange a Thai Name and the embassy to guarantee that I was old enough to make a sensible choice ( I am 65 but look a little younger )

At some later point (around Jan 2010) I was interviewed again at the local MacDonalds - presumably by the secret service?

I have just recently been given a copy of the letter from the police to the interior ministry which states that I got more than 50 points and fullfilled all the requiremenst etc. I have no idea how many points I actually got although I would expect it to me over 75.

I was warned the the ministry might take between 1 and 10 years!!,

Any advise on how to speed up the ministry would be well received.

Regards

Nick

My wife applied in about April 08 from memory. We just recently got the same letter. Hers was based on marriage to me, so I'm not sure if that exempted her from singing the anthem.

We were also interviewed at KFC at Victory monument. The officials were from MOI.

My wife 'passed' as well the selection cut off, though the selection criteria had more to do with me being able to support her (good income etc) than anything to do with my wife.

Go figure.

We expect a loooooong wait as well.

[GarryP]

I know I have spoken about this before but for the life of me I cannot find the post or the message.

I note that one of the requirements is:

"8. Evidence of charitable donations (not less than Baht 5,000 and should include donations made some time ago, not just in time for nationality application)."

In my time here I have given much more than that but never kept a receipt or used a donation for tax deduction purposes. One of you suggested that I try to go back to where I donated and see if I can get a copy of the record, and I am working on this. However, supposing I am unable to obtain the required evidence, I need to make further donations. In this regard, I wonder whether there are any preferred charities, or am I free to donate to anything such a Po Teck Tung, a temple renovation fund, animal shelter, etc. I know it may seem a petty question but I would rather do the right thing than get my application kicked back when I submit it a few years down the road because the donations I make are not recognized.