Story Of My Thai Citizenship Application

[sathuluv]

I just got a new passport. 
I'm waiting for the MOI interview.
 
Will going to interview with a different passport from the one I applied with cause any complications? 
 
What about the later processes, do I have to show my passport?

Good luck for the interview.

Carry the old passport then all should be fine. There was no checking of the passport number but to check name date of birth.
All the best.


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[Neeranam]

41 minutes ago, sathuluv said:

Good luck for the interview.

Carry the old passport then all should be fine. There was no checking of the passport number but to check name date of birth.
All the best.


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Thanks!

[Arkady]

In the light of the British Embassy's announcement that they will no longer issue pension confirmation declarations for Brits who need them for retirement and marriage extensions, although there is no direct relationship, does anyone have any recent confirmation that they are still issuing the declaration of intent for citizenship applicants? Their reason, as can be seen here,

 is that they have no way to verify pension income, which Immigration had pressured them to do, so they decided to discontinue the service completely. Obviously they have even less ability to verify an abstract concept like an intent to do something several years hence, conditional on something else happening. But they seem to have already lost track of the meaning of a declaration in the legal sense of an oath taken by a commissioner for oaths and notaries. 

 

The embassy has progressively narrowed down what used to be an impressive and wide ranging legalisation and notary service to a sad list of only about half a dozen specific things they are willing to do for which you now need to get an advance appointment, even though their work load must have already been drastically reduced.  I wouldn't be surprised if, given the cost of office space in their future home in a Sathorn office block, they are under pressure to reduce the list to zero by a certain date and get rid of the Thai vice consuls and let them join the Gurkhas security guards who are being put out to grass after a decades long association with the embassy.

 

It is my sense that it can only be a matter of time before they refuse to issue the declaration of intent, if this is not already the case.  HMG will not lose a wink of sleep at the fact that this will mean that British citizens can no longer apply for naturalisation in Thailand.  The numbers are so small that they have no need to fear petitions or questions from MPs.

 

[Neeranam]

I got a call from special branch in April, asking to help a British guy who couldn't get it. They wouldn't give him a reason then. Later, they said they are waiting for a meeting between the SB and home office.

 

So, British citizens will not be able to become Thai citizens until they come to some kind of agreement, which doesn't look like very likely.

 

 

[Arkady]

1 hour ago, Neeranam said:

I got a call from special branch in April, asking to help a British guy who couldn't get it. They wouldn't give him a reason then. Later, they said they are waiting for a meeting between the SB and home office.

 

So, British citizens will not be able to become Thai citizens until they come to some kind of agreement, which doesn't look like very likely.

 

Sounds as if things are going exactly as feared which is why I was for some time urging qualified Brits to apply without delay. Meanwhile, nationals of other countries that permit dual or multiple nationalities will be able to continue applying as normal, as their embassies will quite properly insist on continuing to apply their own national laws as applicable to statutory declarations and refuse to be so weasily as to play ball with Thai requests to do their dirty work for them.  The Swiss and Australians will even happily issue special visas in foreign passports to allow duals to cover their tracks but the Brits ceased in 2007.

 

I see a parallel with the pension letters but it can be taken back further than that to the transfer of prisoners treaty. Technically prisoners transferred from Thailand to their home countries have to continue to serve their Thai sentences at the pleasure of the Thai government and can only be pardoned by HMK. However, all Western countries with the exception of the UK getting prisoners transferred reassess their sentences based on the sentences they would have got back home for the same crime.  Most of the transferred prisoners are drug smugglers who got draconian sentences of 30-50 years in the Thai system vs maybe a maximum of 7-10 years in most Western courts. Therefore the other nationalities are all released after serving a token few months in prison at home.  The UK doggedly adheres to the the letter of the treaty, claiming that the Thai government will not transfer any more prisoners, if they don't, ignoring the fact that they still transfer prisoners to the other Western countries that release the prisoners without waiting for a Royal Pardon.  I am not an advocate for drug smugglers but this is just another example of how HMG puts the interests of the Thai government above that of its own citizens without any hope of getting any particular benefits from Thailand in exchange.  In this case there isn't even any Thai law justifying the Thai position which is why they want foreign governments to do it for them.

 

I am really starting to think that, as far as Brits resident in Thailand are concerned, HMG may as well draw a line under representation in Thailand with the disgraceful sale of what was left of the Wireless Road site. A British interests section in the Nigerian Embassy would be more in keeping with the level of interest in the welfare of its citizens in Thailand and might even be more responsive.

[khongaeng]

I'm glad my embassy will still gladly affix their big rubber stamp on a document stating that I like to wear pink polka dot speedo swimming suits in the bathtub.  I have heard other horror stories from British friends about difficulties in everything ranging from getting access to pensions, healthcare, passports and so on.  If normal cool and composed Arkady gets worked up about it, it must be truly as bad as they say ????

 

I had no idea that the Swiss and Australian embassies will give a special visa for dual nationals.  This is great news for me and my friend if we ever get Thai citizenship.  

 

It seems as though things have slowed down again at SB and MOI recently with so few updates from others.  I am now almost 20 months since my application was finalized (7 months since being sent to MOI), and still no call from MOI.

Edited October 11, 2018 by khongaeng

[qualtrough]

On 10/11/2018 at 9:45 PM, khongaeng said:

It seems as though things have slowed down again at SB and MOI recently with so few updates from others.  I am now almost 20 months since my application was finalized (7 months since being sent to MOI), and still no call from MOI.

That's not good to hear. Not long ago there was talk about how much quicker things were and turn-around times of two years. I just completed the NIA interview in early July so looks like a long wait ahead. I think I will visit the SB just to see what the status is and to keep their memory of me alive.

[Neeranam]

23 hours ago, qualtrough said:

That's not good to hear. Not long ago there was talk about how much quicker things were and turn-around times of two years. I just completed the NIA interview in early July so looks like a long wait ahead. I think I will visit the SB just to see what the status is and to keep their memory of me alive.

SB should have passed on your application to the MOI by now.

[red horse]

Have any news for applicants who appear moi interviewed last year December.i am still waiting for oath of allegiance


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[Neeranam]

7 hours ago, red horse said:

Have any news for applicants who appear moi interviewed last year December.i am still waiting for oath of allegiance


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Who are you waiting to hear from?

Do the MOI send the application back to the SB?

[Big Guns]

SB let you know about the oath. I think in my case it might have been 5 or 6 months back in 2017 then another 4 months for RG announcement.

 

[Arkady]

On 9/30/2018 at 8:25 PM, BKKBike09 said:

Since when did the BE stop doing this letter (or rather, witnessing a declaration of intent to give up British Citizenship)? It looks like there may be new Home Office guidance as of start of this year. Nonetheless, if British by birth you still retain the right (once only) to get back your citizenship, if obliged to renounce it in order to obtain another nationality.

 

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/677713/renunciation-of-all-types-of-british-nationality-v3.pdf

 

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/632943/registration-as-a-British-citizen-following-renunciation-v1.0.pdf

 

Brits are definitely not eligible to make an advance renunciation at the time of application under the above UK regulations. There must be evidence that another nationality has already been obtained or will be obtained contingent on renunciation of British nationality.  If the other nationality fails to transpire within 6 months, the renunciation will be automatically cancelled.  Meanwhile, the applicant would be stateless and ineligible to remain in Thailand on existing visa but ineligible to leave due to not having a passport.  To cap it all he would no longer be eligible for Thai nationality as a stateless person.  I can think of some ways they might try to fine tune things, depending on how far out of its way the embassy is prepared to go as weasels for the Thai government and to act against the interests of its own citizens, which now seems to be without limit, but all of this would be pointless because of the second set of regulations posted above, although it would earn extra fees for HMG. 

 

Since only one nationality is being targeted, it is pretty obvious that this is initiated by the embassy as part of its drive to reduce the number of things it has to do in the consular section to close to zero as part of the imminent downsizing to a desk in a business centre somewhere. 

[Kwarium]

On 10/18/2018 at 1:41 AM, red horse said:

Have any news for applicants who appear moi interviewed last year December.i am still waiting for oath of allegiance


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One thing is for sure, there is no pattern to how long it takes for applicants between steps of the process, even within the same year.

MOI interview end of August 2017

Oath early May 2018, over 8 months later.

 

At least one other poster did 2 or 3 steps during that time and is done.

 

Royal Gazette publications of citizenship since December have been spaced at 8, 2, 6, 3, and 11 weeks. It has now been 10 weeks since the last list was published on August 9th.

 

The waiting is harder near the end! For a few years I totally put it out of my mind and even forgot how long ago I had applied. It looks like it will be 4-1/2 years all in if I’m lucky over the next few months! ????

[qualtrough]

On 10/17/2018 at 9:14 AM, Neeranam said:

SB should have passed on your application to the MOI by now.

Thanks. I will pop by next week to see what they say and to keep my face/case familiar.

[skippybangkok]

One thing is for sure, there is no pattern to how long it takes for applicants between steps of the process, even within the same year.
MOI interview end of August 2017
Oath early May 2018, over 8 months later.
 
At least one other poster did 2 or 3 steps during that time and is done.
 
Royal Gazette publications of citizenship since December have been spaced at 8, 2, 6, 3, and 11 weeks. It has now been 10 weeks since the last list was published on August 9th.
 
The waiting is harder near the end! For a few years I totally put it out of my mind and even forgot how long ago I had applied. It looks like it will be 4-1/2 years all in if I’m lucky over the next few months! [emoji41]

Took me 6 months from the final SB visit till royal gazette

Be patient - it will happen




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[Kwarium]

2 hours ago, skippybangkok said:

Be patient - it will happen

Thanks, it finally did! 31 names published in the Royal Gazette dated October 22nd!

 

Will they schedule an appt. to go get the certificate? Is there some ceremony or just photo op?

 

[GarryP]

2 minutes ago, Kwarium said:

Thanks, it finally did! 31 names published in the Royal Gazette dated October 22nd!

 

Will they schedule an appt. to go get the certificate? Is there some ceremony or just photo op?

 

Congratulations. There is a ceremony. I asked one of the officers to take a few photos for me otherwise I would have had no photographic record of the event.

Edited October 24, 2018 by GarryP

[Kwarium]

7 minutes ago, GarryP said:

Congratulations. 

Thank you and thanks to the whole gang here who is always so helpful! I’m going to need a new hobby! ????

K

Edited October 24, 2018 by Kwarium
Typo

[red horse]

May I know the list of royal guzzet


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[yankee99]

50 minutes ago, Kwarium said:

Thanks, it finally did! 31 names published in the Royal Gazette dated October 22nd!

 

Will they schedule an appt. to go get the certificate? Is there some ceremony or just photo op?

 

Great news... 

[Kwarium]

28 minutes ago, yankee99 said:

Great news... 

Yes! So maybe another month to go...

35 minutes ago, red horse said:

May I know the list of royal...

http://www.mratchakitcha.soc.go.th/announce.html

search for การได้สัญชาติ

 

[skippybangkok]

Thanks, it finally did! 31 names published in the Royal Gazette dated October 22nd!
 
Will they schedule an appt. to go get the certificate? Is there some ceremony or just photo op?
 

Congratulations


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[aidenai]

Thanks, it finally did! 31 names published in the Royal Gazette dated October 22nd!
 
Will they schedule an appt. to go get the certificate? Is there some ceremony or just photo op?
 

Congratulations.

[Arkady]

6 hours ago, Kwarium said:

Thanks, it finally did! 31 names published in the Royal Gazette dated October 22nd!

 

Will they schedule an appt. to go get the certificate? Is there some ceremony or just photo op?

 

Congrats.

[Kwarium]

4 hours ago, aidenai said:

Congratulations.

 

5 minutes ago, Arkady said:

Congrats.

Thanks! You both helped out a lot by keeping this useful and civil thread going! Appreciate you all!

[Big Guns]

Congratulations to you. The ceremony is a nice occasion & you receive your official naturalisation documents. The final hurdle is local government officials with the ID card, fingers crossed you have helpful ones. If not just hold your breath/bite your tongue as you're almost there ????

[SWW]

16 hours ago, Kwarium said:

Thanks, it finally did! 31 names published in the Royal Gazette dated October 22nd!

 

Will they schedule an appt. to go get the certificate? Is there some ceremony or just photo op?

 

Congratulations! ????

[GabbaGabbaHey]

Is there any male applicant reading this who got his MOI interview in the past 12 months, who could let us know how long it took between the file being sent to MOI and the MOI interview? That would be helpful.
 

[SWW]

I was called for my interview this year, about two years after the file being sent to the MoI.

 

Of course due to circumstances I was unable to sit the interview, and will now have to apply for PR and start the process again. Such is life.

[Kwarium]

3 hours ago, SWW said:

I was called for my interview this year, about two years after the file being sent to the MoI.

 

Of course due to circumstances I was unable to sit the interview, and will now have to apply for PR and start the process again. Such is life.

SWW- Good on ya for keeping your chin up. Hope you got that run of bad woman luck far behind you.

 

GGH- My MOI interview was 14 months ago, in August 2017, 2 years and 6 months after SB did the summary letter. They did that 10 months after my NIA/ McDonalds interview.