Story Of My Thai Citizenship Application

[dbrenn]

Congratulations.

For me : permanent resident - YES.

Citizen - NO never!

Why? I will not stand the humiliation to apply for a THAI passport and citizen.. its not worth the effort.

Its like a curse this passport.. go to europe? no automatic visa (in my case anyway) go to america..forget about it ,..u probebly go to work in the rice fields in the RICH foriegners countries.. hehe

BUT you have 2 passports so its different.

Again.. I won't stand the humiliation to apply for a THAI passport .

FINAL- WELL DONE CONGRATIOLATIONS

The process that I described could easily be construed as humiliating if taken out of context. In reality, the opposite was true. The people handling my application treated me very fairly, by the book, and were very nice and undferstanding about the whole process in general.

[torrenova]

So can you answer the questions about your PR, salary, tax paid, length of time in LOS etc. I reckon a load of guys here would want to have it but cannot even dream about the PR let alone pay the near 200k etc.

C'mon, fill in some of the gaps. Thanks.

[sbk]

Just curious, where are you registered at? I was told by the Police in Bangkok that I needed to apply for citizenship in the province my husbands house registration is located in. But, unfortunately, Surat Thani police are clueless. I was hoping to be able to try Bangkok, so am curious if you are Bangkok resident or not?

You can lodge your application only to the police HQ of the Jangwat that appears on your Tabien Bahn. Doesn't matter what your husband's Tabien Bahn says, it's only yours that matters. You are considered a married couple for the purposes of your Citizenship application so long as you cohabitate, regardless of what your respective Tabien Bahn say your address is.

This all means that you don't have to be on the same one as your husband. You can be on any Tabien Bahn in Bangkok, even temporarily, if that's where you want to apply.

Good to know, thanks for the tip

[egeefay]

September 2004Then, I was shown into a room with around 40 people

watching me. I was given a microphone and asked to sing the Thai

National anthem and Phra Baramee (the one they play in the cinema).

Yes, really.

I think they were having fun with you. If they wanted to find out how well you speak Thai, all they had to do was do a one on one interview.

The fact that they gave you a microphone and had you sing in front of 40 people was a typical good humored Thai way. I remember going through that when i first arrived in Thailand many years ago. You'll always smile when you look back at that.

[kratindaeng]

Dbrenn,

Well done and Congratulations!

[cobra]

Kudos,

This confirms that I will never be more than just a guest in the LOS,

Simply don't have the patience or mindset for such a protracted paper chase,

[Krub]

Congratulations

Enjoy your new freedom and peace of mind

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Congratulations

Enjoy your new freedom and peace of mind

Seconded

[sbk]

September 2004Then, I was shown into a room with around 40 people

watching me. I was given a microphone and asked to sing the Thai

National anthem and Phra Baramee (the one they play in the cinema).

Yes, really.

I think they were having fun with you. If they wanted to find out how well you speak Thai, all they had to do was do a one on one interview.

The fact that they gave you a microphone and had you sing in front of 40 people was a typical good humored Thai way. I remember going through that when i first arrived in Thailand many years ago. You'll always smile when you look back at that.

Actually, I was told by the Special Branch Police (who handle citizenship applications) that the ability to sing the National Anthem was a requirement for citizenship.

[aussiestyle1983]

To sing the National Anthem should be required to get citizenship of any country. Usually, to get citizenship, you should have been there so long allready there should be no problem in singing the national anthem. I took me 3 months the sing the Thai National Anthem fluently, I can only speak a little Thai, but I can sing the National Anthem fluently. Hope other countries have the same requirements......................

[Edonista]

Not sure why you chose to go through all this humiliation ! But you obviously had your reasons !

If you are from Africa or the Indian Sub-Continent or such, then Thai citizenship may be regarded as useful.

But you kept schtuum on this.

But otherwise ... Why bother ?

1. You can buy land ... Ok.

2. You can drive a Tuk Tuk ... Yea Ok I guess.

3. Entry to the Grand Palace ... Ok if you go every weekend.

4. You can own a business ... Mmmm.

5. No comment.

6. So Bt 1,900 a year is a problem for you ?

7.

8. Ok.

9. Sounds like you are on the Lam.

10. Why would you want to vote ?.

Naka.

I agree with Naka. I would never do it. The more I know Thai people (and authorities)the more I thank God to have been born a farang. Of course the OP has a different opinion so congrats to him for a citizenship that allows him to permanently stay with his family.

[younghusband]

Kudos,

This confirms that I will never be more than just a guest in the LOS,

Simply don't have the patience or mindset for such a protracted paper chase,

Whether you have the patience and the mindset is really beside the point if you do not have the basic qualifications to proceed, of which PR seems to be the most important but is not in itself sufficient.Visa runners for example need not waste their time by even thinking about the subject.In response to another poster who questioned whether anyone from a rich country would be interested in Thai citizenship, I profoundly disagree.Many of us (from rich countries) are committed to Thailand and would be very happy to confirm this through citizenship.I find dbrenn's account rather inspiring and illustrates that it is not just the likes of Bill Heinecke who can achieve this objective.

[danone]

again:

was the amount of taxes you paid right before your application important? or just a formality THAT you paid?

we all know its an important factor when applying for residency.

[LoveDaBlues]

Wow, I'm impressed and it takes a lot to impress me. Congrats.

As for the naysayers, perhaps it isn't something they need/want given their lifestyle.

For me, I would gladly pay 1 million baht if I could skip all the hassles and time involved and just "buy" my citizenship. Three years is a long time; of course a lot of this time you were just waiting and not actively doing anything.

As far as the PR; for me personally not something I want as I'm 50 and don't think the Thai government will drastically change the visa rules for retirees. Currently, I don't find anything really hard about meeting the requirements for my retirement visa. Actually I'd say I devote less than 10 hours a year to maintain my visa.

I don't see anything humiliating about the process you went through. Perhaps English is not the native language of the poster who wrote that.

[mpdkorat]

[Flame deleted. Please keep it on topic and avoid starting arguments. This is an informative thread and we like to keep it that way. Thank you for understanding. /Meadish]

DBren are you the the same guy from SCT in the 90's

[dave111223]

I am wondering why the OP came back to answer a few random comments, while avoiding any of the questions about the actual details, such as tax, residency and employment requirements?

Edited May 20, 2007 by dave111223

[Mat268]

Congratulations......l am about to start the process......l remember my Residency Permit taking about 18 months so l am sure that l can be patient...must admit the 40 persons listening to you singing the two anthems is rather a daunting prospect.........good luck and enjoy your new lease of life....

[younghusband]

I am wondering why the OP came back to answer a few random comments, while avoiding any of the questions about the actual details, such as tax, residency and employment requirements?

He's not avoiding questions I would suggest, merely assuming anyone interested in citizenship would have done basic homework.He has PR, which is a prerequisite to application for citizenship, and all your questions are dealt with under that topic- see Camerata's excellent pinned thread.

[danone]

i got PR as well, thats why i'm interested in the tax question.

furthermore all other comments to gaining citizenship mention a test in reading and writing thai. what would be my other question to the OP.

i think the biggest hurdle is getting PR - citizenship is more of a bureaucratic hurdle.

[toret]

Bloody marvellous.

Good luck!

[Guts]

8) In my case, no need to give up my old nationality

I see the bonus of having Thai citizenship, but would you still have wanted your Thai citizenship if you had to give up your 'old' nationality?

[abdulrahman]

8) In my case, no need to give up my old nationality

I see the bonus of having Thai citizenship, but would you still have wanted your Thai citizenship if you had to give up your 'old' nationality?

I asked myself the same question:the answer is NO.

[samran]

i got PR as well, thats why i'm interested in the tax question.

furthermore all other comments to gaining citizenship mention a test in reading and writing thai. what would be my other question to the OP.

i think the biggest hurdle is getting PR - citizenship is more of a bureaucratic hurdle.

Please find attached the rules for male applicants and a seperate set for female applicants. They differ.

I'd highly recommend going down to police special branch and having a chat. They were more than happy to chat with me about my wife applying eventually. If I recall correctly, the history of paying tax for 3 years before application (See rule 9 for male applicants) is more important than the amount. I suspect though, as with PR, the more the better. They definely look at the 'whole package' though, rather than just the some of the parts.

Have a look again through Camerata's guide, as at one point I wrote about my visit there (my connection is a bit dodgy today so no link provided, so it will take ages for me to look for it)

Thai_naturalisation___male_v2.doc

Thai_Naturalisation___Female.pdf

[dantilley]

I don't see anything humiliating about the process you went through.

What, you don't think it's humiliating to sing the Thai national anthem in front of 40 people? I'd find that incredibly embarrassing.

I must admit that, after comparing this thread to Carmareta's advantages of Permanent Residency thread, it seems like Citizenship has many, many more very useful advantages over Permanent Residency which, as far as I can see, doesn't seem to be worth the money and hassle (except, it could be argued, if it is used as a path towards getting citizenship). Well done for acquiring it! And pretty cool that you have something connected to you personally which has been signed by the King. Can't imagine that many other foreigners will have such a connection as that.

Am still interested to know what your level of Thai language is though, speaking and writing. And how much did the whole thing cost, approximately? With these pieces of information, I reckon this thread would be worthy of being pinned.

[simon43]

Apologies if I've misunderstood, but from the OP's comments, it would seem that he/she is a women? And it seems that female applicants for citizenship have it a lot easier than male applicants.

Simon

[grtaylor]

I don't see anything humiliating about the process you went through.

What, you don't think it's humiliating to sing the Thai national anthem in front of 40 people? I'd find that incredibly embarrassing.

I must admit that, after comparing this thread to Carmareta's advantages of Permanent Residency thread, it seems like Citizenship has many, many more very useful advantages over Permanent Residency which, as far as I can see, doesn't seem to be worth the money and hassle (except, it could be argued, if it is used as a path towards getting citizenship). Well done for acquiring it! And pretty cool that you have something connected to you personally which has been signed by the King. Can't imagine that many other foreigners will have such a connection as that.

Am still interested to know what your level of Thai language is though, speaking and writing. And how much did the whole thing cost, approximately? With these pieces of information, I reckon this thread would be worthy of being pinned.

I conduct/sing the Anthem at every concert my choir does, and consider an honour to do so . . . . .

Certainly Citizenship confers many advantages, but unless I'm misunderstanding things here, PR is a pre-requisite of applying for citizenship. Am I wrong on this?

G

[RagingBrit]

Good luck to this person for obtaining a Thai citizenship, but I am highly sceptical that options to apply for Thai citizenship are available to everyone.

Is this person a farang? He maybe an ethnic Thai born in another country with another citizenship. Perhaps he has had a long working relationship within the Thai government? Who knows, he’s not saying.

Vague details, many questions and evasive with answers.

I am not convinced.

Edited May 20, 2007 by lopburi3
replace unreadable font - lopburi3

[grtaylor]

Good luck to this person for obtaining a Thai citizenship, but I am highly sceptical that options to apply for Thai citizenship are available to everyone.

Is this person a farang? He maybe an ethnic Thai born in another country with another citizenship. Perhaps he has had a long working relationship within the Thai government? Who knows, he’s not saying.

Vague details, many questions and evasive with answers.

I am not convinced.

I am - I know personally quite a few farangs who have obtained Thai citizenship, male and female.

G

[dantilley]

I am - I know personally quite a few farangs who have obtained Thai citizenship, male and female.

Same here, one or two I've heard of and a friend of mine is going through the early stages now, hence my interest in this thread. Can't imagine I'll be here long enough myself though...

[andyc2006]

September 2004 - Invited to the Interior Ministry. Showed them my work

permit, passport, alien registration certificate and certificate of

residence. Then, I was shown into a room with around 40 people

watching me. I was given a microphone and asked to sing the Thai

National anthem and Phra Baramee (the one they play in the cinema).

What? Nobody told you about the shortcut? If at this stage you'd said, "I am shy," they would've replied, "Oh, you're already Thai" and you would've saved 2 1/2 years on the application.