Story Of My Thai Citizenship Application

[DrJoy]

1 hour ago, ubonr1971 said:

I would have evidence of company structure 1 yr before applying for my citizenship. Would this work ok for me? 

Not sure entirely but if you are a shareholder in the company, you will need PND 50 of the company which you wont have.

 

Is your WP from your wifes business or you work for someone else?

 

Since you have a WP, it means all your company documents were in order coz the Labor Dept checks all documents very thoroughly.

Also, do you get salary of at least 40,000 baht per month? Do you have PND 91 from the last 2 years?

 

[ubonr1971]

9 minutes ago, DrJoy said:

Not sure entirely but if you are a shareholder in the company, you will need PND 50 of the company which you wont have.

 

Is your WP from your wifes business or you work for someone else?

 

Since you have a WP, it means all your company documents were in order coz the Labor Dept checks all documents very thoroughly.

Also, do you get salary of at least 40,000 baht per month? Do you have PND 91 from the last 2 years?

 

My WP is for my wifes business. Its her personal business in her personal name. NO company structure at all. We did NOT submit any company documents when applying for my WP. I know its on their list to get the WP but they evidently still allowed me to have a WP. 

 

I have tax documents from my accountant and do that on a yearly document. The top right corner of the tax doc they gave me has the number 91.  Is that the PND 91 you are asking about?  I earn 100k a month and thus no issues satisfying that rule. 

 

thanks for helping me

[ubonr1971]

30 minutes ago, yankee99 said:

Your company is going to be a issue not sure how you have a wp without vat registration .

 

Best to talk with SB in bkk

The labor office keep renewing my WP despite the fact that the wife and I dont have a company structure. We pulled strings when applying for my WP bc my wife is well known and maybe thats the reason why they still give me a WP every year. But maybe this is going to not help me if I cant apply for citizenship after all??

 

I wonder if the wife and I should go and change to company structure this year. Then next year when I submit all docs for citizenship I can show all the required company docs? What do you think about this?

[DrJoy]

59 minutes ago, ubonr1971 said:

My WP is for my wifes business. Its her personal business in her personal name. NO company structure at all. We did NOT submit any company documents when applying for my WP. I know its on their list to get the WP but they evidently still allowed me to have a WP. 

 

I have tax documents from my accountant and do that on a yearly document. The top right corner of the tax doc they gave me has the number 91.  Is that the PND 91 you are asking about?  I earn 100k a month and thus no issues satisfying that rule. 

 

thanks for helping me

Ask your wife if she has these documents -

 

หนังสือรับรองการจดทะเบียนบริษัท

 

รายชื่อผู้ถือหุ้น

[DrJoy]

1 hour ago, ubonr1971 said:

Is that the PND 91 you are asking about? 

Yes correct. Its a yearly tax payment record.

You will need last 3 years of PND 91 for applying Thai citizenship.

[yankee99]

8 hours ago, ubonr1971 said:

The labor office keep renewing my WP despite the fact that the wife and I dont have a company structure. We pulled strings when applying for my WP bc my wife is well known and maybe thats the reason why they still give me a WP every year. But maybe this is going to not help me if I cant apply for citizenship after all??

 

I wonder if the wife and I should go and change to company structure this year. Then next year when I submit all docs for citizenship I can show all the required company docs? What do you think about this?

I still recommend talking with SB my wife also has a company which i was not a share holder. SB although nice they did scrutinize it to make sure it was real.   Im not a accountant but with 1.2mb in salary id be careful you may owe a lot of VAT.   

[ubonr1971]

2 hours ago, yankee99 said:

I still recommend talking with SB my wife also has a company which i was not a share holder. SB although nice they did scrutinize it to make sure it was real.   Im not a accountant but with 1.2mb in salary id be careful you may owe a lot of VAT.   

Im an employee of the business not the owner as such. VAT is only owed when one has a company and providing a service. When the customer pays the bill the VAT is added onto the bill. Its got nothing to do with my salary at all. 

[ubonr1971]

10 hours ago, DrJoy said:

Ask your wife if she has these documents -

 

หนังสือรับรองการจดทะเบียนบริษัท

 

รายชื่อผู้ถือหุ้น

No, as stated many times. We do not have a company structure. Many thai people do not have companies and run their businesses via their personal name and pay personal taxes

[yankee99]

21 minutes ago, ubonr1971 said:

Im an employee of the business not the owner as such. VAT is only owed when one has a company and providing a service. When the customer pays the bill the VAT is added onto the bill. Its got nothing to do with my salary at all. 

I probably used the wrong term when i said you as i meant your company.  I believe VAT is compulsory when the company does over 1.8mb per year. I made a assumption that with a 1.2 mb salary the company should be doing way over that amount

[khongaeng]

On 3/11/2023 at 8:04 PM, ubonr1971 said:

I have a work permit. But we have our small business running through my wifes personal name not a company structure. I hope this doesn't cause issues as I assume most farang work through a company structure. Our business is legal and we have yearly licenses issued from the government authorities in our province (in my wifes name of course) BUT its not a company structure. I will be guttered if this turns out to be a show stopper for me. 

 

How do I get my name on a yellow book? Do they care about the duration? Should I be going to find a cheap rental right away??? Its not easy getting a yellow book actually

If you have a Pink ID card, then you should have been issued a yellow book at the same time.  For the yellow book you will need to go to the same office that a Thai would go to get their blue book or ID card and ask them what documents you need to bring.  It will be a stack, but basically the same stack of documents you need to apply for citizenship.  The yellow book may take a few months to get and it should only cost something around 100 baht (definitely less than 1000).  It has been such a long time since went through that ordeal that I have forgotten the process.

 

My name was on a yellow book in Bangkok for 1 day prior to applying at SB in Bangkok (I had been on a yellow book in our home province for almost 5 years prior to that).  They don't care how long you have been on the registration in Bangkok, only that your registration is in Bangkok.

[Arkady]

On 3/12/2023 at 10:21 AM, yankee99 said:

I probably used the wrong term when i said you as i meant your company.  I believe VAT is compulsory when the company does over 1.8mb per year. I made a assumption that with a 1.2 mb salary the company should be doing way over that amount

Work permits may be issued to employees of sole proprietorships and partnerships as well as limited companies but I was also under the impression that Labour Ministry required VAT registration to issue a WP. When I wanted to get a WP working for my own company I had to register the company for VAT first, even though its income was below the threshold for VAT registration.  It is very difficult to withdraw from the VAT system once you're in.  If you have zero vatable income, you still have to file zero VAT with the RD every month.  If the business is paying a salary of B1.2 million p.a. to one employee, it is pretty certain that the RD would assume income over B1.8 million and require VAT registration, if they noticed that. If they decide to do a random audit of the business owner's personal/business tax returns, they will definitely spot this.

 

My company was subjected to a random tax audit which involved 2 separate half days being grilled in the RD.  They wanted to fine us about B250k for various things mainly to do with VAT. Eventually I got it down to 36k because they were wrong about the main issue.  They assumed the company's service income was vatable but I was able to prove it wasn't because the customer was overseas and no VAT is payable on exported services.  But we got fined for mistakes the accountant made which included not filing the monthly zero VAT return.

[Marcati]

On 3/10/2023 at 6:56 AM, david143 said:

there was a interview meeting for Thai nationality held on 3rd March 2023.
foreign females with Thai husbands and foreign husbands with Thai wives.
+ with few PR candidates

Happy to see this part of the process is moving. Unfortunately, HRM has still not signed any applications. My documents are at the Palace since October last year

[DrJoy]

4 hours ago, Marcati said:

Happy to see this part of the process is moving. Unfortunately, HRM has still not signed any applications. My documents are at the Palace since October last year

It takes 6-7 months, be patient

[ubonr1971]

On 3/12/2023 at 10:54 PM, khongaeng said:

My name was on a yellow book in Bangkok for 1 day prior to applying at SB in Bangkok (I had been on a yellow book in our home province for almost 5 years prior to that).  They don't care how long you have been on the registration in Bangkok, only that your registration is in Bangkok.

Makes me happy to read this. It means I can leave it to the last minute for renting a place and therefore save money

[yankee99]

2 minutes ago, ubonr1971 said:

Makes me happy to read this. It means I can leave it to the last minute for renting a place and therefore save money

You can but not every property owner is willing to go to the khet with you 

[ubonr1971]

On 3/13/2023 at 11:36 AM, Arkady said:

If the business is paying a salary of B1.2 million p.a. to one employee, it is pretty certain that the RD would assume income over B1.8 million and require VAT registration,

So its my wifes personal business paying me a salary of 1.2m per year. She does tax returns every six months. I do mine once a year paying the tax in march. BUT how do you think they can link the figures in her tax return to the figures in my tax return. No chance. I dont think they are that sophisticated. 

 

''but I was also under the impression that Labour Ministry required VAT registration to issue a WP.''

 

Depends on your wifes occupation. If she has a license of any kind for the business then this can be used

Edited March 15, 2023 by ubonr1971

[yankee99]

2 minutes ago, ubonr1971 said:

So its my wifes personal business paying me a salary of 1.2m per year. She does tax returns every six months. I do mine once a year paying the tax in march. BUT how do you think they can link the figures in her tax return to the figures in my tax return. No chance. I dont think they are that sophisticated. 

SB will definitely ask to see her financial statement and believe me the RD is more sophisticated than you think .

[ubonr1971]

11 minutes ago, yankee99 said:

SB will definitely ask to see her financial statement and believe me the RD is more sophisticated than you think .

I think they will be ok with 3 yrs of seeing her tax returns. Also, I just remembered my wifes occupation is on the list of exempt services that dont have to register for VAT. I forgot to mention this before actually. Theres a long list of services that are exempt from paying VAT

[DrJoy]

8 hours ago, ubonr1971 said:

I think they will be ok with 3 yrs of seeing her tax returns. Also, I just remembered my wifes occupation is on the list of exempt services that dont have to register for VAT. I forgot to mention this before actually. Theres a long list of services that are exempt from paying VAT

Only the Special Branch can give you the correct answer.

Pop in for a visit -

 

Special Branch Bureau Building 6, Royal Thai Police, Rama 1 Rd,

Khwaeng Pathum Wan, Khet Pathum Wan,

Bangkok 10330

 

Carry all your documents.

[Dogmatix]

A friend is applying for citizenship and asked me about an interview required at the local police station he found mentioned on the Thai citizenship website. I have never heard of this. Does anyone know anything about this? 

[david143]

57 minutes ago, Dogmatix said:

A friend is applying for citizenship and asked me about an interview required at the local police station he found mentioned on the Thai citizenship website. I have never heard of this. Does anyone know anything about this? 

there is no local police involved for Thai nationality process.
IP - SB - MOI
these are 3 departments who are involved
Intelligence Police
Special Branch
Ministry of interior

[rsskga]

We submitted our application yesterday. I'll share some info about how the process went for us.

 

When my husband called Special Branch to let them know we had all our paperwork together, our case officer asked my husband to bring our documents on his own so they could review them together without me. We complied, but because we were confident that we had everything ready, I hung out near the office while they met. As anticipated, Special Branch was ready to proceed with both of us after lunch.

 

At that time, we finalized our documents, signed some additional forms, and I was fingerprinted. Then, we met with a more senior member of Special Branch who conducted an interview, asking us pointed questions about why we are childless. The simplest answer we could provide is that we are letting nature take its course. It seems as though we passed this interview.

 

I will need to get my passport certified at the US Embassy again (the copy from last year is considered too old now even though my passport itself remains the same), but there is no particular rush on me delivering the new copy.

 

Noteworthy for us, we've been told it's completely fine for my husband to travel back and forth to the US as his work requires... the only travel restriction is on me, and only for the next 4 months or so.

 

Special Branch has been very clear about their expectations of us, and so far, so good.

 

 

Edited March 28, 2023 by rsskga
cleanup

[DrJoy]

Another Thai nationality Interview was held on 30-MAR-2023

 

17 Ladies

44 Men

 

March turned out better for the applicants. 2 interviews in a month.

[Dogmatix]

On 3/16/2023 at 12:23 PM, david143 said:

there is no local police involved for Thai nationality process.
IP - SB - MOI
these are 3 departments who are involved
Intelligence Police
Special Branch
Ministry of interior

By Intelligence Police I assume you mean National Intelligence Agency )NIA). It’s not part of the police. It is under the Prime Minister’s Office.

[saakura]

On 4/13/2023 at 10:05 PM, DrJoy said:

Another Thai nationality Interview was held on 30-MAR-2023

 

17 Ladies

44 Men

 

March turned out better for the applicants. 2 interviews in a month.

I assume that the 'Thai Nationality interview' you have referred to is the MOI big committee interview. Any idea when this batch would have completed the NIA interview and had their documents submitted by the SB to MOI? 

 

I had my NIA interview in September 2020 and got a confirmation from my SB case handler that all documents were sent to MOI in October 2020. I am still waiting for the MOI interview call. The SB case handler told me to expect it by end of 2023 or early 2024. Seems abnormally long to me. Although I am in a stable job with a PR and not in a hurry, getting worried in case the documents go missing somewhere. It will be too much of a pain to start all over again.

[DrJoy]

On 4/16/2023 at 1:45 PM, saakura said:

Any idea when this batch would have completed the NIA interview and had their documents submitted by the SB to MOI? 

 

I had my NIA interview in September 2020 and got a confirmation from my SB case handler that all documents were sent to MOI in October 2020. I am still waiting for the MOI interview call. The SB case handler told me to expect it by end of 2023 or early 2024. Seems abnormally long to me

Yes its the MOI interview.

 

They are inviting 2020 applicants now, so you maybe called as stated by your SB Officer.

 

The usual wait time from NIA to MOI interview is 18 months but it varies considerably for many applicants.

 

Standard wait times include 18 - 30 months

 

 

Getting worried in case the documents go missing somewhere. It will be too much of a pain to start all over again -

 

Thats not the case, all the documents are handled responsibly by the SB Police, NIA, MOI.

 

I have never heard that the Ministry lost documents of a particular applicant, So dont worry in this regard.

 

 

[moochai87]

3 hours ago, DrJoy said:

Yes its the MOI interview.

 

They are inviting 2020 applicants now, so you maybe called as stated by your SB Officer.

 

The usual wait time from NIA to MOI interview is 18 months but it varies considerably for many applicants.

 

Standard wait times include 18 - 30 months

 

 

Getting worried in case the documents go missing somewhere. It will be too much of a pain to start all over again -

 

Thats not the case, all the documents are handled responsibly by the SB Police, NIA, MOI.

 

I have never heard that the Ministry lost documents of a particular applicant, So dont worry in this regard.

 

 

I am waiting for my MOI interview now. According to the officer handling my case (Nonthaburi branch) I should expect to be called in the next month or two.

 

Are the interview questions similar to all previous interviews with the police? Any list of questions available? Do you need to be able to sing เพลงชาติไทย AND สรรเสริญพระบารมี?

[onthemoon]

10 minutes ago, moochai87 said:

I am waiting for my MOI interview now. According to the officer handling my case (Nonthaburi branch) I should expect to be called in the next month or two.

 

Are the interview questions similar to all previous interviews with the police? Any list of questions available? Do you need to be able to sing เพลงชาติไทย AND สรรเสริญพระบารมี?

When was your file transferred to MOI?

[yankee99]

21 minutes ago, moochai87 said:

I am waiting for my MOI interview now. According to the officer handling my case (Nonthaburi branch) I should expect to be called in the next month or two.

 

Are the interview questions similar to all previous interviews with the police? Any list of questions available? Do you need to be able to sing เพลงชาติไทย AND สรรเสริญพระบารมี?

Singing is not required if you accumulated enough points when applying based on marriage.   The questions previously  in bkk were simple where how you met, type of job etc.   Really about 3 minutes after 45 seconds my wife finished the interview dont think they cared for my thai

[moochai87]

35 minutes ago, onthemoon said:

When was your file transferred to MOI?

Oh on second thoughts I think he meant that he would just submit my docs in the next month or two. Although not certain. Can anyone decipher exactly what he means here: เดือนหน้าผมสรุปเสนอสัมภาษณ์ น่าจะ พ.ค.66 ครับ อยู่จังหวัดจะกำกนดแจ้งมาครับ