Story Of My Thai Citizenship Application

[JayLeno]

I’m unsure if my profile is suitable for obtaining citizenship and would appreciate your honest feedback.

I am 40 years old, married, and work in IT. I speak Thai fluently and have a solid understanding of Thai culture. Having lived here for nearly 10 years, I believe my decision to apply for citizenship is well-considered. I have held a continuous work permit for over three years (including 9 months with my current employer) and have paid taxes for the past three years. Could you please advise me on which guides or resources I should consult?

[khongaeng]

5 hours ago, JayLeno said:

I’m unsure if my profile is suitable for obtaining citizenship and would appreciate your honest feedback.

I am 40 years old, married, and work in IT. I speak Thai fluently and have a solid understanding of Thai culture. Having lived here for nearly 10 years, I believe my decision to apply for citizenship is well-considered. I have held a continuous work permit for over three years (including 9 months with my current employer) and have paid taxes for the past three years. Could you please advise me on which guides or resources I should consult?

Your wife is Thai correct? Do you have a yellow house registration book yet?

[JayLeno]

I don't have it

[DrJoy]

4 hours ago, JayLeno said:

I don't have it

3 yrs of tax payment (PND 91)

3 yrs of continuous work permit

Legally Married to Thai lady for 3 yrs (either Foreign or Thai Marriage Certificate)

Yellow House Book + Pink card (Preferably Bangkok)

 

Others are mostly your company documents

 

Work permit and tax documents are non negotiable!

 

If you don't have these, start gathering them now , to be eligible in coming years.

[JayLeno]

Should I wait 3 years of marriage? I ask the question because the process seems to take more than 3 years lol

[yankee99]

Just now, JayLeno said:

Should I wait 3 years of marriage? I ask the question because the process seems to take more than 3 years lol

3 years of marriage is required but 1 year with a child 

[sas_cars]

21 hours ago, onthemoon said:

Yes on both counts.

I assume you memorized both songs. How was the singing and was it accepted gleefully? 🙂 

[onthemoon]

9 minutes ago, sas_cars said:

I assume you memorized both songs. How was the singing and was it accepted gleefully? 🙂 

I had practiced a lot, as I am not a good singer. They accepted it. Maybe they just appreciated the effort? 😉

[GarryP]

5 hours ago, DrJoy said:

3 yrs of tax payment (PND 91)

3 yrs of continuous work permit

Legally Married to Thai lady for 3 yrs (either Foreign or Thai Marriage Certificate)

Yellow House Book + Pink card (Preferably Bangkok)

 

Others are mostly your company documents

 

Work permit and tax documents are non negotiable!

 

If you don't have these, start gathering them now , to be eligible in coming years.

The pink card must be relatively new as I never had one when I applied.  

[DrJoy]

40 minutes ago, GarryP said:

The pink card must be relatively new as I never had one when I applied.  

If its less than 5 yrs old = 0 points

[GarryP]

3 minutes ago, DrJoy said:

If its less than 5 yrs old = 0 points

It wasn't even mentioned to me when I applied. Nor did it appear to be listed in the points schedule back then. 

[DrJoy]

5 hours ago, JayLeno said:

Should I wait 3 years of marriage? I ask the question because the process seems to take more than 3 years lol

You have to wait, that's the law. 

 

You have no choice.

[DrJoy]

5 minutes ago, GarryP said:

It wasn't even mentioned to me when I applied. Nor did it appear to be listed in the points schedule back then. 

They (SB) may not mention since non PRs are eligible after 3 yrs. So they may assume that you would get 0 points anyway since all of the married bunch would be less than 5 yrs anyway.

 

Sorry Garry, I meant the Yellow Book , if less than 5 yrs old = 0 points

Edited September 3 by DrJoy

[DrJoy]

5 hours ago, onthemoon said:

I had practiced a lot, as I am not a good singer. They accepted it. Maybe they just appreciated the effort? 😉

Both the anthems can be quite challenging, great work!

[onthemoon]

2 hours ago, DrJoy said:

Both the anthems can be quite challenging, great work!

 

Thanks! I found the Royal Anthem more challenging because I don't understand most of the words. The lyrics of the National Anthem are therefore much easier to remember.

[hughrection]

9 hours ago, DrJoy said:

3 yrs of tax payment (PND 91)

3 yrs of continuous work permit

Legally Married to Thai lady for 3 yrs (either Foreign or Thai Marriage Certificate)

Yellow House Book + Pink card (Preferably Bangkok)

 

Others are mostly your company documents

 

Work permit and tax documents are non negotiable!

 

If you don't have these, start gathering them now , to be eligible in coming years.

Unfortunately, you need to be paying tax on a 40k Thai baht salary. I earn more than this but my Uni cooks the books and so only declares less and puts the remainder down to housing allowance. I can't therefore apply even though I have been here 20 years with about 15 of them on work permit. 😞 

[khongaeng]

1 hour ago, hughrection said:

Unfortunately, you need to be paying tax on a 40k Thai baht salary. I earn more than this but my Uni cooks the books and so only declares less and puts the remainder down to housing allowance. I can't therefore apply even though I have been here 20 years with about 15 of them on work permit. 😞 

You should talk to your Uni about this.   I can't think of a reason why they would cook the books unless built into your contract is a provision to offset your income tax in some way or possibly they want to save a little bit on your social fund contributions.  Maybe they will work with you to get you above the minimum 40k, so that you qualify.  However, at the same time, others on this forum have received backlash from their employers after becoming Thai because once you are Thai, they are not required to pay you as much or give you as many benefits.  

[khongaeng]

5 hours ago, DrJoy said:

If its less than 5 yrs old = 0 points

When I applied based on marriage back in 2016 or 2017, Special Branch required me to have a Yellow Book (and I believe the pink ID).  I was on the Yellow Book for over 5 years, but they still didn't give me any points for it.  At the time, I believe that Arkady explained that the point system for registration is geared only for PR, so those of us applying based on marriage shouldn't hope to get any points under the residency section.  

 

@JayLeno I think the yellow book is required so that you are tied to a house registration.  When you go and reserve your new Thai name (as part of the process) and then at the end of the process when you get your citizenship, it will be based on your house registration.  Yellow books can be a pain to get depending on the office you are working with, so I would get that process started as soon as you can.

Edited September 3 by khongaeng

[yankee99]

7 hours ago, khongaeng said:

When I applied based on marriage back in 2016 or 2017, Special Branch required me to have a Yellow Book (and I believe the pink ID).  I was on the Yellow Book for over 5 years, but they still didn't give me any points for it.  At the time, I believe that Arkady explained that the point system for registration is geared only for PR, so those of us applying based on marriage shouldn't hope to get any points under the residency section.  

 

@JayLeno I think the yellow book is required so that you are tied to a house registration.  When you go and reserve your new Thai name (as part of the process) and then at the end of the process when you get your citizenship, it will be based on your house registration.  Yellow books can be a pain to get depending on the office you are working with, so I would get that process started as soon as you can.

I had this same issue where they didn't want to give me the points. My wife had a discussion and a few officers talked among themselves and i did get the 5 points which i thought i needed .

[Thingamabob]

Personally I have never needed to obtain Thai citizenship, but very well done, and thanks for sharing your experience.

[kiwiaussie]

12 hours ago, hughrection said:

Unfortunately, you need to be paying tax on a 40k Thai baht salary. I earn more than this but my Uni cooks the books and so only declares less and puts the remainder down to housing allowance. I can't therefore apply even though I have been here 20 years with about 15 of them on work permit. 😞 

I'd check with an accountant. From my understanding, housing allowances are just as taxable and is considered income. 

[renaissanc]

Thai nationality isn't for everyone. I've lived in Thailand for 40 years now by renewing my annual Marriage Visa each year. I'm 68 now. I can't see a single practical benefit of being Thai ... except that when I'm 90, 95, or 100+ years old going to Immigration might be troublesome, but by then I think that Marriage Visa renewals will be done online. Even Immigration will discover the benefits of online renewals eventually. If my wife dies before me I'll change my Marriage Visa to a Retirement Visa. Our 25 rescued cats couldn't care less if I'm Thai or British. Nor do my wife, my neighbours, the local shopkeepers, etc.

[saakura]

On 9/2/2024 at 12:17 PM, Marcati said:

This is why I stated in this forum a few times I was told do not cancel your work permit or Visa until you have the declaration in hand and register at the District Office. They can ask for these documents at any stage in the process until the end.

You are right. Not just the WP but they also asked for previous financial year (2023) tax submission copies. 

[DrJoy]

42 minutes ago, saakura said:

You are right. Not just the WP but they also asked for previous financial year (2023) tax submission copies. 

PND 91 copy may be a new requirement

[Marcati]

12 hours ago, khongaeng said:

When I applied based on marriage back in 2016 or 2017, Special Branch required me to have a Yellow Book (and I believe the pink ID).  I was on the Yellow Book for over 5 years, but they still didn't give me any points for it.  At the time, I believe that Arkady explained that the point system for registration is geared only for PR, so those of us applying based on marriage shouldn't hope to get any points under the residency section.  

 

@JayLeno I think the yellow book is required so that you are tied to a house registration.  When you go and reserve your new Thai name (as part of the process) and then at the end of the process when you get your citizenship, it will be based on your house registration.  Yellow books can be a pain to get depending on the office you are working with, so I would get that process started as soon as you can.

Once you get the yellow book they will issue the pink ID card. I got one many years ago when they were first announced for foreigners

[Sydebolle]

And for all the other long staying non-Thais there is the Permanent Residency. I opted for that back in 1988 and never regretted it; never went for citizenship for mainly two reasons. The bureaucratic endeavour is endless and an absolute uphill battle. If an officer changes it is -more often than not - back to Square One. The second reason is, that all the quoted points were not really relevant for me personally; the work permit is a given guarantee as any country allowing a non-citizen to stay indefinitely in the country needs to be given the possibility to earn his living - as stipulated by the WTO. 

[JayLeno]

14 hours ago, khongaeng said:

When I applied based on marriage back in 2016 or 2017, Special Branch required me to have a Yellow Book (and I believe the pink ID).  I was on the Yellow Book for over 5 years, but they still didn't give me any points for it.  At the time, I believe that Arkady explained that the point system for registration is geared only for PR, so those of us applying based on marriage shouldn't hope to get any points under the residency section.  

 

@JayLeno I think the yellow book is required so that you are tied to a house registration.  When you go and reserve your new Thai name (as part of the process) and then at the end of the process when you get your citizenship, it will be based on your house registration.  Yellow books can be a pain to get depending on the office you are working with, so I would get that process started as soon as you can.

Thanks!

[DrJoy]

21 hours ago, hughrection said:

Unfortunately, you need to be paying tax on a 40k Thai baht salary. I earn more than this but my Uni cooks the books and so only declares less and puts the remainder down to housing allowance. I can't therefore apply even though I have been here 20 years with about 15 of them on work permit. 😞 

You may start your own small company and pay yourself a salary of 40k thb a month.

 

However, it wont be cheap ( company taxes, accountant fees etc)

 

It all depends on what you want? @khongaeng in his previous posts mentioned that he spent several thousand Euros to get hold of Thai citizenship.

 

So again it boils down on what you really want, there are several work arounds!

[JayLeno]

Guys. Should I wait for the 3 years timeframe (just got married) or can I introduce my request asap? I see the entire process takes at least 5 years 

[yankee99]

4 hours ago, JayLeno said:

Guys. Should I wait for the 3 years timeframe (just got married) or can I introduce my request asap? I see the entire process takes at least 5 years 

you will need to wait 3 years