Story Of My Thai Citizenship Application

[skippybangkok]

Question - have passed the final big meeting, but have decided to move companies. What's the requirement for transferring work permit - ie just one day error and everything is null an void ?

Thanks


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[aidenai]

Question - have passed the final big meeting, but have decided to move companies. What's the requirement for transferring work permit - ie just one day error and everything is null an void ?

Thanks

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Had to show the work permit only twice. The first time was when I applied at SB. The second time was when I had the interview at DOPA/ BORA. After that I was never asked again for the work permit. During the whole process I have changed jobs 3 times and not all changes had a seamless transition. However, having a work permit during the whole application process is required and eminent. If you're asked for it but you can't show it, I think you're stuffed.

[subi2014]

Any news of applicants that were interviewed in 31 May 2016.any news please share.


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[skippybangkok]

Had to show the work permit only twice. The first time was when I applied at SB. The second time was when I had the interview at DOPA/ BORA. After that I was never asked again for the work permit. During the whole process I have changed jobs 3 times and not all changes had a seamless transition. However, having a work permit during the whole application process is required and eminent. If you're asked for it but you can't show it, I think you're stuffed.

Thanks - helpful


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[GarryP]

Just bought a house in my name today. I was expecting a need to jump through hoops, but everything was very straight forward. Completed in one hour. The same for having a new house registration book issued in my name as the "chao bahn" (house owner), and  the electric and water meters transferred to my name. All done and dusted in a single day. 

[thsxtreme]

Hello everyone I also applied for Thai citizenship Last year at the District I was born in. My dad was in the airforce and stationed in Ubon over 40 years ago. We came to the United states when I was a few months old and never returned to Thailand Until 2014 with my mom. Met up with my grandma and family... WOW I love  Thailand!!. Not sure why we have never been back. I have returned 3 times in 2 years. Heading back next month. Anyways back to applying for Thai citizenship. I brought my Thai birth certificate and put my name on my grandmas house registration. Did the interview at the local amphoe office. Did a long interview had to get pictures of me and my grandma together at the nearest kodak shop and was told to come back the next day. Did another long interview and had to go back to the village to find the Head village guy to tell him to go the the office for interview. Went back third day and they said I was going to have to come back for a big interview upstairs in a couple days but for some reason we went ahead and did it right there on the spot. I dont speak much Thai at all I know basic words lol My mom was my translator and the Lady at the office spoke decent English as well. So finally she had me get up to take finger prints and picture taken and 5 minutes later I had a Thai ID! I was very excited. When I came back to the states I applied for my Thai passport and just received it in the mail a couple months ago. Cant wait to use it to go through the smaller line at the airport when I arrive through immigration lol...sorry about my boring story just thought I would share. 

[nickcar]

4 hours ago, thsxtreme said:

Hello everyone I also applied for Thai citizenship Last year at the District I was born in. My dad was in the airforce and stationed in Ubon over 40 years ago. We came to the United states when I was a few months old and never returned to Thailand Until 2014 with my mom. Met up with my grandma and family... WOW I love  Thailand!!. Not sure why we have never been back. I have returned 3 times in 2 years. Heading back next month. Anyways back to applying for Thai citizenship. I brought my Thai birth certificate and put my name on my grandmas house registration. Did the interview at the local amphoe office. Did a long interview had to get pictures of me and my grandma together at the nearest kodak shop and was told to come back the next day. Did another long interview and had to go back to the village to find the Head village guy to tell him to go the the office for interview. Went back third day and they said I was going to have to come back for a big interview upstairs in a couple days but for some reason we went ahead and did it right there on the spot. I dont speak much Thai at all I know basic words lol My mom was my translator and the Lady at the office spoke decent English as well. So finally she had me get up to take finger prints and picture taken and 5 minutes later I had a Thai ID! I was very excited. When I came back to the states I applied for my Thai passport and just received it in the mail a couple months ago. Cant wait to use it to go through the smaller line at the airport when I arrive through immigration lol...sorry about my boring story just thought I would share. 

Well done, but i suggest that you were not getting your thai citizenship as you had it since birth from your mother, just getting your Thai id card. 

[aidenai]

Well done, but i suggest that you were not getting your thai citizenship as you had it since birth from your mother, just getting your Thai id card. 

Yep. Agree with 'nickcar'. Very glad for you but different story. You never went through the process as we did as you had your rights by birth.

[thsxtreme]

1 hour ago, nickcar said:

Well done, but i suggest that you were not getting your thai citizenship as you had it since birth from your mother, just getting your Thai id card. 

I was automatic american citizen when I turned 18 I had the option but didnt do anything about it. I remember getting some letter about it but ignored it. young and stupid lol.. I didnt have Dual until I went last year to apply

[thsxtreme]

50 minutes ago, aidenai said:

Yep. Agree with 'nickcar'. Very glad for you but different story. You never went through the process as we did as you had your rights by birth.

 I had to get my parents divorce papers and have them professionally translated to Thai. Had to prove my mom had custody of me and my brother.  . My mom had a very old copy of the 40 year old house registration That our names were on and my  over 40 year old american passport helped out. I never had a Thai ID or passport when i was there as a baby. Had a american birth certificate, A thai one and a born abroad certificate.  Then come to find out My mom and dad are actually still married in Thailand but not in the USA lol....but like you said still not as hard for someone that had no birth right there. I have seen how you apply it looks pretty hard. I was pretty nervous when I went in. They said they never had anyone like me doing this. I wasnt sure if i was even going to get it. 

[Arkady]

On 9/27/2016 at 5:56 PM, GarryP said:

Just bought a house in my name today. I was expecting a need to jump through hoops, but everything was very straight forward. Completed in one hour. The same for having a new house registration book issued in my name as the "chao bahn" (house owner), and  the electric and water meters transferred to my name. All done and dusted in a single day. 

 

Congratulations on your new house Garry.  I have had pieces of land registered in my name as a joint owner with my Thai wife in Bangkok and upcountry and it was not difficult in either place, although necessitated a quick trip to the director's office upcountry, as they had never come across such as case.  In Bangkok they told me that they are registering property to naturalised Thais quite often.  The only additional paperwork required was a copy of my naturalisation certificate which I thought was fair enough.  I will soon buy some land in my own name upcountry.  Of course, it goes into the common conjugal property legally but I just want to have some land in my own name and it is an investment, rather than for a family home.

 

[Arkady]

On 9/28/2016 at 0:21 AM, thsxtreme said:

I was automatic american citizen when I turned 18 I had the option but didnt do anything about it. I remember getting some letter about it but ignored it. young and stupid lol.. I didnt have Dual until I went last year to apply

 

Congratulations on successfully getting your ID card and passport.  It sounds as if the process went quite smoothly in your case. Some people in your situation have had greater difficulties doing this.

 

Interestingly, if you were born to a Thai mother and foreign father in Thailand over 40 years ago you were already Thai at the time of your birth, not because your mother was Thai but because you were born in Thailand.  Before December 1971 anyone born in the Kingdom of Thailand was automatically Thai but Thai women had no right to pass nationality to their children born of foreign fathers until 1992, which resulted in a lot of stateless children born in Thailand between 1972 and 1992 to absent foreign fathers or foreign fathers who no right to pass their nationality on to children born abroad (e.g. British or Americans who were born abroad themselves).  Since you were registered as Thai after 1992 you were probably registered on the basis of having a Thai mother which gives you a slightly stronger basis, as your Thai nationality cannot be revoked under the Nationality Act for any reason.  At any rate the new constitution prohibits revocation of Thai nationality from anyone Thai by birth which includes those born in Thailand to foreign parents, even though they don't enjoy that protection under the Nationality Act, although Thai constitutions are of course like revolving doors. 

[GarryP]

4 minutes ago, Arkady said:

 

Congratulations on your new house Garry.  I have had pieces of land registered in my name as a joint owner with my Thai wife in Bangkok and upcountry and it was not difficult in either place, although necessitated a quick trip to the director's office upcountry, as they had never come across such as case.  In Bangkok they told me that they are registering property to naturalised Thais quite often.  The only additional paperwork required was a copy of my naturalisation certificate which I thought was fair enough.  I will soon buy some land in my own name upcountry.  Of course, it goes into the common conjugal property legally but I just want to have some land in my own name and it is an investment, rather than for a family home.

 

Thanks. For me they did not even request a copy of my naturalization certificate. The only strange request was a copy of my wife's death certificate, but when I pointed out that she was already marked as dead in my son's house registration book, they said that was sufficient. I still do not know why they wanted it, unless, as you point out, it is because it would become conjugal property.

 

One funny point was that they said my name in my son's house registration was wrong as it did not match my ID card. I had to point out that they were looking at my son's entry and not mine. My son has an English name too but no middle name. They were a bit embarrassed about that. 

 

Despite the stress involved and the long wait (although much shorter than most), it has certainly proved worth it in the long run.  Next on my list is getting a new ID card based on my new house registration and then renewing my driving license based on my ID card instead of passport. Then all my documents will match. My OCD tendencies coming into play there.    

[Arkady]

On 9/27/2016 at 1:49 PM, aidenai said:

Had to show the work permit only twice. The first time was when I applied at SB. The second time was when I had the interview at DOPA/ BORA. After that I was never asked again for the work permit. During the whole process I have changed jobs 3 times and not all changes had a seamless transition. However, having a work permit during the whole application process is required and eminent. If you're asked for it but you can't show it, I think you're stuffed.

 

Your WP is unlikely to be scrutinised after your committee interview but it is not beyond the bounds of possibility, if someone raises a query, say at the time your application goes before the final committee, usually a few months after your interview.  It is best to try to arrange a seamless same day WP transfer when you change jobs, or at least limit any gap to no more than a few days.  When you do the oath of allegiance they will also ask for copies of all your docs, including WP, but I got the impression that was a formality to do with the finger printing and ID verification without any serious scrutiny of the docs.  However, they do sent the copies to the ministry.   This is likely to be last time you are asked for it but it does seem prudent to keep a valid WP until the bitter end, which is what SB advised me.  You never know when a new broom might come in and flex his muscles by demanding double checking of the applications before signing off to go in the RG. Something similar happened in the early 2000s in the early days of the Thaksin regime.

[Alive]

The only thing negative I've heard is if you are arrested for any crime under Thai law including political crimes, you will get zero assistance from your other nation of citizenship. I would guess you might not get assistance with evacuation during threats to citizens of that other nationality as well. If you are victim of human rights abuse by your new adopted nation, as a citizen of that nation are on your own. Maybe international organizations would help you but your original nation of citizenship won't. So long as you keep your mouth shut and are submissive, you will have no problems. You may have to endure seeing others suffer too. Speaking out too much on their behalf in Thailand could land you in jail too without anyone from that former nation fighting for your release.

 

Still, if you put business and personal happiness before free speech and human rights, you probably won't have a problem.

Edited October 3, 2016 by Alive

[Arkady]

17 minutes ago, GarryP said:

Thanks. For me they did not even request a copy of my naturalization certificate. The only strange request was a copy of my wife's death certificate, but when I pointed out that she was already marked as dead in my son's house registration book, they said that was sufficient. I still do not know why they wanted it, unless, as you point out, it is because it would become conjugal property.

 

One funny point was that they said my name in my son's house registration was wrong as it did not match my ID card. I had to point out that they were looking at my son's entry and not mine. My son has an English name too but no middle name. They were a bit embarrassed about that. 

 

Despite the stress involved and the long wait (although much shorter than most), it has certainly proved worth it in the long run.  Next on my list is getting a new ID card based on my new house registration and then renewing my driving license based on my ID card instead of passport. Then all my documents will match. My OCD tendencies coming into play there.    

 

I suppose it's up the individual land offices what docs they want to ask for.  Since they have access to BORA's database they can easily verify a person's ID card and tabien baan and print out copies for themselves within seconds which would far more reliable than a photocopy of a naturalisation certificate which could easily be forged along with copies of the ID card and tabian baan. 

[NewlyMintedThai]

I have purchased land as well, with hardly a second glance.

[regedit]

On 05/07/2016 at 4:57 PM, GarryP said:

Here you go, with convoluted Thai translation thrown in taken from a copy of the Declaration I submitted:

"In connection with my recent application for naturalization as a Thai citizen, I do solemnly and sincerely swear that I intend to renounce my British citizenship when I have received permission from the competent Thai authorities to become naturalized as a Thai citizen."

 

Went to discuss my docs with officer in BKK today to ensure all ok before submitting. Re the Embassy letter about intention to renounce current nationality, he said that they will provide the letter and wording and you then take this to the embassy to sign and get official acknowledgement. He couldn't give me a copy of the letter yet - does anyone have a copy - or is the above text from that letter which they provide ? Thanks.

[GarryP]

3 minutes ago, regedit said:

 

Went to discuss my docs with officer in BKK today to ensure all ok before submitting. Re the Embassy letter about intention to renounce current nationality, he said that they will provide the letter and wording and you then take this to the embassy to sign and get official acknowledgement. He couldn't give me a copy of the letter yet - does anyone have a copy - or is the above text from that letter which they provide ? Thanks.

No letter was provided to me and in fact there was no formal letter at that time. I wrote the content based on what Arkady suggested. 

[subi2014]

applicants that were interviewed in 31 may 2016.approved by final big meeting,have any news minister signature


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[skippybangkok]

applicants that were interviewed in 31 may 2016.approved by final big meeting,have any news minister signature


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Lol - Q2 and Q3 2015 interview batch only in Royal Gazette a few days ago. Check back in q1 2017


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[subi2014]

Dear skippybangkok if you know about minister approval interview batch 31 May 2016.please share .Q1,Q2,Q3 I don't understand


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[skippybangkok]

Minister hard to find out unless you keep in contact with SB. For Royal Gazette it's easy - just got to:-

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

Click on search magnifying glass

Copy and paste the below
การได้สัญชาติไทย


October 2015 Lamluka interview - only just October 2016 announced in RG

So about 1 year






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[ubonjoe]

19 hours ago, subi2014 said:

Dear skippybangkok if you know about minister approval interview batch 31 May 2016.please share .Q1,Q2,Q3 I don't understand


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I think the Q is for the quarters of the year.

[ubonjoe]

A off topic post that would derail this topic has been removed.

[skippybangkok]

I think the Q is for the quarters of the year.

Yep


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[Johnniey]

I was going to start the application process this month.

 

I did the first step, which the Special Branch told me -  transfer my Tabien Baan to the province where I actually  work and live, which was no bother, apart from a 1000 km round trip.

 

Would you advise to wait for a month or more?

Edited October 15, 2016 by Johnniey

[Arkady]

On 10/3/2016 at 6:25 PM, Alive said:

The only thing negative I've heard is if you are arrested for any crime under Thai law including political crimes, you will get zero assistance from your other nation of citizenship. I would guess you might not get assistance with evacuation during threats to citizens of that other nationality as well. If you are victim of human rights abuse by your new adopted nation, as a citizen of that nation are on your own. Maybe international organizations would help you but your original nation of citizenship won't. So long as you keep your mouth shut and are submissive, you will have no problems. You may have to endure seeing others suffer too. Speaking out too much on their behalf in Thailand could land you in jail too without anyone from that former nation fighting for your release.

 

Still, if you put business and personal happiness before free speech and human rights, you probably won't have a problem.

 

I think the assistance that dual nationals get from their embassy depends on the nationality.  American consular officials are prohibited from treating dual nationals any differently from single national Americans.  In some US consulates, e.g. the ones in Mexico along the US border virtually all the consular assistance provided to US citizens in involves dual national Mexicans with US citizenship, many of whom can speak very little English.  Nevertheless, the consular staff dutifully show up to visit them in prison etc.  If you recall there was a case of dual Thai-American who was imprisoned in Thailand for LM and the US ambo was quite vocal in her provision of consular assistance, upsetting many Thais.

 

If you are British, the UK government warns you that they may not be in a position to provide you with consular assistance if you have problems in a country where you also have citizenship.  Anyway the way things have gone with UK consular assistance, you are sadly unlikely to get much assistance from them, even if you don't have another nationality.  

[Arkady]

On 10/15/2016 at 6:28 PM, Johnniey said:

I was going to start the application process this month.

 

I did the first step, which the Special Branch told me -  transfer my Tabien Baan to the province where I actually  work and live, which was no bother, apart from a 1000 km round trip.

 

Would you advise to wait for a month or more?

 

Not necessary.  People have successfully applied for citizenship the day after getting in a tabian baan. There is no seasoning requirement.  The only issue is whether SB in your province is able and willing to process applications for citizenship,. since Bkk is the only SB office that has a dedicated department for it.

[speckio]

I never had any issues or long waits using my american passport getting into Thailand.... however omg when using my thai passport its better than having a fastpass at disneyland.

 

I was born and raised american... i didnt get my thai citizenship until i was 40 (thai parents). but If i had to apply the way you did i would have never ever qualified or gotten my citizenship... umm on a side note all thai citizens are technically required to serve in the military... I managed to bypass this because i obtained my citizenship at such a late age. Most thai people are somewhat shocked when they find out i never served.  I was curious has there been any discussion about you having to serve?