Story Of My Thai Citizenship Application

[skippybangkok]

Dec 2009

·      Get List of Requirements

·      Can easily do documents your self

·      Police will fill in most forms for you (forms not supposed to leave police office, so have to be filled on site)

 

Jan 2010

·      Scanned all documents ( not required) , and printed copies as required

·      Slight confusion about eligibility regarding proof of residence for 5 years ( have TR 13 for 6, but TR 14 for 3yrs

·      Submitted mid month

o   Up to date document was relatively accurate in terms of what is needed and qty of copies, but criteria of how long you have been here has many angles of looking at it. Reading the text in the announcement, seem not qualify, but actually  did. Best way to find out is to ask the officers there to look at your documents

·      Work permit, Por-Ngor-Dor, and company letters of position  /salary need to correspond  / match

·      Had some difficulty in getting company letter corresponding with Por-Ngor-Dor to match mainly confusion on my part what they were looking for in the letter.

o   Any company documents requiring – make sure there is a clear power of attorney which is legally acceptable.

·      Finally late Feb had all documents accepted.

Mar 2010

·      The scanning of documents turned out to be beneficial, as another set of documents needed to be submitted. Quite simple to just print out again.

·      Interview of witnesses was a little confusing to me. Thought that the department would call them up for a separate interview, but it turned out they were required to be present during the first interview.

·      Document copies were wrong again, copied 2 pages with reduction on to one. The copies must be 1-1 ratio.

·      Interview  not long, but a list of questions in Thai, and even if you have been here along time, not many foreigners could know the answer, or even understand the wording which in some questions is very high level Thai. But the department is nice and helpful in helping dumb down the question.

·      Got 5 envelopes, need to go to various govt offices and sumbit ( in person ) and get reply  to be sent back to the police dept.

·      Make sure that all your thai names are spelt correct on all documents, and that of your wife too. If not  will be a lot of running around to get it corrected.

June 2010

·      Interviewed with wife at McDonalds in Amarin Plaza by a very nice guy. Seemed main issues where just clarifying who I was, where I worked, marriage details etc.

·      Letter from Police to Khet asking for name was wrong one. Need to use the district you are currently at. 

 

Summary Of Application Stage

-       Dont even bother trying to assess if you are eligible or not, there is a complex point system thought I was a “maybeâ€, but turned out to be definitely in the criteria. If had followed internet avail info, would never have tried.

 

Wait

 

Wait 

 

Wait some more

 

And then Wait even more

 

2015 ( Mid )

Get a call from SB mid 2015 that in a few days there will be the interview at Lamluka. No time to get the official document, so they kindly send a picture of the letter to my Line App. Official letter arrives post interview

 

Interview Lamluka

Arrive there, and everyone seems to be practicing their singing, with coaches ( who have been obviously paid ), and also go through Q&A. Me and the Mrs seem the least prepared ( pretty much Zero ), and as I am married, I don't have to sing anyway. We sat there and chilled and wondered whether we missed something. Too late to fret, so ke-sera-sera

 

Having lived in Thailand a long time, you learn to spot senior government officials, seems to be one guy in plain cloths, pretty sure he is police, and is obviously a mentor and coach to a few as well.  Wondering if that's a reason why my application took so long ( speculation, no evidence to suggest though ).

 

They have categories based on your application, I was under the cat. “married to thai femaleâ€, so we were catergory 3 or 4 in queue. ( females married to thai males jump ahead ). ( Ladies first ? : )   ).  Anyway, seems many did not get the memo how to dress properly, or to bring your spouse if you are applying under married category. One guy was in jeans, crocs and a t-shirt, and would say most did not dress for the occaision. another was told to go home if he did not bring his wife. Even if not a lot of money, just ironing your shirt properly and polishing a pair of old shoes is not too much to ask for.

 ( IMHO )

We were told we could go eat as our queue would be another hour, so after eating and coming back in 30mins, we see frantic staff asking “ where were youâ€.

 

Walked into the room, big U-shaped table, chairman at the end, and about 15 people total to the left and right. Starts with asking your name, and then people ask some questions. Had one smart ass to the left thinking he found a chink in my app and posed a question in a real silly and obviously "I got you" way. Shot him down very quickly and politely, made the others clearly smirk and he shut up for the rest of the meeting. I suspect he was not well liked.

Most of the questions were easy, and if you are legit and have a ligit application, quite easy to answer. Because of my expertise, they started asking about the economy, the stock market etc, it was clear the interview was over and they were chilling out trying to understand the world a little more and my views. Towards the end, had most of them kinda rolling under the table with laugher, I think they needed a fun break after listening to all them songs sung off key.  Was very confident the deal was sealed that day, and just more waiting. really enjoyed the session, totally not intimidating. 

 

Wait

Wait some more

And then Wait even more

 

 

Check with SB on the process, seems the Lamluka guys are slow to send the documents. Anyway, it goes through many hops, ie to SB, the King ( RIP ), Minister, Royal Gazette etc ( not in that order ) so there is a lot of admin steps

 

Mid 2016 get Line message mid 2016 with picture of RG announcement, but need to wait a while to get the documents from SB.

 

Final step  found out there is no clear time line when you need to get the Thai ID, so postponed it for a while as travelling a lot, and no time to get ID, then passport and then Visa

 

Enjoy your journey and be patient. If you meet the crtieria, and in some cases sing well, you will succeed, it just takes a long time. 

 

Basically 6.5 years in the queue.

[GarryP]

23 minutes ago, skippybangkok said:

Mid 2016 get Line message mid 2016 with picture of RG announcement, but need to wait a while to get the documents from SB.

 

Final step  found out there is no clear time line when you need to get the Thai ID, so postponed it for a while as travelling a lot, and no time to get ID, then passport and then Visa

 

Enjoy your journey and be patient. If you meet the crtieria, and in some cases sing well, you will succeed, it just takes a long time. 

 

Basically 6.5 years in the queue.

A much braver man than me. Once I got the papers an interview was set up at the District Office (actually they called me before I even got the papers from SB). I would not have dared to postpone getting my ID card after all the stress I had gone through.

 

Anyway, congratulations.   

[skippybangkok]

A much braver man than me. Once I got the papers an interview was set up at the District Office (actually they called me before I even got the papers from SB). I would not have dared to postpone getting my ID card after all the stress I had gone through.
 
Anyway, congratulations.   

Thanks and cheers - SB told me there is no law about when you need to pick up ID

Said they can do it whenever it's convenient to you and even recommended i complete my travels first before doing it


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[PattayaBoy]

How many years you have to live in Thailoand before you eligible to apply?

How many years need to pay tax and be on WP?

Asking coz seeing confusing infos

Thanks

[sas_cars]

How many years you have to live in Thailoand before you eligible to apply?
How many years need to pay tax and be on WP?
Asking coz seeing confusing infos
Thanks

1, Substantially short and cheap if you are married to a thai. Total 3 years on WP and pay taxes on 40K/month salary

2, Substantially long and expensive if not married to thai. First step is 3 years on WP and pay taxes on 80k/month salary to get eligible for PR. After applying PR, may take any where from 3-6 years to receive PR status. Once receiving PR status, wait 5 more years to be eligible for applying thai citizenship. All this period still have to be employed on WP and keep paying taxes on 80K/month salary. Add up all above years and altogether it will be within 15-20 years to get your thai citizenship after starting your 80k/month job in thailand.

[skippybangkok]

After applying PR, may take any where from 3-6 years to receive PR status. Once receiving PR status, wait 5 more years to be eligible for applying thai citizenship. All this period still have to be employed on WP and keep paying taxes on 80K/month salary. Add up all above years and altogether it will be within 15-20 years to get your thai citizenship after starting your 80k/month job in thailand.

Not that I recall. Very sure I submitted docs for PR in December, was I think there was a decision in April, and the next December, got my PR

Yes, citz takes for ever, about 6.5 years for me. From what I know you need almost constant employment so as not to be disqualified

So end to end about 8 years

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[PattayaBoy]

9 minutes ago, sas_cars said:

 

1, Substantially short and cheap if you are married to a thai. Total 3 years on WP and pay taxes on 40K/month salary

2, Substantially long and expensive if not married to thai. First step is 3 years on WP and pay taxes on 80k/month salary to get eligible for PR. After applying PR, may take any where from 3-6 years to receive PR status. Once receiving PR status, wait 5 more years to be eligible for applying thai citizenship. All this period still have to be employed on WP and keep paying taxes on 80K/month salary. Add up all above years and altogether it will be within 15-20 years to get your thai citizenship after starting your 80k/month job in thailand.

 

 

IC

 

not that bad for a married person

 

So if you married and pay tax, got WP, its around 3 years to get thai passport?

 

 

[ubonjoe]

12 minutes ago, PattayaBoy said:

So if you married and pay tax, got WP, its around 3 years to get thai passport?

That is the when you can apply for Thai nationality.

Hard to say how long it will be to get approval and then a Thai passport.

[PattayaBoy]

That is the when you can apply for Thai nationality.
Hard to say how long it will be to get approval and then a Thai passport.

Whats the estimates / guess ?

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[PattayaBoy]

That is the when you can apply for Thai nationality.
Hard to say how long it will be to get approval and then a Thai passport.

So after 3 years u get PR and then u heads for Nationality?



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[skippybangkok]

if read my write up above... my recommendation is clear..... don't waste your time thinking " I am eligible, I am not eligible ".

 

just go to SB, show them the docs they request for, they will do the maths and tell you straight out. If you don't, they will tell you what is next

 

I though I did not qualify, but I did.

 

 

[GarryP]

3 minutes ago, skippybangkok said:

I though I did not qualify, but I did.

 

 

Me too. 

[PattayaBoy]

So whats PR pros? You still need visas and all that right?

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[ubonjoe]

7 minutes ago, PattayaBoy said:

So whats PR pros? You still need visas and all that right?

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PR is completely different from applying for Thai nationality and is covered in another topic.

You apply for Thai nationality and wait for it to be approved. PR is not included in that process.

[PattayaBoy]

PR is completely different from applying for Thai nationality and is covered in another topic.
You apply for Thai nationality and wait for it to be approved. PR is not included in that process.

Link to that topic please.

Can you skip PR and apply for thai nationality?

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[ubonjoe]

12 hours ago, PattayaBoy said:

 

Link to that topic please.

Can you skip PR and apply for thai nationality?

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17 hours ago, sas_cars said:

 

1, Substantially short and cheap if you are married to a thai. Total 3 years on WP and pay taxes on 40K/month salary

2, Substantially long and expensive if not married to thai. First step is 3 years on WP and pay taxes on 80k/month salary to get eligible for PR. After applying PR, may take any where from 3-6 years to receive PR status. Once receiving PR status, wait 5 more years to be eligible for applying thai citizenship. All this period still have to be employed on WP and keep paying taxes on 80K/month salary. Add up all above years and altogether it will be within 15-20 years to get your thai citizenship after starting your 80k/month job in thailand.

 

No need to get PR first if you are married to a Thai.

Topic about PR is this one.

 

[Arkady]

I understand that PR is not taking as long as the 3-6 years it took in the recent past to process under the current government.  For those without a Thai spouse it is the only route to citizenship.  Immigration opened for PR applications early this year on 1 September till end December, whereas they normally only open for the last two weeks of December.  So anyone interested would be advised to apply now.  Under future governments, if it is only likely to get harder and take longer.  The same applies to citizenship applications under this government which has cleared a lot of backlog and speeded up the interview process.  No point in procrastinating further, if you are interested in either one and are already qualified.  Citizenship applications can of course be made on any working day of the year at Special Branch.

[Arkady]

On 10/19/2016 at 4:07 PM, PattayaBoy said:

So whats PR pros? You still need visas and all that right?

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It is a way stage towards citizenship, if you are interested in that and have no Thai spouse.  You don't visas any more if you have PR.  You just need to get a re-entry permit from Immigration, renewable annually, if you want to travel abroad.  If you don't want to travel, you can just let it expire and renew before you go on a trip.  You still need work permits which is rather a pain.  The biggest advantage is no more visas and no risk that rules will be changed on you or that additional documentation will be required the next time you renew.  Getting the annual re-entry visas is simply a matter of showing up, filling in the forms and paying the fees.  There is no hassle and minimal queuing involved.  PR is worth having but not nearly as good as citizenship.

[CanadianGirl2]

Does anyone have any updated processing times between the NIA interview and the MOI for citizenship applications (Thai spouse)? Is it still approximately 4 years?

 

My NIA interview was 14 months ago and I haven't received any updates.

[aidenai]

Does anyone have any updated processing times between the NIA interview and the MOI for citizenship applications (Thai spouse)? Is it still approximately 4 years?

 

My NIA interview was 14 months ago and I haven't received any updates.

Four months after the NIA-interview I got a copy of the SB letter that my application had been approved and forwarded to the MOI.

After that it took 3 years and 10 months before I got the interview at the MOI.

[Big Guns]

For me it took about 1 year 8 months from NIA interview until MOI interview this year.

[CanadianGirl2]

5 hours ago, Big Guns said:

For me it took about 1 year 8 months from NIA interview until MOI interview this year.

 

Did you receive any updates after the NIA interview like aidenai did?

[CanadianGirl2]

8 hours ago, aidenai said:

Four months after the NIA-interview I got a copy of the SB letter that my application had been approved and forwarded to the MOI.

After that it took 3 years and 10 months before I got the interview at the MOI.

 

So you received confirmation from your SB and not NIA directly?

I don't know if it matters, but I live several hours away from Bangkok. The NIA specifically came to my province to conduct interviews and I was under the impression that my local SB was no longer handling my application, but I guess I am mistaken. Should I be contacting my SB, the NIA, or both about my application status?

[Big Guns]

I only got verbal communication from.SB as my wife phoned them. I think the only written communication was the MOI interview.

[sas_cars]

What is NIA?

[GarryP]

10 hours ago, sas_cars said:

What is NIA?

National Intelligence Agency. They do checks into your background and interview you. After that interview you would have no further contact with the NIA.  The previous poster should check with SB. If the application has already been passed on,  you should check with Bureau of Registration Administration (or perhaps  your local equivalent).

[sas_cars]

National Intelligence Agency. They do checks into your background and interview you. After that interview you would have no further contact with the NIA.  The previous poster should check with SB. If the application has already been passed on,  you should check with Bureau of Registration Administration (or perhaps  your local equivalent).

Guess these are the ones who conduct interview at Mcdonalds?

[GarryP]

1 hour ago, sas_cars said:

 

Guess these are the ones who conduct interview at Mcdonalds?

 

Yes.

[NewlyMintedThai]

Mine was at KFC.


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[greenchair]

I looked on that site. 

I didn't need evidence of donations to anyone. 

Did not need 5 copies of anything. 

Did not need to show income, just my husbands. 

The interview at the police office was in thai because I was able to speak Thai. But for those that couldn't, the officers tried to communicate in English or translated through the Thai spouse. Why do people make things sound so complicated.