Story Of My Thai Citizenship Application

[bwpage3]

1 minute ago, NewlyMintedThai said:

Keep your original passport. Problem solved.


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What happens when your original passport expires?

[NewlyMintedThai]

You get a new one! You never heard of a dual national?


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[dbrenn]

5 hours ago, bwpage3 said:

What happens when your original passport expires?

I've got three passports - UK, Thai & Australian - so long as none of the countries of which you are a citizen objects, there are no limits to the number of nationalities that you can have. When you leave Thailand by air, you check out of Thailand on your Thai passport, then enter the country of destination on whichever other passport you like - no need to get visas in your Thai passport at all. When you return to Thailand, you do the reverse, making sure that you only use your Thai passport to enter Thailand, and leave the country of departure using whichever passport you used to enter it.

 

Too easy.

[onthemoon]

46 minutes ago, dbrenn said:

I've got three passports - UK, Thai & Australian - so long as none of the countries of which you are a citizen objects, there are no limits to the number of nationalities that you can have. When you leave Thailand by air, you check out of Thailand on your Thai passport, then enter the country of destination on whichever other passport you like - no need to get visas in your Thai passport at all. When you return to Thailand, you do the reverse, making sure that you only use your Thai passport to enter Thailand, and leave the country of departure using whichever passport you used to enter it.

 

Too easy.

May I add that the Thai passport is useful for travelling within ASEAN and, if you do not happen to carry a passport from another APEC country, for the APEC Business Traveller Card (or what this card is called which you can carry and then don't need visas for 12 countries or so).

 

What I mean is, there is a list of countries for which you need a visa with a European passport but not with a Thai passport.

[dbrenn]

1 hour ago, onthemoon said:

May I add that the Thai passport is useful for travelling within ASEAN and, if you do not happen to carry a passport from another APEC country, for the APEC Business Traveller Card (or what this card is called which you can carry and then don't need visas for 12 countries or so).

 

What I mean is, there is a list of countries for which you need a visa with a European passport but not with a Thai passport.

Correct. Addition of a Thai passport to the one (s) that you already hold increases the number of countries you can visit visa free. Asian countries, as well as some countries that are not aligned with the West, like Russia, Iran, etc, are open to you for visa free travel. 

[Arkady]

13 hours ago, bwpage3 said:

What happens when your original passport expires?

 

What do you usually do when your passport expires.?  

[Arkady]

7 hours ago, onthemoon said:

May I add that the Thai passport is useful for travelling within ASEAN and, if you do not happen to carry a passport from another APEC country, for the APEC Business Traveller Card (or what this card is called which you can carry and then don't need visas for 12 countries or so).

 

What I mean is, there is a list of countries for which you need a visa with a European passport but not with a Thai passport.

 

A Thai passport is also useful for travelling to Russia without a visa, should you ever wish to go.  British, US and Israeli passport holders are subjected to a tedious procedure in applying for Russian visas in retaliation to what happens to Russians applying for visas for those countries.  And, as previously mentioned, a Thai passport is easier than a Western passport for travel to Laos, Vietnam and some other countries in the region.  

[NewlyMintedThai]

A Thai passport complements a Western one almost perfectly when it comes to visa-free travel. You lose nothing -- only gain huge advantages -- by acquiring one.


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[jayboy]

 
A Thai passport is also useful for travelling to Russia without a visa, should you ever wish to go.  British, US and Israeli passport holders are subjected to a tedious procedure in applying for Russian visas in retaliation to what happens to Russians applying for visas for those countries.  And, as previously mentioned, a Thai passport is easier than a Western passport for travel to Laos, Vietnam and some other countries in the region.  

An easier time with visas with a Thai passport? Up to a point Lord Copper.Russia certainly but the reality is a Thai passport is down the bottom of the list for visa free international acceptability.Its advantage in ASEAN is marginal.No sane foreigner would swap a Thai passport for a foreign passport - unless he could retain the latter.

Incidentally Israelis don't need a visa for Russia.

[NewlyMintedThai]

As noted, you don't have to swap anything.


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[jayboy]

As noted, you don't have to swap anything.


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I appreciate that but was just making the point - from personal family experience - a Thai passport is fairly hopeless in terms of visa free travel.


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[ubonjoe]

A off topic inflammatory post and a reply to it has been removed.

[anon789561]

Op was one of the best I've read on here and good luck to him. If you're here long enough and can keep original citizenship then it makes perfect sense. For me it would just be nice the next time someone says 'you no Thai you no understand' which admittedly hasn't been for a very long time, I can just reply, 'really, I Thai same you, donut'. Ah the little pleasures in life 

[MrPatrickThai]

45 minutes ago, Happy enough said:

Op was one of the best I've read on here and good luck to him. If you're here long enough and can keep original citizenship then it makes perfect sense. For me it would just be nice the next time someone says 'you no Thai you no understand' which admittedly hasn't been for a very long time, I can just reply, 'really, I Thai same you, donut'. Ah the little pleasures in life 

lol, yeah that would be nice to see the look on their face! 

 

One day, some Thai might actually accept us in Thailand, like the USA accept Asians - lol

 

 

[NewlyMintedThai]

...or the UK accepts South Asians and West Indians...


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[MrPatrickThai]

1 minute ago, NewlyMintedThai said:

...or the UK accepts South Asians and West Indians...


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And Jamaicans.

[NewlyMintedThai]

Or anyone who looks different, speaks with an accent, or wears something on their head...anywhere in the world.


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[Arkady]

I've had something like that, although not being born in Thailand, it's not really that galling.  It goes like this. "What nationality are you?"  "I'm Thai."  "No I don't mean that. I mean what nationality are you really." 

 

But I don't give a hoot.  I got my ID card and that's all that matters.   

[greenchair]

Wouldn't it be nice if we could keep this site clear of bickering and racism from all camps. Wouldn't it be nice if we continued with the upbeat and positive encouragement to people that are going through the long process and gratitude of people that have passed. I remember years ago, wherever I went people would stare, because there were not that many foreigners here. As more and more foreigners are receiving citizenship, slowly the people will adjust to this new trend. Having my citizenship and ID card has been nothing but a positive experience for me. For me the process was smooth and simple. My thai friends are overjoyed for me. And strangers always give a smile with a thumbs up when I present my card in a Thai only situation. 

I'm loving my new citizenship. 

Chai yo! !!!!!!

[perthperson]

On 7/8/2017 at 2:14 PM, Arkady said:

British, US and Israeli passport holders are subjected to a tedious procedure in applying for Russian visas

As a British passport holder who once worked in Moscow during USSR days that was not my experience. Obtaining the visa was easy. Things may now, of course, have changed.

[Arkady]

13 minutes ago, perthperson said:

As a British passport holder who once worked in Moscow during USSR days that was not my experience. Obtaining the visa was easy. Things may now, of course, have changed.

 

I applied for a Russian visa a few years ago before I got a Thai passport.  They had special forms for US, UK and Israeli citizens that were about 10-20 pages long vs the 2 page form for other nationalities.  I remember having to fill in ridiculous details like nearly every employer I had ever had with name of supervisor, address and telephone number, all clubs, societies and political affiliations etc.  That said, it was clear that no one at the embassy had any interest in scrutiinising any of this detail. It was purely retaliatory and knowing the obnoxious practices of the UK and the US towards visa applicants I can't really blame them.  Mrs Arkady, of course, didn't need a Russian visa but was treated to a horrifying procedure by Russian immigration officers, who couldn't speak a single word of English, repeatedly thumbing through her passport and obviously demanding to know where her visa was.  When I tried to explain that Thais didn't need a visa they stamped my passport and rudely gestured for me to go past and leave my wife being intimidated by them.  Eventually someone was found to explain the mysteries of Thai visaless travel to the dolts at the desk.    

 

Your experience in obtaining a Soviet visa was a lot better than mine.  In the 80s I planned a business trip to Moscow and Budapest which required invitations from business associates in those countries.  With some difficulty I obtained both invitations and applied for the visas.  Luckily I had two passports at the time and put one passport into each embassy about 2 months ahead of the planned trip.  The Hungarian visa came in two weeks which fortunately meant I was able to use that passport for other travel while waiting for the USSR visa.   About 2 weeks before the planned Eastern European trip there was still no sign sign of my Soviet visa.  By that time I had more pressing and lucrative business in Asia to attend to and couldn't wait any longer.  So I told the travel agent to cancel the travel arrangements and get my passport back from the USSR embassy which I think took about a week.  Having a second passport was extremely useful for that sort of thing.   In those days it was very difficult to get hard currency out of the East Europeans, which made them low priority customers, but I did regret not having the  chance to visit those countries at that time.            

[perthperson]

5 minutes ago, Arkady said:

I applied for a Russian visa a few years ago.................etc

Thanks. That all sounds quite horrific.  

 

All that was required of me was a visit to the Russian Embassy in London (with a letter of invitation). Within one hour I had my visa. -- However, that was a long time ago now..........

[QuantumMech]

15 minutes ago, Arkady said:

 

I applied for a Russian visa a few years ago before I got a Thai passport.  They had special forms for US, UK and Israeli citizens that were about 10-20 pages long vs the 2 page form for other nationalities.

For what it's worth, I got a Russian tourist visa as a US citizen last year, and while the "visa support letter" was pointless extra work, the process in general was pretty straightforward. Buy a support letter from an online travel agency (basically says when you'll be in Russia and which hotels you'll be staying in, except you don't actually have to stay in the listed hotels). Fill out the visa application online (3 pages, they do ask for a list of all the schools you've attended post-high school and all the professional organizations and charities you're involved with, but I didn't find that onerous to answer. Although it's possible that I interpreted the charity question more narrowly than they intended. I didn't list any; although I've donated to plenty of charities, I haven't done anything more with any, such as actual work). Print out the application, send it and the other documentation and money to the visa processing center. That's for a single entry visa—the embassy recommends that US citizens apply for a 3 year multiple entry visa, but I'm not sure why… that does require more documentation, like what real estate you own, a list of your family members, and some other stuff that I don't remember. And I got the impression that it was almost guaranteed that an in-person interview would be needed too.

 

I recently got a Thai passport, so if I do travel to Russia again, I'll probably use that. Hopefully I won't have the trouble Mrs. Arkady had. BTW, I came across a Thai tour group in a souvenir shop on Arbat Street. (Didn't talk to them though... I'm not very good at approaching strangers)

[onthemoon]

On 7/8/2017 at 2:14 PM, Arkady said:

 

A Thai passport is also useful for travelling to Russia without a visa, should you ever wish to go.  British, US and Israeli passport holders are subjected to a tedious procedure in applying for Russian visas in retaliation to what happens to Russians applying for visas for those countries.  And, as previously mentioned, a Thai passport is easier than a Western passport for travel to Laos, Vietnam and some other countries in the region.  

Yes, St. Petersburg is definitely on the list of places I want to see.

[Arkady]

An off topic post and response were removed.  There are many other forums where people can made unpleasant, childish remarks about Thai culture but, rest assured, they will be deleted from this thread.  So please save yourselves and me the effort. 

[EricTh]

I read the first post but he had a work permit in Thailand.

 

Is there anyway for a retiree to get Thai citizenship? What are the requirements.

[JackThompson]

3 minutes ago, EricTh said:

I read the first post but he had a work permit in Thailand.

Is there anyway for a retiree to get Thai citizenship? What are the requirements.

You need a work-permit and working and paying taxes for years to qualify to apply for Citizenship or Permanent Residence.  If married to a Thai, it makes more sense to go for Citizenship (cheaper - not including lawyer's costs for either - and full-rights as a citizen). 
See Camerata's thread for the Permanent-Residence process, which might be a better route if you are not married to a Thai:
https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/74654-cameratas-guide-to-the-permanent-residence-process/

 

[Arkady]

37 minutes ago, EricTh said:

I read the first post but he had a work permit in Thailand.

 

Is there anyway for a retiree to get Thai citizenship? What are the requirements.

 

The answer is that there is no way for a foreign male retiree to obtain Thai citizenship unless he starts working again and goes through the processes described by Jack T above.  The only exception to this would be the case of a foreign female retiree married to a Thai, who would not need to be working in Thailand.

 

As explained earlier in this thread, the original bill to amend the Nationality Act in 2008 would have given foreign male applicants married to Thais complete parity with foreign females married to Thais.  However, that part of the bill was shot down by the Interior Ministry's legal committee on grounds of national security (precise concerns were not disclosed in the publicly available report) and it was watered down to give males with Thai wives exemption from having to have PR first and from the need to have knowledge of the Thai language.  (This was actually a huge concession that many in this thread have benefited from).  The requirement to have a profession in the Kingdom was retained but the required salary was reduced from B80,000 per month to B40,000 a month for males married to Thais.

 

So, if you have a Thai wife and can get a job with a registered Thai company with work permit paying at least B40,000 a month, you would be eligible to apply after three years.  If you are not married to a Thai the PR route would not really be worth thinking about, as it is very lengthy and requires a higher salary and far more burdensome documentation.      

[MrPatrickThai]

I was told after moving my Tabien Bahn to Bkk, I'd have to wait 3 months before applying, so never took the documents to BKK. Then, I called SB and they said I could apply straight away! Sigh, so much varying information.

Also, noticed that now I have 2 yellow books. My previous one was kept by that amphur. My lat yellow book is only 4 years old -  could this be a problem? Please don't tell me I'll have to go back to that province to get a letter from there!

[greenchair]

3 hours ago, MrPatrickThai said:

I was told after moving my Tabien Bahn to Bkk, I'd have to wait 3 months before applying, so never took the documents to BKK. Then, I called SB and they said I could apply straight away! Sigh, so much varying information.

Also, noticed that now I have 2 yellow books. My previous one was kept by that amphur. My lat yellow book is only 4 years old -  could this be a problem? Please don't tell me I'll have to go back to that province to get a letter from there!

Psst ? You dont have to tell them everything.