Taking private Thai lessons to prepare for Citizenship application in 2 yrs. Help

[jack71]

I'm married to a Thai lady and have a Work Permit. I understand that I can bypass PR and apply for Citizenship after 3 yrs evidence of marriage/ working and paying taxes here. I know that its mandatory that I can pass a conversation test in Thai language......

 

My Thai language skills are below par. Im above beginners level for sure. I had lessons a few yrs ago and then got lazy. I've been slowly learning vocab but need new lessons starting this weekend. 

 

My tutor asked me what I wanted to learn. For citizenship do I only have to have speaking skills in Thai language. Do I need to know how to read Thai or write it?

 

If you've had lessons before any tips are appreciated. I have a list of 100 most common English verbs. Started to learn some of the translated words in Thai. Is this a good start?

 

Or should I be learning the thai alphabet?

 

I read somewhere that I might have to sing the Thai national anthem. Is this for real? I suppose I can ask my child to help me with this one for the next 2 years?

 

Finally, do you think 1 lesson per week and extra stuff at home will be enough prep to pass the test in 2 years? 

thanks

Edited June 3, 2022 by jack71

[ChaiyaTH]

You will not get it that soon or easily, aside of needing a lot money and a good lawyer office. Dream on.

 

I know people who lived here 10+ years, are multi millionaires, have 50 staff, a wife and multiple kids here, speak read and write fluent Thai, and still are not even close to actually getting it. Let alone you.

 

Even to get PR, won't be that easy lol.

Edited June 3, 2022 by ChaiyaTH

[jack71]

2 minutes ago, ChaiyaTH said:

You will not get it that soon or easily, aside of needing a lot money and a good lawyer office. Dream on.

 

I know people who lived here 10 years, are multi millionaires, have 50 staff, a wife and multiple kids here, speak read and write fluent Thai, and still are not even close to actually getting it. Let alone you.

Point taken. I suppose I was going to apply next year and then thought it would be a year or so for interviews. 

 

I dont think its 10 years. Maybe its something you heard from a bar stool?

[ChaiyaTH]

5 minutes ago, jack71 said:

Point taken. I suppose I was going to apply next year and then thought it would be a year or so for interviews. 

 

I dont think its 10 years. Maybe its something you heard from a bar stool?

Maybe you need to read again what I wrote. You won't get it, ever. Best case PR with half a million, even that is unlikely.

You will have a non-o child visa or marriage visa or retirement visa, or a business or tourist visa, in this life. PR if you are ambitious, and add some time and money more, just maybe.

 

But feel free to apply countless times and pay the fee that comes with it, non-refundable. They will love your donations.

Edited June 3, 2022 by ChaiyaTH

[Puccini]

4 hours ago, ChaiyaTH said:

You will not get it that soon or easily, aside of needing a lot money and a good lawyer office. Dream on...

No lawyer is needed to learn Thai.

[DineshR]

I can't comment on the feasibility of obtaining Thai citizenship but I can suggest a way to learn Thai.

 

I approached a Kumon center and asked if I could learn Thai there. I was lucky enough to be accepted into that school and have been going there now for 2 1/2 years. I can tell you that it is by far the best way to learn Thai. The Kumon teaching method slowly builds your competence in the Thai language over time. Today, I can say that my Thai is better than average - in reading, speaking and writing. What does it cost ? They charged me THB 1500 per month. Aside from the monetary cost, it will cost you time - you will need to spend at least 1 hour a day doing your Kumon homework EVERYDAY and go to the Kumon center at least once a week. I did that for 30 months straight and am glad that I made that investment - I can now listen to Thai radio and watch Thai TV news and can pretty much understand most of what I hear. Worth the effort if you really want to learn Thai and I think you will pass with flying colors in the citizenship language test. My longer goal is to get Thai citizenship and I started with learning the language.  I am going to get my yellow tabian baan in the next few months and am planning my next steps in terms of contributions to Thai society before I actually begin the process of applying for Thai citizenship. Don't be deterred by those that say it is next to impossible - maybe, but you won't know until you have tried it and crossed the t's and dotted all the i's. Good luck !!

 

[mvdf]

Not impossible but from what I've read a cumbersome and herculean journey.

 

I have Cambodian citizenship and I have to say it was more a matter of expense and whom-you-know rather than compliance with naturalization laws. Length of residency and language fluency do count compulsorily but are secondary factors. 

[Iamfalang]

Learn to read first.

 

I’m 100 percent sure this is the best way.  

[1FinickyOne]

25 minutes ago, Iamfalang said:

Learn to read first.

 

I’m 100 percent sure this is the best way.  

Everyone learns 'best' differently... I learned 'best' through immersion and conversation... it worked well for me and I learned some reading and writing later... but the conversational aspect is what kept me going, kept me engaged.. but I mimic sounds well enough so tones were not much of an issue for me...

 

not to diminish the advances made w/reading...  and if learning a new word, I benefit by seeing the spelling as well. 

 

ps - a fellow in my village can read and write, I assume competently but he can barely speak a word - he hasn't learned the meaning. 

 

Just saying, there is no 100% but there is a best way for each of us which is not necessarily the same. 

Edited June 4, 2022 by 1FinickyOne

[ChaiyaTH]

As mentioned previously by myself but also someone else, even you get fluent in the language, that is just a minor thing. The major thing is about money and connections, to increase chances, not guarantee.

 

And no, knowing a few generals won't be enough. The OP is likely either a newbie or extremely naive, he can continue to live here on his marriage or children visa already anyway and maybe after 10 years from now get PR, not citizenship. 

 

Having a kid gets most people to retirement age anyway, if they aren't already at that age when getting a kid here (often). 

Last but not least, even you did get citizenship, that likely means to give up your other passport, which isn't a good deal at all. PR is better then. But no worries as you won't get it anyway.

Edited June 4, 2022 by ChaiyaTH

[Srikcir]

25 minutes ago, ChaiyaTH said:

As mentioned previously by myself but also someone else, even you get fluent in the language, that is just a minor thing. The major thing is about money and connections, to increase chances, not guarantee.

 

And no, knowing a few generals won't be enough. The OP is likely either a newbie or extremely naive, he can continue to live here on his marriage or children visa already anyway and maybe after 10 years from now get PR, not citizenship. 

 

Having a kid gets most people to retirement age anyway, if they aren't already at that age when getting a kid here (often). 

Last but not least, even you did get citizenship, that likely means to give up your other passport, which isn't a good deal at all. PR is better then. But no worries as you won't get it anyway.

"give up your passport"

There are at least 24 countries that recognize dual citizenship. I suspect Jack77 is from one of them. 

[ChaiyaTH]

15 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

"give up your passport"

There are at least 24 countries that recognize dual citizenship. I suspect Jack77 is from one of them. 

Meaning for the majority of people, reading this later on too, and maybe even the OP himself, it is relevant. Again that is just a tiny detail, as actually getting it is the issue here, I suspect the very very few pink unicorns who did get it like the big Hospitality business guy, would not care at that stage to give up (even he did not need to as well).

Usually you are also wealthy enough to just buy new passports after getting the Thai one anyway.

 

----

 

Having said all this and previous posts, I do think there is a higher chance of improvement in the future here, as they will have too few people here in (new) needed industries, specialists, people to buy or rent all the property etc etc. But that all can easily take another 5-15 years before seeing the first real changes.

 

For me personally I also sometimes wander in my mind, I could have gotten 2 passports in 2 countries already in all the time I spent here, if comparing how it works in many western countries and knowing I meet requirements. But then again I would not have had an amazing time for a decade plus already.

Edited June 4, 2022 by ChaiyaTH

[tomazbodner]

11 hours ago, jack71 said:

Or should I be learning the thai alphabet?

 

I read somewhere that I might have to sing the Thai national anthem. Is this for real? I suppose I can ask my child to help me with this one for the next 2 years?

 

Finally, do you think 1 lesson per week and extra stuff at home will be enough prep to pass the test in 2 years? 

You should probably start with alphabet to learn differences between tonation. I didn't, which caused a wreck later. But as you said you're beyond beginner, you might have already learned spoken Thai, which could work against you in learning it properly. Nonetheless, the Thai test for citizenship is not much different from one for PR - it is in formal Thai, and it is conversation. Ability to read/write would give you extra points. It's not an exam per-se, but rather starting with standard Q&A and then moving to whatever conversation leads to.

 

It is true that applicants for citizenship need to sing Thai anthem, however from what I am aware, that's only true if you are not married to a Thai, where it is not required.

 

And finally, if you combine your lessons with your wife only speaking Thai with you, depending on how flexible your brain still is, you could be fluent in Thai by then, as long as she only speaks formal Thai with you.

 

Good luck.

[jack71]

1 hour ago, ChaiyaTH said:

As mentioned previously by myself but also someone else, even you get fluent in the language, that is just a minor thing. The major thing is about money and connections, to increase chances, not guarantee.

 

And no, knowing a few generals won't be enough. The OP is likely either a newbie or extremely naive, he can continue to live here on his marriage or children visa already anyway and maybe after 10 years from now get PR, not citizenship. 

 

Having a kid gets most people to retirement age anyway, if they aren't already at that age when getting a kid here (often). 

Last but not least, even you did get citizenship, that likely means to give up your other passport, which isn't a good deal at all. PR is better then. But no worries as you won't get it anyway.

I do wish that you would stop making vague statements about the success of getting citizenship. You clearly have NO idea. Ive lived here 8 years and have read MANY threads about westerners getting citizenship

[tomazbodner]

11 hours ago, ChaiyaTH said:

You will not get it that soon or easily, aside of needing a lot money and a good lawyer office. Dream on.

 

I know people who lived here 10+ years, are multi millionaires, have 50 staff, a wife and multiple kids here, speak read and write fluent Thai, and still are not even close to actually getting it. Let alone you.

 

Even to get PR, won't be that easy lol.

And it didn't take long for someone who never tried to come out with experience of the entire Earth's population to put the OP down, simply because "If I can't have it, neither should anyone else". Are you Slovenian, by any chance? Darn, you surely sound like one.

[jack71]

1 hour ago, Srikcir said:

"give up your passport"

There are at least 24 countries that recognize dual citizenship. I suspect Jack77 is from one of them. 

Judging from some of the daft comments from ChiayaTH he has no idea. 

[tomazbodner]

3 minutes ago, jack71 said:

I do wish that you would stop making vague statements about the success of getting citizenship. You clearly have NO idea. Ive lived here 8 years and have read MANY threads about westerners getting citizenship

And I know several who applied and were granted citizenship, and they aren't even that fluent in Thai, nor are they rich. It is in fact cheaper to apply for citizenship than PR, and those did it over PR (first PR, 5 years later applied for citizenship) ... and yes, they had to sing the anthem as they weren't married to a Thai. But you know what... when I was asking about applying for PR some 15 years back, the same group was killing my mood with same kind of statements, how it's just impossible, how you need a very good lawyer to apply for you, blah blah blah. I followed Camerata's guide on this forum, applied by myself, and had it granted.

 

So if there's anything I can suggest the OP - stop listening to AseanNow nay-saying brigade who obviously have no clue, find threads of successful stories, reach out to those and ask them what to be careful of and how to navigate the mine field of Thai bureaucracy.

[thaiowl]

55 minutes ago, tomazbodner said:

And I know several who applied and were granted citizenship, and they aren't even that fluent in Thai, nor are they rich. It is in fact cheaper to apply for citizenship than PR, and those did it over PR (first PR, 5 years later applied for citizenship) ... and yes, they had to sing the anthem as they weren't married to a Thai. But you know what... when I was asking about applying for PR some 15 years back, the same group was killing my mood with same kind of statements, how it's just impossible, how you need a very good lawyer to apply for you, blah blah blah. I followed Camerata's guide on this forum, applied by myself, and had it granted.

 

So if there's anything I can suggest the OP - stop listening to AseanNow nay-saying brigade who obviously have no clue, find threads of successful stories, reach out to those and ask them what to be careful of and how to navigate the mine field of Thai bureaucracy.

Agreed. I have a few friends who have been granted either citizenship or PR ( I have PR) and neither money or influential friends were required. Just follow the application process and wait.

[ericthai]

23 hours ago, ChaiyaTH said:

You will not get it that soon or easily, aside of needing a lot money and a good lawyer office. Dream on.

 

I know people who lived here 10+ years, are multi millionaires, have 50 staff, a wife and multiple kids here, speak read and write fluent Thai, and still are not even close to actually getting it. Let alone you.

 

Even to get PR, won't be that easy lol.

It is expensive and does take time.

Dont know why your multi-millionaire friends cant get PR or citizenship other than just not trying. I have several friends (who are not multi-millionaires) with PR and Thai citizenship so it does happen.

[n8sail]

It is not impossible at all...   Like everything here, it just takes paperwork, organization and most of all patience.  Ignore the people saying you need friends in high places.  That is utter cow manure.

 

I have one friend from USA, not very wealthy, but has three half-babies, who has Thai Citizenship.  My Thai, according to him, is better than his, and he says I should really apply on grounds of my employment here 'helping Thai society'.   I think that's a stretch, and I've no children so cannot go that route.   He got it about 10 years ago I believe.

 

For countries 'not allowing' dual citizenship, I know several people that have 2 passports and are from such countries.  The daughter of someone I work with has freakin' THREE passports, one of which includes the USA!  Just don't ever show the other passports when you fly into such a country.   Apparently it really doesn't matter as long as you're paying taxes where due etc.

 

I have another friend going through PR right now.   He just had to hand-carry 200,000 Baht cash (that's all they'll accept)  to the office where he's applying to give to them.  He has lived here 17 years, works a pretty decent engineering job, but certainly not wealthy.  It has been about a year already of interviews, paperwork etc.  He said the main interview was pretty easy, they are very polite and joke around with you.  This friend speaks better Thai than I can, he's probably 75% fluent.   At 200k baht, he thinks it's worth it if he stays another decade or so based on visa costs and time saved getting visas and 90-day reporting.  Of course he still has to deal with Work Permits, no help on that side of things.

[ecline]

I applied for Thai citizenship last year. It is most definitely not impossible to get, you do not need a lawyer, and it is not expensive. In fact, it costs way less than PR. With that out of the way, there is a new requirement for a formal Thai language test to be given to all applicants. I don't know what the level will be, but it almost certainly will not be at a very advanced level. Basic reading, writing and conversation will be plenty for you to pass the test and get maximum points for the language criteria. As others have noted, you definitely want to learn to read and write. You should do that concurrently with your conversational language study. 

 

Thai is not Chinese. Their written system is an alphabet with rules. While it is way more complex than English, it is not super difficult to get up to speed. A matter of months should be all you need to read road signs and the like. There is a Thai civics test that will be administered in Thai (that might actually be the language test, I am not sure about that) and you should concentrate on that after the first few months or the first year of study. It is not over the top difficult, Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

 

Thai citizenship applications are evaluated on a points-based merit system. Education, income level and Thai language ability are the most important categories in the points system. You can easily find the details searching Google or this forum. If you don't have a degree, get one if you can, but it is not strictly necessary. Also, be sure you get your name in a Yellow Book if haven't already. Being in the book for 5 years gets you "bonus points".

 

Anyway, if you want citizenship here, you can most likely get it. Learn the requirements, make a plan, and execute it. And be really, really, really patient ????

 

EDIT: You don't have to sing the anthem if you are married to a Thai national. Also, there is a thread on Asean Now (ThaiVisa) called something like "My story of getting Thai citizenship". The thread has run for many years and is still active today. You can find it easily using the forum search tools. Lots of people currently going through the process (including myself) are active on that forum. You can get any citizenship question answered there.

Edited June 6, 2022 by ecline
Adding more info

[jack71]

6 hours ago, ecline said:

I applied for Thai citizenship last year. It is most definitely not impossible to get, you do not need a lawyer, and it is not expensive. In fact, it costs way less than PR. With that out of the way, there is a new requirement for a formal Thai language test to be given to all applicants. I don't know what the level will be, but it almost certainly will not be at a very advanced level. Basic reading, writing and conversation will be plenty for you to pass the test and get maximum points for the language criteria. As others have noted, you definitely want to learn to read and write. You should do that concurrently with your conversational language study. 

 

Thai is not Chinese. Their written system is an alphabet with rules. While it is way more complex than English, it is not super difficult to get up to speed. A matter of months should be all you need to read road signs and the like. There is a Thai civics test that will be administered in Thai (that might actually be the language test, I am not sure about that) and you should concentrate on that after the first few months or the first year of study. It is not over the top difficult, Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

 

Thai citizenship applications are evaluated on a points-based merit system. Education, income level and Thai language ability are the most important categories in the points system. You can easily find the details searching Google or this forum. If you don't have a degree, get one if you can, but it is not strictly necessary. Also, be sure you get your name in a Yellow Book if haven't already. Being in the book for 5 years gets you "bonus points".

 

Anyway, if you want citizenship here, you can most likely get it. Learn the requirements, make a plan, and execute it. And be really, really, really patient ????

 

EDIT: You don't have to sing the anthem if you are married to a Thai national. Also, there is a thread on Asean Now (ThaiVisa) called something like "My story of getting Thai citizenship". The thread has run for many years and is still active today. You can find it easily using the forum search tools. Lots of people currently going through the process (including myself) are active on that forum. You can get any citizenship question answered there.

THanks so much for your comment. Do you mind if I ask.... from the time of applying and subsequently getting the citizenship approved 100%.... how long was that exactly?

 

I had my first lesson on the weekend and today now have memorised the first 4 letters of the Thai alphabet and can say it correctly as well. I will use my child everyday to help. Something to do whilst stuck in traffic. 

 

Everyweek do you suggest I just keep trying to learn 4 more letters? How to write and say it? Should I just keep doing that?

 

I haven't used my memory for ages and kind of looking forward to the challenge. Sounds weird I know but I think this could be good for me to avoid early onset dementia. 

 

Finally, do you mind if I ask what technique you used to remember all the images correctly in the alphabet? Was it just writing it down 50 times in a row? How did you actually do it?

 

thanks

[ecline]

On 6/6/2022 at 7:53 PM, jack71 said:

THanks so much for your comment. Do you mind if I ask.... from the time of applying and subsequently getting the citizenship approved 100%.... how long was that exactly?

 

I had my first lesson on the weekend and today now have memorised the first 4 letters of the Thai alphabet and can say it correctly as well. I will use my child everyday to help. Something to do whilst stuck in traffic. 

 

Everyweek do you suggest I just keep trying to learn 4 more letters? How to write and say it? Should I just keep doing that?

 

I haven't used my memory for ages and kind of looking forward to the challenge. Sounds weird I know but I think this could be good for me to avoid early onset dementia. 

 

Finally, do you mind if I ask what technique you used to remember all the images correctly in the alphabet? Was it just writing it down 50 times in a row? How did you actually do it?

 

thanks

There isn't a set time to the granting of citizenship applications, but these days it appears to be taking between three and four years. Note that you have to keep your work permit and visa valid for the three tax years leading up to your application and for all the years your application is under consideration. This is super important. Any lapse in work permit or visa validity will disqualify you. 

 

I took Thai lessons well over 30 years ago. I don't remember having any special technique to trying to learn the letters and tone rules. I do remember being quite frustrated for a time until one day things just "clicked" and I went from knowing the letters but not being able to read to suddenly being able to read. I studied Mandarin Chines for quite a while before that, and trying to learn to read and write was pretty challenging. For that I just wrote characters over and over and over again until they stuck. I basically just did the same with Thai. It seemed to work. Just keep plugging away at it and you will get there. Sadly I have forgotten most of the Chinese characters I learned, but at least I can still speak a bit.

 

Best of luck!

[Kevinphall]

On 6/4/2022 at 6:36 AM, DineshR said:

I can't comment on the feasibility of obtaining Thai citizenship but I can suggest a way to learn Thai.

 

I approached a Kumon center and asked if I could learn Thai there. I was lucky enough to be accepted into that school and have been going there now for 2 1/2 years. I can tell you that it is by far the best way to learn Thai. The Kumon teaching method slowly builds your competence in the Thai language over time. Today, I can say that my Thai is better than average - in reading, speaking and writing. What does it cost ? They charged me THB 1500 per month. Aside from the monetary cost, it will cost you time - you will need to spend at least 1 hour a day doing your Kumon homework EVERYDAY and go to the Kumon center at least once a week. I did that for 30 months straight and am glad that I made that investment - I can now listen to Thai radio and watch Thai TV news and can pretty much understand most of what I hear. Worth the effort if you really want to learn Thai and I think you will pass with flying colors in the citizenship language test. My longer goal is to get Thai citizenship and I started with learning the language.  I am going to get my yellow tabian baan in the next few months and am planning my next steps in terms of contributions to Thai society before I actually begin the process of applying for Thai citizenship. Don't be deterred by those that say it is next to impossible - maybe, but you won't know until you have tried it and crossed the t's and dotted all the i's. Good luck !!

 

Don’t suppose you have a website link to where you went? Tried googling but getting only English and maths classes for school kids ?

[DineshR]

Just go to the Kumon's in your area and ask. Kumon started out with math and English initially but they added Thai a few years ago. My son had been going to Kumon for a while and I got to know the Kumon teacher there pretty well after a year or so whenever I went there to check on my son's progress. After my son started Thai in Kumon, and a few months later, I asked if I could sign up for Thai lessons as well. She agreed and that's how I got in. I am not sure if all Kumon's have Thai as a subject but you have to ask around. Each Kumon center needs to be certified by Kumon HQ to teach a subject and that means having teachers get certified by Kumon first. If they are not certified, they can't teach the subject. Just for reference, the fees in Kumon used to be 1500/month/subject for kids under 15 I think and 1600/month/subject. When I joined she offered 1500 per month for me. This was in June 2019. As a benchmark I remember taking Thai lessons in Bangkok almost 20 years ago and they charged 6000/month. I did that for 5 months and then stopped but it gave me basic conversational Thai. Kumon is much more intensive.

 

I would go to Kumon class once a week usually on a Saturday (along with my son) but once Covid hit, I did weekly video lessons. I got to level C1 (the levels if I remember correctly, start with level 5, 4, 3, 2 ,1 , then A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2, D1, D2, E1, E2, F1, F2, G1, G2, H1, H2, I1, I2, K1 and K2, From about B1 onwards, you do a lot of reading and answering questions in Thai.  I took a break after finishing C1 but intend to continue perhaps early next year but I am revising my earlier lessons in the meantime to keep the vocabulary fresh. After C1, you can pretty much read most emails and texts sent to you along with understanding a lot of what is being said on radio or TV. There will be words you will not know but then I turn and ask my wife what the word means. Most times now, I reply to emails and text back in Thai but occasionally I will use Google translate to make sure I got the spelling right. Kumon worked for me but I can't say it will work for everyone. As a poster mentioned earlier, people learn differently. Kumon though is a commitment - daily homework that never stops. It is at least a 1 hour daily commitment. Good luck !

[Neeranam]

On 6/10/2022 at 8:36 AM, ecline said:

There isn't a set time to the granting of citizenship applications, but these days it appears to be taking between three and four years. Note that you have to keep your work permit and visa valid for the three tax years leading up to your application and for all the years your application is under consideration. This is super important. Any lapse in work permit or visa validity will disqualify you. 

It took me exactly 3 years from application to getting it. This was delayed a couple of months by Covid. 

I applied in Dec 2017. The NIA exam was Jan 2018 and that was the last I had to show WP. I know they say you must keep it but in reality, I wasn't asked, luckily as I didn't have one! 

 

[Neeranam]

On 6/3/2022 at 10:53 PM, ChaiyaTH said:

You will not get it that soon or easily, aside of needing a lot money and a good lawyer office. Dream on.

 

I know people who lived here 10+ years, are multi millionaires, have 50 staff, a wife and multiple kids here, speak read and write fluent Thai, and still are not even close to actually getting it. Let alone you.

 

Even to get PR, won't be that easy lol.

Not true at all. 

I never used a lawyer, it's a fairly simple process. 

I only paid 5,000 baht for it. 

[Neeranam]

On 6/3/2022 at 10:58 PM, ChaiyaTH said:

Maybe you need to read again what I wrote. You won't get it, ever. Best case PR with half a million, even that is unlikely.

You will have a non-o child visa or marriage visa or retirement visa, or a business or tourist visa, in this life. PR if you are ambitious, and add some time and money more, just maybe.

 

But feel free to apply countless times and pay the fee that comes with it, non-refundable. They will love your donations.

More nonsense.

[Neeranam]

On 6/4/2022 at 6:51 AM, mvdf said:

Not impossible but from what I've read a cumbersome and herculean journey.

 

 I would describe it as เรียบง่ายแต่ไม่ง่าย

[Neeranam]

On 6/3/2022 at 10:44 PM, jack71 said:

Or should I be learning the thai alphabet?

 

I read somewhere that I might have to sing the Thai national anthem. Is this for real? I suppose I can ask my child to help me with this one for the next 2 years?

 

Finally, do you think 1 lesson per week and extra stuff at home will be enough prep to pass the test in 2 years? 

thanks

Yes, learn the alphabet but don't worry about the Thai test if you have the necessary 50/100 points from other areas like education, salary.

You don't actually have to speak Thai, your wife is allowed to translate. 

I never had to sing the national anthem. They scrapped this, if you are married. 

 

Don't believe what many think about the process, 

 

I highly advise you learn Thai. Good luck.