Non Immigrant Quota

[MangoKorat]

I asked this question in a different thread about bringing personal belongings, household goods and furniture into Thailand but nobody has replied, hopefully someone here will know.

 

Does anybody know what 'Non Immigrant Quota' is?

 

The extract below, from the Thai Customs website states that those with Non Immigrant Quota and those with Work permits can bring such items in duty free (subject to limitations). Somebody suggested to me that it might mean those granted Permanent Residence - I believe that is granted on a quota basis. However, gaining PR takes years - I can't see anyone waiting that long to bring their things in so I doubt that's what it means.

 

In the past it was always stated that if you're stay is long term and on a marriage or retirement basis + those with a work permit, you could bring a limited amount of personal items, furniture and household goods in to Thailand duty free.  More recently I've heard more and more reports of people being charged 'duty'  or having to import in their wife's name - I'm not sure if that was acutally duty or where those payments went.................... Anyway......................................

 

'- Nonresidents

(1) Nonresidents changing their residence into Thailand must be granted a non-immigrant quota as shown in their passports or Nonresident Identification Cards; or

 (2) Nonresidents granted to work in Thailand are regarded as resuming residents in Thailand provided they have a one-year non-immigrant visa issued by the Immigration Department. In case where the non-immigrant visa has not yet been granted, either of the following documents may be accepted:

1. 1. 1. 1. The letter from the Immigration Department certifying that the nonresidents shall be granted an annual temporary stay in Thailand; or
         2. The work permit from the Department of Labor to work in Thailand for no less than one year.

[MangoKorat]

Reading that again, it can't mean PR as it says 'The letter from the Immigration Department certifying that the non-residents shall be granted an annual temporary stay in Thailand'.  That is not PR.

[DrJack54]

Most of the threads regarding bringing (importing) furniture, personal goods etc to Thailand have a negative spin.

Many folk suggesting ..."don't do it" 

For best advice suggest you change the thread heading.

Yes a Non O status assume you have that. 

What are you thinking of bringing. 

A container? What type of furniture etc.

I can understand folk with a large home however is it worth it.

 

[khunjeff]

The page you cited messed up the terminology - it should be "non-quota immigrant visa", not "non-immigrant quota".

 

"6. NON-QUOTA IMMIGRANT VISA

 

         - This type of visa is granted only by the Office of Immigration Bureau in Bangkok to aliens who are domiciled in Thailand having as evidence valid permits to re-enter the Kingdom. Applicants shall submit their applications together with the Certificate of Residence directly to the Immigration Bureau in Bangkok."

 

https://athens.thaiembassy.org/th/publicservice/17617-types-of-visa?page=5d74fae415e39c30ec0013f2&menu=5d74fae415e39c30ec0013f3

 

So yes, this does refer to permanent residence (whenever immigration says "residence", they're talking about PR).

 

11 hours ago, MangoKorat said:

Reading that again, it can't mean PR as it says 'The letter from the Immigration Department certifying that the non-residents shall be granted an annual temporary stay in Thailand'.  That is not PR.

 

That is from the second of two paragraphs separated by the word "or". The OP was asking about the first paragraph, which did indeed mean PR.

 

4 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Most of the threads regarding bringing (importing) furniture, personal goods etc to Thailand have a negative spin.

Many folk suggesting ..."don't do it" 

 

I imported all of my household effects when I came here on an OA - basically a container-load. The shipment was subject to duty, but that only came to about 20k baht, which was less than it would have cost just to replace my espresso machine. My employer paid for packing, shipping, and delivery as part of my retirement, so for me it made sense - for those who need to pay all the costs themselves, though, the math could be very different.

[bwanajohn]

Consult a customs broker...and then use them if what they tell you they can do, and how much it will cost, satisfies you .

  They will advise on Docs needed and protocols to be followed.

 

[DrJack54]

https://aseannow.com/topic/1241129-moving-to-thailand-is-bringing-furniture-etc-worth-the-hassle/

[MangoKorat]

6 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Most of the threads regarding bringing (importing) furniture, personal goods etc to Thailand have a negative spin.

Many folk suggesting ..."don't do it" 

For best advice suggest you change the thread heading.

Yes a Non O status assume you have that. 

What are you thinking of bringing. 

A container? What type of furniture etc.

I can understand folk with a large home however is it worth it.

 

I am not asking about whether to bring my belongings or not - I dealt with that in a different thread. I have already obtained prices for a container and shipping. I am simply trying to make sense of the regulations regarding duty.

 

It has always been my belief that those moving to Thailand and holding a Non O Visa or a Non B with a work permit are allowed to bring their household goods, personal belongings and furniture subject to certain limits on quantity. Indeed, that belief has been borne out by the experience of several friends over the years.

 

However, more recently there have been several posts from people who have been charged duty when they moved to Thailand despite having a Non O.  Generally it appears that Customs have only been allowing duty free status to those with a work permit in recent years.  The regulations though, as I posted above are about as clear as mud.

1 hour ago, khunjeff said:

The page you cited messed up the terminology - it should be "non-quota immigrant visa", not "non-immigrant quota"............................................

I am not being argumentative - simply discussing this and I don't agree with much of your reply. It is my presumption that (Using 'Permission 1 and Permission 2' + Condition 1 and Condition 2 as identification) that Condition 1 refers to Permission 2 and Condition 2 refers to Permission 2 . Both P1 and C1 refer to residence and P2 + C2 refer to employment.

 

Further, other customs regulations state that to obtain duty free status, the goods have to be imported 1 month before entry or up to 6 months after entry (I think 6). Given that it takes several years to obtain Permanent Residency, how can P1 apply to holders of PR?

[MangoKorat]

To be honest, I don't think anyone here, given the messed up terminology etc. can answer my questions accurately.

 

From what I can gather, whatever the regulations state, it appears that in practice, Customs have only been allowing those with a Work Permit to bring their things in duty free.

 

I will have a choice of how I choose to stay in Thailand - either Non O with a retirement extension or Non B with a Work Permit as I will be starting a business.

 

I really didn't want to start the business immediately - it could take 6 months to a year to get everything in place and be ready to start. To obtain the Work Permit, I would have to set the business up almost immediately, set on Thai staff or at least pay their Social Security and start paying tax myself.  However, if that's what I have to do, then I will do it.

 

I've asked my lawyer to speak to Customs to try and clarify their regulations. In addition, I have a meeting with a Bangkok shipping company in a few weeks - they will be handling customs clearance and hopefully be in a position to advise on duty.

 

[MangoKorat]

1 hour ago, MangoKorat said:

that Condition 1 refers to Permission 2

Apologies, that should of course read: Condition 1 Refers to Permission 1.

[sandyf]

15 hours ago, MangoKorat said:

 

Does anybody know what 'Non Immigrant Quota' is?

I would suggest that you are right in thinking it means PR as that is subject to a quota each year.

I moved my belongings in 2010 under Non O status and there was no duty free allowance.

The words " regarded as resuming residents " means returning Thais. A friend of mine moved his stuff about the same time but did it under his wife's name as a returning Thai which carried a duty free allowance.

He did have to pay duty on the motorbike, customs didn't believe it was hers.

BTW. I didn't pay the maritime insurance, premium was a lot more that the value of the goods, but a personal choice.

[MangoKorat]

On 1/29/2025 at 9:38 AM, sandyf said:

I would suggest that you are right in thinking it means PR as that is subject to a quota each year.

Quite the oppostite, I don't see how it can mean PR.  Other rules on bringing in your furniture and personal effects state it must be done either 1 month before entry or a maximum of 6 months after.  Obtaining PR takes years therefore an applicant with PR would be well past the 6 month limit.

[Maestro]

There is no quota on non-immigrant visas.

[Maestro]

There is an annual quota for immigrant visas: 100 for big counties, 50 for small countries.

 

There in no quota for non-quota immigrant visas, as far as I know.

[DrJack54]

Off topic post removed.

[MangoKorat]

1 hour ago, Maestro said:

There is no quota on non-immigrant visas.

Right, so have you any idea what Customs mean then?

[Maestro]

On 1/30/2025 at 9:58 PM, MangoKorat said:

Right, so have you any idea what Customs mean then?

 

No.

 

Read the original Thai text of whatever you are talking about. It may a case of a translation error.

[MangoKorat]

3 hours ago, Maestro said:

 

No.

 

Read the original Thai text of whatever you are talking about. It may a case of a translation error.

I have and its exactly the same.

[sandyf]

On 1/30/2025 at 5:19 PM, MangoKorat said:

Quite the oppostite, I don't see how it can mean PR.  Other rules on bringing in your furniture and personal effects state it must be done either 1 month before entry or a maximum of 6 months after.  Obtaining PR takes years therefore an applicant with PR would be well past the 6 month limit.

Non immigrant status is either by visa or PR, you obviously believe there is a quota on non immigrant visas.

I brought my personal effects over about 2 years after I came to live, maybe they changed the rules for you.

[sandyf]

On 1/30/2025 at 8:39 PM, Maestro said:

There is an annual quota for immigrant visas: 100 for big counties, 50 for small countries.

 

There in no quota for non-quota immigrant visas, as far as I know.

As  far as I am aware there is no immigrant visa.

PR is the nearest thing to immigrant status as used by other countries.

 

There is an annual quota and a specific timeframe to apply for Thailand Permanent Residency. The quota is usually 100 persons of each nationality and 50 persons for stateless applicants. The application is inclined to open from October or November until the last day of December each year.

https://www.siam-legal.com/thailand-visa/permanent-residence-thailand.php#:~:text=There is an annual quota,day of December each year.

[MangoKorat]

39 minutes ago, sandyf said:

As  far as I am aware there is no immigrant visa.

PR is the nearest thing to immigrant status as used by other countries.

 

There is an annual quota and a specific timeframe to apply for Thailand Permanent Residency. The quota is usually 100 persons of each nationality and 50 persons for stateless applicants. The application is inclined to open from October or November until the last day of December each year.

https://www.siam-legal.com/thailand-visa/permanent-residence-thailand.php#:~:text=There is an annual quota,day of December each year.

Thanks but as I've stated several times, Customs cannot mean PR.  The other stipulations are that to be imported duty free, items must be imported no more than 1 month before an applicant arrives in Thailand and no more than 1 month after. It takes several years to obtain PR so those deadlines could not be met.

[MangoKorat]

55 minutes ago, sandyf said:

Non immigrant status is either by visa or PR, you obviously believe there is a quota on non immigrant visas.

I don't believe anything - I am trying to work out what the text on a Customs website means - see the OP:

 

(1) Nonresidents changing their residence into Thailand must be granted a non-immigrant quota as shown in their passports or Nonresident Identification Cards; or

[MangoKorat]

Personal Effects

Personal effects are private owned goods that importer brings into or out of the Kingdom of Thailand. These goods applied for the duty and tax exemption must be imported within the specific period of time (1 month prior or 6 months after the arrival of the importer).

 

Please note that these do not include the goods that imported by person who reside in the Kingdom of Thailand or goods that sent from another country as a gift.

Household Effects

Household Effects are goods which are normally necessary to equip a self-contained home e.g. furniture, home appliances, kitchenwares, and similar household furnishing, etc. that importer brings into the Kingdom of Thailand in case of changing residence. These household effects must be imported within 1 month prior or 6 months after the arrival of the importer. To be eligible for tax and duty free allowance, the importer is required to have owned, possessed, and used the household effects before the importer return to the Kingdom of Thailand to resume residence. The goods imported for commercial purpose are not eligible as household effects.

 

https://apps.customs.go.th/list_strc_simple_neted.php?ini_content=pbc_01&ini_menu=menu_pbc&left_menu=menu_pbc_01&&root_left_menu=menu_pbc&xleft_menu=menu_pbc_01&lang=en&left_menu=nmenu_esevice_180531_01

[Maestro]

21 hours ago, MangoKorat said:

I have and its exactly the same.

 

In that case, with the Thai text also using the English term non immigrant quota, this is exactly what the customs office means. 

 

I have never heard of a non immigrant quota or a non-immigrant quota.

[Upnotover]

11 minutes ago, Maestro said:

 

In that case, with the Thai text also using the English term non immigrant quota, this is exactly what the customs office means. 

 

I have never heard a non immigrant quota or a non-immigrant quota.

Perhaps they are trying to refer to this, for PR's who want to leave and return? (from Thai Embassy, Athens);

 

 NON-QUOTA IMMIGRANT VISA

         - This type of visa is granted only by the Office of Immigration Bureau in Bangkok to aliens who are domiciled in Thailand having as evidence valid permits to re-enter the Kingdom. Applicants shall submit their applications together with the Certificate of Residence directly to the Immigration Bureau in Bangkok.

 

[MangoKorat]

2 hours ago, Upnotover said:

Perhaps they are trying to refer to this, for PR's who want to leave and return? (from Thai Embassy, Athens);

 

 NON-QUOTA IMMIGRANT VISA

         - This type of visa is granted only by the Office of Immigration Bureau in Bangkok to aliens who are domiciled in Thailand having as evidence valid permits to re-enter the Kingdom. Applicants shall submit their applications together with the Certificate of Residence directly to the Immigration Bureau in Bangkok.

 

Who knows? I will be visiting a shipping agent in Bangkok soon, I will ask them to call their customs contact and try to find out.