Will my son be fined?

[OJAS]

54 minutes ago, LES 78 said:

Why hasn't he a thai passport my stepdaughter born in Bangkok has both a UK and thai passport 

 

Because neither of his parents are Thai! Presumably your stepdaughter's mother is Thai?

[brewsterbudgen]

1 hour ago, OJAS said:

 

Because neither of his parents are Thai! Presumably your stepdaughter's mother is Thai?

Thanks. Correct.  People should really read the entire thread before commenting!

[pacovl46]

Admins. Please delete this post of mine.

[pacovl46]

5 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

1. I was joking.

2. You need a Thai parent to have Thai citizenship.  Being born in Thailand doesn't count for anything.

Foreigners can definitely apply for Thai citizenship. A friend of mine who’s from Ireland has got it about 2 years ago now. He’s been living and working in Thailand since 2002 continuously. It’s definitely worth looking into it. Does your son go to a Thai school and speaks fluently Thai or does he go to an international school? He would definitely have to prove that he can speak some Thai. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but good enough that you can answer some questions about yourself when they interview you as part of the application process. I think they grant 100 citizenships per year per nationality, or something along those lines. 

[DrJack54]

6 minutes ago, pacovl46 said:

Admins. Please delete this post of mine.

Done

[chickenslegs]

4 minutes ago, pacovl46 said:

Foreigners can definitely apply for Thai citizenship. A friend of mine who’s from Ireland has got it about 2 years ago now. He’s been living and working in Thailand since 2002 continuously. It’s definitely worth looking into it. Does your son go to a Thai school and speaks fluently Thai or does he go to an international school? He would definitely have to prove that he can speak some Thai. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but good enough that you can answer some questions about yourself when they interview you as part of the application process. I think they grant 100 citizenships per year per nationality, or something along those lines. 

Requirements for citizenship include:

Must be 20+ years of age

Record of 3 years paying income tax

[brewsterbudgen]

7 minutes ago, pacovl46 said:

Foreigners can definitely apply for Thai citizenship. A friend of mine who’s from Ireland has got it about 2 years ago now. He’s been living and working in Thailand since 2002 continuously. It’s definitely worth looking into it. Does your son go to a Thai school and speaks fluently Thai or does he go to an international school? He would definitely have to prove that he can speak some Thai. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but good enough that you can answer some questions about yourself when they interview you as part of the application process. I think they grant 100 citizenships per year per nationality, or something along those lines. 

Thanks.  Yes, I've been looking into it and I'm hoping it will be possible in the future.

 

He's attended a Thai/English programme school since he was 6 and, although his first language is still English, he is completely fluent in Thai (speaking, reading and writing).  He's only 10 now, but I've been told it might be possible once he gets to university age.

[DrJack54]

Trolling post removed

[OJAS]

7 hours ago, pacovl46 said:

Foreigners can definitely apply for Thai citizenship.

 

Can prove an uphill struggle, though, according to this ongoing thread:

 

 

[pacovl46]

On 5/30/2025 at 10:22 AM, chickenslegs said:

Requirements for citizenship include:

Must be 20+ years of age

Record of 3 years paying income tax

Thanks for the info. Didn't know that. 

[pacovl46]

On 5/30/2025 at 10:27 AM, brewsterbudgen said:

Thanks.  Yes, I've been looking into it and I'm hoping it will be possible in the future.

 

He's attended a Thai/English programme school since he was 6 and, although his first language is still English, he is completely fluent in Thai (speaking, reading and writing).  He's only 10 now, but I've been told it might be possible once he gets to university age.

Someone else just replied to me. He said the minimum age is 20 and you must have been paying income tax for at least three years. That's definitely doable.  I would totally go for it as soon as it is possible. Kudos to your little one for his Thai skills! 😶

[tjintx]

On 5/29/2025 at 8:51 AM, BritManToo said:

Maximum fine 2,000bht ........ is it really that important to you?

 

Why do so many posters continually diss other posters?

[pacovl46]

23 hours ago, OJAS said:

 

Can prove an uphill struggle, though, according to this ongoing thread:

 

 

Yeah, it's probably not going to be that easy. It's doable, though.

[brewsterbudgen]

On 5/30/2025 at 3:22 PM, chickenslegs said:

Requirements for citizenship include:

Must be 20+ years of age

Record of 3 years paying income tax

According to Thai Citizenship Facebook group, there is a path to Thai citizenship for someone born here (to foreign parents) and who has been entirely educated here to university level (see below).  No idea how easy it is and my son is only 10 now.  But it is something I will look into for the future - assuming he decides he wants to remain in Thailand and be Thai!

 

To to answer your question: anyone born on Thai soil who graduates from Thai university can apply to have their status changed to Thai.

The video picks up the topic at the 56-minute mark https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EFgDyj18e/?

[oldcpu]

3 hours ago, brewsterbudgen said:

According to Thai Citizenship Facebook group, there is a path to Thai citizenship for someone born here (to foreign parents) and who has been entirely educated here to university level (see below).  No idea how easy it is and my son is only 10 now.  But it is something I will look into for the future - assuming he decides he wants to remain in Thailand and be Thai!

 

To to answer your question: anyone born on Thai soil who graduates from Thai university can apply to have their status changed to Thai.

The video picks up the topic at the 56-minute mark https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EFgDyj18e/?

 

As long as he understands with citizenship, comes responsibility.

 

Further to my earlier post, ... when I lived and worked in Germany, a former work colleague (who has UK/German dual citizenship) told me the story of how he obtained his German citizenship and the consequence (he was drafted into the German military immediately after obtaining his citizenship (in those days Germany had the draft).

 

He was born and lived in the UK. His father English, his mother German.  Every year his parents would go to Germany where he would spend a few weeks with this German grandparents (on his mother's side of the family).  At age 18 after completing highschool  he decided to go to Germany and spend time with his grandparents.  He landed a job at a local shop, but he was in fact not working legally (this was before 1973 ??  when the UK joined the EU).  The mayor of the German town was a friend of his grandparents, and advised them if he applied for his German citizenship, he (the mayor) would 'look the other way' (and not notice his working illegally as not being an EU nor German citizen).

 

So he applied for his German citizenship based on his mother being German, and he could speak 'just enough' German language to pass the citizenship language test (barely).

 

Within a couple of weeks of obtaining his German citizenship, he was drafted, and he spent a small number of years in the German military.

 

Now - I am not saying that is a bad thing.  As I noted, I volunteered to join the Canadian military at age-18, and I benefited enormously from what I learned in the military, from the experience, and from the contacts I made.  But the military is not for everyone.

 

so just because a second citizenship is possible, it does not mean it is the best approach.  So I re-iterate, care is needed to understand possible consequences. 

 

With citizenship, comes responsibility.

 

[brewsterbudgen]

4 hours ago, oldcpu said:

 

As long as he understands with citizenship, comes responsibility.

 

Further to my earlier post, ... when I lived and worked in Germany, a former work colleague (who has UK/German dual citizenship) told me the story of how he obtained his German citizenship and the consequence (he was drafted into the German military immediately after obtaining his citizenship (in those days Germany had the draft).

 

He was born and lived in the UK. His father English, his mother German.  Every year his parents would go to Germany where he would spend a few weeks with this German grandparents (on his mother's side of the family).  At age 18 after completing highschool  he decided to go to Germany and spend time with his grandparents.  He landed a job at a local shop, but he was in fact not working legally (this was before 1973 ??  when the UK joined the EU).  The mayor of the German town was a friend of his grandparents, and advised them if he applied for his German citizenship, he (the mayor) would 'look the other way' (and not notice his working illegally as not being an EU nor German citizen).

 

So he applied for his German citizenship based on his mother being German, and he could speak 'just enough' German language to pass the citizenship language test (barely).

 

Within a couple of weeks of obtaining his German citizenship, he was drafted, and he spent a small number of years in the German military.

 

Now - I am not saying that is a bad thing.  As I noted, I volunteered to join the Canadian military at age-18, and I benefited enormously from what I learned in the military, from the experience, and from the contacts I made.  But the military is not for everyone.

 

so just because a second citizenship is possible, it does not mean it is the best approach.  So I re-iterate, care is needed to understand possible consequences. 

 

With citizenship, comes responsibility.

 

Absolutely.  It will be his decision.  The alternative is to move to the UK, emigrate to another country that makes this possible/easy, or remain on Extensions of Stay here in Thailand.