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Permanent Thai Residence

Honkie
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Honkie Advanced Member

Honkie

Posted
Posted

Greetings. Wonder if anybody can offer some advice here. I am a British passport holder presently working in Thailand with a work permit applied through the company. I have been married with my wife who is a Thai citizen for six years , now I want to apply for a Thai residence permit , but all the information I got is for person who is married to a Thai Husband or Husband with a Thai residence and nothing about married to Thai wife.

PvtDick Gold Member

PvtDick

Posted
Posted

Being married to a Thai is fairly irrelevent as far as PR goes. What is more important is that you have been working in Thailand, with a work permit and paying taxes, for at least three years -- and during that time have been on three consecutive one-year visas.

Lots on this topic already, I suggest you search for "PR", "Permanent Residence", or "Permanent Residency".

Honkie Advanced Member

Honkie

Posted
  • Author
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Thanks for your advice. Been working for the same company which applies for my work permit under The Board of Investment scheme and I don't know whether this has complicated things or not. Anyway for the last 5 years, never left the country for more than a month and always have my one year work permit extended. Now I need to know what documents required to apply for PR.

samran Star Member

samran

Posted
Posted

keep searching the previous posts, someone once posted a link to the royal thai police website (in Thai/english I think) which has the details.

Even just take a punt and try a google search on royal thai police, immigration, residency.

shellman Explorer Member

shellman

Posted
Posted
Greetings. Wonder if anybody can offer some advice here. I am a British passport holder presently working in Thailand with a work permit applied through the company. I have been married with my wife who is a Thai citizen for six years , now I want to apply for a Thai residence permit , but all the information I got is for person who is married to a Thai Husband or Husband with a Thai residence and nothing about married to Thai wife.

There is even a link called "Residency" on the naviagtion bar on the home page of this site:

http://www.thaivisa.com/300.0.html

It takes time and some nerves to git the permit, I just got it :o

alanw Senior Member

alanw

Posted
Posted

Honkie,

Additional to the suggestions that you search and read the thai immigration police website, I have PR and I've posted a number of times in the past about the requirements, process etc.

Suggest you search for my old posts - alanw.

As already stated, married or not married to a Thai lady is irrelivent. The application is about you alone.

However, unless it's changed recently, the final fee you pay on approval is much cheaper for foreign men married to a Thai lady, compared to single foreigners. But I'll say it again, married to a Thai lady or not married is NOT a factor in the application and process.

British vs US vs US ex military vs Singaporean etc., is also not a factor, expect that there are quotas for each country each year, but the approvals are much less than the quotas, for all countries.

Regards.

BillyZ Apprentice Member

BillyZ

Posted
Posted

The price for a PR visa is around 95,000 baht if you're married to a Thai. If you're not married to a Thai, it's around 195,000 baht. If you have children, your chance of getting a PR visa is much better. A main factor they look at is the 3 consecutive years of work permits / non-imm B visas.

This year, there were not so many applicants, probably because of the increased rate (4 fold). Also, it's worth noting that only 100 applications are accepted from each country. That might not matter if you're from Mali (yes, EVERY country gets a quota of 100). But if you're from the UK, continent or the US, you will need to be in the top 100 best apps.

boris Advanced Member

boris

Posted
Posted
The price for a PR visa is around 95,000 baht if you're married to a Thai. If you're not married to a Thai, it's around 195,000 baht. If you have children, your chance of getting a PR visa is much better. A main factor they look at is the 3 consecutive years of work permits / non-imm B visas.

This year, there were not so many applicants, probably because of the increased rate (4 fold). Also, it's worth noting that only 100 applications are accepted from each country. That might not matter if you're from Mali (yes, EVERY country gets a quota of 100). But if you're from the UK, continent or the US, you will need to be in the top 100 best apps.

This is fairly misleading.Whether an applicant has children or not is seen as entirely irrelevant, as indeed is the question of having a Thai spose.The only relevance of having a Thai wife is that the fee is less.The 3 year track record of work permits/non-immigrant visas is an absolute requirement , not just "a main factor they look at".I am advised that in practice Immigration like to see a longer run than 3 years.The quota for each country may be 100 but I have it on unimpeachable evidence that even for countries like Australia and UK, far fewer permits than the quota were actually awarded last year.

Bobcat Advanced Member

Bobcat

Posted
Posted

Fewer than 100 permits were awarded probably becuase fewer than 100 people applied. I applied on the last day of the application period for 2004. Less than 10 Australians applied last year - so the fact that less than 100 PR permits are awarded means nothing.

penelope Silver Member

penelope

Posted
Posted

...and of course, knowing the right people associated with the Minstry of the Interior can never hurt to expediate the process / chances of success :o

  • 2 weeks later...
wca01 Advanced Member

wca01

Posted
Posted

A lot of people on this board are talking about the difficulties to get a permanent Thai residency. I don't have any experience yet. Only: If I applied for my 1-year-visa extension, the officer in charge suggested that I should apply for the Thai residency. (It seems that I fulfil all the important conditions: Working in Thailand in a big Thai company, several years on an immigrant B (O) visa and married to a Thai citizen) I told him, that I don't like to waste money and time for nothing. He assured me, that my application would be approved with an almost absolute certainty. So quite a different statement to all the negative comments about refusal of the Thai residency. Except spending unnecessary money I don't see any reason to apply, as I alway will get my one year visa.

WC

pattayamick Explorer Member

pattayamick

Posted
Posted

I have been calling Ms. Pornthip at room 301 frequently over the past 2 + years. Always with the same giggle "not yet, it is still on the ministers table, call me again next month, ha! ha! "

Suddenly 2 months ago she called me for up to date photo copies of my passport. And yesterday the letter from the immigration arrived. A simple one page standard formular telling me that my application had been approved, at that I should within 30 days go to room 301 with the ninetyfivesomethingthousand Baht, house registration paper that I intend to be registered at, 12 passport photos and once more copies of my passport.

I have lived here for many years. I came when Thanom and Prapas was in charge of the country.

Married with 4 children, all dual citizenship. the eldest in university overseas. I am selfemployed in my own company employing a lot of Thai Staff.

Reason for applying was probably, after all these years, to get a sense of security and belonging. Not to be afraid of having the next one year visa or workpermit renewal application turned down for some obscure reason, as did happen 5-6 years ago.

I think, applying for PR is the way to go, if your mind is made up about staying in Thailand. You never know what the next change of laws may offer.

boris Advanced Member

boris

Posted
Posted
A lot of people on this board are talking about the difficulties to get a permanent Thai residency. I don't have any experience yet. Only: If I applied for my 1-year-visa extension, the officer in charge suggested that I should apply for the Thai residency. (It seems that I fulfil all the important conditions: Working in Thailand in a big Thai company, several years on an immigrant B (O) visa and married to a Thai citizen) I told him, that I don't like to waste money and time for nothing. He assured me, that my application would be approved with an almost absolute certainty. So quite a different statement to all the negative comments about refusal of the Thai residency. Except spending unnecessary money I don't see any reason to apply, as I alway will get my one year visa.

WC

My understanding that it is irrelevant whether a PR applicant works for a Thai or foreign company, as long as the paperwork is right.Similarly it is irrelevant whether the applicant is married to a Thai or not.Your dialogue with the Immigration Officer is interesting but the fact remains that applications are approved by the Ministry of the Interior.I can assure you that with regard to PR applications nothing is certain.Your comment that you don't like wasting time and money for nothing was a rather a churlish one.If you ever get serious about PR, receipt of which is quite a privilege, you will need to think hard about conveying the right attitude.

But congratulations to Pattayamick.

sabaijai Diamond Member

sabaijai

Posted
Posted
As already stated, married or not married to a Thai lady is irrelivent. The application is about you alone.

Perhaps irrelevant if you look at the written rules, but not at all irrelevant if you're aware of the "unwritten" rules. I started a thread on this elsewhere in this forum branch, search for "unwritten rules".

My information is that being married to a Thai is considered very good "supporting evidence" of your intention/need to reside permanently in Thailand.

My first source is one of the top immigration attorneys in Bangkok, a Thai who himself served as an immigration officer for 15 years and who has written immigration textbooks that help train new immigration officers.

My second source is the chief internal auditor for the Immigration Department, who reviews all applications for PR. I was introduced to her socially a few months ago and had a chance to spend three days travelling with her and two other high-ranking immigration officers. When I brought up the fact that I hoped to apply for PR soon, the first question they all asked, virtually simultaneously, was "Are you married to a Thai?" When I explained that yes I was married to a Thai, but hadn't yet registered with the local amphoe office, they strongly advised me to register immediately. They said being married to a Thai would strengthen my case.

The other unwritten rule they hammered on is the need for a monthly income of at least 70-80KB, with proof of paying Thai income tax on that amount (or more) for three years.

They admitted that neither of these are written rules, and they admitted that they do make exception in some cases, depending on other factors. But all other things being equal, they said that marriage, three years on a work permit, and the proper income, were what they looked for in an appropriate PR candidate.

My congratulations to Pattyamick as well!

PvtDick Gold Member

PvtDick

Posted
Posted

It is true that they look at all the applicants' qualifications together as a whole. Not speaking Thai, not having a Thai wife, not owning a condo, etc., will neither shoe you in or get you rejected on its own. Everything adds up to an overall impression of whether or not you are a suitable candidate.

Next step: citizenship. Still wondering if anyone here has gone this route?

I recently spoke to a Special Branch officer who had a look at my bona fides, and said that I had a good chance of getting it. When I pointed out that I only got my PR two years ago, he said the date that matters is the one marked on your Foreign Resident Certificate as "date of entering Thailand". Mine indicates 1994 (not sure why, as I have been living in Thailand on a work permit and one-year visas since 1990). In any case, it is over ten years...so no problem there.

The officer encouraged me to submit my application whenever I wanted, and seemed certain that I would be granted citizenship within a year to two years. I think I'm going to give it a shot. Why not? It would be nice to finally be free of visas and work permits altogether, and to be able to own land in my own name.

boris Advanced Member

boris

Posted
Posted
It is true that they look at all the applicants' qualifications together as a whole. Not speaking Thai, not having a Thai wife, not owning a condo, etc., will neither shoe you in or get you rejected on its own. Everything adds up to an overall impression of whether or not you are a suitable candidate

Yes, this is a better way of putting it.I am quite sure that having a Thai spouse or speaking Thai(the "examination" at Immigration is comically easy) are not really the critical factors at all in achieving PR, but clearly -presuming the wife isn't an obvious ex-bg- these could help in making a good case.

sabaijai Diamond Member

sabaijai

Posted
Posted
Next step: citizenship. Still wondering if anyone here has gone this route?

My sources -- same as those noted above -- say that citizenship is easier to get than PR, ie, PR is the bottleneck.

astral Star Member

astral

Posted
Posted
What are the true benifits to permanent residency as opposed to a one year non-

immigrant visa?

Security and freedom from the yearly visa hassle, even if your spouse predeceases you. :o

camerata Ruby Member

camerata

Posted
Posted

Note 19 on the "Documents required when applying for a Residence Permit in the category of working/business" sheet says: "Personal information sheet and the applicant's portfolio which includes detailed information about family background, knowledge and ability, working experience, special ability, social work, work place, residence together with photo."

Can any of the PR holders out there give me an idea of what they are wanting here? For example, are testimonials from well-known phuyai the kind of thing they want?

Thanks.

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