Yellow Tabien Bahn

[krobert6]

When I went for my yellow TB I was told I had to be in Thailand for a continuos 6 month period. Is that true?

[Langsuan Man]

Does one need a yellow book in order to apply for a building permit?

No, all you need is the house plans signed off by a licensed structural engineer (your builder should be able to provide that)

[Langsuan Man]

We will be registering our house for the first time soon. All we had upto now was the nod from the Puu Yai Baan to build the house and we need to get a number to get the electricity supplied. Can I get my name put on the Blue book or do I have to wait for the Mrs to get it and then apply for a Yellow one?

No, you cannot have your name in the Blue Book (unless you have Permanent residency), it is for Thais only. You will have to wait for the Mrs to get the Blue Book, which will list the official address and is what is required for utilities, especially electric. You can then apply for a Yellow Book if it is really important to have the electricity and /or water in you name. Phone, Internet and TV (cable or satellite ) can be in your name without any documentation

[Krit]

I wonder if the yellow tabien baan can help to avoid Specific Business Tax when selling a condo.

I own a condo in BKK where I live myself, bought new from the developer. I have the chanote and also the blue book (tabien baan) which is empty. I haven't applied for the yellow tabien baan for foreigners (Tor Ror 13) because I didn't think there would be any benefit doing that.

Now I have understood that if I want to sell my condo before owning it for 60 months (5 years) I have to pay 3.0% Specific Business Tax (SBT) + local tax on top of that, totaling 3.3%. However, this tax is supposedly waived if the condo has been used as principal residence for at least one year (in which case there is a 0.5% stamp duty though).

How does this apply to foreigners? Would getting the yellow tabien baan for 1 year help avoid the 3.3% SBT and save 2.8% of the total price, if I sell within five years of buying? That's a lot of money.

[Arkady]

When I went for my yellow TB I was told I had to be in Thailand for a continuos 6 month period. Is that true?

The 2008 Civil Registrations Act made it compulsory for district offices to register (with a tabien baan) all foreigners residing in their district but there is no definition of "residing" in the Act. Perhaps a definition of 6 months' continuous residence has been introduced either through ministerial regulations or independently by your district office to avoid wastage of issuing books to tourists. The only way you can double check this is by contacting the Local Administration Dept at the Ministry of the Interior which controls district offices. However, local district chiefs may have the authority to impose their own definitions and checks.

[simple1]

Hi folks, I have been in thailand 7 years on retirement visa 5 years in Takiantia pattaya .The house is in wifes name and the house book shows both wife and my 2 year old son. I have recently had to get a residence certificate in order to have the new car in my name. They kept the certificate which means i will need to get again if i sell or get new car . So i have decided to either get my name on house book or get new yellow book for me. Does anyone have recent experiance of getting this in banglamung and the reqirement needed as after reading the posts of others it seems to differ from district to district like the visa reqirements . Any help would be appreciated . pete

Firstly unless you have Thai PR visa you will not be named on the Blue Household Card. Today I went to Banglamung Amphur to enquire about a Yellow Household card & was told that I first need to go to Immigration, without an explanation, even though we had Blue Household card, wifes thai ID, my passport with O retired visa & marriage certificate translated into Thai; my wife was with me. As our house is in Nong Prue we then went to Nong Prue (Tambon). Showed the person responsible for IDs etc our papers & only extra requirement is three photos of myself and a Thai witness in addition to my wife, plus usual photo copies of everything. Gave us his mobile number to arrange an appointment time when we are ready to proceed. Confirmed Yellow Household card would be processed within a week from application.

[guzzi850m2]

Please see attached pix for the demands from Pattaya City Hall. I am in the process of doing it now, I am a bit concerned about the aproval of the translating, might have to go to BKK, shit.

Next Friday I will have the letter from the Danish Consulate and get that translated to Thai, the woman in soi 13 doing the translating will stamp it but don't think they will accept it.

Edited May 26, 2012 by guzzi850m2

[issanbruin]

The Yellow Book is an interesting topic. It brings up a question that some of you might be able to answer.

What are the benefits of having a Yellow Tabien Baan?

I recognize that it provides an address, but some other folks have told me it provides other benefits/advantages, such as medical card or village funeral assistance, etc.

Would be interesting to find out what the advantages, if any, are so we could just be aware and use them as needed. Many thanks for any info on this question.

[krobert6]

When I went for my yellow TB I was told I had to be in Thailand for a continuos 6 month period. Is that true?

The 2008 Civil Registrations Act made it compulsory for district offices to register (with a tabien baan) all foreigners residing in their district but there is no definition of "residing" in the Act. Perhaps a definition of 6 months' continuous residence has been introduced either through ministerial regulations or independently by your district office to avoid wastage of issuing books to tourists. The only way you can double check this is by contacting the Local Administration Dept at the Ministry of the Interior which controls district offices. However, local district chiefs may have the authority to impose their own definitions and checks.

Thanks,

I will follow up on that when I return to Thailand

[Mario2008]

The Yellow Book is an interesting topic. It brings up a question that some of you might be able to answer.

What are the benefits of having a Yellow Tabien Baan?

I recognize that it provides an address, but some other folks have told me it provides other benefits/advantages, such as medical card or village funeral assistance, etc.

Would be interesting to find out what the advantages, if any, are so we could just be aware and use them as needed. Many thanks for any info on this question.

Another advantage is that it opens up the way to apply for Thai citizenship. people who are married to a Thai national don't have to go through PR first, but must be on a yellow tabien baan for 3 (if I recall corectly) years.

[GarryP]

The Yellow Book is an interesting topic. It brings up a question that some of you might be able to answer.

What are the benefits of having a Yellow Tabien Baan?

I recognize that it provides an address, but some other folks have told me it provides other benefits/advantages, such as medical card or village funeral assistance, etc.

Would be interesting to find out what the advantages, if any, are so we could just be aware and use them as needed. Many thanks for any info on this question.

Another advantage is that it opens up the way to apply for Thai citizenship. people who are married to a Thai national don't have to go through PR first, but must be on a yellow tabien baan for 3 (if I recall corectly) years.

You must have a yellow tabien baan but it does not need to have aged 3 years. I am applying based on marriage, without PR, and the yellow house registration is essential. Mine is only a few months old.

[guzzi850m2]

Please see attached pix for the demands from Pattaya City Hall. I am in the process of doing it now, I am a bit concerned about the aproval of the translating, might have to go to BKK, shit.

Next Friday I will have the letter from the Danish Consulate and get that translated to Thai, the woman in soi 13 doing the translating will stamp it but don't think they will accept it.

Today I finally managed to collect all the necessary paper work. Pattaya City Hall will only accept one translator in the City, they are located next to Big C extra, called CTA (certified translation pattaya), Soi Paniadchang 10. It cost 2000 bath for the translations.

The nice lady at city hall actually interviewed us, wife, friend (with house book and id card) & me. She asked me how long time I have stayed here and she also asked the girls how they knew each other.

I was told I can collect my house book in 2 weeks from now

[DLock]

My Yellow Tabien Baan(YTB) experience.

I bought a new car and needed to provide a letter from Immigration as part of the process, as per normal.

I had been planning to get a YTB for a while an thought that instead of that letter from immigration for the car, I'd use it to get the YTB and then show that as proof of address.

Visited City Hall to get all the requirements. My first problem is that I needed the signature by the Pu Yai that he has known me several years. I also needed a local neighbor to say that he has also known me for several years. Now, I live very remote on a large property on the border of 2 Tambons, so I don't even know the Pu Yai or a neighbor from my Tambon, and I could not use my contacts from the Tambon I am closer to. I approached the Pu Yai and he agreed to sign for a fee, and he found a neighbor that would do the same. But the neighbor also needed to do an interview, so he needed some coaching. No issue.

Then my next problem, is that the Immigration documents that I got for "buying a new car", although identical for City Hall, except it had those words "buying a new car" on it. So, I had to go back to Immigration to get another one that stated "for Yellow Tabien Baan".

Next problem was that the 2 students who work the front desk at immigration insisted I needed a translation of my passport at my embassy, which I did and went back.

Then they said that unless I was married and could show the paper, I could not get a YTB. I am village married only.

I asked to speak to the Manager and explained the issue. He confirmed I needed to be married. Then he recalled that he had processed a Immigration Letter a few weeks back. He forgot that it was for a car and not YTB, so he processed it for me.

Then back to city hall, where everything was in order, except one small detail...how much was I going to pay the Head Guy? I explained that I have everything correct, all paperwork, documents, photos, signatures, wifes TB and ID card, so why pay a "fee"? He clearly said that if I don't he will never process it.

I paid a total of 4,000baht in supplemental "fees" and he processed it that day.

I finally have my YTB and the car dealership is happy. It took a while, but it was just the final piece of paper I wanted - after visa, WP, tax card, driving license.

[maesai]

Always thought it was possible for a Farang to own a house in Thailand but not the land it sits on. Apparently not.

I am an unmarried foreigner. I recently built a house on a piece of land owned by a friend. I have a Usefruct giving me use of the land until I die. My lawyer said I could register the house in my name. Got the Puu Yai Baan to fill out the papers, and made a trip to the Amphur office along with the land owner. I asked for a yellow tabien bahn in my name. Supplied copies of passport, retirement visa extension chanote, usefruct. etc... They had never done one before, and spent a lot of time on the phone to Bangkok. Upshot was, it is not possible. Will have to put the house in my friend's name so I can buy insurance for it.

If any unmarried farang has been able to pull this off, I would like to hear about it.

[Preacher]

Just got my yellow book yesterday, for the place I live (not my own house). Went smooth as silk as soe otehr foreigner already went to the procedure at that office before me, so they could check what they should do with his application.

I had to get a letter from my embassy cofirming my address in Thailand and that i was no longer registered as living in my own country, and of course have it legalised by the Thai foreign Ministry. But that was basically all it takes.

Also had to provide the first names of my parents, as that is also recorded in the yellow book. But could give a translation for that by myself. They didn't need my parents last names or birth dates, just their first and middle names (if any).

No Thai health insurence was offered, but I didn't expect that.

[Mario2008]

Always thought it was possible for a Farang to own a house in Thailand but not the land it sits on. Apparently not.

I am an unmarried foreigner. I recently built a house on a piece of land owned by a friend. I have a Usefruct giving me use of the land until I die. My lawyer said I could register the house in my name. Got the Puu Yai Baan to fill out the papers, and made a trip to the Amphur office along with the land owner. I asked for a yellow tabien bahn in my name. Supplied copies of passport, retirement visa extension chanote, usefruct. etc... They had never done one before, and spent a lot of time on the phone to Bangkok. Upshot was, it is not possible. Will have to put the house in my friend's name so I can buy insurance for it.

If any unmarried farang has been able to pull this off, I would like to hear about it.

There is no law against owning a house in Thailand, only regarding owning land. That is why you can only get a usefruct on the land.

Owning a house in Thailand means you get a blue book for that as the owner. But it only lists you as the owner, not as living there. If you actually live at that place, you get a yellow book in which you are listed as living at that address.

Hope you didn't sign away your house to somebody else and would contact a lawyer to see if what the amphur said is right.

[curisjerik]

I wish it yes a tenant has to have the house owner indication for him. How that would be achieved with a company having your house I'm not sure. You are going to have to determine the techniques of how to get that achieved. If you have notoced in this take different locations are simpler then others. So I would think the first thing for you would be to get in touch with your Mobaan discover what they want you to do. Grin leap through the basketball only have to do it once.

[Arkady]

Always thought it was possible for a Farang to own a house in Thailand but not the land it sits on. Apparently not.

I am an unmarried foreigner. I recently built a house on a piece of land owned by a friend. I have a Usefruct giving me use of the land until I die. My lawyer said I could register the house in my name. Got the Puu Yai Baan to fill out the papers, and made a trip to the Amphur office along with the land owner. I asked for a yellow tabien bahn in my name. Supplied copies of passport, retirement visa extension chanote, usefruct. etc... They had never done one before, and spent a lot of time on the phone to Bangkok. Upshot was, it is not possible. Will have to put the house in my friend's name so I can buy insurance for it.

If any unmarried farang has been able to pull this off, I would like to hear about it.

There is no law against owning a house in Thailand, only regarding owning land. That is why you can only get a usefruct on the land.

Owning a house in Thailand means you get a blue book for that as the owner. But it only lists you as the owner, not as living there. If you actually live at that place, you get a yellow book in which you are listed as living at that address.

Hope you didn't sign away your house to somebody else and would contact a lawyer to see if what the amphur said is right.

Mario, I don't think there's actually that distinction in a tabien baan between being the householder (chao baan) and living there. I am am listed in my blue book as the householder only. Next to the person's ID number the book has a space to enter the status (satanapharp) of the resident which is either householder or resident. The householder does not have to be the owner of the house and I am not but he does have to live there as his sole registered address. If he is not the owner, he needs permission from the owner which may be a corporate entity or a private individual. When a street number and title deed are assigned to a new house by the Land Dept or a title is transferred on a new condo unit the district office will assign a tabien baan ID number for that residence and produce a new blank blue book for it which you will be given as the new owner, so that you may take it along and get your family's details entered, if you are going to live in it as your registered address. That doesn't mean that the district office will enter to the details of a foreigner without PR into the book, if they know the rules. However, some foreigners without PR have been entered into blue books by district officers who presumably didn't know the rules. So it is always worth a try, if you are given a blank blue book for your property.

I believe that the unmarried foreigner above should be entitled to obtain a yellow tabien baan as householder. Having a title deed for the house in his name should help but even without that it should be possible. He already has permission for the use of the land via a usufruct agreement. Even without ownership of the house it should be possible with the owner's permission. Many of the district office officials are ignorant of the regulations to do with foreigners and just refuse all requests they are not sure of to play safe. Once they have refused you can get them to change their mind with help from a lawyer who should be able to show them the relevant regulations and get more detailed advice from the Department of Provincial Administration in Bkk which oversees district offices. Since district offices are obliged to register all foreigners residing in their districts under the 2008 Civil Registration Act, it is hard to imagine why they should refuse to register a foreigner who actually legally owns his own house and has a usufruct agreement registered for the land.

Edited December 12, 2012 by Arkady

[Neeranam]

The Yellow Book is an interesting topic. It brings up a question that some of you might be able to answer.

What are the benefits of having a Yellow Tabien Baan?

I recognize that it provides an address, but some other folks have told me it provides other benefits/advantages, such as medical card or village funeral assistance, etc.

Would be interesting to find out what the advantages, if any, are so we could just be aware and use them as needed. Many thanks for any info on this question.

Another advantage is that it opens up the way to apply for Thai citizenship. people who are married to a Thai national don't have to go through PR first, but must be on a yellow tabien baan for 3 (if I recall corectly) years.

You must have a yellow tabien baan but it does not need to have aged 3 years. I am applying based on marriage, without PR, and the yellow house registration is essential. Mine is only a few months old.

You get less points if you have not been on the tabien baan for 5 years.

[Neeranam]

Just got my yellow book yesterday, for the place I live (not my own house). Went smooth as silk as soe otehr foreigner already went to the procedure at that office before me, so they could check what they should do with his application.

I had to get a letter from my embassy cofirming my address in Thailand and that i was no longer registered as living in my own country, and of course have it legalised by the Thai foreign Ministry. But that was basically all it takes.

Also had to provide the first names of my parents, as that is also recorded in the yellow book. But could give a translation for that by myself. They didn't need my parents last names or birth dates, just their first and middle names (if any).

No Thai health insurence was offered, but I didn't expect that.

That seem rather a lot to ask for. I was originally that I need to translate the passport then get it stamped at my embassy. I told them that the British embassy don't stamp things written in Thai so then they told me to go to Imiigration and get a letter from them.

I never had to give my parents names.

[Neeranam]

The Yellow Book is an interesting topic. It brings up a question that some of you might be able to answer.

What are the benefits of having a Yellow Tabien Baan?

I recognize that it provides an address, but some other folks have told me it provides other benefits/advantages, such as medical card or village funeral assistance, etc.

Would be interesting to find out what the advantages, if any, are so we could just be aware and use them as needed. Many thanks for any info on this question.

If you are married to a Thai and have a work permit there is no real need for a Yellow Book - the only advantage I can think of is it helps to get a morgage.

[GarryP]

You get less points if you have not been on the tabien baan for 5 years.

Quite correct. However, I did not need those points to qualify.

[Mario2008]

Just got my yellow book yesterday, for the place I live (not my own house). Went smooth as silk as soe otehr foreigner already went to the procedure at that office before me, so they could check what they should do with his application.

I had to get a letter from my embassy cofirming my address in Thailand and that i was no longer registered as living in my own country, and of course have it legalised by the Thai foreign Ministry. But that was basically all it takes.

Also had to provide the first names of my parents, as that is also recorded in the yellow book. But could give a translation for that by myself. They didn't need my parents last names or birth dates, just their first and middle names (if any).

No Thai health insurence was offered, but I didn't expect that.

That seem rather a lot to ask for. I was originally that I need to translate the passport then get it stamped at my embassy. I told them that the British embassy don't stamp things written in Thai so then they told me to go to Imiigration and get a letter from them.

I never had to give my parents names.

The name of the parents are included on a housebook registration, at least they are on a blue book and I was asked the name of my parents for my yellow book also.

But they only list the first names of the parents, not the last name or date of birth.

[Neeranam]

Just got my yellow book yesterday, for the place I live (not my own house). Went smooth as silk as soe otehr foreigner already went to the procedure at that office before me, so they could check what they should do with his application.

I had to get a letter from my embassy cofirming my address in Thailand and that i was no longer registered as living in my own country, and of course have it legalised by the Thai foreign Ministry. But that was basically all it takes.

Also had to provide the first names of my parents, as that is also recorded in the yellow book. But could give a translation for that by myself. They didn't need my parents last names or birth dates, just their first and middle names (if any).

No Thai health insurence was offered, but I didn't expect that.

That seem rather a lot to ask for. I was originally that I need to translate the passport then get it stamped at my embassy. I told them that the British embassy don't stamp things written in Thai so then they told me to go to Imiigration and get a letter from them.

I never had to give my parents names.

The name of the parents are included on a housebook registration, at least they are on a blue book and I was asked the name of my parents for my yellow book also.

But they only list the first names of the parents, not the last name or date of birth.

I was talking about MY parents - not my parents-in-law.

[Arkady]

The Yellow Book is an interesting topic. It brings up a question that some of you might be able to answer.

What are the benefits of having a Yellow Tabien Baan?

I recognize that it provides an address, but some other folks have told me it provides other benefits/advantages, such as medical card or village funeral assistance, etc.

Would be interesting to find out what the advantages, if any, are so we could just be aware and use them as needed. Many thanks for any info on this question.

If you are married to a Thai and have a work permit there is no real need for a Yellow Book - the only advantage I can think of is it helps to get a morgage.

You will need one, if you wish to apply for Thai citizenship.

[Arkady]

Just got my yellow book yesterday, for the place I live (not my own house). Went smooth as silk as soe otehr foreigner already went to the procedure at that office before me, so they could check what they should do with his application.

I had to get a letter from my embassy cofirming my address in Thailand and that i was no longer registered as living in my own country, and of course have it legalised by the Thai foreign Ministry. But that was basically all it takes.

Also had to provide the first names of my parents, as that is also recorded in the yellow book. But could give a translation for that by myself. They didn't need my parents last names or birth dates, just their first and middle names (if any).

No Thai health insurence was offered, but I didn't expect that.

That seem rather a lot to ask for. I was originally that I need to translate the passport then get it stamped at my embassy. I told them that the British embassy don't stamp things written in Thai so then they told me to go to Imiigration and get a letter from them.

I never had to give my parents names.

The name of the parents are included on a housebook registration, at least they are on a blue book and I was asked the name of my parents for my yellow book also.

But they only list the first names of the parents, not the last name or date of birth.

Funny that. They assume that your parents both have the same surname as you. You also need their nationalities. When I got my first one (blue book) they entered their nationalities as "not specified" because I didn't bring any proof of their nationalities. I didn't think it would matter but it caused me huge problems when I applied for Thai citizenship, as stateless parents make them think you might be stateless and have fake passport. I believe some district offices may just accept your word for the fact your parents are the same nationality as you but I was unlucky.

[TomTao]

A question for those who are in the know, I want to get a yellow Tambien Bahn, but my wife doesn't have a house on her land, so the local Tessabahn has said no can do without a house on the land, my wife has asked her uncle if I can be put on his house certificate and he has agreed, I am not sure if I will qualify for the yellow book being on anyone's house certificate except for my wife's. Any hints or suggestions?

[GarryP]

A question for those who are in the know, I want to get a yellow Tambien Bahn, but my wife doesn't have a house on her land, so the local Tessabahn has said no can do without a house on the land, my wife has asked her uncle if I can be put on his house certificate and he has agreed, I am not sure if I will qualify for the yellow book being on anyone's house certificate except for my wife's. Any hints or suggestions?

You can get a yellow house registration document for any property, whether owned by your wife, brother-in-law, or a rental property. However, you are supposed to be resident at the address used for the house registration. You do not appear on the home owner's house registration. The yellow registration is separate.

[TomTao]

A question for those who are in the know, I want to get a yellow Tambien Bahn, but my wife doesn't have a house on her land, so the local Tessabahn has said no can do without a house on the land, my wife has asked her uncle if I can be put on his house certificate and he has agreed, I am not sure if I will qualify for the yellow book being on anyone's house certificate except for my wife's. Any hints or suggestions?

You can get a yellow house registration document for any property, whether owned by your wife, brother-in-law, or a rental property. However, you are supposed to be resident at the address used for the house registration. You do not appear on the home owner's house registration. The yellow registration is separate.

Thank you for the information.

[TomTao]

Got the yellow book today at the Chumphon Ampur office, took almost three hours and cost ฿30.