Immigration Now Accepts Applications For Permanent Residency

[george]

Thai Immigration Bureau now accepts applications for permanent residency. The application window for 2009 is open until December 31, 2009.

More info about permanent residency:

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

Camerata's Guide To The Permanent Residence Process:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Camerata-s-G...ide-t74654.html

Advantages of Permanent Residence in Thailand:

http://www.thaivisa.com/residency/residenc...t-thailand.html

[HKTMAN]

Thanks for the info. I've been waiting for this to give a try.

[justplainjoe]

Can anyone with REAL knowledge advise what the requirements are? Please! Please! Please! No speculation or educated guesses from people who were told by someone else or what you heard..... Only first hand knowledge.

Thx, Joe

[CWMcMurray]

Ummmm..... did you read Camerata's Guide To The Permanent Residence ???

I don't mean to be rude, but it is full of first hand experience.

[steven100]

Can anyone with REAL knowledge advise what the requirements are? Please! Please! Please! No speculation or educated guesses from people who were told by someone else or what you heard..... Only first hand knowledge.

Thx, Joe

Joe,

pls visit this website ... it will explain all you need to know.

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

[nicksal37]

100 per nationality? I would guess that if you are a Greenlander you would have a fair chance?

[SM7WGP]

100 per nationality? I would guess that if you are a Greenlander you would have a fair chance?

Noop grenland belongs to Denmark.

[Mario2008]

100 per nationality? I would guess that if you are a Greenlander you would have a fair chance?

I don't believe the limit of 100 per nationality has ever been reached. There simply aren't that much applicants.

[hansnl]

100 per nationality? I would guess that if you are a Greenlander you would have a fair chance?

I don't believe the limit of 100 per nationality has ever been reached. There simply aren't that much applicants.

Probably why the application period has been lengthened?

[someoneelse]

100 per nationality? I would guess that if you are a Greenlander you would have a fair chance?

I don't believe the limit of 100 per nationality has ever been reached. There simply aren't that much applicants.

At least, for western countries. I thought that applications from places like China and India reach those limits.

[scorecard]

100 per nationality? I would guess that if you are a Greenlander you would have a fair chance?

I don't believe the limit of 100 per nationality has ever been reached. There simply aren't that much applicants.

Agree with Mario.

I got PR about 14 years ago. For that year the total appoved was about 24 people. My understanding is that 3 countries got 5 each and the rest (about 9) spread across a number of countries.

My letter of approval was signed by General Prem.

My application was prepared and submitted by an agent who knew the process very well. His fee was 7,500Baht. Unfortunately he no longer lives in Thailand, he migrated to US.

[dantilley]

the application period has been lengthened?

Lenthened? There's less than 2 week window, how long is the application period normally?

[PaulDee]

With permanent residency status, must the foreigner continue to report to Immigration every 90 days?

Also, does the buy-in for permanent residence amount to nearly 200,000 baht?

[Petruchio]

It appears that I meet all qualifications except the "3 consecutive years of resident extensions", since for years I have only used consecutive one Year Non Imm O visas with multiple entry. Aw shucks.

Do I read that right?

[YouYouYou]

Thanks for the info Thai Visa and will probably do this next year, not this one.

I do have one question: Does anyone know of a good agent to use? I have seen some in a certain paper advertising but please PM me if you have had a good experience with a particular agent (I think it maybe breaking the rules to post on board?)

Thx in advance to any help, You You You

[Pib]

After reading the various info I'm still confused on the income and tax issues for PR.

Can a person on a Retirement Stay of Extension living on a pension/savings (i.e. not working in Thailand) meet the PR requirements? Or, do you have to have been working in Thailand (with work permit of course) and paying Thai taxes? I "think" from reading the PR requirements you would have had to been working and paying Thai taxes. Thanks for any info/clarifications.

Edited December 18, 2009 by Pib

[stbkk]

With permanent residency status, must the foreigner continue to report to Immigration every 90 days?

Also, does the buy-in for permanent residence amount to nearly 200,000 baht?

1. No you do not.

2. Yes id does, unless you are married to a Thai in which case it is just under 100,000.

Hope that helps.

[seri thai]

Didn't I read on here just the other day that no applications have been processed since 2006/7?

So why are they putting out a call for new applicants if they haven't processed the last 3 years yet?

Perhaps they just want the money with applications upfront? Sorry to be cynical about this!

[stbkk]

After reading the various info I'm still confused on the income and tax issues for PR.

Can a person on a Retirement Stay of Extension living on a pension/savings (i.e. not working in Thailand) meet the PR requirements? Or, do you have to have been working in Thailand (with work permit of course) and paying Thai taxes? I "think" from reading the PR requirements you would have had to been working and paying Thai taxes. Thanks for any info/clarifications.

Thats what (nearly) everybody says, I'm afraid.

There is some talk in Camerata's excellent thread about the possibility of doing it under a retirement visa, but the strong concensus is not a chance! I'd read that thread.

They certainly wanted all my tax receipts and a load of employment related stuff when I applied in 2006.

[stbkk]

Didn't I read on here just the other day that no applications have been processed since 2006/7?

So why are they putting out a call for new applicants if they haven't processed the last 3 years yet?

Perhaps they just want the money with applications upfront? Sorry to be cynical about this!

The only up-front money is the application fee, which if memory serves was about 7,000 baht.

They would get a lot more cash by approving the waiting applications at nearly 200k a go!

[canadian]

Anyone now how I can get the "Certification that the applicant has no criminal record in his or her overseas domicile", I'm originally from Canada but have lived in Thailand since 1994, haven't been back to Canada since 1995.

Appreciate if someone knows of a way to get this in the shortest period of time, I would like to apply under the spouse category, I have over 10 years continual stay uninterrupted, but I don't have the above certificate.

Thanks in advance for all that reply.

[p_brownstone]

My application was prepared and submitted by an agent who knew the process very well. His fee was 7,500Baht. Unfortunately he no longer lives in Thailand, he migrated to US.

Unintended irony or just a comment - whatever, gets my Vote for Quote of the Month (if there was such a category on TV!)

Patrick

[Hanimal]

Didn't I read on here just the other day that no applications have been processed since 2006/7?

So why are they putting out a call for new applicants if they haven't processed the last 3 years yet?

Perhaps they just want the money with applications upfront? Sorry to be cynical about this!

Yes, I applied in 2006 and am still waiting. I did get an unofficial explanation along these lines: the government has changed so regularly that the minister has not been able to get around to it before changing seats. There was something about documents in the past having been lost when the governments change often, so the immigration people deliver the documents when they feel that a government is more permanent. I wish I knew their inside knowledge about this. Still, the wife keeps calling and they keep saying "coming soon."

[Hanimal]

Anyone now how I can get the "Certification that the applicant has no criminal record in his or her overseas domicile", I'm originally from Canada but have lived in Thailand since 1994, haven't been back to Canada since 1995.

Appreciate if someone knows of a way to get this in the shortest period of time, I would like to apply under the spouse category, I have over 10 years continual stay uninterrupted, but I don't have the above certificate.

Thanks in advance for all that reply.

I am from the UK. I wrote to the central police department (found it on the web) and they wrote back saying they are not allowed to say if someone has a criminal record. They did write that to the best of their knowledge I did NOT have a criminal record and local immigration accepted that.

[Arkady]

100 per nationality? I would guess that if you are a Greenlander you would have a fair chance?

I don't believe the limit of 100 per nationality has ever been reached. There simply aren't that much applicants.

Agree with Mario.

I got PR about 14 years ago. For that year the total appoved was about 24 people. My understanding is that 3 countries got 5 each and the rest (about 9) spread across a number of countries.

My letter of approval was signed by General Prem.

My application was prepared and submitted by an agent who knew the process very well. His fee was 7,500Baht. Unfortunately he no longer lives in Thailand, he migrated to US.

If you were approved by General Prem, it must have been more than 14 years ago. He resigned as prime minister and left politics in 1988. I don't know which years he was interior minister with authority to sign PR approvals, or, indeed, if he ever was interior minister

When I applied I was told that only the Chinese and Indians ever reach the quota of 100 per nationality. Americans and Brits in that year were about 40 each and all other farang countries were less than that.

[Arkady]

Can anyone with REAL knowledge advise what the requirements are? Please! Please! Please! No speculation or educated guesses from people who were told by someone else or what you heard..... Only first hand knowledge.

Thx, Joe

McMurray is right. Please refer to Camerata's guide to permanent residence in Thai Visa. All you need to know is in there. Don't waste time asking lawyers. They don't have a clue but can be useful in organising notarised documents. No one has been approved for PR since 2006. So good luck.

Edited December 18, 2009 by Arkady

[clockworkorange]

It appears that I meet all qualifications except the "3 consecutive years of resident extensions", since for years I have only used consecutive one Year Non Imm O visas with multiple entry. Aw shucks.

Do I read that right?

Consecutive one-year extensions of stay are accepted, provided:

1) They are granted in Thailand, extending just one original visa, i.e. not new visas each year granted at a foreign embassy

2) There are no breaks in the three years - even leaving Thailand for as single day muist be done on a re-entry permit granted in Thailand

From what you say, you leave the country each year for a new visa, so you would not be elligible yet. Time to start getting your extensions in Thailand, rather than a new visa from a foreign embassy each year

[clockworkorange]

After reading the various info I'm still confused on the income and tax issues for PR.

Can a person on a Retirement Stay of Extension living on a pension/savings (i.e. not working in Thailand) meet the PR requirements? Or, do you have to have been working in Thailand (with work permit of course) and paying Thai taxes? I "think" from reading the PR requirements you would have had to been working and paying Thai taxes. Thanks for any info/clarifications.

I'm afraid that taxes are a must. Hard on retirees that they can't graduate to PR.

[clockworkorange]

Agree with Mario.

I got PR about 14 years ago. For that year the total appoved was about 24 people. My understanding is that 3 countries got 5 each and the rest (about 9) spread across a number of countries.

My letter of approval was signed by General Prem.

My application was prepared and submitted by an agent who knew the process very well. His fee was 7,500Baht. Unfortunately he no longer lives in Thailand, he migrated to US.

I applied in 1997, just a couple of days before the applications closed and there were fewer than 20 other UK nationals on the list. I've never heard of a westerner being turned away because the quota of 100 had been reached.

[crocodilexp]

What are the benefits of PR, apart from not having to do reporting and renew the visa? I reckon for 200k baht one can quite a few 1yr non-O or non-B visas/extensions... PRs still need to apply for a work permit, and path to citizenship is not exactly easy (not that many people would want it anyway).