Residency

[gunnersforever]

I have been teaching here for 4 years and i have tax records the 91 and 1 form, but i only get paid for 10 months. Does that mean i am ineligible to apply. I will be getting 12 month pay from now on. I am a qualified teacher with a teachers license, a degree in education and a work permit. I am married too to a Bangkokian. How long will I have to wait until I apply? 3 years still? I am about to get my 5th extension of stay on a Non B Visa of course. Please help. Some advanced members might be able to share their views, but I think I know the response.

[nullx8]

isnt it 10 years for permanent residency ?

not sure

[skippybangkok]

Am not the expert - but think you might qualify. You have Visa and WP, and can demonstrate you have paid tax........ Assume you dont have WP for only 10 months, and then on month 12 re-apply for new 10 month WP ( which i dont even know is possible ).

[gunnersforever]

isnt it 10 years for permanent residency ?

not sure

I went to the old room at room 302 at suan plu. They told me it would be better if i applied having been married for two years. You need a minimum of 3 years. I know they havent accepted anyone since the coup, but i believe they did take applications again last december. Can a senior member or global moderator help. I know you have wisedom on Thailand. I have been here for just shy of 5 years so i havent exactly been here too long.

[gunnersforever]

Am not the expert - but think you might qualify. You have Visa and WP, and can demonstrate you have paid tax........ Assume you dont have WP for only 10 months, and then on month 12 re-apply for new 10 month WP ( which i dont even know is possible ).

Alot of schools in Thailand offer 12 month cvontracts in order to process the work permit, but wil only pay you for 10. I now have negociated a better contract. I dont know though if 40000 over 12 months is too low. The immigration offer said you need a minimum of 30000 a month if you are married to a thai for a minimum of 2 years. I have been collecting a portfolio since i arrived . I regularly donate to charities including His Majesty the King Charities and have supported a child in Thailand for two years with a charity. I have receipts and documentations to proove this too. However i hear for UK passport holders the authorities are rather eluctant to give PR. Any opinions??

[gunnersforever]

It may be wonderful news, but Thai Airways has direct services to Zurich Daily leaving Bangkok at 0015 and arriving in Zurich at 0645. TG are excellent. The best airline in the world. Why would people want to go to singapore? It is a 2hour 20 minute flight and then a wait to transfer to the next plane. And as for the cost, well if you can afford singapore airlines you can afford.

I do apologise for my typing errors. Im just doing this quite quickly. So please dont criticise if there are any mistakes. I know there are.

[monty]

The 3 year period relates to being here non stop on consecutive 1 year extensions.

Your income will likely be looked at on a yearly base averaged, not monthly.

I doubt they threat UK passport holders any different then other nationalities!

And yes, they have accepted applications every year, but none have been approved for a few years now.

[stbkk]

isnt it 10 years for permanent residency ?

not sure

I went to the old room at room 302 at suan plu. They told me it would be better if i applied having been married for two years. You need a minimum of 3 years. I know they havent accepted anyone since the coup, but i believe they did take applications again last december. Can a senior member or global moderator help. I know you have wisedom on Thailand. I have been here for just shy of 5 years so i havent exactly been here too long.

First of all, you need to look at the pinned post at the top of this page about PR, by Camerata. It is probably the most comprehensive and accurate resource on PR in the Kingdom, up to and including the immigration department documents.

1. You need to have been working (continually and legally with a work permit) for a minimum of 3 years. Not 10.

2. If you have been married for 2 years when you apply, the PR fee on approval is 50% (95K approx, instead of 190k approx.). The application fee is the same, married or single (about 7k, I seem to remember?).

3. I don't think being paid 10 months a year matters, but they will tell you at immigration.

4. The PR people at immigration are very helpful, don't be afraid to go and ask them in person. As for many things in Thailand, cultivating a personal relationship with them will help.

5. Applications have been accepted every year (in December), but none have been granted since 2006. There is apparently an ever increasing pile on the interior ministers desk waiting for approval. T.I.T.

You can do the application yourself (a Thai speaking wife/gf will help a lot, of course), but there is a lot of paperwork to get together, both personally and from your employer). Again, talking to the PR people in immigration helps. You can also get the list of requirements from the post metioned above, but as in most things here, this changes (slightly) periodically.

Good luck if you decide to go for it.

[gunnersforever]

Thank you for your kind help and advise. I think I will wait until December 2011 and then apply. By then I will have had 6 extensions of stay and nearly on my 7th. For the meanwhile I will go to immigration and talk to them about the tax issue because i can only show evidence of 10 months pay over 4 years. I know they are very strict and I know it is highely unlikely I will get approved even with the tax papers because I sont work for a big company and make about 100000 or 500000 a month. I only make 40000. Also I cant speak Thai. I am too busy in my Job and my wife and her family with whom we dont live with speak excellent english and have professional jobs.

[stbkk]

I'd wait until what they say about the tax before deciding.

Its a points-based approval system apparently, and the income/tax does make a major contribution.

I applied in 2006 so cannot comment much on the current Thai language test, but back then it was not too hard. I have a friend who applied in 2008 also, and he said although the format is different, its still not too bad.

[ericthai]

My friend got his PR about 8 years ago. He used a lawyer and with the lawyer fees and PR fees with approval was almost 300,000 Baht. the fee for the PR is 7600B and then approval is 191,000 if single 97,000 is you are married to a Thai. It can take more than 1 year for approval of PR once application is submitted.

The following are the main requirements, but as in Thailand this does not mean you will get a PR:

1) To apply they only accept applications between October and December, but they don't accept applications every year you need to watch the bangkok post for an announcement that they will be accepting applications.

2) You need to have 3 consecutive extension of stays to no lapse in between.

3) Depending on your nationally will depend on your salary requirements and if you are married or not will affect this requirement. If married then only 30K per month, if not then this can be as high as 80K per month.

4) You need to be able to speak, read and write Thai at a grade six level of which you will be tested and this will be video taped.

5) you must not have any criminal recored either in Thailand or your home country, need you a statement from your embassy stating this. your finger prints will be taken and a police check in Thailand will be done

Doing charity work helps but is not actually required, you do need to show you are a positive influence to Thailand.

All reports show they have not issued any PR since 2006. Who knows when this will change.

[scorecard]

Make sure you look well presented when you go for the interview.

The day I had my interview (about 14 years ago) there was another farang there for the same purpose, totally scruffy looking, skinhead type haircut, old slippers, looked like he had slept in his clothes, he was dismissed immediately and my agent overheard the officers commenting negatively about the guys appearance.

[stbkk]

My friend got his PR about 8 years ago. He used a lawyer and with the lawyer fees and PR fees with approval was almost 300,000 Baht. the fee for the PR is 7600B and then approval is 191,000 if single 97,000 is you are married to a Thai. It can take more than 1 year for approval of PR once application is submitted.

The following are the main requirements, but as in Thailand this does not mean you will get a PR:

1) To apply they only accept applications between October and December, but they don't accept applications every year you need to watch the bangkok post for an announcement that they will be accepting applications.

2) You need to have 3 consecutive extension of stays to no lapse in between.

3) Depending on your nationally will depend on your salary requirements and if you are married or not will affect this requirement. If married then only 30K per month, if not then this can be as high as 80K per month.

4) You need to be able to speak, read and write Thai at a grade six level of which you will be tested and this will be video taped.

5) you must not have any criminal recored either in Thailand or your home country, need you a statement from your embassy stating this. your finger prints will be taken and a police check in Thailand will be done

Doing charity work helps but is not actually required, you do need to show you are a positive influence to Thailand.

All reports show they have not issued any PR since 2006. Who knows when this will change.

There was certainly no reading and writing of Thai involved when I applied in 2006.

Also my friend (who applied in 2008) recently had his language test, which also did not involve reading or writing. His was an interview type test with simple questions and answers, in front of a panel of testers. He said it was very relaxed, although it was indeed recorded. He also was told (by the immigration people in the PR dept beforehand! to dress smartly for the interview!).

We both did our own applications, with no lawyers involved.

As I said above, check out Camerata's guide to application post. Its the best advice you'll get, and free.

[gunnersforever]

Thank you everyone for contributing to this forum. It is very much appreciated especially as you have a lot more experience than me in Thailand. I know that the rules change quite regularly in Thailand and they might accept one person and then reject the other even if they have pretty much the same credentials. That is what makes the Land of Smiles so interesting.

[skippybangkok]

Go for it......... but if your on 40k baht / month, i am not sure what the official and un-official expected salaries are. At the end of te day i think they look at your contribution to the country, tax and in your case maybe education. ( not sure - guesstimate).

But on a 40k salary, assuming you can save max 1/2, thats a year saving if applying under non-married quota.... and don't there are plenty of costs for document certification and misc ( maybe 50k or more )