Age To Begin Citizenship Process

[seaeagle]

Scenario is 2 foreign parents have children fully educated here, and totally fluent in Thai language.

At what age can the kids start the process to become Thai nationals?

[PoorSucker]

Does the kid have permanent residence?

[samran]

when were the children born?

If before 1971 they are Thai citizens by virtue of being born on Thai soil.

If born between 1971 and 1992, then they can apply for Thai citizenship at the Ampur by virtue of having long standing ties to Thailand. These changes came about in amendments to the Thai nationality Act in 2008.See the discussion in this linked thread, from the point onwards regarding a Thai entertainment personality applying for Thai nationality via this method

If born after 1992, then both parents needed to be PR's at the time of the childs birth - in which case they would automatically be Thai citizens.

If none of the above, they will need to apply under their own steam. (ie PR and then citizenship at a later point)

[seaeagle]

Okay, thanks for the replies, but let's look at what was written earlier:

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Scenario is 2 foreign parents have children fully educated here, and totally fluent in Thai language.

At what age can the kids start the process to become Thai nationals

*****************************

They are "kids", so certainly born after 1992.

Parents don't have any PR or Citizenship at all, as the question would be irrelevant then.

So, again the question is "at what age can they begin the process?"

[TerryLH]

Maybe you can find info in the pinned topic re: PR at the top of the forum. It lists all the requirements in the thread.

I believe, and as Samran pointed out, that may be where they'll need to start.

About 200,000 baht each, if they get approved for PR. I've read that people who applied several years ago still haven't heard back on it yet.

[Time Traveller]

According the latest guidelines. (Unfortunately I only have a hard copy of them, so cannot provide weblink) The applicant must have reached the age of majority in both Thailand (20?) and their home country. Also if applying by themselves and are not having a parent who is Thai, then they need to have been resident in Thailand for at least 5 years (evidenced by their names on house registration book or alien card in the case of stateless minority groups) and have worked for at least 3 years up until the time of the application. They must also score a 50 point pass mark on a selected criteria which they would be very unlikely to pass if they are under 30 years old, have low income (less than 60k per month), do not already have PR and do not have a university degree. While some points are awarded for knowledge of language and general knowledge, these would not be sufficient to score a passing mark without age/education/income/residence. Best to concentrate on their university education and getting a job first. At best it will take many years, and even some stateless minority group people who are unable to prove that they were born in Thailand but have lived here for 30+ years are still trying to get citizenship.

Edited October 27, 2010 by Time Traveller

[digitalchromakey]

According the latest guidelines. (Unfortunately I only have a hard copy of them, so cannot provide weblink) The applicant must have reached the age of majority in both Thailand (20?) and their home country. Also if applying by themselves and are not having a parent who is Thai, then they need to have been resident in Thailand for at least 5 years (evidenced by their names on house registration book or alien card in the case of stateless minority groups) and have worked for at least 3 years up until the time of the application. They must also score a 50 point pass mark on a selected criteria which they would be very unlikely to pass if they are under 30 years old, have low income (less than 60k per month), do not already have PR and do not have a university degree. While some points are awarded for knowledge of language and general knowledge, these would not be sufficient to score a passing mark without age/education/income/residence. Best to concentrate on their university education and getting a job first. At best it will take many years, and even some stateless minority group people who are unable to prove that they were born in Thailand but have lived here for 30+ years are still trying to get citizenship.

Note that the above criteria are for a Thai Citizenship application.

[samran]

According the latest guidelines. (Unfortunately I only have a hard copy of them, so cannot provide weblink) The applicant must have reached the age of majority in both Thailand (20?) and their home country. Also if applying by themselves and are not having a parent who is Thai, then they need to have been resident in Thailand for at least 5 years (evidenced by their names on house registration book or alien card in the case of stateless minority groups) and have worked for at least 3 years up until the time of the application. They must also score a 50 point pass mark on a selected criteria which they would be very unlikely to pass if they are under 30 years old, have low income (less than 60k per month), do not already have PR and do not have a university degree. While some points are awarded for knowledge of language and general knowledge, these would not be sufficient to score a passing mark without age/education/income/residence. Best to concentrate on their university education and getting a job first. At best it will take many years, and even some stateless minority group people who are unable to prove that they were born in Thailand but have lived here for 30+ years are still trying to get citizenship.

In other words, they can start at 20, but they'll essentially need to be PR's first. This requires:

- 3 consecutive years in Thailand on visa extensions

- 3 years of tax returns

- a reasonable income level from work in Thailand.

After PR - they can become eligible to apply for citizenship.

Do a search for a poster called Arkady - he'll know more on the exact qualifications needed. PR isn't needed in all circumstances, but it sure does help.

Best bet though, is to go down to police special branch on Rama I road and ask what the exact requirements are for the kids situation. Rules regularly change.

[Richard4849]

It seems the original poster might have thought that being fully educated in Thailand and fluent in the Thai language would give the kids some kind of special advantage...but clearly it doesn't. Unless things change significantly in coming years, they probably won't get citizenship until they're thirty, at earliest -- that is, if they stay here and work, get PR, and basically do everything that all the rest of us have to do to get it.

[Time Traveller]

There is some advantage to completing education in Thailand, but it's mostly only to do with lower salary requirements. For example, the selection criteria awards 25 points based on income/tax level. So the minimum requirement needed of the applicant is 40k salary (for at least 3 yrs) would award you 15pts. Whereas applicants without any relationship to Thailand would need salary of at least 80k to apply. But if you are from a minority group (I think this means mountain ethnic people?) the minimum salary is just 20k.

Other criteria used for the points scoring,

Thai Language ability - 15pts

General Knowledge of Thailand - 10pts

Age - 10pts (an applicant under 30 would only get 2pts)

Education - 15pts (with only completion of Mattayom/High school would get 3pts)

Residence - 20pts (without PR the maximum is 5pts)

Also there is 5 pts for personal appearance (?) as well.

Essentially all applicants (who don't qualify through birth or Thai parents) need at least 3yrs work experience in Thailand with salary above the minimum salary guidelines as well as at least 5yrs residence.

As previous posts suggested please ask at Police HQ for further info, but I've been informed recently that applications will not been accepted unless they already qualify with pass mark of at least 50pts. After that time, the waiting could take up to 10yrs for approval of citizenship!

Edited October 28, 2010 by Time Traveller

[Arkady]

As noted above, being born in Thailand after 1992 to alien parents who were not both permanent residents at the time gives no particular rights to Thai citizenship compared those born outside Thailand. The 2008 Nationality Act gave certain rights to citizenship at the discretion of the Interior Minister to those born in Thailand between 1972 and 1992 to alien parents on temporary visas and it is possible that a future act might extend this beyond 1992 but no new act is currently in the works to my knowledge.

The children have no exemption from the requirement under current ministerial regulations to have permanent residence but, as noted above, check with Special Branch because these regulations change frequently. The requirement for PR is not enshrined in the Nationality Act. It is the Interior Ministry's own interpretation of the Act's requirement of 5 years' residency and a chink was forced into this by the 2008 Nationality Act that did away with the residency requirement altogether for males married to Thais, thereby forcing the ministry to accept this class of applicant without PR.

Depending on how young the children are their fastest route to Thai nationality might actually be, if you apply for Thai nationality after gaining permanent residence. You are allowed to apply for Thai nationality for your minor children concurrently with your own application. (I believe the same applies when you apply for permanent residence). If the children continue to live in Thailand as adults, they might marry Thai nationals and be eligible to apply for nationality as spouses of Thai nationals. However you look at it, the most sensible way you could proceed at this point would be to start applying for permanent residence for yourself (and your family), even though the process seems currently bogged down - see the TV thread Camerata's guide to permanent residence.

Time Traveller, the points for "bukalik" or "personal appearance", as I understand it, are for the overall impression you create with Special Branch during your application process with them with most of the points being allotted by the section head as a result of your interview (in Thai) with him. If you apply with a Thai spouse, he or she will undoubtedly be factored into the equation too.

Edited October 31, 2010 by Arkady

[samran]

good post Arkady, but, it appears the OP is long gone.

[TerryLH]

"good post Arkady, but, it appears the OP is long gone."

That's okay. The info is good for others in similar situations.

Always good to get info from folks who know what they're talking about. (A and S)

T