yankee99 Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 I have Residency, and the only benefit I seem to have is that I do not need to apply for an annual visa. On the downside, in order to leave Thailand temporarily, I require 2 re-entry permits, each costing 1900bt for single re-entry or 3,800 for multiple. What additional benefits would anyone obtain from citizenship, apart from being able to buy land? Being able to work any job you like seems to come to mind...i Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuddhaMind Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 I have posted this for information only, I do not want see troll posts. or negative feedback about Thailand. i would ask the forum mods to remove any such posts Hmm? No, it seems you posted this "for information only" AND to get feedback you deem appropriate. That doesn't seem fair. But anyway, I thought your original post was helpful. And at the same time, I think Thailand policies and procedures for citizenship are backward. That's just an opinion. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MILT Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 I'm married to a Thai woman but have never worked here and thus never had a WP or paid income tax. All the other requirments of the citizenship app. are achievable but there's now no way to achieve those 3 prerequisites - I've no desire to spend years teaching English to be able to fulfil them. A real pity because my life's here, my wife & her family (my stepchildren) are here and we don't want to leave to live in UK or anywhere else for that matter. It'd be nice to be my wife's equal, in the eyes of Thai law, but it seems it cannot be. Incidentally, my wife doesn't like the lack of equality either and would like me to be co-owner of "our" property around town, pay the same entrance fee to National Parks (by right, not as a concession because I can flash a driving licence), etc. I'd have thought, logically, that having an adequate income from abroad would satisfy the requirements but not so, it seems. I wonder how many others have similar thoughts on the matter. I agree and share your thoughts as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chatette Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 You don't have to change your name, you only have to give up original citizenship if that country requires it. I've got it and I changed nothing, gave up nothing. Super handy being able to walk thru immigration, get loans easily, not being tied to a visa or work permit, etc ad infinitum. Foreign women married to Thais don't need PR status or to be fluent in Thai if they have children with Thai nationality. The cost is very minimal, but processing can take several years but there's no downside to applying or getting unless you have to give up a citizenship that is more valuable to you. Get details and apply at the special branch office mentioned by the OP 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baerboxer Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 I'm married to a Thai woman but have never worked here and thus never had a WP or paid income tax. All the other requirments of the citizenship app. are achievable but there's now no way to achieve those 3 prerequisites - I've no desire to spend years teaching English to be able to fulfil them. A real pity because my life's here, my wife & her family (my stepchildren) are here and we don't want to leave to live in UK or anywhere else for that matter. It'd be nice to be my wife's equal, in the eyes of Thai law, but it seems it cannot be. Incidentally, my wife doesn't like the lack of equality either and would like me to be co-owner of "our" property around town, pay the same entrance fee to National Parks (by right, not as a concession because I can flash a driving licence), etc. I'd have thought, logically, that having an adequate income from abroad would satisfy the requirements but not so, it seems. I wonder how many others have similar thoughts on the matter. I agree and share your thoughts as well. I'm the same as you, and agree. Lots of things seem to be dependent on the WP for some reason. My wife and children have prefer to live here than in the UK. I just wish non-Thai husbands in bona fide marriages to Thai ladies had the same rights as foreign females married to Thai men. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MILT Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 work permits= a tax levy to the company/corp for the foreigner working in Thailand. Maybe I am mistaken????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 (edited) Foreign women married to Thais don't need PR status or to be fluent in Thai if they have children with Thai nationality. Since 2008 men married to Thai women no longer need PR to apply for citizenship. Just 3 years of extensions and 40K baht income proven by tax payments which of course requires a work permit. Also no Thai language test or song singing. Still not equal to what foreign women are required to have since they do not have to show any money earned. I would happily pay taxes if I could use it as proof of income without needing a work permit for extensions, PR or citizenship. Edited September 16, 2012 by ubonjoe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 (edited) work permits= a tax levy to the company/corp for the foreigner working in Thailand. Maybe I am mistaken????? There is no special tax levy for having foreign employees. More of a standard thing here in that they consider the man to be the bread winner. Which of course is way out of date. Edited September 16, 2012 by ubonjoe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaimaple Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 My son was born in USA 28 years ago. I am Canadian, my wife his mother is Thai. He does not speak Thai and now lives in Canada. Can he get Thai citizenship? Would he have to give up his Canadian citizenship? Our only interest is simplifying inheritence of land my wife owns here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 (edited) Your son is a Thai citizen by birth because his mother is Thai. Canada allows dual nationality. It will probably mean a trip to Thailand for your son to get proof of citizen ship (birth registration) unless he was born in Thailand. Edited September 16, 2012 by ubonjoe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewlyMintedThai Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 Watch out for national service requirement. He may be old enough to be exempt -- I'm sure someone here wil know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkady Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 A few points. Permanent residence is required for applicants who are not married to a Thai citizen. Those who have been legally married to a Thai for three years, if no children, and one year, if they have a child together, are eligible if they also meet the other requirements. There is no such thing as the "Queen's Song". Applicants who are not married to a Thai are required to sing the National and Royal Anthems. Those who are married to a Thai are not required to sing. Applicants need to select a Thai name and surname which must be approved by their district office. However, these are no longer used. The Interior Ministry scrapped the regulation requiring a Thai name on naturalization but curiously didn't scrap the requirement to choose a Thai name. After naturalization, you can change your name to the one you chose or any other Thai name at your district office or just keep your foreign name. Sorry. There is no way for those who have not been working legally in Thailand and paying Thai tax for at least three complete tax years to get Thai citizenship or permanent residence. They are not interested in retired people even with large incomes and assets and to be frank not very interested in those that meet all their requirements. In the past things were different and less xenophobic but these days most applicants for citizenship or PR are made to wait for years and years without any news at all. I am very surprised to learn that the Special Branch officers speak any English at all. I would recommend speaking only Thai to them, if seriously interested in applying. They will assess your points for speaking and aural comprehension of Thai based on your discussions with them. If you speak English to them, you will probably get zero and you need 50 points out of 100 to be considered. If you don't have PR you start 25 points down. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon43 Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 but these days most applicants for citizenship or PR are made to wait for years and years without any news at all. After living, marrying and owning my own businesses in Thailand for about 10 years, I decided that there was no benefit for me to become a Thai citizen, because I could see very few advantages. I got tired of the increasing xenophobia against 'whiteys' and moved to Myanmar earlier this year..... Simon 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewlyMintedThai Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 but these days most applicants for citizenship or PR are made to wait for years and years without any news at all. After living, marrying and owning my own businesses in Thailand for about 10 years, I decided that there was no benefit for me to become a Thai citizen, because I could see very few advantages. I got tired of the increasing xenophobia against 'whiteys' and moved to Myanmar earlier this year..... Simon So can you tell us about the expat life there? Business/property ownership? Visas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopburi3 Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 I would suggest you ask him to do that in the dedicated forum area for that country - this forum area is about visas to Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlyAnimal Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 40k income from Thailand? Or 40k income including overseas income? As it's reasonably rare for us poor teachers to earn 40/month k of taxable income from teaching (including tutoring etc some could bump it up, but would need the school's assistance to comply with work permit conditions) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewlyMintedThai Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 I would suggest you ask him to do that in the dedicated forum area for that country - this forum area is about visas to Thailand. Agreed, but I thought he might not see it there. Perhaps he can start a thread for us in the appropriate place so we can gain some knowledge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon43 Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 @NMT - I will do just that Right now, I'm at work, so will start a new thread asap Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pengythai Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 What about the following requirement in the original post? 5. Must have made a donation to a charitable orgaisation in Thailand IE: Por Tek Tung etc. What kind of donation do they mean? Has anyone any further information, as I've been here for 16 years married with a child and planning on retiring here in a few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewlyMintedThai Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 What about the following requirement in the original post?5. Must have made a donation to a charitable orgaisation in Thailand IE: Por Tek Tung etc. What kind of donation do they mean? Has anyone any further information, as I've been here for 16 years married with a child and planning on retiring here in a few years. 10 or 20,000 baht to any registered charity will do the trick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlyAnimal Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 (edited) gf just read the stuff forms which Pinball sent me (Thanks Pinball), which assist with answering a couple of the questions: 1/ To answer my own question. She said it didn't specifically say income from Thailand, so foreign income is likely included as well. 2/ She also said that the charitable donations shouldn't just be a large donation deposited 1 month before you apply to fulfill the requirements. But instead smaller, but more frequent donations would be more effective, as they'd feel that you're not just trying to work the system then, but are genuine in your donations. Temples etc can usually give you a receipt when you make a donation, you should keep them and make sure they are in your name, as they'll all help for your citizen application. 3/ And you should be registered on the Tambien Baan or whatever, the housebook, for 5 years apparently (If you change houses you should be able to show the old housebook). Although from the posts previously, I think the time duration for these is lowered through marriage/children. Edited September 16, 2012 by SlyAnimal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pengythai Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 (edited) Thanks for explaining that. How do you get on the Tabian Baan? Edited September 16, 2012 by pengythai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samran Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 My son was born in USA 28 years ago. I am Canadian, my wife his mother is Thai. He does not speak Thai and now lives in Canada. Can he get Thai citizenship? Would he have to give up his Canadian citizenship? Our only interest is simplifying inheritence of land my wife owns here. If he was born in the US, he needs to apply for a Thai birth certificate from the Thai embassy in Washington DC. Given his US birth, ONLY the embassy in DC has the power to issue his Thai BC. No issue regarding military service if he doesn't live in Thailand full time, and from the 1 Jan of the year he turns 30, he's automatically exempted anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samran Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 gf just read the stuff forms which Pinball sent me (Thanks Pinball), which assist with answering a couple of the questions: 1/ To answer my own question. She said it didn't specifically say income from Thailand, so foreign income is likely included as well. 2/ She also said that the charitable donations shouldn't just be a large donation deposited 1 month before you apply to fulfill the requirements. But instead smaller, but more frequent donations would be more effective, as they'd feel that you're not just trying to work the system then, but are genuine in your donations. Temples etc can usually give you a receipt when you make a donation, you should keep them and make sure they are in your name, as they'll all help for your citizen application. 3/ And you should be registered on the Tambien Baan or whatever, the housebook, for 5 years apparently (If you change houses you should be able to show the old housebook). Although from the posts previously, I think the time duration for these is lowered through marriage/children. it has to be income from Thailand, as you'll need 3 years of Thai tax returns to go along with it. The ulitmate profile of the people who they want are those who have contributed to the country...so a humble uni lecturer at a Thai uni will probably be preferred to a mult-millionaire with investments offshore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewlyMintedThai Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 Preferred? Perhaps. But it's not a choice between one or the other, as there are no quotas in place. Both can get it assuming both meet all the requirements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maestro Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 ...How do you get on the Tabian Baan? If you are not married to a Thai and thus need five years PR, you can get on the blue house registration book of the head of the household where you live. If you go the direct route without PR first, get yourself the yellow house registration book for foreigners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
personchester Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 Since an application for a Thai citizenship appears to be problematic, what then are the procedures for farang's to apply for a permanent residency rather than applying for a citizenship, assuming that their way of life here is as follows. In Thailand for at least 5 years, married to a Thai lady, financially secure with solid western income and savings, several Thai bank A/c's, a big house, several cars, and a great daily way of life. Would the PR application just demand a payment of 190.K. together with documents to confirm the farang's outline of his personal state of affairs. Can some of your chaps, particular those that have applied and received PR give us some details on this, it would be much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thongsuknork Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 depending on your country of origin you maybe required to give up you current nationalty. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I must ask, are there actually people in this world that are prepared to dump their own nationality in order to be a "thai"???????? Seems in my eyes to be a downhill decision Glegolo If u have a thai wife and children then it should not be a problem dumping own nationality Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewlyMintedThai Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 Since an application for a Thai citizenship appears to be problematic, what then are the procedures for farang's to apply for a permanent residency rather than applying for a citizenship, assuming that their way of life here is as follows. In Thailand for at least 5 years, married to a Thai lady, financially secure with solid western income and savings, several Thai bank A/c's, a big house, several cars, and a great daily way of life. Would the PR application just demand a payment of 190.K. together with documents to confirm the farang's outline of his personal state of affairs. Can some of your chaps, particular those that have applied and received PR give us some details on this, it would be much appreciated. Unless you have been working legally in Thailand for at least three years straight, you don't qualify. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A2Zsolar Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 (edited) IN my own case i have achive a thai marriage document and did proper legit marriage with all evidence, but right now i am still having non "O" visa and try to apply for the marriage pass please can someone give me an ideal of what next to do? pls. //Edit: off topic here. Please start a new topic for this. Edited September 16, 2012 by Maestro Added edit note. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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