Thai Citeznship

[mikecwm]

depending on your country of origin you maybe required to give up you current nationalty.

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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

Zimbabwe, Angola, Sudan, Mali, Greece? Need I go on?

[Stonage]

If the hat does not fit you should not wear it .

I have Thai Citizenship and kept my country of birth passboard.

Took 18 months and 200,000 Baht in fees

[bdw]

Giving up one's citizenship if your from the west is a very large sacrifice

Yes you are.

[samran]

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.

True - badly worded on my part.

Just trying to make the point that the process isn't about money per se.

[kriswillems]

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.

Reading the requirements, in think in the end it will much more easy for the millionaire to set up a company in Thailand and get paid 80000 B/month. I doubt that university lecturers get 80000B /month (there might be a few exceptions), so they can forget about getting Thai nationality.

[sirchai]

It was always my dream to open up a Papaya salad restaurant in Sisaket, or Ubon.---

[NewlyMintedThai]

It was always my dream to open up a Papaya salad restaurant in Sisaket, or Ubon.---

You don't have to do it to take satisfaction in the fact that you can. That you can do anything a Thai person can do, and enjoy the same rights.

Some people obviously find this hard to understand.

[diamondmax]

If I apply for, and I am granted, Thai citizenship, does that mean I no longer have to renew a visa (non B each year? And not have to have a work permit to work in Thailand? And also not have to do my 90 day registration any more?

This would be a great advantage.

[lopburi3]

Yes it would mean that.

[personchester]

depending on your country of origin you maybe required to give up you current nationalty.

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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

That is entirely your point of view.

[irwinfc]

becoming a Thai citizen would seem problematic for me. my salary is at its current level because i am not Thai. by becoming a "local", i expect my salary to be downgraded and lose my housing allowance as well. so i think i'll hang on to my work permit and non-immigrant B visa.

[Boo]

Can I get some clarification, by having given birth to a thai citizen & being married to a thai citizen (coming up 10 years) I can apply for my own citizenship after 1 year of continuous non o visas??

Do I or my husband still need to make 3 years of income tax payments or is it one year?

Many thanks in advance for clarifying this for me.

[TommoPhysicist]

Reading the requirements, in think in the end it will much more easy for the millionaire to set up a company in Thailand and get paid 80000 B/month. I doubt that university lecturers get 80000B /month (there might be a few exceptions), so they can forget about getting Thai nationality.

Also most foreigners (especially teachers) are employed on short-term contracts, so wouldn't be entitled to apply as no secure employment.

[TommoPhysicist]

Unless you have been working legally in Thailand for at least three years straight, you don't qualify.

I'm under the impression that for a married person (using the new citizenship for humanitarian reasons) there is no such requirement.

[TommoPhysicist]

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.

Foreign income and savings count for nothing, only income earned within Thailand, which is what makes it impossible for the majority of us to apply. If you are married to a Thai citizenship is easier to get than PR.

[samran]

Can I get some clarification, by having given birth to a thai citizen & being married to a thai citizen (coming up 10 years) I can apply for my own citizenship after 1 year of continuous non o visas??

Do I or my husband still need to make 3 years of income tax payments or is it one year?

Many thanks in advance for clarifying this for me.

Only one year if the rules haven't changed

[p_brownstone]

Unless you have been working legally in Thailand for at least three years straight, you don't qualify.

I'm under the impression that for a married person (using the new citizenship for humanitarian reasons) there is no such requirement.

A foreign male married to a Thai female would need to meet the work / income requirements.

For a foreign female married to a male Thai there is no such requirement.

Patrick

[ubonjoe]

I can apply for my own citizenship after 1 year of continuous non o visas??

Multiple 90 day non-o visa entries will not be accepted. It must be a one year extension of stay from immigration which in your case can be easily obtained.

[samran]

I can apply for my own citizenship after 1 year of continuous non o visas??

Multiple 90 day non-o visa entries will not be accepted. It must be a one year extension of stay from immigration which in your case can be easily obtained.

given she is applying via her Thai husband, that shouldn't matter. She does need to be on the yellow house book though.

[Boo]

Samran, as usual, font of knowledge, I know we have been throught his before but as it was a couple years old a refresher is always needed.

[Arkady]

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

It's much less hassle than applying for PR which has become a real performance and very expensive, plus they have made a point of not approving any PR applications except for a chosen few since 2006. It's a bit frustrating during the long waiting periods when you hear nothing and think you are forgotten but, as Chatette says it's inexpensive and, if you never apply, you will never get it.

Women with Thai husbands don't actually need to have Thai children to be eligible. They need to be married for one year, if they have Thai children with their legal Thai husband and three years without children. Since 2008 the same requirements apply to foreign males with Thai wives. Since 2011 applicants have been required to make a declaration of willingness to renounce existing nationality on being approved for Thai nationality at their embassies and produce a certified Thai translation of this. The interview panel at the Interior Ministry now routinely asks all applicants if they are willing to renounce their existing nationalities and presumably refusal or hesitation may result in rejection of their applications. Once Thai nationality is approved or gazetted (I am not sure of the exact point in the process), the Interior Ministry will write to the relevant embassies to inform them that the applicants have been granted Thai nationality.

[Arkady]

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.

Note that there is a requirement for the charitable donations to be "seasoned", since the regulations state that donations obviously made purely to qualify for Thai nationality, e.g. the day before are not acceptable. Receipts that show a regular pattern of smallish donations over several years are better than one big donation a few days or months before application. I produced receipts going back 12 years.

[Arkady]

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.

Unfortunately foreign income and assets cannot be taken into account. This is a rigid bureaucratic system that applies what is basically a 1965 law with some more recent amendments but a lot of the drafting and thinking behind the law goes back much further than 1965 and was present in virtually the same form in earlier versions of the Act. The law was intended for people (mainly Chinese) who had immigrated to Thailand to earn a living and it was the job of Special Branch to ensure that they were able to earn an adequate living in Thailand to qualify for citizenship. Hardly any of them would have had income or assets overseas because they had arrived as dirt poor bonded labourers and how would Special Branch verify anything in China anyway? The ministerial regulations which were presumably originally drafted before land ownership was made illegal for foreigners by the 1953 Land Code expect applicants to be able to demonstrate that they own property in Thailand and today you can declare that you own a condo. However, you may not declare a portfolio of stocks listed on the SET and dividend income from them, however substantial, (I know cos I tried) and this is presumably because the SET has only been in existence since 1975 and is not yet on the radar screen. For liquid assets only cash deposited in a Thai bank may be declared.

[GarryP]

Now that we appear to be seeing the backlog of PR applications being cleared, how does that bode for citizenship applications. Both are at the mercy of the Ministry of Interior, so perhaps some of you who have been waiting for a number of years may be about to receive some good news. I certainly hope so.

[samran]

Now that we appear to be seeing the backlog of PR applications being cleared, how does that bode for citizenship applications. Both are at the mercy of the Ministry of Interior, so perhaps some of you who have been waiting for a number of years may be about to receive some good news. I certainly hope so.

citizenship has always been ticking over.

We were called up last year for the final interview, but due to other commitments we aren't based full time in Thailand for the time being, so we put the application on hold.

I was told on a recent visit to special branch that my wife would have been a Thai citizen by now had we'd take the opportunity then. I was also told that they are taking final interview on a monthly basis.

[GarryP]

Yes, I understand they are ticking over, but at a very slow rate. I understand quite a few people have been waiting three or more years with no word. I just thought things might move into first gear as opposed to ticking over in neutral in view of the action being taken on PRs. But then again, it could be that proportionately there are so few westerners in the queue compared to others seeking citizenship that it just seems slow.

[NewlyMintedThai]

Yes, I understand they are ticking over, but at a very slow rate. I understand quite a few people have been waiting three or more years with no word. I just thought things might move into first gear as opposed to ticking over in neutral in view of the action being taken on PRs. But then again, it could be that proportionately there are so few westerners in the queue compared to others seeking citizenship that it just seems slow.

Three years or more had always been the norm, more or less depending how much clout you have. I wouldn't call it a backlog; it's just normal.

[tombkk]

You need to have Permanent Residence in Thailand or be married to a Thai before you can even apply.

Patrick

Permanent residence and 5 years total in country if not married to a Thai.

Three years on extensions if married to a Thai plus song singing and Thai language test is not required.

I get conflicting information about this:

1.) Holding PR for at least 5 years

2.) Living and working here (and having PND 91) for at least 5 years

3.) Being in the tabien baan (yellow, if before receipt of the PR) for at least 5 years

Which one is correct? I am not married.

[sas_cars]

You need to have Permanent Residence in Thailand or be married to a Thai before you can even apply.

Patrick

Permanent residence and 5 years total in country if not married to a Thai.

Three years on extensions if married to a Thai plus song singing and Thai language test is not required.

I get conflicting information about this:

1.) Holding PR for at least 5 years

2.) Living and working here (and having PND 91) for at least 5 years

3.) Being in the tabien baan (yellow, if before receipt of the PR) for at least 5 years

Which one is correct? I am not married.

Yes I am confused on the above as well. I think all new PR holders will qualify for citizenship if 2.) Living and working here (and having PND 91) for at least 5 years , but will need to wait 5 more years to be able to qualify if the authorities force 1.) Holding PR for at least 5 years. Maybe Arkady can shed some light on it

[ubonjoe]

Have a read of this translation of rules done by Arkady and see what you think it says. Guidelines and documents required for application for Thai citizenship by naturalization