THAI CITIZENSHIP FOR FOREIGN CHILD - please share accounts/experiences if you successfully navigated the process for obtaining Thai citizenship for a non-Thai child.

Background :My son is a 12 years old American. He has lived in Thailand for 8 years. His visa has followed my Non-Imm. B (work) visa.

He is fluent in Thai, writing also. I am unmarried. I do not have residency.

We would like to obtain Thai citizenship (dual to his American citizenship) so that he will be allowed to conduct life without the hurdles of visa and industry restrictions.

Please - Just the facts.

Edited August 16, 201312 yr by metisdead
Font reset to default forum font. Please do not post using all caps, all caps edited out of topic title.

We need more information :

Is his Mother Thai?

If not then your son has no claim to Thai Citizenship.

Patrick

Edited August 16, 201312 yr by p_brownstone

Read the pinned topics at the top of the forum re: Permanent Resident.

That seems to be his only avenue to Thai citizenship at this time, and I don't think he meets the requirements.

Terry

Any access to Thai citizenship till he is 20 will be based on the establishment of yourselves as Thai citizens, and then he being naturalised as part of your application. Given you and your wife aren't Thai by the sounds of it, the only path is to get PR, then wait the required time before applying for citizenship yourselves. Those two processes are well documented on this website. So long as he is still younger than 20 when you do this, he can be classed as a dependent.

Beyond 20, he'll have to apply under his own steam.

Edited August 16, 201312 yr by samran

Assuming you are working and qualified for PR you need to apply for it and have it for 5 years before applying for Thai citizenship. The way things are going it will be tight to get it and have it for 5 years before your son is 20, so he can apply for citizenship on your coat tails. So you had better get your skates on and apply for PR this December. Otherwise, he is going to have to qualify for PR and then citizenship in his own right. He could also qualify by having a Thai wife and working in Thailand with a work permit but it's a bit too early to plan for this. Unfortunately there are no other ways. There are thousands of stateless people who have Thai names, speak only Thai and act Thai but can't get Thai citizenship. So your son's knowledge of Thai, although it will be well viewed, will not help in and of itself and the Interior Ministry will just think he is luckier than most in having the ability to go and live in a developed country and not being stateless.

Additional notes - Appreciation for some helpful posts attempted...

It seems that we have yet to find anyone who has actually done this - obtained Thai citizenship for their foreign child.

Please note - He is American, foreign to Thailand - this means he does not have a Thai mother. I am an unmarried single father..

I have heard a wide range of theories from foreigners and Thais, and even spoken with Thai immigration officials.

The replies to my queries are consistently varied, evasive, and theoretical.

Examples :
"He would be required to give up US citizenship."

"He could seek citizenship after graduating from a Thai university."

"He could seek it after residency for 5 years, but he must also be 18 years old, at which point he must show additional years of tax returns for permitted work."

"It is impossible."

"It is likely with "friends"."

"He could seek a marriage to serve the purpose of citizenship"

"He could be adopted by a Thai and seek citizenship"

It is evident there are many theories and more could be added. This is why it would be interesting to hear if any one person has ever attempted/ achieved this feat.

Even the several immigration officials with whom my Thai staff spoke were confounded by the question. It was clear they did not want to be bothered with an issue that lay outside of their normal work stresses.

This may require a bit of thinking on how to satisfy immigration law.

While there are many who fail to qualify for citizenship, it would also be unlikely that against the math of international movement to Thailand there has never been an outlying applicant who with fortitude, intelligence, and support did not achieve this.

Post 4 and 5 gave you the answer. There is no other way at this moment in time than through his parents.

Additional notes - Appreciation for some helpful posts attempted...

It seems that we have yet to find anyone who has actually done this - obtained Thai citizenship for their foreign child.

Please note - He is American, foreign to Thailand - this means he does not have a Thai mother. I am an unmarried single father..

I have heard a wide range of theories from foreigners and Thais, and even spoken with Thai immigration officials.

The replies to my queries are consistently varied, evasive, and theoretical.

Examples :

"He would be required to give up US citizenship."

"He could seek citizenship after graduating from a Thai university."

"He could seek it after residency for 5 years, but he must also be 18 years old, at which point he must show additional years of tax returns for permitted work."

"It is impossible."

"It is likely with "friends"."

"He could seek a marriage to serve the purpose of citizenship"

"He could be adopted by a Thai and seek citizenship"

It is evident there are many theories and more could be added. This is why it would be interesting to hear if any one person has ever attempted/ achieved this feat.

Even the several immigration officials with whom my Thai staff spoke were confounded by the question. It was clear they did not want to be bothered with an issue that lay outside of their normal work stresses.

This may require a bit of thinking on how to satisfy immigration law.

While there are many who fail to qualify for citizenship, it would also be unlikely that against the math of international movement to Thailand there has never been an outlying applicant who with fortitude, intelligence, and support did not achieve this.

Quote function seems to be not working so :

"It seems that we have yet to find anyone who has actually done this - obtained Thai citizenship for their foreign child."

That's because it's not possible under the personal - birth - circumstances of the child you are talking about.

"Even the several immigration officials with whom my Thai staff spoke were confounded by the question. It was clear they did not want to be bothered with an issue that lay outside of their normal work stresses."

They were not "confounded", they simply could not believe how anyone would think a child under these circumstances could be considered for Thai Citizenship.

You have been given "Chapter and Verse" by experts on the subject.

The Child has no rights to Thai Citizenship unless he - or his Parents - qualify under the terms set out clearly in the above Posts.

Patrick

...Even the several immigration officials with whom my Thai staff spoke were confounded by the question. It was clear they did not want to be bothered with an issue that lay outside of their normal work stresses.

This may require a bit of thinking on how to satisfy immigration law...

1. Immigration officials are the wrong people to ask. Send your Thai emissary to the Special Branch at police headquarters in Bangkok. Don't send your Thai staff, just one person, one member of your Thai staff, or better go there yourself, they speak English.
2. It is not immigration law that needs to be satisfied, but the Nationality Act, Ministerial Regulations issued on authority of the Nationality Act, and rules and procedures issued on the basis of the Ministerial Regulations.

Read the topic dbrenn's story of Thai citizenship application, then come back here and ask questions about any additional information you need.

...We would like to obtain Thai citizenship (dual to his American citizenship)...

Before you you go to Special branch, get it clear in you mind what you really want.

"We would like to obtain Thai citizenship." – Do want to apply for Thai citizenship for yourself and your son? This would be possible.

"dual to his America citizenship" – Do you want to apply for Thai citizenship only for your son? This would not be possible.

Does your son want to apply for Thai citizenship in his own name? This is possible when he comes of age, but not now at the age of 12 years.

Evidently my post was unclear:

SEEKING ACCOUNTS FROM A PARENT, LAWYER, OR PERSON WITH OFFICIAL EXPERIENCE RELATED TO OBTAINING THAI CITIZENSHIP FOR A FOREIGN CHILD.

I was not asking for any opinions - simply facts related from people who have achieved the objective of obtaining citizenship for a foreign child would be helpful.

While some may assume the opinions listed are those of "experts", I am skeptical that the posted replies, however well intentioned, are those of immigration attorneys or parents expert in unique immigration law issues.

(While I can read immigration website posts as well as any, I am certainly not an expert. The posts online all relate to foreign adults and the children of Thais, so there is no need to repeat that information in response to this unique issue).

Should there be an expert, such an individual likely has the experience in Thai law (business) to understand there is a great deal of allowance and negotiability when it comes to application of regulations. First of all it is not a country of law based on precedent, so this leaves a lot of doors open for interpretation.

There may be a way to work this through and those who have done so would better know. It would be considerate to give this post time to circulate to those who are expert on this particular subject.

Having spoken with US attorneys I heard some creative suggestions :
1. Adoption ... which would lead to a parent with citizenship being the umbrella...

2. Special allowances : This could be for a special skill, talent, etc.

Considering that strict USA Immigration has unusual provisions, it is within reason to look into Thailand's unique allowances.

It was such considerations that left the Thai immigration officials at a loss for words. They did not know of a case involving evenadoption of a foreign child by a Thai, let alone special allowances for citizenship. They were unable to give either a thumbs up or a thumbs down. While this was beyond the scope of experience of those particular officials, it is unlikely that in the history of Thailand there was never an adoption (or other avenue taken) whereby a foreign child was granted citizenship.

Should a way be demonstrated to Thai immigration to resolve this request, they may be amenable to working it through.

Let's leave this to the public forum as it would be of great benefit to hear from someone who has been down this road before.

unklsteve

It would seem that you have received some very good advice here.

Adopting an "attitude" is unlikely to be of help to you.

Take Mario's advice and visit the Special Branch in BKK.

They will provide all the information you need

You have definitely wasted your time talking to Immigration. They have nothing to do with Thai citizenship applications whatsoever. Their only involvement is with verification of claims of Thai citizenship by Thais returning from overseas who don't have complete documentation to prove their claims. Good luck with finding an immigration attorney who knows anything worthwhile about citizenship applications. The closest you get to that are the law firms that advertise fraudulent claims about being to fast track citizenship applications. You best hope is to diligently read the Nationality Act and all relevant ministerial regulations and guidelines in the original and talk to Special Branch and Interior Ministry officials yourself. If you can't manage this, you may consult others who have done all that free of charge in this forum, although you seem disinclined to accept their advice.

You may find attached an announcement of citizenship approvals made in the Royal Gazette on 25th July 2013 where it is very clear that the individuals nos. 7 and 8 on the list are children whose fathers have obtained Thai nationality for them by having them apply at the same time as the fathers, as already suggested. There are numerous examples of this in the Royal Gazette.

Unfortunately, adoption is not an option for children born outside Thailand. The only provision of the Nationality Act that deals with adopted non-Thai children of Thai citizens is Section 12 bis.3, which clearly states that Thai adoptive parents have to produce evidence that their adopted children were born in Thailand in order to apply for Thai nationality for them.

Regarding special provisions as in US law there is nothing like this in the Thai Nationality Act. The only exemption for children born outside Thaialnd is, as already described, the route of coat tailing on a parent's application under Section 12 para two:

Should the applicant for naturalisation as a Thai, under paragraph one, have children who are not sui juris in accordance with Thai law, and who have a domicile in Thailand, he may concurrently apply for such naturalisation for his children. In this case, such children shall be exempt from possessing the qualifications under Section 10 (1), (3), (4) and (5).

In all cases, applicants born outside Thailand must be sui juris (of age) in Thailand (20 years old) and in the country of their citizenship and have to meet the same qualifications as all other adults.

2013 - 26.pdf

Let me summarise:

unklsteve, the member who started this topic, asked that only people who achieved a particular thing that is impossible to achieve under current Thai laws should post in this topic.

Members who do not meet unklsteve’s qualifications posted, mentioning that what he wants cannot be achieved, and suggested what government department he should talk to for official confirmation of the impossibility to achieve it.

unklsteve repeated his request that only people who achieved what cannot be achieved should post, and he berated those members who disregarded his request and posted although they are not qualified as per his definition.

Lest any member should wonder if he did something wrong – you did not. Once a topic is started, all members are free to post in it as long as their posts relate to the topic, and this topic has progressed in a civil manner, providing knowledge for the members in general about why a particular category of foreigners in a particular situation cannot apply for naturalisation. If the irrational posting restriction requested by unklsteve had been respected his opening post of this topic would remain the only post.

To the OP.

At this rate given your reluctance to believe what you see here, your son will no doubt miss the window to be naturalised under the steam of his parents (ie you). There are a few of us here going through the process of either applying for citizenship ourselves,or in my case, for my wife.

So we know the processes involved, even though they the exact same circumstance as yours, we know what is possible and what isn't.

Given your reluctance to believe that you really need to go speak to special branch (who will tell you the same thing), I suggest you hire an over priced lawyer. I get it, some of my clients like to pay lots of money too for some things they could have easily been told for nothing.

We need more information :

Is his Mother Thai?

If not then your son has no claim to Thai Citizenship.

Patrick

Instead of replying without thought, one should examine the realities. Many foreigners have received Thai Citizenship, without giving up their foreign citizenship. Here is a website with information: http://www.expatfocus.com/expatriate-thailand-citizenship

The comment by P-Brownstone is to the point and correct. Until he becomes an adult, the child has no claim to Thai citizenship.

The site you refer to is not very accurate. I would take the information on there with a pinch of salt.

dighambara

I am sure you mean well!

However, the following two sentences extracted from your link would seem to exclude any possibility

of a child securing Thai citizenship in isolation of an application from the parent(s)

1. In the first place the applicant must have been living and working in Thailand for a minimum of 3 years prior to the application.

2. You must be at least 18 years of age and be considered an adult in your home country.

We need more information :

Is his Mother Thai?

If not then your son has no claim to Thai Citizenship.

Patrick

Instead of replying without thought, one should examine the realities. Many foreigners have received Thai Citizenship, without giving up their foreign citizenship. Here is a website with information: http://www.expatfocus.com/expatriate-thailand-citizenship

The information on that website, while better than most, contains inaccuracies and the author ends up proving that he has not researched the topic himself by referring readers to the Immigration website for more information. The minimum salary for males with Thai wives is in fact Bt 40k a month, not Bt 30k a month, as cited there. The points system is completely wrong because the author has extracted from the points system in force prior to 2010. The current allocation is as follows:

Age & Education 25

Security of Profession 25

Residence in Thailand 20

Knowledge of Thai language 15

General Knowledge of Thailand 10

Personality 5

Total 100

You need a score of at least 50 in order for Special Branch to be allowed to forward your application to the Interior Ministry for consideration.

It is not a case of "you may be required to sing the National and Royal Anthems". This issue is, in fact, very clear cut. You will most definitely be required to sing, if you are not applying on the basis of having a Thai spouse, in which case you are exempted under Section 11.2 of the Nationality Act and the interview panel certainly doesn't want to hear any more off key warbling than they have to.

The reality that many would prefer not to acknowledge is that the most definitive English language resource on applying for Thai citizenship (excluding the cases of stateless persons) is not, in fact the Immigration Bureau, shyster lawyers or unresearched articles on websites that just want to put up bandwidth to draw eyeballs and justify advertising rates. It is in fact here on Thai Visa and it is free.

The OP has two choices and no more, assuming he is working legitimately in Thailand with a work permit, earning the minimum salary and paying taxes.

1. Apply for PR quickly so that he can hope to obtain it and qualify 5 years after to apply for citizenship before his son reaches the age of 20.

2. Marry a Thai citizen and qualify 3 years later (1 year with a child together) to apply for citizenship with his son tagging along before the age of 20. But this must be a genuine marriage because it will be investigated by the National Intelligence Agency.

If he cannot manage either of these options, then his son's only choice is to apply in his own right after the age of 20. That means he will have to find legitimate work with a work permit earning the minimum salary (not easy for young foreigners) and apply for permanent residence himself and then citizenship five years later, unless he marries a Thai, in which he can skip the PR stage but will still need to pass the points assessment and meet the other qualifications. Some conditions but not many are slightly eased, if you have graduated from a Thai high school or university, e.g. minimum salaries, but I won't go into that now.

Arkady

Let me summarise:

unklsteve, the member who started this topic, asked that only people who achieved a particular thing that is impossible to achieve under current Thai laws should post in this topic.

Members who do not meet unklsteves qualifications posted, mentioning that what he wants cannot be achieved, and suggested what government department he should talk to for official confirmation of the impossibility to achieve it.

unklsteve repeated his request that only people who achieved what cannot be achieved should post, and he berated those members who disregarded his request and posted although they are not qualified as per his definition.

Lest any member should wonder if he did something wrong you did not. Once a topic is started, all members are free to post in it as long as their posts relate to the topic, and this topic has progressed in a civil manner, providing knowledge for the members in general about why a particular category of foreigners in a particular situation cannot apply for naturalisation. If the irrational posting restriction requested by unklsteve had been respected his opening post of this topic would remain the only post.

This is obvious, albeit high quality, trolling. I have noticed many threads of his type on here:

> OP, usually newbie posts 'Interesting' post

> respondents try to help

> OP introduces some previously unknown factors, and ends up insulting the other contributors

In this case we appear to have an OP with an enormous ego an with some psycho/sociopathic s traits, but he pattern is the same.

dunque

+10 !

We need more information :

Is his Mother Thai?

If not then your son has no claim to Thai Citizenship.

Patrick

Instead of replying without thought, one should examine the realities. Many foreigners have received Thai Citizenship, without giving up their foreign citizenship. Here is a website with information: http://www.expatfocus.com/expatriate-thailand-citizenship

The information on that website, while better than most, contains inaccuracies and the author ends up proving that he has not researched the topic himself by referring readers to the Immigration website for more information. The minimum salary for males with Thai wives is in fact Bt 40k a month, not Bt 30k a month, as cited there. The points system is completely wrong because the author has extracted from the points system in force prior to 2010. The current allocation is as follows:

Age & Education 25

Security of Profession 25

Residence in Thailand 20

Knowledge of Thai language 15

General Knowledge of Thailand 10

Personality 5

Total 100

You need a score of at least 50 in order for Special Branch to be allowed to forward your application to the Interior Ministry for consideration.

It is not a case of "you may be required to sing the National and Royal Anthems". This issue is, in fact, very clear cut. You will most definitely be required to sing, if you are not applying on the basis of having a Thai spouse, in which case you are exempted under Section 11.2 of the Nationality Act and the interview panel certainly doesn't want to hear any more off key warbling than they have to.

The reality that many would prefer not to acknowledge is that the most definitive English language resource on applying for Thai citizenship (excluding the cases of stateless persons) is not, in fact the Immigration Bureau, shyster lawyers or unresearched articles on websites that just want to put up bandwidth to draw eyeballs and justify advertising rates. It is in fact here on Thai Visa and it is free.

The OP has two choices and no more, assuming he is working legitimately in Thailand with a work permit, earning the minimum salary and paying taxes.

1. Apply for PR quickly so that he can hope to obtain it and qualify 5 years after to apply for citizenship before his son reaches the age of 20.

2. Marry a Thai citizen and qualify 3 years later (1 year with a child together) to apply for citizenship with his son tagging along before the age of 20. But this must be a genuine marriage because it will be investigated by the National Intelligence Agency.

If he cannot manage either of these options, then his son's only choice is to apply in his own right after the age of 20. That means he will have to find legitimate work with a work permit earning the minimum salary (not easy for young foreigners) and apply for permanent residence himself and then citizenship five years later, unless he marries a Thai, in which he can skip the PR stage but will still need to pass the points assessment and meet the other qualifications. Some conditions but not many are slightly eased, if you have graduated from a Thai high school or university, e.g. minimum salaries, but I won't go into that now.

A little off topic but is all points or none? Say age and education can you get 20 points instead of 25?

Oh well, suckered in I guess.

It can be less. IE: Age = x number of points + education points.

To the OP, I have never done this yet the idea of seeking some special allowance may be worth looking into. Over the years I have known of several situations where people have been granted citizenship to other countries (US, UK). Most of these people were entertainers, athletes, or exceptional academics. (I am no expert on this and don't know the exact avenues taken, it seems they are given citizenship because that country wants their skill). Another factor can be the investment of large sums of money - some of these programs are not so well known yet some use them to gain citizenship, investment levels are often quite high such as 1 million USD.

Questions that come to mind would be if your child is able to inspire some special consideration and what are your goals for citizenship?

To the other guys who are not being helpful, let's give the OP a break. We cannot say someone is trolling or sociopathic to seek some useful information about a very frustrating topic in Thailand. I have looked into working in Thailand (for myself) several times over the years and have only found that one must start a company and be paying hundreds of dollars per month in taxes irregardless of actual profit. I have seen no alternative to this or a reasonable ramp up period for keeping a work permit. This is more than frustrating, it seems the OP has a similar frustration or wants to avoid this. Like many I must look at work overseas balanced with time in Thailand, I know I will never be able to work with Thais or get citizenship myself because my old brain is useless when it comes to learning Thai. I guess this is off topic though.

If I read it right, it seems the OP wants to get his son citizenship before getting caught up in all the extra layers of tax history required for adults, because language/culture will not be a problem. It seems he does not want citizenshop for himself but wants his kid to be able to have Thai citizenship since he grew up here or will later work here. Maybe an 18 (or 20) year old could not apply for citizenship on his own because they need to have had years of tax history, adding more years/taxes/visa, etc.into the mid 20's. If this is the problem then it might be worthwhile to see if it is possible for a foreign minor to have a job and work permit and he can start to make a tax history sooner.

Someone posted about an allowance for education. If your kid can do it, maybe he can go to a Thai university early and there would be some exception made for him having a Thai degree.

The suggestions to go to the Special Branch seem most to the point. You may find out about normal and exceptional parameters. It may be you just need to talk with the right person. Maybe if you have Thai friends they can better discuss this Thai to Thai. Remember to be friendly, TIT.

Good luck.

A little off topic but is all points or none? Say age and education can you get 20 points instead of 25?

Yes. As below.

Age:

20 t0 30 - 2 points

30 to 40 – 5 points

40 to 50 – 10 points

50 to 60 – 8 points

Over 60 – 5 points

Education:

Mor 6 and above – 3 points

Diploma – 5 points

Bachelors Degree – 8 points

Masters Degree – 10 points

Doctrate – 15 points

To the OP, I have never done this yet the idea of seeking some special allowance may be worth looking into. Over the years I have known of several situations where people have been granted citizenship to other countries (US, UK). Most of these people were entertainers, athletes, or exceptional academics. (I am no expert on this and don't know the exact avenues taken, it seems they are given citizenship because that country wants their skill). Another factor can be the investment of large sums of money - some of these programs are not so well known yet some use them to gain citizenship, investment levels are often quite high such as 1 million USD.

Questions that come to mind would be if your child is able to inspire some special consideration and what are your goals for citizenship?

To the other guys who are not being helpful, let's give the OP a break. We cannot say someone is trolling or sociopathic to seek some useful information about a very frustrating topic in Thailand. I have looked into working in Thailand (for myself) several times over the years and have only found that one must start a company and be paying hundreds of dollars per month in taxes irregardless of actual profit. I have seen no alternative to this or a reasonable ramp up period for keeping a work permit. This is more than frustrating, it seems the OP has a similar frustration or wants to avoid this. Like many I must look at work overseas balanced with time in Thailand, I know I will never be able to work with Thais or get citizenship myself because my old brain is useless when it comes to learning Thai. I guess this is off topic though.

If I read it right, it seems the OP wants to get his son citizenship before getting caught up in all the extra layers of tax history required for adults, because language/culture will not be a problem. It seems he does not want citizenshop for himself but wants his kid to be able to have Thai citizenship since he grew up here or will later work here. Maybe an 18 (or 20) year old could not apply for citizenship on his own because they need to have had years of tax history, adding more years/taxes/visa, etc.into the mid 20's. If this is the problem then it might be worthwhile to see if it is possible for a foreign minor to have a job and work permit and he can start to make a tax history sooner.

Someone posted about an allowance for education. If your kid can do it, maybe he can go to a Thai university early and there would be some exception made for him having a Thai degree.

The suggestions to go to the Special Branch seem most to the point. You may find out about normal and exceptional parameters. It may be you just need to talk with the right person. Maybe if you have Thai friends they can better discuss this Thai to Thai. Remember to be friendly, TIT.

Good luck.

The problem is that the Thai interior minister only has discretion under the Nationality Act to grant (or not to grant) citizenship to fully qualified candidates. Mainly his discretion is used in a negative way, i.e. to reject qualilfied applicants or simply to leave them waiting for years without hearing anything. The UK Nationality Act specifically allows the home secretary to grant British Citizenship to anyone he feels is approprate and my nephew was a beneficiary of this. My sister petitioned the home secretary on his behalf when all else failed. I have no doubt that the US has similar deus ex machina provisions but Thai law does not. The closest it comes is in Section 11.1:

Section 11. The provisions of Section 10 (4) and (5) shall apply if the applicant for naturalization as a Thai; (1) has rendered distinguished service to Thailand or has done acts to the benefit of official service, which is deemed suitable by the Minister;

Even this would not help much because, while it provides exemption from having PR and singing the two songs, the requirements of Section 10.1,2 and 3 remain, i.e. to be at least 20 years old, of good behaviour and have an occupation in Thailand. At any rate petitions under this provision have been routinely ignored, presumably because "beneficial acts" are assessed on a "don't call us, we'll call you" basis.

Technically there is no age limit for work permits, except that under 14 year olds may not be employed under labour laws. However, the Labour Ministry is obliged to take into account the qualifications of work permit applications and the reasons given by the employer to explain why it was not possible to employ a Thai national for the job. On this basis I would say that the chances of a young person without even a bachelors degree obtaining a work permit are virtually nil, even if it were possible to find an employer willing to pay the minimum salary required for an American to get a work permit.

To the OP, I have never done this yet the idea of seeking some special allowance may be worth looking into. Over the years I have known of several situations where people have been granted citizenship to other countries (US, UK). Most of these people were entertainers, athletes, or exceptional academics. (I am no expert on this and don't know the exact avenues taken, it seems they are given citizenship because that country wants their skill). Another factor can be the investment of large sums of money - some of these programs are not so well known yet some use them to gain citizenship, investment levels are often quite high such as 1 million USD.

Questions that come to mind would be if your child is able to inspire some special consideration and what are your goals for citizenship?

To the other guys who are not being helpful, let's give the OP a break. We cannot say someone is trolling or sociopathic to seek some useful information about a very frustrating topic in Thailand. I have looked into working in Thailand (for myself) several times over the years and have only found that one must start a company and be paying hundreds of dollars per month in taxes irregardless of actual profit. I have seen no alternative to this or a reasonable ramp up period for keeping a work permit. This is more than frustrating, it seems the OP has a similar frustration or wants to avoid this. Like many I must look at work overseas balanced with time in Thailand, I know I will never be able to work with Thais or get citizenship myself because my old brain is useless when it comes to learning Thai. I guess this is off topic though.

If I read it right, it seems the OP wants to get his son citizenship before getting caught up in all the extra layers of tax history required for adults, because language/culture will not be a problem. It seems he does not want citizenshop for himself but wants his kid to be able to have Thai citizenship since he grew up here or will later work here. Maybe an 18 (or 20) year old could not apply for citizenship on his own because they need to have had years of tax history, adding more years/taxes/visa, etc.into the mid 20's. If this is the problem then it might be worthwhile to see if it is possible for a foreign minor to have a job and work permit and he can start to make a tax history sooner.

Someone posted about an allowance for education. If your kid can do it, maybe he can go to a Thai university early and there would be some exception made for him having a Thai degree.

The suggestions to go to the Special Branch seem most to the point. You may find out about normal and exceptional parameters. It may be you just need to talk with the right person. Maybe if you have Thai friends they can better discuss this Thai to Thai. Remember to be friendly, TIT.

Good luck.

The problem is that the Thai interior minister only has discretion under the Nationality Act to grant (or not to grant) citizenship to fully qualified candidates. Mainly his discretion is used in a negative way, i.e. to reject qualilfied applicants or simply to leave them waiting for years without hearing anything. The UK Nationality Act specifically allows the home secretary to grant British Citizenship to anyone he feels is approprate and my nephew was a beneficiary of this. My sister petitioned the home secretary on his behalf when all else failed. I have no doubt that the US has similar deus ex machina provisions but Thai law does not. The closest it comes is in Section 11.1:

Section 11. The provisions of Section 10 (4) and (5) shall apply if the applicant for naturalization as a Thai; (1) has rendered distinguished service to Thailand or has done acts to the benefit of official service, which is deemed suitable by the Minister;

Even this would not help much because, while it provides exemption from having PR and singing the two songs, the requirements of Section 10.1,2 and 3 remain, i.e. to be at least 20 years old, of good behaviour and have an occupation in Thailand. At any rate petitions under this provision have been routinely ignored, presumably because "beneficial acts" are assessed on a "don't call us, we'll call you" basis.

Technically there is no age limit for work permits, except that under 14 year olds may not be employed under labour laws. However, the Labour Ministry is obliged to take into account the qualifications of work permit applications and the reasons given by the employer to explain why it was not possible to employ a Thai national for the job. On this basis I would say that the chances of a young person without even a bachelors degree obtaining a work permit are virtually nil, even if it were possible to find an employer willing to pay the minimum salary required for an American to get a work permit.

Arkady-

Interesting post indeed.

It may be an oversimplification to say a good course would be to inspire the the minister of interior to deem it suitable to enact secion 11.1. For example if a youth was an exceptional athlete willing to compete under the Thai flag or involved with a program (charity?) that benefits Thailand.

The idea of an exceptional youth obtaining a university degree while underage may lead in this direction. Possibly the top universities may have department heads aware of some "we'll call you" youth who have been granted special exemptions.

If your son becomes a famous golf player Thailand might give him Thai Citizenship