Thai residency questions

[fstailslide]

Okay, I've got a Thai company and a work permit, and I pay my taxes and the social security on everyone every month. I have heard of a friend who claims to have Thai residency, and I'm wondering how long this process takes and what needs to be done in order to attain it. Bear in mind I'm not confusing this with citizenship, which I know is a much more complicated and long process. Thanks

[RubbaJohnny]

I think Caemerata's very extensive post will be helpful.

Good luck it is hidden inside the pinned posts

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/74654-cameratas-guide-to-the-permanent-residence-process/

[ubonjoe]

Info here also: http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/en/base.php?page=residence

[stbkk]

Camarata's guide is all you need - its a great piece of work.

Some key points though:

Prerequisites:
1. You must have had a work permit and paid tax for the last 3 years.
2. There is a fairly straightforward Thai language test, so you must be able to speak some Thai. I'm not sure exactly how difficult this is now, as when I applied in 2006 my 'taxi Thai' was more than sufficient to pass, but the test has changed a bit since then!

Paperwork:
1. Loads - Its quite a bit of an effort to get it all together, and to their satisfaction.

Time:
1. My application from 2006 took nearly 6 years to be approved.
2. In 2012 most of the applications from 2006, 2007 and 2008 were approved pretty much in one go. According to posts on this site since, not much movement since then though. It seems that what was once a fairly regular and orderly process is now not so.
3. Applications are accepted for 2 weeks in December each year, so if you are interested and qualify, you are just in time for this year!

Cost:
1. Excluding the application fee. Rough figures, just under 100K (paid on approval) if you are married to a Thai, just under 200K if single.

I hope that helps.

Lots of discussions on here as to if its worth it or not. In purely financial terms probably not, but I personally feel a lot more comfortable not having to worry about visa's etc.

good luck, and be patient if you apply!