Camerata's Guide To The Permanent Residence Process

[scorecard]

59 minutes ago, Repton1 said:

Good evening all - I think I might have slipped up with my PR. I successfully acquired my reentry permit but did not receive an endorsement before leaving the country. Does this mean I will lose it upon reentry? Kind regards.

"I successfully acquired my reentry permit but did not receive an endorsement before leaving the country. "

 

So the actual Exit / Re-entry stamp is it in your passport or in your PR book? Which one?

 

And what is the expiry date? (expiry date of the Exit / Re-entry stamp).

 

Normally the original Exit / Re-entry stamp is completed in one of the books and the officer then immediately repeats it into the other book (endorsement) then gives both books back to the PR holder. 

 

So what transpired?

[Repton1]

Apologies upon closer inspection I believe it was a false panic. I have a non-quota immigration stamp for multiple entries until Jul '24 in my passport. And a stamp in my PR book saying "endorsed on" Jul 23 which is valid until Jul 24. 

[Repton1]

Good morning, could anyone advise on the process for the annual reporting? And what the potential consequences are if done a few months late? I have a valid reason due to hospitalisation. Best regards.

[rimmae2]

1 hour ago, Repton1 said:

Good morning, could anyone advise on the process for the annual reporting? And what the potential consequences are if done a few months late? I have a valid reason due to hospitalisation. Best regards.

What reporting? If hospitalisation in Thailand no action required with Immigration; if hospitalisation overseas and you are worried about not returning to Thailand until after expiry of the stamps in passport and PR book as your earlier terminology, then extend for a year from the date you apply to do so.

[anthonyT]

1 hour ago, Repton1 said:

Good morning, could anyone advise on the process for the annual reporting? And what the potential consequences are if done a few months late? I have a valid reason due to hospitalisation. Best regards.

Good morning Repton, There is no annual reporting if you are staying inside Thailand. The only reporting to be done if you are staying in Thailand is to the police as per your Red police book which is like 5 years. For your resident permit, only if you go outside Thailand you must come back within Thailand with 365 days as per the last page of your Permanent Resident Permit and must have gotten your re-endorsement.

 

If you are outside Thailand they are normally very strict and would loose the resident permit and would have to start again, but you might want to drop an email to the immigration office. I have a friend who has PR and was very late to come back due the covid situation and immigration was very lenient in his case.

 

 

Hope it helps.

 

Ant.

[scorecard]

2 hours ago, anthonyT said:

Good morning Repton, There is no annual reporting if you are staying inside Thailand. The only reporting to be done if you are staying in Thailand is to the police as per your Red police book which is like 5 years. For your resident permit, only if you go outside Thailand you must come back within Thailand with 365 days as per the last page of your Permanent Resident Permit and must have gotten your re-endorsement.

 

If you are outside Thailand they are normally very strict and would loose the resident permit and would have to start again, but you might want to drop an email to the immigration office. I have a friend who has PR and was very late to come back due the covid situation and immigration was very lenient in his case.

 

 

Hope it helps.

 

Ant.

From above:

 

"The only reporting to be done if you are staying in Thailand is to the police as per your Red police book which is like 5 years. For your resident permit, only if you go outside Thailand you must come back within Thailand with 365 days as per the last page of your Permanent Resident Permit and must have gotten your re-endorsement."

 

NOTE: The RED police book is specific to the police, in your area, knowing where all PR holders are living, and nothing more.

 

The RED police book is not a document to specifically prove you have PR. As above, it's a police record so the police know where PR holders are living, nothing more.

 

The RED police book must be 'updated' after 1 year and then every 5 years:

 

- Updated means adding a new recent photo and updating the domicile address, if needed. If the domicile address has not changed the holder must still go the the police station and 'report in' and take a new photo which the police will insert into the RED book.

 

- The police station where I report every 5 years is in the city centre in Chiang Mai. The cop who handles this speaks English and is very pleasant. Last time i went my Thai adult son went with me.

 

Son and myself had a pleasant conversation with the police guy. Son mentioned "My father is getting quite old, what happens if dad forgets to do the 5 year update, can he lose his PR status?"

 

Cop responded:

 

- We know there's quite a few quite old foreigners in our region who have PR and have a ED police book, and they have gone past the 5 years RED book update factor, we don't worry about it too much.

 

- The RED book has no connection to approving / continuing PR. PR is an immigration department matter not a police matter. If a foreigner misses the 5 years we can impose a fine for late update of the RED police book (forgot the amount) but this is not reported to the immigration department.

 

 

[Repton1]

Appreciate all the responses. Very useful and informative. Yes I have been residing with PR status in Thailand for several years now, during which 6 months ago I applied for and received a reentry permit/endorsement. I also recently exited and reentered Thailand with no issue. I am also aware of the updating of the red police book every 5 years. 
However I recently found out a friend of mine, who is also a PR holder, has under advisement of his agent reported to immigration annually. I see various mentions of this online from various sources though seems a bit vague. See https://www.thaiembassy.com/thailand-visa/permanent-residence-thailand under heading "Annual Reporting". Is this information incorrect/out of date? Thank you.

[smutcakes]

3 hours ago, Repton1 said:

Appreciate all the responses. Very useful and informative. Yes I have been residing with PR status in Thailand for several years now, during which 6 months ago I applied for and received a reentry permit/endorsement. I also recently exited and reentered Thailand with no issue. I am also aware of the updating of the red police book every 5 years. 
However I recently found out a friend of mine, who is also a PR holder, has under advisement of his agent reported to immigration annually. I see various mentions of this online from various sources though seems a bit vague. See https://www.thaiembassy.com/thailand-visa/permanent-residence-thailand under heading "Annual Reporting". Is this information incorrect/out of date? Thank you.

I certainly dont annually report and have never been told or informed it is necessary.

 

I do at all times leave not less than 3-4 months from my last visit to immigration for stamp in case i need to leave the country urgently. I would certainly not let my reentry permit endorsement expire or get within a few months of expiry.

[jayboy]

3 hours ago, Repton1 said:

Appreciate all the responses. Very useful and informative. Yes I have been residing with PR status in Thailand for several years now, during which 6 months ago I applied for and received a reentry permit/endorsement. I also recently exited and reentered Thailand with no issue. I am also aware of the updating of the red police book every 5 years. 
However I recently found out a friend of mine, who is also a PR holder, has under advisement of his agent reported to immigration annually. I see various mentions of this online from various sources though seems a bit vague. See https://www.thaiembassy.com/thailand-visa/permanent-residence-thailand under heading "Annual Reporting". Is this information incorrect/out of date? Thank you.

You should tell your friend to get a new agent because he is either dishonest or incompetent.As to the link you provided, the section on annual reporting to immigration is simply wrong:there is no such requirement.

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, jayboy said:

You should tell your friend to get a new agent because he is either dishonest or incompetent.As to the link you provided, the section on annual reporting to immigration is simply wrong:there is no such requirement.

 

In fact there's several errors in that link was written / published by a quite large law company.

 

Just one small error: It's the Immigration Bureau, not the Immigration Commission. There's several more errors. 

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

5 hours ago, Repton1 said:

Appreciate all the responses. Very useful and informative. Yes I have been residing with PR status in Thailand for several years now, during which 6 months ago I applied for and received a reentry permit/endorsement. I also recently exited and reentered Thailand with no issue. I am also aware of the updating of the red police book every 5 years. 
However I recently found out a friend of mine, who is also a PR holder, has under advisement of his agent reported to immigration annually. I see various mentions of this online from various sources though seems a bit vague. See https://www.thaiembassy.com/thailand-visa/permanent-residence-thailand under heading "Annual Reporting". Is this information incorrect/out of date? Thank you.

 

The information in the link is not correct. There is no annual reporting requirement for PR holders.

 

 

[Repton1]

Thanks everyone. Greatly appreciated.

[Tummamuang]

Is this enough to leave the country and return while keeping my PR valid? 
 

Passport stamp: “Non-quota immigrant visa. This visa is good for multiple return journeys to Thailand. It must be utilized before September 2024.”

 

Blue book stamp: “Endorsed on September 2023. Valid until September 2024.” 

 

Got the above stamps September last year before going on a trip. Paid 5,700 Baht (if I recall correctly) and made sure it’s multiple entry. 
 

Is this sufficient to leave the country again and return before September 2024? Or do I need to do anything else for this second trip? 
 

For example, when I got these stamps, the IB asked for my travel dates at that time. Even though I don’t find these travel dates in my stamps, do I need to inform immigration about the travel dates of this trip? Or can I just use the stamps and that’s it? 

[smutcakes]

14 hours ago, Tummamuang said:

Is this enough to leave the country and return while keeping my PR valid? 
 

Passport stamp: “Non-quota immigrant visa. This visa is good for multiple return journeys to Thailand. It must be utilized before September 2024.”

 

Blue book stamp: “Endorsed on September 2023. Valid until September 2024.” 

 

Got the above stamps September last year before going on a trip. Paid 5,700 Baht (if I recall correctly) and made sure it’s multiple entry. 
 

Is this sufficient to leave the country again and return before September 2024? Or do I need to do anything else for this second trip? 
 

For example, when I got these stamps, the IB asked for my travel dates at that time. Even though I don’t find these travel dates in my stamps, do I need to inform immigration about the travel dates of this trip? Or can I just use the stamps and that’s it? 

Yes, you are fine, just need to return before the September date on Stamp and renew your permit for another year.

Edited January 2 by smutcakes

[Michael Hare]

17 hours ago, Tummamuang said:

Is this enough to leave the country and return while keeping my PR valid? 
 

Passport stamp: “Non-quota immigrant visa. This visa is good for multiple return journeys to Thailand. It must be utilized before September 2024.”

 

Blue book stamp: “Endorsed on September 2023. Valid until September 2024.” 

 

Got the above stamps September last year before going on a trip. Paid 5,700 Baht (if I recall correctly) and made sure it’s multiple entry. 
 

Is this sufficient to leave the country again and return before September 2024? Or do I need to do anything else for this second trip? 
 

For example, when I got these stamps, the IB asked for my travel dates at that time. Even though I don’t find these travel dates in my stamps, do I need to inform immigration about the travel dates of this trip? Or can I just use the stamps and that’s it? 

No need to inform immigration about travel dates. Just go and come back before September 2024.

[scorecard]

5 hours ago, smutcakes said:

Yes, you are fine, just need to return before the September date on Stamp and renew your permit for another year.

 

-But keep in mind quick renewal or annual renewal is NOT required by any regulation. 

-An Exit / Re-entry stamp is only required when the PR holder actually departs the country, so it can be obtained a few days before the departure date.

-Therefore it's possible a PR holder has no Exit/Re-entry stamp for several years because they had no plan/need/desire to travel abroad in that period.

-An Exit/Re-entry stamp is not required for domestic travel within Thailand.

-However PR holders who travel continuously (probably their work) can get a multiple entry stamp, and many get this quickly after their old stamp expires so that they are ready to travel is needed urgently in another country. 

 

[smutcakes]

On 1/3/2024 at 9:55 AM, scorecard said:

 

-But keep in mind quick renewal or annual renewal is NOT required by any regulation. 

-An Exit / Re-entry stamp is only required when the PR holder actually departs the country, so it can be obtained a few days before the departure date.

-Therefore it's possible a PR holder has no Exit/Re-entry stamp for several years because they had no plan/need/desire to travel abroad in that period.

-An Exit/Re-entry stamp is not required for domestic travel within Thailand.

-However PR holders who travel continuously (probably their work) can get a multiple entry stamp, and many get this quickly after their old stamp expires so that they are ready to travel is needed urgently in another country. 

 

Yes agree re if no plan to leave you dont need to get stamp.

However my advice in this ever changing world would always have that stamp in play in case of emergency. Having an emergency and then having to mess around getting the stamp would be stupid. For the sake of 5,700 THB per annum its a small price to pay to always give you that flexibility even if you dont plan to leave.

[scorecard]

On 12/19/2023 at 3:31 PM, Repton1 said:

Appreciate all the responses. Very useful and informative. Yes I have been residing with PR status in Thailand for several years now, during which 6 months ago I applied for and received a reentry permit/endorsement. I also recently exited and reentered Thailand with no issue. I am also aware of the updating of the red police book every 5 years. 
However I recently found out a friend of mine, who is also a PR holder, has under advisement of his agent reported to immigration annually. I see various mentions of this online from various sources though seems a bit vague. See https://www.thaiembassy.com/thailand-visa/permanent-residence-thailand under heading "Annual Reporting". Is this information incorrect/out of date? Thank you.

 

-  '...thaiembassy...' is NOT in any way part of the official Thailand Immigration Bureau.

-  it's a commercial business which gives paying clients 'advise',  nothing more / nothing less. It's been reported before that the 'advice' on their website is less than 'accurate'. And there's several more commercial business operators in the same league. 

- Thai Embassy website is not 'approved / certified /written' by the Thai Immigration Bureau. 

[Repton1]

I am looking to travel out of the country soon and have several months remaining on my current endorsement. However I would like to maximize the amount of time I can remain out of the country. Is it possible to reapply a fresh endorsement to allow travel outside for a full year? Or would I have to wait until those remaining months expire first? Thanks.

[mortenaa]

20 hours ago, Repton1 said:

I am looking to travel out of the country soon and have several months remaining on my current endorsement. However I would like to maximize the amount of time I can remain out of the country. Is it possible to reapply a fresh endorsement to allow travel outside for a full year? Or would I have to wait until those remaining months expire first? Thanks.

Can get new Re-entry whenever you want to. 

[scorecard]

On 1/5/2024 at 6:13 PM, smutcakes said:

Yes agree re if no plan to leave you dont need to get stamp.

However my advice in this ever changing world would always have that stamp in play in case of emergency. Having an emergency and then having to mess around getting the stamp would be stupid. For the sake of 5,700 THB per annum its a small price to pay to always give you that flexibility even if you dont plan to leave.

 True but keep in mind that both single entry and multiple entry Exit / Re-entry stamps have a maximum possible life of 12 months from issue, and:

 

- The single entry Exit/Re-entry stamp is good for one trip only within the 12 months after issue. It's valid any dates (just turn up at the airport) up to 12 months after issue. But If used quickly it cannot used again and 12 months is not in the picture. If needed again, say 1 month later then it's a new application.

 

- The Multiple entry Exit/Re-entry stamp can be used multiple times in the 12 months after issue (there's no maximum no. of trips).

                                 

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

 

-Where the holder is travelling to is not relevant. 

-It's not compulsory to have an Exit/Re-entry stamp at all times but as SMUTCAKES mentions about many folks get a Multiple Entry Exit/Re-entry stamp just in case it's needed urgently for a quick meeting abroad or similar. 

-The dates on the Multiple Entry Exit/Re-entry stamp do NOT have to align to any other dates. (Some members seem to have the idea that the Multiple Entry Exit/Re-entry stamp must be aligned to the date PR was issued. That's not true at all.

 

-I confirm that PR holders are NOT required to report to an immigration bureau office every 12 months. This is totally NOT true.

 

PR is issued for life and never needs renewal or review. It has no expiry date, it cancels automatically when the holder dies.

 

I've had PR for 27 years, I have NEVER reported annually.

 

For many years I had a Multiple Entry Exit/Re-entry stamp, renewed every 12 months and I departed / re-entered Thailand several times every week (1 day trips to Singapore, KL, HK...). Never once did an immigration officer ask why or make any comment at all and never once was I asked anything about annual report - because it's not a requirement. 

 

[scorecard]

On 12/19/2023 at 10:52 AM, anthonyT said:

Good morning Repton, There is no annual reporting if you are staying inside Thailand. The only reporting to be done if you are staying in Thailand is to the police as per your Red police book which is like 5 years. For your resident permit, only if you go outside Thailand you must come back within Thailand with 365 days as per the last page of your Permanent Resident Permit and must have gotten your re-endorsement.

 

If you are outside Thailand they are normally very strict and would loose the resident permit and would have to start again, but you might want to drop an email to the immigration office. I have a friend who has PR and was very late to come back due the covid situation and immigration was very lenient in his case.

 

 

Hope it helps.

 

Ant.

 

And note: If you are late to get the 5 year update in your RED police book there's a possible fine but this is not relevant to the continuation of the validity of your PR status. Update of RED book means: put a new small photo in the RED book and update the residential address (if needed).  There is no interview or 'approval', just an update of photo and address (if needed). 

 

- All PR validity matters are handled exclusively by the Thai Immigration Bureau and no other agency. And Note, PR is issued for life, there is no expiry date. PR is only cancelled if the holder gets a criminal record (any country), or does not have a valid re-entry stamp when they return to Thailand. There is no annual review of PR.

 

In an earlier post it was mentioned that a visa agent told a PR holder he had to do an annual report to immigration. This is NOT true and the reality is that 99.9% of visa agents have zero knowledge about PR. An extreme example Visa agents telling foreigners that after 10 years of continuously being in Thailand that foreigner automatically qualifies for PR. This is totally untrue and has no basis whatever. The main criteria for PR (for 99% of PR holders) is proof that the foreigner has worked long-term in Thailand with a valid Thai work permit and proof the foreigner has submitted an annual personal Thai taxation report for the same periods of time and has paid all relevant personal tax. 

 

- All RED book matters are handled exclusively by the Thai Police and no other agency. The purpose of the RED book is for the police to have some record on file of your actual address. Nothing whatever to do with validity of your PR status. 

 

The Thai Immigration Bureau and the Thai police don't coordinate their  their activities re PR / RED book at all.

Edited January 8 by scorecard

[scorecard]

16 hours ago, mortenaa said:

Can get new Re-entry whenever you want to. 

Exactly, but no need to get an Exit / re-entry stamp until you need it:

-could be the day before the travel,

-could be at the airport

- could be a few days before the departure date

- could be months before the departure date

[jayboy]

3 hours ago, scorecard said:

-could be at the airport

 

I don't think I knew that or perhaps I just filed it away with the thought it would be too stressful (eg some bureaucratic hold up might make me miss my flight)

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, jayboy said:

 

I don't think I knew that or perhaps I just filed it away with the thought it would be too stressful (eg some bureaucratic hold up might make me miss my flight)

Hi Jayboy,

 

Actually I should add more detail to this point:

 

- PR holders cannot ever get an Exit/Re-entry stamp at the airport. For PR holders this stamp must be obtained at an immigration office. Very easy, just admin. work, no interview etc., normally done  within 30 minutes or so.

- For other foreigners departing thailand and because of their visa type they need an Exit / Re-entry stamp they can get the stamp at most Thai airports and from my understanding these offices (near the departing passport desks) are open 24 hrs.

 

I've never used this service because I have PR but, as you mention I would have concerns that the office might be closed for a while, too many customers, computer down etc., causing a serious delay to get to my departure gate / miss my flight.

 

However it seems, from previous posts that many non PR foreigners do use this service. Their choice of course.

[beeper]

On 11/19/2022 at 7:08 AM, beeper said:

Automatic immigration gates for PR holders at BKK airport

 

I have been told that at Suvarnnabhumi Airport the automatic passport check gates are now in service again for Thai nationals.
Previously PR holders were able to register to also use them. 

Any one knows if this possible again and what is required to do so?

 

On 11/24/2022 at 12:04 PM, onthemoon said:

I just asked them. It is not possible yet for foreigners with PR to apply for autogate. He said they are waiting for an upgrade at the moment. He could not say how long it will take.

Anyone is aware of any update on my favorite topic?

[onthemoon]

On 1/7/2024 at 10:23 PM, mortenaa said:

Can get new Re-entry whenever you want to. 

 

No, only during government working hours.  So, if you learn on a Friday afternoon that you have to leave the country the next day for urgent reasons, you are out of luck.

 

Speaking of which, I have to report to immigration now, as my "Permanent Residency" is anything but permanent - I have to get new stamps every year, as I leave the country on business on average twice a month. I always used to make my yearly pilgrimage to CW in the morning and am out of there before lunch. Pretty fast for a government office, if the travelling within Bangkok wouldn't take hours. It would be even better if this yearly reporting could be done online, like the 90-day report for the non-imms.

 

Anyway, this time I can only be there by 1pm. Does anybody know whether I can still get the Non-Quota Immigrant Visa (not "Re-entry Permit") and the Endorsement within the same day if I only arrive in the afternoon? Thanks.

[onthemoon]

On 1/8/2024 at 6:18 PM, jayboy said:

 

I don't think I knew that or perhaps I just filed it away with the thought it would be too stressful (eg some bureaucratic hold up might make me miss my flight)

 

You can get a re-entry permit at the airport (for non-imm visa holders), but I don't think you can get an immigrant visa and endorsement (for PR holders) there. I hope I am wrong, in which case I won't need to do my yearly pilgrimage to CW.

 

Edit: I just saw @scorecard 's reply. So I am right (unfortunately).

Edited January 30 by onthemoon

[onthemoon]

On 1/8/2024 at 8:42 AM, scorecard said:

And note: If you are late to get the 5 year update in your RED police book there's a possible fine but this is not relevant to the continuation of the validity of your PR status. Update of RED book means: put a new small photo in the RED book and update the residential address (if needed).  There is no interview or 'approval', just an update of photo and address (if needed). 

 

I was late once, and the fine was very small. THB 400 or so, I don't remember exactly. With receipt.

 

On 1/8/2024 at 8:42 AM, scorecard said:

- All RED book matters are handled exclusively by the Thai Police and no other agency. The purpose of the RED book is for the police to have some record on file of your actual address. Nothing whatever to do with validity of your PR status. 

 

The Thai Immigration Bureau and the Thai police don't coordinate their  their activities re PR / RED book at all.

 

For info: Last time I needed a new PR book (it's full of exit/entry stamps every few years, I hope the auto-gates will be re-introduced), they asked to see my PR book. That' standard. The next trip to police was due after 3 months, so they told me to get it renewed first before they could issue the new PR book.

[rimmae2]

21 hours ago, onthemoon said:

 

Anyway, this time I can only be there by 1pm. Does anybody know whether I can still get the Non-Quota Immigrant Visa (not "Re-entry Permit") and the Endorsement within the same day if I only arrive in the afternoon? Thanks.

1 hour is sufficient unless there is a queue.