Camerata's Guide To The Permanent Residence Process

[samran]

6 hours ago, scorecard said:

 

- Cannot, at the moment, get permission to leave Australia.

Do you need permission to leave though? My understanding was that if you had evidence of residency in another country then permission to travel would not be needed by Border Force.

[scorecard]

5 hours ago, samran said:

Do you need permission to leave though? My understanding was that if you had evidence of residency in another country then permission to travel would not be needed by Border Force.

My understanding too, but in a call to the department in Sydney seems they're not so happy about this point. The officer said 'residence' is meaning owning a home rather than permanent resident immigration status in another country, however I'm not convinced she knew what she was talking about. In my case I don't own a home in Thailand, the name on the chanut for our family house is my Thai adult son. But she did mention this item will probably become more relaxed in the next few months.

 

On a different point (but probably connects to my para. above), quite few returnees are testing positive in the 14 day quarantine period on arrival in Aust. and given the very recent outbreaks it seems the Aust. Gov't is becoming more serious about 'don't go out of Aust. in the first place'. In fact not all that surprising. 

 

One advantage I would hold is that my departure and return location would be Sydney. NSW is being very serious about monitoring the 14 day quarantine in Sydney and many of the monitoring team are defense forces personnel.

 

Edited July 9, 2020 by scorecard

[Michael Hare]

14 hours ago, Arkady said:

 

555.  Good that you mentioned that.  I had images of a little boy in shorts going along and peering over the desk in the cop shop.

Yesterday at the Ubon station, the policeman processing my 5 year extension had his 8 year old son in shorts with him in his room. Just playing games on the computer. Schools here in Ubon are having split classes to reduce class numbers. Half in the morning and the other half in the afternoon. 

[tamvine]

On 7/9/2020 at 2:11 PM, scorecard said:

I need to get the 5 year police RED book renewal on 12 August this year. However I'm caught in Australia with difficulties to return to Thailand because of Covid 19:

 

- Cannot, at the moment, get permission to leave Australia.

- Thai PR book re-entry stamp expires 17 November 2020, already spoke to Thai embassy in Sydney they advised I might be allowed to join a Thai repat. flight but dates of the flights unknown and next one not for at least 60 days. Plus Sydney embassy said I need to apply for repat flight much closer to 17 November, not now. (There is of a course an extension of 12 months on the re-entry date.)

- I mentioned to the Sydney embassy that my Thai police RED book needs the 5 year renewal on 12 August. Officer at embassy had no idea what I was talking about, neither did his boss, but was keen to listen and build his understanding. Boss did suggest that I get a family member in Chiang Mai to take copies of every document to the CM police station which handles this and seek advice. He also said that PR books etc., are immigration matters and must always be totally correct, whereas the police requirements probably have some flexibility because of the current situation.

 

Luckily the policeman who handles the RED books at CM police station is very pleasant and welcoming. Last time my Thai son came with me and the policeman privately said to my son, your father is getting old if he has health problems next time and difficult to get to the station they no need for him to come, just bring all the documents and new photo and the RED book and it can be renewed without difficulty.

 

The difficulty this year is that I will in Aust. because of Covid issues so my son will go to CM police station about 4 weeks before renewal date with copies of all the documents (but of course not the original RED book). The plan is for my son to ask the policeman to accept the copies of all the documents and new photo and also pay the fee (last time 800Baht) with a promise I will bring the original book to the station very quickly after I do return to Thailand.

 

Hopefully the policeman will agree. 

 

 

Please send your original Red Book along with recent photographs and an authority letter both in English and in Thai to your son. Incase writing Thai is an issue let you send few pages signed blank and send to your son so he can type in CM. Also send a copy of Red book, passport and House Resigtration Book and any other related document all pages signed by you. Your son carrying an authority letter should be able to do the needful with Police station. 

Edited July 12, 2020 by tamvine

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, tamvine said:

Please send your original Red Book along with recent photographs and an authority letter both in English and in Thai to your son. Incase writing Thai is an issue let you send few pages signed blank and send to your son so he can type in CM. Also send a copy of Red book, passport and House Resigtration Book and any other related document all pages signed by you. Your son carrying an authority letter should be able to do the needful with Police station. 

Thanks, already done last week, letter written in English and one of my old professional colleagues translated it to very polite Thai language, plus copies of every book and my passport etc.

 

Also a copy of the immigration order of 7 April stating 12 months extension of re-entry date for PR holders.  (I know this order is not RED book related but might help for the police guy to see there's flexibility in the imm. side of the situation.) 

 

Son will visit CM police station tomorrow Monday 13 July. 

Edited July 12, 2020 by scorecard

[PH59]

On 7/12/2020 at 1:16 PM, scorecard said:

Thanks, already done last week, letter written in English and one of my old professional colleagues translated it to very polite Thai language, plus copies of every book and my passport etc.

 

Also a copy of the immigration order of 7 April stating 12 months extension of re-entry date for PR holders.  (I know this order is not RED book related but might help for the police guy to see there's flexibility in the imm. side of the situation.) 

 

Son will visit CM police station tomorrow Monday 13 July. 

Hi.   Could you please share the copy of the immigration order extending the re entry date for PR holders.

 

thanks

[scorecard]

34 minutes ago, PH59 said:

Hi.   Could you please share the copy of the immigration order extending the re entry date for PR holders.

 

thanks

Sure, attached:

Thai Imm. orders re PR holders April 2020.docx

[PH59]

3 minutes ago, scorecard said:

Sure, attached:

Thai Imm. orders re PR holders April 2020.docx 2.06 MB · 0 downloads

Thanks...this says the re entry permit will be extended longer than the one year initially given but must return as per immigrations date that will be set.   Not that they will extend the date or the permit by a further 12 months.   Having ongoing discussion with PR section as to when that date will be but no one seems to know

 

 

[scorecard]

Just now, PH59 said:

Thanks...this says the re entry permit will be extended longer than the one year initially given but must return as per immigrations date that will be set.   Not that they will extend the date or the permit by a further 12 months.   Having ongoing discussion with PR section as to when that date will be but no one seems to know

 

 

Please check your PMs (private messages).

[PH59]

Have checked and nothing in my in box

[mortenaa]

Does anyone know if Phase 6 involves returning PR's? Do we still need quarantine ?

[ubonjoe]

8 minutes ago, mortenaa said:

Does anyone know if Phase 6 involves returning PR's? Do we still need quarantine ?

It has been possible for those with Permanent Residency to apply for a certificate of entry since phase 4 or 5. You have to go into a 14 day quarantine.

[mortenaa]

6 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

It has been possible for those with Permanent Residency to apply for a certificate of entry since phase 4 or 5. You have to go into a 14 day quarantine.

That's what I thought. Any rumours when they might lax on the quarantine? 

[ubonjoe]

15 minutes ago, mortenaa said:

Any rumours when they might lax on the quarantine? 

No

I personally do not expect it to happen any time soon. Maybe first from countries with a low infection rate such as couple of neighboring countries.

[mortenaa]

6 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

No

I personally do not expect it to happen any time soon. Maybe first from countries with a low infection rate such as couple of neighboring countries.

Yea, I think you are right. 

[scorecard]

10 hours ago, PH59 said:

Have checked and nothing in my in box

I'm having big problems with opening TV, i get this message below often but sometimes it all works correctly.

 

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Plus my PM messages won't open at all.

 

So I will repeat the thrust of my PM here:

 

'Yes I agree, the ministerial order etc., leaves some confusion.

 

You mentioned that you would contact the Imm. office and seek clarity, would you please share whatever information you gain. Thanks.' 

[PH59]

1 hour ago, scorecard said:

I'm having big problems with opening TV, i get this message below often but sometimes it all works correctly.

 

403 ERROR

The request could not be satisfied.

---

Request blocked. We can't connect to the server for this app or website at this time. There might be too much traffic or a configuration error. Try again later, or contact the app or website owner.
If you provide content to customers through CloudFront, you can find steps to troubleshoot and help prevent this error by reviewing the CloudFront documentation.

---

Generated by cloudfront (CloudFront)
Request ID: qegcHmxfm5mhzsEm_CTL9UlMyFGNhXS86TlTeMAFWQ7n8gbvMIncVw==

Plus my PM messages won't open at all.

 

So I will repeat the thrust of my PM here:

 

'Yes I agree, the ministerial order etc., leaves some confusion.

 

You mentioned that you would contact the Imm. office and seek clarity, would you please share whatever information you gain. Thanks.' 

Hi.  Certainly if I discover anything of interest will post.   At this point based PR direction comes from Interior Ministry, CW are only relating what they are hearing and that is at best vague

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, PH59 said:

Hi.  Certainly if I discover anything of interest will post.   At this point based PR direction comes from Interior Ministry, CW are only relating what they are hearing and that is at best vague

Thanks.

[Misty]

 

For the permanent residency application, does anyone have details on what is currently required for the Thai language skills test? Are any sample questions available so an applicant can judge how best to prepare? 

 

 

 

[Dogmatix]

22 hours ago, Misty said:

 

For the permanent residency application, does anyone have details on what is currently required for the Thai language skills test? Are any sample questions available so an applicant can judge how best to prepare? 

My understanding is that they test your oral comprehension and spoken Thai through the panel interview and questions will depend on what panel members decide to ask. One friend was asked to explain what he felt his contribution to Thai society had been to date and another was asked if he had any close Thai friends. Since he answered in the affirmative, he was then asked to give name and surname if at least one which he did. Another couldn’t understand any of the questions and they stopped the interview and showed him the door. His application was rejected due to a problem with his WP and he chose not to reapply.

 

There is no requirement for reading and writing and no tests for that. 
 

When the Thai language requirement was first added, there was a very simple multiple choice test for a couple of years with questions read out by an officer that was so asinine that no knowledge of Thai was a actually required as there was only one answer that made sense, eg which of these is the Thai flag? Even if you couldn’t understand the question, you just picked the picture of the Thai flag instead of the other flags. Someone in the Interior Ministry reviewed the test and realized Immigration was taking the p1ss out of the new language requirement. So it was scrapped and replaced with the panel interview that I believe includes officials from the Interior Ministry and maybe other agencies.

 

Many of the citizenship and PR requirements have coalesced in recent years and assessing spoken Thai through interviews is what happens with citizenship too, except that there are now written tests for that and there is the singing for those without Thai wives. Since 2008 those with Thai wives have been exempted from the requirement for a knowledge of Thai but their Thai is still assessed for the points allocation for which at least 50% is needed to pass. Another example of the bar for citizenship being lower than for PR.

Edited August 6, 2020 by Dogmatix

[scorecard]

On 7/20/2020 at 9:51 PM, PH59 said:

Hi.  Certainly if I discover anything of interest will post.   At this point based PR direction comes from Interior Ministry, CW are only relating what they are hearing and that is at best vague

A question for everybody who currently has Thai PR:

 

A few weeks back there was an announcement from immigration/PM and General Anupong saying that because of the covid situation and no international flights, PR holders who were outside of Thailand had 1 extra year past their current re-entry expiry date to return to Thailand.

 

Also mentioned some words like 'must return when possible' or similar.

 

This seems to be causing confusion whether the words in para 2 above '...PR holders who were outside of Thailand have 1 extra year past their current re-entry expiry date to return to Thailand.' is still the main rule, or does it perhaps mean that if Repat. flights are operating then PR must use one of these flights to quickly return to Thailand.

 

I've read some posts by TV members (and members on other boards) who hold PR saying that the 12 months extra stands above all other scenarios/comments.

 

I've called the Thai embassies in Sydney and Canberra, they have no real understanding of this item and no answers. 

 

I've tried calling the Immigration Bureau in Bkk many times but I never get to someone actually answering the phone.

 

Does any TV HR holder have a clear answer. (not an opinion please, a factual answer)?

 

Thanks. 

 

[scorecard]

34 minutes ago, scorecard said:

A question for everybody who currently has Thai PR:

 

A few weeks back there was an announcement from immigration/PM and General Anupong saying that because of the covid situation and no international flights, PR holders who were outside of Thailand had 1 extra year past their current re-entry expiry date to return to Thailand.

 

Also mentioned some words like 'must return when possible' or similar.

 

This seems to be causing confusion whether the words in para 2 above '...PR holders who were outside of Thailand have 1 extra year past their current re-entry expiry date to return to Thailand.' is still the main rule, or does it perhaps mean that if Repat. flights are operating then PR must use one of these flights to quickly return to Thailand.

 

I've read some posts by TV members (and members on other boards) who hold PR saying that the 12 months extra stands above all other scenarios/comments.

 

I've called the Thai embassies in Sydney and Canberra, they have no real understanding of this item and no answers. 

 

I've tried calling the Immigration Bureau in Bkk many times but I never get to someone actually answering the phone.

 

Does any TV HR holder have a clear answer. (not an opinion please, a factual answer)?

 

Thanks. 

 

Or does any member have any telephone numbers for Immigration department apart from main published numbers.  Phone doesn't connect at all if trying to call 1178 from outside of Thailand. 

[rimmae2]

I don't know the answer, but you could consider (i) asking Mr. Barrow to check directly with his contacts in Immigration and if not clear then to kindly request official clarification/information and/or (ii) for example contacting Government Spokesperson. It is not his job to answer but he may point you in the correct direction.

[scorecard]

5 hours ago, rimmae2 said:

I don't know the answer, but you could consider (i) asking Mr. Barrow to check directly with his contacts in Immigration and if not clear then to kindly request official clarification/information and/or (ii) for example contacting Government Spokesperson. It is not his job to answer but he may point you in the correct direction.

Thanks, I discovered that Richard Barrow doesn't accept questions or requests. I've been trying to find a contact number/e.mail for the Government Spokesperson, so far without success, I'll keep trying.  

[sas_cars]

16 hours ago, scorecard said:

Thanks, I discovered that Richard Barrow doesn't accept questions or requests. I've been trying to find a contact number/e.mail for the Government Spokesperson, so far without success, I'll keep trying.  

 

Please post back once you have an update on this. Wish a kind soul could check it out at PR department at Chaeng Wattana personally.

[scorecard]

2 hours ago, sas_cars said:

 

Please post back once you have an update on this. Wish a kind soul could check it out at PR department at Chaeng Wattana personally.

Agree, it would be great if someone sought out a senior immigration person re current PR items at CW and tried for some answers, but my need someone who doesn't give up.

[Somtamnication]

Got a phone call from BKK telling me that my citizenship paperwork has been sent to my local police station. Expecting a call to come over and do some Thai conversations, I am guessing. Fingers crossed. Married with Thai wife and have a Thai son.

[scorecard]

3 minutes ago, Somtamnication said:

Got a phone call from BKK telling me that my citizenship paperwork has been sent to my local police station. Expecting a call to come over and do some Thai conversations, I am guessing. Fingers crossed. Married with Thai wife and have a Thai son.

Good luck...

[Arkady]

3 hours ago, Somtamnication said:

Got a phone call from BKK telling me that my citizenship paperwork has been sent to my local police station. Expecting a call to come over and do some Thai conversations, I am guessing. Fingers crossed. Married with Thai wife and have a Thai son.

 

I wonder why they would send it to your local police station. Generally only special branch police handle citizenship applications, as stipulated in the Nationality Act - either the special branch head office in Bangkok or the provincial special branch offices in the provincial capitals.   Are the local police expected to handle some part of it on behalf of special branch these days?

 

Probably better to continue this in the citizenship thread.

[Misty]

Thanks to everyone who has helped with my Thai language test questions. After I take the tests, I'll follow-up with my current experience to help others going forward.