Camerata's Guide To The Permanent Residence Process

[kcallagmy]

I had applied for PR in December of 2007 under the business category. I have all the credentials and documentation and more than enough salary and paid taxes to qualify. I have been thru all the steps upto and including the interview by a panel of 4 immigration officers with no problems. I am married to a Thai, bnut did not apply under Personal category. I applied under business and am willing to pay the higher fee. Now, I have had an immigration investigator come to my work place and grill me for an hour. Then same day he said he wanted to see my house and wife. He came to my house and questioned me and wife for another 2.5 hours. I was totally upset with this guy. All the questions about family etc.. I applied under business to avoid all this. The guy even questioned why I do not have kids.... He questioned neighbours, my maid... and then still argued that since my passort does not have a paper showing that my house is were I stay, I do not stay there. Now, under business application there is no need for this. Anyone else experince this?? Have some thoughts??

[lopburi3]

If by passport not showing where you live meaning 90 day address reports you indeed require that for any extension of stay if you live here more than 90 days in a row.

[grtaylor]

Does anyone have any inside information on when the December 2006 applicants are likely to hear their result?

I have a friend who had his interview one day before me, in February 2007. We both fulfilled all the requirements. I scored full marks on the Thai test, and the officer stamped my papers as completed. Subsequent slight paperworks problems were all cleared up. Neither of us have heard yet, and there is no information on the immigration website. The people in Room 301 do not seem to know when the results will be posted either.

Its kind of frustrating just playing the waiting game . . . . .

G

[kcallagmy]

If by passport not showing where you live meaning 90 day address reports you indeed require that for any extension of stay if you live here more than 90 days in a row.

I have lived here for over 5 years and had my HR manager report to immigration for me within 24 hours of every business trip. I have never had one. Immigration Bangkok reviewed my application/passport details and never asked about it. Sriracha immigration reviewed my passport details and never asked about it.... Learn something new every day.....

[samran]

If by passport not showing where you live meaning 90 day address reports you indeed require that for any extension of stay if you live here more than 90 days in a row.

I have lived here for over 5 years and had my HR manager report to immigration for me within 24 hours of every business trip. I have never had one. Immigration Bangkok reviewed my application/passport details and never asked about it. Sriracha immigration reviewed my passport details and never asked about it.... Learn something new every day.....

if you travelled regularly it may be the case that you were never here for more than 90 days in a row...therefore no need for 90 day reporting?

[kcallagmy]

[Exactly my point. And I tried to explain that to the inspector, but to no avail. And tried to show him in my passport, to no avail...

But 2.5 hours of interviewing, pictures etc. i think was WAY OVER THE TOP!! Especially when feedback from bangkok immigration contact is that my application has no problems and I have met all criteria and am well qualified ....

[samran]

[Exactly my point. And I tried to explain that to the inspector, but to no avail. And tried to show him in my passport, to no avail...

But 2.5 hours of interviewing, pictures etc. i think was WAY OVER THE TOP!! Especially when feedback from bangkok immigration contact is that my application has no problems and I have met all criteria and am well qualified ....

maybe the best bet will be to go back and explain to the people in BKK, lest they get the wrong impression from the inspector?

[Dork]

I am in the same situation as grtaylor. I wouldn't call it inside information but my lawyer has been saying for several months now that it will be around "mid year" before any results are announced.

Regarding the 90 day reporting, I have lived in Thailand for well over 10 years and have never made a report simply because I have never remained in Thailand for longer than 90 days between trips abroad. As far as I can remember this has never been raised by anyone, including during the PR application process.

[grtaylor]

I am in the same situation as grtaylor. I wouldn't call it inside information but my lawyer has been saying for several months now that it will be around "mid year" before any results are announced.

The December 2005 PR applicants heard in July 2007, I think, so I guess that would be mid-year for us. A little worrying, as I'm going to be away in the UK for a month from mid-June to mid-July . . . . .

G

[ProfessorNiceGuy]

I had applied for PR in December of 2007 under the business category. I have all the credentials and documentation and more than enough salary and paid taxes to qualify. I have been thru all the steps upto and including the interview by a panel of 4 immigration officers with no problems. I am married to a Thai, bnut did not apply under Personal category. I applied under business and am willing to pay the higher fee. Now, I have had an immigration investigator come to my work place and grill me for an hour. Then same day he said he wanted to see my house and wife. He came to my house and questioned me and wife for another 2.5 hours. I was totally upset with this guy. All the questions about family etc.. I applied under business to avoid all this. The guy even questioned why I do not have kids.... He questioned neighbours, my maid... and then still argued that since my passort does not have a paper showing that my house is were I stay, I do not stay there. Now, under business application there is no need for this. Anyone else experince this?? Have some thoughts??

I believe there are 2 main categories - married or business ( sorry - kinda forgot - long time back ). I went under "business" and most definitely had to submit where I lived and the photo's of the surrounding area and my apartment.

[EdtheTruth]

I had applied for PR in December of 2007 under the business category. I have all the credentials and documentation and more than enough salary and paid taxes to qualify. I have been thru all the steps upto and including the interview by a panel of 4 immigration officers with no problems. I am married to a Thai, bnut did not apply under Personal category. I applied under business and am willing to pay the higher fee. Now, I have had an immigration investigator come to my work place and grill me for an hour. Then same day he said he wanted to see my house and wife. He came to my house and questioned me and wife for another 2.5 hours. I was totally upset with this guy. All the questions about family etc.. I applied under business to avoid all this. The guy even questioned why I do not have kids.... He questioned neighbours, my maid... and then still argued that since my passort does not have a paper showing that my house is were I stay, I do not stay there. Now, under business application there is no need for this. Anyone else experince this?? Have some thoughts??

I believe there are 2 main categories - married or business ( sorry - kinda forgot - long time back ). I went under "business" and most definitely had to submit where I lived and the photo's of the surrounding area and my apartment.

I received PR about a year ago. I applied in the business category but also have a Thai wife. I had to undergo the same checks at home. They took all sorts of funny photographs. My wife's wardrobe, our combined shoes on the shoe rack, and they even had my wife and I lay in bed together holding hands (fully clothed of course). I'm not joking about that last photograph. When the officer asked us to do it, I thought for sure he was kidding and that after we did it he was gonna laugh and say 'Gotcha!' or something, but it was for real.

The reason they do this is that you qualify for the lower rate of 97,500 baht if you have a Thai wife even if you apply in the business category. I know this is true because I only paid 97,500 baht myself, although I applied in the business category. When I paid the fee, the woman in Room 302 joked that I should now pay my wife 100,000 baht. I joked back that I've paid her much more than that already!

-Ed

[kcallagmy]

Ed,

Thanks for info. Sounds same for me. Kind of surprised they would process under married and get less money when we applied under business with the full knowledge we would pay more....

[EdtheTruth]

Ed,

Thanks for info. Sounds same for me. Kind of surprised they would process under married and get less money when we applied under business with the full knowledge we would pay more....

I think there is some confusion floating around about the fees. The fees are the same regardless of what category you apply in. Roughly 200,000 if your single, roughly 100,000 if your married.

There is no category "because your married." There is a category you can apply under if you are supporting a family. That category itself obviously implies that you are married, but the lower fee doesn't come from the category itself, just from your marital status. The categories and fees really have nothing to do with each other.

When you submit your application, if they see that you are married, then they will go through the process of confirming that it's a real marriage and not a sham because the difference in fees means they get a lot less if you are really married. I don't think you can opt out of the lower fee without just telling them you are single when you submit the application (i.e. lying about your marital status).

For me, I have no problem whatsoever with saving 100,000 baht, but I agree the immigration guys who come by to check you out are pretty intrusive.

[kcallagmy]

Well everything is still going smooth with PR after immigration investigator grilled me for a few hours at my home..... Just wondering from time to time I see posting that link to immigration website showing status of PR applicants from 2005,2006 etc. But when I go to website I cannot find the documents. How does one go about finding status on web??? If not, how does one find out??

[grtaylor]

Well everything is still going smooth with PR after immigration investigator grilled me for a few hours at my home..... Just wondering from time to time I see posting that link to immigration website showing status of PR applicants from 2005,2006 etc. But when I go to website I cannot find the documents. How does one go about finding status on web??? If not, how does one find out??

I haven't looked to see if the 2005-2006 list is still there, but I check about once a week at the moment to see if the 2006-2007 list has appeared yet. I believe that the list appears there first, and then each sucessful person gets a letter from the Ministry of the Interior. Once Immigration have completed their "clerical" role in the whole procedure it seems they have no idea what is happening. When I was last there for a visa extension, I asked, and got the reply, "not sure, this year sometime . . . . . . "

G

Edited June 3, 2008 by grtaylor

[perax]

I applied in December 2007.. last week we met one of these colonels in immigration in Suanplu I know for other reasons, he told us that as of last week the applications submitted in 2006 had not yet been processed by the ministry. We're all waiting for Chalerm to get a move, good luck to us.

If I got it correctly, in 2007 about 240 people applied for residency to their offices in Suanplu.

[THAIJAMES]

yes that is correct, this is the same information that I got when I went there a few weeks ago.

I applied in December 2007.. last week we met one of these colonels in immigration in Suanplu I know for other reasons, he told us that as of last week the applications submitted in 2006 had not yet been processed by the ministry. We're all waiting for Chalerm to get a move, good luck to us.

If I got it correctly, in 2007 about 240 people applied for residency to their offices in Suanplu.

[Willie]

So, what is the likelihood that K.Chalerm signed off the Dec 06 applicants before he moved on?

Anyone been down to Room 301 recently? I'm not due until end of Oct.

Thanks

[grtaylor]

So, what is the likelihood that K.Chalerm signed off the Dec 06 applicants before he moved on?

Anyone been down to Room 301 recently? I'm not due until end of Oct.

Thanks

I doubt it, to be honest. So, I wonder how long we will have to wait for the new man to attack his in-tray?

[perax]

My wife called last friday (August 29)... spoke with the NCO that was handling my application. She told her that nothing had been signed, and that thay have slowed down the process for the 2008 applications because they're not sure what's goign to happen.

Guess we will need to wait until when Chalerm will be prime minister, and hope he picks a good one for the Interiors seat....

side note.. we asked if I shoudl get a new stamp on the passport indicating I applied for residency (changed passport book a few months ago)... the officer said that it was not necessary as I already had a different one-year extension of stay permit. In case I were to lose that, Immigration will give me an extension of stay while waiting for the residency procedure to complete.

Saluti

[simon43]

What is the specific requirement concerning having 3 years of visa extension? I cannot find the relevant government document about this right now. But is the requirement to have at least 3 12-month visa extensions, or to have a total of at least 3 years of 'unbroken' visa extension?

I ask because I have just got a 2 month visa extension (to visit my Thai son), on top of my previous 12 month ED visa extension, (that visa being isued initially for 90 days). So right now, I have a total of 14 months of 'unbroken' visa extension. But if the requirement is that these visa exstensions must be each for 12 months, then it means that my current visa extension is not acceptable.

Can anyone answer this question? It's important for me to know if my current 2 month visa extension is acceptable because the answer will affect what I do after this 2 month period ends.

Thanks

Simon

[monty]

Hard to say Simon, but AFAIK ED visa extension is not even taken in consideration at all!

Based on the fact that one of the requirements is you paying personal income tax which would be possible on an ED extension as this precludes you from having a Work Permit...

I can't recall any precedents to fall back on

[Mario2008]

From immigration police website:

http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/en/do...tion4extend.doc

1) Qualification of the eligible applicant to be considered for residential permit:

1.1 Foreign national applicant must hold a passport that bears a Non-Immigrant Visa and was granted with one-year visa extensions which reveal that up until the date of application submission, the applicant have been staying in the Kingdom for at least 3 consecutive years.

Seems you are not elligable since you are not on a one-year extention. You only have a 2 month extension.

[simon43]

Monty, yes I was aware that there is the need to pay tax, and an ED extension does not allow one to work. But that extension could still be used to fulfil part of the application requirement re visa extensions.

In any case, Mario has found the document that I was looking for, and that seems to indicate that my 2 month extension is no good, and I must therefore go back to the start, (do not pass go, do not collect $200!!).

This being the case, I will wait until I am 50 (in 9 months), at which time I can get a one-year extendable visa because I have Thai children. Then maybe wait another 3 years until I have the correct period of 1-year visa extensions, then apply for PR, then wait 2 more years for the PR decision etc etc etc.

I will apply for a WP right now whilst I have my 2 month 'O' visa, and will then go to somewhere like KL to get a non-imm B visa to cover me until I'm 50 next June.

Simon

[camerata]

It's very quiet in here compared to the previous 2 years. Is anyone actually applying for PR in 2008?

[abdulrahman]

It's very quiet in here compared to the previous 2 years. Is anyone actually applying for PR in 2008?

After reading in this forum all the requirements,official and not,especially your very good report,and the very small number of successes,I decided not even to try!

Maybe I'm not the only one.

[grtaylor]

And still no sign of any announcement for the December 2006 applicants . . . . . . . .

[camerata]

After reading in this forum all the requirements,official and not,especially your very good report,and the very small number of successes,I decided not even to try!

Maybe I'm not the only one.

I think you'll find that the success rate is quite high because although relatively few apply, most of those whose application is accepted end up getting PR.

[marquess]

After reading in this forum all the requirements,official and not,especially your very good report,and the very small number of successes,I decided not even to try!

Maybe I'm not the only one.

I think you'll find that the success rate is quite high because although relatively few apply, most of those whose application is accepted end up getting PR.

Few people apply because very few meet the criteria, I have been on a student visa for nearly three consecutive year and will be attempting to complete a PhD here but to successfully apply I need to have three letters of recommendation from three different gov agencies. I stand more chance of flying to the moon.

Edited October 28, 2008 by marquess

[simon43]

I gave up applying after living here for 6 years because I found myself still at ground zero of the process. My recent 2 month visa extension to visit my Thai son (on top of my previous 1 year extension) apparently breaks the requirement for 1 year visa extensions. I have been turned down 2 times for a Work Permit to be manager of the Phuket hotel that I built 3 years ago (on the grounds that a foreigner cannot work for a Thai sole-trader enterprise, which is complete <deleted>). My request for a letter of support to enable me to get a visa extension and WP because of my volunteer work with the Thai Tourist Police has fallen on deaf ears. Finally, I divorced my Thai wife and that really minimised any good reason to consider PR.

I can see myself staying in Thailand or visiting on regular occasions. But the lure of Thailand has worn off with me. I've given but got nothing back.

Simon