Camerata's Guide To The Permanent Residence Process

[stbkk]

Does any married guy who got PR regret not getting citizenship instead ? From what I see it's easier and had more benefits.

There's no doubt about the fact there are many more benefits attached to citizenship.

However, for me personally there is the question of the letter you have to provide saying you will renounce your previous citizenship when your Thai one is granted.

I certainly have no intention of doing that, and while its not clear how/if they could check or enforce that you have actually done it, the letter must be part of the application for a reason.

I may reconsider when what actually happens about this becomes clear in a few years time!

[GabbaGabbaHey]

Ok, I completed my PR process this week, which is about a month after receiving the approval letter. Similarly to what was stated by other PR applicants earlier in this forum, one needs to double-check every data that appears in the Residence Permit, the letter for the Police station, the Alien book and the House registration when you get them (almost everything is in Thai language). I found some mistakes on my birth date, my last entry date, my parents name and my address but after spottting them it was a matter of seconds to get it fixed. This will save you some additional visits.

The police station took me two visits, two hours on the first one and I got my book the week after (ensure you sign the Alien book very gently - I had similar experience as some other member when I almost punched a hole into the page). The House registration took me two visits as well, the first one about one hour for general discussion on the subjet, context, introducing myself, getting the detailed data forms and setting a rendez-vous for the week after. On the second visit (with my wife as house owner, one witness, and our three detailed information forms pre-filled) it took about two hours for the officer to record and stamp everything and finally pass us back the house registration which had my name on it. He also passed me two sets of certified true copies of the registration book page and what is probably my ID page in the people's ID database. I will have one set laminated to keep at home, one that I will probably reduce and keep as evidence in my passport - I guess it could help with hotels and officials that are not aware of what PR is).

Every step has been quite friendly with helpful people around, I was just nervous inside to see the end of it. As I have no plan to travel outside Thailand, I will wait to do the re-entry stamps next year at the same time my work permit gets renewed. Which means I can now relax and enjoy the 'no more 90 days forms' (no doubt I have filled more than 30 of these since 2004 or 2005). PR complete? This has been my Christmas gift of 2012.

Good luck to all of you still pending approval.

[GabbaGabbaHey]

Does any married guy who got PR regret not getting citizenship instead ? From what I see it's easier and had more benefits.

In my opinion, citizenship involves a lot more than the ability to apply. It is something highly important that should come only from mature motivation with tangible and psychological needs.

For instance, I feel these should be the grounds of the application:

- You've lived long time in Thailand and you feel Thai in some aspects, you are involved in Thai communities

- You suffer from not being Thai and not having a Thai passport, there would be pride and achievement in the move

- You are advanced in life and stabilized with few dependencies

- The move would result in significant assets benefits

Meanwhile some of these factors would lower the interest in it:

- You have dependants (like young children who live with you and rely on you)

- You still often deals with your country of origin for various kind of papers

- You get some social benefits from your current country for you or your dependants

- Your job would administratively pay more for a foreigner than it would as Thai citizen

- You haven't cleared the situation of all your assets (or don't have much assets)

- You are still junior and lots of things can still happen in your life

That's to say, it makes sense for a senior who lived most of his life in Thailand, feels Thai, has cut most links to his country of nationality, has few dependants, has assets and wants to optimize inheritance perhaps - but not for a junior person with multiple dependants, dependencies, someone who sees the life fully opened in front of him.

[Neeranam]

I agree with some of what you say.

I disagree about younger people. Younger people have more to offer as they have more years ahead.

Personally, I have spent most of my adult life here and am 47. Maybe I am senior ?

[Arkady]

Does any married guy who got PR regret not getting citizenship instead ? From what I see it's easier and had more benefits.

There's no doubt about the fact there are many more benefits attached to citizenship.

However, for me personally there is the question of the letter you have to provide saying you will renounce your previous citizenship when your Thai one is granted.

I certainly have no intention of doing that, and while its not clear how/if they could check or enforce that you have actually done it, the letter must be part of the application for a reason.

I may reconsider when what actually happens about this becomes clear in a few years time!

Good luck in waiting for this to become clear. We are dealing with the Thai Interior Ministry here which has never regarded itself as accountable to anyone least of all foreigners. But if you want my opinion, the new policy to ask for the declaration is part of the ministry's ongoing long term drive against dual citizenship which they feel is a risk to national security. Not only do they try to get naturalised Thais to give up their original citizenship but they also advise Thais who naturalise as aliens and look krueng at age 20 to renounce their Thai nationality on the grounds that dual nationality is not supported by Thai law (without mentioning that is not specifically prohibited either). Probably their intention is to let other countries do the work for them, as the majority of applicants are from countries that specifically prohibit dual nationality like China and India. If they had their way, they would get the politicians to amend the law to give them draconian powers to revoke Thai nationality from dual citizens. However, politicians to date have never wanted to do this for their own reasons which aren't hard to imagine. It is unlikely to become much clearer than this in the next few years but you are welcome to wait.

Edited December 29, 2012 by Arkady

[Arkady]

Does any married guy who got PR regret not getting citizenship instead ? From what I see it's easier and had more benefits.

In my opinion, citizenship involves a lot more than the ability to apply. It is something highly important that should come only from mature motivation with tangible and psychological needs.

For instance, I feel these should be the grounds of the application:

- You've lived long time in Thailand and you feel Thai in some aspects, you are involved in Thai communities

- You suffer from not being Thai and not having a Thai passport, there would be pride and achievement in the move

- You are advanced in life and stabilized with few dependencies

- The move would result in significant assets benefits

Meanwhile some of these factors would lower the interest in it:

- You have dependants (like young children who live with you and rely on you)

- You still often deals with your country of origin for various kind of papers

- You get some social benefits from your current country for you or your dependants

- Your job would administratively pay more for a foreigner than it would as Thai citizen

- You haven't cleared the situation of all your assets (or don't have much assets)

- You are still junior and lots of things can still happen in your life

That's to say, it makes sense for a senior who lived most of his life in Thailand, feels Thai, has cut most links to his country of nationality, has few dependants, has assets and wants to optimize inheritance perhaps - but not for a junior person with multiple dependants, dependencies, someone who sees the life fully opened in front of him.

The reality is that most successful applicants are business owners who have exclusively economic interests in mind and some can barely speak Thai. Perhaps some really feel Thai and are involved in Thai communities but many don't and aren't. For example many of the naturalised Thais from the Subcontinent will do their utmost to preserve their original culture for generations to come and would certainly not want their kids or grandkids to marry an ethnic Thai. Chinese will essentially do the same but what is Chinese culture and what is Thai Chinese culture is now blurred and virtually all the decision makers at the ministry will be of Chinese origin themselves.

if you think you might want it, cut the navel examination and splash out on the 5,000 application fee to go for it now. It will only get harder, if you wait and is likely to take many years anyway. Remember that, unlike PR, you must continue to have a WP throughout the process. So, it's a good idea to apply while you have a low risk of being retired or unemployed within, say, 10 years and thus ending up disqualified before you get it. If they introduce a new condition that is unacceptable to you, you can always withdraw or decline and keep your PR status. If you don't apply, you will never get it.

[sas_cars]

Does any married guy who got PR regret not getting citizenship instead ? From what I see it's easier and had more benefits.

In my opinion, citizenship involves a lot more than the ability to apply. It is something highly important that should come only from mature motivation with tangible and psychological needs.

For instance, I feel these should be the grounds of the application:

- You've lived long time in Thailand and you feel Thai in some aspects, you are involved in Thai communities

- You suffer from not being Thai and not having a Thai passport, there would be pride and achievement in the move

- You are advanced in life and stabilized with few dependencies

- The move would result in significant assets benefits

Meanwhile some of these factors would lower the interest in it:

- You have dependants (like young children who live with you and rely on you)

- You still often deals with your country of origin for various kind of papers

- You get some social benefits from your current country for you or your dependants

- Your job would administratively pay more for a foreigner than it would as Thai citizen

- You haven't cleared the situation of all your assets (or don't have much assets)

- You are still junior and lots of things can still happen in your life

That's to say, it makes sense for a senior who lived most of his life in Thailand, feels Thai, has cut most links to his country of nationality, has few dependants, has assets and wants to optimize inheritance perhaps - but not for a junior person with multiple dependants, dependencies, someone who sees the life fully opened in front of him.

The reality is that most successful applicants are business owners who have exclusively economic interests in mind and some can barely speak Thai. Perhaps some really feel Thai and are involved in Thai communities but many don't and aren't. For example many of the naturalised Thais from the Subcontinent will do their utmost to preserve their original culture for generations to come and would certainly not want their kids or grandkids to marry an ethnic Thai. Chinese will essentially do the same but what is Chinese culture and what is Thai Chinese culture is now blurred and virtually all the decision makers at the ministry will be of Chinese origin themselves.

if you think you might want it, cut the navel examination and splash out on the 5,000 application fee to go for it now. It will only get harder, if you wait and is likely to take many years anyway. Remember that, unlike PR, you must continue to have a WP throughout the process. So, it's a good idea to apply while you have a low risk of being retired or unemployed within, say, 10 years and thus ending up disqualified before you get it. If they introduce a new condition that is unacceptable to you, you can always withdraw or decline and keep your PR status. If you don't apply, you will never get it.

It's already much harder to qualify since they strictly enforce the 5 years on PR status first rule. All news PRs need to wait 5 years before they actually qualify. So for all new PRs, wait 5 years first to qualify, then wait at least another 5 years to get the nationality. So it's around 10 years wait from now for new PRs.

[NewlyMintedThai]

Not "at least" five years to get citizenship.

It took me three years, and I've heard of people getting it even faster.

[TheChiefJustice]

Mine took five years exactly.

[NewlyMintedThai]

Yes, seems to vary based on political stability, the Minister's demeanor, perhaps your degree of connectedness, and a good dose of luck.

But definitely not a "minimum of five years".

[Dork]

Does any married guy who got PR regret not getting citizenship instead ? From what I see it's easier and had more benefits.

In my opinion, citizenship involves a lot more than the ability to apply. It is something highly important that should come only from mature motivation with tangible and psychological needs.

For instance, I feel these should be the grounds of the application:

- You've lived long time in Thailand and you feel Thai in some aspects, you are involved in Thai communities

- You suffer from not being Thai and not having a Thai passport, there would be pride and achievement in the move

- You are advanced in life and stabilized with few dependencies

- The move would result in significant assets benefits

Meanwhile some of these factors would lower the interest in it:

- You have dependants (like young children who live with you and rely on you)

- You still often deals with your country of origin for various kind of papers

- You get some social benefits from your current country for you or your dependants

- Your job would administratively pay more for a foreigner than it would as Thai citizen

- You haven't cleared the situation of all your assets (or don't have much assets)

- You are still junior and lots of things can still happen in your life

That's to say, it makes sense for a senior who lived most of his life in Thailand, feels Thai, has cut most links to his country of nationality, has few dependants, has assets and wants to optimize inheritance perhaps - but not for a junior person with multiple dependants, dependencies, someone who sees the life fully opened in front of him.

The reality is that most successful applicants are business owners who have exclusively economic interests in mind and some can barely speak Thai. Perhaps some really feel Thai and are involved in Thai communities but many don't and aren't. For example many of the naturalised Thais from the Subcontinent will do their utmost to preserve their original culture for generations to come and would certainly not want their kids or grandkids to marry an ethnic Thai. Chinese will essentially do the same but what is Chinese culture and what is Thai Chinese culture is now blurred and virtually all the decision makers at the ministry will be of Chinese origin themselves.

if you think you might want it, cut the navel examination and splash out on the 5,000 application fee to go for it now. It will only get harder, if you wait and is likely to take many years anyway. Remember that, unlike PR, you must continue to have a WP throughout the process. So, it's a good idea to apply while you have a low risk of being retired or unemployed within, say, 10 years and thus ending up disqualified before you get it. If they introduce a new condition that is unacceptable to you, you can always withdraw or decline and keep your PR status. If you don't apply, you will never get it.

It's already much harder to qualify since they strictly enforce the 5 years on PR status first rule. All news PRs need to wait 5 years before they actually qualify. So for all new PRs, wait 5 years first to qualify, then wait at least another 5 years to get the nationality. So it's around 10 years wait from now for new PRs.

I heard this somewhere else and found it hard to believe but perhaps you're right. If so, does that then mean that being married to a Thai for 3 years or more (without PR) qualifies one to apply whereas the same person (with PR) would need to wait another 5 years before applying?

Couldn't be, could it?

[sas_cars]

Yes, prejudiced system in favour of candidates with thai family. LOL. A Non-PR with thai wife qualifies only in 3 years whereas a PR without thai wife waits for 5 years.

[Dork]

Yes, prejudiced system in favour of candidates with thai family. LOL. A Non-PR with thai wife qualifies only in 3 years whereas a PR without thai wife waits for 5 years.

OK if you are comparing a married non-PR to a not married PR, that I understand. What I took your post to mean, and I have heard/read elsewhere, is that a married applicant that has PR will have to wait for 5 years before applying for citizenship whereas without PR he could apply after 3 years of marriage.

[sas_cars]

Yes, prejudiced system in favour of candidates with thai family. LOL. A Non-PR with thai wife qualifies only in 3 years whereas a PR without thai wife waits for 5 years.

OK if you are comparing a married non-PR to a not married PR, that I understand. What I took your post to mean, and I have heard/read elsewhere, is that a married applicant that has PR will have to wait for 5 years before applying for citizenship whereas without PR he could apply after 3 years of marriage.

No. A PR married with thai wife just needs to fulfil the basic criteria of having been married for 3 years, just like a non-PR. Infact, a PR with thai wife will score more points in the citizenship application comparing to a non-PR applicant

[Arkady]

Yes, prejudiced system in favour of candidates with thai family. LOL. A Non-PR with thai wife qualifies only in 3 years whereas a PR without thai wife waits for 5 years.

Some background may help in understanding this. The reason that Section 11.4 (the exemption for males married to Thais from the requirement for 5 years' residence and knowledge of the Thai language) was added to the Nationality Act in 2008 was because the ministerial mandarins were concerned that without the amendment the Act would not stand up against future constitutional challenges from women's groups that Section 9 that gives special rights to foreign women married to Thais, which of course benefits their Thai husbands. They had already been bailed out once by the Council of State that came out with an extremely "iffy" ruling that the systematic gender discrimination was OK if the government could justify it on grounds of national security, following a challenge from the Office of the Ombudsman. The Council of State's rulings are only advice to the government and have no legal force. So this was a clear signal that the MoI's nationality dept had better get its skates on and amend the law or face an ignominious legal defeat resulting in several new careers as assistant district officers in Nakhon Nowhere. So the objective was not to come out with a provision that seems fair relative to people without Thai spouses but to reduce the differences between men and women with Thai spouses to the bare minimum they thought they could get away with. The discrimination that remains today in the ministerial regulations is that men with Thai spouses need to have a job with an income of at least 40k, while the women don't need to work and their hubbies only need to scrape by with 15k a month. The number of Thai women working in legitimate jobs and wanting to get Thai citizenship for their stay-at-home foreign husbands is probably quite minimal, so the mandarins reckon that this remaining discrimination, however unconstitutional, will stand up for a while.

The Act itself is only bare bones and doesn't state how long men or women need to be married to Thais to apply for citizenship. It also doesn't state that the 5 years' residence required for those without a Thai spouse should be as a PR. The Act does gives full discretion to the minister which he exercises largely in the form of the ministerial regulations. That is why, if you have 5,000 baht to blow and a lot of free time, you can insist on submitting an application that complies with the letter of the Act but not with the ministerial regulations in the hope that the regulations may change or the minister may exercise his discretion to waive the regulations, which no doubt can happen in the case of rare applications by well connected applicants.

Bear in mind that on whatever basis you apply for citizenship you must meet all the qualifications until you get it, or at least until you are interviewed at the MoI when all will be re-checked and your Thai wife will be interviewed with you, if you applied as being married to a Thai. However, the MoI can demand to have everything re-checked at any time during the application process and this does happen. That means that, if you apply on the basis of having a Thai spouse and she passes away or leaves you during the process, you are no longer qualified. This is an important factor to consider for males who are doubly qualified through having PR for more than 5 years and Thai wives. In the wisdom the MoI will only let you apply under one category, not both. That means that if apply for exemption from singing the two anthems on the basis of having a Thai wife and you are no longer married for whatever reason when you are called for the interview, your application will be rejected. Then you will have to re-apply as a PR. If you don't apply for the exemption from singing, they won't interview your wife and it doesn't matter what happens to your marital status during the process. Special Branch will automatically apply for the exemption for you, if you are married to a Thai, assuming that no one can sing, without explaining this aspect.

Edited December 31, 2012 by Arkady

[Arkady]

I should qualify further that once you have your PR, you are free to apply for citizenship on the basis of having a Thai wife (for 3 years w/o kid and 1 year with kid) without waiting for 5 more years and you won't have to sing. That means you apply on the basis of having a Thai wife but not on the basis of having PR. Nevertheless your your PR will still count for points - maximum is for 10 years PR but you still get some for just having it. Having a Thai wife and/or kids no longer counts for any points at all since 2010. If you have only just obtained PR and have a Thai wife of sufficient standing, it makes sense to apply on that basis and not wait for 5 more years. If anything happens to your wife or your marriage meantime, you can reapply in your own right once you've got 5 years of PR under your belt.

Re waiting time. All one can say for sure is that the outliers are less than 3 years and more than 10 years and most others are somewhere in between. Some TV members have been lucky enough to get citizenship in 3 years and I personally know someone who got it in 18 months. However, those who are not on a fast track through connections or whatever seem currently to be taking 3 to 5 years just to get to interview at the MoI, whereas an interview within1-2 years was the norm a few years ago. Once you are through the interview with lower level panel your file has to get through a meeting of the Nationality Commission proper chaired by the permanent secretary of the MoI which only takes place a couple of times a year before being forwarded to the minister for signature. Hopefully things will get faster but not I'm not holding my breath as its not seen as a priority. Constitutional amendment is a bigger priority for the current incumbent who is also leader of the PT Party.

Edited December 31, 2012 by Arkady

[tombkk]

Hi guys

Just to keep all of you posted, I finally recieved my Thabian Baan with 13 digits starting with 8, after 2 months and 6 days .

Cheers

Congratulations!

[tombkk]

I agree with some of what you say.

I disagree about younger people. Younger people have more to offer as they have more years ahead.

Personally, I have spent most of my adult life here and am 47. Maybe I am senior ?

I think I read somewhere that 40 is the minimum age. I might be mixing up something though.

[THAIJAMES]

Update: I was at CW yesterday. The new minister has already approved many new applications, many more will be up for review at a interior ministry meeting in the middle of this month. Most of the applicants with all their paper work in order and no more outstanding issues should have their applications approved soon (Depending on how much they can process).

[sas_cars]

Update: I was at CW yesterday. The new minister has already approved many new applications, many more will be up for review at a interior ministry meeting in the middle of this month. Most of the applicants with all their paper work in order and no more outstanding issues should have their applications approved soon (Depending on how much they can process).

That's a great news. You mean the 2009/2011 batch which is being approved?

[Arkady]

I agree with some of what you say.

I disagree about younger people. Younger people have more to offer as they have more years ahead.

Personally, I have spent most of my adult life here and am 47. Maybe I am senior ?

I think I read somewhere that 40 is the minimum age. I might be mixing up something though.

The minimum age for citizenship applications is in fact 20. Younger than that you can piggy back on your father's application. 40-50 does get the maximum points in the points assessment system though. I think that's what confuses people and makes them think 40 is the minimum age. The points structure (see below) seems to imply that they prefer applicants between 40 and 60.

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

Edited January 4, 2013 by Arkady

[sas_cars]

I agree with some of what you say.

I disagree about younger people. Younger people have more to offer as they have more years ahead.

Personally, I have spent most of my adult life here and am 47. Maybe I am senior ?

I think I read somewhere that 40 is the minimum age. I might be mixing up something though.

The minimum age for citizenship applications is in fact 20. Younger than that you can piggy back on your father's application. 40-50 does get the maximum points in the points assessment system though. I think that's what confuses people and makes them think 40 is the minimum age. The points structure (see below) seems to imply that they prefer applicants between 40 and 60.

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

Since the application takes a long time to finally be approved, what happens to a father's piggy backed child who happens to be under 20 when father filed the application, but gets older than 20 during the process?

[THAIJAMES]

Update: I was at CW yesterday. The new minister has already approved many new applications, many more will be up for review at a interior ministry meeting in the middle of this month. Most of the applicants with all their paper work in order and no more outstanding issues should have their applications approved soon (Depending on how much they can process).

That's a great news. You mean the 2009/2011 batch which is being approved?

Yes, from the information that I got, even some batches from 2010 have already been approved, not sure about 2011.

[tombkk]

I agree with some of what you say.

I disagree about younger people. Younger people have more to offer as they have more years ahead.

Personally, I have spent most of my adult life here and am 47. Maybe I am senior ?

I think I read somewhere that 40 is the minimum age. I might be mixing up something though.

The minimum age for citizenship applications is in fact 20. Younger than that you can piggy back on your father's application. 40-50 does get the maximum points in the points assessment system though. I think that's what confuses people and makes them think 40 is the minimum age. The points structure (see below) seems to imply that they prefer applicants between 40 and 60.

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

Thanks for this. Do you have the complete point system somewhere?

[sas_cars]

Update: I was at CW yesterday. The new minister has already approved many new applications, many more will be up for review at a interior ministry meeting in the middle of this month. Most of the applicants with all their paper work in order and no more outstanding issues should have their applications approved soon (Depending on how much they can process).

That's a great news. You mean the 2009/2011 batch which is being approved?

Yes, from the information that I got, even some batches from 2010 have already been approved, not sure about 2011.

PR applications were not opened in 2010. So right now there are only 2 batches pending approval, 2009 and 2011

[THAIJAMES]

Update: I was at CW yesterday. The new minister has already approved many new applications, many more will be up for review at a interior ministry meeting in the middle of this month. Most of the applicants with all their paper work in order and no more outstanding issues should have their applications approved soon (Depending on how much they can process).

That's a great news. You mean the 2009/2011 batch which is being approved?

Yes, from the information that I got, even some batches from 2010 have already been approved, not sure about 2011.

PR applications were not opened in 2010. So right now there are only 2 batches pending approval, 2009 and 2011

I am from the 2007 Batch and still pending approval.

[tamvine]

THAI JAMES,

Where have you been all this while....I am from your batch and mostly all letters were posted for the 2007 batch within November....As i had mentioned in my earlier post that I was constantly bugging CW with phone calls. I knew of my approval through phone. Actually my letter came after I had secured my PR book. Also my letter was not in my name and someone else's letter came to me and should have been vice versa. I suggest you call them else go personally and check. It has been 5+ years waiting now...due to sudden work load and short of staff at CW there are a lot of mistakes happening...

Edited January 5, 2013 by tamvine

[sas_cars]

THAI JAMES,

Where have you been all this while....I am from your batch and mostly all letters were posted for the 2007 batch within November....As i had mentioned in my earlier post that I was constantly bugging CW with phone calls. I knew of my approval through phone. Actually my letter came after I had secured my PR book. Also my letter was not in my name and someone else's letter came to me and should have been vice versa. I suggest you call them else go personally and check. It has been 5+ years waiting now...due to sudden work load and short of staff at CW there are a lot of mistakes happening...

What is the number you are calling to ? And request to talk to whom? the extension ? How do you ask them to check for your status? Tell them your number from the PR Receipt or? Can you explain a bit?

[THAIJAMES]

THAI JAMES,

Where have you been all this while....I am from your batch and mostly all letters were posted for the 2007 batch within November....As i had mentioned in my earlier post that I was constantly bugging CW with phone calls. I knew of my approval through phone. Actually my letter came after I had secured my PR book. Also my letter was not in my name and someone else's letter came to me and should have been vice versa. I suggest you call them else go personally and check. It has been 5+ years waiting now...due to sudden work load and short of staff at CW there are a lot of mistakes happening...

tamvine, thanks for the advice.

I was there personally a few days ago, it looks like mine got left behind somehow and brought it to their attention. I think however they were still asking me for information 2 years ago, since I applied under the special category. So it may have been submitted in a later batch once all the paper work was in order. I will remind them in a week or so as I was told that the interior ministry would be having another meeting and approving more applications in the middle of this month.

[tamvine]

THAI JAMES,

Where have you been all this while....I am from your batch and mostly all letters were posted for the 2007 batch within November....As i had mentioned in my earlier post that I was constantly bugging CW with phone calls. I knew of my approval through phone. Actually my letter came after I had secured my PR book. Also my letter was not in my name and someone else's letter came to me and should have been vice versa. I suggest you call them else go personally and check. It has been 5+ years waiting now...due to sudden work load and short of staff at CW there are a lot of mistakes happening...

tamvine, thanks for the advice.

I was there personally a few days ago, it looks like mine got left behind somehow and brought it to their attention. I think however they were still asking me for information 2 years ago, since I applied under the special category. So it may have been submitted in a later batch once all the paper work was in order. I will remind them in a week or so as I was told that the interior ministry would be having another meeting and approving more applications in the middle of this month.

I wish you very Best have a speedy approval.