Camerata's Guide To The Permanent Residence Process

[thedemon]

During the little ceremony at CW that my batch of new PR's had to attend in 2012, the obviously quite senior immigration officer announced specifically that from now on we should use the Thai lane.

Not sure how much of an advantage that is now though since with the smart gates for Thai citizens there aren't very many Thai lanes.

[Jsu360418]

Thanks. I'll try out the Thai lane.

[NewlyMintedThai]

There is always at least one manned Thai lane, rarely with anyone in it since the electronic gates arrived.

[brianinbangkok]

There is always at least one manned Thai lane, rarely with anyone in it since the electronic gates arrived.

If your flight is at 2am there is often no Thai passports lane. So everybody has to use the foreign passports lane. Except Thai that can use the electronic gates. I also normaly use Thai passports lane and hold my blue residents permit so staff can see it. Never had a problem.

Just make sure you give immigration officer passport , arrival/departure card and the blue pr booklet as all get stamped.

[THAIJAMES]

After almost 8 years of waiting I finally got my PR today.

The staff was extremely helpful, friendly and hardworking, much different than my bad experiences at Chiang Mai immigration.

My experience today was slightly different than others have reported.

I arrived at 8:30 and was immediately taken to the section that issues the certificate of residency. No one from the PR section reviewed any of my documents before hand.

I was asked for my passport, signed a number of empty forms and had my thumb print taken and placed on a number of forms and the blue book.

An electronic finger print and digital photo was taken of me and put into their database.

I was never asked to show a work permit or blue tabien baan as per the documentation they sent out.

Also they never asked for photocopies of my passport, work permit or blue tabien baan. When I asked them, they said they didn’t need them.

The only thing that they actually took was a photocopy of my yellow book, which they later attached to the letter to be taken to my local police station.

So the only documentation that was used was my real passport, 3 photos, the address of my local police station and a photocopy of my yellow tabien baan. (they never looked at the original)

After about 30 minutes the whole process was done. They asked me to go have coffee and would call me when the blue book was ready. It needed to be approved by the head and the timing could not be guaranteed because he or she is often in meetings or may be out of the office.

Right after lunch 1PM we were asked to pick up our blue books.

I had come dressed in a suit expecting some kind of ceremony and pictures. Nothing!

After signing a receipt we were handed our blue books and a letter to take to the police and that was it.

So overall pretty efficient and happy it was all done in time for my flight back to Chiang Mai.

Another item of interest to future applicants is that while I was waiting for my PR, I had a long talk and lunch with a very kind lady in the PR section.

I got the impression that applying for PR this year should be easier than past years. She told me that as long as you have 3 years tax records and meet the minimum of 80K per month then it should be no problems. (when I applied they would not even look at you unless you had 120K monthly income and worked for a big reputable company)

She made it sound like there are not enough applicants and maybe they are trying to compensate for that by making the rules easier.

So if anyone is interested in applying, I would go to the PR section months ahead of time as they have nothing to do now and are very happy to help.

Waiting for the last two weeks when they traditionally open for applications is probably a mistake as they will be very busy then and they will be less likely to help and give advice and might reject you for a small mistake that could have been taken care off if you had approached them much earlier.

I have attached a picture of the documentation that was used for my PR, it seems to be 3 times higher than anyone else.

I applied under the special category of helping Thailand.

Big mistake they still asked for all the documents in the Business category and I still had to prove how I benefited Thailand, Having the directors of 2 separate ministries sign a guarantee letter explaining what I had done was not enough, as you can see I had to provide all kinds of additional documentation to support.

The moral of the story is stick to the business category, all other categories are a pain.

[thedemon]

Congratulations! Great stuff!. 8 years might be a record so you deserve to be treated well.

Can't help but wonder where all that paper goes afterwards.

[stbkk]

Very many congratulations, I remember you being one of the few (only one?) not approved with the last batch in 2012 when I got mine.

You must feel so relieved after all of this time, so go and have a nice celebratory cold one (or two).

[THAIJAMES]

Thank you thedemon and stbkk. I feel much relieved !! and ready to move on.

I think the reason I was not approved in 2012 is because they misplaced my application and put it in the wrong pile.

When I called to enquire why others had been approved but mine not yet, they discovered the mistake and moved it to the correct pile .

Unfortunately it took 3 more years for the next minister to sign.

Not a great loss actually because for the last 5 years or so after having provided all documentation for the PR process, I have been getting the main benefits of the PR without paying the fee.

That benefit for me is not having to face the stress and uncertainty when submitting documents every year to immigration, only to be told that you are missing a dot here or a dot there or some new requirement that the officer just decided.

No more of that and thats what I am most happy about today !!!!!

[Bubbha]

Congratulations THAIJAMES -

I am in the Class of December 2013. The PR desk officers indicate that they have not received approval from Interior for my application. I will post if and when I receive news of approval and hope other forum member from 2013 will share updates as well.

[Arkady]

I also have used the Thai channel for years. I just stand there with the blue book clearly visible in my hand so I don't get pulled out of the queue. The problem is that foreign tourists see you and follow you, then think you're an axxhole when you try to warn them...

When I was in a hurry to catch a flight once, I mentioned to a group of Indians in front of me in the Thai queue that the queue was for Thai passports and PR holders. They told me to buzz off but I had the satisfaction of seeing the immigration officer boot all of them out of the queue and call me to the front.

[THAIJAMES]

Congratulations THAIJAMES -

I am in the Class of December 2013. The PR desk officers indicate that they have not received approval from Interior for my application. I will post if and when I receive news of approval and hope other forum member from 2013 will share updates as well.

Thanks Buddha,

I thought I read that the minister had approved all applications even the most recent ones submitted by immigration.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/827854-thai-interior-minister-signs-residency-permit-for-foreigners/

[Arkady]

CONGRATS ThaiJames. I remember thinking at the time that I had signed and submitted a metre of documentation but yours was probably bigger, as they asked for less in the 90s.

[onthemoon]

Congrats, THAIJAMES!

[skyaslimit]

Congrats ThaiJames and welcome to PR club, forget about the little ceremony in the auditorium and enjoy the peace of mind.

[leanhnam220]

Does any one have any information about applying for Thai citizenship? Camerata?

tiny tanks unblocked

[nzexpat]

Read the thread ?

[ubonjoe]

Does any one have any information about applying for Thai citizenship? Camerata?

tiny tanks unblocked

See this topic. dbrenn's story of Thai citizenship application

Also this file: Guidelines and documents required for application for Thai citizenship by naturalization

[jayboy]

Congratulations ThaiJames.I think your conclusion about sticking to the business application is sound.I had the choice of opting for the business or family route and was advised the former was less onerous.

[Jsu360418]

With a PR is one allowed to buy a condo under the Thai quota where there is no more foreign allocation? I didn't think so but figured I would ask.

Sent from my SM-N910C using Tapatalk

[Arkady]

With a PR is one allowed to buy a condo under the Thai quota where there is no more foreign allocation? I didn't think so but figured I would ask.

Sent from my SM-N910C using Tapatalk

Your surmise is correct. You are still a foreigner as far as the Condominium Act and other laws are concerned. However, you do have the right to buy condos with onshore funds without having to proof you remitted the funds from abroad or earned the money from a job in Thailand.

[Bangel72]

^{With regards to the final approval how important is the tabien baan (House Registration book), what if you are currently staying in a hotel or in a very temporary informal renting situation?}

^{Can you get the PR book without this and is it a must for the alien registration book?, Does it makes sense to temporally have one without the other?}

^{Do you need a new one every time you move apartment?}

^{Cheers for any info, thanks}

[THAIJAMES]

^{With regards to the final approval how important is the tabien baan (House Registration book), what if you are currently staying in a hotel or in a very temporary informal renting situation?}

^{Can you get the PR book without this and is it a must for the alien registration book?, Does it makes sense to temporally have one without the other?}

^{Do you need a new one every time you move apartment?}

^{Cheers for any info, thanks}

Legally you are required to put your name on a tabien baan and immigration asked me for it when I got my PR. They included a copy of it in the letter to the police to get the red book.

Keep in mind however that a lot of Thais do not live where they are registered. So you can live anywhere you like, but you will need to get registered on someone's blue tabien baan. It could be a friend or anyone even if you never live there. However there is a process involved in getting it, witnesses will be required, someone needs to vouch for you, etc. so its not a trivial process.

[Jsu360418]

All, another update.

I picked up my Blue PR booklet today and headed to the local police station to get the Red Booklet. A lot of papers to fill out, documents to sign and another set of finger prints. It appears to be quite a labor intensive effort to get it completed. I guess it's due to all the paperwork. That said it was done in about 3 hours and I received my Red Book. Last steps are to go to visit the local district office to get my name in the blue Tabien Baan booklet and then take that and everything else back to Immigration to get the multiple re-entry/exit endorsements. Hopefully it shouldn't take more than another couple of days.

[Bubbha]

Thanks for the update Jsu360418. Your description of the process is very helpful. Could you share the year of your PR application? I am from the Class of 2013 and PR/Immigration says that they have not yet received approval of my application from Interior.

[THAIJAMES]

All, another update.

I picked up my Blue PR booklet today and headed to the local police station to get the Red Booklet. A lot of papers to fill out, documents to sign and another set of finger prints. It appears to be quite a labor intensive effort to get it completed. I guess it's due to all the paperwork. That said it was done in about 3 hours and I received my Red Book. Last steps are to go to visit the local district office to get my name in the blue Tabien Baan booklet and then take that and everything else back to Immigration to get the multiple re-entry/exit endorsements. Hopefully it shouldn't take more than another couple of days.

I did mine this morning too also took 3 hours. The officer claimed that I was the first one to do it in 7 years ( Chiang Mai)

One hiccup was that Immigration forgot to put the date and number on the letter and the officer could not process my red book without it. We called CW and they sent me another updated copy using line!

Considering that I did not have to fly back to BKK to get a new letter, overall everything went extremely well

[Jsu360418]

Thanks for the update Jsu360418. Your description of the process is very helpful. Could you share the year of your PR application? I am from the Class of 2013 and PR/Immigration says that they have not yet received approval of my application from Interior.

I applied in 2009. One of my other friends applied in 2012, he received his approval the same as me.

Sent from my SM-N910C using Tapatalk

[Jsu360418]

I got a call from my lawyer after they got my redbook. She and me will go back to CW Immigration tomorrow to get my endorsements for the re-entry permits. Then the next day go for the Blue booklet. Immigration told them they could process the endorsement with my Yellow booklet not the Blue one. So they are doing that first. Then will need to go to the local district office to get the Blue one done. However they said this might take longer as they need to send or get something back from Immigration. I was a bit surprised by this nuance but will continue to smile as so far things continue to go as planned.

I just worry about skipping steps as everything is carefully scrutinized both in substance and process. Just my nervous nature I guess.

Sent from my SM-N910C using Tapatalk

[zanaka]

I got a call from my lawyer after they got my redbook. She and me will go back to CW Immigration tomorrow to get my endorsements for the re-entry permits. Then the next day go for the Blue booklet. Immigration told them they could process the endorsement with my Yellow booklet not the Blue one. So they are doing that first. Then will need to go to the local district office to get the Blue one done. However they said this might take longer as they need to send or get something back from Immigration. I was a bit surprised by this nuance but will continue to smile as so far things continue to go as planned.

I just worry about skipping steps as everything is carefully scrutinized both in substance and process. Just my nervous nature I guess.

Sent from my SM-N910C using Tapatalk

Hi Jsu360418..

Could you please share the name of the law firm you used? Thanks ..

[THAIJAMES]

Went to try and do my blue house registration this morning. The official took my documents and had me sign the applications, however I was told that it might not be approved for a few months because the head person that signs off on this has quit and it will take a few months to replace his or her position.

Considering that immigration asks us to get the blue house registration within a 14 day period, does anyone know if this will be a problem for me in the future?

Thanks in advance.

[Jsu360418]

I had a similar issue. In my case the local district office needs to request a confirmation letter of some type to CW Immigration, who will then send it back and then my name will be put in the Blue Baan Tambien book. At the local district office i met the head person and he signed off on the request that is sent to CW. Everyone was nice and professional. They said it will take ~ 2-4 weeks. Since I already had my Yellow book both Thai police and Immigration had no issue providing me my official PR Book and Red Alien book, all with proper stamps, and multiple entry/exit endorsements. I'm in possession of all the books now. My lawyer will follow up and the house registration.

Sent from my SM-N910C using Tapatalk